Noble Intentions: Episode 1
L.T. Ryan
Noble Intentions: Episode 1
L. T. RYAN
https://LTRYAN.com
@LTRyanWrites
PUBLISHED BY:
Copyright © 2012
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.
1
“Momma!” the little girl called out in a frightened voice.
Jack Noble looked over and saw her standing alone. She looked to be eight or nine years old. He watched people walk by the crying child paying no attention to her. His first thought was to ignore her like the faceless others who didn’t notice or care that a little girl was standing in the middle of the sidewalk alone and lost.
“Momma? Where are you?” she said through sobs.
Jack jogged over and knelt in front of the child. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Mandy.” She wiped tears away from her big blue eyes. “Can you help me?”
Jack looked around at the crowded street and then at his watch. The old man would be there soon. The instructions were explicit; he had to be at the corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue at 9:30 am. The old man did not like it when people were late.
Jack looked at the little girl. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to talk to strangers?”
She stared back at him.
“C’mon Mandy.” He hoisted her onto his shoulders. “Can you see her?”
Mandy looked up and down the street. “No. I don’t see her nowhere.”
“How long have you been lost?”
“I dunno. A long time.” Her crying had stopped.
Jack turned in a tight circle so Mandy could scout the crowd.
“I can’t see her mister.”
Jack pulled her down from his shoulder and held her against his chest. “Where do you live?”
“23423 52nd Street, Apartment D,” she rattled the address off so fast, like a robot, and he knew the address had been drilled into her by her mother or father.
“Do you know your mommy’s cell phone number?”
As quickly as she offered up her address, the little girl gave him her mother’s cell phone number.
Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialed the number and waited for it to ring.
“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected. Please check the number and try again,” a recorded operator told him.
He dialed again, but the same message played.
“Shit!”
“Oh, you said a bad word,” Mandy said.
He smiled at the girl, but his smiled turned into a look of concern when he saw the white Mercedes getting closer. The old man was here, 9:30 a.m. on the dot. He looked around to see if anyone recognized the little girl. People walked by, eyes ahead staring off into the distance like zombies. It was always the same in every big city he visited, everyone walked around with blank stares, looking straight ahead. They couldn’t give two shits about you or your problems.
The Mercedes pulled up to the curb, the rear window rolled down. An old Asian man peered at him through thin glasses. “Hello, Mr. Jack.”
Jack nodded back at the man.
“Do you have the documents with you?”
Jack held up the briefcase for the old man to see. “Right here.”
“Is today bring your child to work day?”
“Condescending much?” Jack continued to look around for someone, anyone, who recognized Mandy. “I need you to give me a couple minutes here.”
“There are no minutes to give, Mr. Jack. Our agreement was 9:30 a.m. It is now 9:30 a.m.”
“Just give me a minute. She’s lost. I need to find a safe place for her.”
“I can assure you my car is the safest place for her.” His sly, yellow smile was enough to put Jack on alert.
“Just give me a minute,” Jack said. He knew the old man didn’t give a rat’s ass about the little girl. He would drive five minutes out of the city and drop her on the curb, if he didn’t kill her first.
“You have 30 seconds, Mr. Jack. Fail to return in 30 seconds and… well, I don’t have to tell you what’s to come. Do I?”
“No. I’m well aware of that.” In ten years he had done at least two dozen jobs for the old man. Jack knew the only reason the crime boss continued to give him assignments was because Jack didn’t screw up. He didn’t attract attention and he most definitely didn’t tell the old man to wait.
“You are wasting time, Mr. Jack.”
Jack took off down the sidewalk. He recalled seeing a police officer stationed a block away. Dealing with a cop wasn’t ideal, there was always a risk that Jack’s face was plastered on a wanted poster somewhere. But if he wanted Mandy in a safe place, there was no other choice.
“Officer!” Jack yelled.
The police officer turned to face Jack with a look of indifference smeared across his face.
“Officer, this little girl is lost. I need you to take her. She knows her address and her mom’s cell phone.” Jack pushed the little girl towards the cop. She turned and reached back for Jack, apparently not wanting to leave his side.
“Whoa, whoa, wait,” the policeman said. He held out his hand and shook it in Jack’s face. “What the hell is going on here? You can’t just dump a kid on me.”
“I know how it looks, officer, but she’s in danger. Just take her back to the precinct until her mother shows up.”
The cop eyed Jack’s six foot two inch frame up and down. Jack got the feeling the cop didn’t care too much for him. He watched the policeman’s eyes stop at the handcuffs attached to his left wrist. They widened when the cop realized the other end was attached to a briefcase. The cop backed up. “What the hell is attached to your wrist?”
Jack checked to see how many people were around. It was crowded. He was in New York for Christ’s sake, of course it was crowded. He preferred not to make a scene with this many people nearby, but he didn’t have much choice. He looked back at the cop. The pudgy officer had his hand on his gun. Jack knew at that moment he had no other choice.
Jack slowly raised his left hand and distracted the officer by pushing Mandy toward him. The moment the cop looked down at the little girl, Jack’s window opened. He reached into his pocket for a stun grenade, or flashbang as he called it. In one fluid motion he threw the flashbang at the cop’s feet, pulled Mandy back, and turned so he wouldn’t be blinded by the light.
The cop didn’t have time to react. BOOM! The flashbang exploded with a burst of bright light that instantly blinded anyone who saw it. The explosion was loud enough to disrupt the fluid in the inner ear, disrupting all sense of balance and direction. The office fell back and hit his head on the sidewalk. Hours later neither the cop nor any of the bystanders would be able to describe Jack. The only thing the cop remembered was the briefcase.
Jack lifted Mandy in a fireman’s carry and ran. He scoured the street for the Mercedes, but it was gone. It looked like the old man hung him out to dry. Again.
“Fuck him!” Jack said.
Mandy giggled.
“You think this is funny?”
She stopped laughing and pushed with her hands to get off of his shoulder. Jack tightened his grip as he looked for the Mercedes. He spotted it parked a block and a half away. He was almost out of breath when he finally reached the car.
“Mr. Jack,” said the old man, “I would have thought that someone in your line of work would be in better shape.”
“Damn cigarettes,” Jack said.
“You know those will kill you.” The old man reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a Marlboro, lit it with a wooden match, and threw the match out the window toward Jack.
“When?” Jack asked in a sarcastic tone. He set the girl down and ran his hand through his brown hair. “Let us in,” he said, “we’ll get this sorted out on the way.”
“Mr. Jack, you are late. Not only that, you have attracted the attention of the police. This meeting has been compromised.” He rolled up the window and the Mercedes pulled away.
“Wait!” Jack said. “Let us in. I’ve got what you want right here.”
The Mercedes stopped and the old man stuck his head out the window, looking back at him. “Another time, Mr. Jack.” The old man paused and lowered his sunglasses so Jack could look at his cataract covered eyes. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
The Mercedes sped away and Jack heard the sounds of sirens approaching. The cops would be here soon. He had to get moving or it would only be a matter of seconds before they found him.
“It’s time for plan B, Mandy.” He lifted her back onto his shoulder.
“What’s plan B, Mr. Jack?”
“I’ll let you know as soon as I do, sweetheart.”
Jack jogged half a block and ducked into an alley. He pulled out a map of the area that was marked with the locations of places he considered safe houses. Over the last decade he had performed enough favors he could always call one in when in a tough situation.
Clarissa’s apartment was on a block away. She was a friend. Truth be told, she was more than a friend. There were two people Jack trusted with his life and Clarissa was one of them. She would hide him for the night, no questions asked. He might even be able to pawn Mandy off on her. He looked at the little girl and laughed at the thought of Clarissa taking care of a kid.
“What’s so funny?”
“Other than your face?”
“Hey! That’s not nice!” Mandy stuck out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout.
Jack laughed. “I’m teasing sweetie. Only teasing.”
They hid out in the alley until dark. Clarissa’s apartment wasn’t far away, but he didn’t want to risk the cops spotting them. He didn’t want to kill a cop in front of Mandy. He might be a killer, but he did have some morals.
