Patterson, James - Alex Cross 1 - Along Came A Spider

There was a badly rusted metal latch on the door. Fishenauer slipped on a pair of winter golf gloveshard to explain those if he got caught snooping out here. He flipped up the door latch. He had to pull the door hard toward him through the thick overgrowth. Flashlight time. He took out his lamp and turned it on full blast. Gary said he'd find the money on the right side of the garage, the far right corner, to be exact.

A lot of old, broken-down farm machines lay all around the garage. Cobwebs stuck against his face and neck as he walked forward. The strong smell of decay was on everything.

Halfway into the garage, Fishenauer stopped and turned around. He stared out the open door, and listened for what must have been a full ninety seconds.

He heard a jet plane somewhere off in the distance. There was no other sound. He sure hoped there was no one else around.

How long could the FBI afford to watch a deserted farm? Not almost two years after the kidnapping!

Natisfied that he was alone, Fishenauer continued to the back of the garage. Once he was there, he started to work. He pulled a sturdy old workbench over-Gary had said the bench would be there. He'd seen by now that Gary had described the place in pretty amazing and accurate detail. Gary'd said where every broken piece of machinery lay. He'd told Fishenauer the exact location of just about every slat of wood in the rotting garage walls. Standing on the old workbench, Fishenauer began to

430 / James Patterson pull away old boards, up where the garage roof met the wall. There was a space back there. Just like Gary said there was.

Fishenauer aimed his flashlight into the hole in the wall. There it was, part of the ransom money that Gary Soneji/Murphy wasn't supposed to have. He couldn't believe his eyes. A stack of money was right there in the garage walls.

Along Came A Spider

CHAPTER 78

T 3:16 the following morning, Gary Soneji/Murphy pressed his forehead against the cold metal bars that separated his cell from the prison corridor. He had another big part to act out. Hellzapoppin!

He started to throw up onto the highly polished linoleum floor-just as he had planned to. He was violently ill inside the cell. He yelled for help between wheezing gasps.

Both of the night guards came running. There had been a suicide watch on Gary since his first day there. Laurence Volpi and Phillip Halyard were veterans of many years' service at the federal prison. They weren't too keen on disturbances in the cell block, particularly after midnight.

“What the hell's the matter with you?” Volpi yelled as he watched the green and brown puddle slowly spreading on the floor. “What's your problem, asshole?”

“I think I've been poisoned,” Soneji/Murphy gasped

431 and wheezed, the sound coming from deep inside his chest. “Somebody's poisoned me. I've been poisoned! I think I'm dying. Oh my God, I'm dying!”

“Best news I've heard lately,” Phillip Halyard said to his partner and grinned. “Wish I'd thought of it first. Poison the bastard.”

Volpi took out his walkie-talkie, and called for the night supervisor. The suicide watch on Soneji was a big deal with the prison higher-ups. It sure wasn't going to happen on Volpi's shift.

“I'm going to be sick again,” Gary Soneji/Murphy moaned. He sagged heavily against the bars and threw up a second time-violently.

Moments later, the floor's supervisor arrived. Laurence Volpi quickly told his boss what had happened. It was his standard cover-thy-ass speech.

"He says he's been poisoned, Bobby. I don't know what the hell happened. It's possible. Enough of these bastards hate his guts

“I'll take him downstairs to the hospital myself,” Robert Fishenauer said to his men. Fishenauer was a take-charge guy, anyway. Volpi had counted on it. “They'll have to pump his stomach, I guess. If there's anything left to pump. Cuff him for me good. Hands and legs. He doesn't look in shape to be much trouble tonight. ”

Moments later, Gary Soneji/Murphy figured he was halfway to daylight. The prison elevator was padded. The walls were covered with heavy cloth mats. Other than that, it was ancient and painfully slow. His heart was pounding like a bass drum. A little healthy fear in his life. He'd missed the adrenaline kick.

“You all right?” Fishenauer asked as he and Gary Soneji/Murphy descended, seemingly inch by inch. A Si ngle bare light bulb protruded from a hole in the mats. It cast a dim light.

“Am I all right? What does it look like? I made myself good and sick. I am sick,” Soneji/Murphy told him. “Why the hell doesn't this thing move faster?”

“You going to puke again?”

“ It's entirely possible. A small price to pay.” Soneji/ Murphy managed a thin smile. "A very small price, Bobby

Fishenauer grunted. “I guess so. Just keep it away from me if you decide to pukeski again.”

The elevator bypassed the,next floor, and the next. It was nonstop. It dropped all the way to the basement of the building, where it landed with a hollow thump.

“We see anybody, we're going for X rays,” Fishenauer said as the elevator door opened. “X-ray is down here in the basement.”

“Yes, I'm aware of the plan. It's my plan,” said Gary Soneji/Murphy.

Because it was past three in the morning, they saw no one as they started their walk down the long tunnel in the prison basement. Halfway through the tunnel, there was a side door. Fishenauer used his key to open it.

There was another short stretch of silent empty hallway. Then they were at a security door. This was where the shit would hit the fan, and Soneji/Murphy had to do his stuff. This was where Fishenauer would see if Gary Soneji/Murphy was as good as his reputation. Fishenauer didn't have a key to the security door.

“Give me your gun now, Bobby. Just think about ten million dollars. I can do this next bit, so all you have to worry about is your part of the money.”

This was it. Soneji made it sound so easy. Do this, do that. Get a piece of ten million dollars. Fishenauer reluctantly handed over his revolver. He didn't want to think about what he was doing anymore. This was his chance to get out of Fallston, too. His only chance. Otherwise, Fishenauer knew he would be at Fallston for the rest of his life.

"There's nothing fancy here, Bobby, but this will work. You play everything to Kessler. Look real scared.

“I am fucking scared.”

“You should be, Bobby. I have your gun.”

There were two prison guards on the other side of the security door. A waist-high Plexiglas window gave them a view of the unbelievable sight coming their way.

They saw Soneji/Murphy with a gun stuck to the left temple of supervisor Bob Fishenauer. Soneji/Murphy had on arm and leg cuffs, but he also had a -gun. Both guards stood up fast. They held their riot shotguns above the glass. They didn't have time to make another move.

“You're gawking at a dead guard,” Gary screamed at the top of his voice, “unless you open that fucking door in about five seconds. No more than that!”

“Please!” Fishenauer suddenly screamed at his fellow guards. He was scared, all right. Soneji had the gun pressed hard against his temple. “He killed Volpi upstairs. ” it took less than five seconds for an older guardStephen Kessler-to make his decision. He turned the key that opened the security door. Kessler was a friend of Robert Fishenauer's, and Soneji had counted on that. Soneji had thought of everything. He'd known that Robert Fishenauer was a “lifer” at the prison; that he was trapped there just like the inmates. He'd talked about Fishenauer's anger and frustrations, and he'd been spot on. He was the smartest fucker Robert Fishenauer had ever met. He was going to make Fishenauer a millionaire.