Chapter 3
4.00pm
Chris looked up as Vin entered his office, jacket on over his t-shirt and holding the keys to his bike, a wad of gauze stuck in his right nostril. He saw that he did not look all that steady on his feet, not surprising with the two hard punches he had taken earlier.
"You goin' to get that looked at?" Chris pointed to Vin's nose.
"It's stopped," Vin said.
"For another ten minutes?"
"Gotta go pick up that stick for JD, I rang and they're closin' at five. They're holdin' it 'til I get down there."
"We can send someone to go collect it."
"Hell you know how much I hate that place, but I wanna take a look at it first 'fore I buy it."
Chris sighed and got up. "And you were going to strap it to your bike like a lance?"
Vin grinned, "well no, was gonna see if you'd lend me your car and trade back tonight."
Chris shook his head, of course he was. He didn't mind riding Vin's bike home, but there was no way he was lending his car to the man given his pupils probably weren't even at the moment.
"Alright, let's go."
Vin blinked. "You're comin' with me?"
Chris smiled at Vin's shocked expression. "I'll drive you down there and wait, but that's about it… and only because I don't want to hear you got taken out over a packet of fucking jellybeans and I wasn't there to watch your back."
"Gourmet jellybeans," Vin said, smiling as they left the office.
"Whatever. I can't believe you stole them."
"Hell that place ain't even a shop, just a front for all else they got goin' on in the back room… 'Side's, they're the best damn jellybeans I ever ate."
"Even the black ones?"
Vin's enthusiasm was infectious and Chris smiled as his friend paused by his desk. "Hell that's the thing, there weren't no black ones! These people know how to make a jellybean!"
"Grab the headset, we'll stay in contact, I'm not going in there." Chris told him.
Vin grabbed the radio device they had used that morning and checked that it was working as Chris told Josiah where they were going.
"We'll be back in an hour, God willing… any word from Ezra and Buck?"
Josiah shook his head. "They are still waiting for the film to be developed, I didn't ask where they went."
"Ready?" Chris asked Vin as he moved to join him, seeing that he'd removed the padding from his nose.
"Think I should grab a vest?"
Chris smiled, "A sedative too. I give you five minutes before you need a paper bag over your head in that crowd."
"It's the end of the day, the crowd'll be low by now."
Vin frowned, uneasy as both Chris and Josiah chuckled at his comment.
"Vin," Josiah said as they turned to leave. Chris and Vin both stopped and looked down at the seated man holding out a tissue. Josiah pointed at Vin's nose and Vin once again swiped at it, seeing bright blood on his fingers.
"Sonofabitch," he muttered, taking the tissue even as he felt blood again trickling down the back of his throat.
"We might be a bit longer, we'll get that checked out before he bleeds to death," Chris pointed to Vin's nose.
4.30pm
"You feel ok?" Chris said as Vin got out of the car. Reluctantly he added, "maybe I should come with you."
"M'fine, just nervous. No point both of us goin' through hell. I'll just get it and come straight back out. You did enough just bringin' me down here."
Chris watched Vin enter the complex like a man going to his own execution, at least his nose had stopped again. He had been concerned when it had begun to bleed more freely in the car on the way. He didn't envy him in the slightest as he eyed the crowds leaving and entering the mall.
Vin cursed as he remembered anew why he hated shopping malls with a passion and strongly avoided them at all costs. He realised, as he eyed the formidable crowd, that he had been wrong in thinking that going later rather than sooner would be the best approach. He had sorely underestimated the number of shoppers who did not give in until they were forced to leave through gated exits at the end of the day. It was a sickness, he had decided, for what people in their right minds would endure this kind of torture and call it pleasure?
Yep, he thought, as he grunted again with the force of a woman's elbow as she shouldered past him in the opposite direction, a sickness.
"What was that noise?" Vin heard Chris's voice in his ear.
He was sweating, his eyes alert for oncoming danger as he gave up on picking his path and tried to flow with the tide of people. This was his worse nightmare… Another elbow to his ribs and he began to think he was the victim of some conspiracy. "These women are on steroids… Chris, I ain't gonna make it…"
Chris did feel sorry for Vin, but he chuckled at his plight all the same.
"Deep breath's Pard, you can do this." Suddenly he frowned. "Jesus, what's that noise? An alarm?"
Vin winced as the screaming child, trailing behind his apparently unaware mother, moved past him, screaming for her attention, his little face a bright shade of angry red.
"Remind me again why people have kids?"
Chris laughed, he had honestly thought the sound was an alarm but could now hear the sounds of a child wailing after its mother. "You there yet?"
"Reckon I still got a good length ta go… this place is huge. Oh God…"
Vin eyed a double pram heading his way and the steely determination of the mother who was driving it as if behind the wheel of a Mack truck. He narrowly avoided what he believed to be a sure death and ducked into the doorway of the closest shop, taking a moment to catch his breath, not seeing the woman who had been standing behind the door arranging a hanging display of wind chimes as he'd entered.
Johnny Catelino's usual nonplussed attitude was starting to fall apart. The careful expression of calm was starting to crack and melt from his lean face. He had killed men, loads of them, rooms full of them even. He'd dealt with stress and pressure that would have broken a lesser man many a time but never, ever, in his entire thirty-one years, had he faced a situation like this.
As he felt a metal trolley ram into the backs of his ankles Johnny longingly fingered the handle of the gun beneath his shirt. This was insanity. He would kill them all, every last one of them. He would be doing them a favour, he thought. He fought the crowd, which seemed to be moving against him, trying to sweep him up and bury him both at the same time, as he tried to keep up with the wily ATF Agent that was only metres now in front of him. He had nearly missed him when he had left in the car with the other man from the building, but had luckily made him out through the window and followed him to this Hell Hole on Earth. If he didn't know better, he would say the Agent knew he was tailing him and had chosen the ultimate place to lose him.
Quickly he moved up behind his target, he nearly had him, only a few more steps to go. He quickened his pace, bodily shoving a woman out of his way and then shoving an old lady to his right. He had him now… He pulled his gun, about to press it into Tanner's back when suddenly he watched the lean body fly sideways into a doorway. Confused, he hesitated a second and then, before he could register the danger, he saw the determined, crazed eyes of a woman on a mission and felt the hard metal of her wide pram collect his shins and send him flying backwards to the floor. Oh God, if he went down here, he would be trampled to death...
Vin looked out the window of the shop he had taken refuge in and caught a glimpse of a man in a black leather jacket going down under the wheels of the pram that he had narrowly avoided colliding with. He winced in sympathy as the woman did not stop and another trolley pelted into the fallen man.
Rhonda paused, her hand still on the chime she had been hanging as she smiled at the gorgeous man who had ducked into her shop as if escaping death. She recognised the signs of mall distress clearly. She also noticed the dark bruise on his jaw and the slight red swelling around the bridge of his nose. Somehow, the marks made him seem all the more attractive, mysterious even. She couldn't remember the last time she had admired a man's jaw, but damned if that wasn't the finest one she had ever seen. Shaven, but with just the right hint of a manish stubble, the dark bruising seemed to highlight its strong line. She flicked a glance at the old woman who was on the other side of the small store, holding the hand of what looked to be her granddaughter before speaking to her potential customer softly.
"Deep breaths, you can do it," she instructed the stranger, looking him over as she continued to arrange the delicate crystals and metal pipes on their thin lines. His olive coloured suit was slightly crumpled but was a wonderful cut on his lean physique, he was obviously a man not shy about staying in shape. Her heart almost stopped at the beautiful smile he gave her in return, his mouth curving into a most kissable grin that reached his amazing blue eyes.
"Vin, what happened?"
Vin ignored Chris and spoke to the pretty shop attendant. "It's crazy out there," he said, eyeing her name tag. She was cute, he thought, her long dark hair pulled in a low tie at the back of her neck, her slender throat curving down into the V of her soft, white shirt.
"It's not so bad, you just have to get into the right mind set," she told him, finishing her arrangement and moving around the counter to join him near the window. She looked out the glass at the busy crowd, "You picked a bad time of the day."
"There's a good time?" He heard her laugh and liked the sound. He turned from the window and looked down at her again. "Don't these people have jobs?" he asked in disbelief, pointing out the glass. He took in the store, spotting the older lady and the young girl on the other side.
Rhonda laughed. "Don't you?" she asked him.
Vin smiled again. "Good point, but these people look like veterans. It's a war zone out there."
She laughed again and Vin continued to smile at her, forgetting for a moment what he was doing in there in the first place.
"Do you know where the sports store is?" he asked her, realising he really didn't have much time.
Rhonda gave him a sympathetic smile. "Right at the other end, I don't think you'll make it, they always close right on time. You'd be quicker to drive and park around the other side."
Vin gave a little growl of frustration. "I give in, the mall beat me."
Rhonda's smile widened again, "Takes a strong man to beat those crowds."
"Takes a super-hero to beat those crowds."
"I have a room out the back if you want to go and put your underwear on the outside and head back out."
Vin laughed then, a rich burst of laughter that she saw sparkling in his startlingly clear eyes, he had not expected that response. She laughed with him a moment before their gazes became slightly uncomfortable and the silence stretched.
Rhonda looked up and caught the old lady smiling at her with a knowing twinkle in her eye. Damn old biddy, she thought, her cheeks heating slightly as she turned away from the man and fiddled with another display.
"Vin! What the fuck's going on? I'm coming in."
"It's ok, just catching my breath."
Rhonda tweaked an eyebrow at the lean stranger and Vin realised he had answered Chris. He took interest in the display she had been arranging. "Wind chimes huh?" he said, for lack of anything better to say.
Rhonda smiled again. "You are observant," she told him.
Vin smiled a little, realising how he had sounded. He looked around the shop a moment, saw the old lady and child smiling at him across the floor and smiled in return. He took in the bright colours and smells and his first thought was that he had walked into a hippy store. Wind chimes, incense, little fairy costumes with wings… A sticker that read "Magic CAN happen." He turned back to the window and saw that the fallen man in the leather coat was gone, just as the door burst open, sending him crashing back into the woman behind him.
Chris heard his cell phone ring and picked it up. "Larabee."
"Chris, it's Nathan. Buck and Ezra are back, you'd better get back here, that film is damn hot. It's pretty obvious why the Senator is involved in this. I'd say he would do pretty much anything to get it back. Is Vin with you?"
Chris scowled, leaving his car to go after Vin. "No, I'll grab him now. You boys hole up there. Call the Judge. I'll be back as soon as I can." He hung up the phone, running now through the car park. "Vin? Tanner where the hell are you? We gotta go - NOW. I'm heading to the entrance, meet me there! Vin!"
Rhonda watched in shock as the two men that seemed to fill her store eyed each other silently, the tall man who had just crashed through the door holding a gun on the leaner man who had entered first. She watched as the second man pulled a black cylinder of metal from his leather jacket and screwed it slowly onto the end of his gun. The smaller man had taken a step forward as he watched this but was held back as the gun was again aimed at him. There was tension here, thick and deadly. She took a step back, not wanting to get in the way of whatever issue these two had and was surprised when the blue eyed stranger turned to her and spoke to her in a soft, calm voice.
"What is this store called?" he asked her quietly.
"Dare to Dream," she almost whispered, flicking a glance at the gunman warily as she continued to back towards her phone.
"Dare to Dream," Vin repeated for Chris's benefit.
"What?" Chris asked, still running and stopping as he reached the entrance. "Dare to Dream? You're in a store?"
"I saw you this morning, in Roberto's." Vin told the tall man, frustrated that he had not had time to pull his own weapon when the door had flown open into him. The man was holding his gun on him dead centre to his chest, giving him little room to go for his holster. He could not afford the gunman to send any wild shots his way as he went for his weapon given that there were three innocent people to think about surrounding him.
Chris's heart froze for a moment and then he was off, sprinting to the information counter he spied up ahead and ripping out his cell phone to call for backup as he ran.
Johnny did not reply. He understood English, but could not speak more than a few words. He pointed to Vin's pockets, indicating he empty them.
Vin knew he was looking for the film and turned his pockets inside out, pulling out the lining inside to show that they were empty. Pulling the material over to cover his gun, he did the same to his inside breast pocket, showing that it, too, was empty. He did not question why the man had not asked for any weapons he may have. He could only assume he had hoped to grab the film and leave quickly, with no fuss. When the gun was pointed to his pants, Vin emptied his side pockets, again revealing nothing but lint.
He turned his head and glanced at the shop attendant and saw that she was almost at the phone. By her unsure movements, it was obvious that that was her goal. He met her eyes and gave a subtle shake that she not do anything stupid, relieved when she stopped moving. He eyed the old lady holding the child's hand, both rooted to the spot, eyes wide with fear.
Johnny cursed inwardly as the agent's pockets were revealed to him empty. Quickly, he turned and locked the door, his gun not wavering and indicated Vin move further inside. He then gestured with the gun for the women to move and sit in the corner, his movements sure as he motioned that the shopkeeper move around the counter and join the two customers on the floor.
"Sedersi," he told them harshly as he pointed to the floor.
Rhonda obeyed, eyeing the handsome man and hoping he knew what he was doing when he had warned her not to go for the phone. She trusted him, she had no idea why, but she did. Still, the other man had a gun and he didn't... and the other man was a lot bigger.
Chris sprinted to the information counter, panting with the effort of barrelling through the crowd at full speed. "Dare to Dream!" He said to the woman behind the desk. "I'm looking for a shop called Dare to Dream?"
The woman pursed her lips and slowly reached for a glossy brochure. "Hmmm… I'm not familiar with that one… can't recall having seen it here before," she said as she flicked casually through the leaflet. "I'm new to this job though, but I've been coming here a long time and I - Hey!" she called after the man who had fled after snatching the brochure from her slow moving fingers.
Chris scanned the brochure and could not find the name in the listing.
"Where the fuck are you, Vin? I can't find it! Help me out here!"
"Where is it?" Johnny asked Vin in Italian, still holding his gun steady at the Agent's chest.
"Well it ain't here in the main mall," Vin said, peering out the window and answering Chris as best he could. "Opposite the florist shop." He had understood the Italian's question perfectly. He was not an expert in the language, but he could follow a conversation through every fourth word or so.
Johnny frowned. What the hell was the man talking about? He pointed his gun at the agent's head as the women gasped and the little girl began to cry.
"La pellicola," Johnny struggled with his English, "The pictures, dove è?"
Vin leant back on the counter and crossed his arms. "Ya lookin' fer the cinema? Hell I had enough trouble findin' the sports store. If ya see it while yer out there, can ya grab me a hockey stick, cos I was meant to pick one up and -"
"Silenzio!" Johnny stepped forward, this had been a hard day. First the crowded shopping place and then being run over by that crazy woman. His shins were killing him and now this man was refusing to co-operate. "Motherfucker," he said, holding out his free hand, palm up with the other holding the gun steady, "Pictures."
"Yeah I tend ta pick up the bad words too," Vin told him.
Rhonda frowned, did this man have a death wish? Did he not care that there was a gun inches from his face? She could not see from the floor the cold depths of the blue eyes that never left the gunman's face, the fact that his body was perfectly balanced as he waited for the right moment to take the Italian down.
Seeing that the man was not bothered by the prospect of losing his own life, Johnny switched tactics. He would kill the agent in a blink, but he had to get the film first. He was finding his lack of English a hindrance and was getting frustrated. He swung his gun to aim at the women on the floor and instantly Vin's posture changed. He shifted his stance to cover the women.
"Why don't you aim that thing here?" he said softly, eyes not leaving the gunman.
Johnny looked at the man standing over the women and smiled slightly. If Vin had known the man better, or known about him, he would have been very wary of what that smile meant, for Johnny Catelino rarely smiled and when he did, it did not bode well for those around him.
"OK."
The shot fired silently, making little noise as it thudded into the solid flesh of Vin's thigh. Johnny's smile of satisfaction grew as he watched the agent stagger backwards and stumble into the counter from the impact. A few inches either way and he could have shot one of the women on the ground.
Rhonda screamed as the man stumbled beside her. The shot had made little noise in the small room, thudding into the man who was now clutching the wound tightly.
Vin moved his hand towards his gun, trying to focus through the pain screaming from his leg and stilled his hand as he heard a grunt of warning from the Italian not to move. He watched the tall man move past him and snatch up the now sobbing child from the old lady's arms, his gun still pointing at him the entire time.
Johnny motioned for Vin to move away from the counter that was currently supporting him and he had to bite back a groan as he pushed away from it unsteadily, trying to keep the weight off his wounded left leg as he faced the man now holding the child in front of him. The gunman quickly changed his aim from Vin to the child's head.
"Ok I can see it up ahead," Chris said, running against the people and heading for the shop sign that read "Dare to Dream" hanging above a closed door.
"Wait!" Vin addressed both of them.
Chris frowned and slowed his pace as he reached the store. He'd heard the pain in Vin's voice and now looked within the glass window and saw a tall man in a leather jacket, his back to the entrance. He saw Vin to his left and in front of the counter. He noticed his stiff stance and could see the deadly expression on his face, the way he held himself, as if ready to strike. He turned his head and saw the women on the floor in the far corner to his right.
"There's no need to involve a small child, it's got nothing to do with her! Put her down," Vin said for Chris's benefit, catching sight of him in his peripheral vision outside the window. The child was becoming hysterical, starting to squirm, now over her initial fear and trying to take flight.
Chris heard Vin clearly and looked at the position of the man's arms, he was definitely holding something. He made out a pink shoe dangling down near the man's side and realised he had a little girl in his arms. He pulled his gun slowly, keeping it hidden but ready beneath his jacket.
"Three civilians?" Chris asked.
He saw Vin nod almost imperceptibly.
Rhonda saw the handsome man dressed in black halt outside the window and study the inside of the store, realising he was there to help when he mouthed a question and the injured man nodded slightly in answer. She tapped the old woman who was staring out the window also and whispered to her, "Don't stare at him, you'll give him away." She glanced at the new man again, he looked dangerous, his eyes intense and deadly.
"Ora, o sparo."
Vin shuffled forward at the quiet, threatening words. "No. Relax. I have it, but not here." He motioned out the door for them to leave. "I'll take you to it."
Johnny studied the man's face.
Vin bit the bullet and said in halting Italian, "Come, I will get the film."
Surprised, Johnny frowned. "You have it?" he asked him.
"Yes, but… non qui…" It had been a while and he'd never been particularly good at the language to start with. There were dialects he understood better than others, some closer to the Spanish he knew well, but formal Italian was not his strong suit.
"Dove è?"
They were back to square one.
"In the car… eh…. automobile." He pointed out the door, "Outside."
Again Johnny thought it over. Finally he motioned with his head for Vin to move out before him. He gestured with his gun to the girls head, motioning that he would kill her if Vin tried anything. The girl began to kick, struggling harder to get down and away.
"Leave her here," Vin told him, pointing to the struggling girl and to the other women. He winced as he lost his balance slightly and steadied himself.
Chris's eyes narrowed and he stood on his toes, looking over the display in the window and making out the slick blood running from Vin's thigh, not very noticeable against the dark fabric of his tailored pants.
"You're hit?" he asked, "Motherfucker!"
"Do you mind?"
Chris ignored the woman who was pulling her child away from him and throwing him a dirty look, not taking his eyes off the scene inside.
"Leave her here!" Vin insisted again, shuffling his weight again and grimacing, motioning the gunman to put the child down again.
Johnny shook his head, "No".
"Get rid of the kid, Vin. I can't take him with her in his arms…" Chris was ready outside the door, watching every move.
"Leave her here!" Vin said more forcefully. "Lasciarla… qui!" he stammered, grasping for the words to make the man understand, even though he knew the man already knew what he wanted.
"No." Johnny said again, nodding to the door and shifting his arms as the girl continued to cry and struggle. A tiny foot found its way forcefully between his legs and he bent forward slightly, crying out in pain.
Vin took a step forward, one hand pushing back off the counter behind him for support and the other reaching towards his gun, his mind whirling. He had to get the girl out of the way before that door opened. His leg was a blaze of fire and he was sweating hard now. He had to get the child out of the way…
"No!" the man suddenly yelled at Vin, seeing him moving forward. He straightened, still in pain and shook the girl in his arms, hard, to stop her from fighting him. "STOP!" he screamed into her face, his face a terrible mask of rage.
The girl went deathly quiet, her body stopping all movement. Thinking he had scared her enough to make her co-operate, Johnny again motioned to the door for Vin to lead.
Vin took a step towards the door, his leg threatening to buckle as he held Chris's gaze through the glass where he stood, waiting. One more step and he reached the handle.
Chris saw Vin's intense look as he pulled his gun, noticing through the glass the blood that had started from his nose once again.
"Go!" came the demand from Johnny and Vin turned the handle on the door. As he pulled the door inwards he heard a wild scream from behind him and turned.
The little girl had suddenly sprung to life. She had not realised that kicking the man in that place the first time would hurt him so much but she was a fast learner. She kicked out again and again and as the arms slipped in their hold, she threw her body wildly out of his grasp.
Vin spun and dove for the man in a fluid motion, grabbing for the gun in his hands as he shoved the girl aside bodily with his hip, sending her flying out of harms way. The tall man fought hard to retain possession of his weapon, unprepared as he'd been for Vin to spring at him as fast as he had with a bullet lodged in his leg. Vin dodged a kick aimed for his wounded thigh, not relinquishing his hold on the gun still between them.
Chris ran into the store as Vin grappled with the tall man. He raised his gun to the dark head of hair, readying a round into the chamber with an audible click.
Johnny froze, his hands still tense around his gun as he turned his head slightly and recognised the second agent he had followed that day. His eyes met the hard, green glare behind the steadily aimed weapon pointing at his head.
"Drop it you prick," Chris said, his voice low and his face hard.
