by Dan Decker
“Cherry was on the tenth floor when I last heard from her.”
“I’ll open the door,” Shannon said, snatching the keycard away from Tom before he could react. He made a face which he quickly shifted into a smile.
I chuckled, pulling out my pistol. “I’ll go first.” I maneuvered the slide back to load a round and held it as it returned, keeping the whole process as quiet as possible. I received a curious look from Shannon; she’d seen me fire my gun earlier. I should have already had a round chambered. She didn’t comment though. I wasn’t looking forward to telling Beltran that I’d lost a pistol.
“How about a few less explosions?” Tom whispered. Shannon had filled Tom in about the train on the way up. She'd done a decent job of telling the story evenhandedly. Unfortunately, even I couldn't deny that it sounded like I'd miscalculated. I hadn't bothered to interject any of the details that she either hadn't noticed or hadn't thought important enough to include, because I didn't care what Tom thought.
Shannon stifled a laugh but couldn’t quite hide her smile.
Not only was the joke in poor taste, but what had happened to stop fighting? I focused on the target we used at the shooting range—a silhouette with a red circle on the chest—and imagined it with Tom’s face plastered at the top.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We went up the next flight of stairs and Shannon slid the keycard and opened the door. I crouched down and peeked to either side. A woman was disappearing around a corner on the right. I only saw her from behind, but it was enough to know that it wasn't Cherry or Lauren Griffith. Holding my hand out to the others to keep them back, I waited for several counts before entering the hallway. I kept my pistol at my side in an effort to keep it hidden.
I'd been expecting a lobby when I opened the door, but instead I was facing a glass wall that gave a view of the city. I could see a trail of smoke to the south that I attributed to the train bombing and wondered how Malcolm was doing.
My next thought was of him sitting down with a detective and giving up every last detail. I hoped that he at least tried to be accurate in his rendition of the facts.
Beltran was going to be upset if pictures of us surfaced and it might help if we came off as heroes instead of villains. Even if that did happen though, it wouldn’t matter.
I would have to start wearing makeup and my Sam Chever identity would be useless. At least then, maybe I could stop attending class. I repressed a snort, that wasn’t likely to happen. Beltran might force us to undergo plastic surgery, but we’d still have to go to class.
There was a small table with a vase that had fresh flowers. I'd been hoping that we'd be entering a workspace that had little happening. The flowers dashed my hopes. The carpet was brown and flat, the type of carpet that is used in high traffic areas.
“A woman just disappeared down the hall.” I pointed. “It wasn't Cherry or Griffith. Any idea how many people are on this floor?”
Tom shook his head. “I hadn't made it very far before I had to come get you guys. Cherry's last text said that she'd followed them to a large conference room. Shouldn't be too hard to find. You guys want the left or the right?”
“We’ll go right,” Shannon said. I didn't have any objections. If that woman I saw earlier turned out to be a threat, it made more sense for both of us to go in her direction, rather than to send Tom alone.
Tom went left but not before he gave a smile to Shannon. There was something about that guy that got under my skin, and I didn’t think it had as much to do with Shannon as Cherry believed.
“You know he’s already lost, right?” Shannon said, once he was out of earshot. I tried to keep my face free of emotion, not wanting to let onto the fact that she'd come close to reading my mind. Her sly smile told me that I'd failed. She held her pistol by her side and winked at me. “Now the only thing you’ve got to do is not mess it up.”
Despite my focus, my heartbeat quickened. Part of me hated the effect that she had on me, and of course, the other part loved it.
“Start planning on the mess-ups now. It might help to forgive me ahead of time.”
“Sorry, no pre-forgiveness for you.”
All my instincts told me not to do it. We’d just survived an explosion, the enemy could be anywhere, Tom was just down the hall, but one of us might not make it out of this building alive.
I pulled her in and kissed her. And why not? Death was always close by anyway.
“Well, look who's decided he's willing to kiss me in public,” Shannon said, her smile showed all of her teeth. Two smiles in one day, that had to be some kind of record. “Are you sure you didn't suffer some brain damage? Tom could look back at any moment.”
In answer, I kissed her again, trying to hide my annoyance with her last comment. The thought of sneaking around under the nose of our other team members excited her more than I liked.
I didn't know what to make of it but couldn't stop from looking over her shoulder towards Tom. It didn't appear that he'd seen us and I was mostly glad that he hadn't. I was surprised that there was a part of me that wished he had. I'd thought I was above petty jealousy like that.
“Let’s find the conference room.” I tried to suppress my worry that somebody was going to find out about us. It would be nice when we passed our final test and could move out of Black Brick. I hated knowing that a camera was always watching my every move when I was in my one room apartment there.
We cleared the hallway without incident for the first few doors. Making me wonder if the floor was deserted. All of the doors we'd tried so far had been unlocked and empty. I was expecting to find the typical office furnishings but the rooms were bare. I wondered how many unused offices were on this floor. Perhaps this was why Payne had come here. It might make a good place to stash Griffith.
Even though I was glad we were working on a floor that appeared empty, I was careful to not let down my guard. There was a reason why there had been fresh flowers. As we moved down the hall I could feel the worry seeping into my bones. When we did find somebody else, I'd have to make a split second decision on whether or not they posed a threat.
Normally, this wouldn't have bothered me but the death count for the day was already too high. I wanted to avoid any more civilian deaths. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that this was why we wore body armor. We had time to assess the situation.
We were working on the fifth door of a connecting hallway when we came across somebody else. I was on one side of the doorway and Shannon had grabbed the handle and was about to push the door in when I heard a door open behind me. I turned in time to see a woman step into the hall. She saw my gun and disappeared back into her office.
Cursing, I chased her. When I got to her door, the woman was standing at her desk with the receiver of her office phone to her ear, frantically dialing numbers. I moved to the desk and disconnected the call.
“First off,” I told her. “We’re—”
The woman interrupted me. “Don’t kill me! I won’t tell anybody what your face looks like. I have a bad memory.” She still held the receiver in one hand and she was shaking. I felt bad. It hadn't been my intention to scare her, but the last thing we needed were the police showing up. I used my free hand to take the receiver and place it in the cradle of the phone. She took a step back and held up her hands.
“It might help if you got the gun out of her face,” Shannon said, as she came into the office. She took up a position at the side of the door where she could look out into the hallway.
I smiled, feeling a little awkward as I lowered my gun. In the confusion, I hadn’t noticed that I was pointing it at her.
“Becca,” I said, reading the name plaque on the woman’s desk. “We’re not going to hurt you, but I can’t let you call for help. At least, not yet.”
We heard voices from the hallway and Shannon closed the door.
“For the last time, who are you with?”
It was Payne.
There was a pause. �
�I’m not with anybody,” Cherry said, her voice a small squeak.
Chapter 4
Shannon grimaced when she heard Cherry’s voice and her demeanor changed. Before, Shannon had been alert and ready for anything, now her face tightened and she twisted her neck to either side. I hoped she wouldn’t do anything stupid. If she did, I’d have no choice but to back her up.
Of the four of us, Cherry was the most cautious and the least likely to do something that would get her caught, but I wasn't surprised that she was nervous.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t capable or a good shot—she was more calm in stressful situations than Tom—but I’d always seen her as the weakest among us. I wasn’t the only one. Shannon and Tom were protective of her too, which isn't a good sign if you're a spy.
The conversation continued, but I wasn’t paying attention to the words. I listened for the sound of her voice, willing away my desire to rush blindly to her aid. I grabbed Shannon’s arm as she made a move for the door. She glared at me and held up her pistol. She didn’t aim it at me, but her message was clear. Get out of the way.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered why Payne hadn’t just shot Cherry outright. He wasn’t one to have a conversation when a bullet could do his talking. I pushed the question away with relief that he seemed content to banter with Cherry, whatever his reason.
I pointed to Becca. “We can’t let her get hurt.” Becca had become pale and was cowering in her chair. Her arms were folded as if she was trying to hug herself.
I whispered an instruction to Becca to get under the desk while keeping my eyes on Shannon, I expected her to bolt towards the door.
I tried to think of a way to keep Shannon from barging out, but by the time Becca had crawled under her desk I hadn’t been able to come up with anything. I couldn’t let Shannon go alone, but I also wanted to live through the day.
“Tell me how many more there are,” Payne said, “and it will go better for you.”
Cherry snorted but it was cut off with a shriek.
“Wait to see if they walk past our door,” I whispered. “We’ll take them from behind.”
“Payne’s going to kill her.”
“Can we help if we’re filled with holes?”
“Get outta my way.”
I doubted Payne would kill Cherry in the middle of the hallway because Becca couldn’t be the only witness on the floor.
There were several thuds and Cherry groaned.
Shannon pushed me out of the way.
I growled under my breath, that woman was going to get me killed. I readied my pistol and tried to visualize what was happening in the hall. I imagined a picture of six men, and planned on shooting four in rapid succession while keeping my aim away from Cherry.
“I’m going. Come if you want.” Shannon reached for the door.
“I go left, you go right.”
Shannon nodded and burst into the hallway with me close on her heels.
From the start, even though there were fewer than I expected, I knew we were in trouble and that our reckless attack had been stupid. I should have wrestled Shannon to the floor to keep her from leaving.
The men were looking our direction when we entered the hallway and already had guns drawn. I fired at the first man on the left, my first two shots going into him as he started to raise his pistol. Too late, I realized I was aiming at the same man as Shannon. Cursing, I turned to the next man in time to see the barrel of a pistol explode in my direction.
Everything seemed to slow down. The flash from the muzzle of the gun seared into my brain and I could have sworn I saw the bullet coming at me. It took me in the chest and knocked me back into the door jam.
I gulped for breath, afraid that the round had pierced my armored vest. All other thoughts fled from me. I couldn’t breathe. It was funny how something I’d always taken for granted became the only thing that I could think about. There were more shots all around me and somebody else fell to the ground. I thought somebody was calling my name, but it sounded so far away.
Breathe. I needed to breathe.
My mouth hung open and my arms flailed about as I worked on my lungs. When I was able to choke out a cough, I inhaled. It was shallow, but it was air. I gulped another breath.
I heard Shannon calling to me. I couldn’t understand what she was saying. I felt my chest and was relieved that my hand didn’t come away sticky with blood.
“Jake, are you all right?” Shannon asked kneeling beside me. My head spun and I saw her in double.
“Cherry?” I asked.
“I’m here Jake.”
I pushed myself up on one arm. Another man lay dead beside the one that Shannon and I had killed. Payne was gone.
“Where’s Payne?”
“He got away,” Shannon said. “Can you walk?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I said, my tongue felt heavy and thick. I coughed. “Beltran won't be pleased if we don’t get Payne. I can see Beltran now. ‘Getting shot is no excuse for letting Payne get away.’” I pushed to my knees, felt a little lightheaded, took a breath, and then stood up. My chest felt like a wrecking ball had just hit it and I was sure I’d be sporting a bruise, if not cracked ribs for some time.
“What happened to Griffith?” I asked.
“Payne killed her,” Cherry said. “I’m glad you guys came along when you did, he was going to kill me too.”
That would have normally been the place where Shannon would have thrown in an “I told you so,” but she kept silent. I noticed that she was staring at the tear in my shirt where the bullet had hit. I could only hope she was regretting her rash action. It was too late now, but maybe she’d be more careful next time.
“Where’s Tom?” Cherry asked.
“It shouldn’t take him long to find us,” I said. “The shooting will get his attention.” I noticed that Shannon was bleeding. I reached out to her arm. “What happened?”
“I snagged it somewhere.”
I pulled up the sleeve of her shirt against her protests. “Snagged on a bullet you mean.”
“It can wait.” Ah, there was the Shannon that I knew.
“We can’t wait for Tom,” Cherry said. “Even if Payne weren’t getting away, who else heard the gunfight?” I remembered Becca and went back into the office. She was still hiding underneath her desk, trembling.
“Becca,” I said, “you know that call you were making earlier? Give us about ten minutes and then finish it.” I didn’t wait for a response as we headed for the stairs. The elevator might be faster, considering my condition, but I wasn’t about to be shut up in a box that could become a cage with the push of a button. The others were of the same opinion.
We entered the stairs, expecting an ambush. Shannon led the way with Cherry close behind. I wondered if the growing bruise on my chest was going to affect my ability to keep up. My whole chest burned.
When they reached the main floor, Shannon and Cherry burst into the lobby without waiting for me. I was a flight behind them. By the time I was outside the building, they were already halfway down the block.
There was a hint of smoke in the air and the sun was partially obscured. Whether it was cloud cover, smog, or smoke from the train explosions, I couldn’t tell. I gasped for breath, clutching my chest, and coughed. Pain racked my body. Steeling myself, I dashed after them as best I could, expecting not to be able to keep up, but they stopped soon after they started.
I wasn’t prepared for what I saw next.
Bill Martinez had Payne at gunpoint and was ordering him into a black suburban, the door of which was being held open by a man that I didn’t recognize.
What was Martinez doing here? He was supposed to have left last night on an assignment in D.C.
A question reoccurred to me and even though I didn’t like the answer that came to mind, something seemed to make sense. Why hadn’t Payne killed Cherry? Martinez might be here to help us out or he could be rescuing Payne for his own reasons. If there was a connection betw
een Payne and Martinez, Payne would have gone out of his way to keep from harming Cherry.
The thought bounced around my head as I took in the scene. Something wasn’t right. I aimed my pistol at Martinez. I didn’t have a strong explanation for my actions, but any trust I had for him had evaporated long ago.
There may have been a logical reason as to why he was here or why Payne hadn’t harmed Cherry, but I wasn’t willing to take the chance.
“What are you doing Jake?” Martinez asked. “Stop fooling around.”
“You’re not supposed to be here Bill,” I said.
“Are you out of your mind?” Martinez asked. “I’m here on Beltran’s orders. He sent me to help after your little stunt on the train. I’m sick and supposed to be resting, but I was called in to save your sorry team. Now put away your gun and stand down!”
I supposed it was possible that Martinez could have aborted his trip to D.C. for being sick but that didn’t sound like him and he looked fine. It would take a lot more than the flu or a cold to bench him on the sidelines. No, something was wrong.
“Why don’t I recognize your men? Shannon, take Payne.” I wasn’t able to see Shannon and was unwilling to take my eyes off Martinez.
“You haven’t met half of the people that we work with,” Martinez said. “Put your gun down and we’ll forget this happened. Look, I get it. You don’t want me to take credit for Payne’s capture, that’s fine. You guys did all the hard work. I’ll make sure Beltran knows. Stand down.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Jake, come on,” Shannon said. “We need to get going. We’ll sort this all out back at Black Brick. Okay?”
Cherry was on my other side, she put her hand on my arm. “You’re not thinking clearly. You’ve been shot.”
I lowered my pistol. This was wrong, I was certain. I had been shot in the chest, not the head. But now that my pistol was down, Cherry and Shannon both latched onto me and pulled me away.
