Storm Rising

by Steven Becker

  Now Mako had something to think about. The woman wouldn’t go away.

  ***

  Three hours later, he settled into his seat. The flight was only three-quarters full, and he was able to relax with an empty seat between him and a businessman who was already asleep. The flight attendant had just made the announcement to turn off all portable electronic devices, and he reached for his phone when it lit up with a text. Mei Lan is in London. The simple mission had just gotten much more difficult.

  Sleep didn’t come. Unable to get Hillary from his mind, and now having to deal with Mei Lan, even the flight attendant, a very attractive brunette, couldn’t distract him. They had just started their descent when he realized he hadn’t even flirted with her.

  It was late morning when he arrived in London, the time change eating up much of the night. Mako walked off the plane and headed to the tube station to catch the express into the city. He walked through the terminal, knowing he should be checking faces, but he was tired and distracted.

  The platform was already crowded when he got off the long escalator. Staying to the edge, he walked toward the rear and waited. The train pulled into the station, releasing the incoming passengers through the opposite doors. Once they were out, the doors opened and he followed the mass of people into the car. Settling into his seat for the twenty-minute ride, he put the earwig in his ear and adjusted the bone mike by his throat. Tapping the mike, he heard Alicia’s reassuring voice in his ear. He knew she would know where he was by his cell phone’s GPS, so he didn’t need to say anything.

  He had an uneasy feeling that someone was watching him, and not being able to sit still, he got up and started moving into the forward cars. At least he could beat the crowds off. Each car became progressively more crowded as the aggressive commuters made to be the first off. He fought through them and made his way to the front of the train. Soon people were standing by the doors, with others making their way towards the rear, where they might find a seat. Deciding to stay where he was, he turned sideways to allow an attractive woman he might have ordinarily flirted with to pass by, when he saw her.

  Without hesitating for another look, he turned and headed to the back of the train.

  “She’s here,” he whispered into the mike.

  “Mei Lan?”

  “No, the tooth fairy. Of course.”

  “Sorry, I’ll start running options. Did she see you?” Alicia asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Mako said, moving past another group of people crowded around the door area.

  “Okay. Running scenarios to get you out of there.” He took every opportunity he could to look back, but there was still a stream of passengers, and he couldn’t see more than a few feet behind him. It didn’t help that she was short as well as crafty. She could blend in and become invisible. He reached the last car and thought he had escaped observation when the train slowed and a voice came over the speaker announcing that the train was entering the station. Not wanting to wait for the crowd, he made his way to the rear and opened the door to the narrow platform outside the car.

  CHAPTER 28

  Mako timed his jump for the exact moment when the car would reach the concrete platform. The train was still moving, but he needed every second he could get. He landed badly on the concrete, but ignored the shooting pain in his knee and ran down the tracks, away from the terminal. Risking a glance behind him, he saw Mei Lan exit the train and look both ways. He thought he had evaded her, but she must have seen him and followed. Thankful for the crowd between them, he jumped onto the rubble next to the tracks and ran toward daylight. The glass-domed vault covering the station ended abruptly, and the first drops of rain hit him. “What now?” he almost screamed into his mike.

  “You’ve got about eight blocks and I think we can make you disappear,” Alicia said.

  Mako was not so sure as he looked around. People surrounded him, but he knew Mei Lan would not be easy to lose.

  “Continue on Cleveland Street. It will veer to the left and turn into Leinster Gardens,” she said.

  He ran through the crowded streets, limping slightly on his bad leg.

  “Almost there,” Alicia said. “Look for numbers twenty-three and twenty-four on the right.”

  “And then you make me disappear?” Mako panted the words. The house numbers were going down, and he knew he was close to whatever she was leading him into. “I see it.”

  “Go past to the next alley and see if you can find a way behind them.”

  “Behind?”

  “They are false fronts. There is a section of tube tunnel open behind them.” The open space was a remnant of another era, when vents were needed in the underground shafts to release the toxic fumes from the coal-burning locomotives. Numbers 23 and 24 Leinster Gardens were one of several false-fronted buildings that still remained around the world.

  “If you say so.” He was almost to the corner when he saw the scaffolding. If he needed to get behind the houses, the fastest way might not be around, but up and over. He reversed course and saw Mei Lan at the corner. She had stopped and was searching the street for him. Fortunately she had to be cautious and check each storefront. The businesses were all open, and he could have ducked into any of them to throw her off. Pausing at the first upright, he estimated the height and launched his body with his hand extended like Superman. He just reached the lowest section and grabbed the slick aluminum tube with his hands. Swinging like a gymnast, he gathered enough momentum to access the next level and reached a ladder. The going was easier now, but he was totally exposed and risked a glance down at the street.

  The street below him was crowded with pedestrians grouped around the building, staring up at him as if this was some sort of performance. Cursing himself, he knew he should have taken Alicia’s advice and gone around back, but here he was: three stories above the street. The crowd stood below, staring at him as he climbed over the parapet wall and saw the ruse.

  Below him, two sets of steel girders spanned the distance between the two adjacent buildings. If he could reach the lower ones, he would be able to land on top of the next train. The rain came in sheets now, making the climbing more difficult, but there were footholds built into the backside of the false-fronted buildings to allow access for the workers. He was over the wall now and climbed down to the first beam. Just as he was about to swing to the lower girder, a bullet struck the steel. The vibration echoed through his whole body, but he clung to the wet steel and lowered himself to the next foothold.

  The spectators must have aroused her suspicion, and Mei Lan was on the parapet wall. However, as long as he stayed against the building, she would not have a clear shot. He reached the second set of beams just ten feet off the ground and stared back into the tunnel. “Next train is due?” he whispered into the mike.

  “Two minutes,” Alicia responded.

  “Don’t suppose you could push that up any?” Mako said. It was too long for him to just stand here like an ordinary suit waiting for their commuter train. Mei Lan would be on him in seconds. He looked up and saw her coming down. Just a few more steps and she would have an easy shot. He looked around for any way to avoid her. Even with the low visibility of the storm, the courtyard was totally exposed, and without a weapon he was helpless. The dark tunnel beckoned.

  He crouched and leapt just as her foot reached the hold above him. Landing on the ground with a thud and rolling forward, he looked up, but the beam obscured her. Just as he was about to make a run across the courtyard to the protection of the tunnel, he heard the rumble of the train. The light was just visible, and he veered away from the tunnel to the opposite track.

  Bullets hit the rubble around his feet, and he looked up. Hoping the steel structure would obscure him, he started climbing the electric and gas pipes that were fastened horizontally to the wall. “How much longer?”

  “I can’t tell. It’s got to be close—it looks like it’s right on top of you.”

  Mako clung to the pipe as bullets sm
ashed into the old brick around him. Frozen against the wall, his feet clinging to the old conduits, he counted the seconds. The train was almost past, but his grip was slipping. He reached up, trying to grab a better handhold below the beam, but fell short, the movement causing his feet to slip on the wet pipes. The train emerged from the tunnel and sped past him, its jet stream almost pulling him from the wall. The last car finally passed, and he was about to release his grip and drop to the ground when he saw Mei Lan crouching on the tracks.

  From the tunnel, a deep rumble from the other direction caught his attention. A plan was forming in his head, but he had only seconds to act.

  “Hand over the drive,” she yelled.

  He ignored her, saving his energy. Perched on the largest conduit attached to the wall, he looked down and saw several other smaller pipes above it, but they were clearly not large enough to hold him. Reaching up again, his hand fell several inches from the girder. The gun fired again, and mortar flew from a brick near his head. He knew he was out of time.

  “Drop it now,” she screamed.

  “You’ve got to do better than that,” he panted and started to climb. With a quick look over his shoulder, he saw her coming after him. She was halfway across the yard when he turned away. The movement caused him to miss the next handhold, and he started to fall backwards. Regaining his balance, he forced himself back against the wall and started climbing. The ground vibrated and the sound grew louder. He sensed the train, but didn’t dare to look in case she followed his eyes and saw his intent. Using the pipes like rungs on a ladder, he scampered up the vertical wall, his momentum carrying him within reach of the beam. He wasted no time and pulled himself onto the steel girder just as the first car emerged from the tunnel. He looked down. The train was blasting through the open area. He clung to the wall, waiting for it to pass. It never slowed, and after it disappeared into the opposite tunnel, he looked down at the line of fresh blood on the rubble between the tracks.

  “Any chatter about the train?” he whispered into the bone mike.

  “Nothing. What happened?” Alicia asked.

  He didn’t answer.

  ***

  Mako discarded the earwig and bone mike as he walked the half dozen blocks to the Lloyd’s building. The rain had stopped. Though the cloud cover was still heavy, he could see the sun trying to break free as it rose higher in the sky. Despite the last few days, he was feeling upbeat, appreciating the women walking by dressed for the summer heat. The Lloyd’s building appeared as he rounded a corner, and he couldn’t help but retrace in his mind the steps he had used to escape.

  He approached the building in a different frame of mind than the last time he was here. A white-gloved doorman greeted him by name and opened the door. A woman in a tight-fitting business suit came up and shook his hand, ignoring his leering smile as she led him to the elevators. The doors opened, revealing the same set of cubicles that he had snuck through less than a week ago. They were full now, and the woman cleared her throat.

  “Ladies and gentlemen. Please say hello to Mr. Storm,” she said.

  As one, they rose and applauded. Grinning, he looked at the woman. “I’m Mako. My father is Mr. Storm.”

  She tried to contain the laugh. He must have spoken louder than he thought, because soon the entire room was laughing. Soon all the workers were approaching him to shake hands and congratulate him on saving the reputation of the prestigious firm. He thanked them and handed the drive to the lead programmer, who clutched his hand, a bit harder than expected, and thanked him profusely. The woman cleared her throat several times in a distinctly British fashion, and soon the room was back to normal.

  “Well, Mr. Storm—I mean Mako. Lloyd’s extends a sincere thank-you for all you have done.”

  He smiled at her. “And the contract payment?”

  “Right. We’ll take a detour through accounting on the way out,” she said.

  “And then what?” he asked and put his hand on the small of her back just as the elevator doors opened.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean,” she said.

  He saw the look in her eye and moved closer. “But I think you do.” He leaned in to kiss her, but before he could brush her lips, he pulled away. She gave him a questioning look, but he just stared at the door.

  ***

  They were anchored in twenty feet of water just north of Key Largo. Mako expertly popped the cork on the champagne and poured it into the waiting glasses. They raised them and nodded an unspoken toast.

  “No word from your dad?” Alicia asked.

  “Nope. Dropped off the grid. Something he’s good at,” Mako said.

  Silence prevailed for a few seconds.

  Hillary whispered in Mako’s ear, “I want to get wet.”

  Alicia helped her into the dive gear. She gave her the rundown on the equipment and a brief safety talk. This would be the woman’s first time on SCUBA, but Alicia had done the Discover Diving briefing many times. Taking people out for their first underwater experience was one of the things she really enjoyed, and she still remembered when Cody had taken her on their first date.

  Mako watched from the deck, champagne glass in hand. When the two women had disappeared below the surface, he turned to Cody, who was playing a game on his phone. Leaving him to his amusement, Mako climbed up to the bridge and sat on the bench seat behind the helm, staring at the bubbles from the two divers and smiling.

  Get Wood’s Ledge for FREE!

  mactravisbooks.com

  While tarpon fishing in the backcountry of the Florida Keys, Mac Travis discovers a plot to drill for oil in the pristine waters.

  After his life is threatened he teams up with his long time friend and mentor, Wood, to uncover a plot that leads to the top echelons of power in Washington DC. An action packed short story featuring underwater and boating scenes

  Sign up for my newsletter