27
1008 Words
“Desperate altogether.”
In the rearview mirror, Kieran glances at me, pulling the jacket off my head and around my shoulders, shivering from the cold.
He says, “Hullo, lass.”
“Hi, Kieran. I’m Riley. I have no idea what you guys are saying, but it sounds bad.”
“Tis,” he replies, nodding. “But don’t ye worry. Things’ll perk up now that yer not spendin’ all yer time with this bleedin’ melter.”
He jerks his chin again in Spider’s direction. Spider says something in Gaelic that sounds unflattering.
They share a wry grin, then we’re off, speeding away from the airport like we’re being chased by an army of demons.
We drive in silence for about ten minutes until Kieran makes a turn off the road. We’re in an industrial area not far from the airport. Huge warehouses line both sides of the street. We pass dozens of them, then slow for a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire that crosses the end of the road.
Kieran punches a code into a small black box on a metal stand beside the roadway. In a moment, the gate rolls to one side, allowing us to pass.
Directly ahead of us is a four-story square red brick building. It has no windows on the first floor. The windows on the upper floors have iron bars and dark tinting. Smoke billows from three cement stacks on the roof.
It looks creepy, like a crematorium.
“What is this place?” I ask Spider.
“A safe house.”
He offers nothing more, which I also find creepy. Shouldn’t he be reassuring me we’ll be safe in the safe house?
Or does he have doubts?
We drive around back, stopping in front of a huge roll-up metal door. Kieran enters a code into another small black box. Mounted on either side of the door near the top are cameras, their red eyes burning.
I notice a curious opening in the center of the wall above the door. It’s about three feet long and maybe six inches high. “What’s that hole in the wall for?”
Kieran says, “The machine guns. They’re remote controlled. Fifty rounds a second. Press of a button, and there’ll be a bloody grand hole in the ground where a trespasser used to be.”
When he sees my expression, he chuckles. “Did ye think we’d be tossin’ water balloons at our enemies?”
“No, I suppose not.” Then I smile. “Though it might be kind of fun to throw them afterward. Go up to the roof and see who can get the most balloons inside the bloody grand hole.”
Spider gives me a strange look.
“What?”
“Not much scares you, does it?”
Kieran snorts. “The wee lass takes after her sister, then.”
The next person who says I’m like my sister is danger of losing a testicle.
The door opens, revealing the space inside. The walls are raw brick. The floor is unpolished cement. A single bare bulb hangs from the ceiling.
The entire first floor of the building is empty.
We pull inside and stop in the middle of the space. Kieran puts the truck into Park. The metal door we entered through rolls back down, slamming against the concrete with a boom that echoes off the walls. Nothing else happens.
When I look over at Spider, he says, “Wait.”
I’m about to ask For what? when the ground moves beneath us. With a jolt, the SUV starts to sink. Within seconds, the entire vehicle has sunk below floor level. We’re surrounded on all sides by cement block walls.
We’re on a hydraulic lift, descending underground.
“Whoa,” I say, deeply impressed. “This is some Batman s**t right here.”
“The living areas are all underground,” says Spider.
“What’s on the top floors?”
Kieran chuckles. “Lots and lots of ammo.”
I exhale and press my fingertips against my closed eyelids.
In a low voice, Spider says, “You don’t have to worry. Nothing and no one can get inside this building unless they’re invited in.”
I bet that’s what he thought about the castle on Bermuda, too. “Are Declan and Sloane here?”
“No. They’re in New York. They think it’s safest if you’re not together for the moment.”
I drop my hands from my face and look at him. “Safest for me or them?”
“You, lass. Declan’s the one with the target on his back.”
Then I hope wherever they’re staying in New York is as secure as Fort Knox. From what Spider told me about Malek, Declan won’t be safe anywhere else.
Watching me think, Spider says gently, “Sloane feels awful.”
“That she didn’t believe me about a man being in the bathroom at the restaurant, you mean.”
“Aye. Declan says she’s inconsolable. Blames herself for not taking you at your word, how she spoke to you in front of the lads, everything.” He pauses. “I’m probably not supposed to tell you that.”
I mutter darkly, “Don’t worry. I won’t ever be speaking to my sister again, so I couldn’t repeat it, anyway.”
He smiles at me, shaking his head.
“What?”
“The two of you are so much alike.”
“Say that again, and I’ll make sure you’ll never be able to have children.”
Kieran snorts. “Yer just provin’ his point, lass.”
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me you’re as much of a pain in the ass as he is.”
Spider pretends to be hurt. “Oy! I’m sitting right here!”
“Calm down. I called you that already. To your face.”
“Aye, but you were joking before.”
I say acidly, “Was I?”
Trying not to laugh, Spider pulls his lips between his teeth.
- Writer
