Malcolm rubbed his wrists, tiny cuts from where he pulled at the ties made a thin bracelet around each of them.
Bennet hadn't moved, his gun was still flush against Dani's temple. "Luca, take Mr. Bright back to the club." He turned to Malcolm, "Your car is there."
He nodded.
"Luca will return your weapon and phone when he drops you off. Your phone is turned off; you will keep it that way until after we have made the exchange. We will track your location through your BMW. There's been a device on it since the first day you came to my club."
That's how they knew. My apartment, the buzzer.
Bennet continued, "Once you tell me you have the cartridges, and we see that you are safely away from the precinct, I'll text you details about the exchange location. If you try anything with your friends at the NYPD, or if you fail to bring me the ammunition by midnight, I will shoot both of Dani's legs and drop her in the middle of the ocean."
Malcolm closed his eyes. Try as he may, he couldn't keep the vision of Dani sinking below the water from his mind. He shook it away as quickly as he possibly could.
So, he does have a boat here.
"You have five hours, Mr. Bright." Bennet finally lowered his weapon. Dani exhaled the breath she'd been holding.
Malcolm stood, took two steps forward, then crouched in front of Dani. He reached up and took her head in his hands, "I'll be back soon."
She nodded, as he leaned forward and kissed her. "I promise," he whispered, pulling back to look her in the eyes. It was effortless to get lost in the sheer depth of them.
His mouth twitched, but never opened.
I love you.
Her gaze misted and again. Dani nodded, blinking away tears. She knew it, but he couldn't bear to say the actual words for the first time in front of the man threatening to kill her.
Malcolm stood, and headed toward the door, Luca close behind.
Luca pulled into a parking spot a block away from Diablo. There were marked cars outside of the building, some officers lingering after Gil had come looking for him. Malcolm was relieved to see that the BMW was still a few spots down from the club; they hadn't towed it back to the precinct.
Bennet would have known that, he reminded himself.
Luca tossed Malcolm's phone at him, then pulled a gun out from the arm rest, pointing it at the profiler.
Malcolm sighed and rolled his eyes. "Just give me my gun. I'm not going to shoot you," he glared up at him, "yet."
Luca chuckled, but still slowly handed him the Glock. Malcolm checked the magazine to see if there were even any bullets in it. Surprisingly it was, indeed, loaded. He hid it behind his back and exited the car, slamming the door behind him.
One of the many wonderful things about the city, was that you didn't have to try very hard to be anonymous. Blending into the crowd was easy. Malcolm kept his head down, looked like he was in a hurry, and made it to his car without any of the officers even giving him a second glance. The odds that any of them even knew what he looked like were slim anyway.
He pulled out of the space still unsure of exactly where he was going. Obviously he needed to get into the precinct, but that was going to take some planning. He'd already lost half an hour to travel time from the marina. Ten blocks later, and deep in thought about how he was going to pull this off, Malcolm realized he was subconsciously driving home. He drove by building twice to make sure no one was watching his apartment, even then he parked over a block down from it.
Once he was inside he went to his closet for a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom. Malcolm unbuttoned his shirt and tenderly pulled it off. His torso was a fireworks display in all blues and purples. The left side of his ribcage was swollen, the rib had to be fractured at least, if not completely broken. To help him breathe easier, he decided to wrap it. After splashing some water on his face and running his fingers through his hair, Malcolm realized there was nothing he could do to make his face less conspicuous. One side had a baseball-sized bruise, while the other was red and puffy from Luca's punch today. There was no hiding that, and it would inevitably draw people's attention.
Redressed, Malcolm ascended the stairs to his office, opening his laptop. It took him longer than he wanted to find the evidence requisition form he needed. Once he found it, he sent it to his printer. Pen in hand, he paused. It hurt him to forge Gil's signature at the bottom, but it had to be done. Folding the documents in half and slipping them into the breast pocket of his jacket, Malcolm was halfway out of his office door when he heard a key opening his door.
He stepped back into the office, listening.
"-continue to dodge my calls Lieutenant Arroyo, I have no problem paying you a visit at the precinct. I haven't heard from my son in five days. Return my calls if you wish to avoid my making a fantastic scene in front of your subordinates. Ciao."
Mother. He pictured the dirty clothes on his bathroom floor.
Shit. She knew him well enough to know he wouldn't just leave his apartment with them there. It wouldn't be long before she knew he was here.
Fire escape. Never had he been more grateful that the fire escape was out the office window.
He was closing the window back when he heard his mother call, "Malcolm?" He sped down the two flights of iron stairs, jumping the last 6 feet to the pavement, and rushed around the corner, before unlocking the BMW.
Jesus. This was supposed to be the simple part, he thought, the rumble of the engine purred as he pushed the button, and pulled out of the space, en route to the precinct.
Malcolm sat in the car, staring unfocused out the windshield. He parked on the first floor of the garage on the south side of the building. It was risky, but would be the fastest way to reach his car once he needed to leave.
He checked his watch, Three hours.
The entire plan hinged on the clerk not recognizing him. Precarious didn't even begin to sum it up, but it was the best he could think of, given he needed someone to actually unlock the vault door for him. Malcolm didn't consider himself a religious person, but he closed his eyes and prayed nevertheless. To whom, was anyone's guess.
Please. Please, let this work.
His gun still hidden behind his back, Malcolm stepped out of the car and into the precinct. Stairs were safest, less people. He descended down the two floors to the evidence vault. Before exiting the stairwell, he paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
"Here we go," he whispered, opening the door.
Thankfully there weren't any other officers waiting. Malcolm walked confidently up to the counter and smiled. "Hello," he said, reading his name tag. Varga.
The officer behind the counter was clearly bored, his gun was completely disassembled for cleaning, down to the springs and silencer. He was reading a page of The Times from three days ago. He looked up from it gratefully, immediately noticing Malcolm's injuries.
"Wow, rough day?"
"You have no idea," Malcolm admitted.
"What can I do for you?"
Malcolm reached into his breast pocket and produced the requisition form. His hands were shaking nervously, as Officer Varga read it over.
"Just the two things then?" he asked.
Malcolm exhaled, "Yes. Thank you."
Varga turned and left the counter. As he did, the elevator dinged.
Shit.
He didn't dare turn around, if it was someone he knew, he'd be outed soon enough. The footsteps grew closer, and stopped next to Malcolm, who glanced sideways.
The officer nodded at him, "How you doing?"
"Meh. You?"
"Better than you from the looks of it," he replied.
Malcolm nervously huffed, "Shyeah."
Officer Varga returned. "Okay, please verify that the items provided to you match the ones requested on your form. One canister 5.7 mil 40 grain cartridges, 200 count. Does this match the item requested on your paper? If so please sign here." Malcolm signed the bottom of the paperwork, as officer Varga turned his attention to the other man. Malcolm reached over and laid the paperwork on top of the disassembled pieces of the gun, deftly picking up the silencer as he pulled back his hand. He pocketed it and picked up the canister of ammo, nodding to the officers while turning to leave. He took the stairs two at a time, climbing the two flights back to the ground floor.
Almost there, he coached himself. He peeked through the rectangular slit in the stairwell door before exiting, making sure that no one he knew was within view. Then, he stepped out into the lobby.
30 feet. Be confident.
He nodded at those he passed, making eye contact deliberately, so as not to seem suspicious. As he passed the elevators, they dinged and he sped up just enough to not bring attention to himself, not daring to look and see who might have exited them.
He was walking through the first set of exit doors into the vestibule, when J.T. exited the elevator. Malcolm's expensive suit was the first thing that caught his eye. The hair/stature of the wearer was the reason he sped in his direction.
When Malcolm exited the building he practically sprinted up the incline to the car. He was only a few spaces away when he heard the yell.
"BRIGHT!"
J.T. Damn it.
His heart sank.
He made it to the drivers side of the BMW before J.T. caught up with him. Malcolm quickly sat the canister of ammo down behind him, positioning his legs to attempt to hide it from view.
"Bright? What happened? How are you here right now?" J.T. was genuinely concerned, making his guilt all the more painful.
Malcolm didn't reply; he simply looked at his watch, then back at his partner.
Two and a half hours.
"What's going on? Where's Dani?"
The sound of her name brought a sting to the back of Malcolm's throat. He licked his lips and looked down at the pavement beneath him, trying to check his emotions.
Tarmel strategically positioned himself in front of the BMW, blocking Malcolm's exit. "Talk to me, man."
"I can't," Malcolm whispered. "I have to go, J.T."
"Go where?"
He simply shook his head.
"Tell me what's going on."
Malcolm ran his hand through his hair, and rested it on his hip, "He has Dani. I have to go. Now."
"No, you don't. Just talk to me. Let us help."
"This is the only way, J.T. I have to go. Please move!"
J.T. furrowed his brows, "What do you mean 'the only way'?"
Malcolm anxiously shifted his stance, just enough that J.T. saw a glimpse of the canister behind him. He watched as J.T. put the pieces of what he had done together, his hand slowly creeping toward his holster. Malcolm inched the hand on his hip toward the gun hidden behind him, his fingers slowly wrapping around the grip.
The two men made eye contact for a split second, and immediately drew their weapons. Adrenaline surged through Malcolm like a bolt of lightning.
"Tell me that's not what I think it is," J.T. stared at him in disbelief.
Malcolm raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in response.
"You know I can't let you leave with that, Bright."
"I have to, J.T.. Bennet's going to kill Dani if I don't bring him the ammo."
"We can figure something out that doesn't involve giving a cop killer 200 armor piercing bullets. Dani wouldn't want that and you know it!"
"I know! Don't you think I know that?! It's just- there's no time to figure out a better plan. If I don't bring him the canister…"
"What?" the detective asked.
"He said he would shoot her and throw her body in the ocean." His voice was cracked, desperate, his hand shaking. "It's Dani," he bit his lip, the last line of defense against the breakdown. "I can't lose her, J.T."
The torment in Malcolm's voice seemed to derail his teammate for a moment and J.T. slowly lowered his gun. Malcolm in turn did the same, shoving it behind his back again.
"He has a boat?" J.T. asked.
"Yes. We were being held at a marina, in Brooklyn I think," Malcolm put the cartridges in the passenger seat and got in. He rolled down the window waiting for J.T. to move.
"If I step aside and this goes badly, you know I'm implicated too, right?"
"I do."
"So, don't fuck this up," he stepped to the side and walked around to the open window. "I'll work the marina angle and try to find his boat."
"Track my phone, also. It has to be off for now, per Bennet's orders, but as soon as I can, I'll turn it back on. Send the cavalry."
"We will."
"Thank you, J.T." Malcolm started the car.
"Bring our girl back."
"I will." He shifted the car into gear, and sped away. J.T. watched him until the car was out of sight.
Malcolm had no clue where he was supposed to drive, but he knew Bennet would wait until he was a decent distance from the precinct before contacting him. Based on his best guess about the marina, he headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge. When he was halfway across it, his phone vibrated.
Kay ave. Navy yard.
The navy yard was less than fifteen minutes away, especially at this time of night. The area should have been restricted, yet somehow every gate Malcolm came to was already rolled open. It was pitch black this close to the water, with the exception of a few site lights that offered a yellow glow within a limited space around them. Malcolm slowly drove past a long warehouse, coming to a clearing in the pavement. A car blinked it's headlights twice, signaling him to pull in. As he did, he turned on his cell phone, made sure it wouldn't vibrate, and slid it into the side of his Valentino boots. Then, he put the Glock and the stolen silencer in the arm rest. They would take it from him as soon as he got to them anyway.
Malcolm exited the car, canister in hand and slowly walked toward the cone of golden light next to the car that had signaled him. When he was about twenty feet away, the passenger door opened.
"That's close enough Mr. Bright," Bennet's voice called, the wind off the water muffling it somewhat. Malcolm stopped and waited.
Where's Dani?
Luca exited the driver's side and walked back to the trunk of the car.
He put her in the fucking trunk.
Another line on the list.
Luca pulled Dani roughly from the back of the vehicle. Her arms were now bound in front of her, and her mouth was covered with tape.
A wave of fury spread through Malcolm. It started in his chest, immediately overheating him, and tingled as it advanced out to his extremities. His hands trembled, unable to contain the rageful energy surging through them.
Bennet motioned for Luca to bring Dani to him. Once she was in front of him he shoved her to her knees in the center of the golden light. Malcolm watched in horror as Bennet pulled his gun, and placed it next to Dani's head, yet again.
