Chapter Thirty-Five
Cam
When I heard Alex's frantic scream on the other end of the line, I immediately went into action mode and began driving north to the intersection she'd told me to find. With the exception of the address, none of the rest of what she'd said had made sense, and I wasn't sure how I would be able to find her, but I trusted that once I got there, I would be able to figure it out. I was tempted to call in back up, but the last thing I needed was publicity like this before Leo and I made our first public appearance with Richard Metzler.
"Jarvis and Paulina. 3A. Mermaid in the purple lobby," I kept repeating to myself as I drove north on Sheridan. She'd started to say something else, but I had no idea what that was, so I just kept repeating what I knew until I was sure I wouldn't forget it.
In the meantime, I called the Rogers Park Police and reported a kidnapping. I told them what I'd heard over the phone and said I was on my way to the intersection. They assured me that they would send officers over to check it out as soon as they could, but at the moment the bulk of their force was dealing with a gang shooting on the West Side of the neighborhood.
I swore under my breath as I made a left onto Jarvis and slowly drove down the block. I wasn't sure if whoever had kidnapped Alex would be waiting outside or if they'd have lookouts. I drove past the intersection Alex had told me to find and then parked my truck around the corner before walking around the block to enter from the other side. I felt ridiculous playing spy in the middle of the day, but I didn't want to take any chances.
"What the hell is going on?" I muttered under my breath as I looked into the front door of an apartment building on the Southwest corner and saw nothing. I crossed the street and found exactly what Alex had said: a mermaid and purple walls. I knew I was at the right place.
I dialed Alex's number, but the call went straight to voicemail. So, I snuck around the side of the building to see if there were any doors open. I found one that led to the basement and carefully pulled it open and snuck inside. The whole basement was full of cobwebs and dead animals and I nearly vomited the contents of my stomach when I saw the stack of dead rats piled in the corner. Someone had been out hunting, and I'd have been willing to bet it wasn't the neighborhood feral cats.
"Where are you, Alex?" I whispered as I looked for a way out of the basement to the lobby. I felt my way along the far wall and finally found a door that lay flush with the wall. I tugged at the handle for almost a minute before I felt the door begin to give way and then all at once, I yanked it open and found myself staring into the basement laundry room where I surprised two women who were transferring clothing from the washing machine to the dryer. One of them screamed.
"Sorry, ladies!" I said as I stepped through the doorway and pulled the door shut behind me. No sense in letting the beasts that roamed that side of the basement out. "I'm looking for apartment 3A. Unconventional entrance, I know."
"I'll say," said the older woman with a skeptical look on her face. "You kids need to stay out of the basement, it's dangerous in there."
"It's okay, I'm a trained professional," I offered as I moved quickly to the elevator.
"Sure, right," said the other one, raising an eyebrow as she continued transferring her laundry from one machine to the other. I nodded and tipped my invisible hat as the elevator doors slid shut.
"Three A, she said," I muttered as I hit the button and waited for the elevator to slowly grind its way up to the third floor. My phone rang as the elevator passed the third floor and when I looked down, I saw it was Alex.
"Alex! I'm on my way!" I shouted into the phone.
"Don't bother, Connor," a familiar voice replied. "If you come anywhere near this apartment, I'm going to burn it down."
"Victor? What the hell?" I said. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting what I want," he replied in a cool voice. "This is all your fault, you know."
"My fault that you're a fucking psycho?" I shouted. "How is that my fault?"
"Oh, Connor." He sighed. "You are so common. Such an idiot. This is your entire fault because if you had given me what I wanted to begin with, none of this would be happening now. Your little girlfriend wouldn't be crying in the corner and her friend definitely wouldn't be hooked on heroin."
"And this is all my fault, is it?" I replied, realizing that he didn't know I was on my way up. "So, if I stay away, you'll let the girls go?"
"No, I didn't say that," he replied in a bored voice. "I just said that if you came anywhere near, I'd burn the place down with them in it. So, I would suggest that as soon as that elevator opens up on the third floor, you hit the first floor button and get the hell out."
"What are you talking about?" I said, feigning ignorance.
"I'm talking about the fact that I can see you riding the elevator and talking to me on the phone right at this moment," he said. "Your phone is in your right hand and you're leaning against the wall closest to the buttons. Good enough for you?"
My heart dropped as I realized that he could actually see me, but I forced myself to stay in the same position so as not to give him the upper hand. Meanwhile, I began plotting out my next steps.
"And if you're wondering, I've got the staircase wired as well," he said as if he knew what I was thinking. "Like I said, you're an idiot, Connor."
"What do you want, Victor?" I asked, wondering what game he was playing.
"Nothing," he said. "I want absolutely nothing from you. No, strike that. What I want from you is to get the hell out of my building."
"Or else what?" I asked, wondering what he was planning to do.
"Or else I burn it down," he said, talking slowly as if speaking to a child. "What part of that didn't you understand?"
"I'm just trying to understand what it is you'll gain from doing that," I said as the elevator opened on the third floor and I looked down the hallway.
"Uh, uh, uh," he scolded. "Press the down button and go away."
"What kind of sick game are you playing, Vangel?" I demanded as I stepped back and let the doors slide shut. I pressed the first floor button and felt the elevator grind as it slowly moved down to the ground floor.
"I'm not playing any game, Connor," he said. As he continued, his voice rose to a crescendo. "I simply want to cause you as much pain as you have caused me. I want you to feel the loss of things you care about. The humiliation of NOT GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE!"
"You are so far beyond fucked up, Vangel," I muttered as I quickly tried to figure out how I could stop him before he did anything irrevocable.
"I'm not fucked up, Connor," he said calmly. "You've been an asshole to me since the day I started, and now I'm going to make you pay for the fact that I did not get the Lieutenant position. That's on your shoulders. It's your fault that I didn't get what I deserve."
"How in the hell is that my fault?" I yelled. I was running out of patience with his delusional ranting, and I was afraid that he was actually going to harm Liz and Alex.
"You turned Chief against me and he refused to recommend me for Lieutenant," Victor said. "You told him I didn't deserve the position. You poisoned everything!"
"I didn't do shit, Vangel!" I shouted. "I had nothing to do with you getting or not getting the promotion. Jesus H. Christ, you are fucking delusional! The promotions all go through HQ and you have to pass the Lieutenant exam then wait for a station to open up. No one has that kind of power, you fucking idiot!"
"You do," he said coldly. "I know you do. You're the fire department poster boy after your horrible tragedy. People listen to you. They take your advice, and you hate me. You've always hated me."
"Victor, I'm not sure what you've been smoking, but what you're saying is complete and utter bullshit," I said as the elevator reached the ground floor and opened up into the lobby. I hesitated a moment, then pressed the button and decided to risk going to the basement.
"Where are you going?" he said suspiciously. "Get out of the building!"
"I'm getting out," I said, hoping that he didn't have the laundry room wired with cameras, too. When the doors opened, I stepped out and walked toward the back of the room. The two women who'd been doing laundry were still there, and I motioned for them to get out of the room.
"Where are you going, Connor?" Victor screamed into the phone. "You must get out of the building!"
"I'm getting out, you psycho son of a bitch," I growled as I pushed open the door to the back room and slipped through. "Don't get your twisted little panties in a bunch."
"I'm going to set this place on fire, and it's all YOUR FAULT!" Victor yelled as he disconnected the phone.
"Not if I stop you first," I muttered as I backtracked to the outer door and called the crew on Engine 102 and alerted them of the possible danger since I had no idea what Victor was going to do. They assured me that they'd alert the Rogers Park Police and send a truck if necessary.
As I scanned the backside of the apartment building, I noticed the fire escape stairs climbing up the structure, and decided that there was no way Victor could have wired those stairs with a camera -- or if he had, I'd get a call letting me know.
I decided to take a chance and start climbing.