“Yup,” Cody said.
Hearing his brother murmur a few words, Zane watched as Cody disappeared. “You know, thatispretty cool.”
“It comes in handy,” Cody said, his voice the only evidence that he was sitting next to Zane.
“Okay, showtime. Zane, get out, drop something, and while you’re bending down to get it, Cody will climb out. Once he’s safely outside, he will touch your arm to let you know it’s okay to shut the door. When you return, reverse the process. Any questions?”
“Nope,” Zane replied, grabbing the door handle.
“One other thing,” Cody said, “remember to give me time to get through any doors before you shut them.”
“Will do. Touch me once you’re okay,” Zane said, and after hearing an affirmative from his brother, opened the car door and slid out. Moving slightly away from the car, he bent over, appearing to retie his shoelace and when he felt his brother tap him, rose and shut the car door. Walking over to the office door, Zane opened it and paused a moment for his brother to go in before following him.
Smiling at the girl behind the counter, Zane announced himself and after getting directions to the owner’s office, walked down a long hallway until he reached a door at the end of it. After knocking, he heard a gruff voice summoning him in. Opening the door, Zane entered, moving aside until receiving Cody’s tap, after which he shut the door.
“Mr. Vaschel, I’m Zane Blackwood. Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice.”
“Have a seat,” Vaschel said, waving a hand toward the chair in front of his desk. “What can I do for you? You said you needed some information.”
“Ahh…yeah...I mean, yes, I do. I believe the person who attacked your driver and stole your cab has also kidnapped a friend.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Vaschel said, “my driver told the police he doesn’t remember what the guy who hit him looked like.”
“That’s okay…well, not really okay, but that isn’t the information I need.”
“Then, what?”
“I’d like to access the GPS tracker to find out where the cab went after your driver was attacked. If I’m right, it’ll give me an address where I can find my friend,” Zane said, holding his breath as he waited to see if his request would be granted.
Chapter 13
Vaschel looked at Zane for what seemed to be an eternity before nodding his head.
Exhaling quietly, Zane said, “Thank you very much, Mr. Vaschel, it will only take me a few minutes.”
“Remember, I want to know if you find out who beat up my driver and stole my cab.”
“Absolutely. Hopefully if we find our friend, she’ll be able to tell us who they are. If so, I promise, we’ll pass the information on to you.”
Nodding, Vaschel pressed a button on his intercom. “Sal, I gotta job for you.”
“Be right there, Mr. V.”
“Sal will take you to the cab that was stolen,” Vaschel said, just as his office door opened. “Good luck…I hope you find your friend.” Then glancing over to the man standing in the doorway, he said, “Sal, this here is Zane…take him over to Bobby’s cab. He has my permission to get the info from the GPS.”
“Sure thing, Mr. V,” Sal said, looking at Zane. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Rising, Zane extended his arm to Vaschel and shook his hand. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help.” Then turning to Sal, he said, “Let’s go.” Pausing for a moment until he felt Cody brush by him, Zane left the room, closing the door behind him. Relief flooded his body, chasing his nervousness out.I did it…I fucking did it!
~/~/~/~/~
“We’re on the final approach, Mr. Thatcher,” Paul said, gathering up the dishes on the table.
“Oh, thanks Paul,” Glenn said, handing over his glass before closing his laptop and shoving it into his bag. “Thatwasfast.”
Paul grinned. “We aim to please.”
“Well, tell the pilot I sure do appreciate how fast we got here,” said Glenn, buckling his seat belt.
