“What’s going on?” Jack asked his team.
“Tiger in Penny’s Jack. We took cover in the women’s fitting room. Conman is a few stalls down, Relay’s with me.”
“Tiger?” Jack said. “Stay put.”
“Okay.” Conman said. “I don’t plan on opening my door.”
Pinching her nostrils with her finger, Riley listened. The tiger grew agitated letting out short grunts and then long rattling growls responding even to the voices across the airwaves. The cat stayed close to their doors pacing back and forth occasionally stopping to let out some nocturnal noise. Minutes seemed like hours, as they remained frozen inside the fitting room.
“What is it with tigers? First Ringo and then Eric.”
“Probably escaped from the local zoo,” Ryan said.
“White Siberian Tigers are rare. Exactly how many of the remaining ones just happen to be in the states?” Riley asked.
The cat made a lunge at their door. It shook the wood hard enough to knock it off its hinges and then began slamming the door repeatedly. Ryan used his weight keeping it from breaking free while Riley used her free hand to help. The door shook several more times, the sound of his claws scraping down the wood. The rattling sound of the latch ground back and forth then, after several tries the cat gave up.
“That’s one pissed off cat!” Conman said.
Several times Riley had to switch hands to plug her nose. She guessed Ryan’s sense of smell, still disabled by the OC spray, was sparing him the odors. The cat moved past the three of them and out into the aisles, claws tapping on the linoleum. Riley pulled her Vic’s out and took a dip from the ointment splattering it under her nose. Ryan was working on a glow stick when another round of thunder broke overhead. The floor under them shook just as the room began to glow. The green light lit the small dressing room up casting an eerie shadow on the wall. Confirming Riley's sense of smell sat a woman who was permanently sitting upright on the bench. In the eerie light, Riley saw the corpse frozen in time and with her purse clutched to her chest.
Riley let out a short chuckle and then pressed her fingers to her lips to regain control. The old woman hadn’t sat in the dressing room for a horror scene, she’d become trapped in place while shoplifting. There was irony in that. Thanks to the passage of time, her flesh had sunken in; decay had mummified the expression on her face. Short thinning strands of gray hair still attached to her head. The way in which she looked intact suggested she died of fear. Lacy panties and a size too small bra hung from the inside her purse and not the kind you would think someone of her age would be wearing. Shopping was the death of her.
Ryan glanced at the dead woman and then at Riley extending his hand out for some Vic’s. His face was still red from the OC, and through the green haze, all three of us plus granny looked devilish. Ryan took the stick and waved it back and forth away from his face changing his expression with each pass. Riley held back the giggles giving Ryan a punch in the chest.
“Is he gone?” Conman asked.
“I think so,” Riley said. “Stay where you are just a little longer.”
“Yeah okay. No problem. You got a dead one in there?” He asked. “Smells horrible.”
“Yep.” She said.
Ryan looked at her, “What do you think?”
“Why do you ask me?”
“Because it was what you used to do.”
“Ah before all the exotics were let out of the zoos. We can’t stay in here forever.”
Riley cracked the door open. They slipped into the hallway, the green light leading them towards Conmen. Riley spoke softly. “Open the door Conman.”
The door cracked open, creaking slightly. Ryan grabbed the edge and lifted it upward taking away the slack forcing it to open without a sound. The whites of Conman’s eyes glowed green.
“You two look like ghosts.” Conman said. “Maybe we should just hang out here a little longer.” He said.
“And be here when he’s finished with whatever caught his attention. Nope, I’m out of here.” Riley said moving toward the exit. Ryan followed.
“I’m not buying the zoo thing. This is not coincidental.” Her words strained. “That cat looks a lot like Elmo.”
“Relay, is that you?” The radio carried Eric’s voice to her.
“Kid.” She said wiping the Vic’s off her nose.
“Maybe we should pick you up?” He said.
“Not happening.” She replied in a whisper. “I can’t talk now.”
“I’m on my way.” He said.
“You stay put Kid,” Jack said. “I’ll go. Stay with your team.”
“What is wrong with you two?” Riley whispered, but no answer came across the radio. She angrily touched the mic with her finger and asked Ryan and Conman to switch the radio to private. Jack probably had the radios rigged to hear when they talked on PL (Private Line) as well. She needed a conversation between the three of them.
“What is going on Ryan?” Riley asked.
He shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. I swear.”
Jack called through. “What’s your location?”
“Why it's JC Penny’s, but we're done here and heading toward Champs Sports. You need anything?" Ryan asked.
“I’m good,” Jack replied. “Meet you there.”
“Nothing’s private anymore,” Riley said.
She looked over at Ryan with raised eyebrows. He just shrugged. They stepped out into the dimly lit mall more cautious than before. The cat, white as snow, would be distinguishable even in the darkness of the storm. A long strand of lightning struck too close overhead making the building shudder. The rain wasn't letting up. As one round of thunder and lightning ended, another picked up.
“Storms getting closer,” Riley said. The lightning was striking at random now. The weather had turned extreme.
They moved in unison only a few feet apart from each other. Riley was in the center searching the path in front of her while Conman and Ryan had the left and the right. In this manner, they’d be able to pluck off whatever came at them, even a tiger.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Jack clicked off the radio. “Son of a bitch.” Jack's voice snapped above the roar of the rain pounding the sides of the transporter. Forgetting he wasn't alone, Jack looked at the group of men controlling the radios. Their eyes fixated on him but turned back to their stations leaving Jack alone.
Jack sighed rubbing the three-day shadow that had appeared and remained on his chin. There was a dark feeling creeping into his head, and Ringo's name was on it. Like a parasite attached to the innermost part of Jack's brain, the memory of Ringo gnawed on his gray matter with razor sharp teeth. There would be no more, “leaving it in the hands of fate.” If Ringo had escaped the tiger’s enclosure than Jack would be taking a Sharpie to the wickedest bullet he had in his armory and writing Ringo’s name on it. If Ringo lived, was it possible he was moving this cat around the states following his team? That seemed impossible. Driving around with a two-hundred pound plus tiger and then demanding the animal to appear at all the right times. Insane!
Jack should’ve put a bullet between the devil’s eyes first. Eric, grief struck at the time, had left Ringo’s fate to the tiger. He was thinking now that they’d made a mistake. A single bullet placed in Ringo’s temple would’ve been permanent, final. If he’d been in Eric’s shoes, he might have found Eric's way more satisfying. Ringo's tactics with Riley had been cruel, nearly killing her. It was the scars still visible on her skin now that washed his guilt away. Jack had no problems killing Ringo twice.
He looked down in his hand. He had crushed his mic just thinking about it. He replaced it with a new one and then glanced over at the other men pulling a cap over his head. Jack tossed the broken radio piece into a trash can. The rain had increased pounding the transporter making it tremble. Bolts of lightning struck so near, the men ducked. The metal roof rattled. The gusts of wind pushed on the siding of the tactical transformer. Thin cracks and wind for
med a high-pitched whistle.
Jack slipped into his jacket. The mall was a little over a mile away. He could make it in less than seven minutes. The delay would be due to the rain.
“It’s pretty nasty out there.” The voice said from behind him. Jack turned slightly to face the man.
“I got to go,” Jack said zipping his jacket.
“You can’t wait for transport?” He asked.
“No,” Jack responded.
The man crossed his arms in front of him and sighed. “Listen, man; you’re going to need someone in here in case you get into trouble.” He unfolded his hands gesturing towards the surveillance equipment behind him.
“You that guy?” Jack asked. He trusted no one but right now, he needed someone to watch his back. His entire team was out there, and it had been his turn to be the eyes of the team.
“Chambers.” The man with slicked back black hair replied. He extended his hand.
Jack hesitated. He’d heard of him. Well respected, Jack heard Chambers had a reputation that preceded him.
“Colton, Jack.” He said.
"I know who you are." Chambers said shaking his hand firmly. "We are all aware who you are."
“Okay, Chambers. Channel 12.” Jack said slipping into neoprene gloves. “Just take care of my team.”
Jack layered rain gear over his clothing strapping down the leg and armholes to stay dry.
“You know where you’re going?” Chambers asked. Jack slung his weapon over his shoulder and nodded.
Chambers raised his eyebrows when Jack reached in and took out several tranquilizer darts and set them in a small-enclosed case. He slipped those into the front pocket of his jacket.
“Smart.” Chambers said tossing him a few more. “With bodies still out there, we get a lot of wild dogs and cougars roaming around.”
“Any Tigers?” Jack asked.
“No, but that doesn’t mean one didn’t travel up here from another county.” Chambers replied. “All the zoo's and wild animal parks have been vandalized by looters and markers. People have some morbid fascination with the exotics.”
“I’ll check in when I get there. Make sure clean-up knows there’s a tiger in the mall.” Jack moved towards the door of the transporter.
Chambers nodded. “A tiger.”
Loaded down with artillery and ammo, Jack stepped out into the pouring rain and into the swirling circles of water on the ground. The push of the wind pressed against him shoving him forward in the direction he needed to go. Water had already pooled in lower lying places forcing him to trudge water. In some areas, it was like plodding across small rivers. In the grayness of the storm, he saw no movement except objects and foliage pushed by the high winds. The other teams were invisible and had split up sweeping their assigned areas.
Within the first hundred yards, Jack the rain soaked him. He moved quick trying to keep part of him dry. Less than twenty minutes later, he reached the mall not winded but over halfway wet. He nearly tripped over the man on the ground still awaiting cleanup. The sidewalks, from the current of the wind and rain, power washed blood and debris to some unseen pool. The body of a man, skin pale gray accepted the cleansing from the sky without argument. He stepped around the body moving towards the mall’s entry.
If it were even possible, the wind picked up more strength calling much darker clouds into the sky. Jack rushed through the entry of the mall by a strong gust of wind. Somehow, he managed to gracefully slide to a stop on the linoleum floor before knocking into a mannequin or two.
Water was creeping its way inward forming an underlay of shallow pools near the edges of the walls. He found the dry ground and sheltered himself behind a display of kitchen items to check his weapons. Water played hell on side arms, and his life depended on each one of them.
“I’m in,” Jack said. “Switching to channel 12.”
“Copy.” Chambers said.
Jack peeled off the wet rain gear leaving it lay heaped in a pile on the floor. His clothes were mostly dry, but his boots were wet on the outside. Every step he took on the linoleum floor produced a squeaky sound. He snatched a sweater off the rack, sending a cloud of dust into the air, and began to wipe away the water from his boots. He felt anxiety creep inward and began to hurry. Water dripped down his hair sending a damp chill across his skin. Dried off, he moved out.
Ignoring the contents hanging on the racks, Jack weaved in and out of men’s and women’s clothing through bedding and accessories. When he reached inside the mall and surrounded by various stores, warmth settled into his muscles. The storm shrouded any light above him. The atrium windows revealed nothing more than a gray blanket and the sound of pelting rain was deafening. The mall was massive. The vast openness of separation between stores and center captured the thunder from above shaking the building with fierceness. There were more dark places than light putting his senses on high alert.
The signs overhead, a map of sorts, hadn’t seen paying customers in well over two years but that didn’t mean there weren’t shoppers. He kept his weapon to the front of him as he slid from store to store. Another long strand of thunder cut through the roar of the pounding rain shaking the building's foundation. He used Mother Nature’s chaos to speed up his pace heading toward Champs.
“Coming in,” Jack said.
The store sheltered darkness beneath a solid roof holding little light. Ignoring the mounds of shoeboxes and overturned sports equipment, Jack searched the darkness for the others.
“Glad you could make it Boss.” Conman said. “How was your run?”
“Wet,” Jack said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
She awoke to a clap of thunder. She felt the surface beneath her shake. The branches of a tree scraped the window. Rain pelted on a roof above her and in the darkness, she knew she wasn't at home. She wasn't in her bed.
Jaden, slow to open her eyes because of a pounding within her head found only darkness. She tried hopelessly to remember where she had last been and why. She couldn’t remember anything. There was a slight ringing in her ears constant and unnerving. Uncertain of her surroundings, Jaden gingerly reached up to where the worst of the pain was coming from and felt a goose egg of a lump on her head. Her hair was gone in around the lump, and there were butterfly bandages and dried blood on the side of her skull. She trembled slightly, trying to gain the courage to figure out where she was and how she got there.
A thought of her mom slipped into her memory, and she felt a bolt of fear run through her. She had gone into the city to get supplies without her mom. Her mother would be worried sick.
“Okay, calm down Jaden,” she whispered. “First things first.”
She was on a soft bed, and the bed smelled of fabric softener. Her body ached, and she felt a sharper pain in her side. If she'd been a hostage, her abductors wouldn't have been so kind to place her on a clean bed. Her hands were free. Free to feel the bed under her and the clothing, she was wearing pajamas. Panic.
She forced herself into another round of calmness and then tested her feet. Free. Things were looking good so far except for the fact she felt like she’d ran through a grinder. Pushing through the sharp ache in her head, she looked from side to side stopping when she saw a thin crack of light coming from a door.
She slowly rolled to the side sitting up on the edge of the bed. Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Everything on her hurt and her flesh stung with every movement. The pain in her side stole her breath away, and she grasped it gently for support. Her side was wrapped firmly with a bandage. She was about to stand when it happened. She felt as though she were on a roller coaster. Her traumatized equilibrium sent her falling to the floor.
She heard the soft sound of running footsteps. A flood of light blinded Jaden causing her to cover her eyes. Sure she'd get sick. Thin arms wrapped up and under her arms helping her to the bathroom. The soft glow of a night-light guided her to the toilet. Jaden hung her head over the bowl while fingers pulled her long hair back. Afte
r several rounds of emptying her stomach and fighting the razor sharp pain in her side, she sat upright. Holding one hand to her side and the other on the toilet seat, she choked back the sobs. A soft, warm washcloth appeared in her hands. With her free hand, she pressed the warmth to her lips. When she finally looked up, she was relieved to see a woman.
"Come on. I'll help you back to the bed." She said in a low tone. "I should've been checking on you more often."
“Where am I?” Jaden asked trying to walk on jelly legs towards the bed. A loud crack popped overhead, and an electric white light flashed through the window lighting up the room for a few seconds. Jaden jumped.
“I’m Ellie. My son found you and brought you here.” She said helping her into the bed while also giving her a slight squeeze to calm her fears. “He said someone was trying to get you into a car when he came along. He told me you put up a heck of a fight.”
In the Shadow of the Tiger (The Fighter Series Book 2) Page 18
