Ryan Lock 04.5: Lock & Load (6 page)

   Lock stopped at the ticket machine closest to the glass-fronted attendant's booth. He glanced over at the attendant who was decked out in a blue uniform that made him look like a cross between a minor league baseball player and a video game Mario Brother. The attendant was busy studying a rack of closed circuit display screens, his face obscured by a matching blue ball cap that was pulled down low over his eyes.

   The attendant looked up and glared at Lock. He had to choke back a laugh as Ty ran his finger around the collar of his blue parking attendant shirt. He scowled as he slid open the glass window of the booth. "We got a problem with the top three levels so they're closed. Other than that, park where you like," said Ty.

   Lock strained to read Ty's name badge. "Thanks for the heads up, Miguel," he said, pressing the button and waiting for a ticket. The screen embedded into the machine that would usually have displayed a live video feed of his Range Rover was blank.

   Ty muttered something Lock didn't quite catch, and slammed the window back shut. 

   Lock worked his way up to level seven before running into a series of bright orange cones. A chain strung across the ramp blocked any further progress. He pulled into a spot at the end of a row next to a double cab Dodge Ram. According to the parking attendant Ty had paid three hundred dollars to take the day off, the truck had been there for three days. Lock got out, ducked under the chain and walked up the rest of the way, the levels eerily empty.

   The only car on the top level was Summer's Toyota Prius. It was parked in the very middle of a row of spaces that faced out onto the windowless back wall of an office building. A concrete lip rose about three feet. Beyond the lip was a sheer drop to an alleyway.

   Lock glanced up to check out the brand new HD quality surveillance camera that had been installed specially to capture a twenty by twenty area. Behind him were another two cameras, triangulating the area around Summer's car. Each camera fed back directly, via an encrypted Wi-Fi connection, to a central server. They also had memory cards in case the Wi-Fi connection was lost. The cameras themselves were housed in the type of reinforced casing that you would find in a million other public places. He could have gone for smaller cameras but had elected for hiding them in plain sight. People were so used to cameras watching them these days that they barely even registered, and certainly not when the individual was in a pressurized situation.

   He keyed his radio. "You have a visual?"

   "You're all set for your close-up, brother," came Ty's reply. 

Fifteen

SUMMER FOLDED HER
napkin over her lap and kept her hands there. That way Jason couldn't see how much she was shaking. He was all smiles and small talk as they ordered, a star-struck waiter fluttering around them until finally Jason asked him to give them some privacy.

   Jason looked down at her plate – the food untouched. "Not hungry?"

   She shrugged. "Can we talk about the video you sent me?"

   He chewed a mouthful of Bhaji, his eyes never leaving her face. "What video?" he said, his mouth still half full.

   "Let's not play games here."

   He smirked. "You used to like games. Remember that game where I used to tie you up. Or the one where..."

   "The video," she said. It felt like everyone in the restaurant was staring at her, that they'd heard. She imagined that if tonight didn't work, this would be what the rest of her life would feel like. People watching. Of course Jason would be some kind of stud and she would be relegated to that all too common Hollywood role - the whore.

   "Okay, okay. The video," Jason said. He waved the waiter over and ordered another Kingfisher beer. "Good times, huh?" he said to her. "Good times."

   "I want you to destroy it."

   He took a sip of beer and made a sighing noise. "You want some of this?" he asked her.

   It was as much as she could do not to pick up the glass and throw it over him. "No, thank you."

   She had to remain calm. Lock had impressed that on her. The chances were that Jason wasn't going to change his spots and do the decent thing. They had to give him the opportunity first though. When he refused then they would go to plan B. Lock's note on that had been simple too. Get Jason into position but don't make it too obvious. Improvise if you had to. Lock would have made a good director she'd thought as he'd run through his solution.

   "Okay, so say for sake of argument that I have this video you're talking about. It's all I have left to remember you by. I mean memories fade but something like that, well it's a little more permanent."

   She could see his enjoyment of her discomfort etched on his face. He was getting off on it. She did her best to re-focus. This was a scene like any other.

   "If you still have any feelings for me, Jason..."

   It was his turn to cut her off. "Oh, that's precious. What about me, huh? You've been going round telling half the town I'm some kind of psycho."

   She couldn't bring herself to let this go. He was a psycho and it wasn't news. "You could have killed me."

   "Jesus, don't be so melodramatic," he said, pounding the rest of his beer and waving for another before the empty glass had touched back down on the table. It was his fourth since he had arrived.

   "It's the truth," she said, trying to regroup. He wasn't going to concede anything, not unless he was forced into it. She would give it one last try but that was it. "Please, Jason. I'm begging you. I don't want this hanging over me."

Carrie sat across the street, listening to the conversation taking place inside the restaurant. She keyed her radio. "Lock?"

   "I'm here."

   "He's not going for it," she said.

   "Didn't think he would," he replied. "Let me know when they leave."

Back inside the restaurant, Summer had shifted gears. Now it was all about plan B and that required a transition. 

   First she ordered a drink from the waiter. The request met with Jason's approval.

   "That's my girl," he said. "You are way too uptight these days. You really have to learn to loosen up."

   "You want something to remember me by?" she said. "How about one last time? For old time's sake."

   Across the table his smile rearranged itself into a leer. She knew she could rely on his baser instincts.

   "Now you're talking," Jason said. "You missed me, right? That's what all this has been about."

   She giggled. "You know me better than I know myself. So what do you say? Shall we..."

   Jason was already waving for the check.

Sixteen

IT WAS KNOWN
 in the close protection trade as a come on – a pre-arranged decoy or distraction that served as a prelude to the main event. It could take many forms; a vocal protestor rushing past a barricade, drawing a bodyguard away from their principal and making the real assassin's job that much easier; a small IED designed to cause injury which drew the rescuers into the kill zone of a much larger device. The come on had many variations but none was simpler or more effective than a man being led by his baser instincts into a bad situation – in this case, a deserted parking structure.

   Lock listened to Carrie's updates in his earpiece as Summer walked Jason back to the Prius. He risked a smile. This was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Down in the parking attendant's booth, Ty watched as the couple walked towards the elevator. The elevator route had been selected to ensure that Jason wouldn't see the closed off, empty parking levels until it was too late.

   Summer pushed the call button. Ty kept his head down but he needn't have worried. Jason was way too wrapped up in the young actress to notice him. For most people in a big city, parking attendants, even those of the six foot four variety, were so much urban foliage. 

   Jason pawed at the actress, and the doors closed. Ty couldn't wait to see the asshole's expression when he stepped out on the top floor to be greeted by Lock. It was payback time and the Australian actor had earned everything that was coming his way.

   Ty waited for the call light to disappear. He keyed his radio. "On their way."

Twenty four seconds. That was the time it would take the elevator to make its way up to the top floor. Lock had timed it – twice. He checked his watch, counting the seconds. He began moving into position so that he wouldn't be visible when the elevator doors opened.

   As the second hand of his watch swept down towards the twenty four second mark, he tensed, ready to make his move. The elevator doors didn't open. Twenty five seconds. Twenty six. He listened hard for the whine of the cable or the whir of the motor but the only noise was the distant sound of traffic from Westwood Boulevard.

Seventeen

JASON HAD HER
 backed into the corner of the elevator. His right hand ran up her thigh. She could smell the beer on his breath as he whispered into her ear. "Why don't we just do it here?...You'd like that, right?....Couldn't stay away from me, could you?" On and on he went, his erotic monologue making her stomach lurch as he pawed at her.

   She could see the control panel where he had pulled out the stop button. She had no way of reaching it from where she was. They were between floors. Unless there was an override it would be impossible for either Lock or Ty to get to her. And even if they could it would blow the element of surprise that they needed.

   She tried to dredge up what she'd been taught about self defense. He was so close to her that she could barely move. Her back was against the side panel. She needed to get some distance between them.

   "Hold on there," she whispered to him, desperately trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Let me take my jeans off."

   He took a step back. She put her arms on his shoulders and ran her tongue over her lips. He smiled with anticipation and closed his eyes.

   Her hands tightened on his shoulders. She brought her right knee up as hard as she could into his groin.

   He roared with pain as her knee slammed into his groin. She let go of him and scrambled towards the elevator panel. She hit the plunger of the emergency stop button back into place and jabbed a finger at the already lit level ten. The elevator shuddered back into life.

   Jason was still doubled over. 

   The elevator inched upwards as he staggered towards her. "You bitch, I'm going to fucking kill you for that," said Jason, advancing on her. "No," said Jason. "I got an even better idea. I'm going to make sure the world knows what a little slut you truly are."

   She was backed against the doors now. As they began to open, she fell backwards. Jason loomed over her, ready to pounce, his fists clenched.

   A car appeared from nowhere and the passenger door opened. A blonde woman leaned over. "Get in," she said. Summer didn't need to be asked twice. She climbed into the passenger seat. The car took off at speed before she had even closed the door. It raced towards the down ramp. The blonde woman who was driving seemed to be in complete control as she spun the wheel, and the car almost left the ground as they hurtled down the levels. "You okay?" she asked Summer.

   "I'll tell you in a minute."

Eighteen

IT'S SAID THAT
 we are born with two fears hard-wired into our minds by millions of years of evolution; the fear of loud noise and the fear of falling. Lock didn't buy it. Sure you could be startled by a sudden unexpected loud noise but he wasn't sure it qualified as a fear. People had a startle response, that was all. They weren't scared of loud noise in the way that they were of fears that they picked up along the way.

   Falling was different. The dread of that lay in the anticipation, and anticipation was the key to fear. Even with a parachute and a reserve strapped to your back, falling was something that focused your mind, and right now, thought Lock, he was holding onto a man who desperately needed some focus in his life. 

   Dragging Jason by the collar of his jacket towards the edge of the building, Lock propelled him towards the concrete lip that faced the alleyway. He hustled him towards it the same way he would move a principal out of danger, quickly and with determination. Whatever Summer had done to him in the elevator had already sapped a lot of his energy. As they drew closer to the edge, Jason began to struggle. To settle him, Lock took his left thumb and jammed it as hard as he could into the thin cord of nerves at the hinge of Jason's jaw. Next he grabbed the actor's hand at the wrist and bent it back. Controlling someone in a situation like this was a matter of biomechanics and if Lock was to achieve what he needed without ending up facing a murder rap he would have to get this just right. With a hundred foot drop in play there was very little margin for error.

   Lock shuffled Jason so that he was facing the building opposite. The actor's face grew pale as he contemplated the drop.

   "I'll leave her alone, okay?" he said, his voice threatening to tip over into falsetto.

   With his right hand still stressing Jason's wrist joint, Lock grabbed the actor's hair and yanked his head around so that he was looking at straight at him. "Too late, asshole. I have a very strict one-strike policy when it comes to guys like you and you've already had yours."

   "The tape. Is that what this is about?"

   Lock shook his head. "No, this is about you living in your little Hollywood bubble where everyone kisses your ass and you never have to face the consequences of your actions. Well, surprise, surprise, I don't care. You want to destroy someone I'm charged with protecting? Then I'm going to destroy you."

   "You're not going to kill me," said Jason.

   "You're right. I'm not. Gravity's going to take care of that," said Lock, using his right leg to sweep Jason's feet out from under him, and tilting him up and over the edge. Now there was more of the actor hanging over the edge than there was on the parking structure side of the concrete lip. His legs kicked out helplessly in mid air. The only thing that was preventing him plunging head first to the street below was Lock.