Allison

by Strand, Jeff

  Stay calm. You’re in no danger right now. Don’t hurt him.

  “I’m here to—” she started to say.

  “I know why you’re here.” He stepped out of her way and gestured for her to enter.

  Allison walked into the garage. There was room for about six cars, though none of them were currently parked inside. There wasn’t much of anything, really, besides a second man, wearing a black leather jacket, pointing a gun at her. Oh, and a camera in each corner, enclosed in a sphere like the security cameras in department stores.

  She wondered why there was this extra stop. Maybe the location where Cody was being held was top-secret, and she’d be blindfolded so that she couldn’t find her way back with the authorities. Or maybe he wanted her to face off against two of his men on-camera, so he could actually see what she could do.

  The top-secret location idea seemed more likely, but she’d wait to see how this played out.

  “Put the gun down,” she told the second man. “It makes me nervous.”

  “It’s supposed to make you nervous.”

  “The other men your boss sent after me made me nervous. It didn’t work out very well for them.”

  The man did not lower his gun. “Get down on your knees.”

  “You first.”

  “Do you want to get shot?”

  “No,” said Allison. “I do not want to get shot. I also don’t want you to get in trouble for shooting me. I’m not sure I could live with the guilt if you got scolded on my behalf.”

  “I’m going to tell you one more time to get down on your knees,” the man said.

  “What happens when I’m down there?”

  “We’re going to frisk you, then bind your hands behind your back.”

  “Yeah, see, that doesn’t really work for me. What else could we do instead?”

  “Are you insane?” the man asked.

  “I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

  “You’re starting to piss me off.”

  “What if I said I wasn’t insane, but then I displayed behavior that made it clear that I was batshit bugfuck crazy? I’d have betrayed your trust.”

  The man kept the gun pointed at her, but he was obviously trying to figure out how to remain menacing while following his instructions not to actually shoot her.

  But then he put the gun in his inside jacket pocket and took out a knife instead. He removed it from its leather sheath, revealing an eight-inch silver blade. “All right,” he said. “You caught me. I’d never shoot a woman. I’ll give you a fair chance.”

  He walked toward her.

  Allison dropped to her knees. “You win.”

  If he was allowed to stab her but not shoot her, maybe the other option was correct, that Winlaw was watching to see how she handled this situation. His plan would be much different if she demonstrated supernatural abilities than if she was merely very talented at killing people. She’d have to make him believe the latter.

  She couldn’t let them bind her hands behind her back.

  She adjusted her position a bit. There was a camera in every corner, but they wouldn’t provide a perfect view of everything that was happening. Though she couldn’t hide anything completely, she could give Winlaw a somewhat obscured angle of her back.

  This was still going to be tricky. She’d find out just how well all of her practice on Buster had worked.

  The man who looked like an action movie star walked up behind her.

  She reached back and grabbed his arm.

  Under normal circumstances, grabbing the arm of a guy like that would do absolutely nothing. One second later she’d be facedown on the cement floor with his knee pressed into her back. She needed to both use her ability and demonstrate a fair amount of dexterity, all while being conscious of the camera angle.

  Allison stood up as she broke his arm.

  She didn’t let go, moving as if she’d broken the limb with her hands instead of her mind. One smooth motion. With the speed and the angle, Winlaw shouldn’t be able to tell exactly what had happened. And maybe he’d wonder why she held his arm if she could just snap it through telekinesis?

  The man howled in pain. He stumbled away from her, his arm dangling uselessly, a large piece of bone protruding from his elbow.

  Too bad he didn’t get a chance to frisk her.

  She reached underneath her shirt and quickly pulled out Buster’s gun. She shot at the other man first, just in case he decided to use his own weapon. Not the shot she wanted—she got him in the shoulder. She fired again and shot him in the chin. He pulled the trigger, but his gun was pointed at the floor. As his body fell, she shoved the barrel of the gun against the broken-armed man’s chest and fired. She fired twice more as he stood there, mouth wide open. He dropped to his knees and she finished him off with a shot to the head.

  Then she took out her phone and called Winlaw.

  Winlaw stared at the live video feed on his computer screen.

  What the hell had just happened?

  He’d been prepared for Glenn and Rory to die, but he hadn’t expected it to go down like this. His fatal flaw had been assuming that having a gun pointed at her would either make her behave or make her use her powers.

  As far as he could tell, she was very strong, had very fast reflexes, and knew how to pull a trigger. Was it simply that his men were incompetent?

  He answered her call.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi.”

  “So, it’s like this. I knocked on the door, and these guys let me in, and they wanted to tie my hands behind my back—or bind them, or whatever. They weren’t specific. That didn’t really work for me. One of them kind of left his arm unprotected, and those things break pretty easily if you twist them behind somebody’s back. God didn’t really intend for them to bend that way. Long story short, they didn’t get a chance to frisk me for weapons, which was unfortunate for them because I had a weapon. A few shots later, yadda yadda yadda, they’re dead.”

  “I see.”

  “I don’t get why you keep underestimating me. Is it because I’m a girl? Or do you think maybe all of the people I’ve killed recently are so entranced by my goddess-like beauty that they don’t fight back? I’m no feminist—I’ll totally take that as a compliment.”

  “Are you finished?” Winlaw asked.

  “No,” said Allison. “I’m actually very angry right now, and I’m tired of your bullshit. No more games. Tell me where you’re keeping Cody. If you try any other tricks, I’m gone. Back on the road. You’ll never see me again. But you will see a lot of FBI agents at your front door.”

  “And then Cody will—”

  “He’ll die. I know. I get it. But I’m not going to let you keep jerking me around. This is it, Winlaw. Your final chance. Tell me where the fuck you are.”

  “Do you know where the Angela Wood Campground is?”

  “No. I can pull it up on the phone’s GPS, though.”

  “You’re not far. Twenty minutes. Go straight there. Make any detours or stops, and I’ll cut my losses and that will be the end of Cody.”

  “I accept your terms.”

  “Can’t you move me to a chair?” Maggie asked.

  “Nope,” said one of the men guarding them.

  “I can’t keep sitting on the floor. It’s killing me.”

  This wasn’t part of their plan. Cody could tell that she really was in agony. Her forehead glistened with perspiration.

  “Not my problem.”

  “What kind of animal are you?”

  The guard grinned. “Animal. I like that.”

  His walkie-talkie crackled. A voice sounded over it: “Heads up, everybody. She’s here.”

  25

  The campground was easy to find. Allison parked in a lot that was filled with other cars, though she wasn’t sure if they belonged to innocent campers or bad guys. She had the eight-inch knife, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to go around slashing tires. She didn’t want the negotiation to start
off on an unpleasant note, and if the criminals wanted to flee from her wrath, she should let them.

  She reached over and scratched the top of Spiral’s head. She wasn’t sure what to do about the cat. If she never returned, she didn’t want him to be trapped in the car, to be discovered by Winlaw or one of his men. But if she set him free, he was pretty much screwed. If there’d been time for a side trip, she would’ve dropped him off at an animal shelter with a promise to claim him after the bloodbath, but she didn’t have any real choice but to leave him in the car and hope for the best.

  She put out food, water, and kitty litter, then walked away from the car.

  Up ahead, a dirt path ran through the center of this area of the campground, with small cabins on each side.

  The phone rang. Winlaw, of course. “Am I in the right place?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “What now?”

  “I’d like you to surrender.”

  “Bring Cody out and I’ll consider it.”

  “How do I know you won’t start killing people left and right?”

  “That doesn’t sound like me,” said Allison. “Oh, wait, yes it does. I’m done playing around. Bring him out, right now, or I’m going to disturb the peace.”

  “Or, you could surrender, right now. Otherwise we’ll roll his severed head at you like a bowling ball.”

  “It won’t go very far on the dirt.”

  “I feel like you aren’t taking me seriously.”

  “I feel like you expect me to just hand total victory over to you. You wanted to have a face-to-face conversation, and I’m here. Let’s do it. I came here to talk. I didn’t come here to surrender.”

  “I’m not sure it’s safe for me to talk to you face-to-face,” said Winlaw.

  “You’ll be fine. Just keep your arm out of reach.”

  “How about I throw you a bone?”

  “To break?”

  Winlaw chuckled. “Good one.”

  “Not really. Don’t patronize me.”

  “I’ll prove to you that Cody is alive and well. Then we’ll talk. Is that acceptable to you?”

  “Sure.”

  Winlaw didn’t want Allison to know which cabin Cody was being held in, but he’d known that he might have to give her this information to keep the conversation going. He switched to the walkie-talkie. “Take Cody outside. Keep him out there just long enough for them to make eye contact, then bring him back inside.”

  Allison saw the door open to the cabin furthest away from her. Cody walked—no, hopped—outside, accompanied by one of Winlaw’s scumbags. He had duct tape binding his hands and feet. He was too far away for Allison to see his facial expression, though “scared” was probably a good guess. He looked reasonably unharmed.

  The scumbag took Cody back inside and closed the door.

  “Satisfied?” Winlaw asked over the phone.

  “For now. Where do you want to talk?”

  “The first cabin on your right.”

  “Prove to me that you’re in there.”

  “And how would you like me to do that?”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Allison asked. “You open the door and wave, asshole. How stupid do you think I am? You think I’m just going to wander into a trap?”

  “Maybe you already have.”

  “And maybe I’ll leave Cody behind and go right back to my car.”

  “I’m sure that wouldn’t impact your ability to sleep at night. I apologize, this whole thing is becoming antagonistic. It’s not going at all the way I’d intended. What I’d like to do, Allison, is offer you a generous salary and all the security you could ever want.”

  “What, you mean, like, secret service? A 401K?”

  “You’ll be safe.”

  “From who?”

  “From the world.”

  “So let me get this straight. You want me to work for you because I’ve demonstrated a charming ability to kill people, and you obviously have people you’d like to see killed. Maybe you’d like to see the competition wiped out, so you’re looking for an assassin-for-hire. I’m a good choice because I look like a helpless middle-aged lady, but the military trained me very well in the art of breaking bones.”

  “Which branch?” asked Winlaw.

  “None of your business. The bone-breaking branch.”

  “I’d make it worth your while.”

  “What kind of people would I have to kill?”

  “The kind who deserve it.”

  “So, pedophiles and rapists? Not your competition? Or are pedophiles and rapists your client base?”

  “I don’t have a kill list. I’d use you when necessary. Otherwise, you could do whatever you want. A life of leisure and luxury. Stick with Cody if you want, or trade up. Anything you want.”

  “That does sound delightful,” said Allison. “You get me Chris Evans and we’ve got a deal. No, Chris Hemsworth. No, Chris Pratt. No, all three. You get me all three of them and we’ve so got a deal.”

  “Are you ready to take this seriously?”

  “Almost.”

  “This offer won’t last very long.”

  “Here’s my counter-offer. Let Cody go, and I’ll think about it. This offer also won’t last very long. In fact, I’ll give you thirty seconds to decide.”

  “And if I say no?”

  “I leave.”

  “Abandoning Cody?”

  “I already said I’d do that. Like, more than once. It’s not new information at this point. I’d hate to think you weren’t paying attention to me.”

  “Are my thirty seconds up?”

  “Getting close.”

  “Can I have another thirty?”

  “Nope.”

  “That’s harsh of you,” said Winlaw.

  “When are we going to stop all of this flirting and just admit that we’re in love with each other?”

  Winlaw chuckled. “Amusing.”

  “Your time is up. Let Cody go.”

  “Or else you’ll leave?”

  “Right. Or maybe I’ll be really unhappy. You don’t want to find out how much of a bitch I can be.”

  Winlaw didn’t respond.

  “You still there?” Allison asked.

  “Sorry, I had to put you on mute for a moment.”

  A man stepped into view from behind one of the cabins. Then another. Then another. Within the next few seconds, about twenty-five people had stepped into the path between the cabins.

  Okay. This was going to be a bit of a challenge.

  “I’m going to give you another chance to surrender,” said Winlaw.

  “I have to hang up now,” Allison informed him. She disconnected the call and shoved the phone into her back pocket.

  All right. She’d expected Cody to be guarded by fewer people. There were way more guys here than she’d taken out in her home, and there she’d had the benefit of the kitchen doorway, forcing them to go after her one at a time.

  But she wasn’t going to surrender.

  And she wasn’t going to run.

  In a best-case scenario, she’d really fuck up the closest guy, and everybody else would say, “Whoa! Let’s get out of here, fellas!” and beat a hasty retreat.

  It could happen.

  Most likely not.

  Allison took a deep breath. She really did not want to die today. But, screw it, it was time to find out just how powerful she truly was.

  She walked forward.

  The group of men walked toward her.

  She didn’t see any guns. That was a promising sign that they were still in kidnap mode instead of kill mode. A lot of them did seem to be holding...were those hypodermic needles?

  Allison had a very definite phobia of needles. It kept her from seeing a doctor, because the needles would create intense anxiety, and the anxiety would kill doctors. She’d known that she’d eventually have to get over it, but she’d expected that moment to happen in a doctor’s office where a kindly physician assured her that it would just be a tiny p
inch, not at a campground with twenty-five needle-wielding psychos coming toward her.

  She took another deep breath.

  “Hey!” she shouted at the group, which was only about fifty feet away. They’d laugh at what she was about to say, but she’d feel better if she gave them a fair warning. “If you have families, this is your chance to leave. If you have spouses or kids or anybody who depends on you, I’m asking you to think about them before this goes any further. I don’t want to create widows or orphans. If you don’t have good medical coverage or a life insurance plan, that’s also something to consider. If this goes further, you’re making your own conscious decision for it to happen, and you all need to weigh your personal responsibility to your loved ones when you make your choice. I’m not trying to devalue your lives if you’re single—I’m single, I’ve been that way forever, and trust me, I get it. I know I’m being kind of long-winded here, so what I’m basically saying is that if you come any closer I’m going to kill all of you, and I now consider you all duly warned of the risk.”

  They didn’t all burst into hysterical laughter, though Allison saw a lot of smiles.

  Nobody left the group.

  Very well, then.

  She ran toward them.

  Maggie winced. “Ah, crap,” she said. “Crap.”

  “What’s wrong with you?” one of the men guarding them asked.

  She ignored the question and let out a groan of pain.

  “You okay?” Cody asked, even though he knew she was.

  “I think the baby is coming!”

  “Are you serious? Now?”

  Maggie frantically nodded.

  “The baby is coming!” Cody told the guards, not that they needed the reminder, because they both looked rather horrified. “Go get somebody!”

  “Who are we supposed to get?”

  “Anybody who knows what they’re doing! Hurry up! She’s having the baby early because of all the stress you put her through!”

  The men looked at each other. Then one of them picked up the walkie-talkie.

  “Uh, Mr. Winlaw?”

  “What?”

  “We’ve got a problem here with the hostages. A possible live birth situation.”