Outrunning Villainy

Chapter 11: The Nocturnal Confrontation

Chapter 11: The Nocturnal Confrontation





Andrew drove the black Pathfinder along the streets of Columbia searching for the park. The sun was setting as the November evening settled around them. They were driving through a nice business part of town. The park down along the river abutted some of the downtown high rises and office complexes. Andrew wondered how many of the powerful, well-dressed men and women who went hither and thither from those corporate buildings from 9-5 had any inkling of the things that went on at night. Once the jet set people departed, scurrying back to their comfortable 5-bedroom bungalows in the suburbs, another side of the human story came to life. People who were all but invisible during daylight hours came out. There were homeless men and women gathered around burning trash barrels guarding themselves against the cold. There were people taking part of the drug culture- huffing and puffing on glass pipes. There were all kinds of dark religious practices taking place under the cover of leafy trees. Scenes unimaginable to the office folk played out in the grassy knoll just outside their climate controlled havens.


Andrew guided the vehicle along, as Engrid tried to read the street signs in the rapidly fading vestiges of daylight.


“I think we’re near it,” she announced as they approached an intersection, “Turn left, I think it’s right down here somewhere.”


Andrew obediently turned on his turn signal and make as legal a left hand turn as he could. The large SUV made its way down the incline towards the river. Andrew pulled to a stop along the street opposite the park.


“Let me do the talking.” Andrew said.


“Why?”


“You scared him off last time.”


“Yes, I did. I guess this time our objective is to ferret out the angel of darkness.”


“Yes. We are going to ferret him out so that the police can do their thing.”


“That man is evil. I can sense it in my bones. I know you may not believe in the existence of evil but…”


“I believe in the existence of evil,” he interrupted visually scanning the park, “I don’t believe that there is some guy parading around with goat hoofs and a pitchfork.”


“The devil takes many forms. The devil is a sneaky one. In ancient times, he used superstition, black magic, stuff like that. Nowadays, people are too sophisticated for stuff like that, so the devil had to be a little more discreet. Now, the devil is more likely at work in apathy, working through people’s disbelief rather than belief.”


“Maybe,” Andrew replied, not wanting to pursue the topic any further.


“What do you believe, Andrew? Do you believe that evil as a conscious entity that makes choices and employs strategy? Or do you believe in evil in the sense that people sometimes do bad things.”


“Sometimes people do bad things. I don’t think there’s a supernatural explanation needed. People do nasty things sometimes. Sometimes they do them out of stupidity or fear. Other times they do them out of greed or necessity, but I don’t think there’s some supernatural, villainous creature whispering in their ear.”


Engrid didn’t reply, she simply looked out of her window.


“Engrid, what do you believe?”


“I believe quite the opposite. I know I don’t have the worldly background you do, but I know things. I’ve seen and experienced things in my life that had made me realize that the devil exists and is real. Not only that, he’s a brilliant and talented adversary. He’s been at this game for a very, very long time and he’s very good at it. Whatever God does, the devil does everything in his power to undermine. Take that little girl for example. The devil, working through the hands of the man we’re after, tried to destroy a beautiful creation and we’re not going to let him.”


Andrew stared at Engrid. He was surprised by her directness and by the content of what she’d just stated so factually.


“So, by what you’ve said, the man we’re after is not the guilty party.”


“Well he is but ultimately we are after a much greater foe. Sadly, we can’t catch the devil and put him in jail. But the man we’re after is nonetheless responsible and accountable for his actions even if something else is the driving force behind his decisions.”


“So a man who robs a bank to feed his family should go to jail.”


“Unfortunately yes…if only because we can’t have people going around robbing banks. Society couldn’t exist if we allowed every person with financial difficulty to rob the nearest Wells Fargo. In this case, we can’t let this man continue going around selling illegal drugs to people. It doesn’t matter if he needs the money to support a wife and kids. There are more legitimate ways to earn a living than peddling dope in a park in the middle of the night.”


“So you’re saying the devil made him do it.”


“Possibly, the devil controls countless demons that do his work -just like God has angels who do his work. So, it may not be the devil himself, but I believe it’s someone that works for him. People don’t always make wise choices, but few people would stoop that low without some other sinister force at work. So, the devil is definitely at work. If not in this guy, then certainly he’s at work in the people behind him- people who may be threatening or coercing him into doing what he’s doing. Except for God, everyone else has a boss. Everybody answers to somebody no matter who they are.”


“I don’t know about all that, it sounds like a fairy tale.”


“To some it does,” Engrid answered cryptically and opened her door to step out onto the pavement.


“Can you hear me?” she asked softly. The ear bud shoved deep into her canal crackled the response in her ear and in Andrew’s, “Loud and clear. You are ready to go.”


“I guess this is it?” she asked.


“It is,” the reply crackled.


“Did you hear what all Engrid just said?”


“Yes.”


“Do you believe her?”


“Yes,” Agent Sørenson replied, “I do.”


Andrew didn’t say anything else. He simply stepped out of the vehicle and walked ahead of Engrid towards the park. Andrew headed into the trees as Engrid stayed near the sidewalk overlooking the towering office buildings. She worried because Andrew didn’t grasp what he was really up against. Andrew believed that he was just up against ordinary flesh and blood. The reason she reacted to the stranger the way she had initially was because when she saw him, her blood ran cold. She saw something in the man’s eyes that was hidden from Andrew by his disbelief. She saw a look of darkest, sickening evil. She had seen a lot in her 89 years, but nothing chilled her like that look. She secretly wished Dora had come along. Dora was an expert on theological matters.


Engrid paced slowly back and forth along the sidewalk, willing herself to go deeper. Andrew had gone right in to look for the man. The old saying, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” came to mind.


Andrew was wafting among the trees, making sure he didn’t wander into too dark of a recess. He wanted to make sure that he could see the guy coming. There were to be no surprises on this trip. Full darkness had settled in, but the moon was full and all the streetlamps were in working order.


“Do you see anything?” Agent Sørenson asked from the unmarked, unassuming control van parked a few blocks away.


“No,” they both whispered their responses.


“Engrid, where are you?” Andrew whispered.


“I’m keeping an eye out from the road. Hopefully I can see him before he goes into the park. That way I can give you a heads up when he’s on his way.”


“Okay.”


Andrew slipped behind a large oak tree and peered around its massive trunk. He kept his body pressed flat against the rough bark. He strained his eyes to see out into the deepening darkness as the trees thickened as they got closer before breaking near the riverfront. He was too far away to hear the gurgling of the river water, but he could hear the faint voices of the homeless people that gathered along the bank of the river. His nerves were on high alert. He strained to see if he could still catch sight of Engrid at the top of the hill along the street. He could see nothing. A cloud passed over the moon removing what light there had been. He was out of reach of the glowing streetlamps.


Behind him, a shadow emerged. Andrew glanced around and sensed a presence behind him. He turned to look. The shadows themselves seemed to be moving. He was sure it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. The chill sent a shiver up his spine. The tiny hairs on his neck stood up. While some of the things Engrid said earlier and before seemed like bizarre fairy tales, there was a part of him who wasn’t so sure standing alone in that dark park. He took a step back. Were the shadows really moving? He couldn’t tell.


Engrid could hear Andrew’s labored breathing through her ear bud. His breathing was speeding up. It made sense; he was probably scared half to death down there. She stepped on the grass at the edge of the park, daring herself to go in. Something was wrong and she might need to intervene. She took another step closer.


Andrew took another step back. The shadows were moving. He was sure of it. He turned to run and there he was. His dark clothes and pale, drawn face were unmistakable. Andrew gasped and tried not to scream.


“Hello Andrew. I was expecting you.”


Andrew stood stone still debating whether to run, stay, scream, cry, or die.


“Now, don’t be rude,” he said, a smile creeping across his face revealing perfect teeth. Those were not the teeth of a drug addict.


“Who are you?” Andrew hissed, “How do you know me?”


“I did my homework.”


“Then it was you! It was you who kidnapped that girl.”


“Why do you ask?”


“It had to have been you. No one else would have a motive.”


“What motive would I have? I only met you that once.”


“Engrid says you are the devil or that you work for him, is that true?”


“Ah, Engrid,” he smiled again, “That meddlesome busybody…no I’m not the devil. That’s the stuff of myth and legend. I am quite real.”


“Then who are you?”


“Why should I tell you anything? Do you really believe that I don’t know you are wearing a wire? Where are the police I wonder…perhaps they are hiding in a tree…or in a shrubbery…or perhaps, just perhaps they are waiting in that innocuous white van about three blocks away.”


Andrew’s surprised expression confirmed the man’s suspicions.


“And of course what about that charming old woman who has stolen your platonic affections? Perhaps she’s waiting at the top of the hill…waiting for some signal from you…or perhaps she’s prepared to hear your screams. She’s waiting to hear the sound of life being choked from you.”


“You are insane,” Andrew said, taking a large leap back just in case.


“By some definitions, yes I am.”


“No, I think you’re pretty much nuts.” Andrew’s eyes narrowed.


The man took a small, almost imperceptible step towards Andrew. He made and maintained eye contact with his victim.


“If you won’t tell me who you are, at least tell me why you picked me? What did I do to deserve what happened?”


“Everyone is guilty…the question is ‘guilty of what?’”


“I’m not guilty of anything.”


“Oh I beg to differ.”


“What do you mean?”


“Remember the professors. They wanted an American connection, they found one.”


“How did you…oh! They sent you.”


The sinister smile revealed the stranger’s intentions. This went deeper than he realized.


“They sent you to kill me. So Amanda was just in the crossfire. You used her to get to me. This was all a ruse to kill me. Why all the trouble? Why not just shoot me walking down the street? Why all the theatrics?”


“You imbecile, they don’t want to kill you…they want you to spend the rest of your life in prison for a crime you didn’t commit.”


“So you’re not going to kill me?”


“I wasn’t going to, but now I fear I have no choice.”


“Why?”


“You’re a witness…witnesses are a danger to the operation. You weren’t supposed to make the connection between them and this. You were supposed to just go to prison for kidnapping Amanda. It was a way to punish you for the crimes you committed against them.”


“I didn’t commit any crimes against anyone.”


“Crime is in the eye of the beholder.”


“No it isn’t, they were running an international drug cartel and I was assigned by the Central Intelligence Agency to undermine it and inform on them to INTERPOL. I am not legally liable for anything that happened. They are the criminals, not me.”


“Not legally liable, no, but you cost them their freedom- not to mention untold millions of dollars. They want revenge against the American spy- which would be you.”


“You can come in now,” Andrew spoke aloud.


“What?” Agent Sørenson asked.


“Get your asses down here NOW!”


The stranger turned to walk away.


“You’re not going anywhere!” Andrew lunged after him. Now that he was dealing with a flesh and blood killer, he was back in action. The man sped up and Andrew kept pace. They flew through the trees along the length of the park. Andrew wasn’t sure what the man would do. He was dangerous and he was trapped. He was pinned between the river and the street. Further they ran. The man stopped, pulled a pistol out of his coat and fired at Andrew. The bullet ricocheted off a tree and tore through the leaves of an azalea bush. Andrew dove behind a tree. Unbeknownst to anyone but himself, Andrew had a small pistol of his own strapped to his leg. He pulled it from its holster and returned fire.


“Engrid stay away, he’s got a gun.”


“Okay.” Engrid watched as the police van screeched to a stop in front of her. There were shots fired, Engrid hadn’t the slightest intention of going into the forest.


“Get in!” Agent Sørenson shouted from the open sliding door on the side of the van.


Engrid grabbed a hand hold and pulled herself up into the van.


“Where in the park are they?” Sørenson asked.


“They are further down that way,” she said pointing up ahead, “That’s where the gun shots came from.”


The driver of the van released the brake and slammed the accelerator to the firewall and the van lurched forward. Six police cars careened through the intersection ahead. They slid to a stop and the officers leapt from their vehicles and set up to take down the evildoer.


“Andrew, where are you?”


“I don’t know exactly,” he whispered into the mike, “We’re still in the park.”


“We heard gunshots, it is a pistol?”


“Yes, he’s armed and so am I.”


“You have a gun?”


“Yes.”


Another volley of gunfire pierced the darkness and foliage. Andrew leaned around the tree behind which he’d sought refuge and returned fire. He heard a yelp. The man grabbed his arm and turn to run away. Andrew gave chase. The winged assailant kept going. He tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. His gun slid through the grass. Andrew leapt on him with full fury and pinned him to the ground. The man was stronger than Andrew anticipated. He simply stood up with Andrew clinging to his back. Andrew withdrew a small knife some somewhere within his frock and held it to the man’s throat. The man paused. He jutted his elbow back and caught Andrew just below the rib cage. Andrew coughed and fell from the man’s back clattering to the ground in a heaving, breathless heap. He quickly recovered as the man kept moving through the increasingly dense undergrowth. The blood loss from the gunshot to the arm was taking its toll and he wasn’t running as fast as he was earlier. Andrew was gaining on him. The man looked back over his shoulder at his pursuer. He held up his gun to shoot but Andrew beat him to it. Andrew shot the guy’s leg and he crumbled sending his bullet into the ground at his feet. Andrew rushed forward and tackled the guy pinning him once again. Now with two gunshot wounds he wasn’t able to simply rise with Andrew in tow.


The police were scurrying through the woods to find the two men locked in battle.


“I’ve got him!” Andrew shouted as he heard footsteps in the distance.


They arrived on the scene and handcuffed the man as Andrew rested against a tree trunk. Engrid approached him. “I guess they knew who you were after all.”


“I guess they did. I’m not sure what’s going to happen now.”


“What do you mean?”


“If they sent him and he failed, they will try again.”


“I don’t think so, but them I’m no expert in international espionage. But since the guy pretty much laid out the plan, do you think they would try again. You would know if something fishy happened, you could turn on them.”


“No, it’s not a matter of turning on them. I already did that. I’ve done all the damage to them I can. Now it’s about revenge.”


“Revenge…” she let the word linger on her tongue and in her brain.


“Yes, they want to hurt me because of what I already did, not shut me up for the future. That’s what makes them really dangerous. That also makes things more complicated.”


“More? How is that even possible?”


“You and Evan know about it. That makes you potential targets too. You more so because whoever that is, he knows who you are and knows you were listening.”


“Oh dear,” Engrid turned away, “Do you really think he would come after me?”


“I don’t know. I doubt it but I don’t know if you should take that risk.”


“I can’t run, Andrew. I learned that already. I don’t think I could bear living somewhere else…always looking over my shoulder. It’s like you said earlier, it’s fun to read about in novels and watch on TV, but it’s another matter altogether when it’s a daily reality.”


“Unfortunately, you may not have a choice.”


“Would we be able to go together?”


“We could probably work that out, but I can’t guarantee anything.”


“So are we talking about witness protection?”


“I don’t know. We might have to just disappear on our own. We may not even be safe in this country. I don’t know how all this is going to work out, Engrid. I really don’t. Apparently these people have a much broader reach than I realized.”


Engrid stood quietly over the calming body of Andrew. His breathing was slowing as the adrenaline crazed moment was passing. Agent Sørenson approached them.


“Andrew, are you okay?”


“Yes, I’m pretty shaken up but I’m okay.”


“Good. You’re going to have to make an official statement about what just happened.”


“Okay.”


“We’re trying to reach the CIA now to find out if what he says is for real.”


“It is. They may not tell you anything, they’re a clandestine organization after all, but it makes sense and what I said was all true. He has to be connected to the professors. There’s no other explanation for how he knows so much about my involvement.”


“Well, if you would drive over to the police station, I will meet you there in a few minutes. We have a scene investigation team coming in here to see what they might be able to find out. It might not be much, but hopefully we can get some clue who he is. So, you don’t know his identity?”


“No, I don’t. I’ll try to remember anything about the professor case to see if might apply, but I don’t think he was there. He said they were looking for ‘an American connection.’ That was my in, I was posing as an American exchange student at the university. It was several years ago but I don’t remember running into anyone who looked or sounded like him.”


“Well, if you think of anything, please let us know.”


“I will.”


“Mrs. Matthews, would you accompany Mr. Garrison to the station?”


“Yes.” Engrid helped Andrew up off the ground and walked with him back up the hill towards the waiting Pathfinder.


                                                #


Evan paced. It had been hours and he hadn’t heard anything. He’d called Andrew’s cell phone an obsessive number of times, but it was still off and went straight to voicemail. He got the same response from Engrid’s. He had a sinking, sickening feeling that something had gone horribly wrong. He couldn’t get the image of his lover’s murdered body out of his head. What was it- was Andrew going to be shot, stabbed, strangled, was he going to have his throat slit? Would his sweet, loving Andrew see his death coming? Would he feel his blood gushing from his veins? The images he had in his mind were so intense, so graphic they seemed real. He paced more, the frantic feeling rising in his throat. He held the portable phone receiver in his hand. He debated with himself if he should try again to call Andrew. He knew it was pointless. The phone would still be turned off.


Dora was in her house, not faring much better. She didn’t have the romantic attachment to the situation the way Evan did, she was nonetheless distraught. She and Engrid had been best friends for almost 70 years.  She was worried that something had happened to Engrid. She knew that Engrid didn’t always know when to stop. She would keep charging full speed ahead until disaster struck. Hopefully, this time, the disaster would be survivable. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if Engrid died. Rose’s death had been hard enough on her. Dora wasn’t sure she’d be able to survive the death of another close friend.


Andrew and Engrid drove silently to the police precinct. He had to give a statement. He wasn’t sure what he should say. He clicked on his cell phone. He glanced down and a surprised look spread across his face. He’s missed 23 calls and had 14 new voicemails. He took a deep breath and dialed a number from memory.


Just before pressing the ‘send’ button, he leaned over to Engrid, “I don’t know what I’m about to say into the phone, but whatever you hear, you never heard. And don’t make a sound. No one can ever know you were here.”


Engrid just stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding her consent.


Andrew pressed the button and held the cell phone up to his head.


“Tambourine…I’ll wait.” A few moments of dead silence passed, “General, this is Sigma One, there’s a problem. The prof’s know, the pokie knows and now we have a visitor. Okay…give me ten minutes.”


He disconnected the phone call. “We have to make a detour.”


Engrid swallowed hard, “Where are we going?”


“4102 North Tenth Street.”


“Where’s that?”


“Not far.”


“Is the general going to help?”


“We’re about to find out.”


“What about the statement you’re supposed to make the Agent Sørenson?”


“I need to know what I can and cannot tell the police. We will go to Sørenson after we’re done here.”


They drove along in silence. Engrid dared not ask any more questions. Andrew drove along in the light traffic and headed away from the office towers of downtown. The nice part of town was left behind and Engrid found herself looking at the warehouse district, and it was not the nice, new part of the warehouse district. The old, dilapidated sheet metal and masonry buildings loomed like faceless monsters, dwarfing the SUV and its occupants. Their rusted, graffiti covered doors grinning in the amber glow of the streetlights. Engrid’s trepidation grew as the buildings grew older and less maintained. More and more streetlights were out as the progressed into the shadows.


“Are you sure it’s safe to be down here?”


“No,” Andrew shook his head grimly.


“I’m assuming we’re not meeting with the general in person?”


“No, he’s not here. I have no idea who we’re meeting with. When we’re done, we still won’t know who we talked to.”


“I don’t like this. I would not have made a good spy.”


“I did. While I didn’t enjoy it, I was actually pretty good at it.”


“That makes sense. They wouldn’t have given you the professor assignment if you hadn’t proved your salt on the simpler missions.”


“I guess it does.”


“If you were good at it, why didn’t you enjoy it more?”


“This,” he said waving his hand at the surroundings, “Secret meetings with unknown people in the middle of the night in the slums. Skulking around the seedy underbelly of the planet, getting shot at, having the kill and do things to people for information. No, thank you. Give me a white picket fence and a loving husband any day.”


“Amen to that,” Engrid replied, “Believe it or not, there are days I used to think my life was boring and that I needed to spice things up.”


“I guess my entrance into your life spiced things up.”


“Yes. Now take your spice and go elsewhere. I’m too old for this.”


“I wish I could. If I could undo this mess, believe me I would. But when the ball gets rolling, there’s really nothing that can stop it.”


“When does it end?”


“I thought it had.”


“So you don’t know?”


“No, Engrid, I’m out of answers. I thought I’d put all this behind me when I told the general I didn’t want any more assignments. But the past has a way of catching up to you.”


“Yes, it does.”


“Do you have a past?”


“Apparently not…I thought I did, but this takes the cake, the pie and the casserole. Even Evan’s sordid past can’t compare to this ongoing disaster.”


“It does seem to keep on going doesn’t it? Just when we think it’s over, it’s not. Yet another reason I gave up the spy game. It never seems to end. It’s always one thing after another after another.”


“I guess I did okay to become a math teacher. Quadratic equations and algebraic expressions don’t put out contracts on you.”


“You did very well. I would give just about anything to have a spouse and children.”


“They are nice. If you get the right ones. Some of my children didn’t turn out so hot. My husband was wonderful but he didn’t live very long.”


“How old was he when he died?”


“He was 68. I was 63.”


“Wow, you’ve been a widow for 28 years?”


“Yes, you aren’t so bad at math yourself I see.”


“I had to learn a few tricks to be a financial advisor.”


“How did you get roped into that game anyway?”


“It was stable. I actually got to spend the summer at the London School of Economics- that was absolutely awesome. I studied the impact of Asian markets on the global economy.


“I guess your knowledge of Japan helped.”


“It did. I actually joined a Japanese research team in my class because I was able to speak Japanese and I knew about American society and economic habits.”


“Very nice. And yet you chose to live in Deerfield. Do you ever regret that decision?”


“If I hadn’t met you and Evan, yes I probably would regret that decision. I was worried when I moved, but then he and I hit it off. If that hadn’t happened, I don’t think I would like it nearly as much. I haven’t really gotten to know anyone else in town except the two of you and Dora. But all in all I guess it’s nice.”


“It’s no London or Tokyo but it’s home.”


“Yes, it is.”


“It’s nice to talk about other stuff and get my mind off all the rest of what we’ve been through. I hope that whoever we meet with will be able to help.”


“I doubt he or she will be able to help only that they will tell us what we can and cannot say to the police.”


“Hopefully they will at least have some tips on how to keep it from getting any worse.”


“That would be nice.”


Andrew brought the Pathfinder to a halt at the entrance to an alley.


“Am I supposed to come in too or should I wait here?”


“No, you have to come too. It’s too dangerous for you to wait out here.”


Engrid opened her door and slowly stepped out onto the wet, grimy pavement. This was a nasty part of town and she couldn’t wait to get out of it. Andrew shut his door and came around to stand beside her. The two of them faced down the alley. Andrew cast a glance all around to see if he could see anything, but nothing stood out. They walked in tandem down the alleyway. Andrew stopped at a barren, gunmetal gray door with a small, dirt-caked window in it. He reached out and knocked rhythmically three times. The door creaked open, its old hinges groaning beneath the weight of the heavy door. Andrew peeked into the darkened interior.


“Hello?”


“Agent Sigma One and escort, come in.”


“Escort?” Engrid whispered to herself. She’d never been called a ‘lady of the evening’ before. She stood behind Andrew as he stepped forth into the shadows. It was so dark that she put her hand on his shoulder so she wouldn’t lose her way. She looked behind her, halfway longingly, for the faint trace of light coming in the doorway.


Andrew’s shoes ground through the grit that lay dusted over the concrete floor. A light flicked on. Engrid let out an involuntary squeak and jumped back a bit. There was a man sitting at a stainless steel table that looks like it might have been in a butcher shop or slaughterhouse. He was at that phase of life where one could see both the young man he once was and the middle aged man he was becoming. His tow-colored hair had streaks of gray and he wore plastic framed glasses. He sat with his hands folded on the surface of the table.


“I hear you had some trouble,” the man sitting at the stainless steel table stated.


“We did.”


“You are to tell the police no more than you already have.”


“The man told them everything. I divulged nothing.”


“Good. But the police know about the events?”


“They know something happened but they don’t know much detail.”


“Good.”


“What should I give them for a statement?”


The stranger reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a folded sheet of paper. He handed it over to Andrew.


“Give them this.”


Andrew opened up the paper and looked it over.


“I should give them this?”


“Yes. Sign it and deliver it to them tonight. They will ask questions but you cannot and will not tell them anything else. Agent Sørenson and the others may know too much already.”


“I understand. What about her?” he motioned toward Engrid, “Unfortunately, she may know too much too.”


“That is most unfortunate. She will have to be tested and thoroughly debriefed. Otherwise, well, let’s just hope she either passes the test or passes away very soon.”


Engrid did not like the sound of that…she did not like the sound of that at all.


“Are they going to kill me?” She whispered in his ear.


“No, you will be debriefed.”


“What does that mean?”


“They interrogate the daylights out of you, threaten your life if you tell anyone what you know and then they’ll let you go…nothing to it.”


“Nothing to it!” she hissed into his ear, “Nothing to being interrogated and threatened with death…nothing at all.”


“It’s better than shooting you right here which is the other option.”


She stared blankly momentarily before replying, “Interrogation will be lovely.”


“It’s all a matter of perspective."


“So,” Andrew said addressing the man at the table, “Will there be anything else?”


“No.”


Andrew turned and walked towards the door. Once outside, Engrid sighed heavily.


“Andrew, if this keeps up I’m gonna be dead from fright and fear rather than some assassin’s bullet. I was going to live to 100 and then die peacefully in my sleep not shot in some confounded warehouse in the middle of the night in some godforsaken rat’s nest.”


“Welcome to being a spy.”


Engrid broke out in a trot. Andrew pressed the keyless entry button and Engrid yanked open her car door and threw herself into her seat. Her fear was giving way to rage. She had to get control of her emotions.


“At least that’s over. Now we have something to tell the police.”


Engrid just glared at him.


“What are you so mad about, Engrid? It’s going to be fine.”


“FINE!” she yelled, “FINE! NOTHING IS FINE YOU…you I don’t even know what to say! I’m so mad at you I could blow your brains out right here and now.”


“Goodness gracious, such hostility.”


“HOSTILITY!” she was getting louder as Andrew put the vehicle in gear and drove off.


“I have put up with a lot from you mister over the last week…over the last…well you’ve been a thorn in my side since they day you set foot in Deerfield. Some days I wish I’d never met you. You are a nice person but trouble follows you everywhere you go.”


“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”


Engrid crossed her arms and glared at him for all she was worth. If looks could kill Andrew would be graveyard dead.


He kept driving. He had a mission. He had to get to the police station to get this whole mess straightened out. His nerves were jangled. Someone somewhere somehow had figured out where he was and that did not bode well for the future. He liked Deerfield. It was a nice place to be and he wasn’t sure Evan would leave again. Evan was unlikely to go running off into the sunset for someone who so casually left him behind just days before. But all that would have to be worked out later; right now he had to make sure that things went smoothly at the police station. If not, things could get very ugly very fast.


As Engrid sat calm was beginning to come. Her nerves were on edge too. She’d never been in such trouble for so long. Occasionally she would get in over her head, but nothing remotely on the scale of what she was up against now.


“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.


“I know. It’s okay. We’ll all nervous now. If the roles were reversed I would have screamed me head off too.”


She turned to him, “I did not ‘scream my head off.’ I was merely venting some pent up frustration. You have to admit you’ve brought a lot of trouble into my life. I think very highly of you…you are an intelligent guy but I’m just flat getting too old for this. I don’t know if I was ever up for running from the police and chasing assassins in the middle of the night. But in six months, I’m going to ninety years old. You are 26 maybe 27…you have no idea what it feels like to be me.”


“No, I don’t. One day if I make it that far, I will, but for now…I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”


“You didn’t drag me into anything. I was a willing participant. It was a mistake, but I volunteered. I could have stayed home at any point and faced the consequences on my own turf, but no I had to come to the sketchy part of town to some secret rendezvous with some government agent.”


“This could have turned out worse.”


“How?”


“We could have tried this on our own. That guy could have killed us both.”


“I suppose he could have. But you’re pretty handy with a gun. Although I still don’t like them and would rather they didn’t exist.”


“Well, it’s a reality of the world we live in.”


“It’s a reality of the world you chose. I’ve never fired nor owned a gun. My parents never owned a gun.”


“Even out there in the wild, wild west they didn’t have a gun?”


“No. If he did have a gun, I never saw it.”


“I guess I did choose a life of firearms. But I’m trying to get away from it.”


“Unsuccessfully”


Andrew continued to drive along as silence descended in the Pathfinder. Engrid mulled over the events of the last few days. She was very definitely out of her league. All this was just too much for her. He pulled up in front of the police station.


“Show time,” he said, stepping out on the pavement.


Engrid remained in the vehicle for a few moments.


“You have to come too.”


“This isn’t my fight anymore.”


“Yes it is. It’s unfortunate that that is the case, but it is what it is.”


She scowled and slowly got out of the car. They walked slowly up the front steps heads bowed and shoulders slumped like frightened, depressed prisoners going for the gallows. Andrew pulled the glass door open and they stepped inside.


“Before I met you, I can count on one hand the number of times I set foot in a police station,” she said ruefully.


“At least they aren’t chasing us anymore.”


“We don’t know that yet. This could be a trap.”


Andrew froze as the glass door bumped shut behind Engrid. He turned to face her. It hadn’t dawned on him. The state law enforcement people could be involved. The CIA can’t operate within the US, but the FBI could. The SLED was the state level version of the FBI. This could all be a ruse to lure them in. Andrew didn’t move. His feet remained rooted to the linoleum floor. Engrid looked up at him.


“What’s wrong?”


He walked up to the desk sergeant.


“Is Agent Carl Mortar and Richard Sørenson here?”


“Yes they are…are you Andrew Garrison?”


“I am.”


“They are expecting you.”


“I know.”


The desk sergeant hopped up and said, “Follow me.”


Andrew walked behind the sergeant with Engrid unwillingly following. He led them down a series of dark, concrete block corridors. The weak fluorescent beams overhead flickered at they fought to stay illuminated. The sounds of their footsteps echoed in the silent chamber. They stopped before a blank, gray metal door.


“Wait here.”


Andrew and Engrid silently walked into the room. It was empty except for a metal table and matching cold, impersonal chairs. The sergeant quickly closed the door and hurried away. The two compadres turned to face one another.


“This must be the utter bowels of the place.”


“Yes. They want us to be intimidated.”


“It’s working grandly,” Engrid replied disdainfully.


“It’s a step up from the warehouse.”


“Barely”


Engrid seated herself in a chair and sat her intertwined fingers on the table.


“You might as well sit down and get some rest. You’ve had a busy day.”


Andrew loudly scraped the chair across the floor and sat against the far wall away from the door. He folded his arms and glared out into the room.


“What on earth are you doing?”


“I can be intimidating too.”


She looked at him with the slightest trace of joviality, “Not right now.”


“What do I look like?”


“A ticked off elementary school student who’s too big for his britches.


“Britches?”


“Yes…you look like you’ve got a chip on your shoulder. They won’t take you seriously looking like that.”


“Then how should I look?”


“You should look like you are going to cooperate.”


“I am going to cooperate.”


“No you aren’t. You’ve got that piece of paper you’re going to give them and you have specific instructions to tell them nothing else.”


“So I should act the opposite of what is real?”


“Yes. What kind of spy are you anyway?”


“A failed one…”


“Now I see why.”


Andrew didn’t say anything else. He just continued to sit in the corner. Agent Sørenson opened the door and looked at them. From initial appearances, it would appear that Engrid was the brains behind the operation with her thug bodyguard lurking the shadows.


“Quite an eventful evening, I would say,” he said jovially as he sat down and looked over at Engrid, “As soon as I take your statement and we ask a few follow-up questions, you’ll be free to go. Does that sound alright to you?”


“That would be fine,” Engrid replied.


Andrew sat in the corner and said nothing. Engrid recounted her involvement in the evening and how she concocted the idea of finding the real perpetrator. She was careful to leave out any hint of what Andrew had told her and about their trip to the warehouse district to rendezvous with a government asset. She spoke quickly with the occasional nervous shrug. Otherwise, Andrew was impressed. He realized that Engrid could verbally tap dance just as well as any agent he’d encountered. She wrapped up her quick recitation and scooted her chair to the side so that Agent Sørenson had an unobstructed view of Andrew, still sitting arms crossed. Agent Sørenson gave Engrid a piece of paper and a pen with the instructions to write down what she’d said and sign it as her official statement to the police in the matter. He turned to Andrew.


“Okay Andrew, what’s your version of events?”


Andrew reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved the note. He stood and walked over to the table. He placed it firmly in front of Agent Sørenson then returned to his seat. Sørenson took the small envelope, opened it and extracted its contents. Both Engrid and Andrew sat holding their breath waiting for his reaction. Neither had any idea what the note contained.


“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Sørenson stated. He stood and rushed out of the room.


“I wonder what the note said,” Engrid wondered aloud, “Do you have any idea?”


“My guess would be that it had a contact name and number. He’ll call that number and who knows what will happen from there. He could let us go no further questions asked. He could come in and arrest us for any number of things. It’s anybody’s guess what’s about to happen.”


Engrid didn’t like the uncertainty of his answer. She wanted a definite answer- even if it was going to be their arrest. A few tense unpleasant minutes passed. The door opened. It was the desk sergeant. He asked them to come with him. They obeyed and followed him to a stairwell. They descended the stairs further into the bowels of the police station. Neither Engrid nor Andrew liked where this was headed. The desk sergeant was almost eerily silent as they walked along. They descended about two stories worth of stairs and arrived at a door at the bottom of the stairs. The sergeant pulled out a large set of keys and unlocked the door.