The Game

by Scollins, Shane

  Candice shook her head.

  He looked her up and down again, making her feel uncomfortable. “You should consider it,” he said. “You’ve got the right face and a nice figure. You’re probably not tall enough for runway work but I could definitely get you some catalog spreads or commercials.”

  “Sorry, that’s not my thing.” Guys had tried this pickup game with her before. She handed back the card and looked at her phone, almost hoping it would ring right now.

  “That’s not going to ring.”

  She looked at him and scrunched her brow.

  He sipped his coffee. “You were sent here to meet me.”

  She felt her breath catch in her throat, and had to remind herself to breathe.

  He stood up, casually sipping his coffee. “If you come with me now, they say your friend will be okay.” He got up and walked outside. He stood near the glass and looked back inside at her. With a wave of his hand, he motioned for her to come outside.

  She finally stood up and met him on the sidewalk.

  “This is quite the storm shaping up. Do you like snow?”

  “Why are you doing this to me?”

  He slowly shook his head. “I’m not doing anything. I’m just being paid to take you somewhere. I have no idea what this is all about.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Hey, I’m serious. Some dude came up to me, showed me your picture, and said to meet you here at this time. He gave me a thousand dollars, which I thought was ridiculous, but hey, that’s a lot of money, even for me.”

  “What did they tell you?”

  “They said your friend was in trouble, something about drugs. They gave me an address and said to bring you there.”

  Candice studied him, unable to tell if he was being honest. His face was too handsome, too cool. He had a cocky assured smile that oozed too much confidence. But if he was some sort of entertainment industry professional as he claimed, maybe that was his natural manner.

  “My car is around the corner.”

  She didn’t want to follow him. Her mind was alive with all kinds of things, none of which made sense. After considering all the options, she followed him and climbed into the red sedan.

  Chapter 13

  Vince put the Jeep in gear and followed the red four-door Dodge. This was it, his big chance to get closer than he ever had before. This was what he’d been waiting for.

  “Don’t get too close,” Alexis said, snapping her seatbelt. “Turn on the wipers. Go to the other lane.”

  “Lexi, please, I know how to drive.” He switched on the wipers and rolled his eyes.

  “We might lose them.”

  “We won’t.”

  “What if they kill her now?”

  “They won’t.”

  “How’d you know she was the mark?” Alexis popped a fresh piece of gum in her mouth and folded the old one up into the white wrapper.

  “I don’t know, I guess the same way I knew last time. When she threw the record into the trash, I knew it was happening again. Who buys a record and throws it away five minutes later?”

  “And you’re sure it’s the same guys?”

  “I think so.”

  “I don’t understand how you know.”

  “I can’t explain it.” He really couldn’t.

  “I hope I can trust Sausage and Steam Boy to lock up the store without throwing another party.” She popped her gum.

  Vince changed lanes, staying in step with the sedan. “Where’s he going?”

  Alexis pulled off her glasses and wiped the lens dry. “It looks like they’re going out of the city.”

  Vince maintained a good distance as they entered the Lincoln Tunnel. “I can’t believe they’re doing this so soon. These guys are definitely getting greedy.”

  “What do you think they’re really up to?” she asked.

  “I’m afraid to guess.”

  “Vince, we can’t let them get away with another one. Have you thought about trying to get police help again?”

  “We don’t know they killed them. And forget the police, Lexi, they think I’m nuts.”

  “But there must be someone you used to work with—”

  “Lexi, just because you believe me doesn’t mean anyone else will. They wouldn’t believe me when they should’ve. We have to find out what they’re doing and where. Then we can call the police. ”

  “You’re right, I’m just anxious.”

  “I understand, but Alyssa will not’ve died in vain if we can just follow this through. I know it leads to something real.”

  They were way out in Jersey now, driving past Giants Stadium and jumping onto Route 80 Westbound. The farther they went, the worse the storm got. The snow was really piling up out here. Being in an off-road capable Jeep Renegade gave them a distinct advantage over the sedan. But Vince was still careful not to get too close.

  Whoever these people were, however they covered their tracks, whatever twisted game they were playing, he knew only that they were dead serious. He chased this ghost right out of a job.

  Vince had been waiting for the next one, because he’d learned enough to perhaps help this time around. When he caught Alyssa’s case six months ago, he never knew it was going to be the thread that unraveled a career. But he never knew what to expect when he jumped down these rabbit holes.

  They got off the highway, finally, after a slow twenty-five minute drive. This was a part of New Jersey unknown to Vince. It was somewhat rural, with lots of trees and dark, twisting roads. He passed a sign that read Hibernia and the red sedan turned off the road and into a warehouse complex. He drove past so as not to alert them and made a U-turn at the next side street.

  “Don’t pull in,” Alexis offered as she took hold of a pair of binoculars from the glove box and raised them to her eyes.

  Vince pulled into the parking lot of a glass cutting business and faced the warehouse. The red sedan stopped near a series of white doors, each with a few steps and a concrete platform in front of them.

  “They’re just sitting in the car,” Alexis said. Her mouth moved deliberately as she twirled her gum.

  Vince reached into the center console and pulled out a black and green Glock .40 caliber pistol.

  “What are you doing?” Alexis asked.

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  “You don’t know if they’re alone.”

  “So?”

  “What if he has a gun?”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  “This is heavy.”

  “What’d you expect?”

  “Not this. In case you forgot, you’re not a cop anymore.”

  She didn’t have to remind him he wasn’t a cop. He wasn’t a cop anymore because of these people and his own unstoppable obsession. Fact was, he never really felt like he was a cop.

  “Vince, maybe we should watch some more, maybe we should step back.”

  He exhaled a long breath. “We may not get another chance like this, Lexi. If we don’t do something, we might not—”

  “You don’t know that. You don’t know what they’re doing.” Her voice choked thick with tears. “She was my twin sister, Vince. They didn’t push her off that building, but they might as well have.”

  “I know, Lexi. I know what they’re capable of. But you don’t know what I know, where I’ve been.”

  She sniffled and wiped her eyes on the extra long sleeves of her black sweatshirt. “You always say that. What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

  “Alexis, I know you miss her. But I’m close to something, I can feel it.”

  “You’re not a cop anymore. You can’t treat this like an investigation.”

  “I did my best. I can only stand by and watch for
so long. I’ve been wrong before and maybe I’m wrong this time, too. Which is why you have to promise me that if something happens to me, you’ll give this up. You’ll walk away. I have to act before the window of opportunity closes.”

  Alexis nodded, tightened her lips, and removed her black framed glasses. “Fine, maybe you’re right.” She brought the binoculars to her face again. “They’re on the move.”

  “Shit.” Vince threw the Jeep in gear, sped out of the lot and across the street. Just as he got into the parking area, they slipped inside.

  “Relax, Vince. They’re not going to kill her now.”

  “Maybe not, but we may never see her again.”

  Chapter 14

  Candice didn’t expect an empty warehouse. She started to feel like this was a huge mistake as the man led her towards the back.

  “Where’s Zyanna?” she demanded.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You said if I came here, my friend would be released.”

  “That’s out of my hands.” His phone rang, he answered. “Yeah…that’s right…very well.” He ended the call and slid his phone back into his pocket.

  Candice knew something was wrong with this whole scenario. She had played along and it wasn’t sitting well. This man had a sinister twinkle in his eye. Without thinking it through, she exploded into fake tears, bending over and covering her face. She sobbed and moaned, and when he came closer, she whipped her fist up and smashed him in the face as hard as she could.

  Blood exploded from his nose. He staggered backwards and fell over a stack of empty five-gallon buckets. She ran into the darkness of the building.

  About halfway through the building, she took a turn down a dark hallway. There was literally a light at the end of the tunnel. She hit the double doors with her shoulder and plunged into a kitchen. She heard the man’s footsteps drawing near, so she didn’t waste time.

  Through the kitchen, she pulled a serving cart behind her, hoping it would slow him down before busting through another set of swinging double doors.

  She stopped for a breath and looked around. Now she was in an office. Cubicles formed a maze around her. A crash emitted from the kitchen, he’d obviously stumbled his way into something.

  Candice ducked low and snaked between some desks. She heard him bust into the office.

  “You bitch!” he yelled. “I think you broke my nose.”

  Candice glanced around the edge of a cubicle and saw him. He pointed the pistol in his hand around the room, looking for her.

  “I know you’re in here. Know how I know? Because your wet footprints are on the carpet.”

  She heard his breath coming closer, so she sliced across to the next cube, then the next.

  “C’mon, come out. You don’t want your friend to die. And they will kill her. They’re psychos, all of them. I’m the only one who’s not insane. I do this for the incredible pay. I don’t hurt people. I wasn’t going to hurt you. I still won’t. I’m pissed you punched me in the face, though.”

  Candice moved again, this time closer. Her plan was to double back right under his nose and go back into the kitchen. The room was dead silent.

  She could feel him looming close, a presence, if not a sound.

  Then his phone broke the silence with a pop song. She jumped a bit. He didn’t answer at first. Then he did.

  “Yeah, I’m on it. We’ll be here.”

  Candice peeked up on top of the desk in front of her and she saw it, a perfect projectile. She took hold of the geode paperweight, stood up, and whipped it at his head with all she had.

  The geode hit him right in the left cheek, knocking him backwards into the flimsy wall of the cubicle and toppling it over. He screamed at her as he fell.

  Candice ran past him and burst into the kitchen, and back through into the warehouse area. But he was quick and the long run back to the door was enough for him to start gaining on her.

  She kicked it into the highest gear she had, as if she was chasing a loose ball during a championship soccer game when she was sixteen. She was speedy back then but no doubt had lost a few steps since. The door hardly slowed her down at all and she ran right though it, then out of the building into the freezing cold.

  Candice hit the top landing steps with too much momentum and slipped in the snow. She slammed her ribs into the steel railings, hard, and spun off.

  Disoriented from the impact, she lost her balance and fell down the steps, crashing onto her left side. The air blasted out of her lungs and sucked away her breath.

  She struggled to her feet and staggered towards the road as the door flew open behind her.

  “You bitch, that hurt!” the man yelled at her.

  From out of nowhere, a vehicle flew into her path. She cut around it, trying to get away. A man jumped out, gun drawn. He pulled the trigger twice. The concussion of the shots scared her, and in the slickness of the snow, she fell.

  The shooter ran past her. She rolled over and watched him kick the gun away from the fallen man who had driven her here. Then the shooter slumped, his shoulders slack. He shook his head. “I had no choice.”

  Then a girl jumped from the blue Jeep, ran up to Candice, and helped her up. It took Candice a few seconds before she recognized the girl. It was the rainbow-haired girl from the record store. “You?” Candice said.

  “Get in,” the girl told her, shoving her towards the Jeep.

  The shooter then dragged the body of the dead man over to the red sedan. “Follow me,” he said, and the girl with the crazy hair ran back to the Jeep and climbed into the driver seat.

  Candice watched the man muscle the body into the trunk. He then got into the car and started it. The sedan sped past them, but they followed.

  “What the hell is happening?” Candice asked over the roar of the engine.

  “We’re saving your ass.”

  “Who are you people?”

  “I’m Alexis, that’s Vince.” She pointed to the car in front of them.

  “Are you cops?”

  “No.”

  Candice tried to wrap her head about yet another development. But her mind was inexplicably twisted in around itself. The thing that bit at her the most was she might have just killed Zee. By not cooperating, she might have sealed the fate of her best friend.

  Silent tears welled up in her eyes. If Zee died, she would never forgive herself. She looked out to the snow, recognizing for the first time since this crazy trip started how beautiful the night was. The snow was so peaceful but she knew the beauty of nature masked horrible truths out in the world. Her world had turned completely upside down in the span of a day.

  They pulled down an access road to a lake, where they sat in the Jeep and watched Vince send the red sedan driverless down a boat launch ramp and into the large lake. She almost couldn’t believe her eyes, but sure enough, it was happening.

  Candice watched the car bubble under the surface, gone in a matter of seconds. Vince then opened the driver door and Alexis slid between the front seats and took up position in the back.

  He quickly spun the Jeep around and headed back to the highway. He looked at Candice. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “I’m fine. But they have my best friend. They have Zee, and I just killed her.”

  From the back seat, Alexis leaned through. “I know them. They didn’t kill her yet.”

  Candice looked at her. “You know them? Who are they?”

  Vince offered. “We don’t know who they are.”

  “Then how do you know they won’t kill her?”

  Vince shared a look with Alexis, then, looked back to the road, with no answer.

  Chapter 15

  Rena placed a second call to Mark’s phone, but he didn’t answer. She lit a cigarette and leaned back. Angus ha
ted when she smoked, so she made sure to do it around him whenever possible. She liked to push his buttons and get him riled up. It was what she did best. She manipulated people in all different kinds of ways, and pushing their buttons was part of that.

  It was the innocent little games that people didn’t notice, but those were the ones she used to set up the game. People were mostly stupid. They had no idea how much information they conveyed with a look or a response. And that’s why Rena loved to push them. She had been born with the ability to twist and push people any way she wanted. Even as a little girl, she could get her daddy to buy her whatever she wanted.

  Angus was the toughest nut she’d ever encountered, and that’s why she liked him. He was somehow immune to her prodding. Oh, sure, he would respond to her little taunts, but he never let her get that one step above in order to get her way. It was the thrill of the chase she loved, probably too much. Angus was the only man she’d ever met that scared her. She could control any man, but not him, and that intrigued her to no end.

  Most of the time, guys would just bend to her will with a flash of her smile, a teasing tongue on her red lips or a seductive sway of her hips. A few of them required a bit more work, but in the end, all of them could be had. Angus, on the other hand, somehow resisted her. No matter how sexy she dressed, he could somehow just steal a glance and then look away. It was as if he could get his fill, and be done.

  She dialed Angus’ number. “Have you heard from Mark?”

  “Not since last check-in.”

  “He was supposed to call me back. Something was going on when I spoke to him, but he never called back. He’s over forty minutes late.” Rena could hear Angus on the other end grunting in anger. She could picture him tugging the collar of his white T-shirt and adjusting his black sweater. He always wore the same clothes. She waited patiently.