Booby Trap (27 page)

I tried to get my bearings. From the door, I knew the elevator and stairs leading to the next floor were back to my left. Based on that, I determined that the office and fitting areas of Seventh Veil would be behind me to my right. I turned on my hands and knees and headed that way, shuffling quietly along the floor as fast as the low visibility would allow, hoping the noise outside would hide any sounds I made.

The other two both knew the layout better than I did. But Maria was focused on nailing Harper, and Harper was determined to save his neck. I hoped the two of them forgot about little ol’ me until I was safely out of range.

With reduced vision, I continued my tedious way on my hands and knees, not daring to raise my head. I moved slowly in and among boxes and various garment-making equipment, often meeting dead ends and having to awkwardly turn around in the narrow spaces. The building wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either, and neither was I. From this position, in the semi-dark, with the outside noise and two guns behind me, I felt like I was crawling to Palm Springs by way of hell.

After reaching another spot that caused me to change directions, I had an idea. I groped around for something small and solid, but found nothing on the floor. I raised my hand to the surface above me, which seemed to be a small worktable, and found a heavy bottle of some kind. It felt sticky. I curled my fingers around it and brought it down to me. My nose confirmed it was glue or some type of adhesive.

Taking a deep breath, I straightened on my knees and hurled the container as far as I could in the opposite direction. It hit something with a loud bang. Although I expected knee-jerk gunfire from Gordon, all that followed was some shuffling, and again, I couldn’t tell if it was from Maria or Gordon.

I didn’t know if I was getting closer to the office area or still weaving my way through the guts of the place, and I was too scared to raise my head to find out. In the semi-darkness and confusion of the maze of aisles, it was possible that I’d gotten totally turned around and was heading back towards where I’d started, which wouldn’t be good at all.

Instead of moving farther, I tucked myself up under the small worktable, deciding to stay put for a bit. Until I knew for sure I was heading to safety and not doom, I didn’t want to proceed. There were two small boxes nearby. I pulled them in front of me as camouflage in case Harper went by on his own way out.

Except for the noise outside, which was considerable, it was deathly quiet, making me wonder if Maria had been hit in the gun battle. I strained my ears to block out the noise beyond the doors and listened for sounds of the other two.

Nothing.

I smelled it before
I saw it.

Then I saw the glow of light. Small at first, but growing. Flickering against the walls and contents of the warehouse, the fire lit the darkened area.

Moving aside the boxes, I crawled from under the protective table. Even without raising my head, I could tell the fire started near the back wall between where I was squatted and the elevator. It spread rapidly, fed by fabric, glue, and other materials used to construct the elaborate costumes.

And it brought light. There was enough light now for me to peek out and see that I was nowhere near the office area, but had, as I feared, been backtracking or even circling.

Turning my head, I saw movement. It was Maria, crouched low, doing surveillance. I saw her head turn and stop, frozen, as she spotted her prey. Several yards away from her, I could see Gordon Harper’s bald pate as he moved, half upright, away from the fire. He was moving towards the bulk of the security light, in the direction of the office area.

The smoke was starting to sting my eyes and nose, and the flames were growing. With all the fabric and packing material inside the warehouse, it wouldn’t take long for the place to become an inferno.

I took a second to consider my options. If Gordon was going towards the office, there was no way I was heading in that direction. But if he was moving that way, then the door next to the loading dock would be uncovered.

I looked again for Maria. This time, she spotted me, and with a jerk of her head confirmed that I should head for the door. She took off through the maze after Harper.

The smoke from the fire was getting thicker, and the air in the close space was growing hot. Half bent over, I started to run for what I hoped would be safety but only succeeded in tripping over something in the aisle. I went sprawling, ricocheting off a heavy sewing machine before landing, one knee first, on the concrete floor. Pain shot through my knee but went ignored as a gunshot rang out and struck something near me.

As I stayed crouched, Lisa, upstairs and unconscious, came to mind. I knew there were police outside but had no idea how many. And by the time I reached them, would there be enough time for someone to get Lisa out? Cautiously, I poked my head up. As I expected, the fire was spreading fast. I estimated that if I kept down, I might be able to make it to the stairs. The elevator was out. It needed a key to open on the top floor, and often elevators shut down during a fire. And probably the door at the top of the stairs was locked.

The door to safety and resuming my wonderful life with Greg was ahead of me. The fire was behind me. Gordon Harper was somewhere to my right, and Lisa was to my left and up the stairs, the farthest away.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

But as much as I wanted to bolt for the outside door, I knew I couldn’t make my run for safety without at least trying to help Lisa.

I poked my head back up and saw no one. Maria had vacated her last spot. The smoke was making it difficult to see and breathe, and the fire only lit part of the warehouse. I pulled the neck of my sweater up over my nose and mouth. After taking note again of where the staircase was in relation to the fire, I headed in that direction. I stayed down as best I could, using the light from the fire to make my way and hoping the smoke would cover me.

As soon as I hit the stairs, the overhead sprinklers kicked in. Soon there would be even more smoke.

I ran up the stairs as fast as my chunky legs would carry me. At the top was the door I’d seen next to the elevator upstairs—the one Maria had been fiddling with. I tried it; it was unlocked.

I dashed inside but Lisa was not on the sofa where she’d been left. Going down the hall, I found her slumped in the bathroom. I tried to get her to her feet, but she was too heavy. I dragged her into the stall shower and turned on the cold water. Aiming the shower nozzle, I hit her smack on the face with it. It roused her. Her eyes blinked several times but kept closing. I left her in the shower with the water on her and headed back into the hallway.

The smoke wasn’t as bad upstairs, but I knew it soon would be. I closed the door to the stairwell to help stem the smoke’s progress. The fire was big enough and spreading so fast that I doubted the sprinklers alone would put it out. And there was a lot of flammable material downstairs—enough to feed a family of four fires.

Unlike the warehouse, the apartment had windows. Going into the back bedroom first, I opened the sliding window. I pushed hard against the screen and kept pushing until I succeeded in pushing it out.

I yanked my sweater away from my mouth and gulped in the air. I coughed several times. Even the outside air was full of smoke.

“Help!” I yelled out the window. “Help! We’re up here.”

I grabbed a pillow off the bed and ripped the case off it. Returning back to the window, I stuck it out the window and waved and yelled. I could hear the sound of the crackling blaze.

Next, I dashed into the master bedroom and did the same. But its window didn’t overlook the large delivery area where the police were gathered.

Before going into the living room, I checked on Lisa. She was coming around, but slowly.

“Come on, Lisa. Wake up!” I shouted. I shook her and slapped her cheeks lightly. “We gotta get out of here!”

She moaned, but this time when her eyelids flickered, they stayed open. I looked directly into her glazed eyes and willed her to focus.

“Can you get up?”

She nodded, then slumped in the shower. She tried to get up again. While she did that, I went into the living room and opened the windows. Again, I shouted and waved my makeshift flag to the crowd below.

“Help! Up here! Help!”

Then I spotted the cordless phone. Maria must have dropped it on the coffee table after Gordon didn’t choose it. At this minute, there was only one number I wanted to call. I punched furiously at the dial pad. It was picked up on the first ring. I didn’t even wait for him to say hello.

“Greg! It’s me!”

“Odelia! I’m at Seventh Veil. Where the hell are you?”

“In the apartment on the second floor. There’s a fire on the ground floor.”

“We know.” Then I heard Greg shout to someone. “It’s my wife! She’s on the second floor!

“Is anyone with you, Odelia?” he asked, coming back to me.

“Just Lisa, but she’s drugged and can’t walk.” I coughed before continuing. “Harper’s still on the ground floor and so is a federal agent. They both have guns.”

“Stay where you are, we’re sending help.”

Suddenly, there was a commotion and someone else got on the line.

“Mrs. Stevens,” said an unfamiliar male voice. “This is Federal Agent Mark Hardiman. Can you get out on your own?”

“Where’s Greg?”

“Your husband’s right here, Mrs. Stevens. Don’t worry.”

The smoke in the apartment was increasing by the second, in spite of the open windows. And I could still hear the flames.

“Put him back on the line,” I demanded. “If I’m going to die, I want his voice to be the last one I hear, not yours.”

“But—”

“Now!” I started crying.

There was more fumbling of the phone. The next voice I heard was Greg’s.

“Sweetheart, stay calm. We’re going to get you out of there. The agent wants to know if you can get out.”

“I can. Lisa can’t. She’s too heavy for me to carry, but I can try to drag her down the stairs. She’s been drugged,” I repeated. “But she’s starting to come around.”

“Is Harper with you?”

“No, we’re upstairs alone.” Coughing stopped my next words.

After conferring with someone, Greg said. “Good. As long as you’re not with Harper, they’re going to try to go in and get you.” More off-line conference talk. “Agent Hardiman said to try to get to the stairs with Lisa. Try to get as far down as you can. They will try to meet you and bring you out the rest of the way.”

“Okay.”

Gunshots rang out beneath the apartment. Lots of them. More than what would come from two guns low on bullets.

“Greg!”

There was commotion on the phone. “I’m right here, sweetheart.” More off-line talk. “Odelia, don’t start down the stairs. You hear me? Don’t. The police have entered the building, and there’s shooting. The firemen are going to try to rescue you from the window.”

“Tell them to use the living room window. It’s larger, and we can step up on the sofa.”

I had to get Lisa from the shower to the living room. Hopefully, the cold water was still doing its trick.

“Greg, how bad is the fire?”

He didn’t answer, but I could hear him breathing on the other end of the line.

“Greg?”

“It’s bad, sweetheart.” His voice sounded choked. “I’m not going to lie to you. It’s very bad. But you’re going to be okay. Remember that and do what these guys tell you to do. Okay?”

I walked into the bathroom. Lisa was sitting up. She was soaked, but her eyes were open and blinking. It was a start.

“Lisa’s doing better,” I said into the phone. “I’m going to get her to the living room window.”

“Leave the phone on, Odelia. Don’t break the connection.”

I wouldn’t dream of it.

Holding the phone with my left hand, I squatted down and put my right arm under Lisa’s left armpit.

“Come on, Lisa. You have to help me out here.”

She put her left arm around my shoulders and tried to get to her feet. It was slow going, but she managed to do it. Once on her feet, she had to stand still a minute to stabilize herself.

“That’s it, Lisa. You’re doing fine.”

Grabbing the edge of the shower enclosure with her right hand, Lisa took a few shaky steps. Then a few more. Finally, she let go, and together we shuffled out of the bathroom.

We were almost to the living room when we heard breaking glass and metal. We stopped our progress and waited. Peeking around the corner into the living room, I saw that the firefighters had broken the window out to give us more room to crawl through.

“We’re almost there, Lisa.” I coaxed her along, step by shaky step.

By the time we’d reached the sofa, a strapping fireman had come through the window to help us. He started to reach for me, but I told him to take Lisa first. He guided her out the window and handed her over to another firefighter who helped her down the ladder to safety. I went back to the phone.

“Honey, the firemen are here, and Lisa’s being taken out right now. I’ll be right behind her.” I sniffed back tears. “I love you, Greg.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”