Chapter 6
"Nat? Hi, where are you?" Dylan struggled to pull on some jeans; cell phone sandwiched between her head and shoulder. "Oh, good. Listen, call Alex and meet me down at the agency. We're about to get raided by the Thin Man."
Not bothering with socks, she jumped into her sneakers; wriggling into them while shuffling to the door to unlock it. "I'll tell you the whole story when I see you," yeah, right Dylan thought, "but, he's after the necklace; somehow, it's key and he wants it real, real bad."
Quickly stooping to pick up her jacket where the Thin Man had thrown it, she bounded out the door and down the stairs. She looked at her watch. Only a little after 8pm; depending on traffic she'd get there in half an hour.
Hopping into her truck, she revved it up and screeched out of the driveway. She was dreading this confrontation with him; but felt helpless to prevent it. She'd felt that he was looking for help of some kind; help from her, but, of course, she had no idea what that was: being the Thin Man, one couldn't just sit down and have a normal conversation with him. She looked at her watch again and tapped nervously on the wheel. The Thin Man had touched her....and she had closed her eyes....When she had turned to face him, he was already gone.
And how'd he get out so quickly? Dylan recalled unlocking the door and her skin crawled. Now she was afraid, afraid of what that necklace meant to him and why he wanted it so badly. Marveling at how he must of missed it during the fight with those men in the tunnels, she figured he must have been distracted by her presence.
Do I really have that kind of affect on him? Can I use that to my advantage if things suddenly went bad? How far is he willing to take this?
Disturbed at where her questions were taking her, she got Nat again on the speed dial and hooked it up to the speakerphone. "Nat! Did you find anything out about this necklace!"
"Hi! Yeah, once I cleaned it off. It's a beautiful piece of craftmanship," Nat gushed, "originally I thought it was silver, but it's made out of platinum. The clasp is shaped into a snake's tail and head, with the head biting the tail, the body an intricate chain. And get this, there's this darling little apple dangling from it."
"Hmm...who made it?" "Not, sure. But the jeweler I spoke to was very,very interested in purchasing it. Apparently it's very popular with these New Age-y types who think that it can imbue their souls with some all knowing power."
Greaaat, Dylan thought, so our little assassin is bent on attaining some omniscient, all-powerful talisman. She doubted....no, strike that. Given what had happened the night before, she didn't have to believe the necklace actually had some kind of supernatural power; it was enough that the Thin Man believed it. "Nat, let's meet down the street from the agency, I don't want to go roaring up in there. A stealthy approach is what we need."
"How much lead time did he get on you? And how'd you track him down?" "Oh, uh, it was pretty easy. And he got about a five minute start on me, not sure what he's driving," if he's freakin' drivin' at all, she thought.
The whole truth wasn't as forthcoming as she wanted, but she was reluctant to tell Nat everything and especially wasn't going to tell Alex. But, Dylan sighed, she wouldn't have to bother since Alex had a way of seeing right through her. Damn her, Dylan thought begrudgingly, why does she have to be so observant!
Pulling over to the side of the street, she killed her engine and shut out her lights; she had hung up the phone once she saw Nat's car on the road. Quietly getting out of the car, she walked over to Nat . "Where's Alex?" said Dylan. "Damn! I didn't tell her to meet us here!"
Nat and Dylan broke out into a quick run and soon had the agency in their sight. The building was dark and they went around the back to the side door. "Does this mean we have to break into our own office?" Dylan whispered incredulously. "Well, we don't have much of a choice, since that's what Alex would probably do," Nat replied, easing her key into the lock. "Where'd you put it?" "In the safe." Yeah, safe. Right, Dylan thought.
They were inside now and the hall cast strange shadows from the moonlight. They moved quickly into the foyer and started to head downstairs. Dylan saw someone standing in the shadows behind one of the columns. She pulled on Nat's arm and pointed with her chin. Dylan squinted and saw that it was Alex's back, upright and held stiffly. They crept closer, both fearing the worst. Alex looked as still as a statue and Dylan knew that she must be able to hear them coming up behind her. Her arms were upraised, palms outward, as if in a defensive posture.
Dylan reached up and clasped her shoulder. They both jumped back in surprise as Alex suddenly whirled around, her eyes wide; her hand clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath "Oh, my God! Thank God you're here," Alex grabbed their arms as if to draw strength, " I don't know what the HELL just happened. But I was here waiting and all of sudden, all of a sudden, he...he...he..."
Nat stroked her arm, "It's ok, we're here." "Yeah, well, he friggin' appa...APPARATED out of thin air right in front of me. I swear to God! And next thing I knew I couldn't move and I couldn't turn around...I couldn't turn around to see where he went!"
Nat and Dylan looked at each other. Okaaay, this is probably the first time either of them had seen Alex close to wiggin' out. "Alex, look...it's ok. He's just looking for the necklace, did you hear which way...?" Dylan paused then turned around...ok, here we go, it's showtime.
The Thin Man had appeared at the opposite side of the foyer. Looks like he still hasn't found what he's looking for, Dylan thought. His rapier was already drawn and raised above his head as he flew towards the Angels. Alex, being hugely ticked off, led the charge, with Nat and Dylan flanking her. They were circling him, dodging the sweep of his rapier, trying to find an opening. Alex connected with him first, her kick sending him head over heels.
Dylan ran behind him to follow up with a rabbit punch to his side; her hand clasping tightly around his rapier wrist. Nat threw her arms around the Thin Man's body from behind, as if to wrestle him to the ground. But Dylan realized the extent of her mistake when she had touched him. He looked back at her, his legs lock knee'd as Nat futilely tried to throw him on the marble floor.
He knows where it is now, Dylan thought frantically. His eyes were growing electric blue now, steadily staring at her and she looked away. Alex had already started to punch him in the stomach; and Nat still had a tenacious lock around his shoulders. But he viciously kicked Alex away and rammed backwards onto a column to loosen Nat.
Dylan, not letting go of his wrist followed him back, slamming his rapier hand down on the column and then surprised him with a right cross; connecting with that wonderful cheekbone. His rapier hand loosened, the sword clanked to the ground as the stunned Thin Man screamed in frustration.
Dylan quickly retrieved it and went on the offensive, while the Angels assumed their positions at her side. The Thin Man stared mesmerized at the tip of his rapier in Dylan's steady hand. She waved it under his nose as his dimming eyes followed it. This is certainly getting his attention, she thought. She pushed it slowly towards his face and forced him to back away. Is it possible that this is the only thing he's afraid of? His own weapon?
He hit the wall and then looked at Dylan, reaching behind his back. Her eyes widened and she could hear Nat gasp as the Thin Man whipped out a Glock and pointed it right between Dylan's eyes. Touche` thought Dylan, and now who'll be the one to break this stalemate?
As if God himself had responded, the lights outside suddenly flashed on and the Angels looked at each other. Who the hell could that be at this hour? It was Alex's turn to gasp as the heavy wooden door to the foyer slowly swung open to reveal a headphone-wearing, body bobbin' Max. All eyes were on him; his backpack slung over his shoulder, his hand reaching for the lightswitch by the door. Hearing Alex's gasp and muttered Oh, no!, he looked up confused and frozen at the sight of the three Angels trying to catch their breath; Alex moving protectively towards him....
Dylan, her attention on Max, turned back to the Thin Man who was now leaning easily against the stone column, his long legs crossed at the ankles; Glock gone, he was quietly shaking out a cigarette. He calmly put his hands in his pockets, cigarette unlit; his eyes sweeping over the frozen diorama of Max, Nat, Alex and Dylan. There's that look again, Dylan thought, so, he's picking his fights; is he? He stood up and straightened his tie and jacket, then lit his cigarette with a silver lighter that appeared in his hand.
Max just stood there, watching the elegant Thin Man in absolute hero worship. The Thin Man walked towards Max, stopping to pick up his sheathe and simply disarming Dylan of the rapier by gently prying it from her hand. His hand cold on her skin. He slowly slid the rapier into the sheathe, his eyes never leaving Dylan's.
Then tucking it jauntily under his arm, he walked over to Max and put his hand benignly on the boy's shoulder. As Max gazed up adoringly, Alex rolled her eyes and hurrumphed. Looking over the his head, he met each of the Angels'eyes with a stare that said "This isn't over."
Turning on his heel, he slammed the door shut behind him; the Angels and Max still silent, until Max let out a whoosh and exclaimed, "Wow, he's soooo cool! What was he doing here? I bet he was kickin' your asses!" The Angels dropped their fighting stances and looked at each other. Ok, their looks said, the kid saved our butts, but who's going to be the bad cop here?
Nat stepped up to the plate, "Max, what are you doing here so late? Does your mother know where you are? It's after 9!" "Aw, come on! Bos said I could come by here and use the computer for gaming." "Yeah, well guess what, mister you are in big trouble! And if you want to get out of this one, you're going to be put to work helping us!"
Alex gently grabbed Max by the back of the neck and pushed him towards the conference room. Dylan and Nat looked at each other, knowing they'd have to move fast if they were to anticipate the Thin Man's next move.
"Nat? Hi, where are you?" Dylan struggled to pull on some jeans; cell phone sandwiched between her head and shoulder. "Oh, good. Listen, call Alex and meet me down at the agency. We're about to get raided by the Thin Man."
Not bothering with socks, she jumped into her sneakers; wriggling into them while shuffling to the door to unlock it. "I'll tell you the whole story when I see you," yeah, right Dylan thought, "but, he's after the necklace; somehow, it's key and he wants it real, real bad."
Quickly stooping to pick up her jacket where the Thin Man had thrown it, she bounded out the door and down the stairs. She looked at her watch. Only a little after 8pm; depending on traffic she'd get there in half an hour.
Hopping into her truck, she revved it up and screeched out of the driveway. She was dreading this confrontation with him; but felt helpless to prevent it. She'd felt that he was looking for help of some kind; help from her, but, of course, she had no idea what that was: being the Thin Man, one couldn't just sit down and have a normal conversation with him. She looked at her watch again and tapped nervously on the wheel. The Thin Man had touched her....and she had closed her eyes....When she had turned to face him, he was already gone.
And how'd he get out so quickly? Dylan recalled unlocking the door and her skin crawled. Now she was afraid, afraid of what that necklace meant to him and why he wanted it so badly. Marveling at how he must of missed it during the fight with those men in the tunnels, she figured he must have been distracted by her presence.
Do I really have that kind of affect on him? Can I use that to my advantage if things suddenly went bad? How far is he willing to take this?
Disturbed at where her questions were taking her, she got Nat again on the speed dial and hooked it up to the speakerphone. "Nat! Did you find anything out about this necklace!"
"Hi! Yeah, once I cleaned it off. It's a beautiful piece of craftmanship," Nat gushed, "originally I thought it was silver, but it's made out of platinum. The clasp is shaped into a snake's tail and head, with the head biting the tail, the body an intricate chain. And get this, there's this darling little apple dangling from it."
"Hmm...who made it?" "Not, sure. But the jeweler I spoke to was very,very interested in purchasing it. Apparently it's very popular with these New Age-y types who think that it can imbue their souls with some all knowing power."
Greaaat, Dylan thought, so our little assassin is bent on attaining some omniscient, all-powerful talisman. She doubted....no, strike that. Given what had happened the night before, she didn't have to believe the necklace actually had some kind of supernatural power; it was enough that the Thin Man believed it. "Nat, let's meet down the street from the agency, I don't want to go roaring up in there. A stealthy approach is what we need."
"How much lead time did he get on you? And how'd you track him down?" "Oh, uh, it was pretty easy. And he got about a five minute start on me, not sure what he's driving," if he's freakin' drivin' at all, she thought.
The whole truth wasn't as forthcoming as she wanted, but she was reluctant to tell Nat everything and especially wasn't going to tell Alex. But, Dylan sighed, she wouldn't have to bother since Alex had a way of seeing right through her. Damn her, Dylan thought begrudgingly, why does she have to be so observant!
Pulling over to the side of the street, she killed her engine and shut out her lights; she had hung up the phone once she saw Nat's car on the road. Quietly getting out of the car, she walked over to Nat . "Where's Alex?" said Dylan. "Damn! I didn't tell her to meet us here!"
Nat and Dylan broke out into a quick run and soon had the agency in their sight. The building was dark and they went around the back to the side door. "Does this mean we have to break into our own office?" Dylan whispered incredulously. "Well, we don't have much of a choice, since that's what Alex would probably do," Nat replied, easing her key into the lock. "Where'd you put it?" "In the safe." Yeah, safe. Right, Dylan thought.
They were inside now and the hall cast strange shadows from the moonlight. They moved quickly into the foyer and started to head downstairs. Dylan saw someone standing in the shadows behind one of the columns. She pulled on Nat's arm and pointed with her chin. Dylan squinted and saw that it was Alex's back, upright and held stiffly. They crept closer, both fearing the worst. Alex looked as still as a statue and Dylan knew that she must be able to hear them coming up behind her. Her arms were upraised, palms outward, as if in a defensive posture.
Dylan reached up and clasped her shoulder. They both jumped back in surprise as Alex suddenly whirled around, her eyes wide; her hand clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath "Oh, my God! Thank God you're here," Alex grabbed their arms as if to draw strength, " I don't know what the HELL just happened. But I was here waiting and all of sudden, all of a sudden, he...he...he..."
Nat stroked her arm, "It's ok, we're here." "Yeah, well, he friggin' appa...APPARATED out of thin air right in front of me. I swear to God! And next thing I knew I couldn't move and I couldn't turn around...I couldn't turn around to see where he went!"
Nat and Dylan looked at each other. Okaaay, this is probably the first time either of them had seen Alex close to wiggin' out. "Alex, look...it's ok. He's just looking for the necklace, did you hear which way...?" Dylan paused then turned around...ok, here we go, it's showtime.
The Thin Man had appeared at the opposite side of the foyer. Looks like he still hasn't found what he's looking for, Dylan thought. His rapier was already drawn and raised above his head as he flew towards the Angels. Alex, being hugely ticked off, led the charge, with Nat and Dylan flanking her. They were circling him, dodging the sweep of his rapier, trying to find an opening. Alex connected with him first, her kick sending him head over heels.
Dylan ran behind him to follow up with a rabbit punch to his side; her hand clasping tightly around his rapier wrist. Nat threw her arms around the Thin Man's body from behind, as if to wrestle him to the ground. But Dylan realized the extent of her mistake when she had touched him. He looked back at her, his legs lock knee'd as Nat futilely tried to throw him on the marble floor.
He knows where it is now, Dylan thought frantically. His eyes were growing electric blue now, steadily staring at her and she looked away. Alex had already started to punch him in the stomach; and Nat still had a tenacious lock around his shoulders. But he viciously kicked Alex away and rammed backwards onto a column to loosen Nat.
Dylan, not letting go of his wrist followed him back, slamming his rapier hand down on the column and then surprised him with a right cross; connecting with that wonderful cheekbone. His rapier hand loosened, the sword clanked to the ground as the stunned Thin Man screamed in frustration.
Dylan quickly retrieved it and went on the offensive, while the Angels assumed their positions at her side. The Thin Man stared mesmerized at the tip of his rapier in Dylan's steady hand. She waved it under his nose as his dimming eyes followed it. This is certainly getting his attention, she thought. She pushed it slowly towards his face and forced him to back away. Is it possible that this is the only thing he's afraid of? His own weapon?
He hit the wall and then looked at Dylan, reaching behind his back. Her eyes widened and she could hear Nat gasp as the Thin Man whipped out a Glock and pointed it right between Dylan's eyes. Touche` thought Dylan, and now who'll be the one to break this stalemate?
As if God himself had responded, the lights outside suddenly flashed on and the Angels looked at each other. Who the hell could that be at this hour? It was Alex's turn to gasp as the heavy wooden door to the foyer slowly swung open to reveal a headphone-wearing, body bobbin' Max. All eyes were on him; his backpack slung over his shoulder, his hand reaching for the lightswitch by the door. Hearing Alex's gasp and muttered Oh, no!, he looked up confused and frozen at the sight of the three Angels trying to catch their breath; Alex moving protectively towards him....
Dylan, her attention on Max, turned back to the Thin Man who was now leaning easily against the stone column, his long legs crossed at the ankles; Glock gone, he was quietly shaking out a cigarette. He calmly put his hands in his pockets, cigarette unlit; his eyes sweeping over the frozen diorama of Max, Nat, Alex and Dylan. There's that look again, Dylan thought, so, he's picking his fights; is he? He stood up and straightened his tie and jacket, then lit his cigarette with a silver lighter that appeared in his hand.
Max just stood there, watching the elegant Thin Man in absolute hero worship. The Thin Man walked towards Max, stopping to pick up his sheathe and simply disarming Dylan of the rapier by gently prying it from her hand. His hand cold on her skin. He slowly slid the rapier into the sheathe, his eyes never leaving Dylan's.
Then tucking it jauntily under his arm, he walked over to Max and put his hand benignly on the boy's shoulder. As Max gazed up adoringly, Alex rolled her eyes and hurrumphed. Looking over the his head, he met each of the Angels'eyes with a stare that said "This isn't over."
Turning on his heel, he slammed the door shut behind him; the Angels and Max still silent, until Max let out a whoosh and exclaimed, "Wow, he's soooo cool! What was he doing here? I bet he was kickin' your asses!" The Angels dropped their fighting stances and looked at each other. Ok, their looks said, the kid saved our butts, but who's going to be the bad cop here?
Nat stepped up to the plate, "Max, what are you doing here so late? Does your mother know where you are? It's after 9!" "Aw, come on! Bos said I could come by here and use the computer for gaming." "Yeah, well guess what, mister you are in big trouble! And if you want to get out of this one, you're going to be put to work helping us!"
Alex gently grabbed Max by the back of the neck and pushed him towards the conference room. Dylan and Nat looked at each other, knowing they'd have to move fast if they were to anticipate the Thin Man's next move.