The Rules of Silence

by David Lindsey

  When Loop 1 intersected Highways 290 and 71, Macias directed him to exit on the access road. From there they headed off into the more traditional housing developments, street after street of ranch houses interspersed with shopping centers and apartment complexes.

  “Pull in here, ”Macias said, and Titus wheeled into a new shopping center carved out of acres and acres of new ranch houses. There was a twenty-four-hour supermarket, a twentyfour-hour home repairs complex, a twenty-four-hour pharmacy franchise, a twenty-four-hour restaurant franchise, and several smaller businesses, their common sprawling parking area brightly lighted by towering halogen street lamps.

  “Park here, ”Macias instructed, directing Titus to one of the largest clusters of cars in the area. He got out and opened Titus's door.

  “Come on, ”he said, but as Titus turned to get out, Macias reached in and put the barrel of his pistol to Titus's Adam's apple. He said nothing, but he pressed so hard that Titus could feel the cartilage of his trachea rolling under the steel. Then Macias jabbed the gun sharply for emphasis, bringing tears to Titus's eyes.

  “Get the keys and hand them to me, ”Macias said.

  Titus did, and then Macias stepped back and let him get out.

  Standing next to the Navigator, he watched Macias pull out his shirttail to cover the automatic with the suppressor and the mole, which he crammed into the front waistband of his pants. Titus cringed, hoping he didn't rake the mole off in the process.

  Macias put his arm around Titus and draped his left hand over the top of his shoulder. “I know you want to keep your kidneys, ”he said. “Let's go.”

  But Titus froze. “Hold it. This isn't what we agreed on. They'll kill you if I don't stay with the Navigator.”

  “They'll have to find us first.”

  “Look, ”Titus said, “I've … I'll be honest with you. I'm hot. I've swallowed a bug. They know where I am every second. When they see my signal leaving the car, you're screwed.”

  “Then why in the hell are you telling me this?”

  “Because I'm not an idiot. I don't want to get killed in a shoot-out, and I'm telling you, if I leave this Navigator, they're going to come after you.”

  They were standing face-to-face, and Macias smelled of stale cologne and perspiration. Both men were dealing with fear and with the mystery of the odds of chance. Titus could smell Macias's breath, too, and he thought it smelled of desperation.

  Chapter 57

  Rita looked out of the backseat windows of Kal's Jeep Cherokee as it pulled off the Loop 1 South expressway and into the parking lot of the La Quinta Inn. Kal was driving, Ryan was sitting in the front passenger seat beside him, and Janet was sitting next to Rita behind them.

  They pulled up beside a van just as its rear door opened, and García Burden stepped out into the parking lot. They all got out of the Cherokee and stood at the opened door of the van to talk. Rita could see inside the van, its cramped, dark interior glittering with banks of computer screens covered in colored lights. A clutter of transmission noises wafted out to her.

  Burden spoke directly to her. “Two things: I don't have any more people, and before this is over I may need your three bodyguards here. So this is good for me. The other thing, you're right. If he's going to die, you shouldn't have to watch it like that. If this involved a lot of people, as it did earlier in the evening, I wouldn't have allowed this. But it's down to just Titus and Macias.

  “Titus's signal has stopped moving, ”he went on, “and it's coming from somewhere in all those shopping center lights over there.”

  He pointed across the expressway. The back of his saggy shirt was black with perspiration. He seemed wrung out. “Calò's over there, trying to get as close as he can. If we're lucky, that's where Macias is planning to leave Titus with the telephone.”

  Ryan turned and stepped inside the van and immediately came back out with one of the technicians, who was carrying a LorGuide that they'd disconnected. They went to the Cherokee and started installing it between the driver and the passenger in the front seat.

  “Hey, ”Norlin said from inside the van. “It looks like the signal's leaving the Navigator.”

  Burden was instantly back inside the van, and the others crowded around the opened rear door.

  “This's a big supermarket, ”Norlin said, pointing to the schematic graphics on one of the screens. “It looks like the signal's going in.”

  Burden got Calò on the telephone.

  “Yeah, I see that, ”Calò said. “I'm easing into the lot. I'll try to get to the Navigator.”

  Nobody had to say it: This wasn't good. The signal was on the gun. Titus was supposed to be on the phone talking to them when Macias left the van. He wasn't.

  Rita remembered her conversation with Burden earlier. She'd been stubborn, wanting to be closer to it all, and now here she was. She'd be damned if she'd fold and get whiny. She wasn't going to do it. Titus wasn't dead. She would know it if he was. She'd feel it, like the vibrations of a tuning fork, some subtle fibrillation within her stomach. She believed that as surely as she believed the sun would come up again in the morning. She stared into the dark van and waited.

  Titus started walking, and they headed for the supermarket.

  Inside the huge and brightly lighted store, Macias slowed down and they walked as casually as possible past the cereals and the soft drinks and the refrigerated goods, past the fresh produce and the meat market, and headed through the double swinging doors into the back of the store. Some of the workers threw them curious glances, but they weren't being paid enough to be too curious, and Titus and Macias went right on through to the back of the warehouse and out the back metal door into the alley without anyone saying a word to them.

  Outside again, Macias glanced around to see that they were still alone. Now he had his gun out in the open and jammed into Titus's kidneys again and shoved him forward, fast walking down the alley, past the Dumpsters with their rancid odors hanging in the still summer air. On the other side of them, a tall fence of wooden slats ran the length of the long alley behind the stores, hiding it from the housing development.

  To Titus the alley seemed more isolated than the Antarctic, but Macias kept checking the rears of the stores, and when he passed into the shadows between the security lights over the back doors of a pet store and camera shop, he guided Titus with pressure from his pistol barrel, and they veered to the fence.

  They slowed to a walk, then a slow walk, then they stopped and went back a few steps. Macias scanned the backs of the stores again, seeming to check his bearings, and then they went up to the fence, lifted the bottoms of three adjacent slats, and crouched into the backyard of a small ranch house. The yard, lighted by the street lamps in the adjacent alley, was overgrown with weeds; the house was dark.

  Macias unlocked the back door of the house and pushed Titus in first. The alley lights were the only thing that lighted the darkened kitchen through its small windows, and then Titus saw a seam of light at the bottom of a closed door.

  “Over there, ”Macias said, and he pushed Titus forward. When they got to the door, Macias told him to open it, and they stepped into the garage. A black Honda Accord was waiting there, backed into the garage, and there was a man sitting on the trunk, his feet on the rear bumper.

  “Whoa, ”the guy said, suddenly alert and getting off the car cautiously, eyeing Titus with alarm. “Oh, shit, what's going on here, Jorge?”

  He was in his late twenties, maybe, Hispanic, though he didn't speak with an accent. He wore jeans and a short-sleeved nylon shirt, open, over a white T-shirt.

  “No questions, ”Macias said.

  Titus was judging the younger man's reaction. He looked as though he wanted to bolt, his eyes darting back and forth between Titus and Macias.

  “Look, ”the young man said, “when you called me and told me to be here, you said you'd pay me off. I … don't want anything to do with this.”

  “You don't have anything to do with it, Elías, ”Ma
cias said. “You've got one more chore and you're through.”

  “One more? I thought I was coming here to get my last payment for the photographs. And you said you'd reimburse me for them taking my laptop.”

  Titus looked at the young man. This was the guy who had taken the pictures of Rita? Macias must've been reading his mind, because he again jabbed the automatic into his kidney, telling him to keep his mouth shut. Titus's lower back was getting sore from his repeated jabbing.

  Macias pulled the Navigator keys out of his pocket and tossed them to the young man.

  “In the shopping center over there, there's a Lincoln Navigator parked in front of the supermarket. Dark blue. I want you to go over there and get it and drive it to San Marcos. Watch for the first Texaco station on your right as you come into town. Exit off there and go to the station. You'll find another Navigator just like the one you're driving. Your money's in the glove box. Drive off. You're through.”

  Elías Loza stared at him. “Why am I doing that all of a sudden? That wasn't in the deal. ”He glanced at Titus. “It looks to me like shit's coming apart here. There was no driving a car in the deal. If this … if shit's coming apart here—”

  “Nothing's coming apart, ”Macias said. “We're just staying flexible. You gotta be flexible, too.”

  “I don't want flexible. I want the rest of my money.”

  “Well, your money's flexible … it's not here. It's in the other car … in San Marcos.”

  Loza stared at Macias. Titus could see him thinking: Either the money's in the other car or … this son of a bitch could shoot me right here.

  “That's it, then?”

  “Yeah, that's it.”

  Disgusted, but more scared than anything, Loza bent down and got his camera bag. When he straightened up he looked at Titus and then back at Macias.

  “I don't know what's going down here, ”Loza said, “but, me doing this, it doesn't feel right. And I don't have a gun, nothing… .”

  Macias swore. Titus guessed he'd love to just shoot the guy and get the hell out of here, but he wanted the tag that he thought was on the Navigator to be headed out of the city. Suddenly he lifted his shirt and pulled the automatic from the waist of his trousers. He tossed it to a surprised Loza, who caught it against his stomach with his free hand.

  “Get the hell out of here, ”Macias said.

  Loza looked at the gun, then at Macias, and cut a glance at Titus. For a brief, sweet moment, Titus thought Loza was going to shoot Macias. But it was a fool's moment, and Loza turned and walked out of the garage.

  Chapter 58

  Romo Calò found the Navigator in a cluster of other cars in front of the supermarket. Rather than trying to work at a distance, he decided to barge in close and go for broke. He parked three cars away from the Navigator so that he was on the opposite side of it from the grocery cart storage rack.

  Walking away from his car, he fiddled with his keys as he passed the Navigator on the way to the cart storage. He saw nothing. He pulled out a cart, pretended he forgot something in the car, and walked past the back of the Navigator again. Still he saw nothing. At his car, he opened the door and pretended to get something and then once again walked toward the Navigator on the way to the cart he'd left at the storage rack.

  Still seeing nothing that made him suspicious, he got even with the back of the Navigator, left the cart, and slipped in between the cars and looked in. Nothing. Quickly he went to the cart again and headed toward the front of the supermarket as he pulled out his cell phone.

  “The car's empty, ”Calò said to the van. “Nada.”

  “Keep your eyes on it, ”Burden said. “We'll get back to you.”

  As Calò closed the phone, he glanced back just in time to see a man walking toward the Navigator through the aisles of cars. He was looking around, pausing, looking, and coming on. Finally his attention focused on the Navigator, and he headed straight for it. Quickly, Calò reversed his direction, pushing his cart. The guy glanced around and saw Calò, but disregarded him.

  Calò watched the guy as he began checking out the Navigator as if he were unfamiliar with it. The guy looked up and looked around. What was this? Was he going to steal it? Then the guy walked up to the door and pointed his remote key lock at it; the Navigator squeaked, and the guy opened the door.

  He still had one leg outside on the pavement when Calò moved around the rear bumper of the Navigator and blocked the door just as the guy tried to swing it closed. Instantly Calò's automatic was in his face.

  “Don't breathe, ”Calò said. “Are you alone?”

  The guy nodded yes.

  “Who are you?”

  “Elías Loza.”

  Calò moved the barrel of his automatic to Loza's mouth, touching his lips. Now he saw that Loza had been carrying a bag, and it was sitting in the seat with him.

  “What's in the bag?”

  “Camera.”

  “Armed?”

  The guy nodded yes.

  “Where?”

  Loza looked down. “Right here.”

  Calò moved the barrel between Loza's eyes and reached in and found the automatic in the front waistband of his pants. He was surprised to see it was the same gun he'd jammed down between the car seats for Titus. He hit the clip release, but it was empty.

  “Where the fuck'd you get this?”

  Loza didn't even have to guess if the name would have any meaning. “Jorge Macias.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Look, I don't have anything—”

  “Where!?”

  “Over there … other side of the shopping center … one of those houses …”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Loza told him.

  “What's the address over there?”

  Calò was already pulling out his phone as Loza gave him the address.

  “Another man with him? ”Calò asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Anybody else?”

  “No.”

  “Where're they headed?”

  “I don't know.”

  Calò hit Loza in the mouth with his gun so fast, the barrel was already back between his eyes by the time Loza could react.

  “No no no … , ”he pleaded, blood pouring from a busted lip and a tooth knocked out of his gums. “Oh, oh, shit, ohhh … really, no no no … I don't know where the hell they're going. I don't … I don't know anything about this… .”

  With his eyes focused on Loza's eyes, the barrel of his automatic still pressed between Loza's eyebrows, Calò spoke fast to Burden and told him everything.

  “And the bad news, ”Calò said. “I'm holding the damn gun with the mole on it.”

  “Check the gun, ”Burden said. “Is the mole still there?”

  “What's your signal say?”

  “Says it's about five hundred meters west of you.”

  “Really? ”Calò shoved Loza over and told him to curl up on the floor. Loza did as he was told, moaning, moaning, and Calò held the gun up to the interior light. It took him almost a minute of searching to decide it wasn't there.

  Burden got into the Cherokee with Rita and the others, and they headed across the expressway, where Janet and Ryan took charge of Loza, driving away with him in the Navigator to check out Macias's safe house and make sure Titus hadn't been left there.

  Calò returned to his car, and Rita continued in the Cherokee with Burden and Kal. In the backseat alone, she listened as the three men discussed the best way to handle the encounter with Macias. But before they could even get out of the massive parking lot, the signal left the address to which they were headed six blocks away.

  “Calò, ”Burden said, watching the LorGuide, “get in behind him again. I don't know what's happened to the damn mole, whether it was moved from the gun deliberately or accidentally, but we have to play it safe and assume Macias doesn't know we're still with him. First thing, though, try to get close enough to the signal to get a sighting of the Honda. We've got to find
out if it's carrying the signal, or if Macias has managed to somehow put it on a decoy vehicle.”

  After that, the transmissions fell dead, and everyone was glued to the LorGuides.

  Again Macias got into the back and Titus drove, following directions that took them through the neighborhoods to Loop 1 South, where they headed for Oak Hill. Titus took stock of his situation. It wasn't good. Now that the mole had taken off for San Marcos, and Burden's people had no visuals on Titus, he was on his own. He knew that Burden had had a small crew to begin with, and if everything was going according to plan, there was no one else to spare for this little unexpected development. Another blindside for Burden.

  Macias had made it plain that Titus's life was only as good as Macias's own personal security. Titus understood that, but what happened when Macias decided he was safe? And how safe would he have to be before he made his decision about what to do with Titus? No matter how many times he went over it, Titus couldn't see how there would be any profit in it for Macias to kill him when he no longer needed him.

  On the other hand, Titus didn't know what other factors waited in the background that might completely change that simple deduction. God knows he had seen reversals in spades during the last few days. Despite the fact that he told himself his odds were better as a hostage if he remained optimistic, he found it impossible. Right now the darkness outside was a pretty good metaphor for the way he was feeling about his situation.

  “Watch the speed limit, ”Macias said behind Titus's head. “No cops.”

  Titus checked Macias in the rearview mirror. He was still monitoring the traffic behind them. He was nervous, maybe feeling a little better now that he thought he had some breathing room. But Macias was a realist. He knew that the margin of his advantage was hair thin.

  Titus wanted to try to get some feel for his state of mind. He wanted to hear him say something, maybe give Titus a little insight into his intentions.