by Tufo, Mark
“Nothing. Everything she had with her is in storage.”
“The cigarettes?”
“I gave them to her myself. The lighter too.”
“Clock’s ticking!” she shouted out from the back area.
“No contact. Seemingly no way to communicate. Either it’s you, Wassau, or she already had something in place.” We both looked to Wassau’s closed door. “No way,” I said.
“It’s not me,” Sorrens protested.
“I know—I saw your face. No one is that good of a liar. Something’s in place, though…too many variables. How would someone know when to do something?”
“Why blow a hole in the wall? That doesn’t help anybody,” Sorrens offered. “Is she bluffing?”
“Bluffing is in her arsenal, and it's not like we can press her on it because if she’s not lying, she makes a zombie expressway. I’m going to talk to her. You can come if you want, but I’d appreciate you not pulling your pistol out again; you make me nervous.”
“Are you afraid I’ll shoot her?”
“I’m afraid you’ll shoot me.” Walked into the back, Deneaux was standing by the bars. My guess is she was trying to hear something. “Out of curiosity, this business transaction…what would it entail?”
“It’s nice to see that you are taking me seriously.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but since I can no longer watch my favorite shows on TV, I have to get my drama elsewhere.”
“I wonder which one led more to the destruction of civilization, religion or television?”
“Can we get on with this? There are few places I’d less want to be than here.”
“Such as?”
“A crypt comes to mind, a mausoleum, the cemetery at night, Disney World in the summer, Moxie bottling building. Definitely Tommy’s Pop-Tart factory.”
“Done?”
“That about covers it.”
“You sure?”
I paused, putting my finger up. “Yup.”
“I want the base.”
“We’re back to that? I figured you would have gone for your unconditional release. So, let me get this straight, either you get the base or no one does?”
“Not quite as eloquently put as I would have said it, but yes.”
“That’s got an unstable ex-boyfriend mentality to it. I would have expected more. I hate to state the obvious, but I feel like I have to. If this base falls, you realize you go with it, right? I mean, you have to know that. Ah…but your smug demeanor leads me to believe you have a contingency plan. A way out. You planning on sharing? Didn’t think so. What makes you think I have the keys to the kingdom?”
“You have the king’s ear.”
“Another trope? The king’s evil advisor?”
“Enough with the babbling small talk. You have until tomorrow at this same time. By then, I will be out of this cement closet and sitting upon my rightful throne or boom.” She spread her hands out as she said the word. “Now leave. I’d like to smoke in peace.”
“Now what?” Sorrens asked as we were once again out of the containment area.
“You have to watch her like a hawk. We need to see who she’s getting the word out to and how she’s doing it.”
I was heading for my Hummer, to radio back to our base and get a couple of people to case the place out, see if they could catch something Sorrens missed. And, while I didn’t think it probable, there was still a chance that either Sorrens, Wassau or both were in on it. It would not be prudent of me to dismiss that completely. I’d just picked up the radio microphone when Jerry’s delivery truck pulled up. Jerry, of the Autumn Harmon’s boyfriend variety. He’d not seen me as he rooted around in the back of his truck; he had some mail and a container on wheels, something like airline personnel used to deliver food to the flying-can people, though this had much larger wheels; an off-road model.
“Say it ain’t so, Jerry.” I watched him head inside the jail, waited about fifteen minutes until he came out.
“Shit, Captain! Scared the hell out of me,” he said as he came around to the driver’s side, I was standing by the door.
“How’s it going?” I was trying to be nonchalant, even as my heart threatened to come up out through my throat and fall onto the ground where it would bounce away randomly like a fumbled football.
“Good,” he answered, watching me. I couldn’t think of anything to say as we stared at each other awkwardly. “Anything else? I’m pretty busy and behind schedule.”
“Anything you want to tell me?” I asked.
Might have been the slightest tick in his eye.
“About what?” He was reaching for his door.
“Do you deliver the meals personally, or do you hand them off to Sorrens?”
His hand paused, then grabbed the door handle. “I drop the meals off and grab the empties. That’s my job; I’m a delivery person.”
“And where would your deliveries be taking you next?”
“I can show you my roster, if that will help.”
“I’m thinking this particular stop won’t be on there.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He got the door open.
I not-so-gently pulled him away from the door and reached back with my foot to close it.
“This is assault.”
“Not so much—not yet, anyway—and it’s way better than treason.”
“What are you talking about?”
He was convincing, I’ll give him that. Either he had nothing to do with it or he was Deneaux’s star pupil in her advanced pathological liar class.
“I’m talking about the messages you’ve been shuttling back and forth for the Black Widow, or the Lemon Queen; I like that one better. Where is it?”
“Where’s what, Captain? I need to go.”
I grabbed his collar roughly and lifted him, his feet dangling off the ground. There is something fundamentally terrifying about being suspended in the air, knowing how powerful your adversary is and how powerless, in that moment, you are.
“Why, Jerry?”
“I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Sorrens had come out.
“Help me, Sergeant! The captain has lost his mind!”
I tilted my head to the side and puffed out my lower lip. “Fair assessment. Found our leak,” I told him as he approached. “Remember how, when I asked you if Deneaux had any visitors, you said no?”
“She doesn’t.” He still looked confused.
I let my head bow and raised Jerry half an inch higher. “Seriously?”
“He’s not a vis…oh! Son of a bitch! Do you have the message?”
“We haven’t worked up to the confession part yet, just getting started.”
“You know she wants to blow a hole in the wall, right?” Sorrens asked.
“The both of you have lost your minds. You can’t accost people in the middle of the street to satisfy your conspiracy theories.”
“Oh, he’s good,” I was talking to Sorrens. “I think I’m going to take you back to the Barrows; we’ll have a heart to heart. And by heart to heart, I mean fist to face.” That was when Jerry’s entire demeanor changed. Fear showed in his eyes.
“You can’t do that!”
“I mean, sure I can.”
“Sergeant, are you seriously going to stand there while he threatens to kidnap me?”
“No, no—I’m not, because I’m not here. Captain, if you could let me know what happens, I would greatly appreciate it.” He turned and headed back into the jailhouse.
“That guy is weirder than fuck, and I genuinely like him. What’s that say about me?” I was contemplating.
“Let me go!” Jerry had a fist raised.
“What are you planning on doing with that?” Not even sure why I asked as he hit me in the side of the head.
“Do that again and I’m going to knock you out before I take you back.”
“You can’t…I’ll be late.”
“What am I missing? Is there an incentive package if you make all your deliveries on time?”
“Put me down.” His body sagged. I don’t know if he was admitting defeat or was playing possum so he could run once his feet hit the ground. It was possum; he got maybe two steps before I had the collar of his jacket. I tossed him to the ground.
“You ready to talk?” I was standing over him.
“I’m a fucking delivery driver. What else do you want to know?”
“Normally, I’d appreciate your stalwartness. I think that’s the right word…but, like you, I’m on the clock, too. Now that I’ve said that, it’s the same clock ticking for both of us. Last chance to opt for something resembling the U.S. justice system, rather than some third-world prison. Not sure if you ever watched Locked Up Abroad, but those poor bastards paid double time for their crimes.” I had my fisted raised and ready to go.
He had his hands up in a defensive gesture. “She’ll kill her!”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Autumn’s in trouble? I was wondering why she hadn’t shown up yet at Castle De Barrow. Is she being held?”
He shook his head.
“Jerry, you better get talking. Sooner or later someone is going to witness this little rendezvous, then who knows what the hell happens.”
“Just let me go.”
“I can’t. You heard Sorrens, she’s threatening to blow a hole in the wall, and none of us can take the chance that she won’t make good on that threat.”
“I didn’t know—not about the wall.” He seemed genuine about that. “But, Autumn…”
“Where is she?”
“She’s in the barracks. Deneaux told me there’s continuous surveillance on her, and if I don’t pass her messages along, she’ll be killed.”
“Why are you still here?” Sorrens had poked his head out the door and was looking up and down the roadway.
I motioned for him to come closer. “Get on the horn, call my squad, tell them to gear up and send Tommy, BT, Stenzel and Grimm to the back of the barracks by the park, I need to pick up some stuff.”
“On it.”
“Going to need a ride to the barracks, and on the way, you’re going to show me the message and who it’s going to.”
“They’ll see us, and they’ll kill her. I can’t let that happen.”
The kid was scared; he had every right to be. It’s one thing when your own life is threatened but when it is of a loved one, that makes it worse, way worse.
We were on the road. “Let’s get to the conclusion of this, shall we?”
“Deneaux doesn’t tell me anything—it’s all in code. And no paper. I don’t even see the person I’m talking to. I go to the old barbershop on the other side of the barrows; it’s boarded up. I go to the front and deliver the message. Half the time, I don’t even know if anyone is on the other side.”
“What are you supposed to say?”
“Same time tomorrow.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“She’s getting even more cautious; don’t like that. Cautious means wary. And you never know what a wary animal might do.”
“We’re here.” He couldn’t wait for me to get out.
“Yeah, hold on. I’m sending someone with you.”
“You don’t understand…the person on the other side of that wall is probably just another nobody like me.”
“Possibly, but it’s the next clue.”
“What the fuck, Talbot? I’m not moving another four-poster bed, man. My back is killing me and your sister is finally laying down, so I get some me-time. That baby is kicking her ass, so by default, she’s kicking mine.”
“Nice to see you too, BT. Tommy, I’ve got no time to explain. Jerry here has to deliver a message at the old barbershop. He’ll fill you in, but I want you to follow that recipient wherever they go. Top stealth—got it?”
He nodded and got in. Jerry looked like he wanted to vomit.
“We’ll get Harmon,” I assured him. He nodded but he doubted my words. “When this day is done, you’ll need to come to the Barrows too.”
“I don’t care who you are or how freakishly strong you are, Captain, something happens to Autumn and…”
“I get it, I get it. She’ll be fine.”
“What is going on?” BT asked.
“Deneaux.” He didn’t need any further clarification than that. “And Autumn is in trouble.” I quickly caught them up to speed.
“Let’s go.” BT looked like he was ready to push trucks out of the way to get to her.
“Look at you, ready to jump in the fire with both feet. You make me proud. If she’s being watched, we have to assume there’s either a rifle on her or a very attached personal assistant.”
“Third option, sir. She’s part of it.”
That threw me. “I hope not, but I appreciate where your head is at. Stenzel, if you were watching Harmon with a rifle, where would you set-up shop?”
She looked around. “Has to be the water tower across from the barracks. Clearest line of sight.”
“They’d need someone close to her if she ran, though. Can’t just be a sniper.” Grimm said.
“In the room?” I asked.
“Could be,” he responded to my question.
“Stenzel, would you be able to get a bead if someone has set-up shop on the tower?” I was fitting my headgear on.
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Let me know when you locate them. Test.”
She gave me a thumbs-up as we checked our comms and moved away.
“How are we planning on getting into her room without catching a bullet?” BT asked.
“I was going to hide behind you.”
“You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are.”
“My writers are on strike. Grimm and I are going to rope down from Collier’s vacated premises.”
“Rope?”
“Sheets.”
“Are you going first, sir?” Grimm asked.
“That’s the idea. BT, I need you to hang out by the common room on the second floor. You’re my ‘shit has hit the fan’ free agent.”
“I am ready to fuck someone up. Let’s go.”
We went to the office on the first floor; a corporal was sitting behind a desk, reading an old magazine. He perked up when he saw us.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“I need the keys for 308.”
“Collier’s old room? For what purpose?”
“Follow-up investigation.”
“You’re with the MPs?” he asked.
“Special investigative unit.”
“Then you should have the keys.”
“You’re telling me there are no other keys?”
“No, I’m telling you the MPs have one.”
“I don’t have time for this shit.” BT was getting angry.
“I’ll have to call my commanding officer.”
“BT?” The big man stepped behind the desk and held his hand out.
“Either a key goes in my hand or a neck does. Your choice,” BT told the corporal. I could hear his gulp from where I stood.
BT handed the key over to me. “You need to stay with him for a bit,” I told him before I headed off.
“I could just knock him out.”
“Let’s try not to hand out concussions today.”
I took off my bars. “Give me those,” I was referring to the corporal’s insignia stripes. “Feels like old times,” I said aloud as BT helped me put them in.
“You’re an old corporal.”
“Military food will do that to you,” I told him as he made sure the pin fasteners were clamped.
“My God, how much have you eaten?”
“Fuck you, BT.”
“I need a couple of boxes,” I told the corporal. He nodded with his head over to a small stack of milk crates. I grabbed two. “Grimm, help me grab some random shit.” We tossed in a few books, a lamp, some pic
tures, and Grimm took a stapler off the desk.
“Oh, come on! You know how hard those are to come by?” the corporal asked.
“We’re not shopping,” BT said.
“Want to make it look like we’re moving in,” I replied.
“For when Tracy finally wises up and kicks your ass out?”
“We’re roomies now, Grimm. Isn’t that fantastic?” I shook his shoulders.
“Lifelong dream, sir,” he told me.
“Wish us luck,” I told him as we headed out, my arms full.
“Stay safe.”
“Always.”
He snorted as I left the office.
“Sometimes.”
“As if.”
“Occasionally?”
“I’ll give you that.”
We moved quickly. “On the third floor. Stenzel, got anything?”
“Maybe. There’s metal plating around the entire railing; could be they’re hiding behind that.”
“At Collier’s room. Going in.”
“I see something. Got a spotter—you’re being watched.”
I ushered Grimm in then shut the door like I didn’t have a care in the world. We put the props on the floor and started stripping the beds.
“I need those knots tight,” I told Grimm as we were working on the makeshift line. “This is the stupidest thing I’ve done today.” We moved the bed to the far side of the room as quietly as we could before tying the sheet off. I was pulling on it, knowing full well it wouldn’t give until I was dangling outside.
“Just today?” Grimm asked.
“I have a low threshold.” I opened the window. Thirty feet doesn’t seem that high until you’re looking down. The sheet fell just below and to the side of Autumn’s window. “Fuck. Heading out. Stenzel?”
“No clean shot.”
“Tommy?” I asked.
“Message delivered, trying to pick up the contact.”
“BT?”
“Eating a brownie.”
The bed pulled up tight against the wall as I got up onto the sill and put my full weight on the sheet-rope. Grimm was holding the bed and keeping an eye on our knot. I went over the sill. Every foot I lowered myself down I felt marginally better, one less foot to gain terminal velocity, should I fall. I was parallel to her window and pulled myself close so I could look in. Autumn was sitting on her bed. I was about to knock when I saw movement to my side, a man came out of the bathroom. He was dressed in spec-ops black and fully geared, and here I was, dangling like a carrot.
