Part 13 (1/2)
Two other men added they would take care of the other two.
”Make your shots count,” Dix said. ”Clean shots between the eyes. No point in making them suffer.”
”How about we use their own guns,” Mr. Whelan said, extending the charade.
”Good idea,” Dix said, taking from his belt the gun he had taken from the man in the street.
”Give me a second, Dix,” Bev said, moving toward the sidewalk at the mouth of the dark alley. ”I don't want to get blood on my shoes like the last time.”
”Wait!” the man Dix had first caught shouted, his voice echoing in the narrow, dark alleyway, the panic clear. ”You can't just go an' kill us.”
”And why not?” Dix asked. ”Wasn't that what you had intended for us?”
”No,” the guy said, his head shaking as if someone was yanking it with a rope. ”We was supposed ta just follow ya.”
”And who gave you that order?” Dix asked.
”Benny da Banger,” the guy said, glancing at the man beside him against the wall, who seemed just fine with giving up information in exchange for not being killed.
”Well, isn't that a surprise,” Dix said. ”We were just on our way to visit him.”
The guy said nothing.
”Well,” Dix said, ”the way I figure it, we take out you four here, we have less to deal with when we get to your boss.”
”He don't want a fight with ya,” the man said.
”Then why did he want you to follow us?” Dix asked, waving the man's gun in his face.
The guy was breathing so hard, he was almost panting. He glanced at the other men beside him. All seemed to be staring ahead in the darkness, looking at the guns aimed at them. None of them were going to give him any help, that much was clear.
”He just wanted to make sure of somethin',” the guy said.
”And just what would that something be?” Dix asked.
Again the guy hesitated, then blurted out the answer. ”That you wasn't da one who took out Stan Hand and Redblock's gangs. Benny figured since you and da cop took down da Undertaker and Ghost Johnson, you might be gunnin' for him next.”
”And what if I was gunning for Benny?” Dix asked. ”What were your orders then?”
The guy swallowed so hard, the gulp echoed off the brick walls.
”You were supposed to stop us, right?” Dix asked.
The guy said nothing.
”So why shouldn't we just stop you here and now?” Dix asked, his voice as low and as mean as he could make it. ”Seems only fair to me.” He raised his gun.
”Yeah, me too,” Whelan said, following Dix's example.
”Wait!” the guy shouted, holding up his hands and waving them. ”I told ya everythin'!”
”Really?” Dix asked. ”You didn't tell me who did s.n.a.t.c.h Redblock.”
”The boss thinks it was Upstairs Benton.”
”And you think for your lives, your boss might be willing to work with me in finding Benton?”
The guy looked like he might be sick. His eyes were large, filled with fear. Dix knew without a doubt he was telling the truth.
”I don't know,” he said. ”I can't be speakin' for Benny. He'd kill me quicker den you can.”
”Now I know I'm getting the truth,” Dix said, lowering his gun. ”How about we all go for a little walk to talk to Benny, as if we're all the best of friends?”
Dix put the gun back in his belt and motioned for the others to do the same.
Benny's men slowly lowered their hands, clearly confused.
”This way, I think,” Dix said, motioning for the men to head back out of the alley and into the street with him. ”Unless I got my address wrong.”
The guy nodded and stepped away from the wall, moving up to a spot beside Dix as they walked down the middle of the street.
The silence of the night was broken by the heels on pavement of the small parade all marching toward the same destination.
Dix let everyone walk in silence for a block, then turned to Benny's man beside him. ”I'm really not looking to take down Benny,” Dix said. ”Just looking for a small gold-painted ball about this size.” Dix held up his finger and thumb to show the man how big the Heart of the Adjuster was. ”You seen anything like it?”
The guy shook his head. ”Naw, nothin' like that.” Dix could feel the disappointment and the slight feeling of panic twist through his stomach. They had to find the Heart quickly. It was only a matter of three or four hours now. And if this guy was telling the truth, then it was Harvey Upstairs Benton that might have it.
Unless he had been following the wrong lead the entire time. What happened if Harvey had s.n.a.t.c.hed Redblock and Slippery Stan Hand, but hadn't taken the Heart? That would leave them at square zero with no time left. But someone had taken the Heart out of the Adjuster, someone in this world, some thief with connections to Redblock or one of the other bosses and this entire mess.
So right now, they had one suspect left, and the only choice was to follow that one lead until they found the Heart or ran out of time.
Or came up with a better idea.
Right now, in the middle of the dark street, with people following him like the Pied Piper, Dixon Hill was fresh out of ideas.
Thirty-seven minutes after the Heart of the Adjuster is stolen Captain's Log. Personal.
A short time ago, while Chief Engineer La Forge and Mr. Data were finis.h.i.+ng the last of their tests on a device to s.h.i.+eld the impulse drives from the effects of the Blackness, the holodeck malfunctioned and switched to the Dixon Hill program. The device they were working on was unharmed, but on the switch, two things happened that led to what may be a fatal series of events.
First, the safety features of the holodeck were shut off by the malfunction, leaving Mr. Data and Engineer La Forge in that world, standing over a small device they were calling the Adjuster.
They were located just outside the office of the fictional character, Dixon Hill, near the top of the stairs. However, they could not leave, since the malfunction also closed and locked the holodeck doors.
Both men moved to find a way to reopen the doors, while other members of the crew worked from the outside toward the same aim.
During their attempts the Dixon Hill program switched three times, once leaving them standing in the middle of a busy street for ten seconds, a second time moving them to the sidewalk for almost a minute, but always bringing them back to the hallway outside Dixon Hill's office.
After ten minutes of work on both sides of the door, the malfunction was corrected and the door opened. At that point, when Engineer La Forge turned to retrieve the Adjuster, it was discovered that the small golden ball of the material Auriferite was missing.
There are no sides on the Adjuster, and the Auriferite was simply sitting on a small platform in the center, easily taken while the men worked on the doors.