by Harley Fox
“I heard about that,” I tell him.
“Will was saying it was an electrical fire,” Merryn pitches in. “To cover it up.”
“Well, the truth wouldn’t sound as good,” Flynn says. “Anyway, I tried doing another last night but they’d beefed up their security and I got caught.”
“The cops did that to him,” Trista says with scorn in her voice. “They just beat the shit out of him.”
“Oh my god.” Katie’s shaking her head. “That’s awful.”
But Flynn somehow manages to chuckle. “Well, in their eyes I kind of had it coming.”
“I was going to use that as the excuse to get Will out of PharmaChem, the burned-up building. It’s good to have some back story to it, I guess.”
“Wait, so, just to make sure I’ve got this right,” Merryn asks, “Katie’s going in on her own and Lance and Jake are going to hang back to follow Will and Craig to the site?”
“What?” Jeannette pipes up. Oh no. My heart skips when I realize what Merryn just said. “Did you just say Craig? As in, Craig Silver?”
I share a look with Jake and Katie. Considering what Jake told us about how Craig might have raped Jeannette and gotten her pregnant with Nathan, we figured it’d be easier keeping her in the dark about that part of the plan. That just blew up in our faces. Jeannette starts to breathe heavily. Nathan senses her panic and begins to cry.
“Oh,” Merryn looks apologetic. “I didn’t—”
“It’s all right,” I say. “Jeannette, yes. Craig Silver is a part of this plan.” She begins to panic some more. “But he doesn’t know you’re here,” I say a little bit louder. “He has no idea. And the plan has nothing to do with you. He doesn’t even know you’re involved.” A white lie. Katie dropped Jeannette and Nathan’s names at our meeting with him yesterday, but it didn’t go far. Nothing Jeannette needs to know about. “So you have nothing to worry about.”
Jeannette is still breathing hard, and Nathan is struggling on her lap, little tears coming out of his eyes. Nobody else is saying anything.
“Hey,” Katie says, and she lays a hand on Jeannette’s arm. “Look at me.”
Jeannette looks up into Katie’s eyes. They’re filled with fear.
“You have nothing to worry about. Okay?” Katie’s voice is calm and soothing. She has Jeannette’s gaze locked in place. “This is a safe place. You’re safe here. Nobody knows that you’re here. Nobody’s coming to get you. And when this is all over, you’ll be free. Both Craig and Will will be gone and out of your life for good.”
Jeannette’s breathing has calmed down. She nods, her eyes still trained on Katie’s. Nathan has calmed down too. Man, that kid’s perceptive. Katie’s hand slides down to Jeannette’s, giving it a squeeze. And then she lets go.
Jeannette is visibly calmer. She blinks a few times, glances around the room at the rest of us. Gives an embarrassed laugh.
“I’m sorry,” she says, prompting us all to assure her it’s all right. “I’m just …”
“It’s okay,” Katie says. “You have every right to feel that way.”
Trista nods. Jeannette gives a shaky smile and takes a sip of her coffee.
“So, to answer your question, Merryn,” I say, making a few people laugh, “yes, Katie’s going in on her own. She’ll have a gun with her, though.”
“But that’s a just-in-case,” Katie pipes in. “I’m hoping I won’t have to use it.”
“I don’t think you will. Jake and I will be outside. When she leaves with the others, Katie’s going to call me with the site and we’ll meet them there.”
“How’re you going to follow him?” Trista asks.
“I’ll be in my car, Jake’ll have his bike,” I tell her. “Katie’s going to take a cab to PharmaChem.”
“Why don’t you use my bike?” she offers. “Let Katie take the car. It’ll look better.”
I consider it, nod. Katie’s nodding too.
“That’s very generous, thank you,” she says.
“Anything I can do,” Trista replies.
“And once we’re out there,” Jake chimes in, “the plan is to kill Will Silver. For real this time.”
“What about Craig?” It’s Jeannette asking this time. Jake halts for a moment before answering.
“Um, we told him he’ll be able to leave after this. But …”
“We can get him arrested,” Katie cuts in. Trista nods fervently. Katie turns to Jeannette. “You’re still willing to testify against him for what he did?”
“Absolutely,” Jeannette says.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Once Will is gone hopefully the judges won’t be influenced, but if need be we can try to get it done somewhere out of the city.”
“We’ll figure that all out later,” I tell her. “Right now we need to focus on what we’re about to do. How’re you feeling?”
Katie nods. “Good. I’m good.”
As if on cue, Jake’s cell phone rings. We all turn to look at him as he pulls it out and looks at the screen. He gives us a knowing look and then answers it.
“Hello?” Silence all around the room. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay, yeah, meet us on the street corner of Holloway and Arbor. Fifteen minutes. Bye.” He hangs up. “That was Craig. It’s showtime.”
Jake, Katie, and I get up. The rest follow suit to say goodbye. Trista fishes her keys out of her pocket and pulls off the key to her bike, which she hands to me.
“Thanks again,” I tell her.
“Good luck,” she says. “Call if anything goes wrong.”
I give her a smile. “Hopefully nothing will. But okay.”
Merryn gives Jake a long hug and kiss. The rest of us get ready.
“Be careful,” she says. I try not to watch, but I see her wipe tears from her eyes.
“I will. I’ll see you later.”
Jeannette approaches me, holding Nathan in her arms.
“Thank you,” she says in a low voice. “For all of this.”
I nod. “It’s no problem. If we can make this a better place … then it’ll be worth it.”
She returns a weak smile, goes to say goodbye to Katie and Jake. Soon enough the three of us are ready to go.
“All right.”
We leave the apartment and walk through the hallway. Our footsteps seem loud. It’s a bit for Katie to keep up in her high heels, but she does it. None of us are speaking. I feel the usual calm fall over me—the one that comes before I do a big job.
We descend the stairs and step outside. My car is parked in its usual place, with Jeannette’s car close by, and I see Jake approach two bikes. I reach out and touch Katie’s hand as she heads for the car. She stops and turns. I pull her towards me, making her smile before our lips connect. My hands find her back and I try not to think that this might be the last time we ever kiss.
“You’ll do great,” I tell her when we break apart. She gives me a cute smirk.
“I know.”
Winking, she turns for the car again, letting her arm trail out, holding onto my fingers until the last possible second. And then we let go. I swallow, pushing my emotions back down, and turn for Trista’s bike.
Jake is already astride his. He watches as I swing a leg over the seat. I’ve ridden bikes before, but they’re definitely not my favorite way to travel. The key turns in the ignition and I feel the engine roar to life, vibrating right between my legs, making sure I feel it.
“You ready?” he calls over the noise.
I nod and we back out of the parking spaces, turning our bikes around and leaving the lot for the street corner. Katie follows us in the car.
My apartment’s right on the corner of the intersection, but we cross the street anyway, facing south, towards PharmaChem. The monstrosity looms up in front of us, blocking out half of the horizon. It’s there that we idle, waiting for Craig to show up. A minute passes, and then two. I look over at Jake, beside me. He’s looking from side to side, and catches my eye.
“Is he late?” I yell t
o him. The light turns green in front of us and cars pass us by, pedestrians crossing the street. Jake pulls his phone out of his pocket, checks it, puts it back.
“He’ll be here!” he shouts.
I look back at Katie, sitting behind the wheel of my car. She raises her hands in a questioning manner and I shrug, turning to look out as well. Traffic approaches the red light from the south and Jake shouts out.
“There he is!”
I look at the oncoming cars and see Craig behind the wheel of one of them. He’s spotted us. The light turns green and he drives through, turns into the parking lot of my apartment, and wheels back around, crossing the street to join us on the side. He pulls up next to us, putting on his four-way flashers. A car behind him honks his horn but ends up switching to the left-turn lane for a moment before speeding away.
“Hi!” Craig yells through the rolled-down passenger window. “Sorry I’m late!”
“It’s okay!” I yell back. “Are we good?”
“Yeah! Dad’s expecting us!” A pause, and then, “Is everything … good?”
“Yeah!” I shout back. “We’re good! Now go ahead! Katie’ll follow you, and we’ll hang back. Don’t worry about us! Just make sure everything works out!”
“Okay!” Craig shouts back. He looks uncertain, and he hesitates a moment longer, but then he nods and turns off his four-ways. The light is green and he starts through it. I look back at Katie and motion for her to follow. She nods and checks her mirror before spinning the wheel, turning onto the next lane and riding past us. My heart skips a beat. Be careful, Katie. And with that Jake and I start following them, the four of us on our way to PharmaChem.
Katie
Okay. It’s going to be okay. Just stay calm and do like how we planned and it’ll all go okay.
No matter how much I try reassuring myself, though, my heart pounds and my hands are sweaty on the steering wheel as I follow Craig to PharmaChem. In my rear view mirror I can see Lance and Jake, each riding a motorcycle. Lance looks uncomfortable—I don’t think I’ve ever seen him ride a bike before. Eventually we’re close enough to PharmaChem and Lance signals to Jake. The both turn down a side street, disappearing from view. I get a flash of panic running through me, but I take a breath and force myself to calm down.
It’s okay. This is all going to end up okay. Just do your part, stay in character. It’ll be okay.
Craig pulls into the PharmaChem parking lot and I follow him, finding a space a few down from him. I turn off Lance’s car, take a steadying breath, and try to feel my character enter my head.
Cynthia Lowe. Hello Mr. Silver. My name is Cynthia Lowe.
I get out of the car. Craig gets out of his. I’m not used to this clothing but now that we’re on the premises I keep my face placid. Try not to show my actual emotions. The character. Be the character.
Craig approaches me.
“You ready?”
I nod. “Yep. Is there anything I should know about your dad, before I go in there? So he doesn’t figure out who I am?”
Craig thinks about this. “He’s not one for small talk. Straight to business. And be strong. He doesn’t respect people who he thinks are weak.”
“Okay.” Straight to business. “Got it.” I start to head for the front door.
“Um, Katie?”
Craig reaches out for my arm, grabbing it. I turn and stop. He’s looking at me. My heart skips and I immediately sense the weight of my gun, hidden under my jacket. Please, no. Please don’t do this.
“Can I ask you something?” He drops his hand from my arm. My mouth feels dry.
“Sure. What’s up?”
He opens his mouth, but takes a second to speak. “Are … have you and Lance … been in contact with Jeannette Willow? And Nathan?”
I blink. “Um …”
“I mean,” he interjects. “I know you said you’ve got them in a safe place, and I don’t want it to sound like I’m trying to find out where they are. It’s just …” He runs a hand through his short hair. “Ever since you told me that, I can’t stop thinking about them. About … the fact that Nathan … that he might be my kid. And how that happened, I … I don’t know. It’s been on my mind a lot.”
“Okay …” I say, and I wait for him to go on. He looks troubled now.
“It’s just,” he blurts out, “I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life. You know? Old girlfriends I’ve had … they won’t talk to me anymore. And then the Bullets. I mean, dad never let me become an official member, but I still hung out with them, you know? Back in the day …”
He pauses to think and I watch his body language, his attitude and expression.
“I guess I just … I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. And if you were still in touch with Jeannette, I was wondering if you could … you could tell her that I’m sorry.”
My eyebrows fly up.
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He looks sheepish now. “That I’m sorry and that … that I think when all this is done, I’m going to leave town. I’m going to renounce my ownership of the company. I know once dad is gone it’ll go to me, but I don’t want it. And I was thinking, if Nathan really is my son then if I give it up it’ll go to him, right? And if he’s not … if it turns out he’s not … then I’ll just make it public. Or dismantle it, or something. But I don’t want it. I don’t deserve something like this. I think … when all this is done, I’m going to leave, and probably never come back.”
I blink. “Wow, Craig.” He gives me a weak smile. “That’s … very selfless of you.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not about me. It’s about other people. The ones I’ve hurt, or that my dad has hurt. I’ve got to try and make it better for them, you know?”
I nod. “Yeah. Definitely.”
He gives me another guilty smile, and then breathes in deeply and lets it out. “Ahh, ha ha, sorry. I guess I haven’t really had anyone to talk to about all of this.”
“Yeah, it’s my pleasure.”
A third smile. This one seems genuine now.
“Okay,” he says. “You ready?”
“Yeah. Yes.”
“It’s Cynthia Lowe, right?”
“Right. Cynthia Lowe, from Seattle.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
I walk with Craig the rest of the way to the front doors and we go in. As much as I’ve used PharmaChem products in my life—I mean, how can you avoid them?—I’ve never been inside the building before. The foyer is how I expected it: large, and lavish, with a respectable-looking receptionist sitting behind the desk. He smiles at us as we approach.
“Good morning, Mr. Silver,” he says to Craig. “What can I do for you?”
“I set up an appointment for a client meeting with my dad today for noon.”
The receptionist looks at his computer, scrolls for a second. “Ah yes. You two can go on up.”
“Thanks.”
“Thank you,” I say to him. Craig and I walk to the elevators and push the button to go up. The doors open immediately and we step in. Craig presses a button marked WS and the doors close.
“What’s that …” I start to ask, reading the button.
“It stands for Will Silver,” Craig tells me with a smirk. Then he rolls his eyes.
“Ah, gotcha.” I smile back at him.
The ride up is quiet between us. My heart is pounding, although I try to keep my face impassive. When we finally reach the top floor the elevator doors ding open and I’m presented with a hallway leading to a huge oaken double door at the end. Craig and I walk out. There’s no one else up there. The hallway is lined with doors on either side, all closed. We pass by them and reach the double doors at the end. Craig knocks on them, a booming sound.
“Come in,” calls a voice. Will Silver.
Craig turns the handle and pushes the door open, leading us into a vast penthouse office.
This place is huge. Vast windows showcase a gorgeous view of the city and surrounding landscape on all thre
e walls. At one end is a relaxed-looking lounge area, with couches, a table, and a wet bar. At the other end Will Silver sits behind his large mahogany desk, filing cabinets behind him. He has a laptop open in front of him.
“Ah,” Will says, closing the laptop and standing up from his desk. “You must be Cynthia.”
He reaches me and shakes my hand. I keep my grip firm, but not overpowering.
“Good to finally meet you,” I say. “And thank you for this meeting.”
His eyes are on mine. He smiles and doesn’t blink, but a small facial stress shows me that something seems wrong.
“It’s my pleasure,” he says.
We end the handshake and let go, but he keeps looking at me. He hasn’t acknowledged Craig once so far.
“You look familiar,” he tells me, flat-out. I keep my face impassive as my heart almost stops in my chest. The hospital. Is he remembering me from the hospital?
“I have that kind of face,” I say with a smile. “My mom told me I look like a young Helen Hunt.”
A nod, eyes still searching. “Yes. That must be it. Well!” He suddenly perks up. “I like my initial meetings with clients to be somewhat informal. Care to have a seat?”
He indicates the leather couches at the other side of the office.
“Thank you.” We three head over there.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“Oh, just a water for me, thanks.”
“I’ll have a whiskey on the rocks, myself,” he says, looking at Craig for the first time. Craig blinks for a moment.
“Uh, sure. I’ll go get those,” he says with a forced pleasantness. I sit down on one of the couches and Will sits across from me while Craig goes to fix us our drinks.
“So,” Will says. “Craig told me he got in contact with you and you’d like to purchase some of our products?”
“Yes,” I tell him. Lance and I went over my back story a number of times. “I work at a mental health clinic as one of their consulting psychologists. I’d be interested in some of your antipsychotics.”
“Well, we have a vast range of them available,” Will says. Craig comes over with the drinks and hands Will’s to him. Will doesn’t acknowledge his son as he takes the proffered drink. “Are you looking just for mild sedatives, or do you need products that will help with things like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder too?”
