No Way Out

Gene ignored the wolf-whistles and vulgar jibes as she stood a few feet into the bar looking around. It had taken her a few phone calls and a few face to face encounters in some seedy back alleys and side streets, but she knew how to talk “street” and it was only a matter of time before she finally found out where she needed to go. And here she was.

She took a deep breath as she thought about what she was planning to do.

Yes. It is right. It is fair… it is just.

The only thing she couldn’t tell herself was that it would do any good in the broader scheme of things.

Steeling herself to face up to it, and trying very hard to stay focused, she walked up to the barman. Before he could ask her what she wanted to drink, she whispered a few words into his ear and pressed a ten dollar bill into his hand.

He whispered a word back in hers and nodded in the direction of a corner table. She turned casually and walked towards it. At the table, sat a solitary young man, smoking what may have been a joint and trying to look like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Are you Joe?”

He looked up at her without smiling.

“Who wants to know?”

“Jane.”

“Cute name,” he said, this time giving in to the urge to smile, imperceptibly. “I know a lot of Janes. Most of ‘em work the streets.”

“I don’t work the streets.”

“No, I didn’t think so. Are you the Jane that’s looking to buy a piece?”

Wednesday, 2 September 2009 — 16:30

“Hallo can I speak to Martine Yin please… I’m not sure what room she’s in.”

At the other end of the phone, some one was looking up the name in a perfunctory fashion, with no recognition of the name.

“What was that name again sir?”

“Yin, Martine Yin.”

“I’m afraid we have no guest of that name at the hotel sir.”

“Oh sorry. I guess she must have checked out. Well thank you anyway.”

“You’re welcome sir. Have a nice day.”

He broke the connection and crossed yet another hotel name off his list.

Wednesday, 2 September 2009 — 16:55

Elias Claymore was debating whether to call Alex again. He assumed that if Alex hadn’t called him then it meant he hadn’t been able to contact Andi. He had debated going to reception or the concierge and asking what room she was in. But they wouldn’t tell him — anymore than they would reveal which room he was in. The most they would do is let him call her on the courtesy phone.

Actually that was all he needed. He would call using a one digit prefix and the room number. But what was the point? If she was in her room, then Alex would have been able to reach her. The fact that he couldn’t meant that she wasn’t in her room and her cell phone was switched off.

There was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” he called out.

“Maintenance,” said a female voice.

This caught him by surprise. He associated maintenance with men. If it had been room service or the maid it would not have surprised him. But he hadn’t ordered room service and the main would normally come in the morning. He didn’t need anyone to turn down his bed.

He opened the door to find himself confronted by Gene. This in itself would not have been frightening. But she was holding a pistol in her hand and it was aimed at his chest.

As he backed into the room, she followed him, closing the door behind her.

“Don’t look so surprised,” she said. “Justice has finally caught up with you.”

He looked at her, with pity rather than fear or anger.

“Justice… or revenge?”

“Do you think you even have the right to ask that question?”

“It seems like a long time to wait for revenge. You must have known who I was a long time ago. Why wait till now.”

“Until recently I was on the other side of the country.”

“That’s not the reason. Not if you were really determined.”

“Apart from that, I never had the opportunity.”

Claymore shook his head

“Not to do it the way you did with that Bethel Newton girl, maybe. But to do what you’re doing now… you could have done that any time. Why now?”

“You think I didn’t do it a hundred times in my mind?”

“But you didn’t have the courage.”

“I didn’t have the anger.”

“It took what happened in court today…”

He let it hang in the air.

“What happened to me in court today is nothing. It’s what happened to Bethel Newton in court today that rekindled the anger.

Claymore understood.

“She reminds you of another young girl… and there was only a limited amount you could do for her too.”

The implacable expression on Gene’s face didn’t change.

“You know, pain is a funny thing,” said Gene. “Wounds heal. But scars never do — and every now and again they start to itch.”

“And now your scars have started itching.”

Again it was a statement, not a question.

“Let’s talk about you Claymore. You say you’ve changed. That you could never hurt a woman like you did before. But do you know how much pain it caused Andi to defend you?”

“I know… but she didn’t say anything about-”

“I know she didn’t say anything,” Gene interrupted angrily. “That’s Andi! She keeps things bottled up. But that isn’t really the point. There’s a limit to the amount of suffering anyone should have to bear.”

“I tried to object to Andi taking second seat. But Alex insisted.”

“Yes, Alex is a bastard figuratively speaking. He’s a bit of rapist himself. At least he knows how to use coercion of one kind or another to force other people who conform to his will… what?”

She was looking at him bewildered. His thoughts had found means of expression on his face.

“That’s what Andi said.”

Wednesday, 2 September 2009 — 17:20