Jennifer said, “Those two look completely out of place together.”
“I agree. This isn’t the bed-down, that’s for sure. If I were to guess, I betthat guy’s a fence or a pawnshop owner, and our thief is making a deal with him, using our laptop as proof of the goods.”
The waitress dropped off our drinks, and I glanced around at the money stapled everywhere, saying, “I wonder how many of these bills get stolen by patrons?”
Before she could answer, the Robin team came on the net, saying, “Pike, Pike, this is Veep, we’re in, and you were right. This place looks a little like a Goodwill store, with used stuff all over the place. Car stereos, cameras, laptops, jewelry, and luggage. It’s like the storage unit for thieves. You want us to initiate the call?”
I said, “We have jackpot here, but no bed-down. Phase Batman may take us the rest of the night. Go ahead and initiate Robin.”
He said, “Roger that.”
Jennifer touched my arm, and I focused on the table, seeing Hoody pass a key to Pawn, then open our laptop. He powered it up, said something, and Pawn smiled, nodding. Pawn closed the laptop and passed across a thick envelope. Hoody stuffed it in his pants, stood up, shook Pawn’s hand and left the bar, walking right by us without a second glance.
I called Knuckles, gave him an update, and said, “We’ll follow him to his vehicle, then pass a description and direction.”
Pawn drained his beer and rose to leave. He glanced around, then shoved the laptop into Hoody’s backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He exited right next to us as well, and I stuck much more money than was necessary under my untouched RC. I stood up, thinking,Waste of good rum...
I gave him a moment, calling Creed, “Which way is the laptop going? East or west?”
“West. Back towards East Bay Street.”
I flicked my head towards the door and we exited, falling in behind the target. He crossed over East Bay and kept going west. He reached a narrow alley and took a right, now going north, which confused me. There was no way there was a vehicle in the alley, as I could see iron posts preventing just that.
Jennifer said, “That’s Bloody Alley. It cuts back over to Cumberland Street. He’s probably headed to a parking garage, but avoiding the crowds.”
I said, “Bloody Alley? What the hell is that?”
We reached it, and she said, “Do you really live here?”
The alley was narrow, dark, and paved with cobblestones, cutting in between old buildings and church cemeteries. I could see a group of people walking towards us, flashlights bobbing, and our target weaving past them.
Ghost tour.
We entered, just a couple out on a date in the dead of night in an alley from the seventeenth century called “Bloody.”
We went by the tour, hearing the guide talk about the alley’s bloody pedigree. I was pretty sure he was just making shit up. We got on the far side of the group and I saw the target ahead of us, a lone man walking all by himself in a dark alley with no escape.
It clicked.
“Knuckles, Knuckles, where are you?”
“Cruising East Bay waiting on the call.”
“Come up Cumberland. Get to Bloody Alley and stop right at the entrance.”
He said, “Bloody Alley? Where the hell is that?”
Jennifer came on, saying, “It’s actually called Philadelphia Alley. It hits Cumberland just past State Street. You have to look for it, it’s tiny. Too small for a vehicle.”
He said, “Okay, then what? Is his car there or something?”
I glanced back at the ghost tour and saw them almost at the mouth of the alley, about to exit.Perfect.
I said, “No. Park the Jeep right there and put on your hazards. There’s a roadside emergency kit in the back of the Jeep. Pull out the flares and throw them into the alley. Make it look like some sort of hazard, like the exit is blocked. Force the target back to us.”
Jennifer snapped her head to me and I said, “Target’s met the in extremis assault criteria, but we can’t close the distance to him without himknowing we’re coming. I don’t want to get in a gunfight if he’s armed, especially since I don’t have a gun. I want you to make him turn around.”
Knuckles said, “Passing State Street. What if he keeps coming to me?”
