Part 14 (1/2)
Henry reluctantly did as he was told.
Sonny picked up a small figurine from the table and handed it to Big Tony.
”Where are her eyes?” Henry asked, looking at a ceramic figure of a little girl in a dress.
”She's getting' new ones,” Sonny said.
Henry frowned. ”Why?”
Big Tony set the figurine back down on the table.
”Why don't you make yourself useful and go get the bag from Charlie's office?” Sonny said, turning his attention back to the figurines on the table.
Rheyna moved in a little closer so she could see both Castrucci and Sonny. She was hoping they would say a little more about the figurines on the table. She was a little smarter than Henry, and she had a sneaky suspicion that they were being used to smuggle the gems. She thought about the conversation she overhead a few days ago. Although she only heard bits and pieces, she remembered Sonny talking about a s.h.i.+pment of diamonds. When she told Laura about it during their nightly chat, Laura informed her that one of the dead informants had claimed Castrucci was trying to get into the gem market, mainly diamonds. In a crazy sort of way, it was all starting to make sense.
Sonny waited for Henry to leave and slid out a chair. ”We may have a small problem but I've already taken steps to fix it.”
Big Tony turned to look at him. ”What kinda problem?”
”Our friend's a little worried about the feds. They brought in some sort of computer hack and he's created a software program to try and link the deaths.”
Big Tony frowned. ”What deaths?”
”Scala's, for one and our friend says they're diggin' back several years.”
Big Tony clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. ”So what, they can't tie us to Scala or any of the others. Otherwise, they'd have done something by now.”
”We're not the ones our friend is worried about. The computer program is looking for leaks.”
”You say you took care of it?”
Sonny nodded.
”Then that's all I need to know.”
Rheyna felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck. Sonny and Castrucci had just confirmed their suspicions. There was no longer any doubt-they had a leak in the bureau and not just a small one. Whomever it was had to be high up the food chain to have obtained the information about Ron and his newly created program.
For the first time since arriving in California, she felt an overwhelming amount of fear. Her mind began to race with the implications and what this all meant. If this person knew about Ron and his program, they had to know about Pandora's Box and if they knew about Pandora's Box, they had to know about her. If Castrucci knew, she didn't understand what he was waiting for. Why had he not come after her? Her mind was racing. s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t, she kept repeating in her head. We have a major problem, or better yet, I have a major problem. Her mind continued to process the implications. Sonny said he fixed the problem, and depending on how he decided to do that, Ron's life could be in danger. She had to get in touch with Laura as soon as possible. She had heard enough and needed to get out of there.
She slowly inched her way back toward the way she had come and stopped in mid-step-Henry was standing directly beneath her.
”Jesus, Henry, what took you so d.a.m.n long?” She heard Big Tony yell.
”Jeesh, can't a man take a s.h.i.+t without getting the fourth degree?” Henry yelled back.
Rheyna watched Henry walk over and hand Big Tony a large green bag. Castrucci s.n.a.t.c.hed the bag from his hand, unzipped it, and removed a small, red pouch. He untied the drawstring and dumped the contents out in his hand. The diamonds s.h.i.+mmered like gla.s.s.
He put them back in the pouch and tossed it to Henry. ”Make sure you get these to Roberto first thing in the morning, along with my apologies for the botched s.h.i.+pment in L.A.”
”You got it,” Henry said, cramming the pouch into the front pocket of his jeans.
She felt something run over the top of her foot and looked back to see a small tabby cat running along the catwalk.
”What the h.e.l.l was that?” Henry asked. ”Did you hear that?” he asked again, when the two men didn't answer.
Rheyna quickly made her way onto one of the offshoots and ducked down behind some boxes.
”Up there,” Henry said.
Rheyna knew they were all looking up at the catwalk.
”I saw something.”
”Henry, what the h.e.l.l are you doing now?” Sonny asked.
Rheyna felt her heart skip a beat. She heard someone climbing up the ladder-she was in big trouble. She saw the top of Henry's head pop up over the edge. He dropped his gun down on the metal catwalk floor with a loud clank and then pulled himself up.
She tried to push herself further behind the boxes, to no avail. She prayed that he would walk straight down the catwalk and not come her way. She pulled the 9mm out of the holster and flipped off the safety. If he chose to come down the side she was on, she would be totally exposed and would have no choice other than to shoot him before he shot her. Suddenly, Henry took off running. With each hard step, Rheyna could feel the catwalk vibrate. He fired his gun in rapid succession, sending bullets ricocheting off the metal support beams.
”What the f.u.c.k are you trying to do? Kill us all?” Sonny yelled as he and Big Tony ran for cover down below.
Out of nowhere, the tabby cat bolted from behind a bunch of crates and ran back down the catwalk.
”d.a.m.n cat!” Henry yelled, firing at the retreating animal. The bullets tore through the crates, sending pieces of wood raining down on the men below.
Big Tony was furious. ”d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l, Henry! Get down here now, or I'll shoot you myself!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Rheyna waited for Henry to descend the ladder before venturing out from behind the boxes. She put her gun back inside the holster. When she first entered the building, she noticed motion sensors mounted along the inside windows, and she needed to get out before the men did.
She had to make it to the window before they reset the alarm system. As she turned the corner to get back on the main catwalk, she cut it too short. Before she could do anything about it, she felt the microphone boom clipped on her sweat jacket rip away. The tiny boom seemed to fall in slow motion. She watched it hit the concrete and cringed as the tiny pieces of plastic shattered. She wanted to scream as the sound amplified through her ear bud like a freight train.
She looked down at the men-their eyes were now on her. Big Tony pointed his finger. ”Get him!” he yelled.
Within a split second, she saw the flash of muzzles as a barrage of bullets zipped and zinged past her head. She looked at the end of the runway and made a split-second decision. f.u.c.k-she didn't have a choice. She broke into an all-out run, heading straight for the open end of the catwalk. Her eyes fixated on the pile of skids standing next to the one she had used to gain entry. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. The skids were at least ten-feet away from the end of the catwalk-if she didn't time it just right, she would fall to the concrete below.
She hit the ledge and pushed off with everything she had. She closed her eyes and then heard a loud crack as the wood gave way under her full weight. She slid across the skid and felt stabbing pain in the palms of her hands and the front of her knees as tiny splinters of wood penetrated her skin. The stack swayed violently, the wood collapsing beneath her weight like dominoes. She scrambled to her feet and without thinking, lunged headfirst through the closed window.
She landed on top of the compactor with a loud thud, and then she felt two pops. One was from the side of her face slamming into the metal and the second was her shoulder separating from its socket. She closed her eyes and then opened them, hoping to get rid of the tiny white specks jumping around in front of her face. She involuntarily moaned as excruciating pain shot up her arm like a white-hot poker.
The sound of the warehouse door opening snapped her out of the funk. She folded her arm across her chest and held it tightly as she slid across the compactor. She stifled a scream as a bone-crunching shock reverberated through the tips of her fingers when her feet met the ground. The pain continued to run up her arm and then down the side of her neck, before settling in the middle of her back. It felt as if someone had stuck a lightening rod inside her skin.
She took off running across the back of the parking lot, toward a row of tractor-trailers.
”He went this way!” she heard Henry yell just before a bullet whizzed past her head. She weaved back and forth, trying to avoid the little flashes of white as bullets ricocheted off the trailers.
”Have Tommy turn the car around and s.h.i.+ne the lights over here!” Sonny yelled.
She had to make it to the tall gra.s.s adjacent to the lot. It was her best chance of losing them. She heard the car engine start and then the lights were fully on the trailers.
Just as Henry came around the side of the trailer, she ducked beneath the rear axle. With her good arm, she removed her gun from the holster. She heard gravel crunch under Henry's feet, each step bringing him closer. She held her breath.