The Impossible Prize

by Cass Tell

“Okay, okay, I'll get the money but just don't send the hammers after me.”

  Rafa grinned. “You better believe me, the hammers will come.”

  Rafa turned and walked away and Mannie stood for a few moments and watched him. Then Mannie wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He was not sweating only because of the heat of the day.

  Mannie jogged across the street and walked rapidly toward his house.

  Amy and Jack followed.

  Chapter 22

  Amy and Jack took the back alley behind Mannie's house and then walked down the path with overgrown weeds.

  Amy's felt her stomach turn as she remembered the fear she felt the previous night when being chased by those horrible mobsters. What was she doing by bringing Jack back here?

  They got to the side of Mannie's house and the windows were open because of the heat of the day. Amy and Jack crouched low and went from window to window until they heard the men talking.

  “Where's the money?” Larry asked.

  “I'm sorry Larry, but I had to give it to Rafa.”

  “Who’s Rafa?”

  “He's a bookie who takes my bets.”

  “I thought you were into Mega-Bets on the internet.”

  “No, that's just a side show. Most of my bets are placed with Rafa.”

  “What do you bet on?” Nalf asked.

  “Anything. Horse races, sports, political elections, you name it.”

  “I thought you were good at that,” Larry said.

  “I used to be, but lately I've had a string of bad luck so I borrowed from Rafa and his gang.”

  “So, what happened?” Larry asked.

  “I lost, and borrowed more and lost again. If I don't pay up by tomorrow they are sending the hammer guys after me.”

  “The hammer guys?”

  “Yeah, guys with hammers that break bones.”

  “You're an idiot,” Larry accused.

  “No more than you. Look at you two, being intimidated by a couple of kids.”

  “I hate those kids,” Nalf said.

  “Do you guys have any money?” Mannie asked.

  “We're dead broke,” Larry replied.

  “Then we need some quick money and I've got an idea.”

  “What's that?” Nalf asked.

  “You know that shopping center?”

  “Yeah?” Larry asked.

  “It's Saturday, a big shopping day. When the place closes at eight o’clock, we should hit the department store. There'll be a pile of cash in the office and there's a jewelry department on the first floor. It's got a lot of diamonds and expensive watches and stuff like that.”

  “What about security?” Larry asked.

  “Minimal. One old guy who can hardly walk. We can tape him up and then have the place to ourselves.”

  “So what's your plan?”

  “First get the masks and guns in the hall cupboard. Then go into the shopping center and hide in a janitorial room. A few minutes after eight, we hit the place. When finished, we come back here and split the loot.”

  “Okay. Let's do it. It's now seven o'clock so we don't have much time.”

  There was a clomping noise as the men went down the hall toward the cupboard.

  “Let's go,” Amy said.

  They crouched below the windows, carefully moving along the building. At the end of the building, they turned the corner and a large man stood in front of them. It was Nalf. He quickly reached down and grabbed Amy and Jack by their arms.

  Nalf laughed. “I saw you moving below the windows. All little rats get caught at some point and now it's your turn.

  Pain shot up Amy's arm as Nalf tightened his grip.

  With her free hand, she quickly reached into the canvas bag that held the two Tasers and grabbed one. Jamming it into Nalf’s side, she pushed the button expecting to feel the shock zap through her body.

  Nothing happened.

  Nalf laughed and said, “You stupid runt. It’s out of electricity. You need to charge those things.”

  A wave of cold fear overcame her.

  Chapter 23

  Nalf yanked them through the back door and into the house. “Hey Larry, I caught those two miserable little rats.”

  “Let us go,” Jack yelled, as he struggled to break free from Nalf's big hand.

  “This one is squirming like a worm,” Nalf said with glee. “Now I'm going to break all their bones.”

  Mannie appeared and said, “There's no time for that now. We've got a job to do and time is running out.”

  “What shall I do with them?”

  “Put them in the basement.”

  “No way,” Nalf countered. “These two are clever.”

  “There's absolutely no way to escape from down there. Believe me, we've held people down there for days and they couldn't get out.”

  “Wait a minute,” Larry cried out. “I need to ask them something.” He turned to Amy and said, “How much was the reward money?”

  “What are you talking about?” She answered.

  He smiled. “You rotten little wretch. Do you think I believe you? That taxi went to the headquarter office of Northern Bank and you two were there for several hours. How much money are we talking about?”

  “Nothing.” She answered.

  Larry said, “You better tell the truth or you'll lose your little brother.”

  “Go ahead,” Jack yelled. “She's telling the truth. You guys belong in jail.”

  Larry swung his arm and with the back of his hand he hit Jack on the side of the face.”

  “You're a miserable crook,” Jack said.

  Larry pulled his hand back to strike Jack again but Mannie grabbed Larry's arm.

  “Stop it,” Mannie said. “We need to immediately go to the shopping center or otherwise we’ll have to wait until next Saturday. I can't wait that long because those loan-sharks are coming after me tomorrow. Put them in the basement and continue your questioning when we get back.”

  “Believe me, I will,” Larry affirmed, “And we’ll extract the truth from them no matter what it takes.”

  Mannie went to a door along the hallway and opened it. Down there,” he said.

  Nalf dragged Amy and Jack along the hallway and shoved Amy through the open door. She fell forward and then her feet found the stairs and she pushed her hands against the narrow walls to slow down.

  As Amy arrived at the bottom of the steps, Nalf said, “Rat in the hole,” and he pushed Jack down the steps.

  Jack lost his balance and tumbled down the old wooden steps as they made loud creaking noises each time he bounced against them. He flipped over several times and then came to a rest at Amy's feet.

  “I'll see you in a little while,” Nalf said, a hint of wicked joy in his voice.

  The door shut , it was dark and Amy heard Jack moan.

  Chapter 24

  In the darkness, Amy felt horror and the dread of facing those thugs again. Mannie said others were in the basement for several days. A sense of bleakness filled her. With the.! lack of light she could barely see her hand in front of her face. They needed to get out of there and only had an hour or two before the wicked men would return.

  She bent down, touched Jack’s back, and asked, “Are you alright?”

  “I don't know,” he groaned.

  “Can you move?”

  “It hurts,” he said.

  “Where is the pain?”

  “Everywhere. My head and shoulder and hip.”

  “Is anything broken?”

  “What am I, an x-ray machine?”

  “Don’t be silly,” she stated. “Try and move your arms.”

  “They move,” he said.

  “And your legs?”

  “They're okay except they hurt.”

  “It's only pain,” she said.

  “Ha, ha, you think you're funny.”

  She was glad. It seemed Jack did not have any serious injuries, at least she hoped so. “Can you stand up?”

  “I think
so, but I also think I'd like to get revenge on Nalf.”

  “And I'd like to get revenge on Larry for the way he hit you and talked to me.”

  Jack was silent for a moment, and then said, “But, that's impossible because we are prisoners down here.”

  “We better stop talking and try and figure out a way out of this place.”

  Chapter 25

  A small stream of light came through the sides of the door at the top of the stairway. Amy went up the stairs, pushed against the door, and realized it was not made out of wood. It was metal and firm, impossible to move. A metal strip went above the lock mechanism so Jack would not be able to open the lock with his Swiss Army knife.

  On the side of the wall, she found a light switch and turned it on and then she went down the stairs.

  “What a messy place,” Jack said.

  It seemed to be a large basement but filled with boxes, paint cans, garden tools, and a row of old bicycles, street signs, a U.S. Postal mailbox, hubcaps and tires.

  “I bet a lot of that stuff was stolen,” Amy said.

  “It looks like Mannie takes just about anything.”

  “What's behind those boxes?” Amy asked. The boxes were stacked from floor to ceiling.

  “Who knows? It seems they go on forever.”

  “We need a plan and quick,” she said.

  “We could burn this place down,” he said.

  “And we would burn with it.”

  “Then let's see what's back there.”

  They began to move the boxes, working as fast as possible. Most boxes were light, but with some, they had to lift them together.

  Slowly, they cleared the boxes until finally reaching the back wall.

  Then Jack said, “Look, a window.”

  It was a small narrow ventilation window. “Do you think you could fit through that?” Amy asked. “I certainly couldn't.”

  “Maybe.”

  Jack climbed on top of some boxes until he reached the window and pulled on a small ring that released the latch. “It's stuck,” he said.

  Amy could not open the window no matter how hard she tried. It had not been opened in years.

  “That explains why their previous prisoners couldn't get out of there. They couldn't open the window and even if they could, it's too small for an adult.

  Jack went back to the open part of the room and rummaged through the garden tools until he would a hoe and a spade. “There's another way to open it,” he said.

  He went to the window and broke the glass with the spade and then with the hoe he cleaned away the broken glass.

  “You can't crawl through there,” She exclaimed. “You'll be cut to pieces.”

  Jack put his head up to the open window and said, “I might be able to get through.”

  “I've got another idea,” she said. She took the spade, lifted it and punched it against the window frame. After five hits, the window frame cracked.

  Eventually she broke all four edges of the frame, which made the opening even bigger. With the garden hoe, she pulled away all splinters and remaining shards of glass.

  “There,” she said. “Can you try that?”

  Jack stuck his arms through the opening and then his head. His shoulders just barely fit. “I need help,” he said.

  Amy grabbed is legs and lifted him and pushed.

  “Stop, my chest is stuck,” he said.

  Amy attempted to pull him back but indeed, he was stuck. “Exhale all the air in your lungs,” she ordered.”

  She heard his breath out and then she lifted his hips and pushed. Then, his chest slipped through the hole.

  With his hands now free, he dug his fingers into the ground and pulled himself forward while Amy guides his hips and legs.

  Then he was outside and he stood up. “I'm free,” he said. “So, I'll see you later.”

  “Very funny. Go around and open that door before those men come back.”

  Chapter 26

  Jack went around to the front of the house and used his Swiss Army knife to open the lock to the front door. This time he accomplished it in a few seconds, as it was the second time he had opened the same door.

  He went through the living room and down the hallway until he came to the door to the basement. The key was in the lock so he turned it and opened the door.

  “What took you so long?” Amy asked.

  “Are you kidding me,” he replied.

  She realized she was being hard on him. Time passes slowly when you are left on your own in a dingy basement.”

  “Those creeps left the key in the lock,” he said.

  “Just be glad they did. Otherwise I'd be stuck down there.”

  “Let's get out of here,” he said.

  “Nothing would be better.”

  As they hurried down the hall, Amy stopped in front of the cupboard door and opened it. “Look,” she said. “The hats are gone as well as some of the guns. That means they really are robbing the shopping center.”

  “Do you think those guns have been used in other crimes?” Jack asked.

  “Probably. I'm sure the police would like to examine those guns.”

  “Let's take them,” Jack said.

  “We don't have time.”

  “No, we do. Let's hide them outside.”

  Amy nodded, grabbed two of the automatic rifles and took them outside. Jack followed her with two more rifles. They hid the guns in the weeds in the narrow path behind the house.

  They made two more trips and each time they covered the guns with weeds.

  On the third trip when they were back into the house, there was a click on the front door and Amy heard heavy footsteps on the wooden floors. She quickly shut the door of the closet being careful not to make any noise and then she grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him into Mannie's bedroom.

  There was the sound of movement and rustling and clunking in the living room. Amy imagined that bags and guns had been placed on a table.

  Then, Mannie said, “That was great.”

  Larry responded, “They didn't know what hit them. It was easier than I thought.”

  “How much did we get?” Nalf asked.

  “Count it,” Larry said.

  Things got quiet and eventually Mannie said, “I think we got about seventy thousand in cash and maybe a hundred thousand in jewelry.”

  Larry's laughter filled the house. “All for ten minutes of work.”

  “We should do this all the time,” Nalf exclaimed.

  “You betcha,” Mannie replied. “Now I can get those loan-sharks off my back.”

  “What about those kids,” Nalf asked.

  “I almost forgot about them,” Larry said. “Let's have a little conversation with them so they give us their reward money.”

  Amy heard footsteps down the hallway until they stopped at the door to the basement, which was just across from Mannie's bedroom.

  There was a click as the door opened.

  Mannie said, “The light's on.”

  “Go get them,” Larry said.

  The stairs creaked as Mannie descended into the basement. “They ain't here,” he cried out.

  “What?” Larry asked.

  “They ain't here. They're gone.”

  “Then go get them,” Mannie cried out. “We don't know how much they heard and what they know.”

  Through the crack in the door, Amy saw Larry move to the back of the hallway. He cried out, “The door is open. They are back there somewhere.”

  “Get them,” Mannie cried out again.

  Nalf ran down the hallway, joined Larry and they left the house.

  Amy opened the door of Mannie's bedroom took a step across the hallway to the open door to the basement.

  Mannie was walking up the stairs. He cried out, “What the . . .”

  Amy quickly shut the metal door and rapidly turned the key. Then she pulled the key out of the lock and put it in her pocket. She would not make the same mistake that Mannie did by leaving the key in the door.r />
  Behind the door Mannie's muffled voice screamed, “Help. Larry and Nalf, help.”

  Jack yelled back, “Help yourself. Escape through the open window.”

  Amy knew there was no way that big mobster could ever squeeze through such a small space.

  Chapter 27

  Adrenaline shot through Amy's veins, as she knew that Larry and Nalf would soon return. She went to the living room, picked up the phone and quickly tapped in 911.

  A voice answered, “Nine one one. What is the nature of your emergency?

  “If you want the men who robbed the shopping center, then you better move fast to catch them. They are in the house of someone called Mannie.”

  Amy did not know the name of the street but she described the surroundings and gave the name of the tavern that was two houses away.

  “Okay, I know where it is. I can see where you are calling from on my computer screen,” the 911 guy stated. “Just a second.”

  Amy heard him saying something in the background. When he was back on the line she added, “One of the robbers is locked in the basement and two others are running around the neighborhood looking for me. Their names are Larry and Nalf.”

  “Who are you?” the 911 guy asked.

  “Just a concerned citizen. The money and jewelry they took is on the table in the living room, as well as a list of shops. Mannie has been running a protection racket. I'm sure some of those shop owners will talk with you about it. Mannie also owes a lot of money to a loan-shark guy named Rafa.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I just do. And, Larry and Nalf were the thieves that took the electronics equipment from Northern Bank in Charlotte and they were working for Carlo Donato and Frankie his bodyguard. They were arrested in Raleigh.”

  “Where are you?”

  “Inside the house.”

  “What?”

  “We're getting out of here.”

  “The police are on their way.”

  “We're leaving this place now,” Amy stated.

  “Go somewhere safe so we can talk with you.”

  “Okay,” she said, knowing that by the time the police got there they would be far away.