Chords, Cars, and Cons

Chapter Two: Old Friends, Old Legends, and Old Enemies

Chapter Two:

Old Friends, Old Legends, and Old Enemies

________

Summer's Island, Lake Huron, Michigan

3 weeks and 5 days until Due Date

________

John walked out of the front gates and waved to the guards as they watched him leave. Of all the ways he had imagined escaping prison, it had never occurred to him to walk out the front door. 

It wasn't hard to find Mandy. She was leaning against a silver car that John recognized instantly. It was a Porsche. More specifically, it was a 918 Spyder. John was more into guitars than cars, but he was in the habit of recognizing valuable things. 

He approached, and Mandy opened the driver's side door and slipped in. John got in the passenger side, warily strapping himself in. He still didn't know what this girl wanted from him.  

No, actually, when he thought about it, that question was easy. She wanted him to steal something. Now, whatever the something was that she wanted him to steal, that was a much more important question. 

They were on the highway before anyone spoke. John glanced sidelong at the speedometer. "Isn't the speed-limit seventy?" he asked casually. 

Mandy shrugged. "It's only thirty over." 

"Only thirty." John nodded and tugged at his seatbelt, "Right." 

"Two million," Mandy said out of the blue. 

"What?" asked John, glancing over at her. 

"Two million," she repeated. "I'm paying you two million for this job." 

"What is the job? What's the piece?" asked John. He didn't like this. This strange girl and her mysterious job stank of something, he just wasn't sure what. 

Mandy pulled in a deep breath and let it out. "All you need to know is that I made a mistake. I got caught. I'm making up for it. There's no commission. I'm not making any money off of this." She patted the dashboard and faked a smile. "I don't really need it." 

"What's the piece?" John asked again, not stopping until he got an answer. He didn't care if the Porsche was approaching a hundred ten miles an hour, he'd jump out of this car in a heartbeat. 

"Wait until we get where we're going," said Mandy. "Then I'll tell you." 

More secrecy, more waiting, and John really didn't like this. What on earth could possibly be this valuable? And why did this girl want him to steal it?

They drove for a long time. John didn't say a word as they crossed into Michigan. He stayed silent as they drove over the Mackinac Bridge and into the Upper Peninsula. He didn't speak as Mandy drove the Porsche onto a ferry that docked at Drummond Island. 

"This is remote," said John at last. 

Mandy laughed tonelessly. "Remote? You haven't seen anything yet." 

They arrived in a small parking lot with a barbed-wire fence surrounding it. Every three feet there was a bright yellow 'no trespassing' sign. Mandy stuck a parking pass to the windshield and hopped out of the car. 

"Tony should be here in a couple minutes," she said.  

Then they walked across the parking lot and mounted a set of stairs. John shook his head wordlessly. "A helicopter pad," he said. "You're kidding me."