Susan drove through the quiet after midnight streets in a strange
car. The car belonged to detective Angela Hoffman, who sat next to her
and kept her covered with a .38 police special. They drove to her sister
Cindy's apartment, the first leg of their journey to get the infamous CD.
As she drove, a recent memory intruded unbidden into Susan's mind.
"What makes you think I still have the disk?" Susan told Angela at
the French couple's hotel room as she felt Angela's gun dig into the side of
her head. "It's brought me nothing but trouble."
"If you don't have it," Angela asked, her eyes as ever inscrutable,
"where is it?"
"I pitched it into the river. I watched it sink and I said 'Good
riddance'."
Angela grabbed Susan's hair and jerked her head back, jamming the gun deeper.
"You're not nearly as slick a liar as you think you are!" snapped
Angela. "Now you've got to the count of five to tell me or I splatter
your brains all over the side of this room and pin it on the French
bitch! One...two...FIVE!"
"All right, all right!" Susan said, silently cursing herself for her
weakness. "I'll take you to it. We're going to have to go to
my sister's place."
"Is it there?"
"No," Susan replied, gaining control of herself, "but something
we need to get to it is."
"Still playing it cagey, huh? Fine, I'll play. But don't try
to job me or I'll take you out."
Susan glanced at Angela at a stoplight. She knew Angela meant it then and
she meant it now.
As she walked into the police station, Shondra felt like an outsider. She
had retrieved her fake FBI ID and flashed it to get through the metal detector,
then again to get back to the detectives' area. The deception was
necessary, but it still divorced her from people who should be on her side.
The moment she learned Armand had been arrested, Shondra headed for the
station. She made contact with the detectives questioning him a little
past eleven. They'd asked her to wait.
It was now after two a.m. and she was done waiting. She placed a call and
five minutes later the detectives were standing before her.
"He's all yours," one detective said with obvious distaste.
"Good luck. His lawyer's in there and he's been in no mood to
talk. If you do get anything out of him," he glared, "we'd
appreciate it if you'd share."
"Since you've been so cooperative," Shondra jabbed back,
"sure."
She entered, recognizing Armand, but not the forty-ish man next to him.
He was tall, with glasses and thinning brown hair, a serious, humorless
expression and a suit he looked uncomfortable in. Neither man recognized
her. She extended her hand to the lawyer. He took it warily.
"Agent Lucas, FBI," Shondra said. "I've a few
questions."
"Which my client doesn't...ow!" the lawyer said, pulling his hand
back in pain.
"Sorry, my ring's got a bent piece on it," Shondra smiled
apologetically. "I keep meaning to fix it."
The attorney sank into his seat and promptly fell unconscious. Armand
stared suspiciously at Shondra.
"That's right, I'm not FBI," Shondra murmured in a low voice,
"and I don't have to follow the Miranda rules. Now I want to know
where Susan Hitchcock is and you're going to tell me if you want to leave this
room alive."
Armand stared at her, sizing up her potential menace.
"I am ever a reasonable man," Armand replied with dignity.
"Marie and I are holding her at our hotel room."
"How is she?"
"Bound and bruised, but alive."
"What room?"
He told her and Shondra bolted from the room, pushing past the detectives in
the hall. She sped to the hotel room and tried the door. It was
open and she entered cautiously, gun drawn.
The room was empty. Shondra went from room to room, searching
cautiously. In the bathroom she found the two chairs, some discarded rope
and saliva-soaked cloth and concluded Susan and one other captive had been
there and escaped. So where would so go?
"Her sister's," whispered Shondra and bolted from the room.
"Cindy!" gasped Susan as she opened the apartment door and found her
sister bound and gagged on the living room floor. "You're
alive!"
She started to run to her sister, but Angela jerked her back.
"Leave her," Angela commanded. "Just get what we came to
get."
"Mmmmm," whimpered Cindy. Susan turned to argue.
"Leave her!" snapped Angela. "Or do you want me to put a
bullet in her?"
After a pregnant pause, Susan turned and headed for the kitchen. She shot
Cindy an apologetic glance and Cindy returned it with one of miserable
understanding. In the kitchen, Susan took out a jar of screws, nuts and
assorted other odds and ends that Cindy always kept because "she never
knew when she'd need them" and poured the contents out onto the
counter. Picking through the screws, Susan plucked a locker key from the
contents. Angela nodded.
"Very good," Angela said. "If I didn't know what I was
looking for, I'd have never found it. Now let's go find the locker it
fits."
"We're going to have to wait," Susan replied.
"Why?" Angela asked, pointing the gun at her.
"Because the place doesn't open until ten."
"Towne Square Mall?" Angela smiled, taking the key. "Now I
don't need you."
"Unless the locker just holds the next step in the journey and not the
disk," Susan offered desperately. Angela's eyes narrowed.
"All right, we wait until ten."
"So now can I untie my sister?"
"Why? I'd just have to tie her up again when we leave."
Susan sighed in frustration. "Can I at least take her gag off?"
"Yeah, go ahead. Just don't talk too much."
Susan went out into the living room and sat down next to her sister.
Cradling Cindy's head in her lap, Susan peeled the strapping tape from her
sister's mouth. She continued to cradle Cindy, rubbing her arms to boost
the circulation.
"Sorry I can't untie you, kiddo," Susan said. "She won't
let me. You been tied up long?"
"It seems like ages," whimpered Cindy. "First that Chinese
spy tied me up and then that man broke in and wouldn't let me go!"
"What man?"
"An older guy, with graying temples. He was real cute, but..."
"Sounds like Pleusse. Obviously he didn't find the key,"
commented Angela. "And the Chinese spy was the one who kidnapped
you?"
"Yes. Suzie, is this all about that disk?"
"Uh huh," Susan answered.
"Are you going to give it to her?"
"Doesn't look like I have a choice."
"Good! The sooner you give that disk away, the sooner our lives will
be normal again!"
Susan hugged her sister tight, wishing she could make all of this just go
away. Finally she regained control of her emotions.
"Are you thirsty?" Susan asked.
"Yes, and I haven't had anything to eat since noon."
Susan began to work on Cindy's wrists.
"What are you doing?" Angela asked.
"I'm undoing the hog-tie," snapped Susan. "She doesn't
have to suffer like this!"
Angela followed Susan into the kitchen and watched the woman fix a quick
sandwich and a glass of water. She trailed Susan back into the living
room and leaned against the doorway while Susan knelt down, propped up Cindy
against the sofa, and cared for the woman. After they were finished,
Angela nudged herself forward.
"OK, family reunion's over," she said, grasping Susan and jerking her
to her feet. "We might as well catch a few hours of sleep."
Shoving Susan into the bedroom, Angela shoved the woman down onto the bed and
pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
"What are those for?" Susan asked.
"These will let me sleep well tonight," Angela responded. She
popped one cuff around Susan's left wrist, then attached the other cuff to the
headboard of the bed. "I could do you up like your sister, but it's
too much work."
Angela ambled out into the living room. Cindy watched her, ready to
cringe, but the detective only turned out the light and reclined across the
sofa.
She didn't know what time it was, but a noise brought Angela quickly back to
consciousness. She glanced at Cindy, but the woman was sleeping on her
side next to the sofa. Her eyes darted to the knob of the front
door. It was turning. Her right hand closed around her .38 while
her left came down and clamped over Cindy's mouth, startling the woman
awake. The figure of a woman was briefly silhouetted in the doorframe,
backlit by the light in the hall. As the door closed, Angela sat up and
pointed her gun at the figure.
"Don't move except to do what I tell you," hissed Angela.
Cindy stared wide-eyed over the hand holding her mouth closed. She heard
a sigh escape from the dark figure.
"On the floor on your stomach," Angela demanded, "slowly!"
The figure reluctantly obeyed.
"I don't suppose you're just a burglar, are you?" the figure
asked. Cindy recognized the voice as Shondra.
Angela scooped up the roll of strapping tape and crossed over to straddle
Shondra. She dug the pistol into the base of Shondra's skull.
"Hands behind your back, funny girl!" snapped Angela.
"Lace your fingers!"
Shondra complied and felt the gun disappear. It was followed by the
sticky embrace of the strapping tape winding around her wrists, binding them palm
to palm. She turned around and taped Shondra's ankles together, then got
up long enough to roll the black woman over onto her back.
"So who are you and why are you here?" Angela asked.
"I'm a family friend," Shondra sneered. "Just thought I'd
drop by."
"Don't screw around with me!" growled Angela.
"She's a spy," whined Cindy, fearful that Shondra would be
killed. "I think she's with the CIA."
"And you're after the disk, huh?" grinned Angela. She pulled
off a strip of the strapping tape and jammed it over Shondra's mouth.
"Looks like you're a day late and a dollar short, hon."
She dragged Shondra into the kitchen, then returned and dived back onto the
sofa to catch up on her rest. In the bedroom, the exhausted Susan slept
through the entire incident.
And outside the building, Xia Min sat in a car and kept the apartment under a
watchful eye.
"Get up!" said someone and a hand shook Susan roughly.
Susan peered around and focused on Angela unlocking the handcuff from the
bedpost. She scowled. It still wasn't over. Angela pulled her
out of bed and shoved her into the living room.
"No breakfast?" Susan inquired, not expecting any.
"You can eat after I get my disk," grumbled Angela.
"I see you slept well."
"Go on!" and she shoved Susan again.
Cindy was asleep on the floor. Holding onto the sleeve of the knit top
Susan hadn't changed since yesterday, Angela peeked into the kitchen.
Shondra peered back, still apparently bound and gagged and laying on the floor
by the sink. Angela smiled and pushed Susan to the door.
The moment she heard the door click, Shondra pulled her hands from behind her
back, along with the steak knife she'd used to cut the tape on her
wrists. She peeled the tape off her mouth, then cut the tape on her
ankles. She raced out into the living room, headed for the door.
"Please don't leave me tied up!" wailed Cindy. Shondra
hesitated.
"I've got your back," Shondra said wistfully and knelt down next to
Cindy. A few cuts with the steak knife severed the ropes. She then
grasped Cindy by the shoulders. "Do you know where they're
going?"
"Towne Square Mall," Cindy said, rubbing her wrists.
"Good girl. Call the cops and tell them there's a woman with a gun
at the mall. If they ask who you are, hang up."
Shondra spotted her gun on a table by the sofa. She grabbed it and ran
out the door.
Angela and Susan walked into the mall a little after the ten a.m.
opening. They were observed by Xia Min, who had followed them from
Cindy's place. She watched them from a discreet distance, not too close
to be spotted, but close enough to intercept them if they produced the
disk. The two under surveillance crossed the mall at a casual pace,
headed for the lockers in the middle of the mall.
"So is all of this worth it?" asked Susan cautiously.
"You wouldn't ask that if you knew what some people were willing to pay
for that CD," smiled Angela, keeping Susan covered with her gun concealed
under a folded newspaper.
"Is it a lot?"
"Let's just say I can retire comfortably on it," Angela continued to
grin. "In fact, the entire homicide division could retire
comfortably on it."
They arrived at the locker.
"Open it," Angela directed.
Xia stood by a bench in the food court, watching them intently. Her
concentration on her quarry was so intense that she didn't notice anyone around
her.
"Sit down slowly," Shondra whispered, her gun buried in the small of
Xia's back.
Xia tensed, her anger over this happening when she was so close to her goal
welling. But she complied. Shondra slipped a handcuff over Xia's
right wrist, then locked her to the bench. Shondra frisked her quickly,
found a .22 automatic and confiscated it, then headed off toward the lockers.
Susan opened the locker, the CD player sitting inside. Angela nudged
her. Susan reached into the locker and opened the CD player. She
carefully removed the CD, holding it between her thumb and forefinger.
Angela's eyes lit up, unable to mask her anticipation. She reached
hungrily for it.
Then, before everyone in the mall, Susan grasped the CD with both hands and
snapped it into three pieces. Angela looked on, horrified, as Susan
shuffled the two biggest pieces to break them again. She lunged, but
Susan snapped them into smaller pieces. The CD fragments fell to the
floor and clattered softly on the tile.
"You bitch!" fumed Angela. "I threw away my whole career
for that CD!" The paper flew away and she raised the gun to
shoot. Patrons of the mall gasped and scattered. "I ought
to..."
"Just hand the gun over," Shondra said, her gun digging behind
Angela's ear.
Angela grimaced, wanting so badly so shoot someone, anyone. But she
handed the gun over her shoulder to Shondra. Two police officers ran up,
their guns drawn on the pair.
"Drop your weapon!" the police yelled.
"FBI!" Shondra yelled back. She carefully reached into her
jacket and pulled out her fake FBI credentials. The cops backed
down. "Cuff her! The charge is kidnapping and extortion!"
Susan hung back from the clamor, hoping it all was finally over. She
glanced over at Shondra, expecting to see disappointment in her eyes over the
destruction of the CD. Instead she saw relief that mirrored her own.
"Is it over?" squealed Cindy. She hugged Susan the moment she
and Shondra walked in the door.
"It's over," Shondra smiled.
"Good!" Cindy proclaimed and hugged her sister again, then scampered
off to get them all food. Susan and Shondra flopped on the sofa.
"That was a gutsy thing you did, Susan," Shondra said.
"You're lucky I had your back."
"I just couldn't let anyone get hold of that disk," shrugged
Susan. "So is it over?"
"Why not? The cops have Hoffman and the French couple. They'll
go up so long as you and Cindy testify. My people took charge of Xia
Min. We'll keep her neutralized."
"And what are you going to tell your people about what I know?" Susan
asked pointedly. Shondra focused straight ahead, avoiding her gaze.
"I'm going to lie my ass off, tell them you don't know what was on the
disk and hope to Hell they believe me," Shondra replied. "It's
not that important now who knows about it, with the disk destroyed and
Dressendorfer dead." She turned and looked straight in Susan's
eye. "But you have to do your part. You can't tell anybody
about what was on that disk. If you do, you could be dead by morning, and
I'm not fooling."
"I won't," Susan said, breathing deeply to steady herself.
"Then I'm going to cut out. I've got other cases that need
me." Shondra paused at the door. "You handled yourself
pretty good for a civilian. I was impressed. But I don't think
you're cut out for this kind of work, so try to stay out of trouble."
"I'll try," Susan grinned. "Shondra, thank you. And
don't take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again."
"Same here," Shondra smiled wistfully. With that, she was gone.
Susan sat across the table from Cindy trying to enjoy her meal. She hated
lying to Shondra and Cindy, but what else could she do?
For Susan believed in the inherent goodness of knowledge; there was no such
thing as bad knowledge, just people who did bad things with it. And in
the end she just couldn't bring herself to destroy a breakthrough of this
magnitude. The disk she'd broken was the original. It's just that
no one knew she'd made a copy and hidden it, too.
So now everybody thought the disk was gone and she could go back to her life as
an ER nurse and wait. She would guard the copy and the secret it
contained until she was confident society could handle it. And if the
time came, she'd pass it on to another guardian if she had to.
In the end, it was the only thing she could do.
END