by Matt Lincoln
“There are cops all over the place,” he informed us. “I’m sure they’re just here for crowd control, but damn, I’m on edge.”
“Same here,” I agreed. “I’m not used to this whole vigilante justice thing.”
Header waved me off with his hand. “Ahh, you get used to the freelancing quickly enough. If all of this goes south and MBLIS folds, you have a job waiting with me. Fair warning, though. You’ll want to relocate to Puerto Rico.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Leave Miami? Not a chance.”
“Hey, I thought you liked Puerto Rico!” he shouted, clutching his chest with feigned offense.
“I do, but not enough to move there,” I pointed out. “I hadn’t even considered it. I could just crash with you.”
Header barked out a hearty laugh that was most likely at my expense. “Yes! That’s what Rosa and Doc said at first. Now, they both have their own homes on the island, because they both got sick and tired of dealing with me and my small two-bedroom home every time. Mark my words, Marston. If you sign on with me, you’ll be doing the same.”
“I do have a houseboat,” I reminded him with a chuckle. “In all seriousness, though, we need to get MBLIS back up and running. This is more than just my job we’re talking about. It’s the rest of my team. Of course, all of that is nothing compared to Holm’s life and that of his family.”
“Ronnie,” Header mumbled thoughtfully.
“And Linda and Ben,” I reminded him. “Holm’s parents uprooted everything to move closer to Miami. They gave up so much, and they’re still targets.”
“Well, forgive me for wanting to recruit you,” he teased. “I get it. You have a life down there in Florida.”
“Yeah,” I replied lightheartedly. “You’d know if you came to visit every once in a while.”
“Uhh, guys?”
Bonnie’s sharp voice cut through our chatter, snapping us back into focus.
“What’s going on?” Header asked, whipping around to face her. I did the same, secretly terrified of what she was about to say.
“His heart rate spiked and then lowered, but still hasn’t returned to the rate I’ve been seeing. It also looks like he’s headed out back?” She looked up at us imploringly, and I immediately spun around to face Header.
“Drive,” I ordered, and Header obeyed, whipping into traffic and hurtling around the corner.
As we cleared the corner, we saw a beefy man dragging Warner alongside him with his hand wrapped around Warner’s bicep. Three other men came out the back door and followed behind them, and they all headed away from us toward the far corner. Header sat idling for a moment as we took in the scene, but since there was no traffic, we couldn’t exactly hide our presence. Warner turned around and saw us there, and in a feat of strength that I would never have given him credit for, he wrenched his arm free and took off running around the far corner.
“Dammit!” I screamed as Header floored it. The beefy man took off after Warner, but the other three men turned around and spotted us. “We need to get to Warner before they do.”
“Divide and conquer, Marston!” Header yelled as he barrelled toward the men. Gunshots rang out, and Bonnie let out a shriek from the backseat as she hit the floor. I stole a quick glance back at her, and she held a thumb’s up to assure me she was okay.
“Divide and conquer,” I agreed.
Header reached the corner. The men had stepped to the side to avoid getting hit by the SUV, but they continued firing. Header slammed on the brakes and yanked the steering wheel, sending the SUV drifting sideways. I knew he was trying to protect the passenger side so that I could make a clean exit that wouldn’t leave me riddled with bullets, so I kept my hand on the door handle and waited for the right opportunity. Header cracked his window open and began firing back, and the three men dove for cover.
I didn’t hesitate. I seized the moment and dropped down out of the SUV, heading around the corner and up the alley where Warner had disappeared. He was nowhere to be found, and when I emerged on the other side, I found myself standing on Surf Avenue, facing slow-moving traffic and happy, carefree crowds that were clueless as to the chaos going down just around the corner.
The din of the crowds did a wonderful job of drowning out the gunshots that I was sure were still going on. I scanned each face quickly until I found what I was looking for. Warner was across the street, making his way past the storefronts and looking behind him to see how close his pursuer was, and the beefy man was not far behind. I took off across the street, dodging a car on the way, and watched as both Warner and Beefy took off around the corner.
This alleyway looked familiar. The boardwalk was at the far end, and there was a lot of pedestrian activity. The bright, hand-painted signs along the sidewalk boasted different acts for the sideshow later that day. I got the impression that the Coney Island Circus Sideshow was a major draw, though I hadn’t heard of it myself. I watched Warner make his way up the ramp toward the boardwalk, and Beefy was approaching the ramp.
Someone came out of the sideshow entrance to put out yet another sign, and he did so right in front of me, momentarily blocking both my path and my view. Every inch of his bThe man was tattooed on every inch of his body, and his arms were unusually short. The sign depicted a dark-haired woman pulling a long sword out of her throat. I shuffled around him, and when my path cleared, Warner was out of sight, but Beefy had just made it up to the boardwalk.
I darted up the ramp, and when I reached the top, I took off down the boardwalk after Beefy. In the far distance, I could see Warner duck into an amusement area. He ran with a purpose, and I hoped he had a good plan. I didn’t know what other treasures Coney Island held, so I felt I was at a pretty severe disadvantage. I ducked through the oblivious crowds, determined not to lose Warner. I felt I was closing in on them, but then Warner threw me for a loop. He ran directly into one of the amusements, and Beefy ran in right behind him.
I muttered a few select curse words under my breath as I ran toward the amusement. Depending on what it was, it may be easy for Warner to get trapped in there, unable to get out without passing the exact person he was running from. It wasn’t until I got closer that I realized exactly what I was in for. For a moment, I felt as if I was in a bad movie.
He had run into the House of Mirrors.
I groaned loudly as I realized what Warner had done. It may have seemed like a smart tactic at the time, but I couldn’t easily protect him in there. It was also very easy to get cornered or trapped since it was difficult to get a grasp of the surroundings in there. I worried about him, but I also worried about myself.
Bad movie or not, there was no way I was going to leave Warner in danger. I had to go in.
I hopped the fence and barrelled toward the entrance. A pimple-covered teen that was handling admissions yelled after me, and I caught something in reference to him wanting to know what the hell was going on.
“The ride is closed!” I bellowed out behind me. I pulled out my pistol and held it up to the air for good measure before I ran inside. A few squeals followed me as the families waiting in line registered some of what was going on. As I glanced back, I noticed the teen closing the gate with a terrified look on his face. Relief washed over me as I saw that. At the very least, innocent bystanders wouldn’t be hurt.
I stepped fully into the darkened space, clutching my pistol in both hands, and came face-to-face with a dozen of my own reflections. I barely recognized myself. I looked tired and stressed, but I knew exactly why. I pushed all of that aside and focused on the task at hand, inching forward to see if there was anything new reflected in the mirrors.
I’d been trained to assess my surroundings quickly to determine if the person before me was friend or foe. It was crucial that I be able to make these determinations quickly and accurately. That split-second decision meant that lives hung in the balance, and it had become something I’d grown accustomed to over the years.
In this space, however, I had to make th
at decision a thousand times over as I repeatedly came face-to-face with my own self. I couldn’t tell what was a mirror and what was a path forward, and I was unable and unwilling to sacrifice my grip on my pistol to help me feel my way through. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I willed myself to stay calm, and after several slow corners, I finally saw something whiz past in the darkness.
I tried to move forward, but another mirror confronted me. Realizing I’d merely seen a reflection, I spun around and saw another brief movement that wasn’t caused by me. I inched toward the gap between two mirrors, and a quiet voice echoed through the space. I was close, very close. All I needed to do was somehow, miraculously, remain unseen.
“Don’t you dare move,” the deep voice muttered threateningly. “I don’t care how many people are out there. I will catch you, and we will take you. No one sneaks onto our turf with bad intentions and gets away with it. The boss won’t stand for it.”
“I’m not afraid of your boss,” Warner announced loudly. His voice reverberated off the countless surfaces. I knew he was trying to guide me toward him, but this maze and the echoes didn’t help. Warner could be anywhere, but a tingly sense beneath my skin told me I was close.
The second I came around the corner, I spotted Beefy at the same time he spotted me. We locked eyes in the mirror, and he clenched his jaw, fury seeping through his pores. He turned, and I spotted his pistol a split-second too late. Unable to fire off a shot of my own for fear of hitting Warner, I ducked around the corner as a shot whizzed past my head. There was a sharp sound of a bullet hitting glass, followed by the light tinkling as the shards of mirror rained down to the floor.
I darted out from behind the wall again with my pistol at the ready, and thankfully, Warner had the sense to dive out of the way, running around the far corner. As I let loose a couple of shots, one ricocheted off Beefy’s shoulder as he chased after Warner. I cursed under my breath and took off after them both.
This time, the chase was a bit easier. Beefy was grunting, probably due to the pain, and I spotted small streaks of blood on the glass where he had apparently bounced off it as he ran. It wasn’t much, but at least I was headed in the right direction.
Sunlight suddenly washed over the maze, announcing an open door and potential exit. I stumbled against a few false turns, my mind racing with each reflection I saw until the open doorway stood before me. It was an emergency exit, painted black to blend with the surroundings, and it spilled out to a set of rickety wooden steps and a narrow path that ran behind the row of amusements.
I was grateful to no longer have to chase down my own face as I took off down the blacktop. I breathed in the fresh air as I ran, refusing to let either Warner or Beefy out of my sight. They darted out into the crowds and up the ramp to the boardwalk. People dove left and right in an attempt to get out of the way, and there were screams and cries as they registered the blood and the guns. I was glad that Warner had the good sense to lead the chase out of the amusement park and away from the children, but I had no idea where he would go next.
Warner took off running down the uneven boardwalk, with Beefy close behind. I wasn’t a bad runner by any means, but they had both gotten a solid head start, and I had a lot of ground to make up. When Warner suddenly darted down the ramp that led back out onto Surf Avenue, I groaned. If I had been able to contact Header, he could intervene out there. Since I couldn’t exactly stop and make a phone call, it was much more likely that the first ones to intervene would be the fine men and women of the NYPD.
While I normally condoned a solid police presence and was a staunch supporter of any and all law enforcement, I knew that their interference would wreak havoc on our case. We’d be in much more trouble than the Mezzanottes would be, and they’d most likely slip between our fingers.
At least Warner would be safe, I reminded myself as I propelled myself forward. We ran past the large hot dog restaurant with the oversized sign on the side of the building that announced the countdown to the next big hot dog eating contest. My heart sank to my stomach as I saw the size of the crowds. The dark blue hats worn by the NYPD officers stood out amongst the crowd, and I prayed that we could somehow avoid notice.
To my dismay, a dark blue windowless cargo van peeled up to the corner and skidded to a halt. The side door slid open, and I saw the other men from earlier by the entrance. Warner skidded to a stop, but Beefy was right behind him. He grabbed him by the wrists and forced him into the van. The door slid shut, and the van took off. On the other side of the crowd, a few NYPD officers looked up. But it had happened so quickly, it somehow escaped any real notice.
I slowed to a walk and holstered my pistol before anyone could make a scene. My stomach knotted as I realized what had just happened. A second later, though, the dark SUV pulled up. The window lowered, and Header beamed at me.
“Hey, brother, need a ride?” he bellowed.
“I think so!” I called out cheerfully as I rushed over to the corner and climbed up into the passenger seat. Header rolled up the window and pulled away from the curb, and once we were moving with the flow of traffic, he and I both dropped the friendly and cheerful facade.
“Are the cops watching us?” I asked nervously, glancing into my side-view mirror. The crowd seemed mostly unaffected by our rapid departure.
“I don’t think so,” Header replied quickly, stealing glances into the rearview mirror.
“That’s him!” Bonnie suddenly shrieked. “He’s in the van! They made a U-turn!”
Header carved out a quick U-turn, and then we were off, racing down the street, weaving in and out of lanes and blowing through a couple of changing stoplights. Between the dense vehicle traffic and the narrow lanes, we quickly lost sight of the van.
“Damn it!” Header growled as a car cut him off and hit the brakes, allowing the van to turn the last corner and disappear completely. “Bonnie! How accurate is that tracker?”
“Pretty damn accurate!” she shouted out with a mixture of glee and nerves. “Turn right at this next corner!”
Header cut a sharp right, only to hit the brakes when the lanes merged from three to one. Everyone was inching along as they filed into a single-file line, and Header slammed the palms of his hands against the steering wheel in utter frustration.
“It’s okay,” Bonnie assured him. “We don’t have to chase him. We can give them some breathing room, and I can still follow them. Remember, they don’t know about the tracker. They don’t know we have an advantage here. Let’s play that up.”
Header cracked his neck as he tried to relax a bit, and then the traffic finally began to find its regular pattern again. Within five-hundred yards, the road opened back up to three lanes, and he was once again able to find the accelerator pedal.
“Get on the highway,” Bonnie advised, and sure enough, a big looming green sign hung overhead, announcing the entrance to the Belt Parkway. Without hesitation, Header turned onto the entrance ramp, where a huge pothole greeted us. It sent my teeth clattering against each other and a sharp pain shooting up my tailbone.
“Hot damn!” I shouted as I heard Bonnie scramble in the backseat. Header was still cringing in the aftermath of the pothole, but he merged into traffic without further incident.
“How far are they?” he called out, and I whipped my head around to meet Bonnie’s gaze. Instead of finding her studiously shouting out directions, she settled back into her seat as she opened the laptop again and smoothed out her hair.
“Are you alright?” I chuckled, glad to find a bit of humor within this stressful situation.
“Well, I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt,” she offered by way of explanation as she got the laptop set up again. “Stay the course for now. I’ll let you know when they peel off.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Header replied, his eyes still fixated on the road in front of him.
The Belt Parkway was not what I usually expected out of a highway. It was narrow, with uneven lanes and patched up splotches that tended to
toss the SUV around a bit. The traffic was also heavy, making our progress much slower than I would have liked. Header did his best to weave in and out of the traffic, but the size of the SUV made some of the slicker maneuvers a bit more difficult. Bonnie kept assuring us we were on the right track, though, and I had no choice but to put all of my faith in her and the tiny tracking device she was following.
After multiple reassurances from her that we should keep pressing forward, she shifted gears and shouted anxiously at us. “Get off at this next exit! They got off the highway!”
Header cut off two lanes of traffic to make the exit, and it was such a last-minute decision that I had no idea where we were or where this exit would lead us.
“Turn left at this corner,” she informed us, and Header obeyed once again, turning left at the traffic light and recentering his breath.
“We must be close,” he guessed. “Where are we?”
“Queens,” Bonnie informed us, and I looked around to get a better view. It didn’t look much different from Brooklyn to me, but then again, I hadn’t had much of an opportunity to see Brooklyn, either.
Bonnie continued to fire off instructions. We turned left, right, and left again, until we finally reached the industrial part of town.
“Slow down,” Bonnie instructed as I looked out the window. “There. That blue building.”
The dusty blue building did not stand out at all from the other ones that surrounded it, but that was where Bonnie had led us. Header pulled over to the side of the road, and we all stared out the window as if Warner would just come strolling out on his own, which of course, we all knew wouldn’t happen.
“Can you tell us any more, Bonnie?” Header asked, leaning forward to peer up the side of the building.
“Not really,” she muttered. I could hear the frustration in her voice. “His heart rate is still elevated, but that could mean anything.”
“What about the bug?” I asked, turning to face her. “Was he successful?”
Bonnie gave me a blank stare. “Uhh, hold on,” she muttered, glancing back down at her screen. She sighed, and it didn’t sound promising at all. “No, he never set it. He either placed it but didn’t activate it, or he still has it on him.”
