Page 58 of Avenging Kelly

KELLY

I pushed the news that I might be HIV positive to the back of my mind to deal with later as London parked us in a public garage three blocks from Spires Tower. Casper pulled up next to us and got out of his vehicle.

“You ready?” London asked me.

I scanned the garage level to see it was mostly empty, which was good if we needed to make a speedy getaway. London reached into the glove box and pulled out three sets of rubber gloves for us to use.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” I said as I opened the door and hopped out. My P365 was safely seated in the holster at the back of my jeans, and my knife was in the case on the right side of my belt. My heart was racing—with good reason.

We walked to the back of the SUV and London opened the tailgate, lifting the cover for the spare tire compartment. Much to my surprise, there wasn’t a spare. Instead, there was a small arsenal.

“I’d rather be over-prepared than under,” London stated as he grabbed a Smith & Wesson CS45 semi-automatic pistol and about five mags, filling his pockets. I grabbed the Walther P88 and did the same. If we got into trouble, I was of the same mind as London: better to be safe than sorry.

Casper produced a black device that looked like a camera. “What’s that?” London asked him.

“You said she has cameras in her place, right? Well, this will knock them out while we’re inside. If she’s watching, chances are someone else is, too. Got hats?” Casper asked.

London reached into the compartment again and pulled out three black caps with no writing or insignia’s on them, handing one to each of us before he handed Casper a pair of latex gloves. “Let’s go.”

Caps firmly in place, we hurried out of the garage and down the block. To any street cams, we looked like three guys in a hurry. We were all wearing black jackets and cargo pants, which shouldn’t raise any suspicions that I could see.

When we were parallel with Spires Tower, we crossed at the corner with a billion other pedestrians, and split up. I went around the back of the building to use the entrance that didn’t lift the garage door, and the two of them came around the building and met me.

“Okay—just keep your head down,” I instructed as Casper pulled the device from under his jacket and pressed some buttons. I put in the code and opened the door, checking the alley to see no one was around before I went inside.

We made our way to the elevator in the garage, but London stopped us. “What’s that?” He pointed to a piece of junk car parked in a dark corner near the stairwell with a tarp haphazardly covering part of it.

Casper took off toward it with London on his heels. I followed close behind, not sure why the hell they gave a shit about some crappy old Plymouth. “What’s the—”

“This is the make and model of the car that hit Mathis. We’ve been looking all over for this damn thing. The other guys have been checking registrations for months. Hang on,” Casper told us as he moved the tarp to take pictures of the vehicle, but there were no plates on the front or the back. There was an even coat of dust on the car and the windows that hadn’t been covered, so it definitely hadn’t been driven in a while.

London pulled out his knife and punctured the tires on the passenger’s side. “I wanna make sure it doesn’t disappear too quick,” he said.

Casper made his way to the front of the car. “Yeah, this has to be it.”

I walked around to the front of the vehicle and saw the broken headlight and the crushed front bumper. Casper took more photos and stepped back, dialing a number.

“Colson.”

“Hey, it’s Casper. In an hour, call in an anonymous tip that the car that hit Mathis is in the Spires Tower parking garage on the ground level. There’s hair in the broken glass that I’d bet turns out to be Mathis’s. I’ll run the VIN number and see who it’s registered to. I don’t want to disturb it.”

My stomach dropped at hearing those words. I wanted to pick up the trash can by the elevator and beat the car to scrap metal, but it was better for the police to go over it and confirm it was the vehicle that ran down my friend.

After Casper had his pictures, the three of us hurried back to the elevators, and I pushed in the code to summon the box. We stood on each side of the doors and waited to see if anyone was coming off, which thankfully, nobody did.

We kept our heads down as London punched the button for the thirty-second floor, and we rode silently as the Muzak played a Donna Summer song. I noticed London was tapping his leg in time with the beat, and I chuckled.

When we got off, I leaned closer. “When this mess is over with, I’ll take you dancing, I swear.”

Casper laughed and turned on the jammer as we made our way to the door. Another security code, and we were inside. Casper put the jammer on a table in the hallway, and the three of us cleared the apartment.

Once we determined we were alone, I led the way to the room where The Gambler’s system was set up, and Casper got busy.

I turned to London. “I’m sorry I was such a dick about Dr. Ryan. I do trust you and I’d never cheat on you.”

His face turned sullen. “Please believe me when I say I will use every resource at my disposal to see that you get a chance at a wonderful life. You broke the rules because you love your sister and wanted to find her, not because you were on a drunken binge and couldn’t make it back to base. The rest of that shit wasn’t your fault, and I will do everything I can to make it up to you for the rest of our lives.”

Casper cleared his throat loudly to interrupt us. “I’m in. Give me something to look for.”

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