The crowd of passengers fall silent. Jason notices that some of the bullets have strayed and hit the cabin door of the driver. He walks over to the bullet ridden metal door and opens it. The trains’ driver is a mess with sweat and fear as he grips the controls of the train. He looks back at Jason who is grinning at him.
‘Everything okay here Mr Train driver?’ Asks Frank
The driver nods cautiously, visibly upset at the presence of Jason
‘Good, full steam ahead then. Make sure you slow down where I told you to. We are making a slight detour, but we will be back on course very shortly. Is that understood?’
Sixty Eight
Connor chase looks on as a member of his crew drags Adam McKenzie’s body off. Chase watches as blood smears on the hard flooring. He stares at the smudging on the floor, the blood caking the dented concrete, filling the minute holes with red specks. Connor stands up and walks over to the struggling guard who is visibly tiring at the sheer muscly bulk of Adam. He looks at the guard with a glint of sympathy while offering his hand out as a gesture of help.
‘He’s a big guy this one’ States Connor
The guard nods in agreement
‘They sure don’t build them like this much’ Says the guard.
Connor grabs Adam’s motionless legs as he hauls them up to his sides, narrowing his way through the darkened room with only the camera’s lights giving a slight hinge of light. He follows the guard’s lead.
‘Who do you think he is boss?’ Asks the guard
‘No one special I guess. Just some poor sap who was risking his life for a pay check.’
The guard grunts a short laugh, wheezing as he bares Adam’s weight.
‘A bit like us then.’
Connor stops dead as he lets Adam’s feet hit the floor.
‘What do you mean?’
The guard looks back nervously as he tries to collect himself
‘Well what we are doing could be considered dangerous’
Connor shakes his head
‘No, that’s not what you meant. Spit it out!’ Shouts Connor
‘Well don’t you think this is a lot of effort for some money?’
Connor slowly walks up to the jittery guard
‘What money?’ Asks Connor
The guard darts his head from left to right, trying to find the answers in his surroundings.
‘Look at me’ Shouts Connor while grabbing his jaw tightly.
‘I did not mean anything by it boss’ Says the guard
Connor lets go off the guard’s face, pushing him into the wall.
‘This isn’t about money son. This is about principle. When you lack that in life, the only thing you got left is your shadow. The shadow of a man with no principles is a man with no word. If he hasn’t got his word then he has no balls. If he has no balls then all he is a bitch. I don’t mean that in the sense that a woman is a bitch because women are much more than that. Women get labelled that too often. I’m talking about a bitch. A female dog, are you a female dog?’
The guard shakes his head cautiously.
‘Good because the only thing female dogs are good for is sniffing around’
The guard nods in agreement
‘Keep your nose out of my affairs. You’re here to do your job, not speculate on the finances. You do it correctly; you will get paid, out of my money, no one else’s. I am not here for a hand out, I’m here for change. Now drag that body down to the caller. We may be here for a while; I don’t want the place stinking up. Make sure you douse the body in petrol just like the rest. We’re having a cremation ceremony before we leave this shithole.’
Sixty Nine
He walks up the stairs holding a suitcase. The stairwell is well lit considering the geographical location he is in. he reads a plaque on the wall.
“Willard Intercontinental Washington Hotel Fire Exit”
He smiles as he manoeuvres up the last couple of steps, lugging the heavy yet important metal briefcase. He sighs in relief as he reaches that much fought for top floor. In no means is he an unfit man. It’s more of the fact that he is carrying such a heavy load. The lift was out of the question. He did not think that using it would help him in this matter. He thought about how he would have to use it coming down because time is of the essence. He stops pondering and walks a few steps towards the heavy fire exit door. It’s glistening in the artificial light that’s coming from the warm industrial light tubes on the walls, one every few feet. Unnecessarily illuminated for a staircase he thinks to himself. He is dressed in a business like suite. Not uncommon in such a distinguished building. He needs to look the part for what he is about to do. If he came in the building looking common then he would be considered the common enemy. In a sea of suits it would take them ages to find the person responsible. A guy casually dressed in such an establishment would be found in a matter of minutes.
He opens the big metal door. It forces its self-inwards. The strong winds brace against his suit. Ripples of cloth explode all over his body. The swift breeze makes its way up his sleeves and ankles. He walks through the door and onto the rooftop. He looks around and sees a view of Washington that surprises him. The picturesque skyline is surprisingly comforting to the man. He closes the door behind him and walks in a straight line, casually looking around at his surroundings. Metal grates and bellowing AC units occupy the roof along with the occasional antique styling to keep in tone with the building. He laughs to himself as he contemplates whether he is going to see a gargoyle. He finds the designated spot and crouches down to his knees. He fishes into his pockets and produces a small pair of binoculars. He scans the horizon in front of him. The Pennsylvania Avenue Street below him is littered with press. The police are cordoning off an allocated parking spot just in front of the hotel.
He leans against the ledge of the roof top. He looks down and sees the ground. It appears minute in the distance. He leans back in from the granite ledge and shimmy’s further away from it. He turns around still sitting on his rear; his actions seem rehearsed and covert. He flicks the code needed to unlock the briefcase. It hatches open as he looms over it. His face tingles with excitement as he unpacks the contents of the case onto the ground. He carefully places a black silk cloth on the ground. He unfolds it to reveal its true size. It stretches the ground in front of him. He reaches into the case again and pulls out a large metal piece. It’s shaped like a silencer. He starts pulling out bits of metal and wood. He clicks the pieces together in a timely fashion. The pieces quickly start to form the shape of a rifle. He attaches a barrel and then calmly screws on the suppressor. He fishes around the brief case once more and pulls out a soft silk pouch. He opens it and produces an 18 x Zoom scope. He attaches it to the now fully formed rifle. He places the constructed rifle on the black cloth laid out in front of him. He then pulls out his last piece of equipment. He stands up and walks over to the ledge. He takes another look through his binoculars. He then sits back down overlooking the edge of the roof. He unclips a tripod and fixes it to the ground. He shakes it to see if it’s sturdy. It is, he turns around and crawls towards the black cloth. He reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a balaclava. He puts it on. He takes off his suit jacket and puts on an army shirt. He places the jacket on the silk cloth and picks up the heavy rifle. He slowly manoeuvres over to the tripod and clicks the rifle into place.
He kneels down on his front and lines the scope up. He looks through it and scans the ground below him. He marks a couple of people into his sights. He reaches into his trouser pocket and pulls out a PDA. He clicks the touch screen buttons and hits an application. The loading bar hits one hundred. He places the PDA down on the ground millimetres away from the rifle. He reaches into his pockets again and pulls out a small ear piece. He places it in his ear and clicks “SYNC” on the device. He breaths in deeply and takes aim once more. He scans the horizon and sees nothing. The earpiece clicks.