The elevator dinged when it reached
the ground floor and Sam walked out into the lobby.
Front wall completely made of glass;
plants everywhere of various sizes; combined reception and security desk; card-key
operated turnstiles; a square of comfortable visitor chairs.
Masters reaction to his request was a
setback but not a huge one. He had other contacts he could use that had aided
him in the past and worst case scenario: he could do all the legwork himself.
Of greater concern was that they were
already on to him because of the money he’d taken from the company. It was
unclear how much knowledge they had to date but once they found information on
one of his dealings it wouldn’t take them long to piece through the rest,
especially if Anna was heading up the investigation. Either way, if they knew
about him they would be calling the police imminently. His safe locations were
dwindling. He had to find Jack Catholic now.
As he neared the security desk, one
of the guards stepped clear and waved. “Good afternoon Mr Decker. How you
doing?”
Sam smiled warmly. “Can’t complain
Bob, certainly. Can’t complain. How are you?”
“Er, not bad. Look…” He stopped
directly in front of Sam. “I just got a call from the fourth floor; from Mr
Masters. Saying he, er, wanted to ask you something.”
Sam continued smiling. “Oh really? No
problem. He want me to pop back up?”
Basement exit and fire escape at the
back of the building.
“No. Er, Ms Thorpe’s on her way down
apparently. She’s going to give you a message.”
“Fine,” said Sam, his eyes on the
other security guard as he came away from the desk too and started to crescent
round to Sam’s right. “I’m just going to light up a cigarette. Can you tell her
I’ll be right outside?” He didn’t smoke but chances were, they didn’t know
that. He moved gradually round to the left closer to the security desk. There
was a plant pot on the nearest end of it containing a bonsai tree.
The guard was becoming increasingly
nervous. “If it’s okay with you, he asked if you could wait inside.”
Sam grinned, gauging where both
guards were. Then the grin dropped off his face. “What if it isn’t all right
with me?”
“What?”
Sam slammed his fist into the guard’s
gut, doubling him over, then cracked it hard against the side of his face. The
guard went down on his knees. That was enough. The other guard was older and
fatter but he was still a threat. He ran forward as Sam grabbed the bonsai tree
on the counter by its trunk and smashed it into his cheek. The pot shattered in
an explosion of soil.
Sam started to run, throwing the
remains of the miniature tree down. Somewhere behind him the lift chimed. He
vaulted the security turnstile and sprinted to the entranceway. A man and woman
waiting at reception scattered to the right. Behind him the lift pinged again.
He stopped in the doorway and looked back.
Anna Thorpe came running out into the
lobby. She assessed what was going on immediately and saw him, face furious and
hot. This time Sam’s grin was real.
He gave her a quick two finger salute
off his forehead then disappeared into the crowds.
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