Chapter 14-WEDNESDAY
If she hadn't felt misled and lied to by Tony, Katie wouldn't have minded being forced to stay in this house. The cook was superb, the furniture luxurious, and the views over the expansive grounds were as beautiful as any old landscape painting Katie could envision. Flowers of every color were blossoming in the multiple gardens and carefully maintained hedges weaved in a maze across the grounds behind the house and along the edge of the property. There was even a lake in the northwest corner of the grounds ringed by a thick wood; Katie had discovered it on a chaperoned walk through the gardens on Monday morning after Tony had left.
Currently, however, Katie was sitting in the upstairs library (she had found a second smaller one on the ground floor, too), looking out at the grounds and wishing the leather chair she was sinking into wasn't so damn comfortable. She struggled daily not to enjoy the extravagance of her prison, but with every professionally cooked meal and discovery of a new room, that become more and more a losing battle. All around her, what must have been hundreds if not thousands of books stared down at her from their perches on shelves reaching all the way to the mahogany, lattice-laced ceiling. Antique floor lamps cast small pools of light on each reading chair and the curtains on the two tall windows were pulled back to allow the sun in as well.
Nevertheless, Katie had not picked a single book off the shelves; instead, she sat looking out the window impassively, her dead cell phone resting on her left knee. Almost immediately after informing her that she could not leave, Tony had sent one of his people to retrieve her belongings from the hotel she had checked into on Saturday. The man had returned with her clothing and toiletries as well as the fruits of her therapeutic shopping trip, but he had conveniently forgotten the phone charger plugged into the wall. Thus, she had no way to contact anyone as Tony had no installed landline. Truthfully, though, who was she going to call or text? Emily was absolutely out of the question as she would freak out and insist on coming to get her immediately. That would be followed by a shouting match over why Katie had deigned to inform her of her relationship with Tony Stonem. She certainly wasn't going to call Naomi, either, as they had barely spoken in years; more often than not, Katie made a point of getting in a couple biting remarks about her political career and left their interactions at that. Katie had considered trying to reach out to some co-workers, but they were the second-to-last people Katie wanted to educate about her relationship. The last person Katie had thought of was even less likely to be understanding of her plight: Tony's sister. While Katie and Effy had gotten on much more amicably in uni, judging by the state of Effy's guest room down the hall and the way Tony flippantly mentioned her name, the two of them were no closer than Katie and Emily were.
Katie closed her eyes and again chided herself for not thinking more clearly about going home with Tony instead of back to her hotel room. She had never felt like that was a necessary step before, so why had she consented Saturday night? Mentally kicking herself, Katie knew it was for the same reasons Tony had listed for keeping her under house arrest: a feeling, no matter how contrived, of security and protection from the darkness of Bristol. And while Katie had refused to get back in bed with Tony since Saturday night to spite him for tricking her, Katie had slept extraordinarily well each night in Effy's bed. They had been the first nights since the standoff that Katie had not felt the need to drink herself into a dreamless sleep.
No, the nights had been a great improvement on staying in Bristol. It was the days that were grating on Katie Fitch, and things had come to a head the previous evening. Again she had insisted that Tony tell her more specifically what he was worried about threatening her in Bristol (other than the ghosts of her experience, which seemed to float right through any mental barriers she put up around all things SSI), but again he had just said that he was looking out for her well-being and had her best interests at heart. After three days of the same line, Katie had snapped. Leaning forward and thrusting an accusing finger across the table, Katie had cursed Tony out and finally threatened to call the police on him. At first Tony had just laughed at her, until that only pissed her off more. They both knew that she had no means of doing so. But Tony hadn't left the conversation at that. He dropped a thinly veiled threat that he himself would make an anonymous tip to the authorities that she was obstructing the investigation and withholding critical information related to the identification of one of the hostage takers. That had silenced Katie immediately as she spent the rest of the evening trying to riddle out just how the fuck Tony could know that she knew that sort of thing. On the other hand, he seemed to have unlimited resources to do basically whatever he pleased, and Katie felt a rare emotion coloring her thoughts about Tony Stonem: intimidation. There were not many men Katie Fitch doubted she could manipulate and win over, but Tony certainly qualified as unwavering and thoroughly impervious to her wiles...except when he chose to indulge her, at least.
Her immediate anger and disbelief had long passed and Katie had spent the morning sipping on tea in the library formulating a plan to get herself the fuck out of Tony Stonem's care. Because while she wasn't convinced she could outplot Tony, Katie was damn sure that the two guards assigned to her were much more malleable. They had been gracious enough to her over the course of the week thus far, but the biggest surprise for Katie was that they actually responded when she tried to talk to them. She had assumed that burly ex-military bodyguards would be mute, or at most have a robust vocabulary of grunts and barks, but the two who shadowed her every move about the Stonem estate seemed at ease carrying on any conversation other than fashion with her. Katie knew she could use that interaction to her advantage.
"Niko, it's Wednesday morning, and I'm bored as shit. We're going shopping," Katie called over her shoulder. Standing, she turned and moved around towards the large double doors leading out to the landing. From his post just outside the doors, Niko slid into view and blocked her way. Tapping the small Bluetooth headset in his left ear with a meaty finger, the bodyguard muttered something to the person on the other end.
"You can't leave alone, Ms. Fitch," Niko said aloud with a slight accent. "Bruno and I must come with."
"Which is why I said we," replied Katie hastily. "You, me, Bruno. I'm going to get some bags of things I want to return, and I'll meet you at the front door, yeah?"
Niko put up a large finger to ask her to wait. Katie shook her head and slipped around him as he muttered into the headset again. "No, sir, she say she knows that and wants to go with me and Bruno...Yes I will make sure we return before...Yes, sir. Of course."
Katie heard Niko yell out to meet him in front in ten as she disappeared into Effy's room. She quickly rifled through the bags of clothes that she had purchased on Saturday afternoon, picking out the outfits she absolutely had to have and those that she only had to have, and left the latter strewn on the floor. Those she wished to hold onto, Katie folded carefully and packed into a large shopping bag. Her overnight Katie left emptied on the floor and dresser; however, she did fish out a handful of valuables and odds and ends, burying them in the shopping bag.
Quickly looking over herself in the bathroom mirror, Katie touched up her make-up and smoothed out the designer three-quarter sleeve forest green blouse she was wearing and twisted, admiring the fit of the black pants. Turning back square to the mirror, Katie did her hair up and smiled to herself. She moved back into the bedroom and slipped her feet into a pair of comfortable flats and grabbed the bag of new clothes. Without a second glance back at Effy's room, Katie headed down the hall towards the main stair.
"Oh my Gawd, he is like, so hot."
"He's cute, yeah."
"No, like...okay, like what's that word for girls here that date athletes?"
"WAGs?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna be, like, his WAG."
"Sure you will, hon," muttered Katie just loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of voices, car engines, and music playing from hidden speakers outside various stores as she pushed past a group of college girls and into a clothing boutique on New Bond Street. Immediately, the noise fell to a reasonable level: obnoxious teens were replaced by measured tones of salespeople suggesting new styles to customers, the background hum of central air substituted for loud downshifts and horns, and the repetitive beats of the Top 40 gave way to the classic rock and pop tunes her parents had listened to as she grew up.
Katie noted that Bruno was staying put out front on the sidewalk, watching her look uncomfortably back at him. She turned and headed deeper into the store with the gut feeling that Niko had headed around to the back alley so she couldn't sneak out that way—or to prevent someone from sneaking in to her, if Tony's dire claims about her safety were to be believed. Trying not to consider that option, Katie wandered aimlessly through the store. Occasionally she would set down her bag and pick up a skirt or jacket and appear to appraise it, or try it on and turn around slowly to gauge its comfort and look. But it was all for show. Each time she held up an article of clothing or rifled through hangers on a rack, Katie was sneaking glances out at the street or back towards the doorway marked 'Employee's Only' leading to the rear of the store.
As Katie slowly spun a small display with earrings adorned to hooks on its six sides, she eyed Bruno who was leaning against a digital advertisement as a light rain began to fall. He seemed disinterested and bored, but Katie had a feeling that he was still fully aware of where she was in the store. Curious to test it, she made like she was heading towards the door, but decided that a display of designer heels to the right demanded further inspection. Veering off at the last moment, Katie noted that Bruno had become fully attentive as she neared the door and was still warily watching her as she fiddled with the buckles on the heels.
Furrowing her brow and biting her lip in frustration, Katie turned and shuffled deeper into the store once again. She cocked her head to the side and looked up at the upper row of blouses along the wall, trying to formulate a plan.
"May I help you find something?" Out of nowhere an attendant appeared wearing what Katie was positive was a required outfit of various items in the store. A thin black headset traced her jawline back to her left ear. She flashed a fake smile down at Katie, who replicated the expression.
"Can't anyone just fucking browse anymore? Christ, I'm just looking, kay?," said Katie and then added to herself, and just leaving. She weaved a path back to the entrance, letting her hand drift over soft fabrics and pausing momentarily at this table, or that rack marked, 'Clearance.' Finally satisfied with her performance, Katie walked back outside and headed up the street, knowing that Bruno had fallen into his position about five meters behind her—just far enough to not look suspicious, but close enough that he could keep an eye on her auburn hair. Rain splashed against her head as if reminding Katie just how much she could stick out in a crowd full of brunettes and dirty blondes. A passerby bumped into her carelessly, eliciting a 'What the fuck!' from Katie, but the hat he was wearing perched forward on his head caught her eye just as her anger was starting to rise. A plan started to come to her.
Katie continued up the street and came to a halt at an intersection, standing as if patiently waiting to continue across. On the far side of the street, the orange image of a hand glared at her as cars passed by in uneven movements. Amidst the rain and sound of brakes being pressed in desperation, the warning bell that the time to cross the street she had been walking along chimed. Katie pivoted and joined several other shoppers who were trying to beat the light and she walked briskly across the white-striped pavement. A horn sounded as a Ford tried to turn left, but was blocked by the people crossing as the light turned red. Katie easily stepped over the curb and wound her way through several large masses of people. She didn't want to risk a glance back for Bruno or Niko just yet, but the frequent shouts of people pushed out of the way behind her seemed a good indication that the two bodyguards were bullying their way straight after her.
Katie stopped and looked up at the logo of a popular designer, then looked back down the road. As expected, Bruno and Niko were pushing their way towards her, yet at the same time trying to appear as normal as possible. For two men that were easily over one hundred ten kilos, it was an impossible task. Smiling and waving at them as if unaware that she was worrying them, Katie headed into the store and bolted for the back wall.
Outside the store, Bruno and Niko pulled up short. They had not anticipated Ms. Fitch going down this street, and neither of them was familiar with the store layouts or whether there was even a back entrance they could get to quickly. Scanning over the people walking both directions around them, they stepped away from the storefront and closer to the curb. Niko turned his back to the store and continued scanning left and right along the street while Bruno looked over his partner's shoulder in an effort to see where exactly Ms. Fitch had gone inside the store. She was nowhere to be seen at the front of it.
"Ok. I will go inside," volunteered Bruno after a minute or two, when Ms. Fitch did not reappear. "You wait out here in case if I miss her inside. I will tell you if I find a back door or find her." He tapped his earpiece to indicate the means of communication and moved around Niko. Sidestepping a mother with her two young children and an elderly woman shuffling along with a walker, Bruno made his way into the store with much greater tact than he and Niko had previously displayed.
The store seemed to be a different world from the outside. Tranquil music played softly—the sounds of woodwinds and strings tinkling throughout as shoppers wandered aimlessly admiring the expensive wares. Bruno felt especially out of place. Seeing a sales representative eye him warily—as if he was an animal that would be more likely to race around the store and knock over every display than to come in and sit dutifully by the door and wait for his master to finish shopping—he headed straight over to her.
"Excuse me, I am looking for a woman who just now came in. She is short and has red hair."
Frowning and shaking her head slowly, the saleswoman said, "I'm sorry. I don't believe I can help you. When was this?"
"It was only minutes ago! She came right in."
"Why are you looking for her?"
"She..." Bruno trailed off as he debated what he should say. Eyes darting around looking for Ms. Fitch, he finally completed his thought. "She is a friend and I think in danger."
Eyes arching incredulously, the saleswoman began to back away. "In danger? Okay. If you want to wait outside I will ask around and see if any of my associates have seen her. Good enough?"
"Eh, uh, yes alright. I will wait outside."
The sales associate watched the mountain of a man turn and walk out of the store slowly. He cast the occasional glance back at her, but she had already started to walk towards a co-worker and was about to talk to him as the man finally stepped out. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stopped and walked past him deeper into the store. Flitting looks over her shoulder to where she could see the man standing with another man on the sidewalk, she auto-piloted around shoppers and racks of new inventory towards the dressing rooms in the back.
Without stopping at her intended destination, the saleswoman passed the dressing rooms and slipped into the employee lounge next to it. She walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it. Closing her eyes and counting to twenty to calm her nerves, the woman stood and walked back out into the store. She once again detoured on her way to the dressing rooms, slipping around shoppers to pick up a stylish black hat, black blouse, and large gold hoop earrings on a stand next to the cash register.
Easing around to the employee side of the register, she withdrew a credit card from her front pocket and, after scanning the items she had collected, swiped it. Snatching the receipts away as they appeared, she apologized to the co-worker who was working as cashier. Again the sales associate headed towards the back of the store, this time ducking into the dressing room when she noticed the two large men outside were not looking in her direction.
There were three cramped stalls on either side of a narrow walkway and a co-worker sitting at a small desk surrounded by mismatching clothes that had been discarded for different sizes or styles by past shoppers. Scurrying past the desk, arms full of clothing, the saleswoman approached the last stall on the right. Knocking twice, she heard the door click and pushed it open.
"Jesus, I can't thank you enough," blurted Katie as she took the items out of the sales associate's hands. She set them down carefully and then accepted the card and scribbled on the receipt. "Thanks a ton. You're the best."
"Don't mention it. I know how much of a tit guys can be. If you go next door into the lounge, there's a backdoor into the hallway that runs behind these stores. Take a right and go down it to the far end. It will let you out in Avery Row, and then you can slip out to the street down a bit. Good luck!"
As the door shut behind the saleswoman, Katie tried on the hat, smirking at the mirror in the small stall. Hanging it on the hook drilled to the back of the door, she slipped her top off and quickly began to change.
Ten minutes later, Katie had changed and was closing the door of the employee lounge behind her as a different sales representative called after her that it was an employee's only area. Ignoring the man, she set off down the corridor at a quick pace, her footsteps echoing over the whir of air conditioning units and generators. She carried the hat in her left hand, the bag full of her clothes in her right. Pausing to situate the hat on her head, slightly canted to mask the right side of her face, she opened the door to Avery Row and strode confidently up the narrow alley to the north.
As she neared the corner, Katie slowed and peeked out from under the brim of the hat in the direction of Niko and Bruno. The rain had gotten much stronger than the light drizzle that had been falling when she entered the store, and it was considerably darker than late morning in April should have been. She could see them standing outside the designer shop where she lost them, clearly arguing about something (she would have bet that it was about ripping the store apart looking for her. That, or telling Tony), but they were still scanning the street hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Finally, Niko gave Bruno a little shove, turned, and headed straight for the store she had just left.
Seeing her chance, Katie quickly ducked out onto the main street and winced at the biting rain, but was caught by the light from crossing Brook St. as she intended. Tapping her foot impatiently while cars moved by with wipers whirring, Katie hazarded a glance back towards her escorts, counting on the hat and rain to provide her some anonymity. As she was turning, though, someone bumped her and she stumbled, the hat tumbling off in the process.
"For fuck's sake, watch where you're going!" Katie crouched and shuffled over to where her hat had fallen, lunging for it and quickly shaking it off. Lightning pierced the sky, illuminating the city. From afar, she heard a shout and looked up to find Bruno pointing directly at her; the light had turned green—and the walk symbol illuminated—leaving her alone as the crowd surged across the intersection.
"Shit!" Time seemed to freeze as she looked up and made eye contact with him, eyes widening in surprise while his narrowed in predatory excitement. Breaking the spell, Katie stood and ran across the crosswalk, knowing full well that Bruno would be getting Niko's attention and following her. Ignoring the protests of those she shouldered out of the way or cut off, Katie made it across the street and continued up Moulton Lane, glancing back over her shoulder every few steps. Bruno's bald head stood out above the crowd, but she did not see Niko at all. He was slightly shorter, so it was possible that he was helping to smash right through throngs of shoppers along with Bruno, but Katie also knew he could be going back for the car and trying to get ahead of her.
Katie saw the walk symbol begin to flash and count down the seconds until 'Stop' ahead and gritted her teeth. Halfway across the intersection, she saw the indicator hit zero and switch to the glaring orange hand, the display ringed in orange light by the rain. Katie sprinted to the far side and turned around, backpedaling as Bruno burst through the crowd and was almost struck by a car accelerating through the intersection from the right. He leapt to the side and put a hand out to stop the car, receiving the bird and a honk in response. Not waiting to see whether he backed off or continued after her, Katie fled north with the traffic towards Oxford Street, thunder rumbling in the blackening clouds above her head.
Taxi. I need to find a taxi. Katie swung left, weaving in and out of Londoners and tourists, eyes darting along the curb for a cab. She considered taking the Tube, but throngs of shoppers were thinking the same thing as the rain continued to fall: the crowds began to thin as people sought shelter from the rain and Katie knew that it wouldn't be long until Bruno could clearly see her and would close on her again. Skipping around another group of college kids loitering in the middle of the sidewalk, Katie finally saw a taxi idling on a side street. She side-stepped a large puddle and ran through oncoming traffic to make it to the taxi before another drenched shopper could. Grasping the wet handle and tossing her hat on to the backseat, Katie practically fell into the cab with her bag tumbling in behind her.
"Paddington!" Katie gasped to the cabbie as she straightened and looked out the rear windshield. Bruno was nowhere to be seen. "And fucking step on it, yeah? I'll pay you extra." The driver needed no more incentive; he immediately floored the accelerator and the cab shot forward, drifting left through a yellow light, rain hammering away on the windows. Katie wiped the hat off on the seat as best she could, checking behind them for the silver car in which Niko had driven them to London.
Only a few minutes later, the cab rolled to a stop outside the train station and Katie tossed twice the fair over the seat. With a hurried thanks, she slipped out of the car back into the rain and put the hat in her bag of clothes. Katie ran from the curb with a mass of other travellers seeking to get inside, splashing through some shallow puddles.
Once onto the concourse and sheltered from the elements by the high curved ceiling, she sought out the shortest ticket line. The bright industrial lighting contrasted with the darkness visible through the high skylights inset between steel arches. As the line crept forward, Katie scanned the board and noted that the train she needed was leaving in less than twenty minutes. Looking back at the escalators to the taxi stand with a growing sense of accomplishment at getting away from her 'bodyguards,' Katie inched her way towards the ticket window.
Ten minutes and countless over-the-shoulder glances later, Katie purchased her ticket, let security check that the only thing in her bag was assorted clothing items, and was heading for the platform when she saw a familiar silver sedan pull up at the taxi stand. Not bothering to turn the car off, she saw Niko leap out and sprint for the entrance to the station. Katie was confident he could not see her from that distance (and that he wasn't aware she had changed), but the board showing the only train she could possibly be trying to catch was clearly visible to every traveller that approached the station.
"You've got to be joking," she muttered under her breath, and turned to run for her train. She looked back to see him trying to shove his way to the front of the line at the ticket office in the face of mounting opposition. Never slowing her pace, Katie scrambled down the platform and lightly stepped onto the train. Heading forward several cars, Katie took a seat facing the rear of the car, pulled the hat from her bag, and once again situated it to cover the right side of her face, yet still allow her to watch the platform surreptitiously for the man chasing her.
A couple minutes later, just when Katie was thinking that the security at the station had stymied her tail, Niko came bullying down the platform. He slowed and began looking critically at every window of the train. At the front of the train, the whistle sounded shrilly, echoing in the high-ceilinged space around the platforms. Katie sunk lower into the chair and watched as the train began to accelerate at a painstakingly slow rate. Niko finally reached her car and Katie forced herself to stare straight at the seat of the chair opposite her so the hat would cover her face completely to anyone on the platform. Over the rumble of the engines throughout the car, Katie heard several loud obscenities rise from the platform and knew that Niko had no idea if she was on the train or not.
The train finally pulled completely away from the platform and out from under the shelter that was holding the rain at bay. At once it crashed down against the passenger car and streaked the window next to her. Katie took the hat off and tossed it wearily into the seat across from her.
"Thank God. I could use a good nap," Katie said aloud to herself, and closed her eyes.
"Don't count on it. Where the fuck have you been?!" a voice interrupted. Katie's eyes snapped open as Emily fell into the chair next to the hat. Almost immediately, she closed them again in frustration. Fuck.