John Hart - Iron House

Michael said, “I’ll have a beer.”

When Elena came back, they ate lunch, but it wasn’t easy. There was a reticence in her that went beyond the expected.

Back at the motel, Elena shut herself in the bathroom. When she came out, her hair was damp at the edges, the skin of her face pink from cold water and a rough towel. “I’ve made a decision.” She was resolute. “I’m going home.”

“You can’t.”

“I love you, Michael. God help me for that, I do. And I get it, okay? The whole childhood thing, what’s happened to you and how you turned into the man you are. It breaks my heart, truthfully, and I could spend a day weeping for the sad, small boys in that photograph you carry. But I have to put the baby first. This baby. Mine.” Both hands covered her stomach. “That means I can’t be with you. I’m sorry.”

“You’re not safe in New York. You’re not safe here, not without me.”

Her chin lifted. “I called Marietta.”

“Marietta who lives next door?”

“She has a key. She is sending my passport here by overnight mail. Tomorrow I will go back to Spain.”

“You gave Marietta this address?”

“Of course.”

“When did you call her?”

“What does it matter? I called her. She is sending the passport and I will leave.”

Michael caught her arm. “When?”

“This morning. While you slept.”

“What time?”

“Seven thirty, maybe eight. Ow, Michael. You’re hurting me.”

“Call her.” Michael released her arm and pushed his cell phone into her hand. “Do it.”

Elena dialed. “She is not answering.”

“Try her cell.”

Elena redialed and was shunted straight to voice mail. “She always has it with her. She always has it on.”

Michael knew this was true. Marietta worked in public relations. Her phone was her life. “Tell me the conversation.”

“She was going on about some corporate event-Mercedes, I think. I told her where to find the passport, in the cabinet above the oven. She said she would mail it first thing.”

“What else?”

“I heard voices. People on the stairs, maybe. She said she had to go.”

“Get your things. We’re leaving.”

“Why?”

“Marietta’s dead.”

“What?”

“We have to move.”

Michael checked the window. Outside, three men climbed from a dark green van. They were hard-looking men, one Hispanic and two whites. The Hispanic carried a duffel bag, and it was heavy. Michael did not recognize any of them, but knew at a glance what they’d come for. He took in the plates on the van, how their eyes moved, the way they carried themselves. “Too late.” He flicked the curtain closed, stepped into the bathroom, and started the shower. When he came out, he left the bathroom door cracked.

“What’s going on? What’s happening?”

A connecting door joined their room to the one next door. It had a brass deadbolt, but the wood was cheap and thin. Michael shouldered it open, wood cracking at the jamb, bright metal twisting. “Go.” Michael tipped his head at the door. Elena moved into the adjoining room, Michael behind her. He forced the damaged door closed, jamming hard to make it fit. At the window, he eased back the curtain. The men were across the lot, twelve feet away. They walked in a row, the center man eyeing the motel door, the two on the sides checking their flanks. “Elena.”

She eased up beside him. He wanted her to see, to understand. One of the men slipped a hand under his shirt, and Elena saw the dull show of black steel. “Jesus.”

She crossed herself.

Michael nodded toward the door between the rooms. “In ten seconds they’ll be in that room. You know how to use this?” He pulled the nine millimeter from the holster at his hip.

“No.”

She was truly frightened now. A different kind of fear. “It’s easy,” Michael told her. “Fifteen rounds. Semiautomatic. Just point and pull the trigger. If anyone comes through that door, you shoot him. Just keep squeezing the trigger. The safety is off.”

“What about you?”

He moved her back, against the wall. She had a clear line of fire at the adjoining door. “Anybody,” Michael said, then drew the forty-five and crossed back to the window. The men clustered on the sidewalk. The lot behind them was empty. They made a thorough check, then laid down the duffel bag and unzipped it, pulling out a thirty-pound sledgehammer. One last look around and the weapons came out. They kept them low against their legs, and when the hammer came off the ground they stepped back to make room for the swing. The man was large. He got his weight behind it, and when the hammer hit, the door didn’t stand a chance. It blew open with a tortured squeal. He dropped the hammer, and the other two entered first, the third right behind them.

Michael gave them exactly two seconds, then opened the door and stepped outside. The day was just as warm, but felt cool. Wind licked his face, and part of him felt regret. He took five steps down the sidewalk, then rounded into the room behind them, his feet light and soundless, his heart rate unchanged. All three had their weapons up, their focus on the bathroom door and the shower running beyond it. No one looked back. No one heard him. It took Michael two seconds to kill all three men.

Two seconds.

Three bullets.

The shots came so quickly, they sounded like strung firecrackers. Weapon leveled, Michael closed the door and checked the bodies. They were dead, no question: two in the back of the head, one in the side as he’d turned. Two of them had wallets in their back pockets. Michael checked the IDs, then tossed them in one of the shopping bags. He spared a glance at their weapons to confirm his suspicions, then gathered up spent casings and the bags of clothing. He made a last check and walked out of the room.

The men he left on the floor.

At the door to the adjoining room, he knocked. “It’s me.”

“Come in.” Her voice shook.

Michael found her crouched on the floor, weapon up and aimed at the door. “I heard…” She began to shake, and Michael took the weapon from her hands. She covered her face. “I thought… Oh, God.” She smeared her palms across her face, but there were no tears yet.

“We’re leaving,” Michael said.

“What happened?”

“They were amateurs.”

“How do you know?”

“They died easy.” Michael was moving quickly, re-holstering the nine millimeter, pushing the shopping bags into Elena’s arms. “Someone will have heard the shots.”

“They’re really dead? You-”

“I should have seen it.” Michael shook his head. “The plates threw me.”

“What do you mean?”

“The van was here when we came back. I saw it, but it has Maryland plates. I was looking for New York.” Michael checked the window. “They’re contract players, probably out of Baltimore. I didn’t expect that. Wasn’t looking for it. I say they’re amateurs because they are. The van is parked so that it could be easily blocked in. No one watched their backs. Their weapons were low grade and poorly maintained. Two of them carried ID.” He shook his head. “Amateurs. Are you ready?”

“Where are we going?”

“North Carolina.”

“Why?”

“To find my brother.”

She blinked, still stunned. “You killed them.”

Michael opened the door, took her by the hand. “I’m trying to quit.”

They got in the car and drove from the lot. Michael made a number of turns and kept an eye on the rearview mirror. “We’ll need a new car.”

“I’m going to be sick.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m going to be sick on you.”