by Claire Adams
"Jarvis and Paulina. 3A. Mermaid in the purple lobby," I kept repeating to myself as I drove north on Sheridan. She'd started to say something else, but I had no idea what that was, so I just kept repeating what I knew until I was sure I wouldn't forget it.
In the meantime, I called the Rogers Park Police and reported a kidnapping. I told them what I'd heard over the phone and said I was on my way to the intersection. They assured me that they would send officers over to check it out as soon as they could, but at the moment the bulk of their force was dealing with a gang shooting on the West Side of the neighborhood.
I swore under my breath as I made a left onto Jarvis and slowly drove down the block. I wasn't sure if whoever had kidnapped Alex would be waiting outside or if they'd have lookouts. I drove past the intersection Alex had told me to find and then parked my truck around the corner before walking around the block to enter from the other side. I felt ridiculous playing spy in the middle of the day, but I didn't want to take any chances.
"What the hell is going on?" I muttered under my breath as I looked into the front door of an apartment building on the Southwest corner and saw nothing. I crossed the street and found exactly what Alex had said: a mermaid and purple walls. I knew I was at the right place.
I dialed Alex's number, but the call went straight to voicemail. So, I snuck around the side of the building to see if there were any doors open. I found one that led to the basement and carefully pulled it open and snuck inside. The whole basement was full of cobwebs and dead animals and I nearly vomited the contents of my stomach when I saw the stack of dead rats piled in the corner. Someone had been out hunting, and I'd have been willing to bet it wasn't the neighborhood feral cats.
"Where are you, Alex?" I whispered as I looked for a way out of the basement to the lobby. I felt my way along the far wall and finally found a door that lay flush with the wall. I tugged at the handle for almost a minute before I felt the door begin to give way and then all at once, I yanked it open and found myself staring into the basement laundry room where I surprised two women who were transferring clothing from the washing machine to the dryer. One of them screamed.
"Sorry, ladies!" I said as I stepped through the doorway and pulled the door shut behind me. No sense in letting the beasts that roamed that side of the basement out. "I'm looking for apartment 3A. Unconventional entrance, I know."
"I'll say," said the older woman with a skeptical look on her face. "You kids need to stay out of the basement, it's dangerous in there."
"It's okay, I'm a trained professional," I offered as I moved quickly to the elevator.
"Sure, right," said the other one, raising an eyebrow as she continued transferring her laundry from one machine to the other. I nodded and tipped my invisible hat as the elevator doors slid shut.
"Three A, she said," I muttered as I hit the button and waited for the elevator to slowly grind its way up to the third floor. My phone rang as the elevator passed the third floor and when I looked down, I saw it was Alex.
"Alex! I'm on my way!" I shouted into the phone.
"Don't bother, Connor," a familiar voice replied. "If you come anywhere near this apartment, I'm going to burn it down."
"Victor? What the hell?" I said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting what I want," he replied in a cool voice. "This is all your fault, you know."
"My fault that you're a fucking psycho?" I shouted. "How is that my fault?"
"Oh, Connor." He sighed. "You are so common. Such an idiot. This is your entire fault because if you had given me what I wanted to begin with, none of this would be happening now. Your little girlfriend wouldn't be crying in the corner and her friend definitely wouldn't be hooked on heroin."
"And this is all my fault, is it?" I replied, realizing that he didn't know I was on my way up. "So, if I stay away, you'll let the girls go?"
"No, I didn't say that," he replied in a bored voice. "I just said that if you came anywhere near, I'd burn the place down with them in it. So, I would suggest that as soon as that elevator opens up on the third floor, you hit the first floor button and get the hell out."
"What are you talking about?" I said, feigning ignorance.
"I'm talking about the fact that I can see you riding the elevator and talking to me on the phone right at this moment," he said. "Your phone is in your right hand and you're leaning against the wall closest to the buttons. Good enough for you?"
My heart dropped as I realized that he could actually see me, but I forced myself to stay in the same position so as not to give him the upper hand. Meanwhile, I began plotting out my next steps.
"And if you're wondering, I've got the staircase wired as well," he said as if he knew what I was thinking. "Like I said, you're an idiot, Connor."
"What do you want, Victor?" I asked, wondering what game he was playing.
"Nothing," he said. "I want absolutely nothing from you. No, strike that. What I want from you is to get the hell out of my building."
"Or else what?" I asked, wondering what he was planning to do.
"Or else I burn it down," he said, talking slowly as if speaking to a child. "What part of that didn't you understand?"
"I'm just trying to understand what it is you'll gain from doing that," I said as the elevator opened on the third floor and I looked down the hallway.
"Uh, uh, uh," he scolded. "Press the down button and go away."
"What kind of sick game are you playing, Vangel?" I demanded as I stepped back and let the doors slide shut. I pressed the first floor button and felt the elevator grind as it slowly moved down to the ground floor.
"I'm not playing any game, Connor," he said. As he continued, his voice rose to a crescendo. "I simply want to cause you as much pain as you have caused me. I want you to feel the loss of things you care about. The humiliation of NOT GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE!"
"You are so far beyond fucked up, Vangel," I muttered as I quickly tried to figure out how I could stop him before he did anything irrevocable.
"I'm not fucked up, Connor," he said calmly. "You've been an asshole to me since the day I started, and now I'm going to make you pay for the fact that I did not get the Lieutenant position. That's on your shoulders. It's your fault that I didn't get what I deserve."
"How in the hell is that my fault?" I yelled. I was running out of patience with his delusional ranting, and I was afraid that he was actually going to harm Liz and Alex.
"You turned Chief against me and he refused to recommend me for Lieutenant," Victor said. "You told him I didn't deserve the position. You poisoned everything!"
"I didn't do shit, Vangel!" I shouted. "I had nothing to do with you getting or not getting the promotion. Jesus H. Christ, you are fucking delusional! The promotions all go through HQ and you have to pass the Lieutenant exam then wait for a station to open up. No one has that kind of power, you fucking idiot!"
"You do," he said coldly. "I know you do. You're the fire department poster boy after your horrible tragedy. People listen to you. They take your advice, and you hate me. You've always hated me."
"Victor, I'm not sure what you've been smoking, but what you're saying is complete and utter bullshit," I said as the elevator reached the ground floor and opened up into the lobby. I hesitated a moment, then pressed the button and decided to risk going to the basement.
"Where are you going?" he said suspiciously. "Get out of the building!"
"I'm getting out," I said, hoping that he didn't have the laundry room wired with cameras, too. When the doors opened, I stepped out and walked toward the back of the room. The two women who'd been doing laundry were still there, and I motioned for them to get out of the room.
"Where are you going, Connor?" Victor screamed into the phone. "You must get out of the building!"
"I'm getting out, you psycho son of a bitch," I growled as I pushed open the door to the back room and slipped through. "Don't get your twisted little panties in a bunch."
"I'm going to set this
place on fire, and it's all YOUR FAULT!" Victor yelled as he disconnected the phone.
"Not if I stop you first," I muttered as I backtracked to the outer door and called the crew on Engine 102 and alerted them of the possible danger since I had no idea what Victor was going to do. They assured me that they'd alert the Rogers Park Police and send a truck if necessary.
As I scanned the backside of the apartment building, I noticed the fire escape stairs climbing up the structure, and decided that there was no way Victor could have wired those stairs with a camera -- or if he had, I'd get a call letting me know.
I decided to take a chance and start climbing.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Alex
I could hear Victor talking on my phone outside the door of the room. It was muffled, but when I moved over and put my ear to the door, I knew he was talking to Cam. I listened and tried to gather information that would help me get us out of here, but after listening to the argument, I knew Victor had no intention of letting us go.
"You two need to come out into the living room," Victor ordered as he threw the door open and stood staring down at us. "Help her get up."
"What is going on?" I asked.
"None of your damn business," he said as he turned and walked halfway down the hallway. "Get up and get your asses out here now!"
I shook Liz and tried to rouse her, but she was out of it. I put one of her arms around my shoulder and lifted her up off of the mattress. It wasn't easy getting her down the hallway because her body was like dead weight, but I knew that if we could hang in there long enough, I'd get her out of there and off whatever drugs Victor had given her.
"What are you doing?" I repeated as I pulled Liz toward the sofa and lay her down. "This makes no sense whatsoever."
"What do you know?" Victor sneered. "You're just some stupid girl who’s fallen for Mr. Big Shot. You know nothing about him."
"Wow, you really have a grudge against him, don't you?" I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
"You would too if he'd tried to ruin your life the way he's ruined mine," Victor shot back. "He's a destroyer of worlds."
"I find that very hard to believe," I said, raising an eyebrow. "But why don't you fill me in? Maybe I'll see your point."
"Why the hell do I care what you think?" he sniffed as he walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet. I could see several large red cans lined up inside the cabinet, but it didn't dawn on me what they were until Victor pulled one down and opened the lid.
"Is that gasoline?" I asked as I realized that he'd stocked the cabinets full of it.
"Indeed it is, Sherlock," he said sarcastically.
"What the hell are you doing with all that gasoline?" I asked. "That's enough to burn an entire building down!"
"Indeed," he said with a malevolent smile as he grabbed the can and began pouring gasoline along the outer edges of the room. "You've got quite a mind, Miss Pierce. It's really too bad that it's not going to survive the fire."
"You're going to burn us to death because you've got a grudge score to settle with Cam Connor?" I said incredulously. "That's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life!"
"Who are you to judge, bitch?" Victor said in a voice that suddenly sounded nasty and vicious. "I've had enough of being pushed around by that asshole. He's taken everything I ever wanted away from me and now it's my turn to take something away from him."
"Me and Liz?" I asked. "You think he's going to care if you harm me and Liz? Oh man, you're more deluded than I thought! You really don't get it, do you?"
Victor's eyes narrowed as he looked at me, then he gave me a questioning look as he continued pouring gasoline around the room. The fumes were strong and made stronger by the fact that the windows were sealed shut and the afternoon sun was streaming through the balcony door.
"He doesn't care about me," I continued as I tried to muster all of the anger and resentment I had felt upon discovering Cam had paid my bills this morning. "He cares about owning things. He doesn't care about whether those things care about him; he just wants to be in charge. Case in point, he paid my rent and tuition this morning without consulting me, or even asking if I wanted him to. It's because Cam Connor wants what he wants when he wants it."
"Yes, he's selfish that way," Victor nodded as he stopped pouring and looked at me. "He wants what he wants."
"And Liz? What the hell does he care about her?" I laughed. "She won't sleep with him like I did, so she's nothing in his book. You killing her will have absolutely zero effect on him, so you might want to recalculate the cost/benefit value of that choice before you commit to it."
"Oh, he'll care all right," Victor grinned. "He'll care when all the evidence points to him as the suspect."
"Now that's just ridiculous," I said. "You're not going to be able to pin this on him!"
"That's where you're so very wrong, my dear." Victor smiled. I felt a chill run up my spine as I looked into his eyes and saw nothing there. "I've spent a long time planning this out because I knew a day would come when I would get my chance to exact revenge on the man who has ruined my life!"
"You're pretty stuck on that message, aren't you?" I asked. I felt something moving next to me and realized that it was Liz. She was awake and aware of what was going on, but she knew better than to let Victor know that, so she pressed her fingertips against my thigh to let me know she was with me. "It's understandable, of course, but the way in which you're going to play your hand makes zero sense to me. Why don't you explain it?"
"You're not going to trick me into that, little lady." He grinned, looking more maniacal by the minute. "Let's just say that evidence I've planned to plant around his house, at the station, and in your friend's apartment will all lead directly to the one and only, Cam Connor."
"And how exactly do you fit into all of this?" I asked. I couldn't figure out if he was a criminal mastermind or just a deluded pyromaniac. "How are you going to walk away from all of this and not be connected to it?"
Victor walked over to the sofa and began slowly pouring gasoline onto the couch. He soaked one end of it before he stopped, set the can down, and pulled a length of rope from his back pocket. I quickly stood up and tried to move away, but Victor grabbed my arm and slammed me back down on the couch. I fought back until he'd decided he'd had enough and cold cocked me with one punch. I saw stars and felt like my jaw had been detached from my skull, but I didn't lose consciousness.
As Victor grabbed my wrists and tightly held them together, Liz rose up behind him and used all the force she could muster to drive her fist into the back of his head.
"Motherfucker!" Victor shouted as he shot up off of the sofa and turned to find Liz standing behind him holding the lamp that, moments before, been on the side table. He rubbed the back of his head and growled, "I'm going to kill you, you stupid dope fiend."
"Not if I kill you first," Liz hissed, holding the lamp like a baseball bat. I scanned the room looking for another weapon, but Victor was ahead of me. He turned and punched me in the face again, and this time I felt my nose snap and blood began to pour from it. He turned back to Liz and lunged at her. She swung the lamp and connected with his shoulder, but he caught the lamp on the back swing and wrenched it out of her hands.
"Do not fuck with me," Victor growled as he threw the lamp to the side and reached for Liz. She scooted around him and made a dash for the front door.
"Run, Liz! GET OUT OF HERE!" I screamed as I cupped my hands under my nose in an attempt to contain the blood. For what purpose, I had no idea.
"Bitch, I am going to murder you!" Victor shouted as he ran across the room and followed Liz down the hallway. She was faster and lighter than he was, and I could hear her screaming for help as she pounded on doorways with her fists.
I realized I was alone in the apartment, but had no chance of escaping with the pain I was feeling from my busted nose and the fact that we were on the third floor. Suddenly, I hear a pounding on the back window.
"Alex! Alex! Are you in there?" Cam called.
"CAM! IN HERE!" I screamed as I ran for the back room and slammed the door shut. I pushed a chair under the door handle thinking it would give me a few minutes to figure out how to get out. But when I looked up and saw Cam in the window, my hopes were dashed. The window had iron bars across it, I could open it, but there was no way I was going to be exiting through it. Cam motioned for me to raise the window.
"Jesus, are you okay, Alex?" he asked as he pulled on the bars looking for a way to break in. It was futile. "What the hell did he do to you?"
"He's got a mean right hook," I said with a wry grin that made me wince. "Liz tried to get away, but I don't know if she succeeded. He's going to set the place on fire, Cam."
"I can smell the gasoline," he said as he looked at me. "I'm going to get you out of here. Just hang on."
"Yeah, well, that's pretty much all I can do." I shrugged. "But I have to ask you what the hell you did to this guy to make him so damn angry?"
"Long story; I'll tell you over dinner once I get you out of there," he assured me as he pulled out his phone and dialed the station. He quickly told them what was going on and requested a truck for a gas leak that was dangerously close to igniting. The last thing he wanted was the SWAT Team called out on a psycho holding hostages. He put his hand up against the screen and I pressed mine against it as he said, "Hang in there, Alex. I'm going to get you out. I promise."
I nodded and hoped that he was right.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Cam
Seeing Alex trapped in the apartment, I knew it was highly likely that Victor was going to set the whole place on fire in an attempt to get even with me. I was worried about Alex, but I was also worried about the other people in the building and knew that I had to warn them. So, after assuring Alex that I'd rescue her, I climbed down the fire escape and ran around to the back entrance where I snuck through the laundry room and took the stairs to the first floor.
