by Dale Mayer
She nodded at that. “What about Hudson?”
“He’s watching outside.”
“Fine,” she said, raising her hands, palms up. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of coffee, is there?”
“Not right now, no,” he said. “Nobody can know we’re here.”
She frowned at that, then nodded and stepped away from him. “I just really want this over with,” she said quietly. “I want to go home, where I can just spend some time to grieve.”
“How about not grieving,” he said. “How about remembering instead.”
She gave him a lopsided smile. “That’s kind of what I’m planning on.”
“Good,” he said. “And, while you’re at it, whenever we meet up again, I’ll buy you a coffee.”
“Coffee?” she asked in a teasing voice. “Is that because you’re keeping it away from me now?”
“I would definitely give you coffee now, if I could,” he protested. “We’re just not able to do it right at this moment.”
She nodded. “I’m just teasing.”
“Well, I’m not,” he said. “I would actually love to see you when this is all over.”
She looked up at him, smiled, and said, “That would be nice. For old times’ sake.”
“Screw that,” he said calmly. “There’s nothing about old times in this. We connected all those years ago, and now we’ve connected again,” he said. “I would really like a chance to spend some time with you in a little less stressful situation.”
“I like the sound of that,” she said, with the gentlest of smiles, her heart warming at the thought. Maybe Dane was right after all. Baylor had been all she’d thought about this last week; now she didn’t want to lose that connection. Not again.
“Good,” he said. “Did you enjoy your time here?” He gestured around the room.
“You mean, besides the mad dash across the hallway?”
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “Come sit in the living room.”
“There’s not even any place to sit here really,” she said, “with all the laptops and everything.”
“Not right now,” he said, as he stepped out into the main area.
She looked around and asked, “Where’d Hudson go?”
“He’s collecting all the stuff from the other apartment,” he said. Just then, Baylor’s phone vibrated. As he read the text message, an odd look came on his face.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Hudson just sent a message, saying we’re about to get company again.”
“What?”
Gunfire erupted, rapid, ugly, and deadly gunfire.
She immediately cried out, as she was crushed to the floor by Baylor, who held her there, his hand over her mouth. Wide-eyed, she watched as he warned her yet again to stay silent. She nodded, even as more bullets ripped through the air. But not though their door …
He held her close and whispered, “The shooting is at the other apartment.”
She shuddered. “But Hudson is there!”
Baylor nodded. “He had advance warning. He’ll find cover. He’ll be fine.”
“And how is that for keeping me alive so they can get money from me?”
“It’s not,” he said. “But, if you were injured, that would be okay with them too.”
She just stared at him, hating the truth of his words. As long as she wasn’t badly injured, it would just keep her more compliant. She breathed in deep. “Surely that’s not a smart tactic.”
Yells came from outside the apartment, down the hallway.
“Nope, but it sounds like they’re gone now.” Baylor added, “Stay here while I check it out.”
She lay here on the floor, waiting.
He slowly got up to see Hudson at the doorway. Lots of cries came from people outside this apartment, but nobody came knocking on their door. She stayed on the floor, her arms were wrapped around her chest, noting no blood on Hudson, as she waited for the men to tell her what to do. How had her world collapsed like this? She shook her head in disbelief.
Baylor walked back to her and said, “It’s okay now.”
She sat up and announced, “I used to live a normal life. You know that, right?”
He grinned at her. “Glad to see you’re feeling better.”
She glared at him and snapped, “I don’t like being afraid.”
“Good,” he said, “then you’ll try to avoid getting into dangerous situations.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I didn’t get into this one,” she said. “All I was doing was enjoying a holiday with my mother.”
“And that was a great sentiment,” he said, “but obviously it went south very quickly.”
It wasn’t long before a hard knock came at the door. Baylor gently moved her to the bedroom, while Hudson went to answer the door. She didn’t hear the conversation.
Soon Hudson closed the door and rejoined them. “That was the police. They were asking if we heard anything. I told him we heard the gunfire and stayed inside.”
“Good enough,” Baylor said.
“Aren’t we registered over there?” she asked quietly.
Baylor smiled. “Not under any of our names.”
She rolled her eyes at that. “All this supersecret spy stuff.”
“Which is keeping you alive, by the way,” he reminded her.
“Yes, but it doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “They’re after me. That shooting spree could have killed me.”
“It could have. I guess the other option to consider is that we might have a second faction here.”
Hudson looked up. “I don’t think so. I got a look at the bullet holes, and they were all shot pretty high, almost like a warning. I think they went inside right afterward to double-check if anybody was there.”
“But weren’t you in there?” she asked Hudson.
He chuckled. “I got fair notice. Stashed our stuff in the stairwell and waited it out.”
“And because you weren’t there,” Baylor said to Gizella, “they couldn’t get you.”
“So, I’ve once again escaped their grasp? Now they’ll really be pissed.”
“Something like that,” he said. “Hudson, do you think the cops noticed?” He shook his head, and Baylor chimed in, before he could reply. “They’ll probably just think it was somebody really tall.”
Hudson rolled his eyes at his friend.
“So, the shots were really high?” Baylor wanted confirmation.
Hudson nodded, then demonstrated with his rifle, holding it with the muzzle pointed upward at the door.
“So definitely warning shots then,” she said. He nodded. “Wow, I feel somewhat better.”
At that, Baylor laughed. “I don’t know why,” he said. “I mean, I get that they aren’t trying to kill you, at least not until you get them the money,” he said, “but don’t kid yourself. After they get the cash, they’ll be looking to take you out.”
“I know,” she said, “and for that I’m very sorry.” Baylor looked at her, surprised, and she shrugged. “I’m sorry I got you guys into all this.”
“Listen. It’s not fun for any of us, but it’s certainly not your fault. So don’t even get yourself hung up on that.”
“No, but now it’s something different than the way it started out. I mean, you came to rescue my father,” she said, “but this is a completely different issue now.”
“It’s the same op for us. These parameters change all the time in every mission,” he said. “We have to adapt.”
“Maybe so, but it seems like it’s more confusing than ever.”
“No, in the end, it’s all very simple. It’s called greed.”
Gizella sighed. “I don’t like people much,” she announced.
“No, I don’t either,” he said. “But I do understand them, and I know how they work.”
“It sounds like these guys don’t want to work at all. They just want a free ride.”
“Well, fear is a great motivator,�
� Baylor said. “Remember that, and, as far as they’re concerned, their lives could very well be in danger now too.”
“I wonder why,” she said, in a sarcastic tone, “with them being such fine upstanding citizens and all.” That got both men laughing, and she smiled.
“At least we have a sense of humor,” Hudson said.
“That’s right,” Baylor murmured.
She looked around at Baylor and then at Hudson. “Where’s Dane?” she asked. “Where was he in the midst of the shoot-out?”
“He was outside before, and he’s still outside, tracking the killers,” Baylor said.
She stopped, considering that. “That makes sense. Surely the cops would track the killers too, wouldn’t they?”
“Not necessarily,” he said. “We’re a little more high-tech than some of the police departments are.”
She sighed. “Man, I would really like to catch some of these gunmen.”
“So would the cops,” Hudson said. “But they are looking for really tall shooters.”
Baylor and Hudson collapsed in a fit of laughter.
“Oh, you big jerks! I knew that didn’t sound right,” she said.
“Sorry. I couldn’t help myself,” Baylor said.
“And he kind of boxed me in, so I had to go along with it,” Hudson said.
“Fine, whatever, let’s move on.”
“Okay, in that case, are we assuming we had two shooters?” Baylor asked.
“Two sets of footprints,” Hudson said with a smile.
“Well, when Dane gets through hunting down the bad guys, you want to tell him to pick up some dinner and bring it back? Especially with coffee,” she said, with a sideways look at Baylor.
Hudson laughed. “We’ll do that, just as soon as we can.”
“Don’t you want to make sure he has some backup with him?” she asked.
“There’s more than just the three of us on our team,” Baylor said. “We’ve got three other guys out here right now.”
She smiled. “Three more. Well, now I feel better,” she said, with a sarcastic edge to her voice. “And here I was afraid you guys were going out there to face these killers on your own.”
“We do that often enough,” Baylor said quietly. “But remember. We do know what we’re doing.”
“What I remember is that these guys are assholes, and they don’t really care if you know what you’re doing or not,” she said, with a tap on his chest. “You can take a bullet just as easily as the next guy.”
“I’ve taken several,” he said cheerfully, with a big grin.
“Ha, nobody else knows how to shoot apparently.”
At that, he chuckled. “Very funny,” he said, “but it’s also time for us to move you.”
“Move me? What do you mean?”
“This safe house is no longer safe,” he said with a smile.
She groaned and nodded. “I guess that makes sense. I didn’t even realize you guys had two apartments here.”
“We don’t,” he said. “This one is somebody else’s. We have no clue who it belongs to.”
She stared at him in shock. “What? We’re squatting in somebody else’s place?”
“Yep, so we better leave.” She bolted for the front door; only Baylor caught her and said, “Just a sec, we’re not quite ready.” They quickly packed up the rest of their stuff and stepped out into the hallway. Some cops were still there but not too many, and they were mostly corralling people down on the far side, who seemed to be spectators.
Baylor let her look for a minute and then nudged her toward the stairway on the left. “We’re trying to avoid the crowd,” he murmured.
She nodded. “Still I guess, for them, it’s excitement, isn’t it?”
“If you want to look at it that way, yes, but it’s not exactly the kind of excitement we want.”
“Of course not,” she said, then she let herself be led downstairs and back into a vehicle once again. She smiled at Dane who waited behind the wheel for them.
*
Gizella was holding up remarkably well, considering what she’d just experienced. Baylor could tell from Hudson’s reaction to her that he admired her ability to handle the stress too. They saw all kinds of reactions from people, and he was prepared to accept it all because everybody had a different way of processing stressful events. No doubt this was one of the most stressful situations Gizella had likely ever experienced.
As Baylor pulled out of the parking lot, she asked him, “Where are we going?”
“To another place.”
“Still not back home though, huh?”
“Not until morning,” he said.
“Okay fine,” she said. “Can we make sure that wherever we’re going has food?”
“Seriously?” Hudson asked at her side.
“Yes, seriously,” she said. “I’m really hungry, and I’m guessing you are too.”
“We’ll get food,” Baylor said, “but not until we’re settled into the new place.”
“Fine,” she said with a sigh. As they kept driving, she asked, “Are we going across town?”
“Maybe,” he said. “I just have an address.”
“What if somebody is monitoring your texts and phone numbers?”
“Then we’re in trouble,” he said in a serious tone.
“It’s not that easy to do though, is it?”
“Nope. We’re not using our own numbers. We’re using burner phones right now, which means they can’t be traced.”
“Ah,” she said, “I never thought of that. I don’t know how all this superspy stuff works.”
“Which is a good thing,” Hudson said, laughing at her.
“It’s a good thing that, if I don’t know, maybe a lot of people don’t know, yes?” she said. “But it seems like a lot of people know that stuff already. I’ve never been into hacking, I’m way too upright and honest.”
“For some people it’s just a game,” he said, “like a challenge, because they can.”
“And I get that. It’s just never been my thing.”
“And no reason to go down a path that you’re not comfortable with. I imagine you’ve got plenty to do already.”
They took a series of corners as Baylor followed the GPS directions. He pulled into another parking lot and drove past slowly, checking to see if it was safe. Sure enough, he saw the same middleman guy he’d spoken to that morning. He was talking on his phone, right beside a couple vehicles. Baylor looked at him, surprised, his mind already trying to figure out what was going on. He looked over at Hudson and said, “I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I,” Hudson said. “Let’s get out of here.” Baylor gunned the motor, and, even as he did, a shot was fired, shattering the windshield of the car. “Duck,” he yelled out as he quickly ripped through the back alley and came up on another corner. By the time they were finally free, he pulled into a crowded shopping mall. It was a little too obvious that they had a blown-out windshield, but Baylor had pulled up in a shady spot with a bush blocking a view of the car, so somebody would have to walk closer in order to see it. He turned, looked at her, and asked, “Are you okay?”
She nodded slowly. “I am,” she said, “but what was that?”
“That was us being made by the bad guys,” he said. “We figure he’s the middleman who ordered your kidnappers for someone else higher up in the chain of command.”
“Shouldn’t you have gone after him then?”
“Maybe,” he said cheerfully, “but not when I’ve got you.”
She glared at him. “You can’t let him get away just because of me,” she snapped.
“Listen, Gizella,” he said. “You are our priority, and we won’t do anything to put you in danger.”
She groaned. “Which just means, they win again, and we’ll still be running.”
“What do you think we should do then?” he asked patiently.
“I don’t want to be running scared for another minute. Let’s set a trap and catch
them, so they’re done and gone, and we don’t have to do this anymore. So, when we leave tomorrow morning,” she said, “we can really leave all this behind us.”
“Wow, you’re a cheeky one, aren’t you?” Hudson said.
“Not cheeky, just fed up,” she replied.
“Well, a trap isn’t a bad idea, … except the part about you being the bait,” Baylor said. “But let’s find a place out of the public eye, and we’ll talk about it.”
He liked her attitude, but, at the same time, it was dangerous. He needed to keep her safe, and he needed to get her back home again in one piece. The fact that they were taking a sober return trip with two bodies was already heartbreaking enough. The last thing he wanted was to have her hurt or injured any further than the emotional wounds she already bore.
Once inside the shopping center, he quickly pulled her off toward a coffee shop area, where he tucked her into the back corner and ordered coffee and cinnamon buns for both of them.
She asked, “Do I really need a sugar hit?”
“If you’d stop shaking, then I wouldn’t think it was required.” He watched as she looked down at her hands and immediately clenched her trembling fingers. He reached across, grasped her hands, and wrapped them up in his. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was a shock that I should have prepared you for.”
“You didn’t know what would happen,” she said sadly.
“No, but we’re always aware that these shootings can occur,” he said, “and these attacks have a tendency to come out of nowhere.”
“I just can’t believe so much shit is going on.”
“And I think it’s a case of these people feeling desperate right now,” he murmured, gently rubbing her fingers. She had such long slim fingers, so opposite of his, that he was fascinated with the differences. He splayed out his hand against hers and chuckled at the comparison. It brought a smile to her face, which is what he’d intended. “How do you have such small fingers?” he said.
“They’re not small,” she said. “They’re perfect for me.”
“That they are,” he said with a laugh. She just smiled as the coffee was delivered. He thanked the waitress, and moments later the cinnamon buns arrived.
She stopped, frowned, and looked at him, then asked, “Where’s Hudson?”
