The Impossible Prize

by Cass Tell

  Chapter 28

  Amy and Jack charged out the front door and ran across the street.

  Around the far corner of the street in the direction of the tavern, a police car sped toward them. It stopped in front of Mannie's house and two police officers got out of the car with their guns drawn. They went to the open front door as another police car arrived.

  Two first two police officers waited for two more police officers to join them and then with guns drawn they cautiously walked into Mannie's house.

  Amy and Jack hid behind a dumpster and Amy said, “We better go.”

  “No, wait,” Jack said. “We need to make sure they catch Larry and Nalf.

  “Okay,” she said. “But we shouldn’t wait long.”

  More police cars arrived until the street was full of flashing lights and eventually the police officers escorted Mannie out of the house. He was wearing handcuffs. His face was tight, eyes looking toward the ground as though he was evaluating his options. He did not have many.

  They waited a few more minutes and Larry and Nalf did not appear.

  Amy whispered, “You know they ran out the back of the house looking for us. Maybe they never returned, especially when they saw the flashing lights of the police cars.”

  “That means it’s just like in Raleigh,” Jack said.

  “I guess so.”

  “Then we better get out of here,” Jack said.

  “We shouldn’t go directly back to Sumita’s restaurant in case they follow us. And we should avoid staying out on open streets where we can be seen.”

  They walked back in the direction of the old four-story office building and into its parking lot. Then the back door opened and Larry walked out. His eyes looked straight into Amy’s and he had the look of a monster.

  “Run,” Amy bellowed.

  Chapter 29

  They ran back across the street in the direction of the derelict buildings. It held a maze of rooms and hallways on multiple levels, rooms full of rusty nails and broken boards, of oil drums and moldy tarps and half-full cans of paint.

  Amy’s heart beat like a running horse, panic driving her body forward. It was scary to keep running into Larry and Nalf and she knew those two men only carried hate and revenge.

  She remembered how they struck Jack on the face and then pushed him down a dangerous flight of stairs. Obviously, the two mobsters knew about the reward, but they did not know how much. They were intent on finding out and on getting it.

  Amy and Jack were quicker than the two men buy she did not really know her way around the jumble of rooms and neither did Jack. What if they ran into a dead-end room? Nalf would certainly break their bones as he had threatened.

  They just had to keep their wits and this was a time to follow Jack as he had a special sense of escaping and finding hiding places.

  They reached the building and Amy said, “You go first and I’ll follow.”

  Jack darted through an open door, leapt over some broken boards and sprinted into a room.

  Amy glanced back and observed Larry and Nalf in the middle of the road almost hit by a car. The car driver yelled something and Nalf raised his fist and when the car was gone the two men ran in Amy’s direction. She quickly disappeared following Jack.

  They entered another room, dark, with just enough light to see a flight of stairs going up. Jack took the stairs with Amy two steps behind him. The stairs were old and rotten and she kept her feet wide toward the side of each board where it was stronger and more secure.

  At the top of the stairs, they ran along a balcony, passed through two rooms and then they saw another flight of stairs.

  Amy heard the men running behind them, talking loudly, Larry commanding Nalf to look in each room they passed. She understood that would slow them down and allow more time for escape.

  She noticed that Jack had something in his hand. It was a roll of wire.

  “Help me,” he whispered the words hardly audible because he was breathing so hard.

  “Where did you get that?” She asked.

  “I grabbed it off the floor in the first room. Quick, take the end.”

  He went to the post of the rail of the stairway and quickly wound one end of the wire around it. “Over there,” he said.

  She took the other end of the wire and wound it across the opposite post, so that the wire was now at ankle height off the ground. They tightly stretched it from one post to the other.

  Jack stepped over it and ran down the creaky stairs and she followed him. At the bottom of the stairs was a large pile of wood with rusty nails pounded through boards. They were careful not to step on any nails as they climbed up over the pile.

  When they reached the open door of the large room, Amy heard the sound of Larry and Nalf on the upper floor.

  “They ain’t up here,” Nalf said.

  “They must have gone down those steps.”

  “Over here,” Jack cried out.

  In tandem, Larry and Nalf charged for the steps and their feet hit the wire at the same time. The steps were narrow and the two men bounced into each other and rolled head over heels down the steps, boards cracking and the two men groaning.

  Nalf hit the pile of wood at the bottom first and then Larry dove into him. Boards fell on top of them. They both tried to stand at the same time but bumped into each other and they fell into the tangle of wood.

  “Get them,” Larry shouted.

  The two mobsters rushed on top of the pile and Nalf yelled, “Ahhhhhhhhhh.”

  “What happened?” Larry asked.

  “I stepped on a big nail. I think it went right through my foot.”

  “You stupid, Ahhhhhhhhh,” Larry cried out. “I stepped on one too.”

  They both lost their balance and tumbled into the wood, rusty nails scraping their arms and legs.

  Larry and Nalf hardly moved while moaning and grunting.

  Amy said, “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 30

  The following morning they waited at the bus stop with Rajiv, Sumita and Oditi.

  “I hope you will be okay in Texas,” Rajiv said.

  They had bought one-way tickets to Houston and from there they would disappear into some small town. It was a long trip but it would get them far away from Florida and from California. Jack talked about living on a ranch and learning to ride horses.

  Sumita said, “The news reported that they caught one of the men who robbed the shopping center. They showed his picture and he was the same evil criminal that took our money. The news said the police are looking for two accomplices.”

  Amy said, “The police have a list of all the store owners who were being extorted by him and I’m sure the police will visit you. Are you willing to talk with them?”

  Sumita nodded her head. “I am.”

  Amy assured her, “Other shop owners will also tell the police what happened so you won’t be alone.”

  “That would be good,” Rajiv said. “That protection-guy needs to be put away in jail for a long time.”

  “Don’t worry. He will. Are you staying here in Miami?” Amy asked him.

  “Once things settle here I’ll drive back to Raleigh to get my things and then return the taxi to the taxi company. If they get angry with me, I will scream at the dispatcher for helping those two terrible men. Then I’ll come back here to help my sister Sumita and be an uncle to Oditi.”

  “The dispatcher deserves more than a screaming,” Amy said.

  The door of the bus opened and passengers began to go in.

  “Thank you for everything. You saved us,” Sumita said.

  “It was nothing,” Amy replied as she felt relief at how everything had turned out.

  Sumita hugged Amy while Oditi gave Jack a kiss on his cheek.

  “Hope you don’t get caught in the storm,” Sumita said.

  “What storm?” Amy asked.

  “I saw it on the news this morning. There’s a small tropical storm that was moving in the direction of Mexico, but it turn
ed north toward Alabama and the Florida panhandle.”

  “We’ll be okay,” Jack said with bravado.

  “I’m sure you will,” Sumita agreed.

  After shaking hands with Rajiv they boarded the bus and found seats together half way down the aisle.

  Once seated, Jack said, “It’s good that we get out of Florida with Larry and Nalf still on the loose.”

  “I know,” Amy responded. “It’s the wisest thing.

  “Do you think the police will find them?”

  “I hope so. Whatever happens, we’re going to be far away.”

  “To start new lives?”

  “Yes, now we can start new lives.”

  “I’m going to become a rodeo star or maybe a detective,” Jack proclaimed.

  “Whatever you do, you’ll be good at it.”

  The bus rolled forward and then slowly pulled out of the parking area. Rajiv, Sumita and Oditi waved.

  And, Amy and Jack waved back.

  They were on their way to Texas.

  The end.

  Preview of The Wicked Storm, Book 3 of the Adventures of Amy and Jack

  Chapter 1

  Hard driving rain stung their faces as Amy and Jack ran from the bus to the front door of the fancy first class hotel. She wondered if they would be safe in this building.

  She and her brother Jack were in Tallahassee, Florida where their bus had to make an unexpected stop. A hurricane was coming in from the Gulf of Mexico heading straight for Tallahassee.

  The highway patrol had redirected traffic off the freeway in preparation of the oncoming storm. Weather experts classified it a low-grade Category One hurricane. Even so, they were sending people to safe areas as a precaution.

  Amy grew up in California where they did not have hurricanes, so she was not sure what to expect.

  After leaving the freeway, the bus had gone past an airport and some golf courses and then stopped in the parking lot of a large first class hotel. The bus driver said they would need to wait out the storm over the next twenty four to forty eight hours.

  Amy and Jack were the only ones on the bus, as all the other passengers had decided to get off at Lake City, the previous stop.

  When they got to the hotel the driver had said, “Better get going if you want a room. There’s gonna’ be to be a flood of people coming into the hotels around here. If you don't get a room, then they’ll take you to a gym or community hall where you'll sleep on the floor. I’m staying with relatives.”

  Once inside the lobby they walked to the front desk in their wet clothing. The check-in took time, because of computer problems, but eventually the receptionist assigned them to a room on the top floor.

  They took the elevator to their floor, found the room and Amy passed the electronic key in front of a reader above the door handle. A green light went on, she opened the door and Jack followed her into the room.

  “Wow,” Jack said, “Look at this.”

  The room was large with one gigantic bed against a wall. It had multiple decorative pillows and a bed cover that looked like it came from an expensive shop.

  “And, look at that,” Jack exclaimed, pointing to a television that seemed to fill half the wall.

  There was a bowl of fruit on a table and a mini bar and the bathroom had a Jacuzzi type bathtub and a shower.

  Rain pounded against the window and Amy questioned if being on the top floor made sense. The full force of a hurricane would hit at eight o’clock the following morning.

  “This place is so cool,” Jack said.

  “Wait,” Amy said. “What’s that?” On a stand next to a long desk was a suitcase. In addition, a cupboard door was open and hanging in it were several suits and shirts.

  Jack walked to the suitcase and opened it.

  “Stop,” Amy cried out. “That belongs to someone.”

  “Maybe it comes with the room,” he said.

  “No way. There’s someone already assigned to this room.”

  Jack opened the suitcase, turned to Amy and said, “No way! You’ve got to see this.”

  “Leave it alone,” she stated.

  “No, take a look. It’s some guns and knives.”

  Amy walked across the room and looked in the suitcase. “We better get out of here,” she said.

  “And, a bunch of those plastic handcuff things, and duct tape,” he said. “Why would anyone need that?”

  “Come on, let’s go.” She shut the suitcase, then grabbed Jack by the arm and pulled him away from the suitcase and toward the door.

  They stepped outside the room and as she shut it a deep voice behind them said, “Hey, what are you doing in my room.”

  Amy turned and there was a large man in a dark suit with a white shirt and no tie. “They gave us the wrong room,” she said.

  The man peered down at them with narrow eyes. “Get out of here and stay away,” he commanded.

  Chapter 2

  While taking the elevator to the ground floor, Jack said, “What was that?”

  “I don’t know but he was scary,” she replied.

  “Maybe he’s a police officer. They carry handcuffs.”

  “The police carry metal ones, not plastic. Why so many, and why did he have a roll of duct tape? And why the guns and knives?”

  “That’s weird,” he said.

  “Let’s stay away from him.”

  The elevator doors opened and they went into the lobby where a long line of people waited at the reception desk.

  Amy said, “Oh no, we’re not going to get a room. We’ll have to sleep on the floor in a gym.”

  “Give me the key,” Jack said.

  She handed the plastic key-card to him and he went around the line and walked up to a hotel employee who was stacking suitcases and golf club bags on a trolley.

  Jack said, “They gave us a room with someone already in it.”

  “You mean already occupied?” The man asked. He had a badge with his name, ‘Robert’ and underneath it was engraved, ‘Porter’.

  “Yeah, whatever you call it.”

  “Then get in line,” Robert the porter said.

  “No way,” Jack responded. “We were here before all those people and now we may not get a room.”

  Robert took the plastic key and said, “Our computer system is messed up and it’s been double booking rooms. Wait here and I’ll see what I can do.”

  Robert went behind the reception desk and talked with one of the receptionists. The receptionist looked in the direction of Jack and Amy and then shook her head. Robert said something and the receptionist shook her head again. Robert’s hands waived in the air and he pointed at the computer screen in front of the woman and then pointed at Amy and Jack.

  Then the receptionist slightly nodded her head. She typed something on the computer keyboard and with a frown, she handed a new plastic key-card to Robert.

  Robert returned and gave the key to Jack. “You’re lucky,” Robert said. “With the golf tournament this place was already almost full. None of the people in the line over there will get a room. I told the receptionist we can’t leave a couple of kids out in the cold. The hotel would get sued.”

  “Thank you so much,” Amy said.

  “No problem. I’d take you up to your room but I need to distribute these bags and stuff. Just go to the top floor, number 420.”

  “We were lucky to find you,” Jack said.

  Robert looked at them and asked, “Where are your bags?”

  “Ah . . . they were stolen,” Amy answered, knowing the last bags they had were a couple of old army surplus backpacks containing a few pieces of worn out clothing from thrift stores. They left them behind a bush next to a country road in Raleigh.

  “Maybe our security guy can help you find them.” He pointed at a man standing near the entrance door that wore a dark suit and had a badge saying ‘Security’. The security man’s eyes focused on his cell phone and he tapped on it with his index finger.

  “Our bags are a long way
away and I don’t think he can help,” she said.

  “There’s a clothing shop down that way in case you need anything.” He pointed toward a hallway on one side of the lobby.

  Amy and Jack walked to the elevator and Amy pushed the button. They waited. Next to the elevator was a large sign that said, “Tallahassee Select, Golf Tournament’.

  When the elevator door opened a number of people exited it, so Amy and Jack stood to the side. The last person to leave was the large man in the dark suit who occupied their previous room. His eyes scanned the lobby as if he was looking for someone. They were not happy eyes.

  Across the room, the security man stood in the same place by the entrance door and he still tapped on his cell phone. The man in the dark suit looked at the security man for a moment and then he glanced at Jack and then Amy. A subtle menacing glare crept onto his face and Amy felt a cold shiver roll down her spine.

  Chapter 3

  “He’s creepy,” Jack whispered.

  “Maybe just weird,” she responded.

  “No, I mean creepy.”

  The man made her uneasy. The guns and handcuffs in his room and the way he had looked at them unsettled her. She and her brother had enough frights in Raleigh and Miami, where the two mobsters, Larry and Nalf, had chased them.

  In Miami the police failed to catch Larry and Nalf, so her plan was to get far away so that she and Jack could start a new life. They decided to go to Houston and find a medium sized town somewhere in Texas, and a place to live. Jack had a crazy boyish dream to ride bucking horses in rodeos. She just wanted to be a normal teenager.

  The diversion to Tallahassee had delayed that plan. Now, they would quietly wait out the storm.

  As they entered the elevator, two men joined them. The men were talking and one of them hit the button for the third floor just after had Amy pushed for the fourth floor.

  “Looks like we won’t have the tournament,” one of the men said.