Part 20- ‘The Games We Play…’
The phone rang a few times before it was picked up and the heavy Southern tones of Mama Cherry filtered over the line.
‘Is he there?’ His tone filled with bitter accusation added further gruffness to his already gravelly and harsh voice.
She recognised his voice instantly and he thought he heard her stifle a short cry. Mama Cherry had always been a proud woman, as tough as they came, it would take a helluva lot to reduce her to tears, but whatever it was Logan was in no mood to hear it, he owed them nothing, least of all understanding their reasons for betraying him.
‘Logan…ah’m sorry darlin’,’ Logan scoffed, her motherly apologetic tone was lost on him, ‘Eddie had no choice…we had no…’
Logan cut her off, ‘Jus’ give him the phone…ah wanna hear this from him.’ There was a short silence on the other end of the line as Mama Cherry sighed softly and handed the phone to the man standing next to her.
‘Hey…’
Logan gritted his teeth, slamming his palm flat against the wall he cursed loudly, the rest of the inmates at the diner turning to look at him. Logan kept his back to them, concentrating on keeping his hand planted firmly on the wall, knowing that otherwise he’d be tempted to unleash his claws and punch a hole through it. And that was the sort of attention he could do without.
‘You bastar’…ah hope ya got a good price for sellin’ me out ya lying fuck...’
He heard Eddie sigh, ‘Look ah am sorry Logan, but like Mama Cherry said we had no choice, and ya should know, ah would do the same thin’ second time round.’
‘Oh yeah…?’ Logan could feel his knuckles tensing, ‘Well here’s somethin’ ya should know, ya better hope to God ya never make the mistake of runnin’ into me again ‘cause ah’m gonna rip your fuckin’ head off.’
He heard Eddie hiss in a sharp breath, ‘A while ago, ‘fore Mama Cherry and ah met, she was in a bit of trouble down in New Orleans, her boyfriend knocked her around, one day she decides to hit back, only she hits back a little harder than she realises. Long story short he’s dead, and she’s a fugitive on the run for murder.’
Logan said nothing, he was content to listen, taking everything in with a hint of scepticism, his so-called friend had lied to him before, there was nothing to say what he was offering now wasn’t a load of bull.
‘They were holdin’ it over us, coupla hours ‘fore ya rolled into town, these soldiers turn up, tell me they’re gonna take Mama Cherry away, that they’ve got a sheet as long as my arm on me as well, and all ah had to do to make it go away was to set ya both up. There was nothin’ else ah could do Logan.’
Logan waited until he had finished, the silence hung between them, oppressive and heavy, tinged with regret and bitter reprisal.
Eddie spoke quietly, ‘How are ya?’
‘Ya really wanna know…after bein’ shot at and driven off a bridge, well ya can say ah’ve had better days.’ Logan’s reply was bitingly sarcastic.
‘And what ‘bout Marie…?’
His question caused Logan to bristle violently, he ground his teeth together and spoke with a low guttural voice, conveying all the pain and anger he could muster, hoping Eddie would buy it, simply stating, ‘She’s dead.’
He heard Eddie gasp, ‘What….what happened?’ He seemed to be in genuine shock.
‘Aren’t you listening…remember that piece on shit on four wheels ya gave us, all rigged up with that tracking device…it got driven off Sampson’s Pass, we fell into the river…’ Logan paused dragging out the silence, ‘she drowned.’
‘Oh God…Logan ah’m so sorry…they told us they were just gonna take her in…ah had no idea.’
Eddie struggled to speak, and had Logan been in a more forgiving mood he might have been inclined to give a damn, but as it was, he had no plans to forgive the old mechanic anytime soon. The simple fact remained, Eddie had sold them out, and as a consequence he had nearly lost Marie for good, that sort of mistake could not be forgiven.
‘Save it…’ Logan spat down the phone, ‘she’s dead, ah hope it was worth it, ya lying sonofabitch.’ He hung up, slamming down the receiver hard.
Listening to Eddie’s excuses had never been the main purpose of his call, like Marie had said, the longer the soldiers considered the idea that Marie was dead, the more time it would buy her, the bigger the advantage. He was counting on Eddie passing on the message, as well as the fact that he had been on the phone long enough for them to trace the location of the call.
He put his head down and walked out of the diner, the cold air wrapping around him, he stood for a while under the diners neon sign, bathed in a yellowing glow, making sure he caught the eye of the waitress who had served him coffee before he began walking slowly up the road.
Once certain he was out of view, he circled the diner and headed in the opposite direction, sticking close to the shadows of the dusty road, trudging along silently with one sure destination in mind, The Three Stars bar and Marie.
They’d trace the call to the diner, question the waitress, who would tell them she saw him heading north, and all that after they’d figured out Marie was still alive, he was buying them time, buying her time, hoping they’d chase him down.
Eddie sat next to Mama Cherry, her eyes wide in fear, glistening with spilled tears; he smiled at her, reassuring her that everything would now be alright. He had done what needed to be done, and he hated himself for it, but fuck, he always had and always would put Mama Cherry first.
The hollow drone of the disengaged tone hung in the air as Eddie pressed the button that took the phone off speaker. Looking up at the heavily armed soldier, his eyes narrowed and he spoke angrily, ‘Ya heard what he said…she’s dead.’
The soldier met his gaze unmoved; he waved over his comrade, motioning him to stand guard whilst he went to the far corner and relayed the Logan’s conversation with his CO, General Arrington.
‘Can’t believe he’d be stupid enough to call…’ The soldier spoke in a tone that meant Arrington could almost picture the smirk the idiot wore.
He shook his head, ‘Not stupid…angry enough to call…’Arrington replied, his brow creased in concentration.
He listened as the soldier’s voice grew serious and slightly petulant, ‘Either way it confirms what Team Delta stated, that she’s dead sir.’
Arrington scratched his chin; the various teams had been labelled according to Greek letters, all terribly cliché but according to standard military protocols.
‘Team Delta also got shot and almost run off the road as well as stating that Logan was dead, sure as hell looks like they were wrong on that one huh soldier?’ Arrington smiled, ’Sides I know for certain she’s not dead.’
‘Sir…?’
‘She’s not dead, ‘cause if she were Logan wouldn’t be talking about ripping his friend’s head off, he would have done it by now, and then it would have been your turn soldier…’ Arrington smiled widely, listening to the sound of the soldier’s measured breaths as he reeled in his pride and attempted a civil answer to his superior officer.
‘I still say it was pretty stupid of him to call…’ he snarled.
Arrington laughed, ‘Clever than you dipshit, think ‘bout it, he calls in telling Eddie she’s dead, he passes on the message. Meanwhile he’s made sure he’s on the phone long enough to be traced and in a single place long enough for someone to remember what he looks like and of course we head out over there. They point us in one direction jus’ like he wants, and in the meantime he doubles back, thinking he’s thrown us completely off the scent.’
Arrington was met by a confused silence, he scoffed, ‘where did the call come from?’
‘A diner on a dirt road, the outskirts Maine…’
Arrington interrupted before he could finish, ‘Thing is, he can’t know how he’s really being tracked, he thinks he’s buying her time, but…’ suddenly Arrington laughed outright.
‘But what sir…?’
The General smiled, his little girl really was growing up, a sense of pride washed over him, ‘She knows what she’s done…she’s set him up…
‘What should we do ‘bout the Texan?’ The soldiers question brought Arrington out of his silent reverie.
The General spoke without hesitation, ‘Make sure it looks like an accident, last thing I want is the local officer Dibble making a case out this…’
‘Of course sir…I understand…’
Arrington waited until he could hear Mama Cherry’s screams before he hung up the phone. He sat back in his chair staring at the empty walls.
‘What game are you playing Marie and how come you’ve not let our ol’ friend Logan in on the rules?’
Marie wandered into the bar, smiling as a wave of familiar smells and sights hit her, she slid onto the bar stool easily casting an easy eye about her. She’d been lucky managing to thumb a lift with an old man, the back of his pick-up had been a bumpy ride but she’d found good company with his playful dog, and then a lady trucker who had dropped her off barely a few miles from the Three Stars Bar.
From then on it had been a simple case of slipping into the backyard of one of the local condos and taking a much needed change of clothing from a washing line. A washed pair of black jeans, a white shirt and she was looking the most civilised she had done in a couple of days. Her own dirty skirt and tattered shirt was dumped into a trashcan.
The Three Stars bar sign had loomed welcoming in the distance, and her steps had quickened as a result, this was one of the first places she’d drifted into after leaving the Academy and she’d loved everything about it.
From the long bar that stretched from one end of the room to the other, the stage, the loud music that pumped out of its walls and the pool tables. She’d hustled a lot of money playing pool with guys who’d mistaken her smile and underestimated her small stature; she’d beaten many of them hands down in a drinking contest for the same reasons as well.
Now as she sat at the bar and waited for the bartender to serve her she assessed everything about the room and its inhabitants, it was still early, a few truckers sat talking in the corner, some roughnecks at the pool table steadily getting drunk and missing easy shots, and a quiet neat looking man in a business suit, probably settling for a quick drink before he got home to the missus, Marie smiled widely, so many to choose from, easy pickings.
The bartender strode up to her at last, he noted the bangs of white hair and mischievous smile and decided he liked her already, it had been a slow day, seeing someone as pretty as Marie walk in made it helluva lot better.
‘Hey stripes, what can I get you?’ He leaned across the bar, Marie smiled sweetly even as he reached up and with the tip his fingers gently flicked her hair.
She laughed, ‘Stripes huh? Well that’s original…’ she scoffed. ‘Ah’ll take a whiskey, neat…and ah ain’t too particular ‘bout the brand, jus’ make sure it sets my throat on fire.’
He turned and poured a shot into a glass before sliding the drink across to her, she threw the liquor down her neck in one easy gulp, his eyebrows arched in surprise. Even the truckers looked up from their beers clearly impressed.
‘Right,’ the bartender remarked, ‘you had that kinda day too huh?’
Marie shook her head as she set the glass down, ‘Nope, that kind of life….’ She pointed towards the empty glass, ‘stick another one in there, and make sure it’s a double this time.’ She waited until he complied before turning around in her stool; she took up the glass and nodded towards the man in the suit, ‘ya can charge him for it, he’ll be more than happy to pay.’
The bartender could only smile as she softly made her way over to his table, undoing another top button of her shirt, making sure the lace of her bra was showing, he watched as she sat down confidently, leaning in close, and watched as the business man’s eyes lit up.
She sat alone on the bed, the pink neon sign of the Three Stars casting a reddish hue in the room. The bar had been converted from a warehouse, the ground floor serving as the bar and the other floors as accommodation.
By that first evening she had fleeced the businessman with the promise of a quick fuck in the bar bathrooms making sure he was too smashed to be anything more than grateful, not lasting more than a couple of minutes, but more than enough for Marie to help herself to the thick wad of cash he was stupid enough to carry around with him.
She had also managed to hustle the drunken pool players, smiling as she pocketed the eight ball and took their fifty dollar bills, they really were too easy.
That money had seen her able to rent a room for a couple of nights, a room above the Three Stars, she’d stayed there before, she knew the access and exit points of the bar like the back of her hand, knew how the room were laid out, knew there was a stairwell to the rooms from the outside of the bar.
Still she had gone over the place, every point of entry, walking the steps like a seasoned recon soldier. Making sure she counted the number of steps from the end of the stairwell to her room, checking windows and doors, covering every angle.
Having gone on to first purchase a small gas canister, the kind used on camping trips, a screwdriver and wire strippers from the local hardware store, only then had she sat down on the bed.
She’d also managed to track down a small electrical traveling clock and a battery powered radio. Her haul she had carried to her room locking the door behind her, sat down on the bed and began to work.
Her fingers worked almost mechanically, taking apart the alarm clock, everything coming easily to her, aware only of the voice that hummed sweetly in her ears, the voice that promised revenge, the images of blood being spilt.
Marie smiled as she stared at the dog tags she hung on the cheap mirror catching her reflection as she did so, Logan would bring them to her, she had made sure of it. They would come, Kevlar vested, heavily armed and she would be ready.
They would come, and she would make them beg for her mercy and she would offer none. She got back to work, her small lithe hands working expertly and her smile growing wider…
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Author's Chapter Notes:
‘What game are you playing Marie and how come you’ve not let our ol’ friend Logan in on the rules?’
It's scary when the line between sane/insane becomes blurred...
It's scary when the line between sane/insane becomes blurred...