Лиза Макманн - Wake

“ Pleased to meet you, Captain,” Janie says mechanically. She glances at Cabel. He’ s looking at his lap.

“ Likewise,” Captain says to Janie. “ Cabe, you look like hell. Shall we get this thing straightened out?”

“ Yes, sir,” Cabel says.

Janie looks up, wondering if Cabe means to call her that. It doesn’ t seem to bother the captain.

“ Janie,” she says in a tough voice. “ Cabe here tells me he’ d rather quit his job than lose you.

Quite a young man he is, I must say. Anyway,” she continues, “ since that announcement affects me greatly, I’ ve invited you here to discuss this little problem. And you need to know that I’ d rather lose my left leg than lose Cabe at this stage of the game.”

Janie swallows. Wonders what the hell is going on.

The captain looks at Cabe. “ Cabe says you can be trusted with a secret. Is that true?”

Janie starts. “ Yes, ma’ am… sir,” she says.

Captain smiles. Breaks the tension a bit.

“ So. You’ re here because this dear boy has been lying to you, and I made him do it, and he’ s afraid you won’ t believe a word he says ever again. Ms. Hannagan, do you think you can believe me?”

Janie nods. What else can she do?

“ Good. Somewhere I have a list of things I’ ve jotted down, things I’ m supposed to tell you, and

I’ ll trust that if you have further questions, Cabel can answer them for you. And you’ ll believe him.”

It sounds like an order.

Captain pages through the pile of papers and slips on half-glasses. Her phone rings, and she reaches automatically for a button, silencing it. “ Here we are. First.” She glances at Cabe, and then back at the paper. “ Cabe is not ‘ involved’ with Shay Wilder.” She looks up, peering over her glasses. “ I can’ t really prove that, Ms. Hannagan, but I’ ve seen him nearly hurl after spending a recent evening with her. You good with that one?”

Janie nods. She feels like she’ s in somebody’ s weird dream.

“ I said, are you good with that one?” Captain’ s voice booms.

“ Yes, sir,” Janie says. She sits up straighter in the chair.

“ Good. Second. Cabe is not a drug dealer, pusher, liaison, user, and/or other in real life. He just plays one on TV.” She pauses, but doesn’ t wait for a response this time.

“ Third.” She sits back, sets the paper on the desk, and taps a pen against her teeth. “ We’ re this close” — she holds up her thumb and forefinger an inch apart— “ to closing a major drug bust in

North Fieldridge, up on the Hill. If this gets messed up because you whisper one word to anybody, and I mean anybody, I will hold you personally responsible, Ms. Hannagan. Besides

Cabel and Principal Abernethy, you are the only one who knows about this. Are we clear?”

Janie nods, eyes wide. “ Sir, yes, sir.”

“ Fine.” Captain turns to Cabe. Her face softens. Slightly.

“ Cabel,” she says. “ My dear boy. Are you with me or not? I need your head in the game. Now.

Or this thing is shot to hell.”

Cabel glances at Janie, and waits. She startles. He’ s leaving it up to her. She nods.

He sits up straight in his chair, looks Captain in the eye. “ Yes, sir, I’ m in the game.”

Captain nods, and flashes an approving grin at both of them. “ Good. Are we through here?”

Janie shifts uncomfortably.

And then she gives Cabel a haunting look.

“ Fuck,” she whispers, and digs her fingernails into the chair’ s armrests.

5:14 p.m.

Janie tumbles into a bank vault, where a black-haired cop sits on the floor, tied up. He wrestles with the ropes around his wrists and the gag in his mouth5:15 p.m.

She’ s back in the chair, next to Cabel, except Cabel is walking behind her, moving toward his chair again. The door is closed now. He sits down.

“ Thanks,” she whispers, and clears her throat. “ Didn’ t see that one coming.”

Captain is staring at her, eyes narrow. She looks from Janie to Cabel, back to Janie. She clears her throat. Loudly. Waiting.

Janie’ s face goes white.

Cabel’ s eyes go wide.

“ Do you need medical assistance, Ms. Hannagan?” the captain finally says.

“ No, sir. I’ m fine, thank you.”

“ Cabe?”

“ She’ s fine, sir.”

Captain taps her pen on the desk, deliberating. She speaks slowly. “ Is there anything else you two want to tell me about what just happened here?”

Cabel looks at Janie. “ It’ s your call,” he says quietly.

She hesitates.

Looks Captain in the eye.

“ No, sir,” she says. “ Just… that… one of your officers is asleep at his desk and he’ s having a nasty dream. Looks like a bank robbery gone bad for the cops. He’ s tied up in a vault. Sir.”

Captain’ s face doesn’ t change. She taps her lips with the pen now, and she’ s holding the wrong end. Blue ink leaves a tiny dotted trail under her nose.

“ Which officer, Janie?” the captain asks slowly.

“ I… I don’ t know his name. Short black hair. Early forties, maybe? Stocky. He was tied up with rope around his ankles and wrists, and had a white cloth gag around his mouth. Last I saw, anyway. Things change.”

“ Rabinowitz,” Captain and Cabel say together.

“ You want to double-check those facts for me, Cabe?”

“ Sir, no offense, sir, but I don’ t need to. I think you might like to go question him yourself.”

Captain tilts her head slightly, thinking. She pushes her chair back. “ Don’ t go anywhere, you two,” she says. She gives them both a strong, hard look before leaving. A look that says, “ You better not fuck with me.” When Captain opens the door and strides out, Janie grips the chair in anticipation. “ Leave it open, Cabe,” she gasps as she goes blind.

And she’ s back in the vault.

They’ re running out of air. The cop is struggling to get loose. He’ s trying to knock his cell phone out of his belt. Janie knows he wants to call his wife. She tries to get his attention. He looks into her eyes, and she concentrates on his pupils. Ask me to help you, she thinks as hard as she can think. Though she doesn’ t know how he will be able say it with the cloth stuffed in his mouth.

She hears a muffled plea and realizes it’ s good enough. “ Yes! That’ s it.” She unwraps the gag, and realizes she spoke out loud. Cool. “ Now.” She stares into his eyes again. “ This is your dream,” she says. “ You can change it. Get free.”

He looks at her, his eyes wild.

“ Get free,” she encourages again.

He struggles and cries out.

And his arms and legs break free.

He lunges for his phone and calls 911. Closes his eyes, and the vault lock magically appears on the inside of the vault. A piece of paper floats down from nowhere with the information on how to open it.

He does it instantly.

And everything goes black.

5:19 p.m.

Janie’ s back with Cabel. He’ s touching her arm. “ You okay, Hannagan?” He slips outside and returns, hands her a paper cup full of water, and she drinks it greedily.

She is shaking only slightly, from adrenaline more than anything. “ I did it. I helped him,” she says. “ Oh, God, that was cool! My first time for a tough one like that.” She grins.

Cabel is smiling wearily. “ You’ ll have to explain that one later,” he says. “ If you’ re still speaking to me.”

“ Oh, Cabel. I… ”

Captain comes back into the room and closes the door.

“ Tell me what you saw, Ms. Hannagan. If you would, please. Rabinowitz says it’ s okay.”

Janie blinks. She can’ t believe Captain is taking her seriously. She tells her everything she witnessed in the vault.