Theo couldn’t hear his cell phone ring over the sounding alarm, but he felt the vibration in his pocket. He kept running, leading Sofia by the hand.
Theo had backtracked halfway out of the dark alley when he thought he’d heard reinforcements coming. His only choice was to push onward, and in a blind alley, that meant breaking
“Keep moving!” said Theo.
An orange beacon swirled overhead, and a shrill pulsating alarm assaulted their ears as they raced up the aisle and past the bread and cereal. Sofia was keeping pace, just barely, as Theo pulled, more than led, her past the checkout lanes and to the entrance doors.
“Stand back!”
Sofia ducked as Theo fired a shot at the sliding glass door, shattering it into thousands of pellets of safety glass that scattered across the floor. Theo grabbed Sofia, and together they ran through the busted door and out into the parking lot.
A police siren sounded a few blocks away. Theo stopped and faced Sofia, a hand on each of her shoulders, as he tried to talk sense into her. “We should stay right here and let the police find us.”
“No!”
“That’s the safest thing.”
“If Demetri thinks I turned myself in to the police, he will never listen to me. And then I’m no help to your friend or those other hostages.”
The siren was getting closer, and the old woman had a point. Some folks were raised to trust cops, but Theo hadn’t grown up in that neighborhood.
“This way,” he said.
He led her across the parking lot to the street. A pizza delivery car was rounding the corner. Theo threw himself down in the middle of the lane, flat on his back, as if he were dead.
“Flag him down! I’m hurt and I need to go to the hospital.”
“You’re hurt?”
“Just do it!”
Sofia waved her arms at the approaching set of headlights. Theo watched with eyes wide open and his ear to the pavement. The delivery car didn’t seem to be slowing down. Sofia waved more frantically. The car only sped up, and when it was close enough for Theo to read the spoof license plate-DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT-Theo rolled into the gutter. The car zipped past him, a split second away from turning him into roadkill.
“Asshole!” said Theo-though he knew that in Miami he was lucky if the guy didn’t back up and try to kill him on the second pass.
Theo jumped to his feet, grabbed Sofia by the hand, and led her across the street. The siren blared even louder, and Theo could see flashing police beacons in the intersection up the street. No way would the cops arrive at the scene of a break-in and ignore the black guy standing on the sidewalk. They needed to get out of sight and fast. Just then, Theo noticed a second pizza delivery car parked outside the strip mall.
“The pizza joint!” said Theo.
They hurried across the parking lot to the little storefront pizza parlor. The sign in the window said OPEN TILL 4 A.M., and they’d just made it. A bell chimed as Theo yanked the door open, and they ducked inside. Behind the counter, an old man was tossing a giant Frisbee of dough high into the air, singing along to “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago.
Theo walked up as if nothing had happened. “Medium pepperoni, two Cokes, one with extra ice, and the key to your bathroom.”
“Takeout only,” he said. “Dining area’s closed.”
“No problem, dude.”
Theo glanced out the parlor window and saw police cars pulling up to the grocery store across the street. “We really need to use the bathroom.”
“They’re in the back.”
“Perfect,” said Theo.
“You’ll need a key.”
“Even better,” said Sofia.
“Men’s or women’s?”
They answered simultaneously, Sofia saying “Men’s” and Theo saying “Women’s.”
The pizza chef looked at the two of them as if they were the strangest couple he’d ever seen, and he handed over both keys. Theo led Sofia into the men’s room and locked the door. It was a small room with a pedestal sink and a single toilet. Sofia put the lid down on the toilet and took a seat. Theo checked his cell and found a missed call from Andie. He dialed her back.
Andie said, “I have three minutes to get Sofia on the line with her ex-husband.”
“You’re in luck,” said Theo. “She’s right here with me.”
“Thank God. Stay on the line, I’m going to do a three-way. Oh, one other thing, I’m going to identify you as Agent Knight. You’re Sofia’s assigned bodyguard.”
“Sofia says he won’t trust her if he thinks she’s with the cops.”
“Just trust me on this. No time to explain. Can you put your cell phone on speaker?”
Theo laid the phone on the sink and hit the speaker feature.
“How’s that?” he said.
“Good,” she said. “Sofia, this is Agent Henning. Can you hear me?”
“Yes,” she said weakly.
“You’ll need to speak up. I’m going to do a three-way conversation with you, me, and Demetri. I have about fifteen seconds to coach you, so listen to what I’m saying. You cannot promise him anything. You should ask him to surrender, and that’s it. If things start to go badly, I will drop you from the call. Understood?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice even weaker.
“I can hardly hear you,” said Andie. “Theo, take the phone off speaker and get back on the line.”
He switched off the speaker and spoke, just the two of them. “It’s me.”
“You think she understands?”
“I do,” said Theo. “She really wants to help these hostages.”
“Okay. Hold on.”
Theo listened as she dialed up the three-way call. The next thing he heard was Demetri’s voice on the line.
“You better not be stalling, Henning.”
“I have good news. We have Sofia. Would you like to speak to her now?”
Theo could almost feel the release of tension on the line. The change in Demetri’s tone was a complete emotional turnaround.
“Yes,” he said. “Put
“Agent Knight,” said Andie. “Give her the phone.”
Chapter 58
“Sofia?” said Demetri.
He had her on speakerphone, leaving him free to hold his pistol in one hand and the dead security guard’s gun in the other. Jack could hear both ends of the conversation, and he was close enough to Demetri to get a sense of what he was feeling as well. The hot spotlights above the set were taking their toll. Jack was sweating, and Demetri was having an even harder time with the heat, the back of his shirt stuck to his body with perspiration. Demetri looked upward to the catwalk. Jack subtly followed his gaze. The Greek was clearly on alert to a possible SWAT maneuver, but he was determined to talk to Sofia even as he kept watch.
“Demetri,” she said, her voice quaking over the speaker on the news desk. “I want you to put down your
