Chapter 5

Amanda drove into the warehouse district as Lee had directed. There was the usual hustle and bustle of a workday, with trucks pulling in and out, men working, machinery clanging. They travelled to the far end of a row of buildings where dumpsters and metal drums were piled. It was relatively quiet, and more removed from the noise and confusion of the rest of the area. Lee signalled for her to stop and she looked around, trying to view the scene before her through the eyes of a spy.

Escape routes were the first order of business. Never go in someplace without knowing how to get out. Lee had told her that once and she took those little tidbits of knowledge to heart. She looked around, noting the alley to the right and the gated fence ahead. The gate was chained shut but, if necessary, she could drive through it, though explaining the damage to her mechanic—let alone her mother—would certainly take some creative weaving of fact and fiction. Using the rear view mirror, she noted that the way she'd come was still clear but it could easily be blocked by a forklift or a truck. The alley would be her first alternate route and the gate her last choice.

Step number two was looking for danger. The building beside them was boarded up but some of the windows were open and could be hiding a sniper, their contact or even a street person. Long grass and weeds grew around the perimeter—there was no evidence that it had been stepped on or pushed aside by a person walking through it. So the building could be empty or possibly someone was inside but had simply used an access point she couldn't see. Dumpsters could also hide a person and the metal drums were stacked precariously. They could easily be pushed over onto an unsuspecting individual.

Satisfied that she'd cover all the bases, she turned to Lee. He was surveying the area with narrowed eyes and a grim expression. "I don't like this, Amanda. There are too many places for someone to be hiding. After last night, I'm not sure if this is a legitimate meet with a contact or if the guys who were chasing me might have set it up. It's the middle of a work day. The meet should have been in someplace busier with more activity to act as a cover for a quick conversation."

"Do you want me to get us out of here?"

Lee considered the situation before answering. "No—I need to talk to this person. Maybe he's just watched too many movies and thinks this is how it's done." Reaching for the handle, he opened the door and slowly stepped out, groaning slightly as his body protested the movement. Through the open window, he gave her his instructions, while his eyes continued to scan the area for possible danger. "I'm supposed to meet him by that dumpster. I'll walk over and you wait in the car. At the first sign of trouble, I want you to get out of here."

"Do I call for backup?"

"No—no one knows what I'm doing. This is a solo act." Leaving the car door open, he limped towards the large blue garbage bin. Amanda divided her attention between watching his progress and looking around for signs of trouble. About half way there, Lee pulled out his gun and she wondered if it was just a precaution or if he sensed something was wrong.

A man appeared from behind the dumpster and they exchanged a few words, then he stepped forward, handed Lee an envelope and started backing away. Lee said something; the man shook his head, shrugged giving the universal sign for "I don't know" and then disappeared between the metal bins. Obviously frustrated, Lee watched the man leave, then starting walking back towards Amanda's car, all the while continually glancing around. He was almost to the vehicle when shots rang out. Lee dove to the side, landing in the tall grass. Amanda ducked as low as possible behind the wheel, hit the gas and drove towards where Lee had disappeared.

Her vehicle screeched to a halt and she leaned across, throwing open the passenger door. "Lee! Get in!" His head poked out of the weeds long enough to fire two shots in the general direction of his adversary then stumbled into the car. He was barely inside when Amanda threw the car into reverse and backed away as quickly as possible. Once they were some distance back, she shifted into drive and sped away, checking her rear view mirror for possible pursuit while glancing worriedly at her partner.

"Lee, are you okay? Did you get hit?"

He was lying back against the seat, slumped to the side with his eyes closed. "No—whoever that was, was a lousy shot. They didn't even come near me. I thought I told you to leave at the first sign of trouble."

"I did. I just took a minute to get my partner."

Lee grunted his thanks.

"Lee, I'm sorry. Whoever was after you last night must have been outside the house and followed us this morning. I guess I didn't watch carefully enough. I kept checking behind as we drove here, but there must have been a tail that I didn't see." She felt awful. Lee had come to her for help, for someplace safe to stay while he healed and she'd allowed some thugs to follow her, leading them right to his important meeting...

"There was no tail; No one followed us. I was watching as you drove."

"Oh! Well, then, they must have followed your informant. Whoever he is, they really don't want you talking to him. It was a good thing their aim was off and you had that long grass to hide in."

By now, they were several blocks away from the warehouse and Amanda deemed it safe to pull over. She parked on a tree lined street then turned to check on Lee. He had managed to pull himself upright, but strain lines were bracketing his mouth."Yeah, that little incident certainly helped my ribs feel better." His words were laced with sarcasm and Amanda winced, imagining how it must have hurt having to dive for cover like that. She reached over and gently squeezed his arm in sympathy.

"So what happened? Was that your informant? Was he the one shooting at you?"

"I don't know who the guy was. He said he'd been paid a hundred bucks to give me this envelope. I asked him who was paying and he said he didn't know- it was just some guy in a suit. He wasn't the shooter though. The bullets came from the other direction. Did you see anything?"

"No. I was watching but I didn't see anyone. What's in the package?"

"I haven't check yet." Lee opened the envelope and flipped through the contents, then straightened the stack of papers and contemplated the first page.

"Well? What is it? Does it prove Billy's innocent?"

Lee said nothing, just handing her the pages, his face grim.