Chapter 48/49
Chapters Forty-Eight & Forty-Nine
Mon/October/2008 07:00 AM
Chapter
48
They made it through the rest of the building without incident. At least, without Ransom setting any more explosives off in his own face. Since Nick had banged his leg up on the stairs, and since a blinded Brick was something less than agile and quick, the trip through the medical facilities could be looked at as one long incident. But, they had made it. In the main tower they found a functioning elevator and they took it. They were in the elevator now, rising swiftly up to the roof, perhaps a bit too swiftly for Nick’s comfort. The doors would open at any moment, and more likely than not, they’d be dead center in the middle of the action.
“Don’t shit yourself, kid.”
Nick looked at him. “Don’t blind yerself, pops.”
Brick smirked. “Getting fresh. I like that.”
There was silence.
“I didn’t mean that in a, you know, sexual way,” Ransom added.
“Jesus,” Nick muttered. “I know.”
The floors dinged by.
“You been to this landing pad before? Do you know the layout?”
“Nope,” Nick replied.
“Great. Well, I guess just get your gun ready, and we’ll make it up as we go along.”
“Same plan as usual then.” Nick said.
“Yep. Oh, and kid, this could get a little crazy. Try not to go apeshit with that gun of yours.”
Nick took a deep breath.
Bing.
Nick and Ransom lifted their weapons as if on cue.
Nick watched the joint between the two metal doors. Light glowed dully on the scratched, brushed-metal surface. Then the doors pulled open with a wheeze. Sunlight streamed inside and the roar of a helicopter engine engulfed them.
Ransom blinked his bleary eyes.
“Shit, it’s bright out here!”
“That mean you can see?”
“Hardly.”
Nick took a cautious step out of the elevator, which opened onto a covered metal platform. A series of metal stairs climbed up from the platform to a catwalk above, which then crossed over to a raise platform. From the sound of the helicopter rotors above, and the gusts of air roaring over the edge and down over them, it appeared they’d come to the right location.
“Can you at least make it up some stairs?” Nick shouted in Ransom’s ear.
Ransom nodded.
Nick grabbed the man’s shoulder, leading him towards the metal railing. He stepped in front, taking the lead. Ransom put his hand on the metal bar feeling his way onward. Nick took the first steps up the stairs, glancing back at Ransom as he slowly followed behind.
Nick held his gun at the ready, hoping to God he’d flipped off the safety. At the top of the stairs, he got a clear, but somewhat protected view of the helicopter as it sat on the platform. The side door was open, and he could just make out the figures of two people inside, along with two other men still standing on the landing pad. They were loading something into the main cabin. Metal containers of some kind. There were dozens of them.
“Can you see em?” Ransom asked.
“Yeah, they’re loading something.”
“Metal canisters?”
“Yeah, how’d you-”
“Shit,” Ransom muttered. “Who all is there?”
“Two gunmen, a pilot, and a guy in a torn up suit.”
“Don’t hit the guy in the suit, whatever you do!”
“And what are we doing?”
“No idea, kid. They look like they’re taking off?”
They’re fixing to,” Nick said matter of factly.
No sooner did Ransom speak, than all hell broke loose on the platform.
Chapter 49
Jeff was totally thrown by the sudden appearance of this stranger as he worked in the cabin to secure the canisters. He’d planned for a much different scenario, one in which he knew the character and motives of his accomplice, his right hand man (in the air at least), Mike. Now there was this new guy in the pilot’s uniform, clearly a fed, who gave him a weak nod, which briefly comforted Jeff, until he realized that any misguided heroics would get them all killed. Now all he wanted was for things to return to him and the badguys, with no collaborators of unknown moral grounds and connections in his midst.
Maybe this guy worked with Tim and Simon, but most likely he didn’t. From the subtle flash in the man’s eye, and his way of observing Jeff’s captors, Jeff guessed the guy was FBI. From what he’d seen and heard in this past, he figured the presence of this stranger in his midst gave him at best a 50/50 chance of survival. Maybe that was the best he could hope for under these conditions.
He’d been put in the cabin first thing, and now he sat in a chair, calmly observing the situation.
Tim’s man and the pilot were quietly loading the last of the canisters , which, along with their Styrofoam padding, were fitting perfectly in the walkway between the back seats. Jeff stole a peek at them as Tim conferred with the pilot.
Next thing he knew, they were preparing for takeoff.
That’s when everything changed.
The pilot closed the main cabin door, then walked around the side of the aircraft. He had just opened the door to climb inside, when Tim lifted his handgun and fired two shots into the man’s chest. The pilit was thrown backward, pulsating in the air, once to the left and once to the right. The man stumbled backwards, tripping over the landing skid and landing on his back with a thud.
Tim climbed into the copter and locked the cabin door behind him.
“Friend of yours?” Tim asked.
Jeff shook his head. “Never seen him before in my life.”
Never the less, lets play it safe,” Tim responded, before reaching over and fastening Jeff’s wrist to his seat arm with a thin pair of handcuffs.
They made it through the rest of the building without incident. At least, without Ransom setting any more explosives off in his own face. Since Nick had banged his leg up on the stairs, and since a blinded Brick was something less than agile and quick, the trip through the medical facilities could be looked at as one long incident. But, they had made it. In the main tower they found a functioning elevator and they took it. They were in the elevator now, rising swiftly up to the roof, perhaps a bit too swiftly for Nick’s comfort. The doors would open at any moment, and more likely than not, they’d be dead center in the middle of the action.
“Don’t shit yourself, kid.”
Nick looked at him. “Don’t blind yerself, pops.”
Brick smirked. “Getting fresh. I like that.”
There was silence.
“I didn’t mean that in a, you know, sexual way,” Ransom added.
“Jesus,” Nick muttered. “I know.”
The floors dinged by.
“You been to this landing pad before? Do you know the layout?”
“Nope,” Nick replied.
“Great. Well, I guess just get your gun ready, and we’ll make it up as we go along.”
“Same plan as usual then.” Nick said.
“Yep. Oh, and kid, this could get a little crazy. Try not to go apeshit with that gun of yours.”
Nick took a deep breath.
Bing.
Nick and Ransom lifted their weapons as if on cue.
Nick watched the joint between the two metal doors. Light glowed dully on the scratched, brushed-metal surface. Then the doors pulled open with a wheeze. Sunlight streamed inside and the roar of a helicopter engine engulfed them.
Ransom blinked his bleary eyes.
“Shit, it’s bright out here!”
“That mean you can see?”
“Hardly.”
Nick took a cautious step out of the elevator, which opened onto a covered metal platform. A series of metal stairs climbed up from the platform to a catwalk above, which then crossed over to a raise platform. From the sound of the helicopter rotors above, and the gusts of air roaring over the edge and down over them, it appeared they’d come to the right location.
“Can you at least make it up some stairs?” Nick shouted in Ransom’s ear.
Ransom nodded.
Nick grabbed the man’s shoulder, leading him towards the metal railing. He stepped in front, taking the lead. Ransom put his hand on the metal bar feeling his way onward. Nick took the first steps up the stairs, glancing back at Ransom as he slowly followed behind.
Nick held his gun at the ready, hoping to God he’d flipped off the safety. At the top of the stairs, he got a clear, but somewhat protected view of the helicopter as it sat on the platform. The side door was open, and he could just make out the figures of two people inside, along with two other men still standing on the landing pad. They were loading something into the main cabin. Metal containers of some kind. There were dozens of them.
“Can you see em?” Ransom asked.
“Yeah, they’re loading something.”
“Metal canisters?”
“Yeah, how’d you-”
“Shit,” Ransom muttered. “Who all is there?”
“Two gunmen, a pilot, and a guy in a torn up suit.”
“Don’t hit the guy in the suit, whatever you do!”
“And what are we doing?”
“No idea, kid. They look like they’re taking off?”
They’re fixing to,” Nick said matter of factly.
No sooner did Ransom speak, than all hell broke loose on the platform.
Chapter 49
Jeff was totally thrown by the sudden appearance of this stranger as he worked in the cabin to secure the canisters. He’d planned for a much different scenario, one in which he knew the character and motives of his accomplice, his right hand man (in the air at least), Mike. Now there was this new guy in the pilot’s uniform, clearly a fed, who gave him a weak nod, which briefly comforted Jeff, until he realized that any misguided heroics would get them all killed. Now all he wanted was for things to return to him and the badguys, with no collaborators of unknown moral grounds and connections in his midst.
Maybe this guy worked with Tim and Simon, but most likely he didn’t. From the subtle flash in the man’s eye, and his way of observing Jeff’s captors, Jeff guessed the guy was FBI. From what he’d seen and heard in this past, he figured the presence of this stranger in his midst gave him at best a 50/50 chance of survival. Maybe that was the best he could hope for under these conditions.
He’d been put in the cabin first thing, and now he sat in a chair, calmly observing the situation.
Tim’s man and the pilot were quietly loading the last of the canisters , which, along with their Styrofoam padding, were fitting perfectly in the walkway between the back seats. Jeff stole a peek at them as Tim conferred with the pilot.
Next thing he knew, they were preparing for takeoff.
That’s when everything changed.
The pilot closed the main cabin door, then walked around the side of the aircraft. He had just opened the door to climb inside, when Tim lifted his handgun and fired two shots into the man’s chest. The pilit was thrown backward, pulsating in the air, once to the left and once to the right. The man stumbled backwards, tripping over the landing skid and landing on his back with a thud.
Tim climbed into the copter and locked the cabin door behind him.
“Friend of yours?” Tim asked.
Jeff shook his head. “Never seen him before in my life.”
Never the less, lets play it safe,” Tim responded, before reaching over and fastening Jeff’s wrist to his seat arm with a thin pair of handcuffs.