by Randall Wood
“I’m sorry. I caught some wires on my tool box!”
“I’ve got it. Just get out of the way.” The nurses shoved past him.
As they entered room two, Sam stepped into room three. Stepping to the monitor, he hit the button that silenced the alarm. He quickly pulled the pistol from his coveralls and aimed it at the prone figure on the bed. He was rewarded by Curtis opening his eyes. They focused and widened just before Sam pulled the trigger, sending a round through his open mouth and into his brain. The cough of the silenced round was drowned out by the alarm next door. Sam returned the pistol to his coveralls and left the room for the exit in the opposite direction. He was just leaving when the nurse called after him. He ignored her and headed for the elevators. The doors closed just as the nurse entered the hallway. Lucky for her, she was too late. Sam rode the elevator down three floors before getting off. He kept the mask on as he strode the length of the floor, and entered the stairs on the opposite end. Descending to the next landing, he then stopped to remove the coveralls. He tossed them in the corner along with the toolbox. The pistol was shoved down the front of his pants where it was covered by the bulky scrubs. He took the stairs down at a normal pace.
* * *
Jack was still sitting in the cafeteria with Sydney, Larry, and Eric when the overhead announcement came on.
“Attention security. Code Black, Repeat, Code Black. Monitor channel two.” It was repeated three times. Jack spun around until he saw two security men eating at the next table.
“Hey.” Jack held up his badge. “What’s a code black?”
“Assault on a patient. We have a bunch of codes. Pink for stolen babies, red for fire. It’s always a drill.”
Jack was watching the other man’s face as he listened to the radio he’d put to his ear. His expression changed and Jack got to his feet.
The man looked up at all of them watching him. “It’s for real. Somebody just shot the Klan guy up on six. He’s dead. A maintenance guy, white, six foot, brown coveralls. We’re supposed to secure all the exits. No one leaves.”
“Let’s go,” Jack said. “Where’s the maintenance entrance?” he demanded.
“Uh, there isn’t one really. Closest thing would be down in the basement next to the loading dock and the emergency generators.”
“Show me!” Jack ran after the men. He turned and pointed to the rest of them. “Find the other exits and help secure them!”
Larry looked after Jack. There was no way he could run fast enough to catch him. He turned around to see Sydney and Eric looking at him for guidance.
“Okay...Syd, you take the bridge to the parking garage and Junior and I will take the ER entrance. Stay in touch, and don’t do anything by yourself!”
“Okay.” She turned and ran toward the employee entrance, pulling her gun as she ran. She remembered to move her badge out where everyone could see it. She didn’t want to get shot by a nervous security guard.
* * *
Sam exited the stairwell and turned the corner heading toward the loading dock. He expected the regular entrances to be guarded by now, but the loading dock most likely wasn’t. A guard was no doubt on his way though and Sam was hoping to beat him.
As soon as he rounded the corner he knew he was too late. An older security guard was strolling the dock. He spun around when he heard Sam approach.
“Hold it, young man. I can’t let you leave.”
Sam stopped. “I was hoping to get out before the lock down. If I’m late again she’s gonna kill me. Aren’t you sick of these drills?”
The man relaxed a bit, but not much. His name tag read Charlie. Charlie had some gray showing in his afro.
“Word is this one’s for real. Somebody up on six finished off the hate monger.”
“No shit? Well, I just want to go home. How about letting me out?”
Charlie looked Sam over as if considering the request. His gaze fell on Sam’s boots. Odd, he thought. Nobody wore boots like that up on the floors. It was all tennis shoes. For all the time they spent on their feet. Charlie felt something was wrong.
Before Sam could react Charlie pulled his gun and had the drop on him. Sam didn’t move, he just slowly raised his hands. He could see the Marine Corps tattoo on Charlie’s forearm. The man seemed very comfortable with his sidearm.
They stood in silence for a moment until Charlie broke it with a question.
“You the guy in the paper, sniping all those criminals?” The gun didn’t waver.
Sam decided this was a bad time to lie.
“Yeah.”
Some more silence. Sam was about to speak when Charlie cut him off.
“My daddy had to deal with those Klan sons-of-bitches his whole life. It’s why I became a soldier and then a cop.” He let the statement hang. Sam just nodded. The gun stayed trained on Sam’s chest. Some more silence.
“The door behind me leads to the loading dock. From there it’s out the gate on the left and into the parking garage. You should have cover there till you come out a block down the street. You hear me?”
Sam just nodded.
Charlie lowered the gun and stepped aside. Sam walked slowly past him to the door. He stopped and looked back at Charlie.
“You have kids, Charlie?”
“Three daughters.”
“They got a good father.”
Charlie nodded a thank you before Sam was out the door.
—THIRTY-THREE—
The state of North Carolina holds 33,560 inmates in its prisons.
Approximately 22,485 are repeat offenders.
Sam was across the loading dock and at the gate in seconds. He paused for a moment to look and listen. Hearing nothing but traffic noise, he walked through at a normal pace. He couldn’t believe his luck. The man was a veteran cop! Paul hadn’t lied when he’d told him they had some followers. Sam dismissed the incident and concentrated on his escape. Approaching the parking garage, he noticed that the guards were checking cars as they left. Fortunately, Sam had not allowed himself to be boxed in like that, and had circled the block until he’d found an empty spot on the street at the other end of the garage. The structure was five stories and would take awhile to search. He vaulted the waist-high wall to enter the garage on the first level, and strode past the backed up traffic waiting to leave.
* * *
Sydney had made it to the entrance only to find it already closed by two security men. She identified herself and then moved past them onto the walkway connecting to the parking garage. She was gazing through the glass in both directions, wondering what to do, when she saw the man exit the gate. The sign beyond him read Loading Dock. That was where Jack was headed, she thought. The man looked in all directions as he walked quickly but casually across the street. She watched him further as he approached the parking ramp entrance. Something wasn’t right. He stopped when he saw all the security, and then walked through the grass and jumped the wall into the garage. She lost sight of him in the long shadows cast by the setting sun. It was getting dark fast.
She fumbled with her phone as she walked toward the entrance to the garage on her floor. It rang three times before Jack answered.
“Yeah, Syd?” He sounded out of breath.
“I just saw a guy exit the loading dock entrance. He crossed the street and then jumped the wall into the parking ramp. He fit the description, but he’s wearing scrubs now. He was acting funny, avoided the main entrance when he saw the security there.”
“Okay, we’re almost there. Can you still see him?”
“Negative. I lost him in the dark.”
“All right, try to locate him again, but don’t do anything till I find you. Okay? Be careful.”
“Okay, I’m entering the ramp on the second level. I’ll call if I see him.” She hung up and sprinted down the walkway.
Jack regretted telling Sydney what he had as soon as she hung up. Sydney was a scientist. She had never really excelled at this part of the job, and he had
just sent her after a skilled killer. He thought about calling her back, but he knew it would do no good. She’d do it anyway. He increased his pace down the hall. He’d have to find her quickly.
The security guard was nowhere to be found when they rounded the corner. The security man pointed to the exit and Jack burst through into the cold night air. The sky was clear and the moon was full, so Jack had a good view of the area. He spotted the gate and was soon through it and on his way across the street to the garage. He vaulted the wall at the same point that Sam had and drew his sidearm. He waved the security man over.
“Have your men seal off the other end of the ramp and put people on all sides. Pull them from the hospital if you have to.”
“I’m not sure if I can do that. Our protocol says...”
“Just call your boss and tell him I said to do it. The man is out here, not in the hospital. Tell them there are two FBI agents in the ramp, and call the local PD. Do it now.”
The security man was young, but he knew a command voice when he heard it. He keyed the mic on his radio and did as he was told. When he turned back around, Jack was already lost in the darkness.
* * *
Sam caught the movement on the ramp and ducked behind a car. Watching through the glass, he saw a pair of legs descending the ramp slowly, followed by what looked like a 10mm pistol gripped a little too tightly and held by a woman with long black hair. She stooped to see under the ramp as she walked down from the second level. A flash of light caught the badge on her belt. It was the woman he had seen with Jack in the park yesterday. He watched as she turned away from him, and entered the darkness off to her left. He drew the .22 from his own belt, and silently moved away from her to his right. She was moving in the direction he needed to go. He’d have to circle around and avoid her. Luckily there were plenty of cars to hide behind. He scanned in her direction as he moved. He had to hurry, time was against him.
* * *
Jack pulled out his cell phone, but the screen read No Service. All the concrete and steel of the structure was blocking the signal. He stuffed it back in his pocket and moved farther into the garage. It was huge as far as parking ramps went. Five levels up and two underground. As long as a football field. The impatient drivers were starting to use their horns, and all the fumes were getting thick. He kept up his scan as he moved forward, old habits and training already kicking in. So far he saw no sign of Sydney, or the suspect. He decided to go right and follow the wall to the end of the ramp. He could only hope the locals arrived in time to seal it off.
* * *
Sydney was scared. This was definitely not her thing. She had aimed her weapon at three people so far, but luckily none of them had seen her. The horns were getting louder, and this only added to her nervousness.
“Calm down, Sydney,” she told herself.
She peered into the darkness, but never saw anything. Cars swinging around the corners caused shadows to fly across the walls, disorienting her. A headache was developing from all the cars spewing carbon monoxide. She shook her head and moved on. Her arm ached where Jack had tackled her.
* * *
Sam followed her progress with his ears. The click of her shoes on the concrete gave away her position. He lowered himself into a push-up position, and attempted to see her under the van he was behind. As he turned his head, he opened his mouth wide to clear the pressure in his inner ear. It promoted the sensitivity of the ear drum. Good army training. He soon picked up another set of footsteps. This one was off to his right. He smiled. It was getting interesting. He pushed himself up and rolled his feet inside the rubber-soled boots as he walked down the row. The dark blue scrubs helped him fade into the dark.
* * *
Sydney caught some movement off to her left and froze in place. She raised the pistol in her hand and looked down the barrel in that direction. Her ears picked up some noise and she tightened her grip. She waited, but nothing came out of the dark. It suddenly occurred to her that she was standing in the light, so she moved over to fall into the shadow of a concrete pillar. Once again she raised the pistol, this time thumbing off the safety. It gave with a loud click that she was sure the whole garage heard. The noise repeated itself closer.
* * *
Sam had come to an open area of two empty parking places. He had no choice but to cross it. He dropped to the push-up position again and lowered his head to scan under the cars. He couldn’t see much, so he rose and scanned through the glass of the car, again nothing. As he listened, he heard radio chatter below him on the sidewalk. One of the security guards with the volume up was circling the ramp. He moved to the side of the car and looked in the direction of the north entrance. The cars were still piled up. He could see two hospital security men, but no police yet. As the thought traveled through his mind, he heard the distant sound of a siren. Could be an ambulance, he thought, but soon two more could be heard, definitely the police. He had to hurry. A car was coming down the ramp. He took a deep breath and sprinted across the gap.
* * *
Sydney saw the movement and then the shadow as the car hit the person with their headlights. Sydney’s brain gathered the image and zeroed in on the silhouette of the gun in his hand. She took aim as the man came into view and fired.
The bullet hit the pillar behind Jack just as he came around it. He immediately dove to the right and rolled behind a car. He kept rolling until he was at the front tire. Peering out from behind, he scanned the area. The sound of someone running could be heard from the far end of the garage, away from where the shot had been fired. He looked from the other side of the tire. Some movement caught his eye, and he saw the edge of a shoe appear from behind a pillar.
“Sydney!”
“Jack?”
“Put the damn gun away before you kill me!”
Jack rose and walked toward her. She appeared from behind the pillar with a confused look on her face. Then it dawned on her what she had done.
“Oh god, Jack are you all right?”
“Yeah, you weren’t even close.”
“I...I saw the gun in the shadow and I thought...”
“It’s okay.” He reached out, took the pistol away from her and cleared the chamber before thumbing the safety back on and handing it back. He turned to find the security guards from the entrance running toward them. He waved them back.
“Get back to the entrance, he’s still in here!”
The guards stopped. Confused, they turned and headed back to the gate. Jack eyeballed the now moving cars. With no guards to stop them, they were getting out as fast as they could. Jack ran to the edge of the ramp and peered over the side. He caught sight of a man running down the sidewalk dressed in scrubs, a big man, with an easy runner’s gait. He was holding his stomach, like he had a cramp. Jack was about to turn away when something else caught his eye. He squinted in time to see the footwear. Work boots. The man turned and glanced over his shoulder just before disappearing into the darkness.
“Jack? Are you sure you’re okay?” Sydney asked. She approached and saw the look on his face. She looked in the direction he was looking, but saw only police cars and dark streets. She turned back to ask.
“What did you see?”
“I’m not sure, a ghost maybe.”
* * *
Sam forced himself to slow down and take another turn. He had made it to the car and past the arriving cops and was now speeding through side streets away from the hospital. He had been calculating his chances of just bluffing his way out, or running for it when the shot rang out behind him. He had instinctively hit the concrete till his brain processed the noise and determined it wasn’t aimed at him. He’d watched as the guards left the cars at the exit and sprinted into the garage. It was the opening he needed. He got up and walked toward the exit. Once clear he broke into a run. He had to make it to the car before the police arrived. Now he was clear of the area.
Finding a dark parking lot behind a
closed business, he changed into jeans and a casual shirt. The scrubs went into the dumpster, and he was soon on his way again. First, he needed new wheels. He punched the radio presets, looking for a news channel and ignored the burning in his gut.
* * *
“I don’t understand, sir. I don’t have it.”
“Well, I have it, Jack. Have for a few days, and I assumed you had it. They sent me proof of the fax. It was sent out to everyone on the list. You’re telling me you never got it? I just got a call this afternoon. I don’t know who this reporter buddy of yours is, but his story pissed off quite a few people.”
Jack tried to sound confused. “What story?”
“The Orlando paper, the one getting copies of the letters from the shooter. This reporter ran a story saying that the FBI had yet to receive the requested list of sniper trained personnel from the DOD. I just got my ass reamed by the chairman, and he sent me the proof that it was faxed to you days ago. Why are you giving this guy information, and where the hell is your copy of the list? I want some answers, Jack!”
Jack looked out the windows of the hangar to the jet waiting for him. He had to think fast. Satisfy his boss and still protect Danny. “As far as I know, sir, none of my people have a copy of the list. Can you tell me exactly when and where it was faxed?”
“Hold on,” Deacon replied. Jack heard some papers shuffling. “Looks like about 2 a.m. on Tuesday, sent to the number on the plane. It was encrypted and verified received. It’s fourteen pages, Jack, not like somebody missed it lying on the machine.”
“Okay. I can’t talk for much longer. I need some things when we land.” He went on to explain.
* * *
Jack sat in the Director’s office. He looked at the papers in his hand for the tenth time. Looking up at Deacon and the two agents across the room, he asked a question. “You’re sure you have the right bags?”
“Name tags on the bag and the contents all match,” was the gruff reply.
Jack leaned forward and rubbed his eyes with both hands. The past 24 hrs had been difficult enough, and now this. He couldn’t believe it.
“On the way here now?” Jack asked his boss.
“Yeah. I can do this for you if...”
