Legend of the Book Keeper (12 page)

The man rubbed his head where Jade had connected with the clock. When he finally spoke, his voice was scratchy and irritated. “Well, I had intended to introduce myself like a civilized man, before the warrior-princess over there thought it would be a great idea to knock my wind out.” He brought his hand up to rub the carpet burn on his cheek. “Stupid children.”

“I’m sorry, we thought you were . . .” Jade began as she removed her knee, but the man interrupted her. “Well, you thought wrong. If foolish girls like you started attacking people every time they had a rogue thought, we’d have a world of cripples and lames. They’d be giving out wheelchairs with birth certificates.”

Jade felt her face flush. “How dare you say . . .” But the man paid no attention to her; instead he turned to face Cody.

“Do you have the Book?” he questioned matter-offactly. Cody subconsciously reached behind and felt the indentation of the book pressing against the edges of his backpack, grateful that he had not forgotten it in the other room. After all the adventures they had endured over the last two days, he realized that this was the first time anyone had acknowledged the significance of the Book since Wesley. It gave Cody a strange sense of assurance.

“The note!” yelled Jade. It had just dawned on her that they had left Wesley’s letter openly exposed on the nightstand. The short man grunted, “Never mind it; it’s worthless to you now. You already deciphered the riddle.”

“You were eavesdropping on us!” Cody accused furiously.

Again the man let out an irritated grunt. “Well, I wouldn’t have been forced to tap into your dull conversations had you not led me on the bloody Boston marathon throughout the streets! So uncivilized, you people . . .”

“So it was
you
who was tracking us from the station! But why?” Jade questioned.

“Ruddy well right it was me tracking you. And to save your toasty American bacon, that’s why. Which I just did if you hadn’t noticed. Not that my crushed ribcage made me feel unwelcome or anything.”

Jade knew it would be pointless to argue with the man. Mustering up all the friendliness she could manage, she offered him a smile. “Well, Sir, what would you have us do next?”

The man tossed his head back in disgust, “What do you think, hunny? I’m gonna bust your hinies outa this fifteenstory prison.”

Escape

C
reaking soft as a cricket, the door inched open. Out of the opened crack stuck a small, roundish head. The bearded face scanned the hallway left and right before easing the door open fully. “Follow me, and don’t make a sound or I’ll kill ya myself,” he commanded to his cohorts as they crept down the hall.

He was sure that both the elevator and stair exits would be under close surveillance in the lobby. He pressed his hunched back against the wall to avoid the moonlight sneaking through the hallway windows; even at fifteen stories up, he was not willing to take chances. These people knew the truth about the Book. That fact alone made them an exceedingly perilous threat. It was going to take a lot of smart planning to get out of this one,
and a whole lot of dumb luck
, he thought grimly.

From behind, Cody and Jade followed him tentatively. Their newly self-appointed leader was a foul little man, but their gut told them that he was trustworthy. Besides, they didn’t exactly have an alternative option. The fact that he had remained nameless, though, was more than unsettling.

For the first time, the stranger turned back to examine his followers. “Okay, lads, we’re going to have to take the stairs. I have a car parked just o
utside the lobby in temporary parking. When we get to the lobby, let me handle things. I don’t want you brainless oafs ruining our already slim chances. When the coast is clear, get to the car and start the engine. We either leave here tonight in that car or in a body bag.” He tossed a set of keys toward Cody who boggled them in his hands.

“How are you going to distract . . .” Cody began, but the short man had already departed and was scurrying down the stairs. Jade leaned in close to Cody. “What do you make of all this? Is this man one of the good guys or the bad ones?” Cody made no reply; he had no answer. They passed by the tenth floor and kept moving. The man in front continued his constant, distasteful muttering. “You lads and your obsessive desire to build higher and higher . . .” The rest of his grumblings were incoherent. At last they reached the ground floor. The dwarf peeked through the window of the door. “Aye, I see three of those mindless goats there now,” he whispered. “Wait for my cue; then make a dash for it.”

“What about the others? It sounded like there might be more of them. What should we do if run into them?” asked Jade timidly. The man muttered a curse, “Use your own blasted head. You do got a brain swimming around in there, ain’t ya?” He grabbed the doorknob. “Oh, and lads,” he paused, “try not to get yourselves shot. . . .” Before they could protest the dwarf had pushed the door open and sauntered into the middle of the lobby. Cody and Jade knelt down, leaving the door slightly ajar, waiting anxiously for the man’s cue.

In the lobby were three men. A skinny, blond haired man was lounging on a sofa holding a
Women’s Home Decor
magazine as his eyes perused the lobby diligently. Another hefty man was propped up against the wall on the opposite side of the room doing the same. A third man, with a prominent scar across his left cheek, was standing casually by the front doors, peering out the glass at the people walking the streets. All three men were wearing long, black leather coats. Cody could just make out tiny wires coming from their ears.

“What a day! Don’t yous say gentlemens?” the dwarf called out obstructively loud, plopping himself down on the couch adjacent to the blond man. The coated man looked up, unimpressed by the intruder, before lowering his head back down to his magazine, ignoring the question altogether. The dwarf continued, uttering each word with a drunken lisp, “First I loses the family fortune on a fews games of blackjack, can you believes it?” The watchman again looked up from his magazine disdainfully. “Yes, tragic,” he snapped in a bored voice, indicating that the conversation had already reached a point further than he cared to hear. The second watchman continued to scan the lobby. His eyes paused momentarily on the staircase door. Cody winced. After several intense moments, the man looked away again, apparently noticing nothing unusual.

“Just whens I thinks the day can’t get any
more
interesting, can you guess whats I saw?” The dwarf continued, swaying back and forth dizzily, “Two teenagers, climbing outs their window!” At the mention of the teenagers, the eyes of the watchmen shot toward the speaker. “Just a walkings and a’ climbings down the ledge; don’t sees that everyday dos ya lads!” The scar-faced man by the front door quickly disappeared outside. The bulky sentry by the wall inconspicuously set down his brochure and moved swiftly toward the stairs.

“We need to hide!” Jade whispered to Cody, watching as the man came straight in their direction. They scanned their surroundings but there was nowhere to go. The man reached the stairway door. His callused hand wrapped around the handle and began to slowly twist it open. Cody braced himself to pounce.

The sound of a ding sounded from around the corner. An elevator had just opened. The gruff man paused, gave an ugly smile and walked out of sight toward the sound of the bell. Cody let out a sigh of relief.
That was too close.

Out in the lobby the dwarf continued to blab on to the skinny man with the magazine, whose face had grown increasingly redder with frustration. “. . . I tells ya, she was the purdyest thing I ever laid me’s two eyes ons!” He yakked on, “Well, it’s beens a whale of a day! I think I should be’s off to bed.” The man gave a rude grunt, acknowledging that he whole-heartedly agreed with the suggestion. As the dwarf stood up he swaggered back and forth for a minute, before releasing a rattling, wet belch. He took a wobbly step forward and then, with a loud curse, he collapsed right into the lap of the watchman.

This had been the final straw. The vexed man threw up his hands. “Sir, I don’t give a hoot about your family fortune or your ugly third wife. I just want to be left a . . .
umph
!” He never had a chance to finish his rant. The dwarf’s head came flying up and smashed against the man’s lower jaw, jerking his head back. He fell against the back of the sofa, unconscious.

For Cody and Jade, this was the only cue they needed. Jumping out from their hidden refuge, they dashed across the lobby as fast as they could. The dwarf followed close behind. “The car, start the ruddy car!” he bellowed. Cody didn’t need to be told twice. Dashing out the revolving door he saw a black BMW parked in the front. Clicking the automatic doors, Cody jumped into the passenger side and thrust the keys into the ignition. The car roared to life. The crackle of a gun-shot rang out. Sparks exploded off the pavement beside the car, spewing chunks of pavement into the air.

As the dwarf reached the door he flung another wad of cash to the shocked desk attendant. “For the damage!” The sound of a second gun blast flew just above the attendant’s head. He collapsed to the desk.
I need a raise.

The Hunted and the Hunter

T
he screeching of tires echoed in the night sky as the BMW peeled out of the parking lot, the smell of smoldering rubber filling the air. Fish-tailing onto the road, its tires gained traction, and it burst off as though launched from a cannon. Moments later, a black van drifted onto the road; with a loud squeal it propelled forward in close pursuit. Despite dusk settling in, the streets were still littered with cars and pedestrians lined the sidewalks. A chorus of horns erupted as the BMW swerved recklessly across two lanes unannounced and veered off sharply to the left. Loud, angry curses flew out the car window in response.

Cody felt his heart race. The hotel lights blurred in his side window as the car gained speed. Glancing to the rearview mirror he saw the black van roughly two blocks behind. Jade squeezed his hand tightly from the backseat.

Lurching across lanes, the car zoomed around a left hand turn and cut down a narrow single-lane ally. An opposing one-way sign flashed across the windshield for an instant as the car exploded past. The dwarf slammed his foot on the gas pedal; the car jerked back as it kicked into a higher gear. The parallel brick walls enclosing the narrow road bl
urred. Sparks cracked from the side-view window as it nipped against the wall like a match against a match box. The car reached the end of the alley; Cody felt his fingers stiffen around Jade’s as the BMW launched out like a bullet. Cranking the wheel, the dwarf sent the car sliding sharply right, squeezing in between two oncoming cars.

The deafening crackle of a gunshot was followed by a loud
TING
sound. The car jerked sending Cody’s head whiplashing against the dashboard. Looking back, with a warm dampness of blood accumulating on his forehead, he saw that the pursuers were now close enough to see the whites of their eyes. Holding a gun, a bald, dark-skinned man’s arm hung out the passenger side window.

Another shot blasted. The BMW swerved swiftly to the side to avoid it. Up ahead, Cody saw the approaching intersection. The lights turned red. Cody gave a nervous glance to the dwarf; the car continued to accelerate, “The light’s red! You’re going to . . .”

The driver’s arm came flying up and smacked Cody hard across the mouth knocking him back into his seat. “Keep your mouth closed unless you want a bullet sailing through that empty waste of a head!” he growled. Squeezing Jade’s hand tight Cody shut his eyes.

The next moments were a blur. He heard the screeching of tires and the blaring of horns. A thunderous smash was accompanied by a dozen yelling voices. The car rattled back and forth violently. From the back seat Jade gave a quick shriek. Then everything was quiet.

Cody peeked open his eyes. In front of him, the open road raced relentlessly toward him. He glanced to his side mirror; a large smoldering pileup of cars now clogged the intersection. They had miraculously made it through with only minor damage. Unfortunately—so had the black van.

A long string of muttered curses flowed from the dwarf’s mouth, never finishing one before eagerly pronouncing the next. The road ahead was flat, straight, and deserted. Cody watched as the speedometer climbed to 130 miles/hour. The landscape around them was no longer distinguishable as it whizzed past. Cody grinned; this had obviously been the dwarf’s plan all along. On the open road their BMW had far superior speed than the van. They were home free.

“Blast!” the driver yelled.

The car began to gradually lose speed. Cody looked to the dwarf frantically. “Why are we slowing down! We need to keep moving!”

“I’m not trying to . . . we’re out of gas!” The dial on the dashboard was completely flush with the
E
. “You didn’t bother to fill it? What were you thinking!” Jade called in horror from the back seat. The car was now rapidly losing speed.