Abby stopped in front of the office door and listened. There was no more talking, but she could hear heavy boots hitting the concrete floor as the soldiers walked around. Hopefully they were still grouped together. Abby gently slid the door open, pulling it towards her with only one finger. Her eyes darted left and right as the door turned on its hinges. So far, so good. Once it was halfway open, Abby dared to reveal part of her head, glancing around outside the office. Two soldiers were along the far wall, pulling out the contents of a large container. Their backs were to Abby at the moment but that could change in an instant. She squeezed her body through the opening and took one long, bounding leap forward, and then another to place her behind the shipping container she had hidden behind just moments ago.
No one saw her move. Abby glided back towards the service door and once again looked around, this time inspecting both the inside of the warehouse and the area just outside of the door. A soldier down on the other side of the warehouse was facing Abby, but he did not appear very alert. Someone’s voice caught his attention and he turned his head to the left, giving Abby a small window that she immediately took advantage of. She darted towards the door, slipping through it and crouching in the shadow of the building, just like she had been before going inside.
The sweat from Abby’s neck and face worked its way down her back, chest, and arms. Now it was time for the most difficult and uncertain part of this robbery: the clean getaway. There was a single door in the fence on the west side of the lot, opposite of the main gate, but it was under constant watch by one soldier. It was not at all a suitable option for going in, but it might just work for getting out. At the very least, it was the least problematic escape route that Hiamovi and Abby could come up with.
They had noticed during their stake-out that whenever the man guarding this door had to relieve himself, he would go over to a short row of three port-o’-John’s along the fence near the door. Another soldier would come take his place, but without fail the man guarding the door would head out before his temporary replacement arrived. Zach would have shook his head at this flagrant complacency, Abby thought.
If Abby could hide near this door, behind the small group of boxes in an L-shape just behind the door guard, she could eventually get a very small window in which to leave via this gate. If this failed, or if it took too long, then Jay and Hiamovi would make a distraction for Abby by pretending to stage a break-in, drawing attention away from Abby and hopefully allowing her to slip away (and, as a possible benefit, this would make the guards believe they had thwarted an attempted robbery instead of believing they had been subject to one).
Abby slid along the exterior of the warehouse, moving from east to west. She checked around the corner and saw the man guarding the door. The boxes she and Hiamovi had designated as Abby’s hiding spot were about fifteen yards away, and only a few feet behind the soldier. Moving with all the grace and steadiness that could be expected of a talented dancer, Abby quickly made her way to the boxes and crouched in the corner they created, almost completely shrouded in darkness. And now she just had to wait.
It was a long, agonizing wait for Abby, and she was beginning to fear that they would have to resort to the much more chaotic and much less practical backup plan when the soldier finally grabbed his hand-held radio and said, “Jack, this is Paul. Gonna take a leak.”
After a moment’s pause, a voice came over the radio. “Okay, uhhh… we’re pretty busy in here. I’m not gonna bother sending you someone, so just make it quick.”
“Yeah, sure,” the man replied.
Abby could hardly believe what she had heard. “The rest of this year is going to suck. I’m using up all my good luck in one night!” she thought. She heard the squeaky, blue plastic door of the port-o’-John open and then slam back shut. Abby took a quick glance to her left and right and, seeing no one, made her move. She slid over the top of the box she had crouched behind and dashed for the door. She pulled it open just enough to squeeze her thin body through and, keeping the knob twisted, gently pulled it back into place, only then allowing the lock to slide back home.
A euphoric feeling washed over Abby as she jogged quietly away, but she kept her joy contained. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, as she was still breaking the law by being out late at night. If she was caught, she would be in a pretty big pickle, especially considering the fact that she had a phone with some footage on it that an authority figure would find very interesting. She retraced her steps back to where she had last seen Hiamovi, looking for him or Jay.
“Abby!” someone whispered from across the street. Abby looked to her right and saw Hiamovi and Jay waving her over to them. She bounded across the dark, empty road and joined up with her comrades, who escorted her quickly into an alley.
“Come with me, I’m gonna show you a good route to get home unnoticed,” Hiamovi said. Jay bade them farewell and took off on his own. He lived on the other side of town, in the opposite direction that Hiamovi and Abby needed to go. Hiamovi meanwhile took Abby by the hand and said, “This way.” He led her down the alley and turned left at the end of it. They both then ran across the road and into a dark, condemned building. In this fashion, dashing across empty roads and pausing in desolate buildings, Hiamovi eventually led Abby all the way back to their apartment complex.
“I’m going up to my place to get something,” Hiamovi said as they climbed up the main stairwell. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Abby nodded her head and opened the door to the third floor, heading down the hall towards her apartment. Once she was safely in her home again, with a locked door between herself and the outside world, Abby’s heart finally started to slow down. She felt exhausted as the adrenaline rush wore off and her fears of being captured subsided. She set the phone down on her coffee table and then changed into shorts and a plain tee shirt. Hiamovi would be back at any moment, so she just sat on the armrest of her couch and waited for him.
As expected, a subtle, quiet knock on Abby’s door came in just a few moments. Abby padded across the soft carpet of her living room and opened the door for her partner in crime. Hiamovi walked in and Abby shut and locked the door behind him. When Abby turned back around, Hiamovi was leaning against the wall, holding something behind his back and wearing a mischievous grin, one that a young boy has when he has gotten an idea for something fun but also against the rules. Abby smirked and asked, “Okay. What do you have?”
“I’ll give you three guesses,” Hiamovi responded.
“A book, a table, a pen,” Abby spat out, not in the mood for games and genuinely wanting to know what Hiamovi was holding.
“Close but no cigar,” Hiamovi replied. He walked towards the couch, keeping his secret object out of sight, and then sat down and said, “But don’t worry. I promised you a reward, so here it is.” He lifted his arm up to reveal a short, fat bottle containing an amber-hued liquid.
“Isn’t that your granddad’s liquor?” Abby asked with an amused smile on her face.
“Rum, to be specific. And a very good rum. Pre-Crisis,” Hiamovi said as he uncorked the bottle, ignoring the question of ownership. “I figured that since we acted like thieving pirates, we should drink like thieving pirates.”
He motioned for Abby to come sit next to him. She hesitated, scratching her forearm, but she could not say no to Hiamovi’s cheerful grin. She shook her head and walked over to the couch, sitting down right next to Hiamovi, her leg brushing against his.
Hiamovi handed Abby the bottle and she took it, swirling the rum around inside of it. She’d drank whiskeys and vodkas before, tried a few wines, but never rum. She put her nose to the bottle and sniffed, finding quite a pleasant, slightly citrusy aroma.
As Abby pulled the bottle up to her lips, Hiamovi slapped her hand and said, “Nope, not like that. First you have to say something piratey.”
“Say something piratey?” Abby repeated.
“Yeah, like this,” Hiamovi said. He snatched the bottle back from Abby, held
it out at arm’s length, and said, “Shiver me timbers!” He then took a pull from the bottle and swallowed the warm rum before looking back at Abby. Her lips were pursed together as she tried not to burst out in a fit of laughter. “Now you try,” Hiamovi said as he handed the bottle back to her.
Abby took the bottle and rested it on her thigh, wearing a small grin and looking down at the ground. She looked up at Hiamovi, who raised his eyebrows at her and again motioned for her to do as he had done. Abby sighed and shook her head, then lifted the bottle high above her head, closed her eyes, and gave a spirited, “Avast mateys!”
Unlike Abby, Hiamovi could not control his laughter and his loud cackling forced Abby to join him. She calmed herself down for a moment so she could drink, taking a quick swig of the warm and sweet liquid. It was quite good, Abby thought. She’d have to try to get a bottle of her own next time she was in the market, if it was even still available. According to the label, it was imported from Guyana, South America.
“By the way, great job today. I mean it. You’ve got some real ninja skills,” Hiamovi said.
“Thanks,” Abby said. She took another drink of the rum before handing the bottle back to Hiamovi.
“You even charmed an unsuspecting young soldier into divulging secret information. Well done, indeed,” Hiamovi said with a smirk, and then lifted the bottle of rum to his lips and began to drink.
“And all I had to do was show him my boobs,” Abby replied.
Hiamovi jerked forward and spat out a mouthful of rum when he heard this, coughing and gagging. Abby laughed as she watched him try to regain his composure. “You’re cleaning that off my table, you know,” she told him.
“Fair enough,” Hiamovi said in a wheezy voice as he got up and walked into the kitchen. He spent a moment opening some drawers and then returned with a dishcloth. He coughed once or twice more while he wiped down Abby’s coffee table and then said, “You made that up… right?”
Abby allowed a suspenseful moment of silence to pass before saying, “Of course I made that up. You’re crazy if you think I’d flash someone like that.”
“To be fair, I didn’t actually think you did. But seriously, has anyone ever told you that you have an amazing poker face?”
“Uh… yeah,” Abby muttered. Her smile faded and was replaced by a contemplative frown. It was not just anyone who had told her that, after all. It had been a very special someone, someone that she had failed over and over again.
Hiamovi noticed her sudden change in demeanor. “Was… that a stupid thing to ask?” he said. He was learning to be very careful with the words he used around Abby. She seemed to have countless triggers that could bring back her painful history, and each time Abby would retreat back into her cocoon, undoing all her progress.
“No. No, I’m sorry. Just ignore me,” Abby replied quietly.
The two of them sat in awkward silence as seconds slowly ticked by. Hiamovi set the bottle of rum down on the floor and leaned in close to Abby. “I know you’re not too keen on touching,” he said, “but you need this.”
Then he hugged her.
This caught Abby off guard, and her whole body went stiff. She was surprised when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Even more surprising was how Hiamovi had simply showed her support and did not try to hunt down more information about her personal life. He understood that this was something Abby had to go through at her own pace and on her own terms.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she put her arms around Hiamovi to return the hug. They separated after a few seconds, but Hiamovi let one of his hands linger on Abby’s shoulder as they stared into each other’s eyes. Neither of them was sure where he was going with this, and both were certain that the other would now make an excuse to get up from the couch, but nothing happened.
Another eternal moment passed, and still nothing happened.
Hiamovi finally found the courage to act first. He leaned in again and gently kissed Abby on the lips. Her eyebrows arched up in shock, and the kiss lasted for only a couple of seconds before Hiamovi pulled back and looked into Abby’s confused eyes, waiting for her to react in some way.
“Excuse me?” she finally said. “Who the hell do you think you are just leaning in and planting one on me like that? I’m over here trying to be cool and have a piratey drink with you and then you go and get a girl all emotional!”
“I… I’m sorry, I just kinda… went for it,” Hiamovi stammered.
“Don’t apologize, dummy. It’s not like it was bad,” Abby said, again showing her uncertainty of her own emotions. On the one hand she still had a strong aversion to physical contact, but on the other she really did like Hiamovi, and she really liked his kiss. “But how about you ask me before you pull a stunt like that? Didn’t that cross your mind? Next time, ask!”
“Yeah, I will,” Hiamovi replied, looking down at the floor and feeling pretty embarrassed.
Abby watched him. She was not mad… in fact, she was not sure how exactly she felt. It was a really weird emotional cocktail that she had just been served, and she was trying to figure out the best way to deal with it.
She folded her arms across her chest and cocked her head to the side. “Well,” she said, “are you going to ask me or not?”
Hiamovi looked up, his eyes flitting from left to right in confusion. “May I kiss you?” he finally whispered.
Abby feigned a look of contemplation before nodding her head. Hiamovi scooted closer to Abby. There was a glow in her eyes that he had never seen before, like looking into burning pools of molten silver fresh from the furnace. He placed his hand along one side of her head, gently running his fingers through her fine, soft hair. And then he kissed her again. This time, Abby kissed him back, resting her hands against his chest.
It seemed like they did not part their lips until much, much later, but it also felt far too short. So they kissed each other again, and then again. They finally broke off their passionate embrace, but stayed gazing at each other for a few moments more.
“Well… I should probably get to bed,” Abby whispered. “I have to work in the morning.”
“Yeah, granddad wants me to start transcribing everything from the video,” Hiamovi said as he walked to Abby’s coffee table to retrieve the phone.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Definitely.”
“Okay. Good night,” Abby said, smiling sheepishly. Hiamovi grinned and waved, but did not say a word as he left Abby’s apartment.
Abby locked her front door, checked all of her windows, but did not go straight to bed. Her mind was racing at a million miles per hour. Hiamovi was all she could think about, and countless questions ran through her mind. Where had that passion come from? Was it the rum? The adrenaline? True love? Was she a good kisser? Did Hiamovi enjoy it? Was that just a one-time thing? Were they an ‘item’ now? Would they have to kiss every time they said goodbye?
Abby grunted as she went into the kitchen to retrieve a small glass and a bottle of whiskey. She’d already had a couple drinks of rum, might as well get good and drunk, Abby figured.
Chapter Twenty
Abby awoke to the sound of the alarm on her wristwatch the next morning, feeling like a big brass band was jamming away inside her head. Groaning, she slowly sat up and disrobed for her morning shower. After cleaning up, she got dressed for work, ate an apple, and filled a bottle with water from the sink. The last thing she did before heading out the door was to grab her lighter and a pack of cigarettes, taking one out for the walk to work.
Showing up to work hungover was not unusual for Abby, and no one seemed to mind as long as she did her job well, which she always did. After a rocky start, Abby had become quite the exceptional grill cook, and she enjoyed the work. It kept her mind engaged and, not counting the waitresses telling her what they needed or the other grill cooks asking for help, she didn’t have to talk to anyone.
Well, except for Hiamovi. He still visited Abby at work often, sitting up at the coun
ter that looked into the open kitchen so he could talk to her while she worked. But of course she no longer minded that. Abby was just beginning to wonder if she’d see Hiamovi during her shift when the bell above the door jingled, announcing the entrance of a guest.
“Hiya, Abby!” Hiamovi called as he sat in his usual spot and set a newspaper on the counter.
She really was happy to see him, but the thundering inside her head prevented Abby from giving a cordial response or even a smile. On top of that, she was still a little uncertain about how to interact with Hiamovi now that she’d kissed him, and he was entirely too cheery this early in the morning. Abby waved her fingers at him and returned to the pancakes on the grill in front of her.
“Those smell delicious, as usual,” Hiamovi said, pointing at the pancakes.
“Please no small talk,” Abby replied. “My head is killing me.”
“Really? You have some more drinks after I left last night?”
Abby shot him a glance that spelled out ‘duh’.
“After you left last night?” asked one of the waitresses who just entered the kitchen with an order for Abby. “Damn, girl, you finally take him to second base?”
Abby snatched the little paper from the waitress, giving her a withering glare in return. The waitress just laughed, grabbed a pitcher of ice water, and returned to the guests in the diner.
Hiamovi was blushing, Abby noticed, but he also seemed quite pleased with the idea that someone thought the two of them had gotten intimate. If Abby was being honest, she didn’t really mind that idea either. Not too much, at least. However, still knee-deep in a hangover, Abby was in no mood for that kind of imagination.
“Co-workers, huh?” Hiamovi said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the waitress.
“Oh my God, no small talk!” Abby repeated as she prepared the food for the order the waitress had given her.
“Alright, alright… cranky,” Hiamovi said, teasing her. “Just give me some of those pancakes then. Oh, and can you make them into a fun shape too? Like a dog’s face, you know? With a big round face and two little round ears.”
His Name Was Zach (Book 2): Her Name Was Abby Page 21
