AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS CHAPTER SHOULD CONTAIN SOME KIND OF WARNING FOR READERS, AS THERE ARE SCENES CONTAINING COURSE LANGUAGE, WHICH SOME PEOPLE MAY FIND UPSETTING. THEN AGAIN, IF YOU'VE BEEN TO ANY MOVIE RATED ABOVE PG IN THE PAST WHILE, YOU NEED NOT WORRY, AS YOU HAVE PROBABLY HEARD MUCH WORSE.
"I think I may know a way to find the truck," Rollie was saying.
"There's a spare PDA in the back of that truck. Like all of our PDAs,
it can be operated by remote, and it emits a tracking signal. If
I can activate it, it should give the truck's location."
Tony nodded. "Let's do it."
Rollie crossed the room to the shelves along the back wall. Grabbing
an antenna, he plugged it into the back of one of the computers on Angie's
desk. Hitting a few buttons on the touch sensitive pad in front of
the screen, he opened a tracker program, and sent a signal to activate
the PDA in the back of the truck remotely.
Loubar and Angie did not notice the PDA in the back pocket of the passenger
seat begin chirping softly. "So you have the disk already ... !"
Angie was just saying.
There was a chirp, and a map of the core of New York appeared on the screen.
It zoomed in on Manhattan, and then began beeping. "They're there,"
said Rollie, pointing to a small glowing dot on the map.
It was then that the truck collided with the small vehicle.
"So where are they?" Jack asked.
"Near the corner of Bell and Aberdeen," said Rollie.
The truck was screeching to a stop. Angie was struggling out of the
car.
"Let's go," Tony said.
The truck suddenly exploded.
At the loft, the beeping stopped.
"What happened?" said Tony, worried.
"I lost the signal," said Rollie, frowning. "Jesus, something's really
wrong. They can't turn the signal off from that end. The only
way the signal could have stopped was if the transmitter was destroyed."
Tony paled. "We have to get there now," he said. He
turned. "Jack, you stay here with Kim. C'mon Rollie."
"Good luck," said Kim as they ran out the door.
The pain from her ankle was excruciating. Angie felt tears begin
to well up in her eyes. She was terrified. The street was cold
and quiet. She hobbled slowly toward the truck.
The stench of burnt flesh greeted her.
Loubar's charred body was inside. He was unrecognizable, but Angie
knew it was him.
He really was dead.
At first, she couldn't believe it. Holding her hand to her mouth,
she felt her stomach turn upside down. Jesus.
Dead.
Suddenly she began to laugh. It was an insane laugh -- the result
of a pent up supply of hatred, disgust, and absolute terror, which had
been building ever since she had first met him. Angie cackled, then
quieted.
"You're dead now, you fucker," she said, softly. The edge of her
mouth curled in a maniacal grin. "You and your Houdini escapes.
Well you couldn't get out of this one, could you!!" Angie
was screaming now, straggling to the center of the deserted street, tears
streaming down her dirty face. "Well look who survived!!
Who woulda thought!! How in hell are you going to get out of this
one, Victor-fuckin'-Loubar!!" She laughed again, then fell to
her knees on the curb, crying.
She felt so afraid. She was in shock after the crash.
Victor Loubar was dead.
A car roared by her quickly. By the time she looked up, the car
was gone. It jerked her back to reality. She suddenly realized
how exposed she was, and how much danger she was in. She knew she
needed to get help.
Taking two deep breaths to calm herself, she pulled herself to her feet,
focussing her mind. Looking around, Angie surveyed her surroundings.
The buildings all looked the same. Dark, quiet, and menacing.
Suddenly she noticed the shadowed sign of a corner store. In dark
hand painted letters against a plan white background were the words "Arnold's
Convenience." An old sign for Coke was attached to the side of the
doorway, and a faded advertisement for cigarettes.
Feeling that this was as good a place as any to start at, Angie limped
toward the store. The door was left unlocked. It creaked slightly
as she opened it.
Inside, most of the products were still on the shelves. There was
only the faint glow of an emergency light from the back of the store.
"Hello?" called Angie. "Anybody here?"
She was almost relieved that there was no answer. The store seemed
deserted. She moved slowly into the center of the store, to the cash
desk. Then she saw her goal. A phone, next to the cash.
She hurried toward it, and had just about reached the receiver when she
realized that with everything else that had happened in the city, the phone
system may also be down. She picked it up anyway, on the off chance
that, by some luck, it may be operative.
Her eyes widened when, as she pressed the phone to her ear, she heard a
dial tone. "Thank you God," she whispered, quickly, punching in the
first number she could think of, Rollie's personal cell phone. As
it rang, she glanced at the cash register and noticed the drawer was half
open. It was empty. Had the owner grabbed the cash and fled?
she wondered, or had it been thieves? All the more reason to get
out of there as soon as possible ...
"Sir! I'm showing someone trying to get through to Tyler's cell phone!"
A thin man turned, eyes wide, and stared at the computer screen.
"Intercept it," he said. "Route it through to this phone here."
"Uh, all right, yes sir." A moment later, the phone on the desk began
ringing.
Rollie and Tony were halfway to Angie's last known location when the phone
in his back pocket began ringing. He fumbled for it and opened the
phone up. "Tyler," he said.
There was the sound of a dial tone.
"Who is it?" said Tony, not daring to take his eyes off of the road.
They were speeding down the streets at dangerously high speeds, and he
knew that if his attention faltered they could be in a serious accident.
"I don't know," said Rollie, in a strange voice. "They hung up, I
guess ... "
The thin man cleared his throat and picked up the phone. "Tyler,"
he said, in his best imitation of the Aussie.
"Rollie!" came Angie's voice. The man could hear her relief.
"Please, I'm hurt, Loubar's dead -- I need help."
The thin man's eyes widened. "Uh, say again, Loubar's dead?"
"Yeah," said Angie, quickly, "we crashed, and I just got out before
the truck exploded. I saw his body -- he really is dead. Please,
Rollie, I'm in a deserted store, "Arnold's Convenience", near the corner
of Aberdeen and Bell ... I -- I'm scared ... please, hurry." She
felt her eyes begin to moisten again, and she urged herself mentally not
to panic.
"All right, stay there," said the man. "Sit tight, I'll be right
there. Be careful, Angie."
"Hurry," she said again, and hung up.
The man hung up the phone. "He's dead," he said.
"Jesus. Is she still alive?"
"Yes."
The other man sounded slightly relieved. "Are you going to get her?"
"Yes," he said. "She'll be ... pleasantly surprised."