Christopher Smith - Running of the bulls

Completing the look-and crossing boundaries but not continents-were the tall wooden Geisha shoes that now pinched and bruised his feet. He was click, click, clicking around the room while dipping his head and fanning out the caftan by lifting his arms behind him when one of the clicks sounded like a pop.

He was standing at a tall window that overlooked 75th Street. He looked down at his feet to see if he’d broken one of the shoes and when he did, he caught movement on the street below. On the sidewalk were a pair of legs lying flat between two cars. They were slender and appeared to belong to a woman. As Emilio watched, they suddenly were pulled from sight.

With that Wood woman murdered, instinct made him move to the side of the window, so he wasn’t exposed. He was confused and a part of him was frightened. There was a van idling in the middle of the street. Its driver’s side door was open. Light pooled from the van onto the street, where a man and a woman, crouched low, were leaving the spot where those legs had disappeared. They hurried to the van, stepped inside and sped toward Fifth.

And Emilio DeSoto, who rarely did the right thing unless it benefitted him, stayed true to himself. There were killers in this neighborhood. The rodents Wood led here had just taken another life. There was no reason to believe that they wouldn’t take his.

Removing his shoes, Emilio put his hands straight out in front of him so he wouldn’t bump into anything and hurried out of the room. As he moved carefully down his curving staircase and rushed to the phone that was in the living room, the caftan billowed behind him, just as it should. He picked up the phone and dialed 911.

An operator came on the line. “What’s your emergency?”

“Somebody is going to kill me,” he said.

“How do you know that, sir?”

“Because the rodents just killed somebody else.”

“What rodents, sir?”

“Wood’s rodents.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific. Are you in danger now?”

He went to a window, looked out at the street and saw those dead feet tucked between two cars. “Yes,” he said. “I’m in danger. Alright? I’m in danger.”

“By who?”

And Emilio exploded. “How the fuck do I know?” he shouted. “What more do you need from me? I just told you I’m in danger. They’re going to kill me just like they killed her.”

“Sir-”

“They’re going to kill me because I don’t fit their mold. They’re going to kill me because I’m different. Because I’m magnificent.”

“Sir-”

“They’re going to kill me because I’m poised for greatness. They’re going to kill me for all those reasons, and if you don’t get your ass down here now, I’ll be just another dead freak felled by the very rodents you idiots can’t seem to catch.”

Spocatti drove to the end of 74th Street, stopped at a red light and was about to ask Carmen if she was hurt when an NBC news van drove past them. It was moving fast-too fast-and each turned to watch it race up Madison and cut left onto 77th Street, where Peter Schwartz lived.

“News is out,” he said.

“Literally.”

“Cops will be there.”

“And more will be coming. We need to move. It’s time to finish this.”

The light turned green. Spocatti stepped on the gas, drove three blocks east for protection and then cut back onto 75th. There was a parking spot midway down the street. Surprised, he went for it but saw the fire hydrant as he approached. Didn’t matter. Cops were busy and about to get busier. He took the spot and turned off the engine.

“Why are we so far back?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. Are you hurt?”

“I’ll live.”

“She was a feisty one.”

“God’s telling her that now.”

A woman with a dog turned the corner and started walking toward them. She was young, maybe twenty-five, with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. She said something to the dog and laughed when it barked. They waited for her to pass before speaking.

“There’s no failing here,” he said. “Let’s run through it. What’s first?”

“You’re on the street with the video camera.”

“What’s second?”

“I’m on the phone with Pamela Dean to make sure she’s home, which I already know she is because I saw her pass a window on the second floor of her townhouse. But I’ll double check.”

“What was she wearing?”

“Let’s just say she’s not going out.”

“If someone else answers and you need to ask for her, what’s your name?”

“Rebecca Stiles. Pamela and I used to work together with Wolfhagen. She was one of his moles and gave him information that helped him bilk billions from foreign markets.”

“If her husband answers, what if he doesn’t know you?”

“He doesn’t need to know me. Pamela and I were lunchtime friends. We ate together once a month. But it’s been years since we’ve talked. We lost touch after Pam took the stand against Wolfhagen. I’m in town. I heard about Wood. I know she lives next to her and wanted to check in to see if she’s alright.”

“That’s so kind of you.”

“Rebecca’s that kind of girl.”

“Do her voice.”

One of Carmen’s strengths was mimicry. Not long after Wolfhagen was sent to Lompoc, Pamela told her story to “60 Minutes.” Wolfhagen sent them the tape. Carmen studied it. She did the voice.

“Nice,” he said, and then paused. “I need you to be aware of something. Did you see the black Escalade when you were planting the explosives?”

“The one at the end of the street? Just before Fifth?”

“That’s right.”

“How could I miss it? Those cars are obnoxious. Why?”

“You know what McVeigh used to blow up the Federal Building in Oklahoma?”

She didn’t answer. A part of her froze.

“That’s what’s in the Escalade.”

“But that will take down several blocks.”

“Actually, we don’t know what it will do. We used only a quarter of what McVeigh used. I know it will level its share of buildings and give us our distraction, but I don’t know to what extent. When you’re certain Dean is there, I want you to detonate those bombs.”

“Who put the Escalade there?”

“I have friends all over this city, Carmen. Who did it doesn’t matter. What matters is that he was able to do it.” He reached behind him and grabbed the camera. He held it up to his face to see if he could zoom in properly down the street. Perfect. With a lens this powerful, he easily could focus on the events as they occurred, which would make Wolfhagen happy. And that’s what mattered.

“Let’s do this,” he said.

“Just a minute. You say you don’t know what will happen when the Escalade blows. But look at us-we’re pointed in that direction. What’s the plan on getting us out of here?”

He patted her knee. “It’s simple. We’re going to run like hell in the opposite direction. I have a car waiting four blocks behind us. It’s all taken care of, Carmen. You just need to be able to run.”

“From an explosion of that magnitude? We’re essentially in a tunnel, Vincent. A fireball is going to roll down this street. It will incinerate us.”

He stepped out of the car with the camera and moved to the street corner. Over his shoulder, she heard him say, “That’s why you need to run fast.”

Emilio DeSoto retrieved his wooden Geisha shoes from the second floor, squeezed his sore feet into them in the first-floor living area and looked out again at the legs that were between the two cars outside his home.

It had been fifteen minutes since he called the police and there was no sign of that they were anywhere close to coming. No sirens. No flashing lights. Nothing.