The cab picked up the pace, and Victoria smiled to herself. This is more like it.
The journey lasted exactly nine minutes and forty-five seconds. The driver stopped just inside Lincoln Park.
“Here you go,” he said smugly. “That’ll be fifteen dollars and sixty-four cents… times two.”
“Thanks,” she said dryly as she reached into her purse. Thankfully, Malcolm been wise enough to give her ten thousand dollars in cash for basic living expenses while all her electronic money was inaccessible. She handed the driver a fifty dollar note. “Just keep the rest.” She opened the door and quickly stepped out onto the concrete of the sidewalk.
The driver sped away without so much as a thank you for the generous tip. His tires squealed as he braked around a corner, disappearing from Victoria’s view.
“Jerk,” she said bitterly. “Why couldn’t you drive that way to begin with?” Shaking her head in frustration, she began to walk toward the Consular General’s condo. It would take the better part of a half hour to walk the distance, and Victoria could feel herself grow increasingly weary with each step. Push it, Victoria. You don’t have time to sleep, she mentally encouraged herself as she walked.
The condos stood tall above the buildings nearby. Victoria glanced around to see what she was up against. She saw a doorman at the front of the building and suspected that the Consular General would have security inside. Once she was in the building, she would find a way up into his room and sift through any information she could get her hands on-hopefully, without getting caught.
She reached into her purse to check the time: 7:40 PM. She put the device back into a safe place and kept her eyes on the door. When a young couple walked out of the building and the doorman became distracted, Victoria slipped into an alley without being seen.
According to the blueprints that she had found, there was a maintenance entrance on the side of the building that required a key. She didn’t have it, but she did have the next best thing: bobby pins. The alley was dimly light by the streetlights and her dark clothing provided cover in the shadows. A second wind washed over Victoria; adrenaline pumped through her veins with each step. Reaching out to touch the wall, she found the metal security door on the side of the building.
Her eyes scanned the door, but the lock she was expecting to find wasn’t there. Instead she touched an unfamiliar door handle that lit-up red as soon as she brushed her fingers against it. It was a biometric lock that required the right finger print, not the conventional lock she expected. She knew there was a movement to change the locks in the city, starting with the more upscale sections, but as far as she knew, Lincoln Park had remained untouched.
She turned around and scanned the building next to her until she found another door. Reaching out to feel for another lock, her fingers soon brushed against a metal circle above the handle. Frowning, she found another blinking red light of a biometric lock on the condo maintenance door.
“Someone is fucking with me,” she whispered bitterly. She had to shrug off her frustration and focus her quickly draining mental ability on finding another way into the building. “There is always that,” she mused as she looked down at her chest. “If you’ve got ’em, flaunt ’em.”
The idea of using her body wasn’t alien to Victoria, as it had gotten her out of more situations than she could remember. It was one of the first things she learned as a reporter-how to use every resource at her disposal in order to get the story. She had always found that men were easy enough to manipulate once she gave them a reason to feel like a hero.
Her fingers gripped the shoulder of her shirt and she tugged at the fabric until it ripped slightly. Satisfied with the damage, she turned her purse over and allowed the contents to spill out onto the ground, except her phone, which she placed in her bra. She did her best to conjure up tears in the corner of her eyes, as she walked out onto the main sidewalk.
Quickly she approached the doorman, with tears flowing down her cheeks freely. Looking as frantic as she could, she reached out to grab at the doorman’s shoulders. “Please. You have to help me!” she pleaded. “Some freak just tried to mug me in the alley. Oh my god…”
“Whoa, slow down, sweetie,” the man said calmly. “Did you get a good look at him?”
She shook her head, and picked up her breathing. “No! I just-I was just walking by and he grabbed me. I dropped my purse and just ran!” She lied like a professional. It made her feel bad, but she couldn’t afford another option.
The man looked at her disheveled state and then looked down the sidewalk toward the alley she had come from. “I’ll call the cops,” he said.
“No,” she said with real despair. “I’ve been walking home from the other side of the city and I’m just so tired. I can’t deal with their questions right now.” She looked up at him with wide eyes, tears flowing, and she sniffled as she rubbed her nose.
The doorman nodded, though he looked as if he wanted to ask her something else. “Okay,” he said gently. “Do you have someone you can call?”
Victoria hesitated and glanced away. “No,” she said sadly.
The man looked thoughtful for a second and reached out to gently touch her on the shoulder. “You can stay here for a little while until you feel up to leaving.”
“You’re really sweet,” she said, touching his arm softly. “Thank you so much.”
The man’s face reddened slightly. “No-no problem,” he stuttered shyly.
“I think some of my stuff dropped in the alley,” she said. The guilt was mounting, but she kept up her act. “I’d feel a lot better if you came with me to get it.” She stroked his arm and felt the muscles underneath his jacket.
He was actually quite handsome, but she didn’t have time to admire him.
“I-uh,” he stammered out. “Sure.” He looked at her with growing lust in his eyes.
Victoria could see the man struggling with his own emotions and felt a small flicker of satisfaction. “I’m really grateful,” she said huskily as she slid her hand over his chest.
The man didn’t even respond, but he began glowing as though he was the luckiest man on the earth. All signs of doubt drained from his face, replaced by desire.
Victoria would have felt bad had the guy kept up his Boy Scout attitude, but she was more comfortable manipulating his lust. She walked back toward the alley, tugging his arm gently as they went. The adrenaline was beginning to pump through her veins again as the moment to strike approached. He was a very big man, and would need a quick blow to disable him.
“Oh man,” the guy said with dismay as they entered the alley. “That asshole just dropped everything. Must have gotten freaked out and ran,” he reasoned.
Victoria nodded. “At least it’s all here,” she said with a faint smile. “That makes me so feel much better.” She quickly walked over to her purse and picked it up. Retrieving her wallet, she stuffed it in, not really caring about the rest of her things.
She watched as the doorman bent down to begin picking up the contents of her purse. He paused for a moment.
“Well, what do we have here?” he asked with a chuckle.
Victoria stiffened slightly, wondering what he had seen. Was there something in her purse that would give away her act? Did she forget Malcolm’s card in there? Did this guy really work for Brantford and would he realize her connection with his enemy?
“I guess it’s always better to be prepared,” he said as he revealed a condom to the light.
“Oh…” she breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, you never know when you might meet someone,” she said as she felt her skin crawl.
The man’s grin broadened as he slipped the condom into his pocket with lustful intention in his eyes. “Well, I’m not happy about the circumstances,” he said smoothly as he stood up. “But I’m happy I was nearby to help.”
Victoria nodded as if she was a dumb woman hanging on every word of her savior. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. You’re being really kind-that guy could still be out here!” “I’d protect you,” he said confidently.
“I’m sure you would,” she said quietly.
Her hair stood up on end as he approached her, but she did her best to keep her fake smile. When he entered her personal space and reached out to touch her shoulder, something in her snapped. Now was the moment to make her move. She lifted her knee and pulled him close. He was surprised and didn’t even respond to defend himself. Her powerful strike connected with the soft flesh between his legs and he crumpled to his knees. Without hesitation, she lifted her foot and kicked him in the jaw, knocking him out and sending him sprawling on the ground.
“Sorry, big guy,” she said seriously as she began to drag him toward the door. “Just don’t tell this story to your buddies and I’m sure your pride will heal soon enough.”
He was heavy and her muscles strained to move him. She knew it would have been easier with enough sleep and proper diet. Damn Chloe for being right, she thought bitterly. It felt like it took an eternity to drag the unconscious doorman to the lock. She took a moment to steady herself before lifting his hand and pressing his thumb against the biometric scanner.
She smiled in satisfaction when the light glowed green.
The door clicked and swung open, gently smacking the unconscious man in the head.
“Sorry,” she said softly as she slipped her thin body through the small crack of the ajar door. She was greeted by a dimly lit office filled with cleaning supplies and lockers. There was another door that led into the main condos behind the lobby. She made her way over to the lockers, and was pleased to find them protected by standard padlocks.
She reached for her purse and unzipped a small pocket on the interior. She had several bobby pins specifically reserved for lock-picking purposes. She unfolded the thin metal of one pin and jammed it into the lock, along with a second one. It took a few tries to jimmy the mechanism, but when she felt the heavy metal lock click, she lifted the thick bar and pulled it away from the locker.
Inside, she found a green ball cap along with a matching custodial uniform for the building, and a keycard stuffed into the pocket. You are too good, Victoria, she thought to herself gleefully as she slipped the uniform over her clothes and pulled out the keycard. She tucked her hair under the hat with another bobby pin and walked over to the door, ready to make her way to the maintenance elevator.
Stepping out into the main hall, she began to scan the area with her eyes. She quickly found the elevator and began making her way toward it. Her blood was pumping so quickly that she was afraid the sound would give her away. She felt a sense of relief as she scanned the card against a black box next to the elevator and saw the automatic doors slide open.
Forcing herself to calm down, she stepped through the doors and pressed the button to the fifth floor. She was so close now that she could taste it. She desperately wanted answers to bring back to Malcolm so that she could get her life back. Already, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel and imagine herself at a large desk inside a corner office of the Chicago Tribune. It was her dream, and maybe, just maybe, she could achieve it after going through this last job. Victoria Chase, Pulitzer Prize Winning Reporter. Just keep thinking about that and I’ll get through this, she mentally reassured herself.
The elevator stopped at the fifth floor and the doors slowly slid open. She was blinded with bright incandescent flashlights. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the new conditions and realize that several men were waiting for her outside the elevator with assault rifles aimed at her.
“Put your hands up!” one of them demanded.
She did as she was told without argument, and watched as a sickly middle-aged man in a wheelchair approached her. The armed guards parted so that he could move freely, but kept their guns pointed at Victoria.
“Clever girl,” the man said with a mild Hispanic accent, “but we’ve been expecting you, Senorita Chase.”
Lifting a brow in surprise, Victoria’s thoughts raced to find a plan to escape this situation. “I wasn’t aware the Consular General was throwing me a surprise party,” she said sarcastically.
The man chuckled and shakily stood up from his chair. “I like you, Senorita,” he said softly. “Maybe if we’re both smart, we can help one another.”
Victoria looked confused for a moment but nodded her head. “How would you suggest we do that?”
“Not here. Too many eyes and ears listening. Please use my facilities to take a shower and put on something nice. I know a place we can talk,” he said with mischief in his eyes.
“But I don’t have anything to wear,” she said in protest.
“Don’t worry, I’ll have something put out for you,” he said as he sat down. Turning his chair around, he said something in Spanish and his guards put their guns away. “Don’t worry, Senorita. You’re safe with me as long as you don’t try anything stupid.”
“I’ll just have to take your word on that,” she said with a sigh as she followed him. Damn it all, Victoria. This has not been your best week ever.
Just what the hell have you gotten yourself into?