“Back down we go,” Clyde said, following Russell into the rich blackness of the stairwell.
“We do this fast and efficient,” Russell said, taking point. “Keep your eyes and ears open for any movement.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Clyde replied
Russell followed the steps leading down from the roof to the landing. Clyde closed the door behind them and trailed after Russell. They took each flight at a good clip, passing the exits to the unguarded floors as they worked their way down to the lower levels.
The reports of muffled gunfire below echoed through the stairwell. They spotted no beams of light from the floors below or sounds to indicate that anyone else lurked in the ether.
Clyde shone his light at the wall near the exit they passed. “What floor was the Sandman on?”
“The eighth, I think,” Russell answered, looking at the plaque on the wall that said tenth floor.
The stairwell door below them flew open.
Russell stopped, trained his heater at the landing below and thumbed the button on his light. Clyde followed suit, cloaking them in darkness. Multiple footfalls trampled the stairs. Heavy breathing and trembling voices tainted the air.
“Shawn, what the hell are we going to do?”
“I don’t know, Chris. Give me a damn minute to think, here.”
Shawn, Russell thought, wondering if it was the Shawn Evans who had taken Amber.
Beams of light shone below them. It trained up the stairs at the cinderblock wall.
“We go up and wait this out,” Shawn said. “A buddy of mine lives on the tenth floor and owes me a favor.”
“Are you sure we can trust him?” Chris asked, panicked. “Most everyone in this building is loyal to the Sandman.”
“It’s the only option we have, so let’s go unless you want to try your luck below,” Shawn shot back. “They’ve already killed Brian and Dean.”
“Fine.”
The footfalls grew louder, punishing each step as the two men raced up the flight of stairs. The light washed over the railing and swept up the walls.
Russell and Clyde drifted back to the staircase and moved up a few steps, waiting for the two men. They crouched and watched the light grow brighter.
“Damn, man. This hole in my arm is killing me,” Chris said.
“At least you’re alive. That’s more than I can say for Amber and her mother,” Shawn replied, racing up the stairs to the tenth floor. “No telling what Sandman is going to do with them.”
The light trained at the exit as both young men hit the landing. Russell stood and fired a warning shot at the wall near the door. The sharp report battered their ears.
The blonde-haired man reaching for the doorknob flinched, drew his hand back, then turned toward him. His wounded partner gasped, then deflated against the wall, palming his bicep.
“Please, don’t kill us, man,” the blonde-haired man said, holding his hands up in front of him.
“Where’s Amber and her mother?” Russell asked, stomping down the stairs to the landing.
“What? Who are you?” he replied.
Russell trained the pistol at the man’s forehead. Clyde moved past him and covered the man’s wounded friend. “Amber, her mother, and the German shepherd. Where are they and what’s going on below?”
Shawn trembled in place. “Sandman has them on the eighth floor last I saw. One of his rivals is trying to cut in on him. That’s what all of the gunfire is from. We almost didn’t get away.”
“How many are down there?” Russell kept the barrel trained at Shawn’s head.
“I don’t know for sure,” Shawn answered. “We slipped away when it all started going down. Please, man. Don’t kill us.”
Russell took a step back, then wrenched open the stairwell door. “Consider this your lucky day. Move.”
Shawn nodded, slapped the back of his hand against his buddy’s side, then funneled past Russell onto the tenth floor.
The door slammed shut behind them. Russell turned his light back on as did Clyde.
“Seems as though this day is getting worse by the second,” Clyde said.
Russell flew down the stairs. Clyde matched his stride as they made for the eighth floor.
The gunfire ebbed with only minimal pop shots sounding off. The armed thug stationed at the entrance had left his post.
Russell opened the door and advanced inside the dark hallway. Beams of light shone through the corridor, spilling over the dead bodies that laid all about. The smell of sulfur tainted the air.
“Come on.” Russell retraced their steps back to Sandman’s pad, stepping over and around the dead bodies of the thugs before them.
Lights from the apartment ahead of them shone out into the hallway. Russell trained his flashlight at the floor and moved along the wall toward the dwelling. Raised voices shouted heated words. Growling and barking tingled in Russell’s ears.
He toed the edge of the jamb, then peered inside the Sandman’s pad. More dead bodies laid sprawled out on the floor. Max barked but Russell couldn’t see him.
Two armed men walked about the dwelling with bandanas covering their noses and mouths. They checked the bodies on the floor, patting each down with their backs to the doorway.
Russell waved his hand, motioning for Clyde to follow. They moved around the jamb with pistols trained at the two men. The floor under their feet creaked a warning. Both men turned around with pistols raised.
Clyde opened fire on the one closest to him while Russell took down the other. They knocked the pistols away and checked the room, but didn’t spot Cathy or Sandman.
Max barked again. Russell followed the noise through the opening in the wall to a kennel. The German shepherd whined and wagged his tail, happy to see him.
