Chapter 37

Chapter 37—Time to go

3:39 a.m., Monday, December 26

Jack squeezed the car door shut, after he had deposited the body. He quickly glanced around to see if there was any movement or lights from any of the surrounding windows. Seeing none, he was hopeful that his killing had gone undetected. He always used a muzzle suppressor, so he felt reasonably confident that his action might not have aroused attention.
But it didn’t matter at this point. There was blood on the street, and on the car.
 “This has just got way too messy. It’s time to go. Time to go,” Jack kept muttering as he briskly headed back to gather up his belongings, and to check with Reginald where they might spend the night.
Before he had even reached the front door, he spotted his two suitcases ready for him. Reginald had set them outside, and then returned to the apartment.
Jack grabbed his bags, and headed toward the Expedition. Before he reached the car, he heard Reginald racing up behind him.
“Thirty seconds,” Reginald said.
Jack glanced back at his friend. He knew exactly what Reginald had been up to.
Just as the two suitcases hit the floor behind the driver’s seat, an orange flash from the apartment they had just vacated illuminated the night.
“Seems to me you could have given us just a bit longer,” Jack quipped. “You damn near singed my ass.”
“You’re just getting old, … and slow. Ten years ago you would have been half way to New Jersey.”
By the time the two men reached the end of the block, the row home was totally engulfed.
“I think it will take a couple hours before they figure out that wasn’t you up there on the floor,” Jack said.
“What did you do with number two?”
“He’s sleeping it off in his car,” Jack answered. ‘They’ll find him quickly enough. Too much blood. Probably about the same time his buddies show up—but they won’t get close enough to figure anything out. Fire department will have it roped off. Our problems should be finished for the night. What do you think?”
“We should be good for now,” Reginald agreed. “But I was pretty optimistic before all this went down.”
“Reg, I’m getting a little sick of hearing how good you think we are,” Jack said. “We’re lucky just to be alive. That was damn near a disaster back there. ... Look, Reg. We’ve got to start pulling this together, if we’re gonna get Kate back.”
“We need some rest—we’re not thinking straight. ... I’ve got a buddy we can crash with,” Reginald said.  “He’s an old friend from my college days. Doesn’t live far from here, either.”
“Hell, Reg, I didn’t know you went to college,” Jack said. His mood had changed dramatically. He seemed genuinely more relaxed. Up until they killed their two attackers, he had sensed that a problem still lurked.
“Thanks, Buddy.”
 “Hey,” Jack said, “if your friend will let me sleep in a corner, out of the cold, I don’t care how you got to know him. I do not recall ever being this tired. I nearly took a nap waiting for that last bastard to make it back to his car.”
“Aren’t you about ready for a nice vacation? Once we get Kate, and complete this contract?” Reginald said, himself beginning to relax just a bit. “After all this is over, let’s see if we can’t find something in Hawaii. Actually, I think any place south of Newark would do for me right now.”
“I agree with that,” Jack replied, briefly allowing his mind to wander. “How far away is this friend of yours? Do you have to warn him?”
“Twenty minutes at the outside,” Reginald said. “No need to call, I have a key.”
“When are you gonna give me the details about this contract?” Jack asked. “And how does this relate to the fix Kate is in? Just give me the short version. Before someone else tries to kill us.”
“Okay, Jack,” Reginald said, after he had paused a moment, “Here goes. The fact is that I need your help in a very special way.”
“Special? All of the people who hire me consider my services to be special,” Jack replied. “So what makes this time different? And how do these guys holding Kate figure in?”