Charliee

Chapter 7

The light was failing as the taxi pulled up in front of what appeared by all accounts to be an utterly abandoned warehouse. A large sign over a rolling garage door indicated that in better days it had been used to manufacture parts for cars. A door leading to the main office was half-open, hanging on its hinges. Thomas climbed out of the taxi with the laptop in a bag strapped across his chest and paid the fare in cash. Under different circumstances he might have been amused by the fact that the taxi driver had no idea how much money the laptop his passenger was carrying was worth. Thomas listened to the vehicle drive off and walked slowly towards the open door.
The air inside the office was cool, insulated against the warm day. Thomas could hear the sound of men’s voices echoing from the next room. Instinctively, he lifted the bag off his shoulders and placed it on the foreman’s desk, disturbing the dust. The last thing he did before moving into the main factory was raise his hands above his head.
All eyes were on him immediately. Guarding the door was a man who reminded Thomas of Carlisle’s escort, except this one was still wearing sunglasses. On the other side of the room stood a tall man, thinner but visibly well-trained, with sleek black hair, and no glasses. In his right hand he held a large pistol and smiled cruelly when he saw Thomas enter. A few feet behind them was Charliee, sitting on a chair. She didn’t appear to be tied down, but a heavy-set man stood directly behind her, making up the total of three guards.
Charliee’s eyes were wide, but Thomas couldn’t tell if they were pleading with him for help or distraught at the fact that he’d actually come. As he moved closer, arms still raised, Lucien emerged from an office on the far side, wearing a grey suit over a white shirt that he kept open at the neck. His dark hair was trimmed short, and he was cleanly shaved. When he spoke, his voice carrying effortlessly across the emptied warehouse.
‘I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d come,’ he said. ‘After all, you have the money… you could have just run and hoped I never found you.’
‘I’m here to trade: the money for Charliee.’ Thomas’ steps were slow, calculated, just like his words.
‘Right… Charliee,’ Lucien played with the word, as if he was trying it on for size. Thomas wondered what he’d known her as before now. The man standing nearest to Thomas moved as Lucien waved the gun. Silently he walked up and began patting Thomas’ chest, then his arms and finally his legs. When he was finished he looked at Lucien and shook his head. ‘Very well,’ Lucien quipped, ‘put your arms down at least, it’s embarrassing.’
Thomas did what he was told, then took another step. ‘Do we have a deal?’ he asked.
‘Where’s the money?’ was Lucien’s only reply.
Thomas turned his head towards the office and said nothing. Again a wave of the gun and the man walked out and retrieved the bag. He carried it to Lucien without removing the contents.
Lucien was smiling widely: in his mind, he had clearly already won.
‘I’m tempted,’ he said, looking at Thomas, ‘to let you go. A reward, if you will, for your bravery – or stupidity.’ Thomas said nothing, meeting Lucien’s gaze. ‘However,’ he continued, turning his attention to Charliee, ‘this one betrayed my trust, and that I just cannot forgive.’ He held the gun close to him now, like its purpose had just become known to him.
‘We had a deal,’ Thomas hissed.
Lucien turned the gun on Thomas, his mocking grin gone. ‘You are just returning what is already mine!’ he yelled ‘That is not a position for you to be making demands from.’
A noise from outside caught the attention of the man behind Charliee’s chair, who then looked out between the gaps in the blinds.
‘Sir,’ he said, in a deep voice, ‘they’re back.’
The smile returned to Lucien’s face. ‘You see? Your friend, the other betrayer, is already dead. Which means your bargaining position is getting weaker by the second.’ Charliee tried to rise from her chair, but the large man’s hand was immediately on her shoulder and she fell back into her seat. As she stared into the ground, Thomas thought he caught the sight of tears falling to the dirt.
Lucien hardly turned his attention for a moment. Thomas watched as the gun barrel rose to point directly at his head. ‘Things being what they are, I will give you this one last chance to walk out of here with your life.’
‘I’m not leaving here without Charliee,’ Thomas said. He was surprised at his own conviction. Lucien, it seemed, was similarly taken aback. A flicker of doubt crossed his face.
‘What possible reason could you have to want to protect this woman?’ he asked. There was no serious desire to know, Thomas thought, just the continuation of a game, to which Lucien alone knew the rules. Meanwhile, he considered the answer. He thought about the $50 million Charliee had promised. But that wasn’t it. He couldn’t see himself staring down the barrel of a gun for money. Not for 1 million, not for 100 million. This was different. He couldn’t turn around and walk away and leave a man like Lucien to shot a woman in cold blood.
‘Well, whatever.’ Lucien was clearly bored with this turn of events. ‘Charliee, babe, say goodbye to your would-be protector.’
Charliee’s eyes were at bursting-point as Lucien pulled back the slide. Thomas’s eyes were closed when he heard the weapon fire.