Page 46 of Locked Down

As headlights illuminated the pier, the manhunkeredlower in his seat. Hehit the switchto light the two pendant lights above his workspace in the warehouse. The car rolled to a stop just outside the warehouse door. He watched as two men got out and went into the warehouse. One was shorter than the other. Theshorter man had to be the man he’d struck the deal with. The man’s dark, dead eyes freaked him out when they’d first met.The taller one had a stockybuild,and looked like a cop. His head was on a swivel, and hewas wearinga dress shirt and dress pants. The taller one wasdefinitelysecurity.

The two men walked over to the table where the bomb was now securely fastened. He hit the button on his burner cellandthe phone on the workbench lit up and started ringing, causing the men to jump.

The shorter of the two reached out and answered the call.“Hello?”

“Send me the rest of the money.”

The man looked around the warehouse.“Where are you?”

“It’s not important.I want you topay me the rest of what you owe me. Transfer it to the account I gave you.”

The shorter man put the celldownon the bench and must have hit the speaker button because the sound quality changed.“Why should I pay you? What’s to stop me from grabbing this thing and taking off?”

“Remote detonator. You screw me over, I will not hesitate to trigger that bomb.”

Both men took a step away from the workbench.

McGinnis grinned.Hehad no ability todo that but they didn’t knowthat.He pressed the binoculars tighter to his eyes“Now, pay me the rest of the money. Deposit it in the account I sent you.”

“Why can’t you take cryptocurrency like everyone else?”the short guy snarled.“All this account transfer bullshit is risky.”

McGinnis wanted to choke his client.“I don’t trust crypto.”Reallyit was because he didn’t understand itandhe was way too old to get involved in this new shit now.“Send me the money. Now.”

“Fine,”the short man snarled. He pulled a phone from his pants pocket and tapped on the screen.

The bomb maker watched his account. Two minutes later, the money showed up.He immediately started clicking away, and within seconds he transferred that moneyoutintomany different accounts.“Thank you. Our businessis concluded.”

“Wait!”the short guy yelled.“How do I move this thing?”

“Very carefully. Don’t cut the wires. Just the zip ties. Otherwise, you won’t be long for this world.”The man started his electric car and rolled silently down the pier.

“But how am I supposed to know how to use it? How do I make it explode?”

This man was an imbecile.“You set the alarm clock.”He immediately hung up and pressed the button to lower the passenger window.He tossed the phoneout ofthe window into the water,and then hedrove off the pier.“RetirementhereI come.”He rolled silently onto the street.

Two miles later, his acid reflux was back. The client had seen him at their initial meeting. If push came to shove, he couldbe identified, granted it would be as McGinnis, but still, they knew his face. It hadn’t bothered him before.He’d been very selective about his client list, and he hadn’t worriedthatthey would say anything ifthey werecaught.But there was something about this job, something made him think he wouldn’t be so lucky this time. The client had come to him through the usual channels, but still…Something felt off. So, what could he do about it? How could he mitigate the damage?

He continued to drive toward the airport, his mind swirling.Then, suddenly, the answer came to him. He knew who his client was,herecognized him. He was a name in Washington. His client's client was a big damn deal in Washington. He pulled out another burner phone and dialed a number he knew by heart.

“Yes?”the voice answered.

“I’ve just completed a delivery to a client that I am sure you know,”McGinnis said. The man on the other end remained silent.“The thing is, it wasa very specificrequest, and it is worrisome.”

“Can you be more explicit?”

McGinnis shrugged. How did he describe this?“I feel the client is an amateur and may beinover his head with this. People will get hurt. People who shouldn’t get hurt will probably get hurt,”he further clarified.“It makes me nervous. It could also have massive repercussions.”

“I’ll need more details than just your nerves.”

McGinnis looked at his watch. He had time. Putting on his signal,hepulled over to the side of the road and started talking. He explained in detail what had transpired and the implications if his fearswere realized.

“I see. You were right to call me. I will look into it. Thank you.”

“Thank you,”McGinnis said and hung up.

He felt lighter than he had in months. This one had taken a toll on him, but now he wastrulyready for retirement. Confessionreallywas good for the soul. He put on his turn signal and rolled silently off into the night.

TWENTY

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