Chapter 2 2

The subway car rattled, a rhythmic, metallic screech that vibrated through the soles of Christopher's dress shoes. He sat in the corner seat, his tuxedo jacket folded inside out on his lap to hide the satin lapels.

He was heading to Queens.

He got off at the Woodside station. The neighborhood was quiet, the streetlights humming with a sickly orange glow. He walked three blocks to a brick building that had seen better decades. The front door lock was broken; it had been broken for six months.

He climbed the four flights of stairs. The hallway smelled of boiled cabbage and floor wax.

Christopher unlocked apartment 4B.

It was a studio, barely larger than Hillary's walk-in closet. A single mattress on the floor, a folding table, and a laptop. The walls were peeling, the paint curling like dead skin.

He locked the door behind him and engaged the deadbolt. Then the chain. Then a heavy sliding bolt he had installed himself.

He tossed the tuxedo jacket onto the floor. He sat at the folding table and opened the laptop. The screen glowed blue, illuminating the sharp angles of his face.

He typed in a password. It was thirty-two characters long.

A banking interface appeared.

Account Balance: $5,000,000.00

Status: PENDING - 30 DAY HOLD (ESCROW)

Christopher stared at the red text. His jaw tightened. The contract completion bonus had appeared, but the Mitchell Family Trust had a standard audit period for large transfers. He couldn't touch a cent for a month.

He checked his checking account. Balance: $412.00.

He felt a cold knot form in his stomach. He had planned to be on a flight to Mexico City by 3:00 AM, but without the liquid cash, he was grounded. He couldn't disappear with four hundred dollars.

He closed the tab. He needed a bridge. He needed cash flow.

He stood up and walked to the closet. He reached under the floorboards in the corner and pulled out a battered duffel bag.

He unzipped it. Inside were five black t-shirts, three pairs of Levi's, a toothbrush, and a passport under the name Christopher Haney. Not the name on his birth certificate, but the name the state had given him.

He stripped off the tuxedo pants and the dress shirt. He stood naked in the dim room. His body was lean, corded with muscle that he usually hid under ill-fitting clothes. There were scars. A burn mark on his left shoulder. A jagged white line across his ribs.

He pulled on a pair of worn jeans and a black t-shirt. The cotton felt rough against his skin, grounding him.

He picked up a framed photo that was face-down on the table. He turned it over. It was a grainy picture of a group of kids in a concrete yard. St. Jude's Home for Boys. He found his own face in the back row-hollow cheeks, black eyes.

He stared at it for three seconds. Then he put it face-down again.

His flip phone buzzed on the table.

He picked it up.

Reminder: Client B. 08:00 AM. Campus.

Christopher closed his eyes and exhaled, a long, jagged breath. He had been greedy. He had taken two contracts. Brielle Harris. The contract had three months left. The payout was smaller than the Mitchells', but it was paid weekly. It was his only lifeline now.

"Three months," he whispered to the empty room. "I just have to survive three months."

He walked to the small kitchenette. He opened the fridge. It contained a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a jar of mustard. He cracked a beer open. The aluminum tab made a sharp pop.

He took a sip. The cheap beer tasted like metal and water. It was perfect.

A siren wailed outside. Christopher's hand froze. He reached up and switched off the desk lamp. The room plunged into darkness.

He moved to the window, pressing his body flat against the wall. He peeked through the slit in the blinds.

A police cruiser sped past, lights flashing. Just a routine patrol.

He let his muscles relax. He took another sip of beer.

Then he heard it.

Heavy footsteps in the hallway. Not the shuffling of his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Kowalski. These were boots. Heavy, tactical boots.

They stopped outside his door.

Christopher set the beer down on the floor. Silent.

The doorknob jiggled. Then, the distinct sound of a key sliding into the lock.

They have a key.

Christopher scanned the room. The fire escape window was stuck; it would take too much noise to force it open. The only exit was the door.

The lock clicked. The deadbolt turned.

The door didn't open immediately. The chain held it.

"Mr. Haney," a deep voice boomed from the hallway. "Open the door."

It was Bruno. The head of security for the Mitchell estate.

Christopher's mind raced. He could take Bruno. He knew where the man's center of gravity was. A strike to the throat, a sweep of the leg. But Bruno wouldn't be alone. There would be two more on the stairs.

If he fought, he would be arrested. If he was arrested, his fake identities would be scrutinized. The Harris contract would blow up. And with the Mitchell money frozen, he couldn't afford a lawyer.

He had to play the role.

Christopher slumped his shoulders. He messed up his hair to look like he had been sleeping. He unlocked the chain and the sliding bolt.

He opened the door.

Bruno stood there, filling the frame. He was wearing a black tactical vest over a suit. Behind him were two other men, hands resting near their waists.

"Bruno?" Christopher asked, his voice pitching up into a tremble. "What... what are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Bruno stepped into the apartment, forcing Christopher back. He looked around the squalid room with a sneer.

"You have a tracker in your molar, kid. Just kidding. It was in your shoe heel. But you changed shoes." Bruno kicked the tuxedo shoes near the door. "Careless."

"I... I quit," Christopher stammered. "The contract is over."

Bruno shook his head. "Mrs. Mitchell doesn't accept your resignation."

"But the time..."

"She wants to see you." Bruno grabbed Christopher's upper arm. His grip was like a vice.

Christopher let himself be grabbed. He let his body go limp, acting paralyzed by fear. Internally, he was calculating the distance to the door, the weight of the men, the angles.

"Please," Christopher whined. "I just want to sleep."

"You can sleep in the car."

Bruno shoved him toward the hallway. Christopher stumbled, catching himself on the doorframe. He looked back at his laptop, at the duffel bag.

"Leave it," Bruno said.

Christopher was marched out of his apartment, down the stairs, and into the Queens night. He was a prisoner again.