“Yeah, NYPD.” Kirk flashed his badge fast enough for the man not to notice that it was a Detroit badge. “We need to see a complete list of the people residing in this here— what do you call this place?”
“The Grove, sir. Don’t get your hopes up. Most of our residents require the utmost privacy. I’m afraid you will need to speak to a manager. This way, please.” He never cracked a smile or even changed his expression as he led them to the elevator. Isis eyed him, but Kirk didn’t look at her. He didn’t know what he was doing, but the badge had sounded like a good idea at the time.
The third floor housed a restaurant, the management offices for The Grove, and a day spa exclusively for the residents. The administration office was just as nice as the front lobby, and a slender, good-looking redhead sat behind a desk using an earpiece to talk on the phone. It gave her more time to do her nails while not missing a call.
“Miss Devrioe will assist you further. Is there anything else I can get you?”
“No, this will do.” Kirk brought back his gruff demeanor and looked at the man as he left.
“What are you doing?” Isis leaned in and whispered so only he could hear.
“Just play along.”
The redhead sat up, put down her ruby red nail polish, and smiled up at them. “May I help you?” Her tone was sweet but had a hidden disdain for the lower class being in her office.
“Yeah, you can start by getting the manager out here.” Kirk flashed his badge again and stood up straight with his chest out. He was getting impatient. “You hard of hearing?”
“No need to be curt. I can help you in any way…” Her voice made Kirk want to scream. It was high and snotty sounding, just like his ex-wife’s.
“Let me be frank, I am having a bad day, and you are hindering an investigation.” Her face turned as red as her hair, and she huffed as she pushed the intercom on the phone. “Mr. Bushi, there are two detectives here to see you.”
A brief pause, then a voice sounded. “Send them in.”
She turned and looked toward a door to her left, and Kirk led the way with Isis in tow. The large office was decorated with décor from Asia, right down to a small, golden Buddha sitting on the oak desk. A thin man stood and looked at them through a pair of thick glasses. “Do come in.”
“Detective Hatcher, and my partner, Detective Rush. We’re conducting an investigation that has led to a tenant in your building.” Kirk took out a notepad and pretended to look through it for effect.
“Oh, my. We screen all our guests and only allow the best class of society to even darken the doors, I assure you.” He pushed up his glasses with his index finger and looked around as if he’d lost something in the pile of papers on his desk.
“I’m sure you do. But we need to take a look at your register of all residents and recent visitors. If you could please make it quick, we’re in a bit of a hurry.”
“Well, our records are confidential, and I don’t know…”
Kirk moved forward and leaned over the desk, staring the fumbling man right in the face. His breath stunk of old coffee and he let a little spit fly as he poured on the intimidation. “Are you hindering an investigation? If you want a search warrant and a team of my biggest, meanest goons tearing this place apart, then you just continue to be uncooperative. I’ll even bring my favorite reporter from The Times to do a piece on your crummy establishment. I swear to you, when I’m done, you won’t be able to get the bums on Fifth Avenue to stay here!”
Mr. Bushi turned pale, and sweat ran down his forehead as he stuttered and climbed from his chair. He tripped his way to a large file cabinet. “No need to get rash. I will cooperate…I…but please don’t tell anyone. I could lose some very good clients.”
Isis spoke in a soothing voice and walked toward him as if to calm him down. “Don’t worry, Mr. Bushi, we will handle this information with the highest amount of sensitivity possible. I can assure you, this is very important to our case. You understand.”
He nodded, pulled out a CD, handed it to Kirk, and stepped back, wiping the sweat on his sleeve. Kirk walked behind the desk and slid the CD into the drive.
Moments later, a list of names popped up on the screen. Ricky Martin, Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Mouse, and many others. Come on, give me something!
Isis was looking over his shoulder as he rolled the mouse and scrolled down the page. “Wait, back up. There on the guest register from last week.”
Kirk backed up and followed Isis’s finger to the name of a woman. A Russian woman.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
A DARK SHADOW STOOD over the Red Dog. A dark green mist fell from its nostrils and trailed down to the floor, surrounding Taras as he lay, passed out on the floor. It was midday, but even with the windows open, the room was pitch black. The figure had yellow eyes that were almost invisible to the naked eye. It reached down with long, sharp claws and dug them deep into Taras’s skull. Taras twitched and thrashed as the beast slithered into his body. With each twist and pull, Taras writhed in pain. His eyes shot open, and blood ran from his nose as he screamed.
Then, just as fast as it happened, there was calm. A breeze blew the dark mist away, and the sun flooded the apartment with warmth. Taras blinked and sat up. He felt lightheaded and in dire need of a stiff drink.
He’s coming for you!
The bottle of Vodka hit the spot as he tipped it back and then wiped his face with a warm washrag. He felt stronger than ever. His reflection in the mirror above the sink showed his rippling muscles. His jeans were torn, and he didn’t even remember where his shirt went. The blackouts came every now and then, but this last one was, by far, the worst.
Throwing himself on the overstuffed couch, he held the bottle of Vodka to his head. He needed to think. Placing the bottle down, he reached for his 9 millimeter that lay on the coffee table waiting for him to take it out to play.
He didn’t need to look at the surveillance footage that showed Mark making his way up the back stairwell. He knew. After a quick check to make sure he had a full clip, he closed his eyes and waited in silence.
* * *
I FELT MY HEART jump into overdrive as I reached the thirtieth floor. I didn’t know what floor he was on by anything other than the dark feeling inside of me that was trying to tear my chest apart. The closer I got to the top, the stronger it was, like a demon pulling me into its lair.
Looking at the doorknob that led from the stairway to the main hall, I stopped and just stared at it like I’d never seen a doorknob before. It was brushed copper and round with a dead bolt above it. I turned it and saw that it was happening again. My fingers were glowing at the tips, even through my gloves. I could see the light fighting to escape. What was going on? I had no way of explaining what had happened to me, and I didn’t have time to sit and think it through. What had been done to me? With Solomon dead, I feared that I might never know.
The door opened, and I stepped out into the hall. I walked toward two large, wooden doors. They led into a lobby. On one side was a private elevator for Taras only, and on the other side was a metal door without a handle. A soft song floated over the speakers in the lobby area, the words like a prophecy. “Near, far, wherever you are…”
The cold metal door faced me like a monster’s mouth, daring me to enter. I knew what was on the other side. A cold-blooded killer, and maybe my death. I thought of K and Sam as I took a plastic explosive from a small pouch on my sleeve. My heart was on overdrive.
Thump…thump.
I could feel my chest tighten and my head start to throb. Just like before. Not again. I don’t need this now. I have a job to do! Placing the device on the door, I ran back to the stairway, and a few seconds later, an explosion sent a cloud of dust under the door.
Then, just as I’d come to expect, my heart slowed, and a wave of energy and power flooded over my entire body as I bolted from the stairway toward the open hole where Taras Karjanski’s door used to be.
Thump…thump…thump…
>
* * *
THE FIRE AND SMOKE from the explosion didn’t even budge the Red Dog as he lay on the couch. He felt the cold steel of his 9 MM and listened to the sinister voice that rang in his ears. He was a hundred feet from the front door, and with the building armed with invisible lazars crisscrossing the pathway between him and his attacker, he wasn’t worried.
His only regret was that he wouldn’t be able to squeeze the life out of Mark himself. Taras even thought about turning off all of his security devices just to make it interesting, but he couldn’t move. Taras was dead, and the beast called the Red Dog was in control. And he had a plan. No matter what, Mark Appleton was going to die.
* * *
I RAN THROUGH THE door and rolled to the floor, taking refuge behind a huge vase filled with bamboo.
Thump…thump…
I looked around and couldn’t see anyone, but I didn’t trust my eyes. He was here waiting for me. Standing up, I took out my Glock and dropped it to the floor with a clang. Then, I unstrapped my boot knife.
I could feel something filling my arms and legs like cold metal. A lone figure stood up from a leather couch and walked out. He had no shirt on, and his skin seemed to be an unnatural grey color. He smiled, and with hands palm up, he raised his arms out to his side like a man without fear. We stood looking at each other like a showdown in the old west.
Thump…thump…thump!
I walked forward and felt something hot hit me. I looked down to see red dots burning holes into my suit. Like an engine being cold started, I jumped into action, running forward as Taras raised a 9 MM and squeezed the trigger.
My head felt like it was going to explode as the pounding filled my ears. I couldn’t even hear the discharge of his gun, I only saw the flash from the barrel. The bullet caught me in the chest and threw me back, just about knocking me off my feet. But I righted myself, and charged.
He looked shocked when I didn’t fall, and in two steps, I was face-to-face with the Red Dog.
Thump…thump…thump!
Faster than I thought possible, he stepped back and pointed the gun between my eyes. I closed my eyes as a pulse of light compressed and shot from my body, hitting Taras in the midsection, throwing him back into a glass table, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
I couldn’t believe what was happening, but at this point, I wasn’t going to question it. My hands were glowing, and my chest looked like the sun itself. Lifting my hands in front of me, I sent a pulse of light toward Taras like a ball of energy. It hit him and threw him another ten feet, slamming him hard into the wall. My body was glowing white, and it was like everything was happening in slow motion. My hands were weapons, and this strange light was acting like a sonar pulse gun. I didn’t know what to do or how to control it, but it seemed to know what to do on its own.
Before I knew it, Taras was on his feet, blood running from his ears and nose. He smiled and yelled something in Russian. A thick glass came up from the floor and down from the ceiling, making a cage all around us. I was trapped with the Red Dog, and I had no way out.
* * *
TARAS YELLED ANOTHER COMMAND and a mist of deadly gas poured into the sealed room from vents in the floor. “You think you can make it out of this alive? You fool! You have no idea who you’re messing with. I am the Red Dog! I am not afraid to die, I am already dead. And soon you will share my fate, you little worm.” He spit and foamed as the gas hit his eyes and started to burn them. “The great Mark Appleton had a few tricks up his sleeve, but you forget, I am God!”
Taras started laughing as blood drooled from his mouth. He pulled a second 9 MM that had been stuffed in the back of his pants and unloaded it at Mark, who stood twenty feet in front of him. Die! Why won’t you die?
* * *
CHOKING AND COUGHING ON the gas, I could feel my eyes burning. Then I heard the distinct sound…pop, pop, pop. He was shooting again.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
I could feel a cold metal flow from my toes up to the top of my head. It hurt more than anything I’d ever felt before. I leaped into the air and came down with my fist crushing into the floor. Light shot out of my chest and hands, and the floor cracked as a force of raw energy and light hit it, sending out a flood of light with a bomb-like force. Glass shattered all around me, and the thick bomb-proof cage blew apart as if it had been made out of paper.
The force hit Taras right in the face and ripped through his body, crushing every bone and melting his skin like candle wax. He screamed, a look of abject horror on his face. And then his heart exploded. He slumped to the floor in a bloody heap.
I felt hot pain shoot through every nerve ending, and my world started spinning. I tried to hold on, but whatever had just happened drained me of everything I had. I looked up just in time to see the glass in every window shatter. The gas was sucked out the window, and I fell over and crumpled to the floor. This was it. My last act was killing the worst terrorist the world had ever seen. The sacrifice was worth it.
Then everything went black.
* * *
HITTING THE BUTTON A few more times on the elevator didn’t make it come any faster. Kirk’s eyes darted back and forth. He knew now why Mark was in the building, and worse yet, he had a bad feeling that the Red Dog was home.
Isis had a cool look on her face that told Kirk that she was in the zone. All business. And she was very good at her job. A ding sounded as the stainless steel doors opened. They traded a significant look, and then nodded and he punched the top floor. As the doors closed, Kirk pulled out his trusty .45 with a brand new laser sight he’d put on himself. He could remember using this gun for many a shootout with a drug runner, and one time on a hooker who was hell bent on killing off the male species.
4…5…6…7…
Isis didn’t say anything as she put her sleek, black gloves on. No matter what she wore, she was always prepared. Even all their sunglasses were equipped with thermal and x-ray vision. She had small vials filled with gas to wipe the room of any hostiles, and some that would put any poor soul in range to sleep. Side effect? One bad headache in the morning.
15…16…17…18…
“I called it in. We should have a team here in fifteen minutes.” Isis was looking down at her watch. It was glowing red, which was the emergency signal. With this, they could track all the team members as long as they were wearing their watches.
“Hope we’re right. Hate to get everybody running down here for nothing—”
Just as he said the words, the elevator shook and the lights blinked out. Kirk swore and the elevator came to a jerking stop. The emergency lights came on, and then a second sound that hit like a sonic boom. It shook the now stationary elevator.
“We’ve got to move!” Kirk tried to pull open the doors but they wouldn’t budge. “The hatch. There should be a hatch in the ceiling for repairs, I’ll boost you up.” Kirk got on one knee and Isis stepped into his cupped hands. She pushed up on the tile that made the roof of the elevator.
“Got it…can you lift me higher, just a little?” Pushing with her forearm and shoulder, Isis managed to push the trapdoor up, and it folded back on its hinges, making a two-by-two opening.
“Up you go.” Kirk pushed her through, then jumped and grabbed the edge of the roof opening and pulled himself up.
“Just like old times in your little prison. Guess something good came from it.” Isis blushed. “Sorry about that, I—”
“Never mind, we’ve got to climb up that cable and try to find a way out of here. I have a feeling Mark had no idea what he’s gotten himself into.”
Kirk grabbed a hold of the elevator cable and started to climb, hand over hand, up the cable. Isis followed.
One floor at a time, they slowly made their way up to the thirtieth floor. The elevator doors were bent and half torn off their hinges. Kirk looked down at Isis, who had a bead of sweat forming on her forehead. “We’ve got to swing this thing. It’s too far to reac
h the door!”
Kirk and Isis started to swing the cable back and forth, and as it swung toward the wall, Kirk took a leap and grabbed the edge of the mangled door. He grunted as his body hit the concrete wall and he started to slip. His fingers wiggled and he pawed at the floor for something to grab hold of.
Isis was still swinging, and as she came around, she leaped for the opening and dove right over Kirk’s head, landing in a tuck and rolling to her feet. She turned and grasped Kirk’s hand just as he was about to lose his grip altogether. Pulling him up, she fell backward. He landed next to her, huffing and spitting as he tried to catch his breath. Kirk looked over at Isis, who was brushing herself off, and grumbled as he got up. “What was that?”
Isis laughed. “I was a long jumper and a champion pole-vaulter in high school.”
Kirk shook his head and pulled out his .45 from his shoulder holster. He motioned toward two huge wooden doors that were hanging from their hinges. The small lobby was littered with debris and broken furniture. Water was running down the hall from the condo in front of them. Kirk walked through the ten-foot hole in the wall and into the Red Dog’s lair. The room was in shambles, and the fire sprinklers were raining on everything.
Then he saw Mark lying in a heap in what looked like the living room. He lay by a hole about twelve feet around with hardwood splintered up around him like teeth. “Mark!” Kirk and Isis reached him at the same time. From the looks of the bloody mess next to the far wall, the Red Dog wouldn’t be terrorizing anyone again.
“Mark, can you hear me?” Isis turned him over and felt for a pulse. “He’s alive. Mark, come on, hang in there!”
Kirk took his hand and noticed Mark’s shredded gloves and the tips of his fingers. They looked weird, not normal. They almost looked transparent, like clear plastic, but he couldn’t see through to the bone. They seemed to glow. What the heck was going on here?
DREAM ON (Mark Appleton #2) Page 24
