Cole waited just outside the bathroom, keeping the door open, watching her. She washed the blood from her face and blotted the wound with toilet paper. When she came out, he gave her a soda and a pretzel.
Carla downed the entire soda, unable to stop herself from drinking.
“Where’s Anna?” she asked, wiping her mouth and chin.
“Safe. For now.” He handed her another drink.
“They’ll be here, you know,” Carla whispered. “They’re coming.”
“Oh, I’m counting on it,” he mimicked her soft voice. “I’m still undecided on what part I want Anna to play. But I have something big planned for all of you. Very, very big.”
Carla hated the demented glint in his eyes. She knew she didn’t have much to work with. For now, all she could do was try to buy more time. She set down her half-eaten pretzel. “Why don’t you use me, instead of Anna?”
Cole smiled. “Oh, I intend to use you, Officer. To the very end. As for the girl, she serves a purpose. A damned worthy purpose.”
Chapter Eighteen
If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, then we were on the right track, thought Jack.
All of them were bone tired, and it was late. If they were going to stop a madman, then they needed their rest, figured Jack. They also needed to come up with a firm plan of attack. But first, they needed sleep. Which is why they found themselves in an abandoned motel not far from Dodger Stadium, in Echo Park.
Jack took the first watch, then his brother and Mike. In all, they were lucky to get a few hours between them, especially with Julie proving to be a real pain in the ass. Apparently, she didn’t like being tied up and muzzled. Go figure.
“She’s sleeping with the enemy,” Mike said, dismissing her discomfort with a shrug, to which she tried to object strongly. “Tough shit,” he added.
“True,” Brice said, “But not anymore. Not for the time being, at least. Hell, she’s from the beach. I bet she doesn’t even know which way is north. She’s not going to go running out into the night by herself. Not here.” Julie now shook her head enthusiastically, eyes wide.
After some debate, they decided to let her loose under the condition she spoke as little as possible. She set about rubbing her hands. “Well!” was all she said.
The guys started talking about how to best enter the Stadium. And what they should expect. Jack was an avid Dodger fan, but Brice had been one for decades longer. He knew the most about the place.
“There’s a powerful generator there,” he advised. “The place could be lit up like a giant roman candle.”
Getting in unnoticed was an assured impossibility. Joe and Mike were adamant they should at least scout the place out before ‘driving into the field with guns blazing.’
“We aren’t driving anywhere in that truck, unless we want to be heard from miles away,” said Joe.
Mike shrugged. “I’ll get us more suitable transportation.”
* * *
They decided the best plan of attack was to park a fair distance out of sight, and walk the perimeter of the stadium to gather as much information as possible. This meant each guy carried as many weapons as possible and relied on radio communication once they separated. Mike and Joe volunteered to venture out to the Big 5 Sporting Goods nearby in order to procure enough ammo, radios, and whatever else they could carry with them.
The pair returned an hour later, out of breath.
“Sorry it took so long,” said Joe, panting. But Mike was smiling. Joe added, “Big 5 was practically empty. It’s been looted, stripped. No radios, no nothing. Not even socks or snacks.”
Jack jabbed a thumb in Mike’s direction. “Then why does he look like the Cheshire cat on ecstasy?”
“Because we found another place,” Joe continued. “The police station. It’s empty now. Man, they still have everything.” Joe showed his brother the same kind of radios Carla carried. “We just have to change the frequency to limit to our own group. And you should see what Mike picked up.”
Mike’s grin broadened.
“You’re gonna love this, Jack.”
Jack didn’t think he would love anything in this nightmare. But he followed Joe and Mike to the motel’s parking lot.
The brand-new Cadillac Escalade was indeed a shocker. Beautiful, fully loaded. More importantly, the tires were huge. “It’s a four-wheel drive,” Mike smiled as they approached. “Found it with the keys inside. A little blood on the driver’s seat, but that’s all.”
“Gasoline?”
“Full tank.”
Jack shook my head, and allowed a weak smile to pull on the corners of his mouth. Maybe there was hope for them yet. They loaded the rest of their supplies. Finally ready, they woke up Brice and Julie, and were on their way. None of them knew what to expect, but Jack was certain of two things: he would get his daughter and Carla back. Then he would personally kill Cole, the agent in black.