Danger Close

by James P. Sumner

“I didn’t have a choice. I knew she had information that would help someone like you. It was only a matter of time before someone came around asking questions. I guess I underestimated just how resourceful you bastards are. Still… this works out quite well. I’ve tied up the last loose end, and now I’ll be able to deliver my boss the head of a bonafide GlobaTech heavyweight. He’ll be pleased.”

  “And who’s ya boss?”

  “Someone you wouldn’t know. Although, your partner might. Where is Julie, by the way? I should probably pay her a visit before I leave town. I’m going to lie low for a while.”

  Collins tried to hide how shocked he was at how much she knew about him. He laughed the comment off. “I would pay to see ya try ya luck with Jules. I don’t think ya strategy of sleeping with the target first would really work with her.”

  Jay grinned menacingly. “You’d be surprised.”

  “Jesus…” His mind was working a few seconds slower than it needed to. The struggle against the rising panic in his chest was forcing common sense and reason to lag behind. He frowned as they caught up. “What did Mama know that you didn’t want her talking about?”

  Jay let out an impatient breath. “I imagine the same thing you came here to ask her about.”

  “Oh, I doubt that, love. I’ve got bigger fish to fry than whatever low-level bullshit ya keep busy with.”

  Her demeanor changed in a heartbeat. Her face contorted with burning rage. She leaned forward and brought the gun down hard on his left leg, just below the knee. He yelled in pain as it connected. She rested her knee on the bed between his legs and bent over, almost on all fours, aiming the gun at him once more.

  “Low-level? You arrogant prick! This has always been GlobaTech’s problem. So goddamn full of yourselves. Like you’re so much bigger and better than the rest of us. Well, those days will soon be over.”

  Seeing how easily she could be riled, Collins leapt on the opportunity to push her. He hoped she might divulge something useful or let her guard down long enough to give him a fighting chance.

  He looked her in the eyes and scoffed. “Best believe we’re bigger than whichever thrift store street punk hired your sweet ass, chica.”

  Jay’s knuckles whitened as they gripped the pistol.

  “Screw you!” she yelled. “GlobaTech has no idea what’s coming for them. And as for you… you’re going to die in the presence of greatness. I bet I know exactly why you’re here. Mama knows everything, right? The best fixer in the States. You wanted to ask her if she knew who killed that foreign president a few days ago. Am I right?”

  Collins said nothing. He just watched in awe as Jay unraveled before him.

  “I can tell you she did,” continued Jay. “She knew I took the shot. She knew who sent me to do the job too. Nothing got past that old bitch. That’s why I killed her.”

  His eyes grew wide. His mind raced to catch up and process everything.

  “Are ya telling me it was you who killed President Herrera?” he managed.

  She smiled that same evil smile as before. “Not so full of yourself now, are you?”

  He didn’t say anything. He lashed out with his leg, kicking her arm out from underneath her, knocking her off-balance. Without hesitation, he brought both his knees to his chest, then thrust both feet forward, kicking her in the face and pushing the bed sheets onto her. Jay stumbled backward, dropping the gun as she collided with the desk behind her.

  Collins leapt to his feet, ignoring his nakedness and instinctive vulnerability. He ran toward her and threw his left forearm around, catching her flush on the jaw. She fell sideways into a chair, dazed.

  She wiped blood from her mouth and smiled. “That’s it, Ray. Give me everything you’ve got. Come on!”

  She lunged for him, tackling him at the waist and forcing him to the floor. His head narrowly missed the edge of the bed. He rolled with the momentum and launched her up and over him, across the room. He scrambled to his feet and retrieved the gun that was right by him.

  He spun around and took aim…

  The hotel room door was open. She was gone.

  “Shit!” he shouted through gritted teeth.

  Just then, a maid walked by and looked in. She saw him, naked as the day he was born, holding a gun.

  She screamed and ran away.

  Collins just rolled his eyes and sighed. He tossed the gun on the bed and fumbled around the trashed room for his clothes.

  A couple of minutes later, he hopped out into the hall as he struggled to slip a boot on. The gun was tucked into his waistband behind him. Finally dressed, he set off running along the corridor, desperate to catch up with Jay.

  He burst out of the main entrance and onto the sidewalk. He looked up and down, not worrying about the fact he didn’t recognize where he was. Up ahead to the left, he saw a disturbance in the flow of foot traffic. People were being forced to make room and were turning to complain.

  “Got ya.”

  He started running again. He reached into his pocket and took out his cell phone, trying to place a call at full speed.

  Julie was going to kill him.

  19

  Collins twisted and turned as he threaded himself through the gaps of people, holding the phone to his ear as it rang out.

  “Ray?” said Julie. “Where the hell are you?”

  Collins didn’t immediately answer. He gasped in deep breaths. His eyes were focused on the top of Jay’s head as it swayed and bobbed in the distance.

  Julie sighed down the phone. “Ray, I swear to God, if you’ve butt-dialed me while you’re having sex again…”

  He grunted as he fought against fatigue. “Jules… I got her. I got the…”

  “What? I can barely hear what you’re saying. What are you doing?”

  He jumped over a small dog that had wandered just in front of him, narrowly missing its leash and owner as he pressed on in his pursuit.

  “The shooter… Jules, I have the shooter!”

  Her voice changed. “How? Where are you? What’s going on?”

  “I’m chasing after her… I’m…” He quickly looked around, searching for something recognizable. “I dunno… still in Brooklyn, I think.”

  Julie’s tone hardened with professionalism. She knew her questions could wait. She needed to find Collins.

  “I’m getting in the car now,” she said. “What do you see?”

  He looked around again, making sure he didn’t lose sight of Jay. Along his left side was a row of hardware and convenience stores, interspersed with diners and cheap restaurants. It was a busy sidewalk.

  He glanced across the street. It was a similar story there. Typical city streets with nothing that stood out. But then he ran past a side street opposite and caught a glimpse of the bay.

  “I see water,” he said.

  “Okay. Which side?”

  “My right. Hang on… street sign…” He ran across an intersection, causing vehicles to slam on their brakes and sound their horns. One car missed him by a couple of feet. “I just almost died crossing… 57th and 2nd.”

  “Got you,” said Julie. “I’m in the car with our two-man escort from yesterday. Leave your phone on so we can track you. I can see you heading west on 2nd Avenue.”

  “Great…”

  “Get them, Ray. No matter what.”

  He slid the phone into his pocket and carried on. He was gaining on her. He could see her in front of him, now maybe forty feet away. Jay looked back at him, then grabbed the nearest person to her and threw him to the ground.

  Collins vaulted over the young man and continued his pursuit.

  Thirty feet now.

  “Jay!” he shouted. “Woman! Stop running… damn it!”

  She looked back again. Their eyes met. He was close enough to see her sickening, malevolent smile.

  She turned away, pushing another person to the ground in front of her—a middle-aged woman this time. Again, Collins jumped to avoid her as he caught up.

  Twenty feet
.

  Fifteen.

  Just ahead, Belt Parkway ran across the street, bridging over it on its metal and concrete pillars. Collins didn’t know what lay beyond it, but he could see it was a built-up area. Lots of buildings, possibly residential. Too easy to lose her.

  He had to take her down.

  Ten feet and closing. Almost near enough to reach for her.

  He screamed through gritted teeth as pain wracked his chest from the exertion of sprinting for so long. But he couldn’t slow down. Not when he was this close. He had to—

  There was a loud, high pitched screeching of tires in front of him. From out of nowhere, a gray Suburban shot into view, stopping abruptly. Jay saw it too late and ran at full speed into the side of it. The impact against the metallic frame was dull and partially echoed beneath the bridge. She bounced backward, landing hard on the ground at Collins’s feet.

  He stepped back a couple of paces and drew the gun, prompting screams of panic from people nearby. He trained it on her.

  “Move and you die,” he said, fighting to catch his breath.

  He looked up to see two GlobaTech operatives climbing out of the vehicle. The driver hurried around the hood to join his colleague. Their guns were holstered, but their hands were ready to draw if needed.

  Julie climbed out of the back, her own gun held low and aimed at Jay, who had maneuvered herself up onto one knee. She had a hand placed on her chest, breathing heavily.

  “You were… you were quick,” said Collins, nodding gratefully at Julie.

  Julie shrugged. “Our hotel isn’t far. You would’ve known that if you had come back to it last night.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Really? The what time do ya call this speech… now?”

  She gestured to Jay with a nod. “You said this is the shooter? Are you sure?”

  “Yeah… she… she admitted it. She’s also the one who… who killed Mama.”

  Julie looked down at Jay, who was glaring up at her with a venomous gaze. “You’ve been busy. On your feet. You’re going to tell me everything, then you’re going to spend the rest of your life in a prison so far off the books, it has its own time zone.”

  “Not a chance…” hissed Jay.

  She lashed her back leg out, catching Collins in the knee she had previously attacked with the gun. He buckled beneath his own weight and fell hard to the ground. The gun flew from his grip.

  As Julie moved in, Jay spun in a low circle, using her own outstretched leg to sweep Julie’s out from under her. Unprepared, she also tumbled to the sidewalk.

  Jay leapt upright and scooped up the gun she had lost to Collins. She turned quickly and fired two shots, each one hitting one of the operatives in the chest.

  There were more screams from all around as everyone nearby scattered. Sirens began to wail in the distance.

  Collins recovered and hustled to his feet. He speared Jay from behind, tackling her to the ground by the waist. They both landed awkwardly on the unforgiving concrete. She dropped the gun and wrestled free, then whipped an elbow back and caught him on the side of the face, drawing blood.

  As she scrambled back to her feet, Julie moved in front of her, blocking her path to the gun.

  “Enough,” said Julie. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? The trouble it’s caused?”

  Jay wiped the back of her hand over her mouth. “Yeah… do you?”

  She ran at Julie, quickly throwing a short combination of punches aimed at her face and body. Julie stepped back defensively, managing to deflect most of them. One made it through, landing on her jaw, forcing her to stagger backward against the car.

  Jay didn’t let up for a second. She pounced like a predator sensing weakness in its prey. Her attack was relentless. Each blow that she delivered was fueled by pure rage.

  Julie blocked as many as she didn’t but was holding on. She landed a couple of body shots of her own, yet they did little to slow Jay down.

  Collins shook his head, trying to clear the fog that lingered from the elbow he had received. It was chaos around him. Cars had stopped in the street. People were running around, shouting. A brave few stood watching, filming the violence on their cell phones.

  Collins absently waved them away. “Are ya crazy? Get the hell outta here.”

  He got to his feet and marched toward Jay. Seeing Julie was struggling, he grabbed a handful of Jay’s hair and slammed her face into the side window of the Suburban. She grunted from the impact and dropped to her knees.

  Julie nodded her gratitude to Collins, then moved in and buried a kick deep into Jay’s body. Jay rolled away onto her back, wheezing. She paused to catch her breath.

  Collins stepped toward Jay’s head and reached down to grab her again. She threw her legs up and over, as if performing a backward roll, aiming to kick him. He caught them both, hooked each one under his arms, and used her own momentum to lift her up.

  Jay shrieked as she was hoisted into the air. She tensed her considerable leg muscles, squeezing his body. As his strength faded, she forced her hips up and finished sitting on his shoulders, like a couple at a concert. She grabbed the top of his head and spun herself around, squeezing again with her thighs and pinning his face against her crotch. She then began raining down elbows on the top of his skull with a demonic ferocity.

  Collins had his hands on her hips. His head throbbed from the blows. Not knowing how else to stop her attack, he stumbled forward and slammed her down as hard as he could.

  Jay’s neck and back connected with the rear door of the car. Her grip on him broke immediately, and she slid to the ground.

  Collins fell to his knees. He felt thin lines of blood running down his face from new wounds on the top of his head.

  Julie rushed at Jay, bending forward to punch down at her face. She connected with three stiff shots to her cheek and jaw that made her fall away, landing hard and flat on the sidewalk.

  She stared for a moment, making sure Jay wasn’t moving. Then she stepped to Collins’s side and crouched next to him. “Jesus… are you okay?”

  Collins waved her away frantically. “Get… the bitch.”

  Julie looked over and stared straight at the sole of Jay’s heeled boot as it thundered down into her face. She grunted as she sprawled backward beside Collins.

  “Ah, shite…” he muttered, seeing Julie land next to him.

  He rested a hand behind him, so he could push himself upright. Still dazed, he looked over at their vehicle. He saw the two dead operatives heaped beside it.

  Jay was gone.

  He lay flat again, staring up at the bright sky. He turned his head to check on Julie. She was doing the same, looking up with a vacant stare on her face.

  Every inch of his body hurt, exacerbated by a long, weary sigh.

  “Sonofabitch…”

  20

  It had been a tense but uneventful twenty-four hours for Jericho. Gomez and his men hadn’t returned. There had been no word from the general. Even reports of unrest throughout the city had died down. GlobaTech personnel were keeping to themselves. The men loyal to Colonel Ramirez were doing the same.

  It was an uneasy peace, but it was peace nevertheless.

  Jericho stood beside Ramirez in the corridor outside President Herrera’s office. A small patrol of Palugan troops marched by, completing their route around the palace interior. Ramirez had a half-smoked cigar in his hand, absently admiring the smoldering tip.

  Jericho glanced around at the art on the walls, restless and impatient. Inside, Montez was speaking with various heads of state, trying to rally support to the cause Ramirez was fighting for.

  “He’s been on the phone a long time,” observed Jericho.

  Ramirez took a long, satisfying drag on his cigar. He slowly blew out a plume of blue-gray smoke into the air.

  “Diplomacy takes longer when you cannot threaten people,” he replied with a casual shrug.

  The two men looked at each other and smiled.

  “That’s why we should
be in charge, right?” said Jericho.

  “Exactly!”

  “Who’s he talking to again?”

  “Gianna Salvega. She’s the education minister, I think.”

  “Education?” Jericho frowned. “What are they going to do? Give the general detention?”

  Ramirez smiled. “He wants to use Miss Salvega’s influence over teachers to rally the local communities and schools to the president’s cause. That’s a sizeable percentage of our people. If they voice their support for the changes Herrera wanted to make, it could turn the tide among the rest of the country. Perhaps it can keep the peace on the streets a little while longer. It will give us time to come to a diplomatic resolution with General Guerrero.”

  Jericho raised an eyebrow. “You definitely missed your calling, Colonel.”

  The office door opened and Montez appeared. He seemed out of breath. His cheeks were colored, and his demeanor was flustered.

  “Well?” asked Ramirez.

  Just as Montez opened his mouth to speak, Jericho’s phone began ringing in his pocket. He quickly took it out and looked at the screen. When he saw who was calling, he excused himself and paced away along the corridor. Alone, he answered.

  “Julie, hey. How’s it going?”

  “Yeah, fine,” she said, tersely. “Listen, we—ah, damn it! Do you mind?”

  “Are you all right?”

  She sighed. “Sorry. The EMT keeps dabbing an open wound with something that smells like bleach, and it’s off-putting.”

  “What? What’s happened? Are you okay? Talk to me.”

  “Relax, I’m fine. Just… okay, I’ll bullet-point it for you. It’s a long story. We know who the shooter is. Her name, anyway.”

  “You what?” He paced back and forth, shocked. “How?”

  “That’s the long story. Ray’s hunch about the contact in Brooklyn played out. Well, kinda. Not exactly, really. But it inadvertently led us to the shooter, so it’s fine. Except she managed to escape. Twice.”

  “Okay, Julie, you’re not making any sense.”

  She sighed again. “Sorry. Ray and I are a little banged up. We’ll be fine. Don’t worry. But going after her took it out of us.”