CHAPTER 15
The blood was thick and cumberson , like that of black finger paint. It resembled the color of dark charcoal before its set ablaze. The pictures that ran through her mind were like steel frames, in a black and white Charley Chaplin film.
The plasma slowly dripped until it began running down her body like measuring tape. It dripped from her pelvis to the edge of the heal of her feet. When it stopped, the fluid formed a bubble before sliding onto the cold hard wood floor.
Her frail fingers felt numb as she rubbed them against her thighs. Looking around she could no longer see the phantoms that chased her on the wall. Looking down she saw they were there but very still, not like before, but still like clay figures.
Screaming, screaming, was the noise that she heard.
Blinking she couldn't tell if the sounds were coming from her or someone else.
Then the smell of smoke and burning flesh consumed her lungs, enclosing upon her until she could breath no longer. Rising, from the cotton cloth pillow she could feel her body was drenched In perspiration.
"Help me...Help me!" she whispered hyperventilating trying to catch her breath from who or whatever had taken it in her dream.
The red neon clock glowed in the darkness.
The persistent buzzing continued, causing her to blink her eyes until she could focus. No silent mutilated bodies were lying on the floor, no blood, just her bleak hotel surrounding came into view.
A thought flew though her mind as she pushed the pillow away from her clammy skin.
"I couldn't breath this time! Is the dream getting better or worse?" She whispered
Rolling over she quickly picked up the receiver from the base.
The numbers she dialed belonged to Dr. Manners.
Hesitating before she dialed the last two numbers, she drop the line.
Taking short panting gaps of air through her lungs she attempted to gather her composer.
Her narrow shaped eyes enclosed on the clock. The time gleamed in the darkness of the room it beaming back 4:11am.
"Shit!" she yelled loudly as she jumped from the bed letting her flat feet pounce down on the multi-colored Berber carpet. She sprung from the bed and quickly into the shower unable to wait for liquid to totally dispense hot water so she settled with a lukewarm sprinkle.
Dain Lawson had dropped her off hours ago. Thankfully the New Years Eve party had come quickly and was a blast.
The Club made lots of money and she'd worked so hard not to appear suspicious, that she'd actually exhausted herself. Working as if she actually planned to be a valued employee and colleague of Dain Lawson.
In fact she'd come in and had fallen asleep when she'd only meant to simply doze off. The plan was to rest until she was sure the lot was clear of all the late night club cozier had crept off the lot and to another decrepit water hole.
This time her strategy was to focus on the club after hours. She'd practice over last several weeks, locking and unlocking the same with precise measure.
Detroit's party scene came to a close much sooner then the other cities she'd visited.
Two o clock was when the city of Detroit's fat lady yawned her nasty little jaws and forced it's inhabitants into its Casinos or Alley way after-hour juke joints.
Mimi wanted to make certain there wouldn't be any night crawlers there to be an eye witness to the calamity she'd calibrated. Judging from the accuracy of her plans, there wouldn't be any on lookers.
After her intense sprinkle, she dried of and walked to the night stand.
Shaking the pill bottle she downed two of her pills with the metal tasting faucet water.
Frowning at the brass tang in the liquid Mimi put her hand to her head as if she were having a fierce headache. Instantly after a couple of seconds her hand fell from her head and she stood up with a solider like stance.
She opened the curtains to reveal the dark sky among the half lit Horizon, thoughts clouded her mind as thick as the snow below.
It was fierce temperatures in the City of Detroit tonight, No wind blew, just a stiff cold chill and over eight inches of of beautiful white flakes.
Mimi heard Dottie Nickerson's voice chattering on in her head, as if it were yesterday.
"The money is always locked in the safe, when it's a large amount.
Dain never attempts to carry that type of loot out at night. He's got every security measure I can think of...like the three alarms, one in the safe and one upstairs, then another that has to be unarmed in thirty seconds on the lower level, he's brilliant.
Hah...I've seen him literally run down the stairs to the second alarm, no one would no that, but an insider like me, and I am dam well not going to steal from anybody let a alone a Lawson. Who in there right mind would?"
Patting her face with a damp white hotel cloth she made her own reply to the words Dottie once spoke. "I will rob a Lawson....Dottie don't you worry your little fat head over that."
The words fell slumberly as she recited them letting out that far away grin from her robotics body that appeared to be transporting her by some inner willed or self programmed remote located deep inside of her.
Sliding on her sleek black gloves first then her cat suit that appeared to be more for deep sea diving then everyday walking around attire.
Lastly the boots that were made of a thin Vortex material.
Afterwards, she put on a dark trench coat and wool brim Hat, over the scull cap, in order to allude suspicion. A thought of the passionate kiss she'd shared with Dain in his office just two hours earlier stopped her at the entrance of her door however she forced it away and open the hotel door.
Standing in the doorway she had one last conviction.
"It could never be Mimi ...It could never have been."
Taking a quick overview of the room she'd wiped clean. The packed suit case bulging at the zippers as she made her final departure.
Once out of the room, she walked down the pale pink wall papered corridor to the elevators.
Pushing the B button for basement level, she held the case tight.
The bell rung snapping her attention back to the present.
Exiting the elevator she walked back towards the dark noisy incinerator.
After tossing the suit case she smiled a cold descending grin and whispered.
"Good-bye MiMi Sutherland."
Thirty minutes later she was standing in the dark alley of The Motor City Bar & Lounge. Swiftly observing the surroundings with her finger on the trigger of a street purchased twenty five hand gun with a silencer, just in case there was trouble.
Instead of the wool brim and trench, she now wore the matching Vortex jacket to the black mountaineer boats and the black scull cap. The back door to the kitchen was easy to jimmy, just as she had anticipated. With a eager stride she moved to the first alarm knowing she had twenty seconds, then down the steps to the second in fifteen seconds although she had a countdown to thirty to reach it. Unlocking the door with her key she continued to move with the ease of a black cat. Erasing the present nights surveillance tapes, she checked for any duplicate copies that may have existed. Once she was sure no tapes remained from prior Night club nights, she set eyeing the floor safe and let out an exhausted breath.
A voice in her head edged her own.
"Don't stop to breath now. There isn't time, you've got to get out of here, hurry."
Looking at her watch she suddenly felt an attack of panic as she her eyes fell upon Dain Lawson's picture above the safe.
"Fuck him Marilyn, move! She said scolding herself. Her hands shook as she turned the safe to each number scrupulously.
Then quickly opening it she pulled a tool from the bag and unscrewed the back.
The camera was there just as Dottie had bragged, that she watch them put in.
Smashing the inside of the lens with the crow bar and pulling the wires she eyed the cash. Starring at the bundles she'd help count just hours before. Tediously she grabbed each stack and placed it in her bag. Despising the fact Dain kissed Mimi and tried to seduce her she took all of the money.
"Put some of it back. She heard a voice say "You've never taken it all before...well...?
(She paused holding the last stack.)
"You have once...remember Ortiz? " She heard her voice utter loudly.
"Fuck you Mimi, you remember Ortiz, Jacqueline you remember Ortiz, I remember no one." she hissed bitterly.
Standing to her feet she kicked the safe door close. Threw one bundle of cash onto the floor of the office and reset the alarms.
Crossing the street dashing under the People Mover tracks she stood back a ways from the street lamp cuddling in a dark corner, awaiting a cab she'd telephoned ahead to meet her. Looking down at her watch she noticed the cabby was late. It was 5:15 am and it was suppose to have pulled up at 5:10 am.
A street peddler walked by her, realizing someone was there in the corner he double back.
"Hey you got...?"
Pulling her gun from her coat she waived for him to move along, he didn't move.
In back of the man she spotted the yellow cab approaching.
Marilyn raised her hand to hale down the taxi. The peddler froze, unsure of what she was doing. His fear subsided as the taxi pulled to the curb, opening the door she hissed after him.
" Guess you were saved by the bell buddy." Throwing a ten dollar bill into the snow she motion for the cab driver to move on.
The drivers hair was badly tangled and matted. She stared at him ever so carefully rolling her eyes in disgust of the smell of his nappy unwashed dread head smell that flowed throughout the car. The driver turned half way to speak to her.
"Hey Mam, are you my Five fifteen? Because..."
"No, I'm your five ten, please step on it I have a plane to catch at 6:15."
The man shock his noggin and headed for the expressway.
"So...where you going must be warm you don't have much luggage?"
"If you don't mind I'd rather not talk. I I just had a death in the family and I'm in mourning." She murmured in a dejected tone.
Entering the airport looking like a hoodlum she shortly emerged from the bathroom stall as a Canadian member of the Montreal Press with a name tag that read Margie Dames.
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