CL Hart -From A Distance (49 page)

He stuffed the papers he'd been reading back inside the manila envelope, folded it in half, and casually slid it into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. She didn't have to see the gun to know it was there. When he stepped toward her, it set her body in motion. Turning back in the direction of the cafe, she heard a car braking hard on the wet road. The blast of a car's horn told her Viper had attempted to cross the street. Kenzie took several steps and then stopped. The last thing she wanted was to lead him right to Cori and the judge. Spinning around and changing directions, she saw Viper stop to let a honking car pass him.

Pushing people aside without a thought, Kenzie ran down the sidewalk in the direction opposite the cafe. Viper had now made it across the street and was hot on her heels. With each step, she waited for the sound of a gunshot, but none came. Her feet slapped hard against the concrete as she zigged and zagged her way through the people. It didn't take her long to realize that the damage done to her body since Guadalajara had taken a physical toll. After just one block of running, her body was screaming in pain. She dared not glance behind her. She knew Viper was there, and she knew he was gaining. Few people seemed to show any interest in the two people racing down the sidewalk. As she turned the corner, Kenzie dug deep for what little energy reserves she had and almost ran into one of the many trees lining the city street. Viper was catching up and the only way for her to avoid being caught was to use her brain rather than her unreliable body.

Risking serious harm, Kenzie cut into the oncoming traffic, creating instant chaos. Cars skidded and collided with a flurry of horns, crunching metal, and harsh angry words. She slid across the hood of a car that had slammed into the rear of a truck in the other lane. Chancing a quick glance behind her, she was alarmed to see how close Viper was. Scrambling back to her feet, she took off running in and out among the stopped cars. The next block was not that far away, but neither was her pursuer. Turning quickly, she crossed the street and ran into the first open door she saw.

It opened into a carpeted corridor with wood grain paneling on one side, large floor-to-ceiling windows on the other, and it veered continuously to the right. People were now turning to look at them in shock and disbelief as the two raced past them. An elderly security guard lounging sedately at his information booth saw them coming and hastily jumped to his feet. "Hey, hey, hey...what's going on here?" he yelled after them, but neither Kenzie nor Viper paid him any attention. He quickly retrieved his radio and called for backup as the two intruders raced out of sight. They ran out of the corridor into a large open area, a hub with hallways that split off in different directions. Kenzie chose a path to the right. Around the corner, the surface changed from carpet to tile and she was thankful that she was wearing sneakers. Viper was not so lucky. His boots didn't have soles that gripped and he went down, sliding hard into the wall. Kenzie didn't even slow her pace. What had been an elegant corridor was now a mall with shops and stores, and she was running straight toward a food court and an escalator. With all she had, she took the moving stairs two steps at a time. It was a struggle because her legs were not that long, but she made up for it with grit, guts, and determination. Grabbing hold of the handrail at the top, she swung the corner just in time to see Viper reach the bottom of the escalator. Leaning down, she slammed her fist against the plastic cover over the bright red stop button, breaking the plastic and stopping the escalator with a loud ringing alarm. The sudden stop toppled Viper to his knees, and Kenzie heard him curse loudly.

Kenzie saw the exit doors and hit them at full speed. The metal fire doors swung open, banging loudly against the building walls. She was now on the second level of an open concrete courtyard. It was only then that she realized she had just run through Seattle's convention center. She felt a little more confident knowing where she was, however, her confidence was short lived. She saw Viper ascending the inactive escalator like a staircase. Without hesitation, she ran to the edge of the courtyard and leapt over the three-foot concrete barrier.

Flying through the air, Kenzie reached out for tree branches to slow her descent to the bushes below. Landing hard, she felt a sharp pain blast through her body. It took her a moment to collect herself. Getting to her feet, she crawled out of the bushes as people screamed and scattered. She glanced back at the second story and was not surprised to see Viper jump over the wall the way they both had been trained. He was not as lucky as she had been. Being bigger, broader, and a lot heavier, the branches snapped under his weight.

Kenzie heard the crashing thump as Viper landed. Without waiting to assess the damage, she sloshed her way through the small pool and past the decorative waterfall. Scampering down the last few stairs, she shot a glance behind her. Viper had had the wind knocked out of him, but he was staggering to his feet.

Racing across the courtyard, she heard Viper splashing his way through the pool. From the sound of his progress, he was limping badly, but that barely slowed him as he hurried down the last of the stairs.

Kenzie was back at the street where she had started. A quick look back told her Viper, limping as he was, was still catching up to her. Dashing out onto Union Street, she encountered the rush of the one-way traffic, the air filled with the sounds of screeching tires and horns honking. Ignoring the pain in her side, she wove her way in and out of the downtown traffic. Viper was only a few yards behind her when she heard a horn, followed by a sickening thud and the smashing of glass.

She slowed and glanced behind her. Viper's body was sliding down the hood of a car, its smashed windshield clear evidence of the traumatic collision. Kenzie stood gasping for air as she watched and waited. Viper was moving, but the chase was over. He was not getting up. Taking several deep breaths, she turned to go then decided against it. She was tired of running and she wanted answers. She moved toward him as several people hurried to his aid, unsure of what help they might give.

"Is he dead?" a voice asked as Kenzie approached him.

"Someone call an ambulance."

"I didn't see him!" the driver exclaimed in shock as he stood next to his damaged car. "He just came running out in front of me...he didn't even look."

Kenzie barely gave the driver a glance as she knelt next to Viper's broken body. He opened his eyes and stared up at her.

Kenzie was still breathing hard, but her face was devoid of emotion. Looking down at the face of the former colleague who was trying to kill her, she found she had nothing to say to him.

"Oh my God, he's alive!" a woman screamed behind her.

Viper was alive, though Kenzie could tell he wouldn't be for long. Blood bubbled from his lips and trickled out of his mouth with each breath. She knew what she had come back for, and so did he.

Viper groaned as he attempted to reach into his pocket. "Take it," he mumbled.

"Hey...what are you doing there?" a man holding a cell phone demanded.

Kenzie ignored the stranger as she stared into Viper's darkening eyes. She pulled the manila envelope from his pocket.

Viper could feel his lungs filling with blood as his approaching death eased some of his pain. He looked into Kenzie's golden eyes. "I only did...I only did what I was ordered to do," he said, pausing to catch a breath.

"But why?"

Viper swallowed several times, struggling for a breath. He didn't have the answer she sought. "It was what...I was told to do."

"By Manuck."

He managed a nod. "Not just Manuck," he sputtered.

"I know."

"We shouldn't...have killed...them. You...you were right." He coughed and choked on his words as the blood oozed over his lips. Desperate to ease his conscience, Viper fought for his last breath. "You need...to end this."

"That's my plan," she said coldly as she watched the life fade from his eyes. The distant sound of a siren signaled Kenzie it was time to leave. And she was gone.

The chime rang signaling a customer's arrival, and Cori looked at the door. Once again, it was not Kenzie. Try as she might to concentrate on her monitor, every sweep of the minute hand seemed like an eternity.

The judge observed her expression of disappointment and knew there was not much he could do to comfort her. "She'll be back," he said, trying to convince himself as much as her. "Give her some time."

How much time?
Cori wondered. She rose to her feet and walked to one of the coffee shop's large windows. "I'm not worried about whether she'll come back - I'm worried about when she does come back." She watched the pedestrians and the cars as they passed the window. "This whole...mess has to be overwhelming to her."

The judge watched Cori as she maintained her vigil at the window. Her body was tense. She crossed and uncrossed her arms repeatedly. This woman was a stranger to him, but he still felt the need to protect her, if not from the people who were out there trying to harm her, then at least from herself. "What about you?" he asked.

"What about me?" Cori echoed without taking her eyes from the constant flow of pedestrian traffic.

"How is all of this affecting you?"

Turning away from the window with a perplexed look, she addressed him very matter-of-factly. "You mean besides the shooting, the running, the explosions, the fires, and the not one, but two, near drownings? Or are you referring to falling in love with a woman whose life has been turned upside down and inside out? Because either way you slice it, I'm fine...or I will be once she walks back through that door."

"You love her?"

"I do." She turned back to the window, watching for Kenzie as an ambulance wailed past the cafe. "And don't ask me why because I couldn't explain it to you any more than I could explain the color green to a blind person. It's just what it is."

Kenzie was moving as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. Heading north, all she wanted was to get back to the judge, and to Cori. With great relief, she saw the glass archway and knew she was close to the cafe. Her pace slowed as she glanced down at the file and the blood on her hands. It was not her blood, but it could have been. She stopped and thought about where she was going. The manila envelope had her name on it, not Cori's. It was irrefutable confirmation that she had been the target the entire time, not the woman she was going back to. Cori was safe now, in the care of the only person left in the world that she trusted.

The sirens were getting louder and so was the voice of her conscience. How could she go back to them, knowing it was she who was putting them in danger? She couldn't, and she knew it. Raising her arm, Kenzie flagged down the first cab she saw.

"Where to?" the driver asked as she climbed into the backseat.

"Anywhere but here."

The cab driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror as the woman pulled a wad of money from her pocket. He could see blood on her hands as she peeled off a bill and handed it to him. Accepting the money, he decided it was not his concern, so he turned on his meter.

Leaning back in the seat, Kenzie took a deep breath of relief when the cab pulled away from the curb. Where she was going, she had no idea. When they passed the cafe, Kenzie spotted Cori standing in the window, her arms crossed and a look of concern on her face. Kenzie told herself that she was doing the right thing, but if that was true, why did she feel so bad?

"You got a cell phone?" she asked the driver. He nodded and pulled one from his pocket. Kenzie handed him another bill. "I just need to borrow it." And he passed it back to her.

She was not sure what she was going to say, but she didn't want them waiting at the cafe any longer.

The judge, focused on his computer monitor, almost missed the vibration of the phone in his pocket. He looked at Cori as he answered the phone.

"It's me," Kenzie said in a tired voice.

"Where are you?"

"That's not important at the moment. Look, you need to get out of there."

"Are you okay, Katherine?"

"I'm fine. I just need you to take Cori and go. Get out of there, now. Find some place safe. I have a couple of things I need to do, but I need to know that she'll be safe."