When my friends and I came to town and jumped onto Gregson’s trail a little too quickly for his liking, he’d had Rachel plant another note, proposing a drop, hoping to buy himself time to make another move. Rachel, still fearing for Riley’s life and willing to do anything to get her back, had played along with the whole thing. Having never met Mika, James or Janet before, she’d had no idea if they were trustworthy. Gregson had her good and brainwashed. She wasn’t willing to risk Riley’s life by giving anything away. Additionally, she refused to tell Addison or I, knowing we’d relay any information back to the others. It explained her chilly demeanor towards us upon our discovery of her secret accounts. After all, to discover something like that so quickly, one of us had to know Gregson, someone involved in the drug ring, or both. As it turned out, my friends were just very good at what they did. What may have taken others several days, took us only several hours. Ernie being a total moron had played a significant role in our overall success.
From there, it had just been one mistake after another, which had somersaulted into all of us being held here. “And unfortunately,” Frank said upon conclusion of Rachel’s story, “I’m going to have to kill all of you now. You can thank Greg for that one.”
“Gregory!” Frank roared. You got the feeling that people did what he said.
A few seconds later, Gregson scurried around the corner and into the room. His head was bowed down to the floor and his shoulders were hunched, as if he knew something horrible was coming. “Yes?” he asked timidly.
“Kill them,” Frank said simply, handing Gregson his gun.
Even Janet, who was still sprawled out on the floor, dropped her jaw. “Excuse me?” Gregson asked, clutching the cold, hard barrel.
Frank’s face grew dark and dangerous. “You heard me,” he said lowly. “I want you to kill them. All of them. Don’t come out of here until they’re dead.” With that, Frank strode towards the door. “I’ll be watching,” he said, pointing towards the ceiling in the darkness — I assumed at a camera that we couldn’t see. Then, he stepped out of the room and shut and locked the door behind him.
Gregson may have had the gun, but he had three pissed off adult women staring him down and no henchmen. Fate was finally on our side. I’d have gladly taken a bullet if it meant taking out this jerk once and for all. How dare he threaten Rachel like that? How dare he involve my family? Gregson could sense our hatred. He kept the gun firmly at his side and looked from one of us to the next. “I tried to help you,” he pled. “I feel so badly about all of this. I just wanted out. I’ve never killed a woman. I’ve never hurt a kid.” He looked sympathetically at Riley. “It goes against my good moral judgement.”
I looked up towards the ceiling, where I finally caught a glimpse of the camera. It was tiny — no larger than a bottle cap. Pointing, I looked at Gregson. “Can he hear us or just see us? It’s time you were honest.”
“He can’t hear you,” Gregson assured me.
“How long until he makes it back to the live feed to check up on you?” Janet asked, rolling onto her knees. I hurried over to help her stand.
“He’ll go get a cup of coffee first,” Gregson said, grinning. “Unfortunately, he’ll have to wait until it finishes brewing.”
“How do you know he’ll wait?” Rachel asked curiously.
“He’ll wait,” Gregson promised.
“Can you get us out of here?” I asked. Maybe now that his own life was in danger, he’d help us.
Gregson hesitated only a second. “No,” he admitted, turning his gaze back to the floor. “Frank took my key.”
“Then you better start talking,” I said angrily. “Why did you do this?”
“You heard why!” he cried. “I was outside listening the whole time! No one was supposed to get hurt,” he assured us. “I didn’t even want to be in this business in the first place. Grace said-”
“Grace?” I asked sharply. “Your wife?” Gregson nodded. As it turned out, Grace’s brother had been involved in the Polish mob ring in Chicago. “The Polish mob?” I asked skeptically.
Gregson nodded. “It’s a real thing, I swear!” From there, he told us that, when Grace’s brother had been killed, Grace confessed that the family money she claimed to have — the money that had sustained them for years — actually was funneled to her by her brother. They were broke. She begged Gregson to take her brother’s place and had just the connections to get him started. Gregson had been laid off at the factory a few months prior and had been unable to find work again since. He’d agreed to make them a few dollars working for the mob distributing drugs down in Chicago until a real job came along. He loved Grace. He hated to see her unhappy.
Only another job had never come along. He’d gotten in deeper and deeper with the Polish mob, working his way up in the dangerous, lucrative world of drugs. Polish gangsters, he assured us, were just as ferocious as any other gangster in the big city. Personally, I had a hard time picturing a Polish gangster, but I suppose weirder things had happened in the world.
Eventually Grace died, which was about the same time Gregson decided that he wanted out of the business for good. We knew the rest of the story. “I tried to get all of you out,” he assured us again. “You think I’m dumb enough to leave a door unlocked?”
“You seem dumb enough for a lot of things,” Riley quipped. Rachel shushed her immediately.
“You did that?” Janet asked, incredulous.
“Of course I did,” Gregson snapped. “How many times do I have to say it? I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. You’re not even my prisoners, technically! You’re his!”
“I just didn’t realize-” I started.
“Yeah, well, you’ve underestimated me a lot over the years, haven’t you Moyer?” he sneered.
“He has a point,” Rachel chimed in.
“Thank you, Rachel,” Gregson said kindly.
“Oh, shut up, Gregson,” I snapped. “What are we going to do? As soon as Frank realizes you haven’t shot us all dead, he’ll finish the job himself.”
Gregson shook his head. “He won’t,” he assured us quietly.
“Because you seem to know so much,” I said sarcastically. My head was once again pounding with pain. It wasn’t completely unbearable but I knew it would be soon.
“Frank has never killed anyone,” Gregson said simply. “He’s knows the penalty under the law for that.”
“You’ve known the man personally as the head of the Polish mob since when?” I cried. “Yesterday? He killed Ernie!”
“He didn’t,” Gregson assured me.
“Frank never did admit to killing Ernie,” Rachel said.
“That’s true, he didn’t,” Janet added.
“Well then, who did?” I asked.
Gregson shrugged. “I just know it wasn’t Frank. And anyway, I was in the control room with him when the gun went off. That’s when Frank took my gun and my key. He told me to wait for him, but after he left, I crept into the hallway so that I could hear everything happening down here. I didn’t want anyone misconstruing my side of the story. You can see how that might happen.”
I felt my heart swell with hope. If Frank hadn’t shot Ernie, and Gregson hadn’t shot Ernie, then perhaps we had an ally among us after all.
“Hey,” I asked Gregson nonchalantly. “Where’s that other guy? The one that you didn’t like?” If the other person on our side was Richard, I wanted to have a location on him. He might be able to help us bust out of here.
“I shot him out back,” Gregson said with a casual shrug.
“What?” I squeaked. “Why?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t like the guy,” Gregson muttered. “He just rubbed me wrong. I’m not sure who brought him in but the guy just couldn’t cut me a break. I’m old. I’m slow. He just wanted everything now, now, now. Frank put him under my charge a few weeks ago. I didn’t need him, so…” Gregson mimicked shooting himself with his pistol.
“What’s Frank going to say about
that?” I asked, wide-eyed.
“Frank’ll be none too pleased,” Gregson retorted. “So we’d best start thinking of what we’re going to do when he comes storming through that door.”
“Why do you want to help us all of a sudden?” Janet asked. “You’ve been giving off a lot of mixed signals.”
Gregson’s face hardened. “I told you, I’ve never shot a lady.” He looked to me. “Thought I’d have to today, if it came down to me or you. And who knows? For the three of you pain in the asses, I might be willing to make an exception. Especially you,” he said wagging the gun at Rachel. “Then Miss Riley and I can head south. Make a stop at Disney World before I take her on a boat over to Europe, where she’ll get the finest education boarding school can offer.”
Riley’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “Disney?” she asked, turning to her mother. Rachel just sighed, heavily.
“You’re the reason I’m in this mess,” Gregson muttered to Rachel.
“YOU’RE the reason you’re in this mess,” I retorted. “You and Grace!”
“Don’t speak her name!” Gregson screamed. The room grew deathly silent while Gregson stared me down. When I refused to break eye contact, he growled at me instead.
Just then, we heard a key slide into the lock. “Party’s over,” Janet whispered. Turning to Gregson, she tilted her head in thought. “What’s the likelihood he grabbed another gun?”
The locked clicked and the door began to swing open. “Slim to none,” Gregson answered quickly, the fear on his face evident. “Why do you ask?”
“Because we’re busting out of here,” I answered, smiling at Janet who nodded back.
The door swung wide and behind it stood Frank, angry as a bull. His face was red, his scalp was red, even his hands were red. “Gregson!” he began to roar.
Before the entirety of the word was out of his mouth, I charged at him with a loud battle cry. Completely stunned, Frank froze. I bowled straight through him, knocking him to the ground. “How’s that for a punch?” I cried as his head made a sickening cracking sound against the wall. I didn’t wait around to see if it had knocked him out. “Hurry!” I cried to the group, motioning down the hall.
Riley was out first, followed quickly by Rachel and then Janet. “Go on,” Gregson told me. “I have the gun- I’ll take up the rear. Let’s get you gals out of here.” I nodded and plunged down the hallway after the others. Running was not proving beneficial to a head injury but I didn’t have much of a choice. Who knew who would come after us following that commotion? At the end of the hall, we turned left, finding ourselves stuck behind a locked door. “No! He’s locked it! This is the way out!” Gregson hollered.
“Then we have to find another way,” I answered, tugging on Janet’s shirt to turn her around. “Let’s go!” We raced towards the other end of the hallway. I allowed myself a quick glance towards where we’d escaped and saw Frank still laying motionless on the floor.
At the other end of the hallway was an open door that led us into what I can only assume was the control room. There were lights and switchboards and televisions everywhere. I studied the screens but there didn’t seem to be anyone running after us in that moment which I took as a good sign. No one knew we had escaped. Not even the guards.
Gregson sucked in a sharp breath. “Hold on just a cotton pickin’ minute,” he said, squinting hard at one of the screens that looked like it was focused outside. He seemed to become lost in thought for a moment and then started to nod to himself. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. I shot Dick- right here. Right here in the yard, I shot him. Dead bodies can’t just get up and walk away!”
“Live ones can,” came a low voice behind us.
As if on cue, we all spun around to face the voice. There stood Richard, smugly aiming his gun at Gregson’s forehead. “Richard!” I cried happily. “You’re alive!”
“And just saving your ass again, Moyer,” he grinned. “You didn’t really think I had crossed over to the dark side, did you?”
“I guess I shouldn’t have,” I smiled back. “But how are you alive? Gregson said he killed you.”
“I thought I had,” Gregson mumbled.
Richard sneered. “Drop your weapon or I’ll shoot you right here, right now. And I wouldn’t have any problems falling asleep tonight.”
Gregson seemed to take in the situation and begrudgingly dropped his gun to the ground. I scrambled to pick it up and quickly handed it off to Janet. I’ve never shot anything, not even targets at a practice facility. If something happened, I trusted Janet in the clutch. “But really, how did you survive?” I asked. “Inquiring minds want to know.”
Bemused, Richard used his free hand to unbutton the top half of his shirt. Pulling it away, it revealed a kevlar vest. “Bullet proof,” he said, patting it happily.
“I’m surprised they have one large enough to fit you,” Gregson balked.
Turning to Gregson, Richard grinned. “It’s amazing what money can buy these days. A word of advice- if you’re going to shoot someone, it’s always best to do it execution style. You know, in case they’re a cop.”
“I’ll remember that for next time,” Gregson assured him, curling back his upper lip.
“Do you know a way out of here, Richard?” I asked, suddenly excited.
“I do,” he answered. “Turn around.”
Janet shook her head. “It’s just a control room.”
Richard shook his head and grinned. “Oh, it’s so much more than a control room. Push on that panel. No, no- the one under the main switchboard.” As Janet did so, the panel popped further in and then pushed itself out. “Now slide it to the side,” Richard told her.
Janet did as she was told and then began to laugh in delight. “It’s a staircase!” she crowed.
“How did you know that was in here?” Gregson asked Richard, appalled. “You haven’t even been working here all that long.”
“Your whole operation has been under scrutiny for years,” Richard assured him. “This isn’t the only emergency exit Frank has.” For a moment, Richard looked perplexed. “Speaking of, where is Frank?”
Riley giggled. “Aunt Em took care of him.”
Richard looked at me curiously, but I just shrugged. “Well, let’s get you all going then,” he said, gesturing towards the exit. He put a hand on Gregson’s shoulder. “You can walk with me.”
Gregson sighed, “You wouldn’t try to incapacitate a feeble old man, would you? I’m almost 80 years old. I’m delicate.”
Richard gave Gregson a light shove. “Shut up and walk.”
Janet took up the lead. Slowly, we felt our way down the damp, earthy walls and into total blackness. “I can’t see anything,” Janet called back to us. Suddenly a bright light cut through the shadow. I turned to see Richard using the flashlight on his phone. “That works,” Janet replied happily.
My head was beginning to pound. I needed a place to rest. I needed medicine. Mostly, I just needed a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Those tended to resolve all of my issues, no matter their size. I leaned against the cool wall as a cold sweat began to set in. It wasn’t much further. I just had to survive a little bit longer. I could do it.
As if in a dream, we stumbled towards what looked like a ladder. At the top of the ladder, slits of light pressed through wooden boards. I turned curiously to Richard, but he just clicked off his flashlight and continued to hold his gun steady on Gregson. Janet began to scale the ladder, pushing her way higher and higher. When she reached the top, she hesitated for only a moment before bursting through the ceiling. The rest of us followed suit.
It was a secret exit, located amidst a stack of wooden crates in what appeared to be a muddy lot behind a warehouse.
Off in the distance, a dog began to bark loudly. “Oh, no,” Janet groaned. “We’ll never get out of here with that horse after us!”
The barks became louder and the six of us stood, frozen in fear. We didn’t want to be split up, but if we didn’t start running wildly i
n different directions, the monster would probably eat all of us in one razor-toothed gulp. A huge hunk of fur and slobber came barreling around the corner. It was, as I feared, the beast from outside The Quill. He stopped suddenly when he saw Janet and I, almost as if he were surprised. Then, just as suddenly, he ducked his head and stalked towards us slowly, growling and snapping. “Oh, God,” Gregson whispered, pressing himself backwards into Richard’s chest. “This is it! I survive the mob all these years, just to get eaten by a dog!”
“Thor!” we heard a male voice call. The dog paused, perking up instantly. He looked left, then right, searching for the voice. “Thor!” the voice called again. It sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite place it. The dog, however, leapt in joy and then began to whine, walking back and forth, watching us. He wanted his master but he dared not leave us behind all suddenly free to escape. He began to bark, willing his master to come to him.
We heard footsteps crunching in the gravel as the voice drew closer. “You’ve got to be kidding,” Janet muttered as Shannon rounded the corner. “Don’t move!” she screamed at him, raising the gun. “Don’t move an inch or I’ll shoot you.”
The dog began to bark wildly at Janet, lunging but never moving close enough to bite her. He was waiting for a signal. If Shannon so much as flinched, Janet was going down before she could get a shot off. I was just sure of it. Then I’d have to pick up the gun and hope that Richard could fire his off before I had to.
“Woah!” Shannon cried, his eyes widening. He looked at Richard, who had started laughing. “Put the gun down, Janet.”
“How the hell do you know my name?” she asked, wide-eyed. The dog continued to bark, angry and unafraid. She turned and pointed her gun at the dog. “Shut up!” she cried.
Allison Janda - Marian Moyer 02 - Seduction, Deceit & a Slice of Apple Pie Page 18
