One Rough Man

couldn’t resist teasing her. “I said don’t look around!… Just kidding…. Listen, I need you to—”

“Jesus, Pike, this isn’t a joke!” she said, speaking in a fierce whisper. “Come get me! The man I saw is directly behind me. He’s been sucking on that small Coke for twenty minutes.”

I spoke in soothing tones. “Okay, okay, slow down. Everything’s just fine now. I need to identify who else is with that guy. I need you to get up and walk toward the stairwell to your left front. Just casually get up and walk that way, going up the stairs. Don’t rush.”

I watched the crowd. As soon as Jennifer began moving, a man to her right front stood up, moving with her, slightly behind. One. I watched Coke man. Coke man looked over at another man, who rose as well, moving toward the stairs ahead of Jennifer. Two. Jennifer was halfway up the stairs, one man in front, one man behind, when Coke man rose. Three. He must be the last one. I faded into a store.

I called Jennifer. “You have three of them on you. We’ve got to slim it down. I need to get you with just one guy. Go into a store for a little bit to give me time to set up. I’ll call back in a minute.”

I heard a little panic in her voice. “Wait! Don’t hang up. I don’t know who they are. They might kill me here.”

“Jennifer, trust me. They won’t do anything here. If they were going to, they would’ve already done so. As long as they think you don’t know they’re on you, they’ll be content to follow. If you push them, they might try something to keep you from running. You’ll be all right. It’s almost over. Go drool over some shoes or something.”

She waited a second before answering. “Pike, you’re an asshole. Don’t wait too long to call, or I might run just to make you work.”

“I’ll only be a minute. I’m sure they’re wondering who you’re talking to, so act like this’s nothing. One more call and we’re done. Hang in there.”

I hung up and sprinted to the nearest anchor store, a Macy’s. Taking the escalator stairs two at a time, I exited on the second level. Looking around, I thought it would work. I could put my back to the elevator next to the escalator exit and not be seen by anyone coming up.

I gave Jennifer a final call.

“Hey, here we go. This is the endgame. I need you to go to Macy’s. Take the escalator up to the second level. The escalator will act as a funnel. They’ll hang back, so that by the time you exit you should have only one man on you, with the other two staggered behind. Exit the escalator and turn left. I’ll be right there, so don’t jump. Just walk on past into the store. I’ll do the rest. Got it?”

“Yeah. I got it. I act like I’m shopping and you kick their ass. I think I can do that. You sure this’ll work? What if two follow?”

“Then I’ll improvise, but these guys are pretty switched on. I don’t think they’ll pull any amateur shit. Key here is to move naturally. These phone calls have got to be making them antsy. Don’t act like you’ve got some sort of instructions to do something. Whatever you do, don’t look down while on the escalator or look back while walking. You ready?”

“Yeah. See you in a couple of minutes. I’m moving now.”

I pressed myself into the small opening for the elevator door and waited. Four minutes later, Jennifer exited, walking by me at a natural pace, looking like a shopper who didn’t have a care in the world. She didn’t so much as give me a glance, making me think she had missed me. Then I noticed she was giving me an “A-OK” sign with her hand, her arm still swinging easily. I blinked. Huh. Cool as a cucumber.

I moved into a slight crouch, resting on the balls of my feet. Nine seconds later, I could hear the man following talking to someone on a radio. “… no, don’t wait on me. If you have a clear opportunity to kill her and get away, take it.”

Damn. I missed someone. They must’ve had a floater in the mall.

76

The man exited the escalator still giving instructions on his concealed radio, looking a little strange babbling into thin air. “… we’ll link back up at the garage. Just remember, no gunfire….” It was Coke Man. He saw me, the recognition causing his eyes to widen. “… holy shit…”

Great last words. I grabbed him by his shirt and whirled him around, pinning him against the elevator door. He immediately began to struggle, trying to tie up my arms. Before he could, I reached up with both hands and grabbed his head by the hair. I slammed it as hard as I could against the steel elevator support, hearing his skull crunch. I dropped him and took off in the direction Jennifer had gone, hitting redial as I went.

“Hey, I screwed up,” I said. “They had a floater running around the mall and he’s on you now. Get to a crowded area as fast as you can.”

“I’ll try. I took the first left and I’m in some baby section. Nobody’s here.” She paused, then said, “Oh, shit. Pike, I looked back… I saw him… he knows I saw him… he’s walking right at me. I can’t get out of here without going by him.”

I turned the corner and spied her about seventy-five meters away. The man following her was closing in at a fast walk, giving up any pretense of being a shopper. She was right. The only way out was through him. She was pinned in by a corner wall that opened up to a balcony on the third floor. Unfortunately, no shoppers were up there looking down. The killer would feel safe.

“I see you. I see you.” Too far away. I’m not going to make it. At least the man hadn’t started running at her yet, giving me precious seconds.

She said, “Get ready. I’m going to set this guy up for you.”

Huh? What the hell is she talking about? “Jennifer, listen to me—”

Before I could say anything, she dropped our backpacks and the laptop and took off running toward the wall below the third-level balcony. The killer began sprinting, rapidly closing the distance to her. I dropped the phone and followed suit, running flat out, as fast as I could. What the hell is she doing? There was nowhere for her to hide or defend herself. The killer closed the distance to five feet just as Jennifer veered directly at the corner. Now she zigzags.

I was thirty feet back, unable to do anything to prevent the man from catching her. I was just about to scream to distract the man when Jennifer launched herself in the air. She planted one foot on the left wall of the corner and pressed off, rising another four feet. She repeated the sequence with her right foot and got high enough to grab the railing of the third-floor balcony. She pulled herself over the rail, leaving the killer looking up, stunned. And alone.

I sprinted right at him. He was two feet off the wall, his head cocked back, completely unaware that I was coming. Wow. This is going to leave a mark. I hit him just below the shoulder blades like an NFL linebacker, snapping his head straight back and driving him completely unprotected into the wall. I heard his ribs crack like dry kindling and felt a spray of blood from something damaged. When I dropped him, I saw his face was a gory mess. Ouch. I looked up and saw Jennifer, white as a bedsheet but smiling.

I smiled back, showing her that I thought this was just business as usual, although my face was probably white too. Jesus, that was close.

“Get your ass down here, spider monkey.”

“I can’t get down from here. Only up. Keep heading around the corner. There’s a stairwell in back. Meet me there.”

I ran back and gathered up my phone and our luggage, then ran in the direction she had indicated. I met her coming out the door. Knowing we were about five seconds from being seen by the other guys tracking her, I grabbed her hand and began dragging her toward the nearest exit.

“Come on, we aren’t out of the woods yet.”

We made it to the garage and the rental without getting spotted. I jumped into the driver’s seat while Jennifer ran to the passenger side.