by Alex Cage
Black squatted and looked him in his eyes. “Let’s try this again. Why is Stokes having you follow us?”
“Who?” Reeves panted.
Black exhaled. Standing up, he stamped on Reeves’ same shoulder. The injured man once again clutched his shoulder and wormed on the floor, moaning.
“You better start talking. That shoulder may be dislocated,” Black mocked. “And if it’s not, it will be soon at this rate.”
Reeves said nothing. He just leered up at Black.
Black shrugged and raised his boot.
“Wa—wait—wait,” Reeves pled. “He said it was for his family.”
“His family?”
“Yeah. He said you knew or had something that could harm his family. He wanted to protect his family, so he asked me to arrest you or take you out if it came to it.”
“Who’s his family?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even know he had family in California,” Reeves said, sitting up, still holding his shoulder.
“So you’re telling me you just did what he asked without knowing why.”
“We served together, we’re brothers. I didn’t ask because I felt he’d do the same for me.”
Black shook his head. “I think there’s more you’re not telling me. Stokes has something on you. Maybe he knows about your terrible drug issue and your Internal Affairs investigation and is using it against you.”
“Up yours,” Reeves sneered. “You think you’re pretty tough, but my brothers will take care of you,” he ended with a smirk on his face.
Black grinned at him before flipping the gun and connecting the butt of the pistol with his head. Reeves immediately nodded off to sleep. Black ejected the magazine and cleared the chamber, placing the gun in Reeves’ lap and the magazine in his own back pocket. He found handcuffs on Reeves and cuffed the unconscious man’s arm—the one with the good shoulder—to the metal grab bar above his head. Opening the stall, he removed the other gun he had taken from Guo, ejecting the magazine and clearing the chamber before flinging the gun in Guo’s lap.
As Black closed the stall door, Ashley came into the restroom with her gun drawn.
“Good, you’re okay,” she said, holstering her gun. “The waitress came to the table and I lost track of Reeves.” Her eyes widened as she fixed on Reeves’ slumped body. “Is he—”
“No, he’s just taking a nap. Let’s go,” Black said, walking towards the exit.
“We can’t just leave him here.”
Black turned to her. “You called the police, right?”
“Yeah…”
Black shrugged. “Okay, they’ll be fine,” he said, stepping to her, touching her arm, and gently leading her out of the restroom.
Ashley peered over her shoulder twice. “Where’s Guo?” she asked as they exited.
The two continued away from the restroom area and over to the car.
Ashley stopped walking and pointed her thumb towards the restroom area. “I can’t believe we’re going to leave them there,” she said.
“They’ll be fine,” Black told her again.
She hunched her shoulders. “I guess so,” she yawned.
“Let me drive,” Black said, extending his hand for the keys.
“Nah, I’m okay.”
“You look tired and I’ve already taken a nap.”
“I should be fine. We’re only about two hours away.”
“You’ll feel better if you sleep those two hours.”
She gently swayed her head from side to side as if she was making a decision. “Okay. You can drive,” she finally said, handing Black the keys.
They entered the car. Black adjusted the seat and mirror for his height while Ashley pressed at the navigation system. She entered the address for Fantastic Galaxy.
“We’re going straight to the theme park?” Black asked.
“Yep. Local law enforcement should be performing a sweep of the park as we speak.”
“Really? That’s not a small park.”
“A lot of the employees are helping out.”
Black shrugged, turned the engine, and wheeled onto the road, jumping back on I-5 South. The highway was dark and nearly empty, with the exception of a few taillights gleaming ahead and a couple headlights illuminating from behind. He noticed Ashley relaxing into her seat. The interior of the car was quiet until her phone rang.
She raised the phone to her ear. “Agent Chapp,” she said. “Yeah, we’re okay… A couple hours out… Oh that’s good. What did you guys find? … Ahhh… I see… Uh-huh… Okay, we’ll call you then. Bye.” She ended the call, turning to Black. “That was Toben. They were able to find Ty’s car using the tracker in Matt’s backpack.”
Black nodded with his eyes on the road.
“It was at the airport. Oh yeah, Toben also said he told Director Hanten about Stokes. She’s on board with looking into him.”
“That should make things a lot easier,” Black replied, staring out the windshield.
“He said to call him back once we settle in at the hotel. And before I forget—were you able to get anything out of Reeves or Guo?”
“Only that Reeves and Stokes served together, and that Stokes told him to come after me because I had or knew something that could harm Stokes’ family.”
“What could you possibly have or know?”
“That’s a mystery to me, considering three days ago I had never heard of Stokes.”
“Strange,” Ashley said, shaking her head and again relaxing into her seat.
Black cruised down the highway, taking in the sights of the star-filled night sky and the moonlit mountains. He looked over at Ashley, who was sound asleep. She looked comfortable, peaceful, angelic… all of which were completely different from his initial impression of her. Black smiled and shook his head at the thought before settling his attention back on the road. He drove for two hours. Road construction signs welcomed him into downtown L.A. Another thirty miles after that, the GPS was directing him to take an exit onto Fantastic Galaxy Drive. He followed the directions, coasting on the well-maintained and scenic road where many billboards advertised the theme park’s rides and events. He glanced at Ashley and saw her open her eyes.
She stretched. “Are we here?” she asked in a yawn.
“Yeah. Welcome to Fantastic G,” Black said.
A few minutes later, they approached a line of drive-thru ticket stations. The gates for all of the lanes were closed except one.
“There,” Ashley pointed.
Black angled the car in the direction of the open station. He pulled forward, rolling down his window, and was greeted by a man in a security guard uniform.
“Good evening,” the man said.
“Good evening,” Black and Ashley both replied.
“How can I help you?”
Ashley removed her DHS badge fold and handed it to Black, who handed it to the guard. “I’m Agent Chapp with the DHS and this is Orlando Black, a consultant for the DHS,” she said.
The man nodded, looking her credentials over. “Yes. Okay. We’ve been expecting you,” he said, passing the badge back. “They’re expecting you at the main office. Just follow the signs.”
“Thank you,” Ashley waved.
Black saluted the man, rolled up his window, and pulled off, handing Ashley her badge. He followed the signs and was taken through large parking areas named after the different planets in our solar system. The lots were well lit, so following the signs was easy despite the darkness. After traveling through “Lot Earth” they arrived at the main office and were amazed at what they saw—close to ten police squad cars and two SWAT trucks.
Black looked at Ashley, figuring she would have something to say about it.
“Well, it is a big park,” she said, shrugging.
“That’s true,” Black said.
They exited the car, shaking off the two-hour-plus drive before walking into the main office. The pair was immediately confronted by a SWAT officer dressed in full tactical
gear.
“Who are you?” the officer demanded.
Ashley whipped out her badge. “Agent Chapp, DHS, and this is Orlando Black, DHS consultant.”
“Oh yeah. You’re the one who called us here for nothing,” the man replied with a chuckle.
I guess that means they didn’t find anything, Black thought.
“Excuse me?” Ashley fumed at the SWAT member. “Who’s in charge here?”
“Captain Stuart, ma’am.”
“Can you go get him, please?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the officer said, walking away and making a left at the end of the hall.
“Can you believe him? We’re trying to keep people safe and he’s thinking it’s for nothing,” Ashley said.
“Just means they didn’t find anything,” Black replied.
“I guess not,” Ashley sighed.
Black took in the lobby’s vivid interior design. The walls were painted with outer space imagery like planets, stars, and spaceships, with cartoon astronauts and aliens scattered in between. There were also many pictures of the park’s popular rides and attractions hanging on the walls. Black stepped to his right, passing through a doorway which led into an open lounge area for the park’s guests. He was hit by the smell of baked goods and the sound of a happy, light, futuristic jingle playing over the intercom. The lounge was decorated much like the lobby area, but there was plenty of seating, big flat-screen TVs everywhere, a large play area for kids, and a kitchen and dining area at the far end of the room. Standing in the dining room were two police officers and two park employees having coffee and pastries while enjoying a casual conversation. One of the officers noticed Black and waved. Black returned a wave and stepped back into the lobby, where he found Ashley looking down at her phone.
She glanced at him. “Where did you run off to?” she asked before placing her attention back on her phone. “The reception here isn’t great.”
Black looked down the hall and saw the SWAT officer walking back towards them accompanied by a shorter, bulky man who appeared to be in his late fifties. He wore a SWAT uniform and sported a bald head but had snow-white facial hair.
He walked to Ashley, smiling. “Agent Chapp?” he said, extending his hand.
Ashley smiled and shook his hand. “Yes. You must be Captain Stuart,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am, I am. Nice to meet you,” he said before turning to Black. “And you are?” he asked, still smiling.
“Orlando Black,” Black said, shaking his hand.
“Nice to meet you, young man.”
“Same to you.”
Stuart turned to Ashley. “We’ve searched this park top to bottom and didn’t find anything,” he said. “I was gonna suggest to the manag—”
“Excuse me!” a voice interrupted from down the hall.
A slender, fair-skinned, dark-haired man wearing slacks, a polo shirt, and glasses paced in their direction. Captain Stuart rolled his eyes as the man approached the group.
“So what’s happening?” the man asked, folding his arms and continuously shifting his weight from one leg to the other.
“I’m sorry—who are you?” Ashley asked.
The man craned his neck towards Ashley. “I’m the park manager. Who are you?” he said, tilting his head.
Ashley stood quiet for a moment, lips sucked in. “We’re DHS, sir,” she eventually said, sighing at the end.
“So you’re the one responsible for all of this. We wasted manpower and lost a lot of money today for nothing. What were you thinking?”
“We were thinking about keeping people safe.”
“Safe from what, fun?”
Ashley filled her cheeks with air, releasing an audible breath.
Black quickly jumped in to break the tension. “Captain Stuart, do you know where the anti-324 event will take place?”
“Yes. It will be on the east side of the park. We checked and double-checked that area.”
“Have the panelists been notified of the potential threat?”
“Yes, they have, and they plan to be at their panels at 10 a.m.,” the park manager cut in.
Black ignored the manager. He kept his eyes on Stuart and waited for him to answer.
“Yep, we let them know, but they’re still adamant about holding the event,” Stuart said.
“Hey!” the manager blurted.
Black continued to disregard him, as did everyone else in the group.
“Captain,” Ashley spoke to Stuart. “Do you think you could lend a couple of men tomorrow? Just as a precaution.”
“We’re not lending any of our employees for this,” the manager put in.
No one responded or even looked in his direction.
“Yep. I was gonna have a small SWAT unit ready and a few officers at the event. I’ll make sure they’re all properly briefed and familiar with what the female suspect looks like,” the captain answered.
“Thanks, Captain. We’ll be back here tomorrow,” Ashley said before looking at Black and nodding towards the door.
“See you then.”
As Black and Ashley walked off, she stopped.
“Thank you,” she said.
A few steps ahead, Black grabbed the door handle and turned to face her. “For what?” he asked.
“Showing me how to deal with difficult people. Sometimes you just have to ignore them.”
Black shrugged. “If you focus on people and situations that upset you, you’re going to become upset. You have to choose your battles with care. It’s something I learned to help keep my anger in check,” he said, opening the door for her.
Ashley smiled. “So you can be a gentleman,” she said, passing through the doorway.
Black followed her to the Camry. With Ashley at the wheel, they cruised toward the park’s exit.
16.
THEIR NEXT STOP was a Hyatt Place hotel. The two rolled into the attached parking garage, grabbed their bags, took the elevator to the lobby, and strolled across the hardwood floor to the check-in counter. Ashley talked to the clerk while Black scanned the area. He was performing his exits, threats, and weapons assessment. It wasn’t that he anticipated any warning sign in particular, but rather it was just a habit. Ashley finished checking in with the clerk before she and Black walked to the elevators.
“Which floor?” he asked.
Ashley looked at him with a brief expression of confusion before answering, “Oh—um, three. The third floor.”
Black jammed the right button and the doors thumped closed.
“Here,” Ashley said, giving him a keycard. “You’re in room 308.”
When the elevator doors rolled open, Black walked in the direction of room 308, according to the indicator arrow in the hallway. Ashley followed. He found his room and was about to insert his keycard into the door when Ashley’s voice floated over his shoulder.
“Black. Remember Toben wants us to call, so I’m going to settle in then I’ll come over and we can call from your room.”
“Okay,” Black shrugged before inserting his card and opening the door. He heard Ashley doing the same at her door, straight across the hall—room 309.
As he stepped inside, a prominent lavender scent swept across his face. The room looked like a business suite for road warriors and executives who spent most of their life living out of a suitcase. There was a bed, a large U-shaped couch with a coffee table in front of it, a desk, and a small kitchen. Black tossed his travel sack on the bed, entered the bathroom, and washed his hands and face. After drying off, he lay on the bed with his hands behind his head, thinking. His eyes became heavy and he dozed off.
He opened his eyes at the sound of a knock at the door. He walked over to it, glancing through the peep hole before tugging the door open and walking to the couch. He sat down while Ashley grabbed the rolling chair from the desk. She faced the chair toward Black before sitting down and removing her phone.
Black yawned.
Ashley smiled. “You look tired,” she said, thum
bing her phone.
“I’ll be fine.”
Ashley placed her phone on the table. It rang through the speakers four times before Toben’s voice eased on the line.
“Agent Toben,” he said.
“Jake. This is Ashley and Black.”
“Okay. I’m here with Boyar in the back room.”
“Hi, Victor.”
“Hey—Hi, Ash,” Boyar replied. You could hear him blushing through the phone.
Black rolled his eyes and massaged his forehead, thinking, Why doesn’t that guy just tell her how he feels?
“So how are you two holding up?” Toben said. “I see you haven’t killed each other yet.”
Ashley released a slight chuckle. “Why would we kill each other?” she asked.
“Because earlier today you wanted to make the trip on your own.”
Ashley glanced at Black. “Well, he has a way of quickly growing on you.”
Black grinned, shaking his head.
“I can believe that,” Toben said. “But back to business. As you all know, we have been tracking that kid we know as Ty. We have since ID’d him as Tyler Robinson. He was a foster kid, but now he lives on his own. Didn’t have anything in his past that was a red flag. His foster parents were good normal people and there weren’t any major incidents in the homes he was in.”
“There is a red flag,” Black refuted.
“What do you mean?”
“Have you found his biological parents?”
“Still working on it. What do you mean, there’s a red flag?” Toben asked again.
“I mean the fact that he’s in the system at all is the red flag. It can affect kids in negative ways if they feel their real parents didn’t love them.”
“I’m still looking into who his biological parents are,” Boyar chimed in. “It’s a little difficult to find them. Seems Tyler was given into foster care anonymously. It’s strange because, according to the clerk at Child Welfare, the record was updated three days ago. But I’ll keep looking into it.”
“Man… finding information on this kid is tough,” Ashley expressed.
“Well, I—I do have information on Stokes.”
“Do you know where he’s at?” Black asked.
