Authors: Cheri Lewis
I look past him and I say, “I know you're right but I just didn’t expect for you to have some torture room that you hold people in. It was a shock.”
He stands up and stretches out his hand again. I take it and he pulls me up as he says, “Now hopefully we got some answers. I’ll be back in a bit. And for the record, that’s not the torture room. It’s across the hall.”
My mouth falls open as he shakes his head and half smirks. “I’m kidding! I swear, there are only empty offices in the rest of the rooms.” He lifts his hand and shuts my mouth with one finger under my chin. “I promise, cross my heart and pinky swear and all that good stuff you and Jessie do.”
“Just go,” I groan in exasperation.
He turns and jogs up the steps and I watch as he disappears through the door.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tuna
I’m excited it’s Friday. Jessie will be coming in tonight and I can’t wait. The guys have been busy chasing down someone they call Zebib. The little computer nerd said that’s the man’s online call name that bought my information and he also said the name Zebib was computer terminology for something. I personally think he could’ve come up with something a little better than Zebib.
So that means I’m spending most of the evening by myself, of course other than Peacock, which I learned after I made a complete idiot of myself, is his real name and not because he is a male and struts like a peacock, is babysitting me out front. Jessie calls me about 9:30 on his way here which means he won’t be here until about 2 o’clock in the morning. We talk about my week and he listens to me cry and then stops me in the middle of one of my many rants, “Sunshine, my mother is calling me again. I can’t keep letting it go to voicemail, and I need to talk to her. Anyway I’ll be there shortly. You get some rest.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.” I hit the end button to stop the call. I lay in bed a few minutes wide awake with no hope of sleep, Prima purring quietly at my head. I roll over trying to get comfortable but nothing works. I feel restless and bored so I get up, grab my pajamas and decide to take a long hot shower. I stay in the shower until the water starts to get cold. I dry off and throw my pajamas on, then wrap my hair in the towel and neatly stack it on top of my head. I head to the kitchen to make myself a bowl of cereal, then go into the living room and sit in the middle of the older but very comfortable couch. The crunch of my cereal is so loud inside my head it annoys me. I carefully lean over and grab the remote off the coffee table and turn on the TV. I flip through the channels until I find one of my favorite shows where people go and look at different houses then they have to decide which one they’re going to buy at the end of the show.
A flash of light at the stop of the stairs causes me to look up; I see legs and bare feet walking down the steps. Tank looks freshly showered himself; his hair is damp and I could smell soap. I smile at him as I say, “Sorry if I bothered you.”
“Nah, we got back a little while ago and the guys have all gone for the night. And I don’t normally go to bed this early but I figured you would be on the phone with Jessie or sleeping.”
“I can’t sleep, I’m too wired. Jessie's on his way here and it’ll be late, so I figured I would wait up for him and let him in. He’s supposed to call when he turns on the street.”
He turns toward the television and watches a commercial selling a microwavable bacon holder then says, “I’m sure I’ll be up, I’ll let him in, and you should try and get some rest.”
I take another bite of cereal and have to use the bottom of my pajama top to wipe milk running down my chin where it has dripped off the spoon. Then I ask, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. How much is Alexander costing me? I mean, I know my parents will help pay but I feel like the hours and dollars are adding up quickly.”
Tank sits on the loveseat and leans back, then put his head back and looks toward the ceiling. “He’s not costing you anything. He works with me. In the beginning he probably would’ve charged you something but when this nutcase screwed with his equipment and messed it up, not to mention he ruined his two outside cameras and those weren’t the kind you go buy at your local store, it became a little personal. Plus he retired to be home with his family and I think he misses the thrill of the chase.”
I turn the bowl up and drink the sugary sweet milk, emptying it. “So he’s not just a camera installer?”
Tank laughs. “No, he was in an elite group, the kind that comes in and cleans up the problem when the other guys can’t handle it.”
“Oh, so he was like F.B.I or C.I.A. or something?”
“Yeah, something like that. You remember that guy, Ambrose?”
I nod then realize he’s still looking at the ceiling. “Yeah.”
“He named one of his twins he just had after Ambrose. They’ve been through some real shit together. Anyway after he retired, he came to work with me. And honestly, I don’t know why.” The last part seems to be an afterthought not directed toward me.
I slide the empty bowl onto the coffee table then pull the towel off my head and run my fingers through my tangled wet hair. I grab a couch pillow then lie over and curl up on the couch. We sit in silence for a long time before I decide to ask another question. “Can I ask you something else?”
He finally lifts his head and his eyes are tired but there’s also something else floating behind them, a hint of sadness again. “McKinsey you don’t have to ask me if you can ask me a question, just ask it.”
“Well I know, but I also know sometimes it’s none of my business.”
“And if it is none of your business, I’ll tell you it’s none of your business.”
I smile at him. “Deal. Where do you sleep?”
He sighs, then he leans over and lays his head on the arm of the love seat, his feet hung off the other end. “On a couch upstairs.”
“Why?” I ask in shock, probably too quickly.
He continues, “I just sleep better on a couch.” I could tell I was on the verge of none of my business so I let it go, even though I know you never sleep better on a couch.
I change the subject and we end up chatting about different things for the next hour. When I yawn again for the tenth time Tank says, “Go on to bed McKinsey. I’ll let him in. Just text him my number to call me when he gets here.”
I nod sleepily then scoot off the couch and go to bed. When I wake up the next morning I can’t help but smile. It’s the first time in a long time I don’t feel alone. I grab my glasses and roll over to face him. Jessie is already awake looking at me, “Girl, it would be you with a serial killer after her.”
And he opens his mouth and ruins my happy feeling. I roll back over on my back and stare at the ceiling. “Sunshine, I was only kidding.” I shrug my shoulders but don’t answer. He reaches over and I feel some of my hair move. “Hey, let's go make a day of it, hair and nails, the works.”
I lift my hand to show him my pretty pink nails that I had done the other day. “What color is that?”
I look back over at him and glare at him, deadpan. I know this is his gimmick to get me to talk to him and of course it works. “It’s a new color they just got in, Strawberry Margarita.”
He smiles and puts my hand in between both of his and massages it. “We can go get our hair done, and it’s been a while. I’m sure Harry will work us in.”
“He’s moving.”
“What! Where? When did this happen?”
“Some little town south of here. He met a girl and they’re getting married.”
“That’s it. I’m quitting. Everything happens when I’m away!”
“That sounds good to me.”
His stomach growls loudly and we both laugh. “Is there anything here to eat?” he asks.
“I got some snacks and my mother made all kinds of meals, but let’s go get some waffles from somewhere. I really want a waffle.”
Jessie sits up first and stretches then climbs out of bed. I sit up and look around “Where’s Prima?”
“She jumped out of bed when Tank came through earlier.”
“He came through here?”
“Yeah, he came into the room for a second. I guess he was just checking on us. I don’t know, if you think about it, it’s kinda sweet.” He winks at me.
“Alright June, you can go ahead and shut up now please. You ought to have seen her at dinner the other night. I had to wrap my foot around the chair leg so I didn’t kick her under the table. She told Tank it had been too long since I had a boyfriend.” He snorts with laughter while he changes his undershirt then puts on a white button-up shirt on top. It’s one of my favorite shirts he owns. When he rolls the sleeves up the cuff is leopard print, and I continue, “This is after she accused me of being pregnant when I told her I had a serial killer after me.”
“Wow!”
“Yes, she even brought up Birmingham.”
He smiles broadly, and then sarcastically replies, “I thought we weren’t allowed to talk about it ever again.”
“I know, right?”
“Sunshine, are you going to get up or not?”
“Oh. Yeah, I guess I need to.”
After we are both dressed, we go upstairs to find Tank and talk to him about our plans for the day. I can hear voices coming from the back but I’m not sure who they belong to so we follow the voices and find Tank and Alexander in Tank’s office. Alexander is bent down pulling things out of a cabinet that looks like a safe and setting them on Tank’s desk. Alexander looks at both of us. He slightly nods then bends back down and stays there like he’s looking for something else. “Good morning fella's”, Jessie purrs.
I roll my eyes, and then smile at Tank who is looking at both of us; I greet him, “Good morning, Tank.”
He half smirks and replies, “Morning.”
Jessie walks over to the desk and starts picking up various things on Tank’s desk. His eyes get big then he wiggles his eyebrows at me. When he lifts his finger, handcuffs, are dangling in the air. I shake my head and look back toward Tank. “Hey, Jessie and I want to go see my friend Harry before he moves and see if he can fit us in for a haircut. Is that alright?”
Tank thinks to himself a second before he answers. “It shouldn’t be a problem.”
He walks around the desk and sets some papers on top of a file cabinet then comes and stands beside me. “How long do you think you’ll be?”
“Ooooo,” Jessie exclaims, causing me to look back toward him. He has a black rectangular box in his hand. I jump and he freezes when he clicks a button and electricity pulsates through the air.
He smiles and starts to press the button again. Alexander snatches it from his hand while shaking his head and huffs very loudly, setting it back on the desk with a loud thud. I glance back to Tank and stifle a laugh. “I don’t know what we are going to end up doing. I guess get our hair done and get something to eat.”
He nods and reaches in his pocket. “Let me call and see who’s on rotation.”
I hear the sound of something being sprayed. Jessie starts gagging, coughing, and then whining very loudly.
“Oh, fuck!” Alexander roars.
Tank scoops me up and gets right in my face. “Don’t breathe!” I immediately hold my breath because of the seriousness in his tone, and he takes me to the living room. It takes me a minute to comprehend that I’ve been carried the entire way and that anything is even wrong.
He sits me on the couch. “Do you feel like you’re on fire? Don’t rub your skin for a few minutes. It will contain the area if you got any on you.” I nod my head completely confused.
Alexander has Jessie carrying him in his arms, Jessie crying a very animated cry, “Oh, it hurts. It burns! It burns!”
I jump up. “What happened?!”
He sits Jessie in the chair. “Don’t touch him,” Alexander orders then looks at Tank when he asks, “You got any milk?”
Jessie exclaims with his eyes closed and his face red as a cherry, “I can’t have milk I’m lactose intolerant. Oh, make it quit hurting.”
Alexander rolls his eyes as he replies sarcastically, “You’re not going to drink it. You’re going to bathe in it. Don’t move, and don’t touch your face.” Jessie immediately quiets down. I know he’s in pain but I also know he has focused on bathing in milk.
“Would somebody tell me what happened?” I beg.
Tank walks back into the living room with a small jug of milk and hands it to Alexander as he says, “He sprayed pepper spray into the air.”
I whip back around, “Jessie, of all the stupid things. Why in the world would you do that?”
“I thought it only hurt if you sprayed it into somebody’s eyes. Oh God, this hurts!” he coughs again.
Alexander eyes the little quart jug of milk. “That’s not going to be enough. We’ll use the milk then switch to water. Come on let’s go to the bathroom.” Jessie stays in his seat and Alexander finally says, “It’s your face that’s on fire, your legs work just fine.”
Jessie pouts for a second, and I know right then he’s in some pain but it isn’t as bad as he’s putting on. He wants to see if Alexander would carry him again.
A weird chirping noise sounds in the room. Both men grab their phones where the chirping noise is apparently coming from. I blink and they both have their guns out. I back up and feel Jessie grab my hand. I sit on the side of the chair and watch as Alexander and Tank make hand motions to each other. Tank looks at me and puts his finger over his lips indicating for me to be quiet. I nod and look down at Jessie. He’s watching them through his bloodshot eyes. Tank lifts a blind and peeks out, and then bellows, “What the hell?”