Mind Games (27 page)

“We’ll make a ruckus in the hallway up there, and he’ll have to come handle it. We’ll make it look like I beat you up…”

“Hey!”

“What, it’s my plan. I’ll play the victor. So, you’re all doubled-over against the wall, right? And then you give him a big wallop to the groin and we lock him in the Sheri’s creepy doll room.” Max tapped a drumroll on his knees. “And it’s all downhill from there, my friend.”

Cameron imagined the scene play out in his mind. “I don’t know, Max. Sounds risky.”

“I’m sick of rolling over for them. The rebellion starts now.”

A few heads turned as Max rushed up the stairs, but they soon rotated back to their conversations and board games.

Cameron waited a few moments, so it didn’t look like he was following Max. When he got up, he padded his pockets with his hands, and kept looking down as if he forgot something important in the sleeping quarters. He met Max in the upstairs hallway.

Max calmly opened the room to Sheri’s doll collection and waited for a few seconds with his hands raised to his mouth. Then, his face exploded into a dramatic rage.

“I cannot believe you said that about my mother! How dare you, you piece of shit! What the hell, man? I ought to teach you what fat is. That’s right, give you a nice fat black eye for calling her that.”

Cameron caught on and motioned forward with his hands. He learned this move from watching Kung Fu movies. “You want to go, little man? Cause I can take you! Bring it, boy! I will eat you aliiiiiive!”

Max narrowed his eyes into furious slits, still wearing a slight smirk on his young face. “Oh, it’s so on. Get your ass over here!” He raised his fists.

Cameron did the same and released several blows into the hallway wall. Max reacted wit
h
“Hmmphs!
”
an
d
“Ooughs!
”
for every hit.

“Why you son of…” Max jolted towards Cameron and punched the wall behind him. The walls were harder than he expected, and he felt a sharp sting run through his knuckles and up his arm.

Cameron fell against the floor with a thud, and covered his eye with his hand. “Look, man. I’m sorry, okay? Give me a break…”

Max stood over Cameron with his hands raised in a spread-eagle position, flaring his nostrils. “Teaches you not to mess with me or my mother. Punk!”

Cameron groaned in agony, finding it hard not to smile. “I warned you, but you were asking for it, baby.” He stood balanced in his spread-eagle and slowly lifted his leg into the air, up to his chest.

The library guard ran out and pushed the two apart. “That’s enough! Get away from him!” He slammed Max against the opposite wall and stood over Cameron with his hands on his hips. “How did this start?”

Cameron kept his eye covered with his hand and sniffled.

Now, Max struggled to keep a straight face. “I’m sorry sir. It all started with his fat mother eating all those doughnuts. That’s where this started, sir.”

The guard scrunched his face into distain and leaned further forward, legs planted. “Don’t waste my ti…”

Cameron kicked the guard so hard in the tenders that he recoiled backwards, grabbing his crotch in pain. His glasses fell off and his knees buckled under his overweight torso, causing him to roll onto his side. All the blood rushed to his face and pushed vein out his forehead.

Knowing their chance would soon pass, Max motioned Cameron to grab the guard’s legs while he lifted his arms. They dragged the overweight mass of a man into the doll room. Cameron held the guard to the floor while Max ripped off one of the doll’s scarves and shoved it into the pudgy man’s mouth as a temporary gag. The guard squirmed in attempts to free himself, but Cameron kept his foot firm against his back.

Max hadn’t really thought this far ahead, so he had to improvise. He quickly closed the door and looked around the room. A sewing machine. Some gold and blue ribbon. A dresser and mirror combo. Dark curtains. A bookshelf.

The curtains!

He ran towards them and yanked with all his youthful strength. The heavy curtains fell in a large clump, and he spread them across the floor next to the facedown guard. Cameron anticipated Max’s intention and pushed the guard forward with his feet, rolling him into the center of the curtains.

While Cameron finished sealing him within the drapes like a human burrito, Max searched the room for something to tie it shut. In the midst of his frantic exploration, he opened the drawers to the dresser and found several shoelaces braided together.

“This will work.”

Cameron caught a glimpse of the shoelace cord in the corner of his eye and realized that Max was confirming his father’s legends about Sheri’s husband, the Rabbit Foot Hermit. The man who stole shoelaces for sport.

Max tossed the first cord to Cameron and grabbed several more, clutching them against his chest.

While the guard writhed in the curtain, Cameron wrapped the cord around him and tied it tight, confident their captive would not escape. He and Cameron blocked the door with a tall wooden dresser.

They shuffled from the hallway into the library and looked around. Max flicked on a small, green reading lamp that only dimly lit up the bookshelves. Sheri wasn’t kidding about her husband’s avid reading. There must have been several thousand books.

A dusty globe and other knick-knacks cluttered the space. A few old style desks displayed a china set partially wrapped in newspapers.

And, a small tin trashcan was filled to the brim with cigarette butts. The library gave off a raw mildew stench. Though all the books were neatly shelved, Cameron could still smell the sourness of the ink. Max walked the perimeter of the shelves, carefully inspecting the spines of the countless books.

Cameron sealed the room by sliding a heavy, oak desk in front of the door. It squealed and moaned as he did this, and Max cringed at the attention grabbing sound. However, the socializing that continued in the living room below was so noisy that no one even noticed the situation taking place just above them.

“What are you looking for?” Cameron whispered.

“The opening to The Leader’s room, dummy. You think they just made it easy to find?”

Cameron looked towards the top perimeter of the room where the edge of the bookshelves met the ceiling. “I thought you said you’ve spoken with The Leader before.”

“Yeah. I have. They just had me blind-folded so I wouldn’t figure out how to get back in for a time like this.” Max accidently bumped his head on the bottom of one of the solid desks. “Dammit!” He rammed a leg of the desk with his arm, and a book fell from a shelf onto his foot.

“I didn’t know you were such a klutz.” Cameron said.

“I’m not.” Max crawled out from under the desk, stood, and looked up to where the book had fallen. He gave the desk another forceful shove. More fell from the shelves, but this time Max moved his feet as they tumbled to the wooden floor. “Hey, check it out.” He pointed at the desk. “Help me with this.”

They pushed the desk another six feet forward, and two shelves of books toppled down. The gap in the shelves revealed a wooden lever. Unlike the mahogany wood used to construct the bookshelves, the wood was newer, stained a lighter oak color that stood out, almost glowing a little.

Max pulled the lever and the wall perpendicular to the hallway shifted. Tiny gears ground away, creating a high-pitched scraping sound. The two shelves angled forward and scraped against the wood floor, leaving a butterfly-shaped scuffmark.

They saw a white curtain.

“This is it.” Max whispered. The tension in the room increased, leaving Max momentarily breathless. He turned to Cameron and pointed forward with his eyes as to say, ‘We’ve come this far. Don’t you dare think of leaving me here
.
Let’s g
o
.’

They inched forward, trying not to make their steps known on the squeaky wood flooring.

A large shadow fleeted across the white curtain. The curtain rippled from the movement behind it.

Cameron felt his heart rate increase steadily. He could feel it now, throbbing in his throat. Max’s adrenaline was pumping ever since he started the scene in the hallway, but this was different.

This felt more live.

It would be suicide to turn their backs to the white curtain. Max and Cameron concealed themselves behind the opposite bookshelves that made up the entrance into the private room.

Cameron quickly reminded himself why he was here. The thought of his two beautiful girls gave him an extra boost of courage.

Max held out his hand just beyond the edge of the rotated shelf, ready to signal Cameron. He counted down with his fingers.

Five…

Max wanted...

Four…

his...

Three…

damn...

Two…

money...

One…

FACE TO FACE

Max and Cameron ran in fron
t
of the white curtain that now showed no shadow. Only white light.

The long room was about the size of a cheese-box school bus, and the intruders noticed one chair placed in front of the white curtain. They stood on either side of the chair.

Max’s eyes were wild as he tried to not let his excitement overtake him. This was a rare chance, and he knew the he’d already accomplished something most workers only dreamed of by successfully entering into The Leader’s domain.

Ripples waved across the white curtain, and Max sensed The Leader in the room. Further back.

The two huge bookshelves closed behind them, sealing the room.

Max didn’t want to show it, but he was as nervous as he’d ever been. The Leader’s power grew on him over time. He cracked his knuckles.

Cameron wished he had a gun.

A computerized voice blared from the other side of the curtain.

“Wrong turn, boys.”

Fear took Cameron’s breath away.

The raspy voice only fueled Max’s anger. “You know why we’re here.” He stepped forward until the curtain touched his nose. “I’ve come for my money!”

“Is that right?”

“And you’re going to pay!”

The Leader’s raspy laugh rose from the other side.

“This is a bad time.
”

“Oh really? You want me to drop by later?” Max clenched his fist. “Maybe I’ll bring a cup of sugar and we can work something out.”

The Leader breathed heavily through the electronic voice changer
.
“No, I meant this is a bad time for you. Max, I’ve been watching you. I see you when you eat, how you chomp at your food like an animal. I wouldn’t expect anything else from…a teenager.”

Max flared his nostrils.

“Besides, Max, Why do you need money? I’ve provided for you.”

“No,” Max said. “It’s the other way around. W
e
provide for you. I’m the reason that heist worked. I deserve payment.”

The large shadow moved behind the curtain. The leader now stood only inches from Max’s face on the other side. Only the thin curtain separated them. Max could smell The Leader’s sour breath.

“I’ve already saved your life, Max. I could have killed you when you walked in. But I didn’t.”

“So, you’re a coward then.”

When the Leader laughed, Max felt the vibrations of his vocal cords.

“Yeah, that’s why you need this curtain. Are you really so ugly that you need to hide away…like a beast in a chamber?”

The Leader’s shadow enlarged as he walked away from the curtain towards the light source.

Cameron listened as the Leader loaded a gun.

“I have more bullets up here that I need. Actually, at least one for every worker downstairs. Who knows, maybe even two bullets per person. It would only take…”

“You don’t scare me anymore,” Max interrupted.

Silence.

For a moment, Cameron heard his own heart beating.

The lights dimmed.

“You like games, don’t you Max?”

“I’m not playing your game anymore, asshole.”

“You shouldn’t talk like that. You’re just a kid. Naughty.”

Max retrieved a pocketknife from his jeans and opened the blade. He stuck it in the center of the white curtain. The sharp blade easily pierced through the taught fabric.

“Stop right there.
”
The Leader cocked the gun.

“You wouldn’t shoot me.” Max said. “No, it’d be like a master shooting his own slave.”

“I have many more slaves.”

“But they aren’t as smart as I am. You knew...”

The Leader suddenly unloaded four bullets through the curtain just to the right of where Max was standing.

Cameron felt each bullet wiz by his head.

Max stood his ground. “You missed.”

“No, I’m simply getting warmed up.”

Max pulled down on the pocketknife, slowly tearing a straight line down the curtain. “You don’t have the guts to shoot me. You need me. I’m part of your livelihood.” The knife reached the bottom of the curtain, creating a small entrance to the other side. “Two years of my life, man. You owe me for two years. And you’re going to pay.” He slid his right foot through the slit in the curtain.

Cameron stood directly behind Max.

Another six bullets penetrated the curtain on Max’s left side, hitting the back wall with deafening force.

Max pushed his entire right leg through the slit, and tried to speak calmly. “You won’t kill me. I don’t think you know how.”

“
Stop! Don’t come any closer!
”
The Leader yelled. A hint of fear hung on his threat.

Max slowly spread the open curtain with his hands.

The Leader unloaded two more bullets into the floor, just missing Max’s right foot.

Max pressed on. “Sure, we fear you because we think you’re violent. I don’t believe you are. I don’t even think you’ve killed anyone before. Not directly. You’re in this for the thrill of it. But you can’t actually handle it. Now, I want my money!” Max lunged through the curtain.

The tall construction lights that now cast his shadow against the torn curtain initially blinded him. A different, bright red curtain next to the light at the back of the room swayed. Max motioned for Cameron to come through the white curtain, suspecting The Leader must have retreated behind the red cloth.

“Why must you keep hiding?” Max said. “How ugly can you be?”

Silence.

The flooring between the white and red curtains was painted a deep burgundy and piles of various documents cluttered a large glass desk in the center of the room. A battered microwave sat on the floor, and a detailed blueprint of the Empire Bank was plastered to the wall, covered in markings and notes. Overall, the space looked like a high-end corporate office. Even the paperweights were molded in glass.

Max walked to the bank’s blueprint and examined it closely. “I was right here...” He pointed to the vault. “...when I got your money.”

Cameron noticed something. Orange peels were carefully stacked like chips inside a tall drinking glass.

Max stepped towards the red curtain in the back.

Two thin hands came out from the curtain, holding the gun
.
“Get on your knees. Now.”

Max turned back to Cameron. “What do you think, buddy? Should we follow along with…”

Three more bullets shattered the glass desk.

Four knees hit the ground.

“Hands behind your heads!”

“Did you lose some weight?” Max taunted.

“Shut up!
”
The electronic voice screamed.

“Enough hiding. Show yourself!” Max breathed heavily.

Silence.

“Do it, you coward! Show yourself!”

The Leader slowly moved into view. Thin arms, a huge torso, then, another thin leg stretched forward wearing work boots as the Leader emerged.

But a paper bag didn’t cover the face.

It wore a headset.

And a voice changer.

It was the face of Jennifer Frost.

“Jen?” Cameron lowered his hands.

“Hi, honey.
”
Her voice still filtered through the electronic voice changer.

“Wait,” Max said. “You two know each other?”

Cameron talked through gritted teeth. “You could say that.”

Jen wore a fat suit around her torso, and she still held the gun, aimed at Max
.
“I’m glad you’re making friends,
”
she said to Cameron.

He stood up. “So, you planned all of this? The tunnels, the heist?”

“All of it, babe,
”
she said without blinking
.
“I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out.
”
She removed the voice-changing headset, letting it hang around her neck.

“You were always a bit of a control freak.”

Jen pointed the gun at Cameron
.
“Watch it, honey.
”

“How could you lie to me like this?”

“Look,” she said in her own voice, “Out here, I’m not your wife. I’m a faceless Leader.”

Max started to laugh. “Just wait ‘til I tell the guys downstairs they’ve been taking orders this whole time from a woman!” he snorted. “Dallas is gonna be pissed! If they knew...”

Jen stepped closer to Max, holding the gun to his forehead. “They’re never going to find out.”

Max stopped smiling. “You two need counseling.”

Jen addressed Cameron; “You really had to become friends with him, didn’t you. Just to spite me?”

“No, I came here to save you.”

“But I was never in real danger. And I can’t let you leave now. You know too much.”

“Where’s Sarah?”

“Sarah?” Jen said. “Mommy has taken care of her.”

“What did you do to her?!”

“Relax, Cam. Mother knows best.”

Cameron took a strong stride towards Jen. “If you touched a hair on her head, I’ll…”

“You think I would hurt my own daughter?”

Cameron gestured towards the gun. “I don’t know what to think any more. What happened to you?”

“Happened? Nothing happened to me. I just woke up, that’s all. Don’t you see, Cameron? We don’t have to work anymore. This money. This success. You’ve always been obsessed with solving crimes, and now we have the tools to do that. Soon, we will have full access surveillance into the homes of criminals all across the city.”

“But it’s illegal.”

“What’s is?”

“All of this. Look at what you’re doing. It’s wrong, Jen.”

She waved the gun back and forth. “Right. Wrong. I stopped caring so much about that. It’s much more fun to live in the grey area. Much more interesting.”

Cameron shook his head. “Where’s Sarah?”

“Oh that again…”

“You used our daughter.”

“So what. She’s a big girl.”

“Where is she?”

“You want to see her?”

Jen kept the gun in her right hand and grabbed a remote control with her left. She pulled a cord and the red curtain opened behind her, revealing a console of monitors displaying video feeds including the dining room, living room, and a wide angle from the metal tree contraption on Highway 17. One of the black and white monitors displayed a small playroom with a beanbag chair and several chapter books.

Sarah sat sitting on the floor reading.

“See, safe and sound. You shouldn’t worry so much.” Jen said.

“Why are you doing this?” Cameron asked.

“Someone had to,” she said.

“Listen,” Max said. “Why don’t you drop this whole thing and let me go back to my real life. Forget the money. Just let me hang out with my dad again.”

“Maybe he can join us here,” she said coldly. “Would you like that?”

Max stood up and stretched. “I’ve had enough of this shit. Cameron, let’s go back downstairs. She’s obviously not going to pay us.”

“Not so fast.” Jen picked up a walkie-talkie. “Dallas.”

A pause.

Then Dallas’s voice crackled from the other end. “Yes?”

Jen put on her mask and cowboy hat again to conceal her face. “Get up here. Now.”

Max’s face went white.

“Don’t worry,” Jen lowered the walkie-talkie. “We’re just putting you in the vault for a few days. Now that we have the money, I have no need for the replica. But, I think I’ll keep the vault as a time out zone. Looks like we’ll always need that with you two around.”

“Jen, snap out of this! I’m your husband!” Cameron yelled. “You’re going to starve us down there?”

“No, sweetie. I’ll have Sheri bring food. I don’t want to kill you.”

“Then why were you shooting at us?” Max asked.

She tore down the white curtain trashed with bullet holes and folded it u
p
.
“To put you in your place. You’re still just my workers. You won’t get bored in the vault. I’ll put a monitor in there and you can help us chose criminal targets.” Jen hung up a new white curtain as she spoke. “Really, I’m being more than generous with you two. Our program is for the greater good. Just wait Cameron, in a few months, some of your police buddies will be writing me thank you letters. Too bad they’ll never find the address.”

The two bookshelves cranked opened at the other end of the room. Dallas entered carrying some rope. “Cameron. Max. Let’s go.”

He tied their hands and pushed them out of the room.