Safe House Under Fire

by Elisabeth Rees

  His cell began to buzz on the dresser beside the bed and he peered at the display. It was Chloe.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” he said, putting her on speakerphone. “I was just thinking about you. It’s late. Is everything okay?”

  “It’s not late, Dad,” she said. “It’s only ten thirty.”

  He laughed. “That’s late for me.”

  “I would’ve called earlier, but Paul came over for coffee.”

  “Paul?”

  “He works at the grocery store with me. I started today.”

  “Oh, right, your new job. How’s it going?”

  “I love it. It’s so much fun and Paul makes me laugh by doing goofy dances and telling lame jokes.”

  Somewhere in David’s belly, a seed planted itself and he knew it would only germinate worry. “So you like this Paul guy, huh?”

  “Yeah, I do. He’s sweet and kind and nice, and although he’s only twenty-five, he’s the assistant manager already. He’s a hard worker.” She was silent for a second. “He’s nothing like Eric.”

  Eric had been the name of her previous boyfriend, the one who had lost his life through his own stupidity.

  “Do you think the two of you might end up going out on a date?” he asked.

  “Maybe. He’s asked me to go to his church youth group and I said I’d think about it.”

  David smiled. This went quite some way to allaying his fears. “You don’t need to think about it, Chloe. You should go.”

  “Dad,” she said, using a tone of voice that reminded him of Astrid. “You know that I like to make my own choices.”

  “Oh, boy, I know that, honey,” he said. “I’ll let you think about it and make your own decision.”

  “Thanks.” Someone in the background called out her name. “I gotta go. One of the other girls in the complex made popcorn and I want to get some while it’s hot. I just called to let you know that my first day at work was awesome.”

  “That’s good news. I’m proud of you.”

  “Love you, Dad. Bye.”

  Then she was gone and David was left to imagine Chloe, his beautiful, fiercely smart daughter stocking shelves while the assistant manager goofed around to make her laugh. This scenario wasn’t meant to be her future and while she was happy, she surely must be disappointed on some level.

  A soft knock sounded on the door. It certainly wasn’t Goldie. She was never that subtle. It must be Lilly or Astrid, whom he had successfully avoided all day by claiming a need to catch up on paperwork. He didn’t want to cause any more arguments than he had already. He had asked Goldie to relay all the important information from headquarters, namely that police patrols had been stepped up and they were doing all they could to find Henderson in the area.

  “Come in,” he called.

  The door opened a little and Lilly stood in the gap, cradling a mug in her hands. She wore a toweling robe over flannel pajamas, and her skin was rosy and shiny, scrubbed free of makeup.

  “Hi,” she said tentatively. “Is everything okay with you?”

  “Sure.”

  “You’ve been pretty busy all evening. I was hoping we could talk about the arguments we’ve been having. We can’t go on like this. You know that, right?”

  “It’s a little late now,” he said. “Let’s get a good night’s sleep first.”

  She nodded her agreement. “I heard you talking on the phone just now. Was it your daughter?”

  “Yeah. It was Chloe. She wanted to tell me about her new job. And potential new boyfriend.”

  Lilly smiled. “Is he nice?”

  “She thinks so, but her judgment has been known to be off in the past.”

  “I guess you want to pin this guy down and give him the daddy warnings, huh?”

  He laughed. “Yes, I do, but that’s not how it works anymore. Apparently, girls get to make their own choices these days.” He held up a hand in case she thought he might be serious. “That was a joke, by the way.”

  “You’re a great father, David. Whatever guilt you’re holding on to, you should know that you’re a great father.”

  This silenced him, and he was surprised to feel a well of emotion bubble up inside. He had tried his best to do the right thing by his daughters, to raise them to be strong and righteous. Yet he never felt proud of the job he’d done. His sense of inadequacy haunted him.

  “Thank you,” he said after a while. “That means a lot to me.”

  “I’m gonna turn in now. I’m bunking with Astrid because she has nightmares.”

  “Goodnight, Lilly. Sleep tight.”

  “Goodnight, David.”

  She closed the door and he set a wake-up alarm on his cell for 6:00 a.m., checked his weapon and laid it on the dresser beside him, said a quick prayer for divine protection during the night and finally rested his head on the pillow. Closing his eyes on the day, he hoped for a quick capture of the man who was hunting them. This assignment needed to be over.

  As quickly as sleep seemed to come, it was broken again by a sound that David had been dreading to hear.

  The fire alarm was shrieking another warning. And this time, he smelled smoke.

  SIX

  David pulled a hooded sweatshirt and pants over his pajamas and rushed out into the hallway, weapon in hand. Goldie had already emerged from her room and was talking on her cell, one finger in her ear to lessen the noise.

  “The maintenance guy says there’s a real fire this time,” she said. “Down in the basement. The fire department should be here soon.”

  This was the work of Henderson. David was sure of it.

  “We gotta get out of here,” he said to Goldie. “Can you arrange for the local patrol units to get here quick and escort us out of the area?”

  “I’ll find a quieter room.”

  Goldie rushed past Lilly just as she came out of Astrid’s room, pulling her hair into a ponytail, bleary-eyed and confused. “What’s going on? What time is it?”

  David checked the clock. “It’s just after 1:00 a.m. There’s a fire in the basement and we need to vacate the apartment immediately. Leave all your belongings behind and someone will retrieve them later.”

  She looked down at her robe and slippers. “Can’t we get dressed first?”

  “There’s no time. I want to be out of here before the fire department arrives, so we only have five or six minutes at the most.”

  Lilly wrinkled her brows. “You’re talking like they’re the bad guys.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of, Lilly,” he said. “Henderson might be masquerading as a firefighter again, and if they’re all wearing masks, we have no way of knowing who to trust.” He pointed to her open bedroom door. “Go get Astrid and let’s leave.”

  But Astrid was already one step ahead of her mother, emerging from the room fully dressed and eager to escape the danger.

  “I only packed the essentials,” she said pulling on her backpack. “I left everything else.”

  “Smart kid,” David said. “Hold hands with your mom and keep your wits about you. We’ll head for the car in the basement lot, but if access is blocked by the fire, we’ll go out front and wait for the police. Got it?”

  Both Lilly and Astrid nodded, finding each other’s hands and gripping tight.

  “Two local patrols are on their way to meet us in the lot,” Goldie said, striding through the hallway purposefully. “ETA of three minutes. We all ready to go?” She approached the front door as someone knocked briskly from the other side, and she put her eye to the spy hole. “The fire department got here really quick. It looks like they’re doing door-to-door checks.”

  She turned the locks just as David realized what she’d said and shouted, “Goldie! No! Don’t do it.”

  It was too late. She had forgotten about Henderson’s latest disguise, and once the doo
r had been opened just a crack, it flew wide with a bang, kicked firmly by a firefighter’s boot. Then Goldie was struck across the head with a baton, flung sideways into the wall with a yelp and knocked out by the blow. A figure dressed in a yellow-and-black firefighter’s uniform and full oxygen mask stepped calmly over her.

  David barely had enough time to draw his weapon before Henderson did the same and, three feet apart, they began a tense standoff.

  Astrid screamed and Lilly whimpered, but David shielded them.

  “I just want the woman and the girl,” Henderson said from behind his mask. “Give them to me and I’ll let you live.”

  David narrowed his eyes to better see the face behind the breathing apparatus. As usual, Henderson had gone to great lengths to obscure his identity, making it impossible for David to accurately identify him.

  “Lilly,” David said, not moving his eyes off Henderson. “Take Astrid into the bathroom and lock the door. Make a barricade with whatever’s there. Don’t worry. I’ll come for you soon.”

  They vanished without a word, while Henderson inched slightly to his left to watch their departure along the hall, his agitation growing. Both men maintained their weapons on each other throughout, aiming at the head, concentration unwavering. Meanwhile, the alarm continued its high-pitched wail, heightening the tension between them.

  “You’re making a big mistake,” Henderson said. “You’re gonna end up dead too.”

  “So shoot me,” David replied. “You’ll be dead before I hit the ground, I can promise you that.”

  “Give me the women.” Each word seemed to be spat. “Now.”

  “Take off your mask, Gilbert.” If Henderson revealed his identity, David could file another charge against him, one of assault against Goldie. But without that definite identification, the charge would never stick. “Let me see your face.”

  “Give it a rest, McQueen.” The voice held a hint of a smile. “Don’t be a hero.”

  The men began to skirt the room. “You remember me, huh?” David said. “I was working your case when you had your partner murdered in jail ten years ago. I’ve been waiting a long time to put you away.”

  “And you’ll be waiting forever, because I’ll outsmart you every single time you get close. Hand me the women and I give you my word that I’ll let you live.”

  David’s hackles rose. “You’re a coward and a thief and a pathetic excuse for a man. Back slowly out of the apartment and I will let you live. How about that?”

  Henderson laughed. “There’s only one thing I hate more than cops, and that’s FBI agents, especially the self-righteous ones.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  Voices began to sound in the main hallway of the complex, fire officers calling out to residents, knocking on doors, urging them to evacuate.

  “This the fire department,” someone yelled above the alarm. “Please vacate your apartments immediately. This is not a drill.”

  Henderson looked to the door, back at David and to the door again, seemingly assessing his options. Goldie murmured on the floor, turning over on the carpet and bringing her hand to her head in grogginess.

  “This is your last chance, McQueen,” Henderson said. “Step aside and give me what I want.”

  David simply took a step forward, his gun nearing Henderson’s forehead. “I’d rather take a bullet.”

  In his peripheral vision, he saw a firefighter appear in the doorway, standing in apparent confusion, looking down at Goldie on the carpet, at the door kicked off one of its hinges and finally at the standoff in the living room.

  “What the...?” he began.

  In a split second, Henderson made a break for the door, shoving the firefighter roughly aside and running out into the corridor. David gave chase, determined not to allow him to escape, not again.

  “There are two women and a teenage girl in that apartment,” he called to the firefighter as he ran. “Evacuate them and take them to the nearest police officer.”

  He then trained his sights on his nemesis, whose heavy clothing and mask made his pace slow and clumsy. Henderson stopped at the stairwell, turned and fired a shot, causing David to dive to the floor. He then disappeared through the door.

  David scrambled to his feet and raced after him, pushing the door with his shoulder and raising his weapon. Just ahead, he saw a flash of yellow and black disappear down the stairs and vaulted the bannister to cut him off. He practically landed on top of the running figure, knocking him to the ground in a twist of limbs.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” a voice yelled. “Get off me.”

  David leaped to his feet. This guy wasn’t Henderson.

  “I’m so sorry, sir,” he said, offering a hand to assist him to stand. “I thought you were someone else.” He produced his badge. “I’m an FBI agent. Did you just see a man dressed as a firefighter come this way?”

  The man stood, straightened his jacket. “The whole building is filled with men dressed as firefighters, and we need to be able to do our jobs without being attacked. The basement fire is small but we’re evacuating as a precaution. Step aside please, sir, and do not interfere with our duties again.”

  David holstered his weapon, allowed the man to pass. “I apologize.”

  Running back up the stairs to the apartment, he knew he’d have to allow Henderson an easy escape. The firefighter disguise was all too perfect in an emergency situation. And while Goldie was injured, she could offer no defense to Lilly and Astrid.

  His next course of action should involve figuring out who was feeding Henderson information about their whereabouts. It was time to accept that there was definitely a mole within the FBI.

  Someone was betraying them.

  * * *

  Lilly sat on her bed, wondering whether it was worth unpacking her clothes in this third safe house. The stress of constantly moving around was beginning to take its toll, and the rings under her eyes told the whole story.

  Astrid had been subdued too, still in shock after being confronted by a fake firefighter brandishing a gun. Yet David’s fierce protection of them seemed to have given her a new admiration, and she had stuck close to him ever since. She was now in the enormous kitchen of their temporary home, a brand-new, detached house on a deserted cul-de-sac. It had never been lived in before and smelled of fresh paint and carpet. Astrid adored the house straight away, especially the kitchen gadgets, and had insisted on making breakfast, after which everybody would surely be ready to catch up on a lost night’s sleep.

  A knock sounded on the door and David stuck his head into the room. “Hey, you,” he said. “You want some breakfast soon? Astrid is making a huge stack of pancakes.”

  “Sure.” She forced a smile. “You two seem to be getting along well at last.”

  He came into the room. “I’m treading carefully but she’s warming to me. She’s gone a whole hour without calling me old.”

  She tried to smile at the joke. “Thanks for taking care of her, David. I’ve needed a little time to gather my thoughts.”

  He sat on the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay. More importantly, how is Goldie?”

  “She’s as tough as they come, so she’s doing fine. The paramedics said there’s no sign of concussion and she’s helping Astrid make the pancakes while they both dance around the kitchen with the radio on. It’s helping them release some tension.”

  “That’s good.”

  “And we got a decent lead on Henderson at last. The police found his hideout this morning, and it looks like he got out in a hurry because he left a lot of things behind, including a bunch of stolen IDs. That means we know his aliases and we can start to track each one. Hopefully one of them will strike gold.”

  She smiled. “That’s even better news.”

  He took her hand, his palm soft and warm agai
nst her cold one.

  “I know this is hard on you,” he said. “And I give you my word that we’ve stepped up security procedures to make sure you stay safe. There are two FBI agents stationed in the empty house across the street, constantly watching and reporting back on any suspicious activity.”

  “But how do we know we can trust them?”

  “I’ve known these guys for twenty years and I’d lay down my life for each of them. They’d do the same for me. We can trust them.”

  Lilly shifted to cover her face with her hands, gripped by the thought that they could shortly be moving again, destined to flee from place to place in an effort to escape a killer.

  “Then who is giving us away?” A thought struck her. “Do you think it could be Goldie?”

  “Absolutely not. Goldie is as honest as they come.”

  “I’m sorry for doubting her,” Lilly said. “But this situation is making me paranoid. I’m not sure who to trust anymore.”

  He took her hand again. “You can trust me. You know that, right?”

  Despite all the arguments and recriminations and bad feelings, Lilly knew with certainty that she could rely on this man. He had proven his goodness.

  “Yes, I trust you. Implicitly.”

  “Great,” he said. “And I trust you too.”

  She laughed. “Well, at least we agree on something.”

  “I think we agree on a lot of things,” David said. “We just don’t know how to show it.”

  Lilly was unconvinced. “What do we agree on?”

  “We agree that children need love and guidance and good role models. We agree on working hard and providing for your family and taking responsibility for your own situation. We agree that faith gives us the strength to keep going when times are tough. We agree that bananas should be banned in all fifty states for crimes against taste buds.”

  She laughed and leaned against him. “I don’t remember telling you that I hate bananas.”

  “Astrid told me. She also told me you love avocados, pink nail polish and swimming. Although not all at the same time.”