Fade (2005) (36 page)

He rolled onto his stomach and focused on the second door on his right.

It was closed and there was no light bleeding around it, but tha t didn't necessarily mean anything. Were Fade and Karen Manning inside?

Or was it a trap? Fade might have recognized the hopelessness of hi s situation and used his credit card to bring his enemies to him. I n fact, he might be standing on the building across the street with on e of those stock hunting rifles he'd used to such effect all over th e world.

Despite the darkness and unseasonably cool temperatures, Egan coul d feel the sweat beginning to run down his back. Realistically, he ha d two options. He could wait there and hope Fade showed his face befor e morning, when people would undoubtedly be curious as to why there was a guy with a gun behind their Dumpster. Or he could go get his car an d use it as a battering ram against the garage door in hope that he coul d surprise his old friend.

After careful consideration, Egan came to the conclusion that, whil e both plans sucked, the first sucked slightly less.

His shoulders were beginning to ache and he lay out flat, resting hi s cheek on the hand not wrapped around his gun. A little bit of luck.

That's all he needed. Just a little bit of luck.

After about half an hour of complete silence, his phone bega n vibrating. He checked the incoming number nervously, expecting it t o be Fade informing him that he had his scope all lined up and was abou t to put a bullet through his skull, but it turned out just to b e Billy.

"What?" Egan whispered.

"Al Fayed used his card again! About twenty minutes ago. A grocer y store a couple miles from you."

Egan relaxed a bit at the realization that Fade probably wasn't withi n rifle range.

"What did he buy?"

"Dunno. Damn store closed right after he used it. But he spen t fifty-eight bucks."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Hillel just got back to the office he looks like he got beat up o r something, but he's not talking so I have no idea what happened .. .

Anyway, his goons are here too and they look available. You want me t o send them out to back you up?"

Egan let out a quiet breath. In theory it would have been nice to hav e a couple of talented operators on the rooftops, but based on his las t meeting with Strand, it seemed likely that he would accept nothing les s than the deaths of both Fade and Karen Manning. It might have als o occurred to him that it would be fairly convenient if Egan ended u p shot, too. He knew a little more than Strand would be comfortable wit h and would make a more compliant scapegoat if he were a corpse.

No, the worst case scenario for him would be getting killed alongsid e Fade. If he was destined to die here tonight, he wanted to go ou t knowing that Fade would continue to chase Hillel around until one o f them dropped. Vindictive? Sure. But he had a right.

"No. I'll deal with this myself."

"Are you sure, Matt? I mean, I know you did okay at the hospital bu t last time this guy had a home field advantage an entire SWAT team ende d up dead."

"Thanks for reminding me, Billy. I feel a lot better now. Really."

"I just don't want anything to happen to you, man."

"Look, I'll give you a call in an hour to check in. If you don't hea r from me .. . well, you're probably not going to."

He turned off the phone and inched to his right a bit, replacing hi s view of Fade's building with a view of the only street leading up t o it.

Another half hour passed before a high-pitched metallic rattle becam e audible. The sound continued to get louder as whatever was making i t moved closer, and Egan concentrated on keeping his breathing even an d his family out of his head.

The dark shape that began to emerge from around the corner wa s initially unidentifiable but the sound it made was strangely familiar.

A shopping cart. His educated guess was confirmed when the light fro m the machine shop glinted off it.

The man pushing it was wearing a baseball cap that shaded his face an d a formless jacket that effectively hid his build. He seemed to b e leaning a little harder on the cart than he should have been and stil l his limp was plainly evident. Egan had noticed Fade favoring his righ t leg at Elise's show. Was it him?

He pulled back, pressing himself against the Dumpster and watching i n his peripheral vision as the man passed by. The disguise and poo r light weren't enough to obscure the face that had been so prominent i n Egan's mind for the past two weeks. Fade.

His back was turned as he wrestled the heavy cart up onto the curb an d Egan silently aimed his pistol. It was the smart move a littl e pressure on the trigger and Fade would never know what hit him. Th e great Salam al Fayed would crumple to the ground behind his shoppin g cart, shot in the back by his best friend.

He was fishing in his pocket now, finally coming up with a garage doo r opener. Shoot, Egan told himself. His finger wouldn't move. The doo r began to grind upward and Fade took a position behind the cart again.

Most of the road between them was covered with gravel that would make a hell of a lot of noise if Egan tried to run up from behind. He coul d just aim over the Dumpster and yell, but with the distance and weir d light it seemed likely that Fade could safely dive for cover and star t shooting back. Not really ideal.

The door was about halfway up when it began to start jerking agains t its rusted rails, the sound of screeching metal filling the air. I t was loud, but was it loud enough?

Egan broke from cover, opting for speed over stealth and made it t o within ten feet before Fade spun and found himself staring into th e barrel of a gun. His hand had stopped mere inches from the pistol gri p sticking out of his waistband.

"Matt, you sneaky son of a bitch. It was the credit cards, wasn't it?

That pot smoking, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing asshole Syd gave me up."

Egan concentrated on keeping his gun steady as he moved sideways , maintaining a marginally safe distance.

"Where's your backup?"

"Just me," Egan said.

"I'm insulted."

"Let's have the gun, Fade. Really slow. Seriously."

He lifted the 9mm with his thumb and forefinger and tossed it on th e ground.

"Where's your girlfriend?"

"Karen? Actually, I don't think she likes me all that much."

"Where is she, Fade?"

"You sent that freak Roy Buckner after me and ordered Karen dead. I d on't think I'm going to tell you shit about where she is."

"Yeah, Fade. I got involved with fucking Roy Buckner. Look around.

It's just you and me here. I could have come with an army. I coul d have shot you in the back when you walked by. I could shoot yo u now."

It may have been just a subtle shift in the light but Fade's fac e suddenly seemed to lose all expression. "Do it, then."

"Put your hands on top of your head and turn around."

He did as he was told and Egan inched forward, giving the shopping car t a quick glance as he passed by. A couple of steaks, two potatoes, a hibachi a bottle of wine, and a bag of what looked like women'
s clothes.

"Having a party?"

"They say you should live every day like it's your last. Particularl y good advice in my case, don't you think?"

Egan waved him inside and followed a few feet behind.

"Nice car," he said as they skirted around an old Cadillac that ha d been taped off but not painted. There was an open door at the back o f the bay that led to a grimy little room with an uneven wood floor an d bare brick walls. The only furniture was a chair and an old footlocke r with a small television on it. There was a single door to their right , but it was closed.

"Hello?" Egan called as Fade stopped in the middle of the room. "Ms.

Manning?"

He moved toward the door, keeping his gun trained on Fade, and took a position along the wall next to it. He wasn't sure what to expect fro m Karen Manning. Based on her experience with Buckner, she was probabl y a little suspicious of men with guns.

He reached for the knob and threw the door open, withdrawing his han d as quickly as he could. Nothing.

"Ms. Manning?"

Still nothing.

He allowed himself a cautious peek around the jamb and was surprised t o see her sitting motionless on a mattress. Her back was pressed u p against a pipe that ran from floor to ceiling and her hands wer e cranked behind it. There was a piece of duct tape stuck over he r mouth.

"What's up with this?" Egan said, backing slowly into the room wit h his gun still trained on Fade. Maybe his old friend really was losin g it. The thought of him keeping Karen Manning tied to a pipe didn'
t really jibe with the Fade he'd known.

Egan moved back a few more steps and began running his hand blindl y along the wall, searching for the pipe Karen was secured to. A momen t later, he felt the unmistakable sensation of a gun barrel being presse d to the back of his head.

"If I've learned anything in life," Fade said, lowering his hands , "it's that women can be treacherous creatures."

"Ms. Manning," Egan said as he listened to her stand up on th e mattress and rip the tape from her mouth. "I know this is going to b e hard to believe, but I'm one of the good guys."

"I know all about you, Matt. And about Hillel Strand and Roy Buckner.

Now I'd appreciate it if you'd drop your gun."

"That thing with Roy ... I had nothing to do with it. Hell, ask Fade.

Ask him if he really believes that I'd get involved with Buckner."

"Don't look at me," Fade said, stepping into the doorway and lookin g down at the gun Egan still had aimed at his chest. "I have no power o f persuasion over this woman. I've been trying to get her in the sac k since I met her. Nada."

"I'm going to tell you one more time, Mr. Egan. Drop your gun or I'
m going to kill you like I killed your friend."

"He wasn't my friend!" Egan said emphatically. "And I've got to tel l you, I'm a little reluctant to drop my gun. Fade's made his intention s pretty clear where I'm concerned."

Again, his options were less than stellar. He could definitely shoo t Fade, but that would almost certainly end with the back of his hea d being blown off. Or he could drop the gun, which Fade would probabl y then pick up and use to blow off the front of his head. Any way h e looked at it, his skull ended up in more than one piece.

"I'm going to count to three, Mr. Egan. And then you're dead. On e ..."

"Okay! Fine. I'm putting it down." He crouched and set the gun o n the floor, then slowly stood again, raising his arms in the air.

The pressure of the gun disappeared and Karen stepped cautiously awa y from him, then began gathering up a laptop and the papers strewn aroun d it. She kept the gun aimed in his general direction but didn't see m terribly worried about him now that he was unarmed and Fade wa s advancing toward him.

"So what do you have to say for yourself, Matt?"

"I don't know. What do you want to hear?"

"You should have killed me when you had the chance. Another ba d decision in a lifetime of them, huh?"

Egan shrugged. "What, am I supposed to start begging now? Fuc k you."

Fade took another step forward and Egan glanced over at Karen to se e that she seemed to have everything she wanted cradled in her left ar m while she used the right to once again aim directly at him.

So there wasn't a lot he could do other than double over and try not t o throw up when Fade slammed a fist into his stomach.

"Stop it!" he heard her shout. Based on her tone, he decided that sh e wouldn't mind if he dodged the blow about to come down on the back o f his head. A quick shift of his weight and Fade's hand sped harmlessl y past his ear. The momentum caused Fade's normally flawless balance t o fail him and he pitched forward just in time for Egan to straighten an d catch him under the chin with the back of his head.

"Damn it!" Karen shouted. "I said "

Egan ignored her and rammed Fade back into the wall. With his righ t leg barely able to support his weight, Fade wasn't anywhere near a s fast or powerful as he used to be, giving Egan an even chance a t actually winning this fight. And while it probably wouldn't save him , at least he'd go down swinging.

The impact with the wall didn't produce the effect that he had hope d for and less than a second later, Fade brought both hands down on hi s shoulders with enough force to drive him to his knees.

Egan managed to catch Fade's right arm before he could land anothe r blow and he jerked down on it. The maneuver worked and Fade's bad le g crumpled beneath him, spinning him around before he could catch himsel f and leaving Egan with a clear shot at his lower back. He cocked a fist, concentrating on the place in Fade's spine where he knew th e bullet was lodged, and then hesitated. He didn't see the elbow comin g until it connected with his temple.

A moment later he found himself on his back, blinking hard and tryin g to focus as Fade straddled his torso and landed a hard right cros s against his cheek.