The last thing I heard was Lily getting cuffed. Both Mathias and his mother were prisoners, and the bugs I planted had been discovered and squashed. The positive side: Some things fall into your lap, and you gotta appreciate the moment. The traitor had them now believing he had flipped sides and brought his mother into it somehow as a spy for the villain of this Christmas story—which is me.
A bang on twist even if I hadn't planned it.
I hiked me way at a fast clip back to where I'd parked the camouflaged car, hidden in some trees, a couple of miles in the opposite direction, so none of them would have a reason to pass the abandoned car if they up and fled.
Didn’t need to get caught this early in the game, that would have been a bloody shame if I’d let that happen.
I drove back into downtown Anchorage and parked the SUV a couple of streets away and spent around twenty minutes making sure me old man disguise was perfect again, I made sure to choose me outfit carefully, before proceeding into the Embassy Hotel.
My grumbling stomach distracted me, so I veered towards the warm and festive restaurant. The smells floating out from it smelled too good to pass up. It is after all lunchtime, and I deserved a nice sit-down Christmas lunch with all the trimmings this hotel has to offer.
I checked me phone. The Buick and the Mercedes had not moved from Darius Stone, aka Ghost’s place, so I could relax and enjoy me lunch.
I’m glad I took that time to enjoy a good meal because me upper-hand was taken away from me when I finally reached me floor.
Once those elevator doors opened, I knew something was up. My street-kid gut instinct kicked in.
These boys were much smarter than I gave them credit for and I fear more technically advanced than I imagined. They must have discovered the trackers I’d left on the Buick and the Mercedes because I did not see those cars move. They must have left them in the garage somewhere to put me off because I knew somebody was gonna be snooping about the suites.
I crept forward down the hallway and me suspicions were confirmed. The handle on me suite door started to turn, but the door didn't open straight away, and there was no housekeeping cart out the front. The DO NOT DISTURB sign was still in place.
Damn, I had some excellent fucking competition in this game.
I needed to act quickly and remain a player. I shrug off the old man tweed jacket I'm wearing and throw up the hood on my younger man sweater I have underneath it and do a quick about-face and walk with the gate of a young guy, my phone at me ear like I'm busy having a conversation.
I make it to the elevator and hit the button and wait; my gun rolled up in the tweed jacket held in front of me.
“Hey! You there! Hold up a minute,” a gravelly voice shouts at me carrying up the hallway.
I ignore him and… DING! The doors swish open. I swiftly walk inside and hit the button keeping my head down and me ear to the phone.
“Hold the elevator!” he calls out, trying to sound persuasive, but this fucker is on to me. He smells trouble. He makes it in time to try and pry the doors open, his hands pulling with all his might, but he’s not that strong.
"Filip?" he growls out, still not entirely sure if I'm who he is throwing a name out at. The urge to look up is strong, but I fight it. He tries to get a good look at me through the gap in the doors before it closes, but my appearance is swallowed up.
I smirk, enjoying hearing him slam his palm hard up against the closed elevator doors and curse loudly.
So—the villain of this story has been discovered.
Slow glove clap.
I don’t doubt he’ll be madly rushing for the stairwell, but I’ll be gone when he exits.
I can't resist. I fold the hoodie back and grin up at the small camera in the corner of the elevator and wave. To anybody else, it will have no meaning, but if the players in my game are as smart as I think they are, they will be hacking the security footage. They already know the old man in the suite next to Mathias is somebody dangerous to them.
My Santa Claus disguise, some weapons, and other incriminating evidence would be discovered by now and blabbed to the man in charge, and they will be checking cameras to see what they can piece together.
Somebody was probably in Mathias’s suite now and found the bomb and bugs. I switch the detonator on in my pocket and hit the button. I figure might as well see how that plays out.
No loud explosion can be heard from inside the elevator. Chances are these blighters already killed me fun.
Touché.
I exit the elevator and move faster than I usually would as the old man, my tweed jacket back in place, the hoodie down. I'm out onto the street, and then I run like the fit man I am until I have the SUV in my sights.
Nobody has caught up with me. I'm free.
The cards are face down on the table now. They have the note; they know retribution is the debt to pay. They also know I'm not in a hurry to claim my next victim.
By now they should be doing the math and discovered the innocence of the two they brought into the fold and be planning their next move. The players will be fleeing the comfortable nest.
But who are they looking for?
That is the question.
Filip is make-believe. He was a masked role I played.
David Smith was a street kid and an old man.
I can be whoever the fuck I want to be. And that won’t be easy to catch.
When it's time.
You won’t even see the crime.