UNDERCOVER The Secret of Luck

by James Kipling

  “They have located your assistant’s car, John. If you are in any shape to walk, I can take you there right now.” said the officer, pointing to his jeep.

  “I am in good shape to drive along with you officer. Thank you.” said John, stepping into the vehicle. The jeep started right away. The officer and the detective were on their way to the spot where Sheila’s car was found.

  “Did they find anybody inside?” asked John, watching the night street. It was almost ten at night.

  “No. The car was abandoned on the main street, right in front of the traffic management camera.” said the officer.

  “That’s odd. Why would someone kidnap my assistant, steal her car, and then drop it off ata spot where anybody could find it? This Lipstick Woman is driving me crazy with her mind games.” said John.

  “Lipstick Woman?” asked the officer, surprised to hear such an expression.

  “That’s what I call this woman I am after. She is, as of now, the primary suspect in this case that I am working on. As you know, I cannot really talk about it.”

  “I understand detective. I think, this Lipstick Woman wanted the car to be found. Perhaps, she knew that you would be looking for it.” said the officer.

  “Perhaps.” said John, thinking about what he was dealing with.

  As John wondered about the mysterious Lipstick Woman, the officer drove toward their destination. For the rest of the trip, the two men kept quiet. The officer seemed to understand that John was worried about his assistant, although he could not quite make out why a boss would be so worried about his receptionist. The officer thought that it was possible that something was going on between the detective and his assistant. The officer smiled about that thought and continued driving.

  “We are here. Is that the car, detective?” asked the officer, stopping his car and pointing at a rental. John immediately recognized it. Just as the officer had promised, there was a patrol car next to it, but the officers had stayed put. They were yet to enter the car.

  “That is the car. Yes.” said John, jumping out of the jeep and running to the parked car. The car was not damaged in any way. Taking his lead, the other police officers started walking toward the car. John opened the back door first, hoping to find Sheila. The backseat was empty, but John noticed something. There was a drop of blood on the seat. John was a little scared at the sight of that. Considering that the driver was the Lipstick Woman, the blood might be Sheila’s. John wanted to bring the police’s attention to it but, they were going to discover that in a few minutes anyway. The car had no clues that John could use.

  For a few moments, John thought that there might be something worth looking for in the car. However, he quickly realized that the Lipstick Lady had covered her tracks very well. John shook his head in disappointment. The officer walked up to him.

  “You did not find anything that could help you, did you detective?” asked the officer.

  “No. Anyway, thanks for all the help officer.” said John, looking up towards the sky. It was a clear night.

  “No problem, detective. If we find something, we will let you know immediately. Take care. Don’t worry about your receptionist. She will be fine.”

  “She is more of an assistant than a receptionist, officer.” said John.

  “My mistake, detective. Don’t worry. Your assistant will be fine.” said the officer.

  “Thank you officer. Good night.” said John, walking away from the officer and hailing a cab that was going in front of him. John got into the cab, and settled on the back seat. The cab driver asked him his destination and John gave him his office address. The cab started driving away. The cab must have only moved a few meters when John heard a phone ringing at his side.

  “You have a phone call, Mr. Russo” said the driver, without turning around to look at John.

  John was wondering how the cab driver knew his name. Even more surprisingly, why was he asking him to answer a phone call.

  “What did you just say?” asked John.

  “Answer the call Mr. Russo. Or else, the same thing that happened to your lady friend will happen to you.” said the driver, still not turning around and continuing to keep his eyes on the road. The phone continued to ring. John couldn’t quite see his face either. Seeing that he did not have any other choice, and also because the doors of the car were locked, John answered the phone call.

  “Hello” said John.

  “Hello detective. How are you this evening? Or should I say, night?” asked a voice on the other end. It sounded cool and calculated.

  “What have you done with my assistant? Why do you need her?” asked John.

  “I will be the one asking the questions here detective. So, shut up and listen to what I have to say. Check the pocket that is at the back of the front seat.” said the voice on the other side of the phone.

  John checked the pocket. There was a small bottle in it. It contained transparent liquid and the container had an easy to remove cap on it. The bottle had no labels on it and there was no indication of what it was. It could be water or something else entirely. John had a good deal of an idea what was about to happen. More like, what they would ask him to do next.

  “I have the bottle in my hand.” said John.

  “Good. You know what to do then. I don’t have to tell you again, that if you don’t follow my instructions, your assistant gets it.” said the voice.

  Seeing that he had no other choice, John gulped down the liquid from the bottle. Everything around him started going around in circles. Soon the car dissolved into nothingness and everything went dark. It could have been minutes, hours, days or years. John had no idea. When consciousness started returning to John, all he could do was hear sounds and voices around him. A few seconds later, John could hear everything clearly. His vision though, was non-existent. It took him a few more seconds to realize that he was being blindfolded.

  “Hello detective.”

  John recognized that voice right away. It was that voice from the phone again. John couldn’t tell the direction where he was standing. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.

  “Hey there.” said John, unable to think of a better response.

  “Who are you working for detective?”

  “Let me see. I am working for the grocery store that is run by your grandmother. She has to find a better hobby.” said John.

  Something fast approached his ears and smashed right into his head. It hurt bad, real bad. John was prepared for something like that, all the training started back to this. For the first time, John was finally beginning to realize the meaning of pain. John was prepared for that, but it hurt crazy nevertheless.

  “I ask you again detective. Who are you working for?” asked the voice.

  John did not say anything. Maybe it was the pain or the fact that he was just not in the mood. He could not come up with anything smart to say.

  “You really want to lose your head over a simple case, detective? Look at this file here, we have on you. Let me see. You came out of University two years ago, and picked up a small business of your own soon after. Then you abruptly stopped working about six months ago and now you are back at it again. Stop messing with us, detective. Tell us who is snooping around and asking information about one of our men.”

  “Looks like I have a stalker. I am flattered. Of course, you should know that I am straight.” said John. He was feeling a little bit better.

  Another fast movement that time and both of the sides of his head were smashed. John’s head went wild, and a few drops of blood came out of his nose. The pain, which had subsided, was back. John was still trying hard to figure out what else was going to happen. Then, he heard two guys walk up to the chair he was tied to and just stood in front of him, their loud breathing was audible to John. There was a snapping of fingers at a distance to his right.

  Reacting to th
at finger snap, the two well-built men picked up John off the chair and dropped him hard on the ground. John then head them pick up what sounded like metal. Without any mercy or thought, they started beating him up. The iron rods in their hands started hitting every part of John they could make contact with. A regular person would have screamed or reacted with some expression of pain. John could not react. He could not give them that satisfaction. He wouldn’t scream. Two minutes later, the two men who were hitting him, stopped. They were tired and the snapper at the far corner wasn’t really enjoying the show. The snapper wanted his victims to scream and beg for forgiveness. John was offering them neither of those.

  “I have to admit detective. I did not expect such guts from a former “peeping Tom” who helped angry husbands get rid of their wives. No matter, we have all the time in the world.” said the voice. John did not say anything, continuing to lie on the ground. John was sure that he had at least one broken bone in his ribcage. Either that or he had a wound that was a result of the incessant beating. The whole thing was getting fuzzy again. The voice resumed speaking.

  “You two. Stay here with him. The police don’t have a clue that he is here. I will be back in an hour to continue our interrogation. Keep constant radio contact and call me if anything goes wrong.” said the voice. John then heard footsteps going away from them. At the far corner, to his left, a door with a creaky hinge opened. The footsteps went through it and the room was quiet again. The two men who were left on guard to watch John, walked away from him. John heard them drag a chair and they started talking.

  “Look man. I am sorry that I did not tell you about your sister and me going out. We really did not want you to find out the way you did.” said the first guy.

  The second guy was silent, like he was angry. John could only guess, for he was still blindfolded and in a lot of pain.

  “You are not even going to talk to me? Dude, we have been best buddies for over twelve years. I cannot believe you are taking this so badly.” said the first guy.

  Continued silence from the second guy.

  “Bob! Come on man, just talk to me.” said the first guy. It sounded like he was grabbing his shoulder and making him face him.

  “What do you want me to say, Sam? I am happy that you are dating my sister behind my back! That you two have been sleeping together for more than six months now. I should be celebrating that with champagne and some dancing girls. Is that what you suggest I do Sam?” shouted the second guy.

  John could not believe what he was hearing. Then again, there are no rules that those who work for gangs should not have personal family feuds. The two body guards carried on with their conversation.

  “I am not suggesting that you go to town with that knowledge. I am just…well…I don’t know why you are so upset with it. You think I am not good enough for your sister? What is wrong with me? I earn well. I look good and you know me for more than, well, twelve years. What is your problem with me?”

  “You want to know what problem I have with you. Well, for one thing, I don’t want to mix my professional life with personal life.” said Bob.

  “What! We go out for drinks all the time. I know everything there is to know about your life. If people did not know better, they would think we were a gay couple. Heck man, we stay in the same apartment. What is this crap you are talking about not mixing personal and professional lives? We are almost like brothers, we are.”

  “Well, what I meant was, I did not want my sister to get involved in all this. I wanted her to stay away from what we do, Sam. Would you like it if you had a sister and she had anything to do with what we do for a living? Give me an honest answer, Sam. What would you do? How would you react, my friend?”

  Sam did not have an answer. He kept quiet. Despite his painful, blindfolded condition, John was oddly curious about the conversation that was taking place in front of him. John did not have anything else to do anyway and the ongoing discussion was helping him take his mind off the pain.

  “Go on, Sam. Give me an answer. How would you react?”

  John was curiously listening to the guards’ conversation when he heard the sound of a window being opened.

  “What was that?” asked Bob.

  “What was what?” asked Sam.

  “That sound. Someone is inside…ah! What happened to the lights?” exclaimed Bob.

  John was fully alert now, trying to figure out what was going on. Then, he thought heard the sound of safety locks of two guns being removed. He also realized that the two confused guards were shuffling around. John could only hear the sound made by the movement of their feet, and he realized that they were confused in the darkness. John also heard a third pair of footsteps which were light, soft and calculated. Even as John was listening to what was happening, gun shots were fired. Based on the pattern of shooting, John was sure that the third person was creating a lot of confusion. A short while later, there was sound of someone being punched and followed by a soft thud, like a person dropping down unconscious. A few seconds later, there was another soft thud and now two bodies were down on the floor. John heard more sounds of the third person in the room checking the downed bodies. Then, that person walked closer to John and said,

  “Are you alright, Boss?”

  John was overjoyed to hear that voice. The third person who had been creating all the commotion was his assistant, and now his savior.

  “I am fine, Sheila. Thank you for coming and rescuing me. I thought, I was supposed to be doing that.” said John.

  “Keep quiet, Boss. We can talk later. You should be able to see now.” said Sheila, removing the blindfold from his eyes.

  After a seriously long time, John was able to see again. Sheila was using a tiny flashlight that provided just adequate light to see the room in which John was tortured only a few minutes earlier. The beam of light fell on the two guys – Sam and Bob – who were unconscious. Their mouths were filled with what appeared to be pieces of cloth. Their hands were tied at the back of their jackets and their guns were thrown away from them.

  “That is impressive work Sheila.” said John, admiring her handiwork.

  “Boss, I told you to stop talking. Now, let’s look at your wounds.” said Sheila. She looked at the injuries on his shoulders, stomach and legs. Every tortured part of his body was bruised and bleeding.

  “Boss, I am no doctor and cannot tell if you are just wounded or also have broken bones. Unfortunately, checking your wounds will have to wait. Can you stand? Walk?” asked Sheila. Even as she was speaking, she quickly got up and walked up to the unconscious goons. She searched their pockets and found their phones and came back to John. John was having difficulty standing up and could only crouch at that point.

  “John, I am guessing that they have taken away your phone and your weapons and anything else that you might be carrying?” asked Sheila.

  “Yes, they have. I don’t even remember them doing it. They gave me some liquid that had me completely knocked out.” answered John.

  “What about the gadget on your belt? Did they find out about that?” asked Sheila.

  John looked below his bloodied shirt and found his belt still hanging around his pants. John quickly removed the belt buckle and gave it to Sheila. The belt buckle was a nifty little gadget from Drake. Sheila took the buckle and pulled out what looked like a really thin phone. She quickly pulled out a cable from another part of the belt and connected the phone she stole from the thug on the ground to John’s buckle phone. With everything set up, she dialed Drake from the buckle phone.

  “Drake here. John, is everything alright? I notice that you are calling from that buckle phone I gave you.” said Drake.

  “Drake, this is me, Sheila.” said Sheila, quickly.

  “Sheila! I haven’t heard your voice in a long time. Glad to hear from you.” said Drake.

  “No time for pleasantries Drake. Do you notice th
at a phone has been connected to the buckle phone?” asked Sheila, helping John get up.

  “Yes, I do. I have already started downloading all the information from that phone.” answered Drake.

  “Good. Let me know once the information is copied. I have another phone that needs to get the same treatment.” said Sheila, tearing up a part of her dress and tying it around John’s leg where it was still bleeding. John let out a cry of pain, as she tightened the cloth around his right leg.

  “Hold on John, it will be fine in a few minutes. Okay, there. I am done.” said Sheila, tying the knot.

  “Sheila, you there?” said Drake’s voice on the phone.

  “Right here tech guy.” replied Sheila.

  “I am done with the first phone.” said Drake.

  “Okay I am connecting the second phone now.” said Sheila. She disconnected the first phone and plugged in the second one.

  “Okay, Sheila. I have established connection with the second phone.” answered Drake.

  “Good. Now, if you check John’s contact list you will notice that there is a cab driver who was added to the transport list about six months ago. Do you see it?” asked Sheila, helping John stand up.

  “Yeah, I have that name. What do I do with this?” asked Drake.

  “Call him up and give him our location.” said Sheila and continued, “Keep me posted on the phone data transfer as well as the cab driver.”

  With everything taken care off, Sheila turned to John.

  “Okay John, any moment now, these folks who kidnapped us will figure out that we are no longer restrained. I have called that cab driver you met and told me was pretty good. Let’s get out of this place. See if you can walk.” said Sheila, helping him stand up by putting his arm over her shoulder.

  “Let me try.” said John, using her support and standing up with a great amount of effort, “I think I can walk Sheila. Let’s go.”

  Sheila picked up the buckle phone that was still connected with the goon’s phone and put it in her top pocket. With John hanging onto her shoulder, the two walked slowly across the room toward the exit. Sheila was supporting John with one hand and using the other to hold one of the guns she picked up from the goons. It took them a while, but they were finally outside. It was still dark outside and at a distance, John saw a pair of headlights. That was the taxi cab that Drake had arranged for them to escape.