"Well, ain't this a treat," said Victor Ten, venomously. He grinned.
"You thought you could get away."
Rollie put his arms around Angie, protecting her. "How the hell did
you get here?" he said, defeatedly.
"I could say the same thing about you, but I already know the answer.
Victor Two, right? He decided to do you a favour -- let you go free.
So how did you persuade him anyway? A light sentence? What?"
"He wanted to help us," said Rollie. "He did it so we could be free."
"Oh, isn't he sweet?" said Loubar, sarcastically. He shifted the
gun in his hands. "I could almost cry." He sniffed, then laughed.
"Oh, that's funny!"
"So what are you going to do to us?" sighed Angie. "Kill us?"
Loubar's eyes went wide, and he stared at them, and murmured, "Oh, my dear,
nothing would give me greater pleasure. Are you in a hurry?"
Angie glanced up at Rollie. They said nothing.
"I guess not," said Loubar. "Ah well. Get in the car. Now!"
Angie and Rollie moved slowly toward the police car. "Get in," Loubar
Ten commanded. "Both of you in the back."
Rollie stepped into the car, and Angie followed. Loubar Ten was careful
not to get too close to them as they entered the car. Angie saw no
way to jump him. As she settled into the seat, Loubar slammed the
door shut. It locked automatically. Rollie and Angie were in
the back of the vehicle where criminals were held, separated from the front
by a wall of strong steel mesh.
Loubar jumped into the driver's seat. "Everyone comfortable?" he
asked, adjusting the mirror so that he could see them. He laughed
again, and started the engine. "Welcome to Victor Loubar the Tenth's
taxi service. Please stay seated, and your trip will be over very
shortly." He slammed his foot down on the accelerator, whipping the
steering wheel hard to the right. The car spun around, and started
across the asphalt toward the water.
Rollie caught Angie's terrified gaze as they realized what Loubar was going
to do. "Jesus!" he mumbled.
"That's right, Jesus," said Loubar. "You're going to need his help."
He laughed.
The car was nearing the edge of the pier. The concrete barrier here
had crumbled ... nothing would keep them from nose-diving into the water.
"See ya, dudes!" joked Loubar, opening the driver's door. He dived
out of the vehicle, rolling as he hit the pavement, just seconds before
the police car plunged over the edge of the pier into the water.
Angie screamed as the car slammed onto the surface of the water, and Rollie
pressed himself against the seat back. There has to be some way
out, he thought, his eyes searching the inside of the police car.
For a long moment, the car was partially buoyant, floating on the water.
Then, slowly, the nose began tilting downward, and it heaved over onto
its right side. The water level began to slowly creep up the side
of Angie's window. There was the soft sound of rushing water from
the back of the car.
Suddenly Rollie saw it. The unlock button for the doors was on the
driver's side panel of the car, just within arm's reach. There was
a space of a few inches between the edge of the mesh and the roll bar of
the car. "The door unlock!" he shouted to Angie, as he tried to wedge
his arm through the mesh. But he couldn't do it. The gap was
too small.
"Let me try!" exclaimed Angie, shifting over to Rollie's side of the car.
The shift in balance caused the car to begin tipping the other way, toward
the left. The water level had climbed almost to the top of the window,
and water began seeping through the cracks between the doors and the car
body.
Angie grunted, pushing her thinner arm through the space. The metal
was squeezing painfully on her forearms. "Come on, come on!" she
said, her fingers grazing the button. With a grunt that came from
exertion and pain, she slammed the tips of her fingers onto the button.
With a soft click, the doors unlocked.
The floor of the car had flooded, and the water had reached up to their
knees. "Let's go!" said Rollie.
"No, Rollie!" shrieked Angie, panicking. "I'm stuck, I can't
get my arm out! Oh God, no ... "
Rollie swore. He grabbed her forearm by the elbow, and pulled.
Angie screamed in pain, and she started to cry. "No, Rollie, go,
just go ... leave me here, it won't budge ... "
The water was up to their chests. The car was now sinking, totally
engulfed in water. "I'm not leaving you here!" Rollie shouted.
He yanked harder on her arm. Suddenly Angie's arm became loose, and
she pulled it out of the space. "Let's go!" Rollie yelled, pulling
her toward the door. He pulled on the handle, and the door opened.
They each grabbed a last lungful of air as the remainder of the air disappeared
as the rest of the air disappeared with a whoosh. The momentary wave
of water pushed them backward. Rollie grabbed Angie at the hip, and
dragged her out, through the door.
The salty harbour water stung Rollie's eyes as he swam upward. Beside
him, Angie kicked hard. They saw the surface of the water move closer
to them, and just when Rollie thought his lungs were going to burst, they
broke the surface of the water.
"Get under the pier," said Rollie, "quickly, so he doesn't see us."
Angie swam forward, toward the encrusted pillar at the edge of the pier.
Iron rungs were embedded into the pillar, and they each grabbed onto one,
breathing heavily.
"Rollie, my arm," gasped Angie. "I think ... I think it's broken."
"Try to take it easy," said Rollie. He glanced around. About
ten feet away was a ladder up to the platform. "I'm going to swim
over and see if he's still there," he said.
"Be careful," said Angie, wincing in pain.
"I'll try," said Rollie, grinning weakly. Then he let go of the rung,
and swam toward the ladder.
Jack watched proudly as handcuffs were slapped on the last of the Loubars.
"Good job boys," he said, to the officers. "Take 'em out of here."
"Detective!" Jack turned to see Captain Vanduren striding towards
him. "Nice work."
"Thank you sir," said Jack. "We have them all, including the one
who helped Rollie and Angie escape. He's being promised a lighter
sentence."
"Speaking of them, where are they?" asked Vanduren, looking around.
"From what I heard on the radio, they should be here by now."
Jack frowned. "I agree, they should be." Suddenly he turned
and went over to one of the cop cars. He grabbed the microphone.
"Car two oh nine, come in, please. Steven, you there?"
He waited. The radio crackled with static. Jack glanced up
at Vanduren, who looked concerned.
"Uh, Jack?" a heavybuilt officer huffed as he ran up. "Jack, you're
not going to believe this. That number two guy, the one who helped
Rollie and Angie ... he says that one of the Loubar lookalikes has escaped."
Jack turned white, and Vanduren stepped forward. "What?"
"It was number ten, sir," said the officer. "He knows that Angie
and Rollie have escaped."
Jack swore. "I'm going after them," he said, jumping into the car.
"Hold it, officer!" said Vanduren. Jack looked up to see Vanduren
jump in the other door. "I'm coming with you." He spoke to
the heavybuilt officer as he entered the car. "Get us some backup
to follow us, okay?"
"Yes, sir!"
"All right, Captain," said Jack, releasing the brake. With a squeal
of tires, he pealed away from the scene. "Here we go."
Loubar pulled himself to his feet, laughing. What a dramatic way
to die. He envisioned the pair screaming as the car filled up with
the cold, New York Harbour water. The thought filled him with excitement.
He whooped, clenching his fists.
He walked toward the edge, and glanced down at the bubbles rising from
below. He turned away, and began strolling back toward what was left
of the warehouse. All his problems were solved. It was time
for him to disappear.
He was going slowly, and so arrogantly proud of himself that he did not
notice the shadowed figure following behind him until it was too late.
His head was slammed forward, and his fireworks appeared in front of his
eyes. He toppled forward, and at the same time, spun around to face
his adversary.
"I'm baaaack," the voice taunted.
Loubar squinted, but he recognized the accented voice. "What the
fuck ... "
"It takes more than a little water to kill me!" exclaimed Rollie, tackling
Loubar. The air rushed out of Loubar's chest as he fell to the ground.
There was a cracking sound, and Loubar yelped in pain. Rollie straddled
Loubar's chest, and punched him hard. "That one's from Angela," said
Rollie. His voice was low and menacing. He punched Loubar again.
"That one's from Palmira." He grabbed Loubar's head and slammed it
backward into the cement. "And that one's a special gift from me."
"You've gone insane," mumbled Loubar, his mouth bleeding. He tried
to laugh. "You wouldn't kill me. You're Rollie Tyler."
"Yeah. I'm Rollie Tyler. And I'm going to do what I've wanted
to do in a long time." He punched Loubar again, laughing. "How
do you enjoy being on the receiving end?" he said. His eyes burned
with fire. "Now it's your turn to die. I, Rollie Tyler, will
kill you."
Loubar screamed.
Loubar Ten's body lay at an unreal angle on the pavement, in a pool of
fresh, bright red blood. Jack ran forward. "Jesus Christ,"
he mumbled.
"Jack! Captain!" They looked up to see a head pop over the
end of the pier. A figure climbed over the edge, and he ran closer.
It was Rollie.
"What the hell happened here?" said Vanduren to Rollie. "What happened
to you?"
"Loubar tried to drown us," said Rollie. "Angie's under the pier,
she's hurt. We need to get back to her, fast." He looked down
at the broken body. "Is he ... dead?"
Jack felt along Loubar's neck. He nodded, solemnly.
Rollie sighed. "I only saw the end of it," he said. "I was
just climbing out of the water. Whoever it was ran away just as you
drove up. Did you see anything?"
Jack looked at Vanduren. Vanduren shook his head. Jack nodded,
almost imperceptibly. "No," he said.
Rollie sighed. "Who could it have been?"
"Hey, what's this?" Jack stepped forward, and reached under Loubar's
shoulder. He pulled out a plastic mold.
Rollie caught his breath. "It's one of the Loubar's masks!" he exclaimed.
"Could it be his?" asked Vanduren.
"I doubt it," said Rollie. "He doesn't need one. Besides, I
didn't see him carrying it."
"Then whoever beat him up must have left it here."
Jack and Rollie exchanged glances. Jack nodded. But he examined
Rollie, carefully, a dark suspicion rising within him.
The sound of sirens broke the silence. "We have to get Angie," said
Rollie.
TWO WEEKS LATER
Jack moved around the edge of the table. "What did he say, Angie?"
"Like I said, he climbed the ladder, called out your name and the Captain's,
then he climbed onto the pier. I couldn't see him after that."
Angie stood up. "Jack, he didn't do it."
Jack nodded. "I didn't think so," he said. "But I had to make
sure."
"Well, I can vouch for him," said Angie. She moved toward the door
of the interrogation room, and touched the knob with her well arm.
The other was in a cast. "Can I leave now?"
"Yeah. You can leave. I'll see you again, I hope."
Angie smiled. "Bye," she said, quietly. "Thanks."
The streets were quiet. The city had recovered, as had Rollie and
Angie. They sat on a bench in a well lit section of the park, gazing
up at the lights of the skyscrapers all around them.
"He asked me, you know."
Rollie nodded. "And what did you say?"
"I told him the truth," said Angie. "He didn't really believe it
was you."
Rollie shivered. The air was cooler than normal. Winter was
coming. It was typical for mid-November. "I can't believe it
happened," he said. "I wonder who it could have been."
They looked up at the sound of footsteps. A tall figure was walking
down the path, toward them. He was hunched over, with a hood over
his head. Angie and Rollie watched as he walked by, taking no notice
of them. The figure moved on, dropping a crumpled paper into a mesh
wastebasket. He disappeared into the darkness.
"Let's go back to the loft, Rol," said Angie.
"All right," said Rollie, oddly. He stood up, his gaze fixed on the
wastebasket. "Just ... just a second." He walked to the wastebasket,
and removed the paper. As he smoothed it out, Angie appeared at his
side. "What are you doing?" she asked.
Rollie froze. Suddenly, he dropped the paper, racing after the figure.
But, reaching the end of the light, he could see the man had disappeared.
He ran back over to Angie. "This is too weird," said Angie, nervously.
"Let's go," said Rollie, urgently. "Let's go home ..."
THE END (for now)!