The business district was packed with people anxious to get home after a long day, so no one paid me any mind as I walked through the front doors of the building Mr. Yancey directed me to and headed for the stairs. The stairwell was mostly empty, only a few faint footsteps from floors far above me. When I reached the basement landing, there was a sign taped to the door alerting anyone who would wander down there that an annual inspection was taking place, and no one was allowed inside because of potentially hazardous chemicals and machinery. It was a good excuse to keep out any unsuspecting employees in the building, but I knew better.

I pulled my gun from my hip and turned the handle slowly. The door opened silently, and when I squeezed through the crack gun first, I found myself standing in an empty hallway. I was about to head to the right and begin checking doors when I heard a deep voice come from my left.

“How long do you think we’ll need to be here?”

I froze and spun around, but the hallway was empty. I tip-toed forward and realized the hallway wrapped around a corner. As I neared the corner, the voices grew louder.

“As long as it takes for Sabella to get the drive back,” a second voice said.

“Do you think he’ll really kill Lindsay?” the first voice asked.

I reached the corner and poked my head around the cinderblock wall. Immediately, I recognized the man I’d seen in the break room the first time I’d gone up to the Sabella Security office. The man who had calls Lindsay “Linds.” She had called him “Rodge.”

The other man, who I didn’t recognize, shrugged. “Probably. He loves following through on a threat.”

“I guess you’re right,” Roger said. “That’s too bad.”

What a piece of shit. He had been friendly to Lindsay, and clearly, she had trusted him. Yet, here he was, disappointed that she would be murdered, but not caring enough to do anything about it. Although it made me sick, part of me was glad. It made what I was about to do a lot easier.

The men kept talking, their heads leaning back against the walls, eyes straight ahead. It was all too easy for me to turn the corner and creep down the hallway towards them. I was less than ten feet away when the first man caught sight of me and turned. I pulled the trigger before he could even scream, and he crumpled to the ground, a red puddle blooming beneath his head.

Roger jolted upright and fumbled with the gun at his hip, but by the time he got it loose from his waistband, I was hovering over him. I raised my arm up and brought the handle of my gun down hard on his forehead. Immediately, the skin broke and blood began pouring down his face. He crumpled to his knees. I stomped on his wrist, hearing a satisfying crack, and his fingers released their hold on his weapon.

“Is she inside?” I asked, tilting my head towards the door the two men had been guarding.

Roger looked up at me, one eye wide, the other squinting against the flow of blood from the cut on his forehead. His lips were pressed firmly closed.

I stomped down harder on his wrist. “Is Lindsay inside and how many men are guarding her?”

He winced, and I saw tears bloom in his eyes.

“Answer me,” I said, pressing my gun to his temple.

I could see the indecision crossing his face, but finally his shoulders sagged forward and he sighed. “It was just the two of us and Sabella. We weren’t expecting you to find us here. Let me live, and I won’t stop you. I like Lindsay, always have. I wasn’t planning on letting Sabella hurt her, anyway.”

I watched him closely as I lifted my foot from his wrist and stepped back. I had no issue with killing him, but I didn’t want to if I didn’t have to.

“Thank you. Thank you,” Roger said, tipping his head to me.

I was about to tell him to get lost when I noticed the twitch of his broken wrist, his fingers reaching for the handle of his gun. Without a second’s hesitation, I lifted my arm and pulled the trigger. Roger’s body fell sideways across the hall and then didn’t move.

I looked down at the two men. They had clearly been poorly trained and didn’t really stand a chance. Killing them almost felt wrong. Almost.

I rolled my neck on my shoulders, limbering up, and then pulled open the metal door, hoping Roger had been telling the truth that it was only Richard Sabella inside.

The room was dark except for a few fluorescents in the center of the room, beneath which was a wooden chair. Ropes were spread on the ground around each of the legs and behind it like snakes, as though someone had been tied up, but was now free. I moved cautiously into the room, gun raised. I had no way to know if Roger had been telling me the truth. The fact that no one had run through the door at the first gunshot, nor at the second, led me to believe he’d been honest about saying he and the other man were the only two guards. But still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

A cough from the edge of the room drew my attention. I swiveled to the left and lifted a hand to my eyes, trying to block out the haze of fluorescent lighting so I could see.

“Don’t take another step.”

I froze, recognizing the voice. It was Richard Sabella.

“Or what? You’ll kill me?” I said, keeping my gun pointed at where I saw his dark silhouette in the corner. I hated not knowing where Lindsay was. Had he already killed her? Was I here for nothing?

“No,” he said, amusement thick in his voice. “I’ll kill her.”

As he said the words, he stepped forward enough that I could see Lindsay pressed against the front of his body. She was as tall as he was, but she looked woefully petite in comparison to his thick shoulders. My body relaxed when I saw her. She was alive and breathing. I could still get us out of this. And then I saw the knife pressed to her neck.

“Did you kill my guards?” Richard asked.

I was afraid telling him his two guards were dead would make him vengeful, but I also suspected he’d heard the gunshots and knew the truth. “Yes.”

He shook his head. “Shame. I liked them. They were lousy, but I liked them.”

I took a small step forward, unable to resist closing the distance between myself and Lindsay. Her eyes were focused on me, wide and terrified. I wanted to peel Sabella’s slimy hands off of her body and get out of there.

As I moved, however, Sabella wagged a finger with one hand and tensed the hand holding the knife. “Ah-ah. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“This is between the two of us, Richard. Let her go,” I said.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if things worked that way? If businesses like ours didn’t have to be so messy?” he said, wrinkling his nose. “Unfortunately, you and I both know that isn’t how we operate. I can’t trust you at your word. Even if you swore on your life to give me back the hard drive, what is your life worth to me? Nothing. It may not even be worth much to you. But I’ve been watching you two. That night in the city on your first date. The way you walk home from work together. I’ve seen you through the balcony windows. Speaking of,” he said, looking down at Lindsay. “You should really invest in some curtains, dear.” He turned his attention back to me. “I know this girl means something to you. I just had to hope she meant more to you than your assignment.”

“You know what will happen if you hurt her?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

Richard raised an eyebrow, and I took it to mean that he wanted me to continue.

“You’ll slit her throat, and before her body even hits the ground, I’ll shoot you in the head. And before you ask, I’m an excellent shot.”

He stared at me for a moment, and then his thin lips turned up in a smile. “So?”

I’d expected this announcement to garner a bit more fear, some nerves. But instead, Richard seemed even more confident than he had when I’d first walked in.

“So,” I said, forehead wrinkled. “You’ll be dead.”

“And so will she,” he said, tipping his head to Lindsay. “You’re going to try to kill me either way. I know that. I’m not stupid. But if I take her out first, at least I’ll die knowing I got my revenge.”

“We can make a deal. I don’t have to kill you,” I said.

“The fact that you showed up here with a gun rather than calling the number I left for you means you had no intention of giving me the hard drive,” Richard said. “You came here for a fight, so I’m going to give you one.”

He wrapped his free arm around Lindsay’s shoulders and readjusted the knife, pressing the blade to the center of her neck. Her chin was lifted, lips trembling with emotion and the exertion of standing so perfectly still for so long. It was clear everything in her body ached to be away from the blade.

I took a breath and then lowered my gun, trying to de-escalate the situation. “We can change the rules. Everyone in this room can walk away from this.”

“Do you have my drive?” he asked. “That’s all I care about. If I live, but you keep that hard drive, you might as well have shot me. With that information in the wrong hands, my business would be dead, which means I would be dead. So, I’m not leaving here without it.”

I pulled my shirt up just enough to reveal the rectangular bulge in the front pocket of my pants. “I have it.”

He smiled, but it was strained, wild. “Then, we can make a deal. Toss it here, and I’ll let her go.”

I shook my head. “No way. You said you couldn’t trust my word, so why should I trust yours? The only way I know you’ll honor your promise is if I have the drive in my hand.”

“It seems we are at an impasse, then,” he said, shrugging.

“We’ll meet in the middle and trade,” I said.

He shook his head before I’d even finished the thought. “Not while you’re holding that gun. You said you were an excellent shot from that distance, so I will not be taking my chance from a closer range.”

I bent forward and sat my gun on the floor. “What about your knife?”

“I think we both know you could beat me in hand to hand combat. Plus, then it would be two on one. And that hardly seems fair.”

I wanted to argue, but I could already tell it wouldn’t do me any good. So, I began walking.

He pushed Lindsay forward, and she moved towards me on stumbling legs, tripping over her own feet as she moved forward, but also tried to hold herself away from the knife.

“You can lower the weapon a little,” I said. “Let her move.”

Richard pursed his lips, not accustomed to being ordered around, but did as I suggested. He held the knife six inches away from her neck and Lindsay relaxed. At least, moderately. She eased back down onto flat feet and moved with much more grace.

“When we meet,” Richard said, “I want you to hold out the hard drive. I’ll lower my knife. And then we’ll make the switch.”

I nodded. “Are you okay with that, Lindsay?”

“Yeah,” she croaked, her throat thick with unshed tears.

“And you’re okay? Did he hurt you?” I asked.

Lindsay moved to speak, but Richard cut her off. “Are you doubting my honesty? I told you she would be returned safe as long as I received what was rightfully mine. I wouldn’t go back on my word.”

I wanted to remind him what we had already decided about the trustworthiness of his word but decided to save my breath. The time for talking had passed.

We both stopped walking when we were six feet apart. I could see that Lindsay was shaken, but otherwise unharmed, which was a relief. I could also see that she was looking at me in a way she’d never looked at me before. I didn’t know if it was because of fear or what she’d undoubtedly learned about me over the course of the afternoon. I had to assume Richard told her about my connection to the mafia, and I also had to assume Lindsay was more than a little surprised. I would have to deal with that later, though. For the moment, I needed to make sure Lindsay was safe.

“Where’s the drive?”

I lifted my shirt again, revealing the bulge in my pocket.

“Pull it out,” he said.

“Drop the knife.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, and then smiled. “You know, the time has come for a little bit of trust.” He pulled the knife away, though his arm stayed firmly pressed against Lindsay’s chest.

I lifted the hem of my shirt, eyes locked on Lindsay’s. She lowered her gaze to follow my hand, and as I reached back towards my hip, I saw understanding flash across her face. All at once, she threw her head back as hard as she could, the back of her head connecting with Richard’s face in a sickening crunch.

The shock of it made him lose hold of his knife, and it clattered to the floor. Lindsay ran off to the left, but Richard reached out for her, his fat fingers wrapping around her wrist. It didn’t matter, though. By that time, I’d already pulled the second gun from my waistband, the muzzle of it pressing against Richard’s forehead. When the cold metal touched his skin, his mouth fell open in shocked horror, but there was no time for words. I pulled the trigger, and it was over.