Presidential Cleaning: A Psychological Suspense Novel (6 page)

I nodded, just enough for him to know that I was fully engaged in his story.  He continued, ‘She didn’t come home that night and I couldn’t bring myself to believe that she would just up and leave like that. I mean, where would she go? We were living together. She gave up her apartment. There was no place for her to go. So, I hacked the security cam footage checked the one for the parking lot and that’s when I saw that she was taken. These bastards took her car too, though, but they made a mistake. The car they drove there was parked close enough for me to get a partial license plate number. Ran it through the system and found that it belonged to some dude named Sami Locke.’

‘Damn. That’s one of the guys I shot.’

‘Did you kill him?’

‘I should have fucking killed that bastard when I had the chance, but no. I didn’t.’

‘I’m happy you didn’t. At least now I get to take care of him myself. Well, I figure out where these guys were, cuz I’d put a GPS tracker on Sami Locke’s car and set up across the building to take them out one by one. But somehow, they figured it out and grabbed me while I was getting ready to swat them like flies. They took me to this room and tortured the crap out of me, asking about Derrick. I was in that room for about three days, and one day some other guy brought me food and I took him out, stole his gun and ran through the entire building killing everything in my way. That’s when I saw Harry, though I didn’t know his name until I saw the paperwork you brought.’

‘Slimy bastard he is.’

‘He shot her.’

‘Fuck,’ I felt his pain as though it were my own. Images of Lila shot through my mind and my body shivered at the thought that she could end the same way Jones’ girl did, if we didn’t get things right.

‘Yup. I had my gun pointed directly at this bastard’s head. He had his arms wrapped around her body. Her face was swollen. Her lips red with blood. And when she looked at me, I lost my focus. My hands fucking started to tremble and I couldn’t get them to stop. Then he looked at me and I guess made up his mind that he didn’t give a crap and blew one right through her head. I ran. Like a fucking pussy. I just ran. I should have turned back and took him out. But I left. I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t face it. So I ran.’

‘I’m sorry Jones,’ I said, trying hard to keep my eyes in front of me and not make eye contact. I didn’t know how to deal with one of our soldiers- one of the toughest guys I knew, weeping like a young child.

‘I’m gonna get him. I’m gonna get him so
fucking
good,’ he banged his fists against the steering wheel, the movement causing his tears to splash in all directions.

Chapter 8

Judgement day

The day finally came. The day that would decide whether we’d be able to soar a flag of victory through the sky, or whether we’d need to bury our heads in the sand. I’d prayed that morning. Not just to the Christian God, but to all the ones I could think of. Did I think that this would work? No. Though neither God nor luck were things I believed in, I knew I could use having every aspect of the universe on my side. I’d dropped to my knees, clasped my hands tightly and raised my head to the bright light positioned in the middle of the bathroom ceiling.

‘God, Allah, Buddha and Brahma. Ah Puch, Anshar, Selassie and all those that I don’t remember or know, please guide us through this adventure we’re about to take on. I know that I don’t pray. I know that I don’t know how to pray. But if you’re there, like many people think you are, then you’ll understand that
this
matters. Please ignore the fact that some men may lose their lives; that guns are involved and that treacherous actions are about to take place. They have to. And because you’re meant to be understanding, you’ll understand. Right?’

Of course, I knew I sounded like a complete nut job. But if I had to pray to a box of milk to bring my wife back, I would.

Instead of one of the Gods answering my question, Adam’s voice sounded from the outside. ‘You okay in there?’

‘Yeah. I’ll be out in a minute,’ I replied, knowing that he must have heard me rambling on to myself.

‘Great. Jones and Iron are heading out now and I’d say we need to step on it. Can’t afford for any hiccups to hold us back.’

I swung the door open, causing Adam to stumble a bit. The side of his face had been pressed against the door.

‘Sorry.’

‘No worries. You ready?’

‘Yup.’

Adam settled his gaze on my face for a moment. ‘We’re good at what we do Joe. We’ve got this,’ he assured me.

‘Yeah. It’s just hard not to worry. If we fail…’

He shook his head and took hold of my shoulder. ‘We won’t fail. In all the years that we’ve known each other, none of us have had to tuck our tail between our legs and watch victory slip away. We’re the best there is. And just because the president’s team trained the guys we’re about to take out, doesn’t mean that they’re better. We’ve been doing this for longer. We’re going to win. We’re going to get Derrrick Shaw. Okay?’

My mind wandered back to Jones and the great failure he’d told none of the others about; the failure very similar to the one I could have to deal with. ‘You’re right.’ I agreed, trying hard not to speak misfortune into existence.

‘Okay,’ he said, slapping his hand across my back. ‘Let’s go teach some bad guys a lesson.’

Together, Adam and I made our way to the metal door that opened up to reveal stairs and the bottom end of a manhole cover. A click of the button and the cover slid to the side, revealing bright sunlight and allowing a round of the cool fresh air to tickle my nose. In the direction of Adam’s car we headed, looking like a pair of hikers who knew the area like the back of their hands.

‘You seem like you spend quite a bit of time down there,’ I interrupted the silence that lingered between us.

‘Wouldn’t you? That place is great. No neighbors to complain about noise. No wandering eyes to judge what goes on. If I could, I’d freaking live down there.’

‘Do you ever bring girls down there?’ A valid question, I thought.

Adam brushed a few dead leave off his shoe, ‘I have before but it’s not something that I make a habit out of. Most girls won’t go for that kind of thing anyways.’

‘Tell me about it. Would seem like you’re some kind of creeper, bringing them into the deep woods.’

‘Funny story. This girl that I brought down there years ago had a panic attack when she woke up in the morning. I’d blindfolded the crap out of her and so she had no idea where I was taking her. She liked it at first, said it made her feel more adventurous. But you know how it is. In the morning, they don’t want you to know what they really look like, once the makeup rubs off on the pillow case. So they try to sneak out before you wake up, except she had no idea where to go. I walk up on her trying to bargain with the dogs and she’s like, ‘if you’re going to kill me, at least make it quick.’

‘That’s a good one.’ I forced a laugh. On any other day, I might have found his story
stomach crampingly
funny. But today, even with the distractions I was trying to pull through conversation, my mind just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. Harry hadn’t called yet and if he didn’t, I’d just be sitting around with a wanted man in my car, not being able to give him to his rightful owner. I wouldn’t be able to get Lila back. Just when I was about to really start panicking, my phone started to
beep
. I retrieved it from my pocket to see what I should have known. In Adam’s bunker my phone had no reception and so, the three calls from a private number which could only be from Harry that now popped up on my phone weren’t able to come through.

‘Shit,’ I exclaimed.

‘What?’ Adam turned around rapidly, his hand positioned on the gun that now peeked out of the waist of his pants.

‘He called.’

‘Well call him back. We need to get the location figured out but whatever you do, make sure he comes to you.’

‘He’ll call back,’ I crossed my fingers. ‘I haven’t got his number. But as far as the location is concerned, I’ll see what I can do.’

‘No,’ Adam demanded, ‘this whole shit will go up in flames if we’re on his turf. Have him meet us where we discussed, in the woods behind the hardware store.’

‘And if he says no.’

‘If he says
no
, you make him say
yes
. He’s got leverage, but so do you. Remember that.’

‘He’s a tough cookie to crack.’

‘Well. We’re made of Kevlar. If you can’t handle it, just pass the phone over to me and I’ll show that bastard who’s in charge.’

‘I can handle it fine,’ I intentionally curled the corners of my mouth, mimicking a smile. Could I handle talking to Harry? Absolutely. However, I knew that he was a different kind of crazy and that meant I needed to tread lightly. He’d done this before and there was no way of knowing that he wouldn’t do it again- just blow Lila to bits and start over from scratch. Guys like Harry were impulsive- typically acting first and thinking later. The fact that he didn’t know that the president had other plans for his brother meant that he wasn’t aware that an expiration date was carefully pinned to his plans.

We walked for a couple more minutes. Just as the car was in clear sight, my phone began to tone.

‘Joe,’ I answered, stating my name.

‘How nice that you picked up this time,’ came Harry’s rustic and sadistic voice. ‘I was starting to get worried. I must have called you a million times and I was thinking that maybe it was time that I gave you a little push. You know, in the form of, let’s say, Lila crying a little more than usual. I bet you’d kill for a voicemail like that.’

‘Yeah, well. I picked up now. Didn’t I?’

‘And that’s why you’ve saved her a tooth or two.’

I hated how much he enjoyed this and if nothing else, being reminded of just how disgusting this beast was, made me want to win- to carry out this plan so impeccably that he’d feel the urge to applaud me for his suffering.

Adam moved closer to me and pressed his ear against the phone to tune into the conversation. ‘I’ll have your guy to you today.’

Harry cackled like a hyena high on antelope. ‘That’s what I like to hear. That’s just what I like to hear. You know, I had so many people telling me that I couldn’t count on you. But there’s something about you Mr. Chandler. I just had that feeling that you were the right one for the job. Just don’t fuck it up because I
really, really
, don’t like being wrong. No, what I meant to say was, people
really, really
don’t like when I’m wrong. So, unless you’re willing to handle the repercussions, you better be bringing your best.’

I ignored his little rant and went on to give him the address. ‘That’s right behind the hardware store?’

I crossed my fingers, in hopes that he wouldn’t object to the location. Things seemed to be falling into place all too well.

‘Yes. As I said. Right behind the hardware store. You’ll have to drive through a whole bunch of shrubs and crap and then you’ll be there.’

‘Guess it wouldn’t be the best time to take the Ferrari out then. Would it?’

‘I personally, don’t give a fuck what kind of vehicle you feel like taking. Send me a text, so that I’ve got your number and once all is said and done, I’ll let you know it’s time to meet.’

As usual, I hung up once I’d said all I needed to say. Before putting my phone in my pocket, I pressed my fingers against the
off
button and listened as it shut down. The last thing I needed was to have my ring tone blow my hiding spot.

‘He sounds like a clown,’ Adam said before retrieving his car keys from his coat.

‘That would be putting it nicely. The man’s a fucking nut. Makes you wonder how it’s the biggest idiots who get away with shit like this.’

‘Because they’ve got nothing to lose. I wouldn’t say they’re much different from us or at least, much different from how you were before Lila.’

‘But we had a purpose.’

‘Not always good ones.’

‘Sure, but we didn’t have the most important man in the world as our enemy.’

‘We’re about to,’ he shot back faster than expected.

‘But not for long. If part two of our plan goes accordingly, then we’ll be fine. We’ll be just fine.’

‘But the president’s got a temper and you have to remember that he’s got all his important buddies in town for this event and now, one of their prized possessions is about to be stripped away.’

‘Shall we get in,’ I said to Adam who was still fiddling with his car keys. I wanted to stay positive. I needed to know that everything I had planned would work and though I knew that Adam didn’t mean to put a damper on my expectations, his words were starting to make me feel like I’d failed even before I tried.

‘Yeah, of course,’ he replied, finally clicking the open button on his transponder key.

I took a deep breath before steadily placing one foot and then the other into Adam’s freshly scoured car that wreaked of leather cleaner.

Off we went, into the center of what could very easily turn into a disaster. My heart pounded frantically as I anticipated what was to come.

Chapter 9

I couldn’t decide if the tingling in my leg was a result of my anxious nerves or if some insect had claimed it as his temple. On my stomach, I laid, the prickling of the grass kept away by my thick camouflage jacket. I’d been in that position for over an hour- gripping onto the rope as though my life depended on it. I needed to be ready to react. There was no room for error, no time that could be wasted. With each second that went by, I hoped more and more that the vehicle would arrive- the vehicle that would change things, hopefully for the better. The more I waited, the more I worried that something would go wrong; the more I contemplated the possibility that they’d taken another route. My ears were ready to hear the purring of an engine. My nose was ready to sniff the fumes from the exhaust. My hands were ready to pull. Another fifteen minutes went by with the only thing heard being the whistling of the wind and the shuffling of the trees. Laying and waiting was something I hadn’t done in a while; something that no longer felt natural.