“We’re not done discussing this, Meg,” Alik growled into my ear. “But stand up and wave to the crowd so they don’t start panicking.”
He moved off my back and let go of my arm. I was glad I couldn’t see the look in Alik’s eyes. It was bad enough I could feel his disapproval.
Both boys added to the act by helping me to my feet. I dusted off the grass and leaves from my clothes and waved to the crowd to let them think I was fine, but I wasn’t fine. I was about to get the third degree from my stupid brothers about the dangers of talking with strangers—what with meta monsters hunting us and all.
12 Moment of Reckoning
He couldn’t believe his luck. This was it. The three metas were away from the target. Margo Winter was alone and unprotected. He scanned the area around the three metas. No coyote. That’s not a problem. He had figured he would have to take the wild dog out anyway and had already made arrangements for just such a job.
From the looks of the growing crowd, these three would be busy entertaining for a while. Creed’s mind was racing with possibilities, tactics and scenarios.
He was a soldier trained to use his brain as much as he was trained to use his body. He knew this chance probably would not come again. He knew what he had to do, but just as he was about to turn away, he unintentionally caught the girl’s eye. For a split second, he hesitated. He remembered her gentle touch and the scent of her hair. He remembered watching her smile up at him trusting him when she should have been running from him. How could a girl who has lived through all she has still have a naivety about her? How could she still walk around with hope and trust when her life was built on deception?
She looked surprised and embarrassed just before she looked away. Damn, I wish she hadn’t seen me. Creed thought to himself. If he were honest with himself, Creed would have wished he hadn’t seen her. He tried to push her from his mind and focus on his target objective. He bolted to the hospital, barely pausing to chunk the drinks into the first trash can he passed.
Just take things one step at a time, Creed. You know what you have to do. Play this by the book, and Williams will give you your freedom and possibly your family. You’ve wanted this forever, man. It’s right at the tip of your fingers. Just forget the girl. The ends justify the means. Move!
He kept this internal dialog going the entire run up the stairwell to the seventh floor and continued his silent pep talk even as he walked into the men’s restroom. He walked directly into the farther of the only two stalls and quickly pulled the tile away from the wall just behind the commode. He kept his vigil as he removed the plastic bag stuffed into the small hole he dug there days ago. Even as he removed the gun from the bag and slipped it up the sleeve of his right arm, he continued to chant, move, move, move, to himself.
Creed walked out the bathroom door, down the hallway, toward hospital room number 720. The nurses’ station was almost directly across from it, but the only two people there were deep in conversation. It was a nurse and a doctor flirting on the job. How cliché.
“Excuse me, nurse?” Creed flashed his two-hundred watt smile at her, and she immediately blushed.
“Hey Susan, I’ll catch up with you later,” the doctor said gruffly. He obviously didn’t like how his girl reacted to this guy.
“Okay, Jimmy…er, I mean, Dr. Reese,” the nurse stammered. She returned her full attention to the handsome stranger standing in front of her. His eyes were captivating; she couldn’t stop staring.
“Susan, was it?” Creed asked smoothly.
“Yes, that’s right,” she said coyly.
“Hey, listen, I was wondering if you could help me out? I’m a friend of the Winter family,” Creed said, casually pointing toward Margo’s room, “Alik, Evan and Meg are downstairs putting on a show for a pretty big crowd of people, and they asked me to come up here and check on their mom and Maze, their coyote, just until they get back,” Creed smiled widely and shrugged as though saying, Ah, shucks, ma’am. I’m a harmless guy with a bunch of paranoid friends and just trying to keep the peace.
“Oh, okay,” the nurse’s brow furrowed slightly as she tried to remember if she’d ever heard of a “friend of the family” that may come to visit. She couldn’t think of anyone, but then, she hadn’t been on duty for the last two days, so maybe there was a change in the orders.