Tony stumbled forward. "Rollie ... it's Loubar!" he gasped.
Rollie turned to "Tony" just to see his face melt away into a plastic mold.
"Tony" removed the mold ...
... revealing Loubar's grinning face. Suddenly, he pointed his gun
at the real Tony, firing three times. Tony swore, and dived behind
a dumpster. "Get in!" ordered Loubar, pointing his gun at
Rollie.
Rollie obeyed. Loubar climbed into the driver's seat. He had
taken Tony's jacket when he had attacked him, and the keys were in the
pocket. Loubar started the car and, with a squeal of tires, he drove
off.
Tony was left on the street, wincing in pain. He pulled himself to
his feet just in time to see Loubar disappear around a corner a few blocks
down.
He knew he needed to get help. Loubar must have come in a car,
he
thought. He looked around, but the street was empty of any vehicles.
He pulled himself to his feet, and after a few minutes of searching, found
where Loubar had parked his car, a block away. Fortunately for Tony,
it was unlocked.. Collapsing into the seat, he felt around for keys.
He couldn't find any.
Well, I guess I have to do this the hard way.
He felt around under the dashboard and grabbed a clump of wires.
Cursing that it was so dark and he'd have to do this by feel, he used his
fingers to trace each wire back to its source. Once he'd determined
the two wires he needed, he stripped away some of the insulation with a
small knife he'd been carrying in his pocket. Then, he touched them
together ...
... and the engine sputtered once, then ignited. It began to purr
softly.
Tony glanced at his watch. It had taken him about fifteen minutes.
He sighed with resignation and exhaustion. Loubar, Rollie and Angie
were long gone.
"Where are you taking us?" demanded Rollie.
Loubar didn't answer.
"Dammit, Loubar, answer me -- !"
Loubar hit the brakes hard, and the car careened to a stop. "Do you
want to die, Tyler?" he said, calmly, pulling out his gun and pressing
it into the middle of Rollie's forehead. "I really don't need
you alive, you know. And it would give me so much pleasure
to kill you right now ... "
Rollie swallowed. "All right," he said, "all right, I won't ask questions."
"There's a good man," said Loubar, putting his gun away again. He
smiled, clapped Rollie on the shoulder, and started driving again.
Angie and Rollie, both terrified, were silent.
Loubar finally stopped in front of a deserted warehouse near the waterfront.
It looked as large as an airplane hangar, and high along the outside ran
a line of windows, most of them cracked or broken. There was no light
inside.
"Get out," Loubar ordered, waving his gun at Rollie and Angie.
Slowly, Angie and Rollie stepped out of the police car with Loubar.
"Walk that way," said Loubar, pointing to a door in the side of the warehouse.
Rollie and Angie glanced at each other, then slowly made their way to the
door. Angie's ankle was feeling a little better, but it still hurt
each step she took.
When they'd reached the door, Rollie noticed a gleaming new keypad lock
above the handle, out of place on the rusted old door. Loubar punched
a combination in on the keypad. It buzzed, and there was a click
as the lock was disengaged. The door swung open, creaking softly.
The large warehouse was completely deserted. The faint pink light
from the sunrise outside shone down through the windows, giving everything
an eerie pink glow. The air was dry and dusty, and the warehouse
was cold.
"This way," ordered Loubar. He led them across the warehouse to another
doorway, which looked like the double doors of an elevator. He punched
a code in on another keypad next to the elevator doors. A bell chimed,
and the doors opened.
"Get in," said Loubar, motioning for Rollie and Angie to step into the
elevator. He stepped back so that Rollie wouldn't try to make a grab
for his gun as he went in.
Rollie looked around. The inside of the elevator was made out of
a strong steel, and there was a faint antiseptic smell. Neon lights
in the ceiling bathed them in a pale, cold glow.
The elevator started to descend rapidly. Angie gasped as her stomach
lurched upward for a moment, and she grabbed a handle in the wall for support.
They stood there for a long moment in silence. Finally, Rollie spoke.
"So, Loubar," he said, nonchalantly, "how did you do it?"
Loubar looked up. There was a hint of a smile on his face.
"How did I do what?" he asked, knowing full well what Rollie was
talking about.
"You died in that truck," said Rollie, sharply. "I saw your body.
Angie saw your body. You should be dead."
Loubar's smile grew wider. "Ah, old friend, you're right. Sort
of. I did die in that truck."
"Sort of?" said Angie, angrily.
"Yes," said Loubar. "Would you like to know how I'm still standing
here?"
They said nothing.
The elevator stopped. It chimed again, and the doors opened.
Rollie and Angie gasped.
"That's how," said Loubar, grinning ...