Chapter Thirty Nine:
Music poured out from an old factory, cars lining the streets. Malcolm parked quickly and threw open the doors, "Do I need to go over the plans?"
Theodora shook her head, "No. I remember."
She was to go the other side of the building, by a fire escape where he would lead Axel out, and with him the killer. He wanted her out of sight, to make sure if anything went wrong she was there to step in. They even stopped at her apartment on the way over, that way Theodora could collect her father's old gun. She kept it locked up and safely away in a closet she never used. With it was all of her father's other stuff she couldn't bear to throw away. She wasn't expecting to rummage through it as soon as she did, for the reasons she did.
They were walking up to the main entrance, "You have everything?"
"Yes." She pursed her lips, "But it's not like I'm gonna use it. Oh, wait a second." Theodora shrugged his coat off, handing it to him. "I should've taken it off in the car but here you go."
Malcolm stared at it, than tossed it aside. Theodora glared at him, "I wish I had that much money to be doing shit like that."
He rolled her eyes, "Go."
She did, turning and making her way beside the building. A white tarp acted as a makeshift ceiling, with crates and other things scattered along the building. Glass lined walls covered the other side, with one open exit which she had just entered through. The stairs Malcolm had talked about were a littler farther back, so she found a few large crates and wedged herself between them. She could see most of the area in front of her through a gap between brackets. She slipped the gun from her pocket, which she was aware was not a good place for it but was improvising. Theodora held it tightly in her hands, staring down at it.
Fletcher had been engraved in the handle, she remembered when her dad arrived home one day ecstatic. "Nobody can steal it anymore. My name's engraved in it! Adam ain't gonna be happy." He had told her, a goofy smile on his face.
Theodora sighed, focusing her attention back out between crates, waiting. She wondered where Malcolm was inside, if he had tracked down Axel or was still looking for him. Or if the plan had gone horribly wrong and one of his entourage had found him instead.
A door opened, and her attention flew to the metal door atop of the stairway. But instead of Malcolm or Axel trampling down the steps it was Joey, Axel's security guard.
Theodora's eyes widened as she ducked down, the top crate wiggled a bit and she held her breath. It was windy, that could've been the wind and not her.
"He's with Axel." A voice called out, "And I watched you walk in here minutes ago."
Theodora remained silent, holding her breath. "Get out from behind those. Don't embarrass yourself."
She sighed, dragging herself out. She tucked the gun back into her large front pocket, watching the other man across from her. He had a gun pointing at her as he laughed, "I don't know why you two bother."
Theodora shrugged, "We get bored."
He motioned towards him, "Walk closer."
"I'd rather not. Thanks, though. For the offer... I mean."
He huffed rushing forward, Theodora jumped back away from his grasp but he grabbed ahold of her hair and yanked her into him. A hand wrapped around her neck, a coldness pressed against her head.
"You're both cocky."
"Yes, well, we do spend a lot of time together."
He threw her around as he rushed them off towards the building, down steps that she hadn't seen. A door opened again, this time two sets of footsteps came down the steps. Theodora heard Malcolm's voice first, "You know they were dangerous, but you didn't realize how far they'd go. Then you saw the blue bath and you knew. Who is it?"
"That's my family you're talking about."
"I understand. A lot more than you know but what happens next time? What are you gonna do next time? Protect them? They're family right? You can still be afraid of family."
"He knows my every move."
There was silence, than Malcolm "We can't stay here. I can call for help—"
"Ax?" Joey's voice boomed, Theodora cringed as the volume that close to her ear. "You okay?"
She was lifted up, then shoved forward. Malcolm's eyes widened, surprised flickering within them.
"This wasn't apart of the plan." She said, "I'm terrible at my job."
"Shut it." Joey hissed.
Malcolm coughed, "I didn't realize you were smart enough for an ambush like this."
"Axel's got nothing to worry about." Joey grumbled. The grip on her neck loosened suddenly, than she felt the pressure in her pocket lift. He had her father's gun in his hand, examining it. "Fletcher. Huh, is that you're name?" The contact against her head disappeared, then she watched it get pointed at Malcolm. Theodora snuck a glance at Joey, who was now pointing her father's gun at her. "I take care of problems. Just like how I'm gonna take care of both of you. Now move."
Malcolm only smiled, making Joey tense. Theodora clicked her tongue, "Mal, remember when this happened the first case we worked with the NYPD. With the bald one? Yeah, well, I do know."
"What are you doing?" Joey ignored her, eyes burning into Malcolm's.
"Every stalker, they all a subtype that have one thing in common. They can't stand to loose track of their obsession."
Theodora's lips quirked up, "He made a bet."
"What?"
"I told them I could lure you out in five minutes." He checked his watch, "It took six."
"Them?"
"Yup. Them." Theodora nodded, "You know them, don't you?"
Footsteps sounded, then Gil's voice shouted "You're under arrest! Put the gun down now! We got Axel inside."
Joey dropped the gun pointed at Malcolm, but didn't budge with her. He leaned close to her ear, "Woman aren't supposed to walk out late at night."
Her brows furrowed, than she saw the silver chain dangling from his wrist. "You followed me?" She said loudly, catching everyone's attention.
"Drop the gun, Joey." Malcolm raised his own voice, "Don't make this worse."
Theodora sighed, "Kill me, Joey. Go ahead. It will achieve nothing and you're already going to prison for life— probably, I mean, I don't really know for sure. But I could use a break."
He laughed, "It wasn't me." His voice lowered, just for her to hear. "But whoever it was, you should be a lot more scared of him."
He pushed her away, and she stumbled forward spinning to face him as he tossed the gun aside. "You would've looked good in that blue bath."
JT was on him in seconds, and so was Malcolm with her. "What was he whispering to you?"
"Nothing."
He glared, "He followed you?"
"Yeah. It was him, I'm pretty sure." She looked back at him, it wasn't me. You should be a lot more scared of him. What did that mean? "It's over with now. Don't worry about it."
"Theo."
"Malcolm." She looked up at him, "It's done."
His mouth formed a straight line, but he nodded slowly. Theodora took a deep breath and gazed around, spotting her father's gun near the far glass wall. She walked over and scooped it up, using the bottom of her dress to clean it off.
"Not scratched?"
She looked up at Malcolm, "Nope."
He itched his chest, she raised a brow. "You want the microphone off?"
He nodded, unbuttoning his dress shirt and holding it open, Theodora reached for the tape when he jumped back. "Woah! Cold hands. Why are you're hand so cold?"
Theodora snorted, "The tapes on nice and tight, is it?"
"Um, yeah."
She smiled, grabbing ahold of it and ripping it off. He made a face, "Ouch."
"Good." She gave him a nod, handing him the wire before brushing past him. "Tough guy."