Debra Webb - A Colby Christmas

Large cases.

The musicians?

Why would they have masked men hidden in their equipment cases?

And where the hell was the other security guard?

She peered at all four of the monitors stationed on the counter. Two were designed to change channels every few seconds, providing views of different floors and corridors. No movement anywhere but there. Where was that? Then she saw it…the freight elevator.

First floor.

Terror lit in her blood.

Two of the men exited the range of the camera but returned in seconds lugging…a body.

She identified the uniform. The other security guard.

Her breath trapped in her lungs.

The men dumped the body into one of the cases. Closed and locked it.

She stared at the monitor…her ability to think frozen with absolute fear.

Wait. Where were the other two men?

No sooner had the thought formed than the man still on camera, using a key ring similar to the one on her wrist, attempted to activate the freight elevator.

No power. No elevator.

She had to call the police.

Frantic now, she dug through the drawers. Couldn’t find anything longer than an ink pen.

She glanced at the monitor. Two men waited by the freight elevator. Movement on another monitor. Two men…moving down a corridor. Marble floors.

They were coming back to the lobby.

She had to hide.

Stumbling over Joseph, she landed hard on the floor.

She scrambled to her feet. Realizing the boots would make too much noise, she frantically tugged them off.

She had to run.

Now.

There was no place to go except…she frantically searched her memory banks for any sort of hiding place.

The snack shop.

Closing her fingers around the keys that dangled from the ring on her wrist to keep them quiet, she rushed past the elevators, almost falling when her feet slipped. Damn these tights. Running as fast as she could without making any sound or busting her butt, she didn’t let herself look back. Couldn’t slow down for anything.

The shop was closed but half a dozen tables and chairs were scattered around its entrance. She crouched behind the table closest to the wall, hoping the chairs would provide sufficient camouflage. There were three other tables staggered in front of the one she’d chosen. Surely they would provide additional coverage…enough so no one would see her.

Thank God she’d worn her favorite dark brown skirt and turtleneck today, as it helped her to blend in with the dark metal legs of the table and chairs. If she were brutally honest with herself she’d probably only selected the drab colors as an act of rebellion against the reds and greens of the holiday fanatics.

Whatever the reason, she was damned glad she had. Except for the tights. Running in them was dangerous. She bit her lip. She should get rid of them now to ensure she wasn’t sorry later. Careful not to make a sound she wiggled the damned things off her hips and down her legs and stuffed them into the closest chair. She shivered as the cool air replaced the warm woolly fabric against her skin. Freezing to death was preferable over being murdered.

The two masked men moved around the security desk. They hefted Joseph’s body and started back in the direction they’d come. He’d be hidden in one of the cases just like the other guard.

Maybe once they were gone she could risk going back after her cell phone.

She held as still as possible. Listened as their footsteps faded. She hadn’t heard them approaching until they were far too close for comfort, but then they hadn’t been carrying a body.

Once the silence had lasted to the count of ten, she grabbed her boots and hugged them to her chest as she cautiously slipped from her hiding place.

Holding her breath, she tiptoed as fast as she dared back to the security desk. Avoiding the blood splatters, she dropped down onto her hands and knees and tried to shove her hand under the desk.

She couldn’t reach it.

She tried harder and felt the sting of blood where the wood skinned the top of her hand.

Dammit.

She worked until she’d threaded one of her boot legs under the desk, but it wouldn’t reach.

Frustrated, she rose up. Jammed her fingers through her hair. There had to be something around here she could use to reach that damned phone.

A hand slapped down hard over her mouth as she was jerked backward.

She struggled to get away…but it was no use.

8:39 p.m.

“We have to get out of here. Now.”

Elaine couldn’t see the man’s face, but he didn’t sound as if his intention was to harm her. Still, the words whispered so harshly against her ear had her heart shuddering with terror. What was going on here?

“I’m going to turn you loose, Elaine, but you have to promise me you won’t scream.”

Elaine? Who was this guy? She twisted in an attempt to get a look at him. All she got was a glimpse of blond hair and maybe gray eyes before he tightened the arm he had banded around her, keeping her from any further movement.

“Promise?”

He was waiting for a guarantee from her before he let go. She nodded, prayed she’d be able to stick by her word. Who was this man?

“Okay. As soon as I’ve released you, we have to make a run for the stairwell. Understand?”

Why would he want to go back to the stairwell? She needed to get to her phone. Joseph…her stomach roiled. Poor Joseph was dead…so was the other guard. She wasn’t sure about the second guard, but she knew Joseph had a family. A wife and three kids.

“Do you understand?”

She nodded at his sharply whispered demand.

“All right.”

His arm loosened and his hand came away from her mouth. Before she could stop her automatic instincts she’d scrambled away from him. “Who are you?”

He held a finger to his lips before shifting his attention to the monitors on the counter. Her gaze darted there as well. Staying alive meant staying away from those men.

Joseph’s body had already been locked in one of the cases lined up next to the freight elevator. But none of the masked men were in view of the cameras. Just those big equipment cases that now served as coffins.

Fear shivered over her skin leaving goose bumps in its wake. They could be anywhere…right around the corner.

“There they are.”

Her attention focused on one of the monitors. Fourth floor. A new kind of tension whipped through her.

Two of the masked men were exiting the stairwell door into the Colby Agency.

“What’re they doing?”

She hadn’t realized she’d said the words aloud until the man next to her had changed his position so that he could look her in the eye.

“Looking for you.”

A quake started deep down in her belly. He was right. The guard had called her and asked permission for them to come up. These men knew she was in the building…on the fourth floor.

The Colby Agency had many enemies. She’d always known, had been thoroughly briefed on the potential, that this kind of situation could, theoretically, arise. There was always the chance that as a Colby Agency employee one might be targeted for revenge or coercion.

Elaine just hadn’t expected it to be her.

She didn’t know anything about cases, had never worked an investigation. Sure, she had access to most everything in the offices….

Maybe that was it.

These guys had come here under the pretense of setting up their equipment in order to accomplish their mission and somehow something had gone wrong. Either Joseph or the other guard had gotten suspicious and now the ugly truth was out. Now they were inside the Colby Agency. But why? Were they looking for files? Or was their agenda to lay in wait until the office reopened tomorrow morning?