The Six: Complete Series

by E. C. Richard

  She gave her best flirty smile as she let her fingers drift over to his body. They had done her nails and now they glimmered with a sweet demure pink.

  “We’re almost there,” he said. “Can you wait?”

  “I really can’t,” she whispered. “I’m really hot back here.”

  The driver cleared his throat. “I shouldn’t be talking to you.”

  She saw his shoulder tighten as he nervously adjusted his rear view mirror. “Why not?” she said.

  The more she looked at him, the more the mystique of the stern security man wore off. He was just a normal guy with a buzz-cut. He had a Coke in his cup-holder. There were CDs hanging from the visor and spare change in his ashtray. He couldn’t be happy about what he had to do tonight, either.

  “I just can’t. Please, just sit back down.”

  There was just enough space to fit her hand through. Her nails just reached the back of his head. She ran a few fingers across his hair. Immediately, he recoiled and shook her hand away. “What are you doing?”

  “You like it?” she said.

  “Sit down. Please.”

  Plan B. There was always a Plan B. She moved in the backseat so she’d be in line with the rear view mirror. “Fine,” she said, “I understand.”

  Underneath her leather jacket was a tank top with just enough left to the imagination to work for her. She slowly stripped off the jacket, making sure the leather slid the straps off the tank top. The pink frilly bra they’d given her showed clearly underneath the black tank top. She let the sagging strap linger on her forearm. She had done this a hundred times for stakes much lower than this.

  “Why don’t we just pull over?” she said. “We can just talk, huh?”

  The man glanced back and she caught him staring. She pulled her shirt down as far as she could and let her hair dangle over her shoulder. Desperation wafted from her like a pungent perfume. Every minute was precious.

  “I can’t...” he said, his voice pained. “You’re very beautiful. I can’t.”

  She let her fingers touch the back of his head and lightly raked her nails through his hair. He didn’t move at first. It was working. “You like that?”

  His hand hovered above the partition switch. There was still a chance. She kept going. “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Stop...” he muttered.

  “C’mon, just talk to me.”

  He slammed on the brakes and hurled her forward into the back of the seat. He pointed to a small green light blinking on the dashboard. “They’ll kill you. You realize that? They’re watching all of this. So just shut up, all right?”

  She clutched her chest where the scar lay, still sore and tender. There was no escape. Even if she leapt out of the car and rolled onto the freeway, they’d know. It’d be a matter of seconds before they flipped the switch and struck her dead.

  The coffee shop was on the corner, across the street from a frozen yogurt shop where all the high schoolers sat and made fun of the people crossing the street. She’d given more than one stink-eye to a bratty freshman while she gorged on a large vanilla cone drenched in sprinkles.

  He had parked the car a block away, in a nondescript parking place in front of a happy couple enjoying a glass of wine. Their laughs, their carefree smiles, felt like an alternate reality. With this thing in her chest, how could she ever feel that peace again? Her entire life was held in the hands of people who didn’t care about who she was or if she lived or died.

  The driver turned around with a contrite look on his face. He flung a black purse over the partition. “It’s got your stuff. What you need...”

  She snatched the bag from his hands and immediately went through it. There was $20, a box of matches, a bottle filled with gasoline and a small black box coated in plastic and metal. “What is this?”

  He dug into her purse and pulled out the box. “If you can’t do it manually, you can just set this baby. I made it myself.” The driver flipped it over and revealed a small keypad.

  “What do I do with it?”

  “Easy,” he said. “You just put in the code, it’s 12345, nothing hard, and you’ve got two minutes to get out. It’s on a timer. It’s got a twenty foot radius so it’ll take down the coffee shop for sure and you’re in the clear. I thought you might want to do this one a little hands-off, since it’s your first.”

  It was like giving a first grader a calculus test. She’d never started a fire, not even lighting the candles on a birthday cake. She took the bomb back and stuffed it in the bottom of her purse. He had seemed so pleased with himself, but she couldn’t be more terrified. There was no amount of hands-off in this situation that was going to make this job any easier.

  The driver glanced at his watch. “Two hours, okay? So, it’s 3:15. I’m here at 5:15. If you’re not here at 5:15, I have to call it in.”

  She looked at the bag and back into his sympathetic eyes. “I can’t do this,” she said. “I don’t know what to do.”

  He put out his hand and it almost got to her shoulder. All she wanted was a little comfort, even if it was the man who held her life in his hands. “You’ll be fine,” he said as his hand squeezed her shoulder.

  He let it linger against her skin and fall down her arm. His fingers brushed against her hair. She sat, paralyzed. “What if I can’t do it?”

  “You can.” He leaned in closer and his hand had fallen down to her wrist and it gripped her tightly.

  “I don’t think I can.”

  The driver tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered. “They picked you because you’d done it before.”

  As he sat back, she realized exactly what he meant. They knew. They knew what she’d done.

  “What do you mean?”

  It was impossible.

  He let her arm go and pushed her gently towards the door. “Go! They don’t like waiting.”

  She moved hardly an inch before turning back to him. “What are you talking about? What did they tell you?”

  He looked up at a small camera installed above the rearview mirror and pointed to it. “I can’t. Please, just go,” he pleaded.

  Lila grabbed the bag and slipped out the door, only getting as far as the empty parking space next to the black SUV. It drove away the second her feet hit the ground. The tires squealed as it raced down the block and rounded a corner.

  She stood in the empty spot as the bag dug into her shoulder. It was warm outside, perfect pool weather. Any other day, she’d be in a deck chair at her friend’s overpriced condo complex, high on whatever she could get her hands on. She’d gotten a prescription for Vicodin from her orthopedist after she twisted her ankle, so the last few weeks had been low key and easy on her checkbook.

  It was warm outside, a sunny March afternoon in the city. Lila never thought she’d miss how the sun felt on her skin. It tingled and sent a chill down her body. She took in a deep breath of real fresh air. Her lungs weren’t used to it after two weeks of chilled recycled air.

  The honk of a tiny Mini Cooper snapped her out of her daze. She leapt out of the parking spot and onto the sidewalk. What clarity the fresh air had provided did not make the bag any lighter or what it contained any less daunting. She began to walk towards the Blue Brook, each step feeling like a death sentence. The closer she got, the more this became reality. There was no avoiding hurting someone. They were watching, someone was always watching. Someone was going to have to die and it would be by her hand.

  The front door had been propped open and the mellow indie music wafted out onto the sidewalk. She walked towards the entrance like a prisoner headed to execution. All she wanted was for Hannah to be gone. She might be able to do this if she could separate herself from everyone. But Hannah... she couldn’t do it to her friend.

  Lila got to the door and leaned over just enough to get a glance of the register. Standing at the espresso machine was Hannah, with her apron tied tight around her tiny waist.

  For the last nine years, she knew that she did
n’t deserve a friend like Hannah. Loyal to the end and intensely supportive, Hannah always had her back. They met at volleyball practice sophomore year. Hannah was an amazing player, MVP of the season, and Lila was barely a footnote. She only played two games before she promptly quit to focus on her short-lived music career.

  Even though they had next to nothing in common, Hannah stuck around like a devoted puppy. They had a few classes together and she’d invite Lila over to study for finals and compare notes. In the classes she had with Hannah, her grades were almost straight A’s. The other classes barely rose above passing.

  They never hung out much after school, except to study. Lila was too busy partying and hooking up while Hannah studied and had movie nights with her steady boyfriend, Kevin. She knew Hannah’s boyfriend hated her, he wasn’t shy about what a bad influence she was and how Hannah was better off ditching her for good.

  Kevin didn’t last after senior year, but their dysfunctional friendship did. Hannah went to college nearby while Lila worked at a string of restaurant and retail jobs. They shared an apartment but hardly ever saw each other. Last she heard, Hannah was in law school and engaged.

  “You going in?” a voice said behind her.

  Lila jumped at the noise. “Yeah, I’m sorry.” She grabbed at the door and pushed her way inside. The man attached to the voice maneuvered around her and made his way to the back of the line.

  The place was full. A dad and his little daughter sat at a table in the corner. He furiously highlighted a large stack of papers while she worked, brow furrowed, over a sheet of homework. There were small groups of college students with textbooks in front of them, which were an afterthought to the discussion they were having over lattes. Everyone seemed so calm, so peaceful. She tried to subconsciously will them out of the store with whatever inherent telepathy she might have. “Just leave,” she thought. “You don’t have to be a part of this.” No one got up, in fact a small herd of high school football player types barreled through the door.

  All she could do was stand in line and act like nothing was wrong. Inch by inch she moved up. Lila looked at the menu intently just to keep from thinking about the flammable contents in her bag.

  “You ready?”

  It wasn’t the barista, but the man from the doorway. He gestured in front of him to the empty space in front of the cash register.

  “What?” she muttered.

  The man pointed at the menu “I can’t decide. You go ahead.”

  He was handsome and gentle with a smile that made her feel, just for a second, like a normal person. He gripped a fruit and cheese plate in his hand and squinted intently at the long list of coffees. It wasn’t until she crossed in front of him that she noticed the badge on his chest.

  A cop.

  Lila couldn’t control the wide eyed look of panic that crossed her face as she stepped in front of him. His gun and Taser hung at his waist as he gazed at the muffin selection. The only comfort she had was her time limit. Two hours. A man in a hurry wouldn’t be around the whole time. She’d just need to wait him out.

  “Lila!”

  Her heart skipped a beat as she was hurtled back into her old life. Hannah stood at the cash register with her giant engagement ring gleaming under the fluorescent lights. “It’s been so long!”

  “It has!” Lila screamed back. She forced a smiled back on her face and put her arms out for an over the counter hug.

  Hannah fiddled with her ring and dipped the diamond beneath her finger. “I’ve been trying to call you. Where’ve you been?”

  Tortured. Kidnapped. Nearly dead. “Out of town. Sorry, I lost my phone.”

  “No worries. You want your normal?” Vanilla latte, extra whipped cream. She hadn’t had to pay for a single drop of coffee at this place since Hannah started working there.

  “Yeah, that’d be great.” Lila fingered the strap of her bag. She could smell the gasoline fumes that seeped through the leather.

  “Are you okay?” Hannah asked. “You look a little pale.”

  She probably looked like shit, even after the makeover that they’d hurried her through in that basement. It was impossible to hide how tired she was after the last two weeks. Since high school, she’d seen a lot of terrible things, but nothing could have prepared her for this.

  Hannah could help. She could get everyone to evacuate the building. All it would take was a flip of an alarm. It couldn’t be that hard.

  They would kill Hannah in an instant and they’d turn back around and activate the thing around her heart. The rules were explicit. “Yeah,” she said, “I’m fine, just been working late.”

  “I see.” Hannah had already sniffed out the bullshit. They’d stopped rooming together after she found Lila’s stash of pills in the living room, stuffed inside a vase. It was the last straw. “You’ve got a problem,” Hannah had said, “and I can’t be around it anymore.” Ever since then, she’d always looked at Lila from the corner of her eye, mostly assuming that there were a number of pills coursing through her system at any given moment.

  She walked away before Hannah could ask anything else. There was one small table next to the window which she snagged before the wannabe novelist could get there with his laptop bag and large stack of notebooks. As she sat down, Lila could feel her heart beating hard against her chest.

  She held the bag close to her chest and peaked inside. The bottle sloshed at the bottom with its amber liquid gleaming under the fluorescent light. The box was still settled against the side, taunting her with its potential for destruction.

  A baby cooed beside her. Its tiny hands bounced up and down against the high chair as its mom juggled between shaking a toy in its face and sipping on her coffee. “Please leave,” she prayed. “Just get out of here.”

  “You okay?”

  Her eyes had been fixed on the stuffed dinosaur the baby had snatched from its mother’s hands. As she gazed away, she saw his face, the cop’s face. It was freshly shaved and there were bits of loose hair running down the back of his neck. He had the antiseptic smell of a man who had just spent the last hour in the barbershop next door.

  “I’m fine,” she said. She ran through what might have given her away. The mascara hadn’t run down her cheeks and they’d put enough foundation on her that no ghostly pale terror would seep through.

  “You mind?” He grabbed the seat and spun it around to meet her awkward angle.

  She wanted to protest but it was better to be agreeable and not attract any attention. If she stayed pleasant, he would leave and she could move on. “Okay,” she said quietly as she tucked the bag between her feet on the floor.

  He looked down at his uniform and back up with a smile. “Just got off duty. Don’t you worry, I’m not going anywhere.” It was supposed to be charming but it made every muscle in her body tense.

  He was cute in a college kid just hitting the big city kind of way. Any other day, she would have worked his flirty generosity into a free muffin and promise to call him. Today, she took after her sister, the one who spent every Friday night in her room with the computer on and her legs shut. She was a doctor now. Lila, well she was here. “I have a boyfriend,” she said. “So...”

  Her sister used that many times. Whenever she’d go out, the guys would inevitably hit on her. It drove her insane. She didn’t want to talk to them and it never seemed to matter how many sweatshirts she wore, or how messy her ponytail was, they would try to talk to her. She took to wearing an engagement ring as she got older just to make the point that much stronger. Lila always hated her for that. It took so much effort for her to get anyone’s attention. The lengths she used to have to go to in order to get a date when Georgia just got cute guys throwing themselves at her.

  The cop didn’t seem to care. He kept talking but it came out as mumbled white noise. The room felt like it was closing in on itself. If he wasn’t going to leave, then the whole job suddenly became much harder. The entire shop was only so big; there weren’t too many places to hide
.

  “So, you from around here?” He still smiled. How was he still smiling? She felt like a jerk but she had to get him out of here.

  “I need to go…” she pointed towards the bathroom. Her stomach was in knots and she needed to get away from that baby that cooed in her ear. It made her want to cry. Before he could say a word, she was gone.

  She scooted towards the restroom and locked the door behind her. As she leaned against the cold metal handle, she could finally breathe. The adrenaline had taken over her system and she could barely stand. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. There were so many options on how to make this happen. It would have been so easy for them to tell her exactly what to do, step by step. If they knew so much about her, then they knew that she was incapable of pulling something like this off. All they wanted was those people’s blood on her hands in some kind of twisted revenge plot.

  As she pulled the bottle of gasoline out, the driver’s words flitted through her subconscious. He said they picked her because they knew she could do this. On paper, she was a pill-popper with a part-time retail job. She wasn’t a Girl Scout and had barely held a hammer much less knew how to do anything handy. The people who knew how to do this were pyromaniac teenagers and men who knew their way around a blowtorch. As she took out the lighter, it hit her like a truck.

  They didn’t mean she knew how to burn down a building.

  She knew how to kill someone and live with it.

  They knew what she’d done. Somehow, someone knew what she’d done. Did they know that kid? Were these people trying to get payback for what happened? Her throat clenched as she tried to start the lighter. When she finally had to do this, it was going to happen fast. She couldn’t be fumbling.

  “Hello?” a muffled voice asked through the door.

  How long had she been in here? “Sorry. I’ll be right out.” Her voice was layered with panic. As she tried to put the bottle back in the bag, it slipped through her fingers and smacked on the hard tile. The top tweaked and the brown liquid began to leak out from the small gap and into the crevices of the floor. Immediately, the room was encased in a chemical stench.