Alex reluctantly left his police-tossing. He jumped into the back of the van.
Yefim accelerated before Alex could even finish closing the doors.
“Everybody hold on!” shouted The Stick. “We’re going to catch up with our friend.”
He gripped his gun tightly. The chamber was loaded.
“Faster,” he told Yefim, and Yefim pressed harder on the gas pedal until the sights outside the window became a constant blur.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Uh, oh.”
Cooper’s eyes caught something in the rearview mirror.
“That’s them, isn’t it?” he asked.
Tom turned around and could see the white van in the distance, rapidly gaining ground.
“Shit,” said Tom. “We barely slowed them down.”
Cooper had been maintaining a safe speed, not wanting to draw any undue attention, given his fugitive passenger. He quickly pushed past the speed limit.
“Do you know how to use a gun?” he asked.
“No,” said Tom, feeling a new spike of fear.
“Just point and shoot.”
“Great, like a camera.”
“Reach under your seat.”
Tom reached down and felt something hard and cold – the butt of a pistol. He gently extracted the gun and brought it into his lap.
“They’re going to be on us in about thirty seconds,” Cooper said. “I’m going to give you instructions for releasing the safety. Are you ready?”
Tom held the gun awkwardly, examining it. ‘Walther P22’ was engraved in the barrel.
“Do you see a small lever?” asked Cooper. “It’s set to S, for ‘Safety’.”
“I see it.”
“Move the lever to F.”
“F?”
“For ‘Fire’.”
Tom rotated his handling of the gun so it was pointed outside the car, not in. He snapped the pin into the firing position. The click made his heart jump.
The white van was nearly upon them, engine booming.
“Damn,” Cooper said.
Tom tried to get a firm grip on the gun but his muscles stiffened up. His motor coordination felt sloppy. He knew his aim would be lousy.
But all he needed was one lucky shot.…
With a roar, the white van pulled up on the right, alongside Cooper’s car. Tom lifted the gun to fire and tried to keep his arm steady. The van swerved hard into them, crunching the passenger door of Cooper’s car and bouncing Tom in his seat. The Russians fired two shots, hitting metal, and then sideswiped the car again, this time harder with a powerful slam, sending it off the road.
Cooper lost control of the car from the impact. The vehicle bounced into a ditch, heaving up and down on uneven terrain before crashing with a sudden bang against a telephone pole. The front hood folded like an accordion and the windshield fragmented into a massive web of cracks. The airbags triggered, overtaking the front seat. The instant inflation punched Tom in the face. He lost his grip on the gun and couldn’t regain it.
There was a long moment of silence.
Then Cooper spoke, muffled. “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” said Tom. Then, cautiously, he asked, “Do you think they’re gone?”
The answer immediately arrived via a series of gunshots pelting the side of the car.
“No,” Cooper said.
The next bullet smacked Tom’s headrest. As the withered airbag fell away, he had a clear view again. Unfortunately, so did the Russians.
In that moment, Tom was certain he was going to die, an easy target.
He turned to helplessly face his attackers and his fate.
He could see the white van above on the side of the road, perched at the edge of the ditch, looming like a proud conqueror, a faceless beast. He expected to see armed Russians rushing in for the kill.
Tom whispered goodbye to Emily and Sofi. He awaited a rain of gunfire.
Instead, he heard the van abruptly pull away from the side of the road. It sped out of sight with a roar of acceleration.
Tom waited a long moment and then turned to Cooper. “They left.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Listen.”
Tom listened. He heard police sirens approaching.
“Oh.”
“We’ve got to get out of here. Can you get out?”
“I think so.”
Struggling from an awkward angle, Tom unhooked his seatbelt. He managed to push open the badly dented door. As he shifted, he glimpsed the gun on the car floor by his feet. He picked it up and brought it with him outside the car, onto the grass.
Cooper pulled himself out through his window. He was badly scraped and bruised, but still whole.
Tom circled over to the other side of the car to help Cooper to his feet. The sirens grew louder, coming for them.
“Remember when I said that robbing the diner was sheer genius?” Cooper asked. “Well, I’ve changed my mind.”
“Sorry.” Tom still held Cooper’s gun. “I don’t suppose we could shoot our way out.”
“No,” said Cooper. “But I do have an idea. It won’t help your criminal record, but it could get us the hell out of here.”
“I’m all ears.”
Very quickly, several police vehicles pulled up to the roadside above them, lights flashing. A succession of officers climbed out, gathering in a group and staring down, weapons drawn. Tom and Cooper were facing guns again – this time from their own country.
One of the police officers shouted, “Tom Nolan, we see you. Come up with your hands up.”
Tom shouted back. “This is Tom Nolan. Listen to me. I’ll set the rules. I’ll come up. But no one is going to move. I have a hostage.”
Tom stuck Cooper’s gun into Cooper’s ribs. He hoped the charade would work. He figured, If I’m a bad guy, I might as well play the role of a bad guy.
Cooper went along with it. “He’s serious! Please! Put down your weapons.”
Tom advanced up the short hill with Cooper, keeping the gun aimed at him with the safety secured to ensure there were no accidents.
The police cooperated, lowering their guns, watching him closely.
“He hijacked my car,” Cooper said. “He’s totally crazy.”
Reaching the side of the road, Tom eyed one of the police vehicles. Doing his best to sound like an unstable madman, he declared, “I’m taking one of your cars. If you try to stop me, I will shoot the hostage.”
“Please listen to him,” Cooper said, looking fearful.
“How far do you think you’ll get in a stolen police car?” said one of the officers, scowling.
“Far enough,” Tom said. “I better not see any of you following me. You know what I’m capable of.”
Tom hoped the words didn’t sound as absurd to their ears as they felt coming out of his mouth. Fortunately, the police erred on the side of giving him credibility.
Moments later, Tom sped off in a Waukegan police car with Cooper at his side.
“Holy shit, it worked,” Tom said. “I felt like I was back in high school, acting in the spring play.”
“It was a good performance,” said Cooper. “You won’t win any Oscars, but worthy of dinner theater. Now we have to ditch this car. Pronto.”
“Where?”
“Someplace busy with a lot of cars and a lot of people.”
Within a mile, the answer appeared in front of them under bright beams of sunlight: the sprawling, hectic Lake County Mall. Tom drove the police car into a triple-decker parking garage, climbed two levels and sandwiched the vehicle between a couple of large suburban minivans. Tom handed Cooper his gun, glad to relinquish it. They abandoned the car, leaving the key on the front seat, and took an elevator down to the shopping complex.
>
Entering the mall, Cooper moved swiftly and Tom fought to keep up, legs rubbery.
“Now where?” Tom asked.
“We’ll walk through the mall, go out the other side and grab an Uber.”
Tom noticed a mall security guard on a walkie-talkie and wondered if he was receiving news of a fugitive loose in the mall. “I don’t think we can stay here very long,” Tom said.
Tom and Cooper reached a crowd of moviegoers departing from the mall’s cinema. The movie theater had just finished the latest showing of a science-fiction blockbuster. Tom and Cooper buried themselves in the mob and followed it outside to the parking lot, where Cooper promptly called for an Uber to pick them up.
“Where are we going?” asked Tom.
“Back to the mansion, of course.”
“No, we have to go see Emily and Sofi. They could still be in danger. I’m not going to the mansion. Not yet.”
Cooper agreed. He understood Tom’s anxiety. “We should probably relocate them. We can’t have them used as bait again to get to you. It’s not safe.”
A young man with a ponytail and fuzzy chin hairs pulled up in a Ford Fusion. “Our car has arrived,” said Cooper, checking the license plate. Tom kept his head down as he entered the vehicle.
* * *
Tom knocked on the door of his home. After a few moments, he heard Emily’s voice on the other side, loud and clear:
“No.”
“What?” Tom said.
“Go away.”
“Go away?”
“How do I know it’s really you?”
“Of course it’s me.”
“I’ve been fooled twice now,” she said, muffled through the door. “It’s not going to happen again.”
“But it’s me, I promise you.” Then he added: “Philip!”
“No. I already fell for that.”
“The password?”
“The door is locked and if you don’t go away, I’m calling the police.”
“Please don’t do that.”
“Then leave me alone.”
Cooper, standing nearby, stepped closer to the door. “I can vouch for him!” he said, impatiently.
“How do I know you don’t have a gun pointed at you?” asked Emily.
“Nobody’s pointing a gun at me,” Cooper said.
“At least right now,” mumbled Tom.
“Open the door!” Cooper shouted. “We have to get you out of here.”
“How about this,” Tom said. “Your birthday is August 15. Sofi’s birthday is October 2.”
“No.”
“Our dog’s name is Caesar.”
“Leave him out of it.”
“Do you want to know my Social Security number?”
“Stop it.”
Tom turned to Cooper and shrugged. Cooper gestured for him to keep trying. “She’s still in shock,” he said.
Tom nodded. Earlier in the day Emily had been ambushed and the consequence was a sniper’s rifle pointed at their daughter’s head. But he couldn’t allow them to stay here alone any longer. The Russians might return. Or the police. Or the media. None of them was a good option.
“Honey?” he said to the door.
“I’m not falling for it,” she repeated.
“Our wedding anniversary is June 11.”
“Yes, it is.”
Tom searched his mind for another date of personal significance. He ached to get inside. He longed to embrace her. The longing brought back a memory.
Tom moved closer to the door. “February 25,” he said. Then he asked, “Do you know what that is?”
She didn’t respond.
“February 25, 2008. The Main Library at the University of Illinois.”
After a pause, she said, “Go on.”
“In the History and Philosophy wing. In American Studies, somewhere around the eighteen hundreds, you were looking for a book on the Louisiana Purchase.”
He stopped and listened for a response.
“Keep going,” she said.
“We were looking for that book together, for a paper you were writing, and we were in a playful mood. I took my chances.” Tom waited and then said, “Do you remember? That was our first kiss.”
He paused and heard nothing, so he continued.
“I remember it like it was yesterday. There was a light snow falling outside. You had just broken up with Larry Doyle, so I felt pretty bold about making a move. You wore a pink sweater and jeans. You had those bangs and your hair had that cute curl that rested on your shoulders. We kissed…and you giggled at me.”
The door opened.
Tom stepped through and Emily hugged him. She held him tight. He kissed her.
“I’m so sorry…” he said.
Sofi ran at him. “Daddy!” She hugged his legs. Their dog Caesar put the final stamp of approval on Tom, greeting him with a wagging tail and smart nose, not capable of being fooled by a replica.
“You can’t stay here,” said Tom, still holding Emily. “We’re going to move you and Sofi someplace safe.”
She backed up and looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. “Move?”
“Just for a while. Cooper will set it up. He’s using Giamatti’s business account. We’ll put you up in a nice hotel – pet friendly. You’ll be under an assumed name. You’ll be left alone, no more involvement with this crazy stuff until everything is sorted out.”
“But what about you?” she asked.
“I’m staying at the mansion.” He saw the fear return to her eyes. “We’re going to get my replica back. It’s just a matter of time. Giamatti has incredible resources, he’s connected…all the way up to the president.”
Cooper stood in the doorway, peering into the house. “Let’s go. We don’t have much time.”
“Pack,” Tom told Emily. “Pack up some things for you and Sofi, just enough for a week or two. If you need anything else once you get there, we’ll have it delivered.”
“Are you sure we’ll be safe?”
“Where are we going?” asked Sofi, her voice coming from below.
Tom looked down and smiled. “You and Mom are going on a little vacation.”
Sofi asked, “Will there be a pool?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure there will be a pool.”
Emily bent down and said to Sofi, “We’re going to have to pack right now. Go get a few of your favorite toys. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Mommy,” she said in an excited voice.
After Sofi left for her bedroom, Emily looked her husband in the eyes and said, “What the hell happened? What took place in that diner?”
“We’ll catch up in the car. They…didn’t get the information they wanted. That’s why we had to leave so fast. They’re still after me.”
“God, no.”
“It’ll be fine,” he said, not wanting to upset her any further.
Her eyes traveled the length of his tired, slumped body. “And…how are you feeling…physically?”
He knew what she meant. Lowrey’s disease. The ticking time-bomb inside of him.
“I can still get around,” he said. “That’s good enough for now.”
She hugged him one more time and then left to pack for the hotel.
* * *
To ensure their privacy, Cooper ordered a company car and driver from Giamatti’s business account. A long, black limousine pulled into the driveway and they loaded the trunk with luggage. Tom, Cooper, Emily, Sofi and Caesar bundled into the back of the limo, and Cooper gave the driver instructions. The chosen hotel was part of a large chain that received frequent business from Giamatti’s company. It was located forty-five miles away in the town of Schaumburg, a good distance from all the chaos they had endured up and down Chicago’s North Shore.
To play it safe, Cooper checked them in while Tom stayed tucked away in the limousine, out of sight. Before leaving the car, Emily gave her husband one more kiss and embrace.
“Be safe,” she told him.
“I will,” he promised. Then he told her, lightly, “I’m going to get a tattoo of your name on my butt, so you can tell me apart from that other guy.”
“My name on your butt?” She broke into a smile, the first one he had seen cross her lips in a long time. “Romantic.”
Tom hugged Sofi next, gave Caesar a quick head scratch, and his family left to enter the hotel with Cooper.
When Cooper came back alone, Tom felt a sick feeling in his stomach.
Cooper sat across from him. He could sense Tom’s sorrow. “They’ll be fine,” he said. “We’ll have private security staying at the hotel, keeping an eye on them. Nobody’s going to bother them again. I promise.”
Tom just nodded.
“Take us to the mansion, please,” Cooper instructed the driver.
Tom sank back in his seat of soft black leather, exhausted.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The sleek, thirty-foot black limo pulled up to the iron gates of the Giamatti mansion. Hank, the driver, lowered his window and faced the security camera perched on a post like an observant owl.
“Hello?” Hank said.
Cooper lowered his window as well and waved at the camera. “Hey there, it’s us.”
A half minute passed, then a full minute.
The driver sounded the horn, a quick jab.
“What’s going on?” asked Tom.
“I don’t know,” Cooper said. “There’s a sensor, someone should be there to let us in.”
“Should I call?” Hank asked.
“I’ve been texting Giamatti,” said Cooper, “but no response.”
“Do you think there’s a problem?” Tom asked. He began feeling uneasy as they sat idle at the end of the driveway.
Hank sounded the horn again, this time more aggressively.
After a moment, the gates disengaged, splitting apart with the usual creaks and groans.
“We’re good,” Cooper said, leaning back in his seat. He let out a sigh. “For a moment, I was worried, with those Russians running around.”
Mrs. Giamatti met them at the front door, rosy cheeked with her hair down. “Come in, come in,” she said cheerfully, as they exited the limousine. “How was lunch?”
The Gemini Experiment Page 18
