“I hate yappy dogs.” Both Imani and Haiden said at the same time. Startled, they looked at each other, causing Nobu to burst out laughing. He rolled his chair backwards and bent forward, howling. Imani shot him a filthy look.
“Anyway!” She said, trying to get back on track.
“Good idea for the dogfood. I can toss it over the fence.” Imani said.
“Why don’t I do it. I can go jogging in the early evening, just as it is getting dark. You meet me up ahead on the next block. I jog by, toss the food and we come back later. I’m taller, so I’d get it over that fence easier.” He suggested.
Nobu zoomed in on the fence around the house. The other homes had chain-link, but this one had a privacy fence. Imani nodded.
“Okay, I’ve got just the stuff to put into the food. I’ll run down to the market and pick up a can of dog food.” She said.
“I’ve got canned cat food, Jezebel won’t miss it.” Haiden grinned.
“Fine. I want to go in tonight.” Imani said, her eyes glued to the screen.
“You have an idea of what you’ll need?” Nobu asked, looking at her, then to Haiden.
“Yeah, the usual, gun, knife and taser.” She smiled darkly.
“Taser?” Haiden asked.
“Yeah, sometimes I zap the bastards, so I can play with them, instead of kill them right out. That way, I’ll zap these assholes and we can secure them and then question them. If I have to kill them, like I did in the other house in Waukegan, it does me no good. Zapping them, it gives me a few minutes to work with. I’ve had to do this myself Haiden, so having the taser helps.”
“Sounds like a good tool to have. I might just have to pick me one up.” He grinned.
“Idiot.” She said.
Ϫ
Haiden jogged along the sidewalk, behind the row of houses, his target house on the end. It was twilight and he held his arms above him, like he was stretching. Then he brought them down and stretched them back and forth as he ran. He could hear other dogs in the neighborhood, as well as children calling. He lifted his arms again, and repeated his movements. He was coming up to the privacy fence and he heard the little dog yapping. He grinned.
Pulling the small plastic bag from his pocket, he cupped it in his hand. He brought his arms back over his head and stretched. As he brought his arms down, he squished the treated cat food into the yard and heard the dog yapping at him. He laughed, because the dog was barking and eating what he’d just dropped over the fence. He slid the plastic back into his windbreaker. And kept jogging, putting his arms back up and stretching.
Up ahead he saw Imani waiting in her car and ran to it. Going around, he hopped into the passenger’s seat. She pulled away and looked over at him, questioningly.
“The dog ate it as I passed. It was perfect.” He laughed.
“Good, we’ll come back tonight around two.”
“You hungry?” He asked.
“Always. Where do you want to go? You aren’t dressed for anyplace nice.” She said, glancing at him sideways.
“We can go to Au Cheval, it has some damn good food.” He suggested.
“Ooh yeah, they got really good root beer floats. Sure, but no booze.” She said.
“Duh...” He laughed.
They managed to find parking within a block of the pub. They walked there and passed people heading in all different directions. When they got to the pub, they went in and were seated in a booth.
There weren’t many people and so Haiden knew they could speak freely. They ordered their dinner with sesame wing appetizer and sipped on water.
“How do you want to do this?” He asked, chewing on a wing.
“I’ve got the taser, zap them like I said earlier, then we tape them both up. We look around the house. I figure, the woman is in on it if there are warm bodies in the house. I’ve found that men are very talkative if you zap them in the balls.” She grinned as he choked on the wing. He gave her a dirty look. He knew she said that on purpose when he was about to swallow and she sniggered.
“I bet. So, we’ll have duct tape or zip ties I assume?” He asked.
“Always. I normally play it by ear. I try to be flexible, and however the situation plays itself out, is how we’ll deal with it. What ever I get, we’ll see where it leads. I’m hoping we can surprise them. The last time, I didn’t have time to question the guy, because he’d been woken and shot at me. I couldn’t afford to linger.” She said.
He didn’t want to tell her he’d heard the shot, so kept his mouth shut. He was sure she’d be pissed if she knew he had followed her that night. She knew he knew about Waukegan, but she didn’t know how he knew. Their food came and they both quieted for a bit to eat.
“I’ve only been here a couple times, but I’ve never been disappointed.” Imani said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Yeah, it is. I’m glad we came here.” He smiled at her and saw her blush. His smiled widened. He was relaxed and for the first time in a long time, he was content.
Ϫ
Imani answered the light tap around midnight. Haiden grinned at her when he saw her in her black catsuit.
“Good look for you.” He grinned.
“Idiot.” She said and turned and went into the kitchen. Her kitchen was an open concept with the living room, it was modern, with light cream and caramel granite counters. The cabinets were a deep espresso and it had clean lines and no
