“Where are we?” She peered into the darkened room as Adlai rolled the bike out.
“My place. Dropping the bike off. We don’t need it tonight.”
Stell tried to make out details of the apartment in the darkness but could only sense its size. Their footsteps echoed and the dim lights of the city below barely pierced the enormous grated windows that covered one wall. She assumed they would go back down in the elevator; instead, Adlai pushed open one of the glass panes and climbed out into the darkness.
“You coming?”
He was halfway to the roof as she scrambled out the window, a rusty fire escape groaning under his heavy boots. She climbed quickly to join him and they headed off across the tar paper expanse of the roof. At this end of town, the buildings were close, sometimes touching, and the two acul ‘ads moved from building to building easily.
At the end of a long block of warehouses, he darted right and headed to the raised edge of the roofline. Not waiting to see if she had followed, he gripped a cluster of drainpipes and swung down into the darkness below. Stell knelt on the edge of the roof and watched as he shimmied down the pipes, slipped onto the narrow ledge, and pounded the window frame. She couldn’t see how he held on, his grip on the brick maintained with the tips of his fingers, but at last the window gave way. The upper half of the pane vanished within the building, the lower half swung out, and Adlai shifted his balance and leapt inside. A moment later, he stuck his head out and looked up at Stell.
“What are you? The lookout? Let’s go, Slick.”
Without a thought, Stell slipped off the edge of the roof, trusting Adlai, trusting her own strength, and shimmied down the pipes, along the ledge, and in through the open window. She followed Adlai through a maze of broken pallets and crates, industrial shelving, and massive columns of faded cardboard boxes. She followed him up into the metal catwalk that crisscrossed the ceiling of the loading area. He circled the large room, checking for lines of sight, and settled down on a rusted metal plate overlooking the largest of the loading bay doors.
“What are we doing?” Stell asked, sitting down beside him.
“Waiting to find out if some friends of mine are getting ripped off. I’ve got a buddy who moves precious stones for people. It’s about eighty percent legit, if you know what I mean.” Stell nodded, not knowing what he meant. “So there’s been some talk that one of his employees has been ripping him off a little bit here and there and has now decided to make one final haul. The word is that if this cat’s grabbed a bundle, he’s going to be moving them here tonight for a large sum of cash.”
“What if it’s not true?”
Adlai shrugged. “If it’s not true, we spend a night chilling in a dirty warehouse. If it is true and that piece of shit shows up with Boxi’s diamonds, it’s going to end really badly.”
“For him.”
“For all of them.”
“How many do you think it will be?” Stell bit her lip and Adlai chuckled.
“Enough. For both of us.”
She swung her feet, her body gearing up at the thought of the excitement to come. Her eyes scanned the doors, willing someone to enter.
“Relax. We’ve got some time to kill, so to speak. The drop’s not until three a.m., although if there’s going to be a double cross, somebody will be here early to get into position.”
“What do you mean, double cross?”
“These are bad guys, Stell. They cheat and steal and rip each other off. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind cheating and stealing but when it comes to the common, they’ll cheat the eyes right out of your head. Supposedly the deal is with some Russians and they’re usually good for some ugly gunplay so we’re going to sit here and see who shows up. If a sharpshooter shows up first and gets into position, we’ll know the deal is on and we know he’ll probably do most of the killing for us.”
“Not all of it, right?”
Adlai laughed out loud. “No, sweetheart, not all of it, I promise.”
In less than an hour, a door groaned somewhere beneath and to the left of them. They leaned over the railing and watched as a slim man in a black jacket and watch cap darted through the loading area. Putting his finger to his lips for silence, Adlai slipped to his feet and pulled Stell up with him. Below them, the sharpshooter scanned the warehouse, looking for a hiding place, and spotted the ladder up into the catwalk. The sounds of his feet banging on the metal steps hid the sounds of Adlai and Stell as they climbed up into the girders in the ceiling. The sniper ran quickly and silently across the catwalk, choosing to set up his shot less than three feet from where they had been seated just moments before. Adlai looked bored as he watched the man screw a silencer onto a large gun he had pulled from his jacket pocket.
“They’ll be here within a half hour.” His breath was hot on Stell’s ear as he whispered to her and a shiver of anticipation rippled through her. Another metallic clanging sounded below and the sniper hunkered down, frozen in place.
“I’ll be damned.” Adlai shook his head.
“What is it?”
He pointed to a dark figure climbing a tall stack of cartons to the right of the loading door. The figure made it to the top of the stack and lay down on his stomach, propped up on his elbows. In his hands was a long gun much like that of the sniper above him.
“That is proof that there’s nobody like the common for screwing a deal.” He pulled Stell close to him so he could whisper in her ear. Her body was already heating up as the adrenaline began to pump. “The good news is there are going to be a lot more people than we expected. The bad news is they’re all going to be killing each other. Son of a bitch, it’s a wonder we ever get to kill them.”
The catwalk sniper checked his aim, ready to kill the gunman below him. Stell looked from one to the other. “So who works for who? Which one is the bad guy?”
“They both are and they’re both going to die. This guy,” he pointed to the sniper on the catwalk, “is just going to live a little longer, since he’s going to start the killing for us.”
As if on cue, the sniper on the catwalk leveled his gun and with a whistling ssst, the gunman on the crates below collapsed off his elbows, his head turned at an uncomfortable angle. Adlai glanced at Stell. “Nice shot. We’re going to have to take him out quickly. Why don’t you hang here behind him while I get in position by the ladder. Once the shooting starts, you drop this guy quick. We’ll wait for the gunplay to die down and anyone left standing is ours. Sound good?”
Stell nodded, shifting on the girder to let Adlai crabwalk past her. He moved quickly over the girders, crossing the space over the loading area silently. Stell watched him, enjoying the sight of the muscles of his back and arms as he balanced himself and jumped from beam to beam. Restlessness pricked at her own muscles and she swore she could taste the blood that would soon be spilled below.
Stell could smell the adrenaline pumping in the common below her. He wiped his hands on his pants then reestablished his grip on the gun. It was time.
A small man with long arms stepped into the loading bay holding a briefcase. He was joined by an even smaller man whose hands were stuffed deep in the pockets of his varsity jacket. The two whispered to each other, scanning the room. The steel door beside the darkened office swung open, a sliver of streetlight casting the new arrivals in dramatic shadow.
Even Stell paused at the impressive entrance. Four men, the Russians, she presumed, clogged the doorway, their long coats filling out their already impressive bulk. One man stepped forward, the other three falling into step behind him as all six met in the middle of the warehouse floor. Stell couldn’t make out their words but saw the long-armed man open his briefcase and pull out a cloth pouch. From among the Russian giants, one man pulled out a matching case, opening it to reveal neat stacks of money. The conversation was brief, the packages exchanged hands, and both parties began to retreat.
The two skinny men almost made it into the shadows of the door. The sniper caught the long-ar
med one, who collapsed in a heap. His partner’s skinniness turned out to be an asset as he twisted and leapt, avoiding a spray of bullets and diving behind a pallet of wooden crates. The sniper rose to find him, never hearing Stell as she dropped onto the catwalk behind him. One quick snap of his neck and he folded gracefully upon himself. She hurried to catch up to Adlai, who hung from the top rung of the ladder while guns popped and bullets whistled below.
“Looks like Boxi’s guy brought more backup.” Adlai pointed to a hunched figure behind a forklift, firing from a protected spot. “They knew what was going down tonight. Ouch, that’s gonna hurt.” Adlai chuckled as one of the Russians spun from a ricocheted shot.
They watched the drama unfold beneath them, men chasing each other, firing wildly, screaming and swearing, each side taking turns losing its advantage.
Stell made a sound of impatience. “They’ll all be dead before we get down there.”
“Give it a minute.” Adlai scanned the scene. He could see two Russians out of commission, soaking in their own blood. The third, with an exploded knee, howled in pain and Stell could see the jagged hole in his shoulder as well. He wouldn’t last long. That left one giant Russian lurking in the aisles unhurt. The surprise second shooter hid in the shadows.
“Two men left standing. How’s that suit you?” Stell nodded and they slid down the ladder. They moved behind the Russian hunter, whose gun pointed up toward the ceiling.
“C’mon,” the Russian yelled. “Let’s finish this. I promise I’ll kill ya quick.”
Adlai peeled off to the left, knowing where the skinny man was hiding with senses unavailable to the big gangster. Stell stayed in step with her prey, relishing the sight of his thick neck peeking out above his woolen collar.
“There’s no way you’re getting out of this building alive. You’re in way over your head. I’m gonna find ya and I’m gonna put a bullet right between your eyes. Now if you’re a good boy and stop wasting my time, maybe I won’t spend the next six months tracking down every member of your family and popping a cap in their asses too. What do ya say?”
“Fuck you!” Stell recognized Adlai’s voice but the gangster had only one man in mind.
“You stupid S-O-B.” He took off running toward the voice, stepping out into the open floor of the warehouse only to stop short. “What the . . . ?”
Stell slipped out beside him and saw what made him stop in his tracks. Adlai stood behind the other gunman, holding him up under his armpits, his mouth locked in a bloody bite on the limp man’s neck. The Russian stared, trying to absorb what he was seeing, muttering incoherent questions as he watched a thick ribbon of blood spill onto the floor in front of him. Stell clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle a giggle as Adlai pulled his mouth from his meal and held the body out on his arm like a salesman showing a suit.
“Did you want some?” He smiled at the gangster, his mouth coated in gore.
“What the . . . ? Get the . . .” He lifted the gun with a shaky hand and Stell vaulted onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and burying her teeth in the fleshy softness of his throat. She tore at his skin, her bite like iron as blood erupted.
The large man screamed at the pain, swatting at this unseen assailant as he spun, trying to shake her off, trying to keep his balance as blood loss and panic overwhelmed him. The screams echoed through the warehouse, ringing like bells in her ear, and she swallowed again and again. She could feel the pulse of death coming. She tightened her grip on the large man, who managed somehow to stay on his feet. They cut back and forth across the floor like dancers, Stell swaying to his erratic rhythm.
Adlai watched, enthralled, his own blood high making his eyes glitter. Neither saw the gun nor heard the scream of the man on the floor behind them, he of the exploded knee and destroyed shoulder, who summoned up the strength for one last act of courage.
Squinting one sweat-filled eye and rolling onto his ravaged shoulder, the fallen Russian raised his gun one last time and fired, hoping if not to kill the fiends, then to at least put his fellow countryman out of his misery.
The bullet pierced Stell’s side, making her cry out, breaking her seal on the man’s throat. She dropped to her feet, her victim falling like a tree in front of her, as she twisted her body to see the wound on her back. A cloud of blood darkened the back of her shirt and Stell spun in circles trying to see the back of her waist.
“Shit, shit, shit! Ow, this hurts! Ow!”
Adlai dropped on the gunman, driving his knee into the bloody pulp of the man’s damaged leg. The man screamed, helpless to stop Adlai from ripping the gun from his hands and tossing it into the darkness.
“Let me see, Stell.”
Stell turned her back and lifted her shirt, hopping from one foot to another like a child who had to pee. “Did he shoot me? Is that a bullet? Goddam it!” Her voice was shrill, full of blood but not high from a kill. “Am I bleeding? It hurts!”
“Yeah, the blood’s stopping but you gotta get high or that’s gonna take longer to heal.”
Stell saw the obviously dead body of her target. “He’s dead! He’s dead and I didn’t get it. Damn it!” She spun on her attacker, who continued to scream with what voice he had left. “I’m gonna tear your fucking head off!”
Adlai caught her with one arm. “You don’t want to tear his head off, Stell.”
“Yes I do and then I’m gonna shove it up his ass. He shot me!” She hung from Adlai’s outstretched arm, screaming into the dying man’s face, spraying him with blood and spit.
“Finish him, Stell. Let him die in your mouth. You’ve gotta get high. Hurry, there’s not much left in him.”
Stell swore again as Adlai dropped her onto the man beneath her. She tore into his throat with even more savagery than usual. As the blood drained from his body, the last thing he heard was his own skin tearing and a sickening sucking sound. The room slipped into darkness quickly and for the last three seconds of his life the Russian was grateful for death.
When the room exploded in light, Stell heard the musical sound of bells. Falling back on her heels, she stared up into the expanse of the warehouse, marveling at its transition to soaring cathedral, its grimy windows now brilliant stained-glass masterpieces. The sound washed over her as the dust motes glittered like floating diamonds. Her head lolled on her shoulders, her eyes rolling to find the source of that magical sound. It was Adlai, still kneeling, with his head thrown back laughing. The sound banged around the empty space, doubling and tripling in size.
“ ‘I’m gonna tear your fucking head off and shove it up your ass.’ ” Adlai howled, clutching his stomach in laughter. “Where did you learn that?”
“On TV.”
He collapsed on the floor, trying to catch his breath, then rolled onto his back and stared into the glittering darkness.
“I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much.”
Stell crawled toward him, tracking gore on her knees. “Are you laughing at me?”
He looked up at her, his black pupils obliterating the blue of his eyes. “Yes.”
“Oh, okay.” She laughed too, straddling Adlai where he lay. “As long as I know.”
He grabbed her by the back of her head and held her face close to his. “Come here.” He ran his tongue along her jawline and tasted what he found there. “You’re a mess.”
“Says you.” She licked him back, running along his chin to the corner of his mouth, leaving a clean streak through the drying blood. The sensation tore through her body and Stell ground her hips against the growing bulge in his jeans.
“We’ve got to move the bodies,” he said.
“Oh fuck the bodies. Why can’t they move themselves?”
Adlai turned his head toward the destroyed Russian beside him. “Hey you, Pavel, get in the truck.” He looked back at Stell. “I don’t think he’s going to listen.” He began to giggle, an infectious sound that soon had Stell laughing as well. The adrenaline, the blood high, the nearness of
their bodies had them ratcheted up and both were helpless when the laughing fit hit them. Twice Stell tried to get up to start on the cleanup and twice Adlai barked an order at the dead Russian, reducing her once again to stitches.
“Are we going to spend all night here?” she said climbing off Adlai, trying to keep from laughing. Adlai turned his head and Stell covered his mouth with her hands. “No! No more! Get up. Let’s get out of here. Why do we have to move them anyway?”
Adlai sighed and sat up to survey the room. “Because if we take out these three,” he waved toward their kills, “the police will come in, see Russian mobsters and guns and say, ‘It was the mob.’ End of story. If we leave these three, the police will come in and say ‘It was the mob. And a pack of wolverines.’ ”
“So what do we do with them?”
“We put them in whatever car is outside. Then”—he pulled out the package the bartender had given him earlier—“we blow up the car. Goodbye suspicious throat-trauma victims. Hello suitcase full of money.”
They were back on the roof of the warehouse before the SUV in the parking lot exploded. The sight was magnificent. Adlai held the waistband of Stell’s jeans so she could lean out into space and feel the heat from the fire below. The wind blew her hair out like a fan around her, the light from the fire coloring her pale skin in glowing flashes of yellow and red. The heat made the sky shimmer and Stell watched the night move. Adlai watched Stell.
When the sirens sounded in the distance, he pulled her back and they ran across the rooftops, racing each other. Stell’s long legs, fueled by the kill, covered the distance easily. Together they leapt over roof edges and ventilation pipes, around chimneys and generators. Adlai fell behind to watch her cutting through the night like a knife. She was laughing when he pulled her arm and spun her around.
“You gonna run all night?”
Ourselves Page 24
