Forgotten (46 page)

MACEY
SQUARED HIS
broad shoulders, bent his
knees and began casually plucking small, withered bits of plant
life from his grey, pinstriped pants.

“
Ah, if it
isn
’t Saul Reardon,” he said. “The poor
man’s redeemer. You’re good, no doubt about it, and no less than I
was led to believe by the many myths about you.” His tone was all
well-practiced poise and self-righteous power.

“
Is that
so?” Reardon crouched onto his haunches, spun the knife’s blade
close to the senator’s face. The blade quickly ignited with sharp,
shimmering lights giving it a striking but deadly appearance. “You
flatter me, Senator. But myths are mere stories, and like all
stories, breed upon the vibrant imagination of the
tellers.”

Macey
stopped the plucking, glued a steadfast look towards
Reardon.
“Very poetic, Reardon. I like
it. So, what is it that you want from me?”

Reardon
cocked his head, took his time before answering. “For starters, how
about removing the hit on Claudia Cabriati, call off Basteros and
his minions.”

Macey
’s surprised expression was
a trifle over-acted. He then laughed a great, full laugh. “A hit?
My, how very gangster-like of you. And why would I know anything
about a hit and of this…
Basteros
?”

“
Please,
Senator, tell me you’re smarter than that.”

Raw anger
flashed in Macey’s eyes. And just as quickly vanished.

Reardon
shuffled in his jean’s pocket and pulled out a small, silver
mobile. “This phone belongs to one of Basteros’ men.”

“How unfortunate for him.”

“
More
unfortunate for the person who received a text from it, say around
two, three this morning believing it was from Basteros. Funny thing
about mobiles, you can never be sure who actually sent the
text.”

Macey’s
smirk dropped fast. “I don’t understand.”

“
Of course
you do. It
’s why you’re here.” Reardon
let that hang for a while, enjoyed the Senator’s visual discomfort.
“Why else would a prestigious, well-respected government official
such as yourself, be traipsing along back roads at this time of
night…
just when Claudia and
I are
?

I
’m not a coincidence sort of
guy. I think you had a job to finish, one that Basteros continually
botched up. Hence, you took the bait,
my
bait. Again, I would’ve
thought you smarter than that. And like you, I thought that from
the many myths I’ve heard.”

Macey’s lips
gelled into a thin, tight line.

“
Look, if it
helps any,” Reardon said, playfully chucking the mobile between his
hands. “I admire you, admire how you got away with it all these
years. Brilliant even. How better to cover who you really were,
amongst the pretentious façade of a supposedly passionate anti-gun
law advocator. You, who headed a gun clan in the seventies. You,
who warped the sweet innocence of the Araneya children with the
sick, twisted belief that knowledge of guns was their only
salvation. You, who controlled the rest of a Vietnam-damaged clan
to adhere with your perversions. That’s power, Senator. And
precisely what you wanted. Sorry, rephrase… what you believed
was
owed
to you.”

Macey shriveled his eyes.

“
Then
Claudia’s father, Vincent Cabriati, happened. How you must’ve hated
someone smarter than you.”

“
Smarter
than
me? Cabriati?” Macey stretched his
neck as one after a hard day’s work. “You should write a fucking
book, Reardon.”

“Can I include your alias in it?”

“My what?”

“
Wesson.
The name of your chosen
revolver. The name you use for all your illegal dealings, for the
gun clan and for… Basteros.”

Even in the
partially lit night, Reardon could make out the veins in Macey’s
neck pumping wildly. But, to Macey’s credit, he remained remarkably
controlled. Macey stood, shook his head. “You are one fucked up
piece of engineering, Reardon.”

Perhaps he was.

But his
instincts about Macey weren’t.

Macey
dragged up his pants until it connected with his well-fed paunch,
re-tucked his white shirt, front
and
back and returned with a
small revolver.

Reardon
pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “This isn’t giving me
positive vibes for our budding relationship.”

“
Did you
expect I
’d just buckle under a few paltry
accusations from the almighty Saul Reardon?”

“
No, sadly,
I didn’t.” Reardon glanced over Macey’s head. “Come on down,
fellas.”

“
You
’re bluffing. I know about the
tactics you employ.”

“
Obviously
not all of them,” a guttural voice to Macey’s rear said. Reardon
cut to the swag-like Scotty. Tonight’s bandana flavor was black.
How appropriate, he thought.

“Cocky bastard, aint he, Saul.”

“
More like,
predictable.” Reardon re-strapped his switchblade. A second man,
lean and swarthy emerged. “Andy, you cover him from the
front.”

Macey turned to one, then the other, back to
Reardon. “How the fuck….”

“
I’d be more
concerned with the pair of M16s aimed at your head,” Reardon
said.

Macey
released his weapon, then leaned against the nearest tree trunk;
night-colored it was, mirroring Macey’s mutinous eyes. Reardon
collected Macey’s gun, passed it to Scotty. He then searched Macey
until he found two mobile phones. He flicked through both, pocketed
one and returned the other to Macey. “You can keep that one. You’ll
need it to ring your lawyer.”

Reardon glanced around, found a long,
twisted log and parked himself on it. It was bumpy but solid. He
slumped his arms over his knees, gestured a rare section of green
grass for Macey.

Macey preferred standing.

Reardon
didn
’t care.

From the north, high-pitched sirens wailed,
grew progressively louder with every passing second.

“
You called
the
fucking police?”

“
Not me
exactly.” Reardon glanced at the smiling Scotty.

“This is absolute madness. You have no
fucking proof of any of your shit.”

“
Wouldn’t
matter if I did or didn’t. You being here alone would create a
journalist’s wet dream. And, unfortunately for you, I just happen
to know a few, journalists that is. But, again, unfortunately for
you, I happen to have proof also.”

Macey swung
to Scotty. Scotty’s eyes blew wide. “Don’t mess with Saul, mate,
it’s like tinkering with the fricking
Titanic
.”

Reardon
executed his next words with all the precision of someone who knew
narcissistic personalities, such as Macey’s, well. There was one
thing, possibly the
only
thing that Macey
feared.

Incarceration.

And the
total lo
ss of control that escorted
it.

“
Bad time of
year to be thrown in the watch-house,” Reardon continued. “Festive
period
, courts close down. But, if urgent
and with a good lawyer, well….”

“
If you
really wanted me gone,” Macey grunted, “I’d be on the road right
now, staring at red and blue lights. It isn’t the hit on Claudia
you want removed. With my phone, you can do that yourself. It’s
something else.”

“
I’m
impressed.”

Macey’s chin
rose high.

“I then have to wonder, how does someone as
smart as you get into such an awkward position such as this?”

“
Perhaps
it’s not because of me. Perhaps the reason for our special tryst is
you. Someone who merely craves the mental challenge from an
equal.”

Reardon
collected a nearby twig, dry, withered, any life mere remnants in
its last, fading breath. He recalled a time when he was that twig,
ready to oblige to the strict laws of nature and simply give up his
last breath. But nature gave him extra strength, the solid
determination to survive. “Maybe you’re right. But we’re also both
reasonable men. I’m sure we can come to some arrangement, one that
could benefit each of us, a gentlemen’s agreement if you like. One
that excludes the law.”

The
background sirens screeched to a halt. Another small flicker of
fear crossed Macey’s steely gaze. “Keep talking.”

“
For
starters, I could arrange that your driving buddy up there takes
the fall for this entire… hmmm… ‘road rage’ affair.”

“
He’ll
talk.”

“Not something in my experience dead men do
very well.”

“Very unethical of you.”

“Hardly. Secondly, I have two men here
willing to escort you to a destination of choice.”

“And you would do that, why?”

“
Answers,
information, a confession or two.”

“
Huh, you
certainly don’t ask for much.” Macey loosened his red and grey
multi-dotted tie. “How do I know you’re not wired?”

“
I swear on
Claudia’s life that I’m not.”

“Means nothing.”

Means everything,
Reardon
thought. “You could search me, but I’m sure you already know,
today’s technology makes such devices virtually
undetectable.”

Macey stroked his bristled chin in
silence.

“
I guess
it’s either me or spending the remainder of the festive season in
lock-up,” Reardon said.

“You know this is blackmail.”

“It is? Oops.”

“Blackmailing a government minister.”

“Using the resources of your political
office to murder.”

“
It’s a
fucking shame those idiots at your house couldn’t finish you
off.”

Reardon
considered this. Of course, Macey would want Reardon dead. It’d
make access to Claudia that much easier. However, as inept as
Basteros’ men proved to be, Reardon still found
couldn’t
an
interesting choice of word. “You’ve been warned off me by
someone.”

“
You’ve
certainly got one hell of an imagination.”

“
It adds to
the myths. So what’s your decision, Senator? I’m a busy man
also.”

Macey
chuckled. “You know, we’re not very different you and
I.”

Reardon
threw the twig to the awaiting elements and sighed. “How’s
that?”

“You hide your true self beneath the shroud
of a modern day Robin Hood, I beneath the hood of a concerned
politician. In the end we are simply who we are.”

Reardon
glanced at Macey, wished he could wipe that smug grin off his smug
face. “And who’s that precisely.”

“
I don’t
need to tell you. You and I, we already know.”

Scotty stepped forward. “Saul….”

Reardon shot Scotty a short look. It was
enough to return Scotty to his original position.

“
We conduct
ourselves beneath a mask of social acceptance. It is
how we survive. We are…
special
,” Macey
concluded.

And no doubt, you believe every delusional word you just
said.
The man made Reardon’s stomach
churn. “You’re right, we are, and that’s how I know you’ll make the
right decision.”

Macey’s eyes
appear distant, contemplative. “All right,” he eventually said.
“Ask your questions. I’ll decide if I answer them or
not.”

To Reardon it was a start. “Why the
hit?”

“You seem to know everything else. You tell
me why.”

“Keep your dramatics for your voters,
Senator. And your games for those who actually get sucked in by
them.”

“
But isn’t
that what we’re doing? Playing a game?”

“
Ah, you’re
doing it again.” Reardon flicked his head to Scotty. “Your chance
from me was a one-time offer. See you on national TV.”

Scotty grabbed Macey by the elbow. “Come on
big shot, getting any answers from you is like putting sunscreen
back in its tube.”

Macey jerked
his arm and scowled. “Get your bloody dogsbodies to back off,
Reardon. And then I will talk but
only
with you.”

Reardon
liked the more legitimate fact that Macey didn’t want witnesses to
his confessions. One small gesture, and Scotty and Andy merged back
into the night.

“I answer your questions; you let me free,
back to the Sydney unit where everyone thinks I am. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“
I know
people also, Reardon. You ever repeat any of this to anyone and not
only will I haunt whatever life Claudia has left, but also make her
family’s lives not worth living. That I promise you.”

“I believe you.” And Reardon did.

Macey
slipped to the ground and took a few more deep breaths. His lips
curled callously. “I
wanted
Claudia out of the
way….
because of
you
.”

Reardon stilled.

“
I find the
whole thing ironic, don’t you?
You,
who were meant to protect
her. It would be all rather amusing if it wasn’t so very
tragic.”