Monsters - Chapter 19 – Wasting Time

Monsters

By Karen Singer

Chapter 19 – Wasting Time

Black.  But then Carol already knew that.  The best motorcycles the company had, were both black with chrome accents.  All that was fine as far as Carol had been concerned.  She didn’t care what they looked like.  She had just been anxious to get them.  Especially since both bikes were more powerful than the ones that the police had now.  She had asked for fiberglass saddlebags to be attached to both of them, and then she had told Susan to place the order.  Susan had been very happy about the bikes Carol had decided on.  They were both fresh off the boat and still in the crates.  They hadn’t even been checked into any inventories yet.  Perfect for their needs.

Now, Carol and Brandy were out in front of the house, walking around both of the bikes.  The licenses and registrations had been manufactured for them by Wu Enterprises and had been attached.  The two men that had ridden them from California to the house had been wiping the dust off them as they came out the front door.  Both bikes gleamed beautifully.  There were helmets sitting on the saddles of both bikes.  Temporary helmets until their new ones arrived from China.  Carol sat on one of the bikes and started it up.  She rode the thing around a little in front of the house before parking it again.  “Perfect!” she declared happily.  She looked up at Brandy.  “Let’s get changed and get back to business.”

Brandy smiled.  “Let’s do it!”

“No you’re not!” Janice Stokely’s voice argued from the front steps.  “Neither of you are going anywhere until after lunch.  You’ve waited this long, a few more minutes won’t hurt you.  Now come!  Both of you!  Your toys can wait a little while longer.”

Carol looked over at Brandy and smiled.  “I guess we’ll have to wait.”

Brandy chuckled and headed for the front steps.  As she went through the door, she was pulled aside by her maid, Natalia.  “Miss?”

“Yes?” Brandy asked.

“What about your friend, Ralphie?  Will he be leaving after lunch as well?”

“Has he left his room yet?”

“No, Miss.  Since we assigned him the room, he’s stayed right there.  We’ve delivered all his meals to him there as well.”

“I’m not surprised,” Brandy replied.  “He’ll be leaving, but not with us.  But thank you, I better make arrangements for him right now.”

“Will you still want him with you where you’re going?”

“More than ever.  As much as it doesn’t seem like it, I still need his help.  And he is very good at handling my affairs for me.”

“Your affairs?”

“He’s not only my toy to play with, he’s more like my secretary.  He handles all my business affairs.”

“So he doesn’t take care of you…personally?”

“Not like you’ve been doing,” Brandy replied with a smile.  “But you’ve given me some good ideas for him.  When we get home, I’m probably going to make him take a course in hairdressing.”

“Brandy,” Susan called.  “Are you coming?”

Brandy nodded to Natalia and headed toward the dining room.

“Is there a problem?” Susan asked.

“No.  Yes.  Ralphie.  Once we find a hotel, can you have someone get him there?  And if you’ve got all our stuff, he can unpack our bags for us.”

Susan nodded.  “I’ll see to it as soon as you let us know where you’ll be staying.”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

As far as Brandy was concerned, the new motorcycles weren’t much different than the last ones.  She could tell that Carol was pleased though.  Once they arrived back in Las Vegas, they found a cheap motel in a not so good part of the city.  Carol paid for two rooms with her Judy Cunningham credit card and made arrangements for Ralphie to pick up keys to both rooms later.  The rooms were a far cry from the large opulent suites that they had before, but the cheap rooms were more like what both of them were used to staying in, especially Carol.

“Where do we start?” Carol asked Brandy as they briefly surveyed the room they would share.

“I’m not sure,” Brandy replied.  “I don’t know if anyone knows if we’re alive or dead, but I think, for now, I’d like to keep our return as quiet as possible.  Someone was hunting us.  Let’s not give them any reason to come after us the same way again too soon.”

“Sounds good,” Carol agreed.  “So now what?  Are you going to call your friend Johnny Morrow to find out what’s been happening, or ignore him?”

“Ignore him, for now,” Brandy decided.  “Let’s go back to our plan before we were shot.  We know a couple of locations where Lozano’s men were being targeted.  Let’s split up again and spend some time just watching to see what we can.”

“A long boring stakeout?”

“Yes.  But we split up again so we can watch both places.  You got lucky last time.  I didn’t.”

“When do you want to start?”

“Why not now?  Whoever has been doing this has killed people at all hours, including during the day.”

“I’m good with it,” Carol decided.  “Same places as before, or do you want to switch?”

“Same places.  Just let me know if you spot anything.”

“Will do.”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Carol parked her bike in the same place she had last time she was there.  She climbed the same drainpipe up to the roof overlooking the parking area.  She scanned the nearby buildings and everything she could see.  Nothing.  There were a few cars in the parking lot, but very few.  She had a feeling this was going to be a total waste of her time.  But in truth, she didn’t have any better ideas.  She made herself comfortable at the corner of the roof where she could see in several directions and settled in for a long wait.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Knowing better this time, Brandy made her way through the building and up to the same roof where she had been last time.  From where she was, she had a bird’s eye view of everything.  There were only two cars in the parking area below her and they were parked well away from the building.  As far as she could see, things were just too quiet to expect much.  She sat and tried to get comfortable, knowing that she was probably sitting up there on a fool’s mission.  But she had no other plan to find those mercenaries than what she was doing.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

  Carol’s head turned slowly.  Still nothing.  It was late in the afternoon.  Brandy had texted to say all was quiet.  She had also texted that Ralphie was at the new motel and would be taking care of unpacking their things.  She finally pulled out her cellphone and called Brandy.  Her call was answered quickly.  “Dinner?” she suggested softly.

“Yeah.  Why not,” Brandy replied.  “Time for a break.”

The two of them met at a fast-food restaurant near their new hotel.

“This is not panning out so far,” Brandy lamented.

“Not yet.  But I don’t know what else to do,” Carol replied.

“True,” Brandy agreed.

Thirty minutes later, both women were back where they had spent the last part of their afternoon.  Both of them, feeling like things were just too quiet.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

“I don’t believe it.”

“What?”

“You know that broad that beat us to hell?”

“The one Vince wants so badly?”

“Yeah.  I’m pretty sure that’s her sitting on the rooftop back there.  Don’t get too close to the window!  I’m not sure if she knows anyone is in here or not.”

“Are you sure that’s her?” the second one asked.  “The other one had red hair and a mask. 
It looks like this one has black hair.”

“It was a wig last time you idiot!”

“But you’re sure that’s her?”

“Pretty damn sure.  My jaw still hurts from where she hit me.”

“So do we call Vince?”

The first man was already pulling out his phone.  He dialed.  “Vince.  We got news!”

“You found where Lozano was bringing in his drugs?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then why should I be interested?”

“Because you’ve done nothing but swear about that damn broad that beat us all up a few days ago.  We just spotted her.”

“She’s not dead?”

“It doesn’t look like it.  She’s got black hair instead of red, but I’m pretty sure it’s her.  She’s sitting up on a rooftop behind this building, staking it out.”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

The evening shadows were starting envelope the area, but Brandy could still see everything perfectly.  The longer she sat there, the more she realized she was wasting her time.  She had just decided to give it one more hour, when she saw a door open slightly at the back of the building.  What surprised her though was that whoever was at that door didn’t open it and walk out, instead she was shocked to see him stick a gun out through the crack and aim it at her.  Two quick shots sent bullets in her direction but didn’t come close to hitting her.  By the time she pulled her own gun, the door was closed again.  What the hell?  She berated herself for letting herself get spotted.  But everything had been just too quiet.  She had been too certain that nobody had been around.  A major mistake she shouldn’t have made.

She quickly ran from the roof and down through the building, pulling her black mask over her head as she ran.  The few people she encountered ran back into their apartments.  She reached the door and checked carefully around before she went out.  With her gun in her hand, she was careful to watch everything around her.  No threats she could see…yet.  Instead of going straight through the parking area, she skirted the edges of it, trying to stay as hidden and protected as possible.  She reached the door where the gunman had been without seeing anyone.

She pulled and the door opened.  She checked inside.  She was faced with a long hallway.  Something moved further back.  A man.  She saw his gun come up and she ducked back out of the way just in time as a bullet came in her direction.  She checked and saw him opening a door at the far end of the hallway and going through it.  The door had a glass panel she could see a bit of light through.  She ran after him.

As she hurried toward the front of the building, she noticed that every door she passed was closed.  That didn’t surprise her.  She reached the door in the hallway where she had seen the man go through.  The glass in the door showed her the small lobby area at the front of the building.  She saw nobody in the lobby.  Whoever had been there had ran off and gotten away through the front entrance.

She opened the door and went into the lobby.  She was immediately greeted with a sharp acrid odor.  Her head went spinning.  She didn’t even realize she was dropping to the floor as the gas that filled the area took effect.  By the time her body was all the way down, she was out cold…and still breathing in the gas.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Waste…of…time!  Carol had known it all day.  But the last time she had climbed to that rooftop, she had gotten lucky.  Very lucky.  This time, she had a feeling that all her efforts were wasted.  She had a feeling that Brandy wouldn’t do much better either.  Still, she decided to give it a few more hours.  Some of the killings had happened in the middle of the night, so she knew that the time wasn’t a factor.  Still, she wasn’t sure if it was worth sitting there and waiting much longer in a location that seemed far too quiet.  She hadn’t seen anyone going into or coming out of Lozano’s building all day.  No one!  It was as if the building had been abandoned.

That thought made her pause to think.  Was the building abandoned?  Had Lozano pulled everyone away from it because the mercenaries had known to target it?  That sounded like a very possible explanation.  Deciding to check, she made her way down from the roof.  She carefully crossed the parking area and went to the back door.  Locked.  Everything she saw told her the building was empty.  She made her way around to the front of the building.  Locked and closed too.  She should have known to check earlier.  Wasted time.  Wasted entire day!

She pulled out her cellphone and texted Brandy, telling her she had been watching a closed empty building and that she was heading back to the motel.  She climbed on her bike and got out of there.  As she expected, Brandy’s bike wasn’t at the motel.  She entered the room they were sharing and found her few things and Brandy’s many things unpacked and put away in the closet and the dresser drawers.  Ralphie!  She could have called him to thank him, but she’d leave that to Brandy…if she decided to mention it.  Ralphie was Brandy’s toy, not hers. 

She checked her phone, still no returning text from Brandy.  She called her instead and was surprised when the call went straight to voicemail.  No answer.  She seriously doubted that Brandy would let her phone battery die completely.  Another thought struck her as to why Brandy wouldn’t answer her call.  Had Brandy found some fun?  That thought made her get up and go back out to her bike.  A minute later, she was heading for the building where Brandy was working.

When she got there, she drove around the streets.  The building was dark.  No lights on at all.  It appeared to be just as empty as the building she had been watching.  She parked and tried Brandy’s cellphone again.  No luck, still voicemail.  She was becoming concerned.  She drove around a while more and spotted Brandy’s bike.  She was still here, but where? 

She parked her bike next to Brandy’s and started walking the area.  Not many people around anywhere.  Figuring which building Brandy would have chosen for a rooftop perch, she went in and found her way through the maze of stairways until she reached the open air.  She found nobody up there.  She searched the other rooftops she could see.  Nothing.  Where was Brandy?

She headed down to the street again and kept walking, kept looking.  One more time she tried to reach Brandy.  Unsuccessfully.  Where was she? 

She headed for Lozano’s building.  The building appeared dark, but she found the back door open.  Cautiously, she went in.  She walked quietly down the long hallway toward the front door.  The dim light coming from the glass in the doorway at the far end was all the light she needed.  She reached the door and looked through into the lobby. Nothing.  Nobody.

She opened the door, and her nose caught a brief whiff of the odor. She backed away quickly and closed the door.  As her spinning head cleared, she realized that she remembered that smell.  She remembered it well.  Gas!  The same gas that Vince Beastman had used against them.  She cautiously opened the door a crack and took a brief tiny sniff again.  Her head immediately began spinning as she backed away and closed the door.  Definitely the gas!  Had Brandy fallen victim to it? 

Holding her breath, she went into the lobby and searched around as carefully as she could.  Nothing.  Not even any blood.  Then she spotted something.  Something she didn’t want to see.  Something that made her blood run cold.  Brandy’s cellphone.  Smashed against the floor by someone’s foot.  As she picked up the remains of Brandys phone, she could only draw one conclusion.  Brandy hadn’t been killed.  She had been taken.

As soon as she got out of the building, she pulled her phone out and called Susan.  “Brandy’s in trouble!” she said immediately.  “They didn’t kill her, they took her!  She’s gone!”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Brandy tried to wake up, but it was difficult.  Her head was so woozy.  From somewhere in the distance she heard someone say something about her coming around.  She heard another voice say something about dosing her again.  She opened her eyes.  Her vision was blurry.  Her spinning head couldn’t even register the face of the man in front of her or what he was doing.  She felt something touch her nose.  She smelled…something…before she blacked out completely again.