Trail of Silver Skulls Ch. 08

Anna ran harder than she ever had in her entire life. Dodging past pieces of old machinery and broken crates along the way, she sprinted towards the main entrance of the warehouse where she knew there was a door. Carlos shouted from behind her, cursing as he called for her to come back but it was already too late. If she could just make it outside to where the police were waiting then she would be safe. Feeling the air rush past her face, she suddenly felt like laughing out loud. After an entire week of slavery, her freedom was finally here.

Her dreams were short lived however as caught up in her haste, she failed to see the figure standing in front of her until it was too late. By the time she realized what was happening, she was going too fast to stop and crashing together they tumbled to the ground. Rolling over, Anna scrambled to get back on her feet but by the time she was up again, the other person was already there.

"Going somewhere?" asked Eric.

There was a cut on his face where he had scraped it against something on the way down and Anna froze, unsure of what to do. Compared to his usually stoic personality, for the first time since Anna saw him Eric looked tense and wound up with a hint of uncertainty in his eye. Despite the emotion on his face, with the tension of the current situation it only made him seem all the more dangerous instead. Looking down, Anna saw he held something in his hand and instantly took a step away. She swallowed hard as she recognized it at once. Her father had kept one next to him while he slept in his nightstand drawer.

Colt 1911, Government Model, 45 ACP.

It was a big gun with big bullets designed a hundred years ago for men about the same size. With eight rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, it was more than enough to kill anything currently alive. Every muscle in her body stopped in place as Anna stood there, too afraid to move. The first time her father let her shoot his, the recoil had almost thrown the gun from her hands. In the hands of Eric however, the gun looked like it was little more than a toy.

From outside the warehouse, the pounding grew louder upon the door.

"Stay there and don't move," said Eric.

He walked over to the door and peeked through the slit outside. Gently placing his hand upon the handle, he threw it open in a single movement shoving the gun forward before him as he did so. Caught by surprise, the officer on the other side froze with his right hand still held up in the air. For a moment, nothing happened as the two men stared at each other and Anna squeezed her eyes shut clamping her hands down over her ears. To her surprise, instead of the gunshot she had been waiting for, the officer frowned and glanced down in annoyance at the gun barrel thrust into his face.

"Hello Eric," said the officer.

"Hello Tom," said Eric, "We had an agreement, why are you here?"

Slowly, Eric lowered the gun though not all the way keeping it in a low ready position as he stepped back from the open door. Tom glanced over at the weapon with a warry eye as he stepped inside.

"That's an interesting way to welcome a friend," he said.

"Sorry, we ran out of invitations for the party," said Eric, "Didn't expect any unwelcome guests."

Closing the door behind him, the officer stepped into the light and Anna got a good look at him for the first time. The first thing she noticed was his age, white streaks of silver scattered like straw between the grey of his hair. The chevrons on his shoulder told her he was at least a sergeant or above, probably in a management position behind a desk when he wasn't in the field. Seeing her stare, he glanced over to match her eyes and Anna looked away.

"I'll keep it short," said Tom, "Your boy Mark, he messed up."

"What do you mean," said Eric, caution still in his voice, "What happened to our deal? I pay you an early retirement and you get the authorities to fuck off."

"Well, things got a little bit-... complicated," said Tom.

The officer sat down on a nearby crate and leaned back against the shipping container it had been placed against. Taking off his cap, he rubbed his forehead and sighed. Under the light of the dim lamps above, he somehow seemed to grow even older than Anna thought he was.

"One of our undercover guys saw your boy Mark go for a girl," he said, "He was a rookie, barely two or three years on the force. Decided to play cowboy right there and then."

"Where is Mark now," said Eric.

"Unconscious, in the back of my squad car along with the girl he tried to grab," said Tom, "According to reports, the officer approached the suspect just as he was about to drive off and got tagged in the throat with a nine. Your guy must have panicked then since I found him a few miles away with his car wrapped around a tree. Eric, I'm not one to tell others how to do their job but this is the biggest fuckup I've ever seen. The entire force is out tonight looking for blood."

"So pay them off then," said Eric, "We give you more than enough."

Tom looked down at the ground and sighed once more holding his cap in his hands.

"I'm getting too old for this," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Eric.

"Thirty years ago, that might have worked but things aren't so simple today," said Tom, "We have an officer down and some of the newer guys, the ones that just joined up, they're not taking this too well. They're ex-army too you know, multiple tours to Afghanistan and Iraq. It's one thing to run drugs though here but slaves are just something else. These new guys, they've seen what it's like over there in the third world and they didn't like it one bit at all."

The two men sat in silence as they stared each other down, Tom at the floor and Eric at him. The gun seemed to shake as Eric tightened his grip on it with his hands. In the silence that seemed to drag forever in between, Anna didn't dare to move. She held her breath as she forced herself to remain still, her heart pounding like a drum against the heavy tension of the room.

As a crash came from the back of the warehouse, the two men jumped up turning towards the direction of the sound. Panting and out of breath, Carlos broke into the room stopping in place as he saw Tom standing there. Relief soon spread across posture however as he recognized the officer's face. He collapsed onto a nearby stool letting out a shaky breath.

"What took you so long?" said Eric.

"I fell and hit my head," mumbled Carlos.

"Is that why she's here?" said Eric pointing at Anna.

"Sorry sir, it won't happen again," said Carlos.

Eric brought his hand up to his face and took a deep breath as if trying to compose himself. Lowering the gun, he finally put it away shoving it into a holster underneath his shirt. When he spoke again, his voice was calm and controlled.

"No matter," said Eric, "For now, go get Mark and the new girl out of the car."

"Is Mark okay?" asked Carlos.

"He won't be if you don't get a move on," said Eric, "Get Mark somewhere where he can lay down and throw the new girl into a cage along with our little runaway as well. We'll figure out what to do with them later."

Eric jabbed a finger at Anna who shrank away as Carlos approached. Taking her gently by the arm, Carlos walked her back to her cell. As he led her inside, he locked the door behind her with a sorry look on his face.

"Sorry, I'll come back for you later," he said.

As Carlos left the warehouse and headed for the car parked outside, Anna listened in as Eric and Tom continued their conversation once more. Pressing herself as close as she could against the bars, she strained to make out the voices as they echoed throughout the room.

"So what now?" said Eric, "What do you want me to do?"

"Who knows," said Tom, "That's your problem now. Mine is home burglaries and traffic control."

"How long then, how much time do we have?" said Eric.

"Three weeks, maybe four. I can only hold them back for so long before they start taking matters into their own hands," said Tom.

There was a pause and Anna pushed herself even further against the bars listening in as closely as she could. Her heart beat in her chest as she realized the significance of what that meant. While the original timeframe was set for three months, with the schedule cut so short she now had to find a way out in much less than that.

"Juan doesn't come around until twice that at least," said Eric.

"Then give him a call," said Tom, "Though whatever you gentlemen feel like doing, you're on your own. I've already handed in my resignation to the chief. It might buy you another week but if I stay in it'll only be a matter of time before they sniff me out as well."

Heavy footsteps sounded out against the floor as Tom turned towards the door, the sound of Eric's cursing chasing after him as he left. Anna winced as she heard his voice cut through the air like venom across her skin.

"I should have never hired you," said Eric, "Half a million down the drain."

There was no response as Tom got into his car and closed the door. As he sped off, the sirens cut out and Anna felt the last bit of her hope go along with it as well. All of a sudden, the iron bars along with the chastity belt around her waist seemed all the heavier. A moment later however, she had other things to worry about.

Looking up, she saw Eric staring down at her through the bars of her cell, anger resting like a mask upon his face. His eyes bore into hers as he towered over her staring her down. Her throat suddenly dry, Anna swallowed and retreated into the corner of her cage curling up into a ball.

"Now, as for our little escapee," said Eric, "I wonder what her punishment should be."