At some point in the next few days a serial murderer was going to kill Psimon…
…unless Steve killed him first.
*
Tony sat at the computer in his office, the video camera cradled in his lap, a mobile phone pressed to his ear. ‘No, I’m not joking…’ he hissed into the phone. ‘I just saw it with my own fucking eyes!’
Tony cast a nervous glance at the door, clearly anxious that no one should hear him making this call.
‘So the prize has been claimed?’ said a man’s voice on the other end of the line. ‘The foundation is actually paying up?’
‘They’re signing the paperwork as we speak,’ said Tony quietly. ‘I’m telling you… this is for real.’
‘And you’ve got it all on film?’
‘On disk, yes,’ said Tony. ‘I’m making a copy right now.’
Tony’s computer was all set to copy the disk from the camera but, despite Tony repeatedly pressing the eject button, the camera wouldn’t give up the disk.
‘Okay…’ said the man on the other end of the phone. ‘Do you know where they’re staying?’
‘No,’ said Tony in growing frustration at the uncooperative camera. ‘They said something about heading up to the Cape.’
‘All right… try and keep them there as long as possible.’
‘There’s nothing I can do to stop them… just send a car as soon as possible.’
‘There’s one on its way but it’s not that simple. We can’t detain them without authorisation.’
‘Authorisation from who?’ asked Tony.
‘Our client,’ came the evasive reply.
‘Whatever,’ said Tony. ‘They’re driving a blue Chevy Cobalt. It’s parked right outside the JREF but I don’t know how long they’ll be here.’
Tony struck the camera with the heel of his hand. The damn thing just wouldn’t open.
*
‘What is it?’ asked Steve when Psimon hesitated in the foundation’s foyer.
For the last few minutes Psimon had seemed distracted and distant.
‘It’s Tony,’ said Psimon quietly. ‘He’s trying to make a copy of the disk.’
‘What!’ exclaimed Steve. ‘We should stop him… tell Randi.’
‘It’s okay,’ said Psimon with a smile. ‘He’s having a little trouble with the camera.’
For a moment Steve just looked at him. Then… ‘No…’ he said incredulously.
‘It’s just a simple electrical switch,’ said Psimon as if this explained everything.
‘But you’re not even in the same room,’ protested Steve.
‘Same room… same city. Distance doesn’t really matter.’
‘What…’ said Steve. ‘You can see through his eyes?’
‘Not exactly,’ replied Psimon. ‘But having met him… having made that connection… it almost allows me to be present in the room.’
The intensity of Steve’s frown adequately portrayed the difficulty he was having with these new revelations. He just kept thinking…
‘This is not possible… none of this is possible.’
*
Tony’s head snapped up as Jeff entered the room.
‘Is there a problem?’ asked Jeff suspiciously when he saw the guilt written on Tony’s face.
‘No,’ said Tony, his face flushing. ‘Just can’t seem to get the disk out.’
Jeff stepped forward and held out his hand. With visible reluctance Tony surrendered the camcorder to Jeff who turned it over and pressed the eject button. There was a small click and the caddy popped smoothly open.
‘A case,’ said Jeff nodding to the stack of DVD cases on Tony’s desk.
Tony opened a case and held it out to Jeff who slipped the disk inside and folded it shut. Then he handed the camera back to Tony and left the room.
*
Back in the foyer Steve watched as Psimon’s face relaxed into a smile.
‘Can we go now?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ said Psimon. ‘We can go.’
Steve shook his head muttering under his breath but Psimon caught the words.
‘Bloody psychics…’ Steve cursed as they made their way out to the blue Chevy Cobalt in the car park.
Chapter 15
The silver Volvo pulled up a hundred metres from the entrance to the James Randi Foundation. The windows were darkly tinted but apart from that there was nothing to mark this vehicle out from several others parked in driveways along the road. The two men inside sat back in their seats. They had made good time getting there and they were relieved to see that the blue Chevy was still in the car park. It was an Avis rental, standard low-end model. Following it should be a piece of cake. They made a note of the licence plate, called it in to control, and settled down to wait.
‘I don’t get it,’ said the younger of the two men.
‘We don’t have to get it,’ said the older man. ‘We just have to follow them.’ He had the hard, serious face of an ex-cop.
‘But really,’ persisted the younger man. ‘Even if this guy can bend spoons without touching them. I mean… so what? We can tail him all the way to the Cape if need be. I don’t see why we need the chopper.’
The ex-cop seemed irritated by the simple act of having to make conversation.
‘You wear a Ruger SR9 on your hip,’ he stated without looking at his colleague.
‘Yeah,’ said the younger man. ‘So what?’
‘So you’d be happy sitting next to a man who could discharge that firearm just by looking at it.’
The younger man looked up sharply, his hand resting suddenly on the pistol at his waist.
‘The contact said he could bend metal with his mind,’ he objected. ‘He said nothing about firing guns.’
‘If he can bend a steel rod into a perfect circle,’ snapped the ex-cop. ‘He can, sure as shit, slip a safety catch and apply the half ounce of pressure required to shoot you in your ass.’
‘Shit! I never thought of that.’
‘And who’s to say he couldn’t fuck with a car’s engine… or an airliner’s?’
‘Jesus!’ swore the younger man looking at the blue Chevy with considerably more intensity than before.
‘There’s no telling what this guy is capable of,’ said the ex-cop. The conversation seemed to have annoyed him and the look his colleague gave him did nothing to improve his temper. ‘You think I’m paranoid,’ he said, taking in the younger man’s sideways glance. ‘I’m nothing compared to our client. They’ll be none too pleased if we let this guy get away. That’s why we need the chopper. To make sure there are no fuck-ups.’’
‘So you really think they’ll authorise us to detain him? I mean… they’re not even American citizens.’
The ex-cop just stared out of the Volvo’s windscreen.
‘Once they’re convinced he’s for real? Yes, they’ll give us authorisation. After all,’ he continued. ‘It never stopped them with Wernher Von Braun. And just think where we’d be without him.’
‘Who?’ asked the younger man but the ex-cop was no longer listening.
He fired up the engine.
‘Here they come,’ he said.
*
‘I see it,’ said Steve as he pulled out of the James Randi car park.
He did not need to be psychic to pick out the silver Volvo down the street. Intuition was enough. He pulled onto Davie Boulevard, heading west.
Psimon felt a strong urge to turn round to see if the car was following them but he contented himself with watching Steve’s face as he kept a sharp eye on the rear view mirror.
‘Here they come,’ said Steve when he saw the Volvo falling in behind them. He pursed his lips and gave a small nod of approval.
‘What is it?’ asked Psimon.
‘They’re really keeping their distance,’ said Steve. ‘Whoever’s driving the car has done this before.’
‘Can you lose them?’
Steve looked across at him. Psimon almost seemed to be enjoying this.
‘This isn’t going to be some high octane car chase,’ he said. ‘Besides…’ he added. ‘I don’t want to lose them just yet.’
Still driving calmly Steve turned north onto South Andrews Avenue, heading away from the airport where, in just over two hours, they were due to catch a flight back to the UK. He continued north for about a mile, crossed over the river, then stopped at the traffic lights signalling right.
‘I take it you do know where you’re going?’ asked Psimon.
‘Just chill out,’ said Steve bending forward at an awkward angle to look in his wing mirror. ‘We need to see if your information is accurate.’
‘Information about what?’
‘About that,’ said Steve ominously. He reached out, adjusting the angle of the mirror to give him a better chance of keeping the approaching helicopter in sight.
The lights changed to green and Steve went with the flow of traffic, palm trees and tall, pristine buildings lining the road.
‘I take it there’s some point to this magical mystery tour,’ said Psimon.
Steve shot Psimon a sour look.
‘First off,’ he said, as if he were lecturing some rookie on their first patrol. ‘I need to make sure we’re dealing with just the one tail. Plus,’ he added. ‘I need to confirm that this chopper really is here for our benefit; that it’s not just some network bird covering downtown Fort Lauderdale…’
Psimon smiled. He was not worried… not about this at least.
*
‘Chopper’s on the scene,’ came the female voice over the Volvo’s radio.
‘Thanks, control,’ said the ex-cop. ‘We still have a visual on the target. Any word on authorisation from the client.’
‘That’s a negative, car 1,’ stated the female voice firmly. ‘Brief remains, shadow and observe only.’
‘Roger that, control. Car 1 out.’
The younger of the two men gave an unimpressed grunt.
‘Would have been better if the contact had got a copy of that disk.’
‘Well he didn’t,’ said the ex-cop. ‘Just keep your mind on the job in hand. This guy seems like he’s on some kind of sightseeing tour.’
They followed the Blue Chevy as it meandered leisurely through Fort Lauderdale’s more affluent districts. Then…
‘Heads up!’ said the ex-cop suddenly. ‘I think he’s made us.’
*
‘Okay,’ said Steve. ‘That should do it.’
Psimon felt himself pressed gently back in his seat as Steve suddenly accelerated away from the junction, not breaking the speed limit, just driving with more purpose than he had been for the last ten minutes. They turned south and headed back over the river. The Volvo had now closed the distance in response to their increased speed and still the chopper circled overhead. But Steve did not seem concerned. He knew what he needed to know.
Psimon became aware that they were heading back to where they had started from. Up ahead was South Andrews Avenue, and there, coming up on the right was the multi-storey parking lot that Steve had disappeared into before they went to the James Randi Foundation. With a quick glance in his mirror Steve indicated right and turned into the lot. As they turned in Psimon took a quick glance behind them. The Volvo had come up fast and was now right behind them.
*
‘Quick,’ said the younger man. ‘We don’t want to lose them in there.’
The ex-cop said nothing. He had already gunned the accelerator. As he watched the Chevy enter the lot ahead of them he wondered if the subjects were going to make a run for it on foot. Through the tight turns and gloomy interior of the lot he kept the Chevy in view at all times but instead of taking one of the numerous available spaces the Chevy just headed straight for the exit. The Volvo followed.
*
Psimon did not like the claustrophobic feel of the parking lot and was relieved when Steve headed for the exit. The Volvo was right on their tail. Any pretence about whether or not they were being followed had been abandoned.
The chase was on…
Or not… as it turned out.
Steve braked suddenly as they reached the security barrier at the exit. He reached forward to the dashboard, opened the small compartment, and took out the printed card that he had placed in there earlier. Then, with a wink at Psimon, he lowered his window and inserted the card into the column beside the car. The security barrier lifted before them and Steve drove slowly through, only speeding up when the barrier dropped down behind them.
*
‘Shit!’ cursed the ex-cop when he saw the security barrier rise up for the Chevy.
‘Where did he get that ticket,’ protested the younger man. ‘We didn’t see him stop.’
‘He didn’t stop, you moron!’ snapped the ex-cop. ‘He’d already paid for the ticket.’
The younger man seemed puzzled as the security barrier came down in front of them. For a second the ex-cop considered breaking through the barrier but in addition to the barrier he spotted a steel panel crossing the driveway ahead of them. They might get past the barrier but that steel plate would flip up and stop the Volvo in its tracks. With an animal growl he slammed the car in reverse only to find that two cars were now sitting behind them waiting to exit the lot. One of them honked its horn impatiently.
‘For the love of God!’ swore the ex-cop.
Then, rummaging in his pocket, he fished out a handful of cash thrusting it at the younger man who seemed stunned at how quickly they had got themselves into this predicament.
‘Go find a ticket machine!’ he commanded. ‘And make it fucking quick!’ he added as the younger man jumped out of the car.
With a groan of angry frustration the ex-cop thumbed the radio on the dashboard.
‘Car 1 to control…’ he began.
‘Go ahead, car 1,’ said the familiar female voice.
‘Control… we’ve lost them,’ he said heavily. ‘I repeat… we’ve lost them.’
*
‘Smooth, Mr Brennus… Very smooth,’ said Psimon as they accelerated away from the parking lot.
‘It helps when your intelligence comes from a bona fide psychic.’
‘Quite,’ said Psimon.
‘Of course,’ Steve went on. ‘That’s the point where we’d normally open up with the M16s and a truckload of claymore mines. But in this case,’ he added with a self-satisfied smile. ‘I thought a well designed security exit would do the trick.’
The two men glanced at each other and laughed out loud. Then Steve caught sight of the chopper in his mirror and a more serious mood descended once more. They were not in the clear yet.
*
‘Control to helicopter N27484, come in please.’
‘2-7 here control, go ahead.’
‘Ground unit has lost visual on target. Stay tight on target until car 1 can reacquire.’
‘Will do, control. Any word yet on authorisation to detain.’
‘None as yet, 2-7. The Director has been informed. We should have an answer in the next few minutes.’
‘Jesus!’ swore the helicopter’s co-pilot. ‘They’ve gone right to the top… This must be the real deal.’
‘Will do, control,’ said the pilot into his microphone. ‘Target has just turned onto West Broward Boulevard. Looks like he’s heading for the highway.’
‘Understood, 2-7. Control out.’
*
Steve turned north onto highway 95 driving as fast as he could without drawing any additional unwanted attention. Beside him Psimon was craning his neck round in an attempt to see the chopper.
‘Do you think we’ve lost it?’ he asked.
‘Not a chance,’ said Steve. ‘But we need to before that Volvo can get back on our tail.’
‘And can we?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Steve with a smile which, despite the concern on his face, told just how much he was enjoying this.
‘How?’ asked Psimon.
‘Patience, boy,’ said Steve. ‘Just another mile.’
>
A few minutes later and Steve switched to the inside lane, while ahead of them loomed a vast ten-lane overpass.
Psimon had a sudden insight into what Steve had in mind and he could feel the anticipation in the ex-soldier sitting beside him. But then another more disturbing image came to him. Everything was not as Steve thought it was. Something was wrong.
‘Steve,’ said Psimon as they closed on the overpass.
‘Not now, Psimon,’ said Steve distractedly.
‘But, Steve…’
‘Not now,’ snapped Steve.
The Chevy slipped under the overpass and Steve brought them to an abrupt halt on the verge beside the highway. Ahead of them a bright red Hyundai was parked well up on the verge. However, pulled up close behind it was a considerably less shiny pickup truck, the drivers of which seemed to have taken an unhealthy interest in the unoccupied Hyundai.
‘Shit!’ breathed Steve slumping back in his seat.
‘I tried to tell you,’ offered Psimon.
Steve paused for a second. He grabbed his overnight bag from the back seat and thrust it into Psimon’s lap.
‘Take this,’ he said. ‘And stay in the car.’
Using the pickup to conceal his approach Steve closed quickly on the Hyundai. One guy was sitting in the driver’s seat. The other was leaning in through the door. Neither would see him coming. Steve made his move.
‘Can I help you gentlemen,’ said Steve confidently as he came up beside the bright red rental car that he had parked here just a couple of hours before.
The reaction from the men was startling. The man leaning in the driver’s door straightened up suddenly and Steve found himself looking down the barrel of Glock 9mm handgun.
*
‘Control to helicopter N27484, come in please.’
‘2-7 here, control. Go ahead.’
‘Car 1 is now mobile. ETA on your position four minutes.’
‘Roger that, control. Target has stopped under the overpass at West Sunrise Boule…’
‘One minute, 2-7…’ cut in the female voice.
There was a pause of several seconds before the voice of control returned.
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