'Quinn,' Orlando said.
As Quinn looked over, she nodded. Reluctantly he stepped back.
Durrie smiled. 'Thanks, Johnny.'
The older man began carrying Garrett down the corridor. As Quinn and Orlando followed him to the elevators, they could see Garrett's eyes peeking over Durrie's shoulder. They were moist and laced with fear and uncertainty.
Durrie stopped on the landing in front of the closed elevator doors. 'Can one of you push the Down button for me?' Durrie asked.
Neither Quinn nor Orlando moved.
'Maybe you can help me,' Durrie said to Garrett. He leaned down, close to the control panel. 'Push the lower button for me.' Garrett reached over and touched the Down button. It took less than a minute for an empty elevator car to arrive. Durrie stepped inside, then turned.
'We'll take this one,' he said. He moved the knife a few inches up Garrett's back, then looked at Quinn, a mischievous smile on his face. 'Perhaps, Johnny, you'd like to join us? You come with me, maybe I'll let the boy go.'
Both Quinn and Orlando took a step toward the elevator, but Durrie shook his head.
'Just Johnny, babe.' Durrie pointed at the gun in Quinn's hand. 'Why don't you leave that behind?'
Quinn passed the gun to Orlando.
'You carrying anything else?' Durrie asked.
'No.'
'Okay then.' Durrie motioned for Quinn to step inside.
As Quinn got onto the elevator, he glanced back at Orlando. The same fear and terror he'd seen in Garrett's eyes were in hers, too. Only there was more. Hatred and helplessness and fury.
The door closed, and she was gone.
Immediately Durrie set Garrett down. But instead of punching a button on the console, he let the elevator sit where it was for a moment, unmoving. He replaced the knife with the pistol, closing the blade and putting it in his pocket.
'You created a big mess for me,' Durrie said, his voice surprisingly light, almost playful. 'I wasn't sure at first whether to be proud or pissed off. Given the cash I'm out now, I think pissed off is the better choice.'
Quinn looked at him, saying nothing.
'But I'm going to give you a chance here, Johnny boy. The opportunity to clean things up for me, and make up for your betrayal. It's just a little sacrifice for my employers. Your head in a box should be enough. Don't worry, I'll kill you myself. No more fuckups. I'll even make you a promise. When I'm done, I'll let Garrett go back to his mom.'
'But Mommy's too busy,' Garrett said.
'It's okay. Grown-up talk, all right?'
Garrett nodded slowly, then leaned against Durrie's leg. 'What did you tell him?' 'I told him his mom didn't have time to take care of him, so he was going to be with me now.'
'You're a bastard,' Quinn said softly.
'Better that he learn about betrayal early. Hell,
I've already been a better father to him than you've ever been.' The comment stopped Quinn. He looked questioningly at Durrie, but his mentor only laughed.
'I saw you die,' Quinn said.
'You saw what I wanted you to see,' Durrie said. 'I saw the bullets hit you.' 'You heard a gun fired into a stack of boxes.
What you
Ortega, the third member of their team. Of course he'd been in on it, too. 'But I did check your pulse. There was none.'
'Come on, Johnny. There are dozens of drugs that'll stop your heart. Me, I was more worried about getting it going again. Thankfully, Ortega was standing by with a shot of adrenaline.'
Quinn knew they'd been idle long enough without entering a destination that the elevator had probably reset itself, allowing it to go either up or down. He reached out quickly and pushed the button for the floor above them. The elevator began to lurch upward.
'Cute,' Durrie said. 'But it's not going to change anything.'
Garrett turned toward his father, burying his face against Durrie. Quinn thought he heard the boy sobbing, but it was faint.
'You said I betrayed you. Why would you think that?' Quinn asked, ignoring the comment.
'Don't fuck with me.'
'Don't accuse me of something I haven't done,' Quinn said. Then a thought hit him. 'It's Orlando, isn't it? You think something happened between us. Nothing has
