We slowed to a walk as Troy pulled up next to us in his Police issued SUV. I opened the back door and Tank launched himself at me. I stumbled into the front of Suit who was right behind me.
"Hey there Tank. How are you, puppy?" I asked in my dog voice. Tank whined and licked my face. It was still gross even though I was beyond delighted to see Tank not pushing up daisies. I knew he could take not one but two hits of a stun gun but I wasn't sure how he went down.
"Hey Nor." I heard a feminine voice say from the front seat. I looked up to see Val in the front seat.
"Hey Val, what are you doing here?" I asked, flicking my eyes to Troy.
"I found Tank by your phone." He said, handing my phone to me. The screen was cracked but not so badly it wasn't working or that I couldn't still use it. "I took him to see Val while I was activating the tacker I put in your pocket." I knew it.
"Wait, when did you get so good at sleight of hand?" I asked. He just grinned back. I noticed the time on the dashboard. 9:06 pm. I am pretty sure time has slowed down. This day was the longest week of my life.
"What happened to your date?" I asked.
"I didn't have one." he said.
"You punk." I yelled and hit his shoulder. "You were at home in your boxers and didn't want to get up and help me!" I said laughing. "I knew you weren't dating anyone seriously. Nobody ever has a first date on Valentine's day. I should have known." I was shaking my head unsuccessfully trying to hide a grin.
"What happened?" Troy asked as we settled into the car. I looked at Suit. he gave an almost imperceptible nod before he explained. Technically, I did not know where we were.
"We were ambushed at the back of the Bond office. They snuck up and stun gunned all of us including Tank." Suit said.
Troy met my eyes in the rearview mirror. There was surprise in them.
"I didn't make it easy." I said.
"They wanted me to do some work for them, I turned them down. They have been trying to persuade me otherwise since then." He shrugged.
"Since when?" Troy asked.
"Since last night." Suit said.
"Did you happen to be at the Golden Dragon last night?" Troy asked. Suit looked somewhat surprised at me. I shrugged.
"I was." he said.
"Did you leave before or after the shooting?" Troy asked, looking at me. Suit was talking but I was focused on my nails suddenly. I wonder when the last time I took care of my cuticles. I should probably make an appointment and get a manicure some time soon. I bet the salon I visited earlier does manicures. I should give them a call. What was that receptionist's name
"Nora Jean!" Troy yelled, startling me out of my cuticle musings.
"What?" I asked calmly.
"I asked if you saw Westwood at the Golden Dragon last night?" I looked at Suit and wrinkled my nose.
"I saw her there." Suit answered first. "I asked to buy her a drink and she turned me down." he chuckled. "She basically told me to get lost." Suit finished.
"How come you didn't mention that last night in your statement?" Troy asked suspiciously.
"I didn't mention it, Troy," I said dragging out his name, "because I did not think it was a significant detail. I mean, we barely spoke, he offered, I declined. End of story."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To the ER." Troy said.
"Wait. why?" I asked. Then I remembered Suit had not been shown the same level of hospitality that I was.
"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry. It completely slipped my mind that you might need some medical attention." I said with genuine concern.
"I don't need to go to the ER." Suit said sullenly.
"You do." Val said. "Your face looks like it has some significant cuts not to mention I think your nose may be broken and the way you are breathing might mean broken ribs." Holy stitches batman. I hadn't even noticed. I was too keen on getting out of the house, I forgot he was hurt.
"How did you run?" I asked. He shrugged.
"I am fine." he said then hissed as Tank and I were thrown into him because Troy swerved the car.
"You are not fine." I bit out and glared at Troy. He totally did that on purpose to prove a point.
We dropped Suit off at the ER. My conscience pricked a little at leaving him there all alone. He was a big boy and anyway he was already on the phone talking to someone named Martha. He was fine. Everything is fine. I have less than 3 hours to go before Valentine's day is over and I don't have to worry about the curse.
I had Troy drop me off at the Bond office before he was going to take Val back home. I went in the front door using my keys and set about getting all the necessary paperwork done to collect on my three skips I brought in today. I restocked my bare necessities in my pockets. Penlight, zip ties (you never know when you are gonna need those) and a lock picking kit.
I stepped out the back door cautiously to get my handguns and knives out of the Rover. Three Glocks-check. Six Browning throwing knives-check. Three extra clips-check. I decided to leave the ARs and the vests. I didn't think it would be a good idea to carry them on my motorcycle. I shut the back, walked around by the driver's side when a piece of metal glinted off the meager light. I squatted down to pick it up curious as to what it might be. It wasn't metal. It was a piece of plastic-it looked like it could be the corner of a small box. The reflection of a blinking green light in a puddle under the Rover caught my eye. I put my hands on the ground and leaned into them to look under the carriage of the Rover. Holy boom, batman, there was a bomb under the Rover. I rolled over on my back and scooted under the Rover, careful not to touch anything. I pulled out the penlight I had just put back into my pocket earlier. It was on a trigger. I followed the line trying to figure out what would trigger it. They had wired it to the driver side front door. I was wondering why it was not wired to the ignition. Isn't that what they usually do in the movies? However, I guess it would not matter if it was wired to the door or the ignition if the blast radius was big enough. On the other hand, everyone operating a vehicle would need to open the driver side door.
I pulled out my phone.
Me to John: Don't drive the Rover --bomb attached to door mechanism
I copied that same message to Shirlene just in case she decided to use the Rover for some reason that would only make sense to her. I didn't bother waiting for a reply, neither one of them would be here tonight and tomorrow was Saturday. Not that John doesn't work on Saturdays, that is a big bonding day. People tend to party on Friday and their judgement is impaired leaving them in the hospitality of the city for the night.
Me: You might want to check under your car before you head out tonight.
I went back inside and snagged all the key fobs for the Rover taking them with me just in case. I pulled a blank sheet of paper from the printer and a marker and scribbled, "DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR--BOMB" which I taped to the Rover driver side window. I did not want to deal with this right now.I wanted to go home, sit on my roof and chill watching tv until midnight. It would keep. Right?
I checked out my motorcycle as well. Since there wasn't a driver side door I was hoping they left that alone thinking I would not take it since I had a dog with me. I noticed another blinking green light on my kickstand. It was not hidden at all. I wanted to throw something, or hit something-preferrable a goon at this moment but of course there wasn't a goon around when I needed one. Stupid useless goons. If I wanted to get home anytime soon I was going to have to deal with one of these bombs immediately. The one on the bike was easy access so I decided to deal with it first. I went back inside to get my wire cutting pliers-What? Of course I have a good tool set. I was not by any means a bomb expert but this did not look like a complicated set up. The more I looked at it I didnt' even think it was a set up at all. The wires were not actually attached to anything. It was just sitting there. Why would they do that? I gingerly pulled it off and inspected it. There was nothing in this little box that would actually explode. Hmmm. What is going on here?
I went back to the Rover and slid under the carriage again looking at the box there. It was definitely real. I think they (I am assuming Mikey and his goons) were trying to force me to take the Rover. I don't really like being forced into anything.
I was wondering about the logistics of getting Tank on my bike with me when he put his front paws on the seat and looked at me as if to say, "What are we waiting for?" I shrugged my shoulders, put on my helmet and swung my leg over. Tank jumped up behind me and put his front paws on my shoulders. Well okay then. I fired it up and we took off in the opposite direction of my place. I did some evasive driving making sure to lose any tail I might have. When I was sure no one was following, I headed toward the Golden Dragon and my place. I checked one last time to make sure no one had picked up my tail as I approached. If they did, I was going to park in the Golden Dragon parking lot and pretend it was my destination all along. No tail. Thank goodness. I was ready to be in for the night. I had already tested the Valentine's day curse enough only two and half hours until I did not have to worry about it for another 365 days.
Tank and I trekked up the stairs to my door. I checked for any break in signs, when I didn't see any I unlocked the door and allowed Tank to proceed me into the loft.
I dropped my keys in the dish by the door hung my helmet and my Jacket on the designated hooks and headed toward the kitchen area. I opened my secret compartment and put all the weapons on me back except the glock I carry at the small of my back. I like to keep that one with me just in case.
I went to the bedroom space, got some cotton drawstring pants and a stretchy camisole. I proceeded to get ready for bed. I washed my face and pulled my hair into a messy bun. I did not, however, brush my teeth yet. I was planning on eating a snack while watching tv. It would be a wasted effort and I am not really into wasting my efforts.
I gathered some snacks and headed up to the roof. I was settled in for the night. Maybe just maybe, I would make it without any serious injuries this year.
I had just picked out a movie to watch when I heard my phone beep. I looked at the screen. So much for being done for the night.
"Well, Tank, who do you think it is this time?" I asked in response to the security breach message blinking up at me.