Chapter 3 - “Bridges Burned”
Silently, Mary and Eric watched the long black limo pull away, then disappear. Nearby, they both looked to the dark silhouette of the Prudential Tower.
Eric turned to her. “It seems so far away, doesn’t it?”
“Do you think we’ll see it again?”
“Oh, absolutely.” The stood there a few more moments.
Mary let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding, and heard Eric do the same. “So what do you think we should do now?”
Shifting the straps of his pack, Eric replied, “We need to go get a room.”
“We need to do what?!” Mary’s eyes went wide.
“A room. There should be a place we can find a cheap room for a night or two.” He started walking.
She started after him. “Will you tell me what you’re talking about?”
Eric smiled, then kept going.
She sighed. “I’ll go along for now, but so help me, if the words ‘go out with a bang’ pass your lips, I’ll kill you for free.”
**********
As Eric closed the door of the tiny motel room, Mary dropped her pack and stood in his way, arms crossed. “Okay, that’s it. I’ve followed you this far, I’ve stood lookout while you made some mysterious purchase at Radio Shack, and I even let you register us as Mr. and Mrs. Now what the _hell_ are you up to?”
“Did you see ‘Enemy of the State’?”
“No.”
“Will Smith plays an ordinary guy who ends up being hunted by a splinter group of the National Security Agency. They find out where he lives and works, and plant tracking devices in his watch, his pen, his shoes– everything.” He pulled out the Radio Shack bag and extracted the box inside.
He held up the box, showing the touchpad controls on the surface. “This is the closest thing that science can get to an actual tricorder.”
“You’ve gone insane.”
Ignoring the comment, he continued. “It detects light levels, radiation… and radio frequency signals.”
Mary nodded. “Like the kind a tracking device would give off. But I thought the point was that we were being hunted. Wouldn’t this make it a pretty boring chase?”
“I wouldn’t put it past Frost to make considerations for very wealthy, very lazy hunters.” He activated the tricorder. “Put out your arms.”
She complied. Eric proceeded to pass the sensor device slowly across her.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she asked as the scanner made its way across the thin band of midriff showing just below her shirt.
Eric looked up, smirking. “You’ll get your turn.”
“Yes, I know, but you didn’t answer my question.”
“Shh,” he replied, “I’m scanning.” Finally, Eric passed the device over her feet.
“Finally.”
“Don’t move. I have to do the back.”
“Under normal circumstances, you’d at least have to buy me dinner before getting this far.”
Eric finished the scan, then handed the device to Mary. “It’s already calibrated.” He raised his arms and took a deep breath. “Do your worst.”
Mary repeated the process, but slowly and silently, knowing how it would annoy him. Finally, she finished. She returned the tricorder. “Was it good for you?” she asked breathily.
“Is that the last joke?”
“Yep.”
“Then unpack.”
Both of them headed for their packs. As Eric reached for his, the scanner beeped loudly. Mary watched as he passed it over the pack, the beeping getting louder as it reached the metal frame. Grabbing his Swiss Army knife, Eric cut away the nylon covering, exposing a gap in the frame and several electrical wires.
“Maybe it’s an smart backpack,” joked Mary.
“Yeah, a little too smart.” They continued, and found a similar device in Mary’s pack. “We need to go shopping,” he said as he took a seat.
“I was thinking–“
“About what?”
“What was your first thought when you found out we were getting a head start?”
Eric scratched his chin. “I thought we’d better run as far as we could as soon as we could.”
“Exactly,” replied Mary, “and I bet everyone else thought the same thing.”
“And so you don’t want to do that.”
“Nope. Let them think that while they overshoot us by a day or two.”
He smiled. “Brilliant. While we’re at it, we could toss these packs on the next bus to Chicago.”
She smiled back. “We always did make a good team.” Mary’s gaze drifted towards the single, uncomfortable-looking bed. “But I really wish they had a double room available.”
“And here I thought you were planning on taking advantage of me.”
Mary rolled her eyes. “That’d be tough with you sleeping on the floor at the other end of the room.”
**********
Three days later, the enigmatic Mister Frost sat quietly behind his desk as a hidden door slid open. Appearing from behind the bookcase opposite him was a dark-haired man not much older than the two remarkable young people he’d recently sent on their way. He took a seat.
“Ah, young Master Greenwald,” said Frost, unctuous.
Greenwald frowned. “I’ve always hated that title.”
“I’m aware of that. I understand congratulations on your last hunt are in order. A most impressive endeavor.”
The young man smiled. “Thank you, I’m quite proud of it myself. The prey was quite resourceful. I was forced to improvise.”
Frost chuckled. “Did it require the destruction of an entire warehouse?”
“No,” Greenwald replied, “but I do like to be thorough.” He crossed his legs and leaned back. “So what do you have for me this time?”
“So soon?” asked Frost. “Not sitting on your laurels for a while?”
“I bore easily.”
“Understandable.” Frost opened a drawer and removed a pair of computer disks and slid them towards his client. “Here you are.”
Greenwald picked them up and gave Frost a quizzical look. “Two profiles?”
“As one of our most successful and… generous clients, I’ve decided to give you the first shot at a unique opportunity: a matched pair of targets.”
The young man was silent as he drew a thin, dark cigarette from a metal case, and lit it with the lighter on Frost’s desk. “Very interesting,” he said finally, blowing a trail of gray-blue smoke. “How about a few details?”
“One male, twenty-two; one female, eighteen, both college students. Intelligent and quite fearless.”
“Naturally, this will cost me double the usual fee.”
“Naturally. Five hundred thousand dollars for the pair.”
“You have a deal, Frost.” Greenwald rose. “How long do I have?”
“Forty-eight hours, give or take. Then the season opens.”
“I’ll wire the funds immediately, then. Good day, Frost.”
“Good day, Mister Greenwald.”
As the young hunter departed, Frost leaned back, pulling a large Cuban cigar from a desktop humidor and lit it. He swiveled his computer screen towards him. “Access target tracking system,” he said out loud.
The computer whirred to life, and the screen displayed a world map. “Select target,” replied the digitized voice.
“Display location of targets Umali, Eric and Patire, Mary.”
The map zoomed in to the United States, and a pair of red dots appeared in the northern midwest.
“Increase magnification.”
Zooming in again, the display expanded to show the city of Chicago and surroundings. The red dots were now located downtown.
“Increase magnification and display location.”
Again the display closed in until it was closer than a three-block area. A window popped up, indicating their location as the Greyhound Bus Station, and that the location had been static for more than twelve hours.
Frost had to smile. “Very impressive.” He reached for the telephone, then stopped. Frost pulled his hand away. “Hell,” he said to himself, “let him work for something for once in his life.”
**********
It was nearly midnight that night when Mary and Eric found themselves in South Station, looking up at the massive Amtrak departures display.
“So where do you want to go?” he asked.
“I hear New York City is beautiful this time of year.”
He nodded. “Lights everywhere, sidewalk Santas… the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree.” Eric’s face darkened.
“What is it?”
“I just realized that we’re going to miss Christmas with our families this year.”
“I was thinking about that, too.” She clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I guess I’m your family this time around, and you’re mine.”
Eric smiled. “The Big Apple it is, then.”
Not looking back, they headed for the ticket counter.
To be continued…
