Chapter XVII

ithin the time it took for William to drive up the coast for a meeting with 'Slayton,' Ron Phelps had tracked Danny to the old building by following Rhonda.  His gut feeling had paid off and now, he was standing inside the building unaware that Danny and Rhonda both were watching him via closed circuit infrared cameras.

Ron was forced to feel around in order to make his way in darkness, and Rhonda was high as a kite and very vulnerable to suggestion.  Danny had placed one of the little .380s in her hand and told her a man was going to kill them both for their money.  She would go down the stairs and confront him, distracting him long enough for Danny to come up behind him and render him unconscious.  Then they could take the money and elope.

Unbeknownst to Danny or Ron, Slayton had been tipped off that Danny was in the building and that a female had went in.  Soon after the young woman had arrived, another man arrived  He had parked away from the building and walked from the parking lot next door, then cautiously entered the building.  Slayton had men posted at each corner of the building and was to allow no one to come out.  Slayton donned a pair of night vision goggles used by the military and was almost instantly aware of the scene which was going down.

He only knew Danny, not the girl or the man she was gliding down the stairs to meet.  Danny had his own night vision goggles on but failed to notice Slayton standing on the side behind a cabinet.  Whatever was going to happen would go down within seconds.  Danny made his way to one side of the building to escape the line of fire.

When Ron was within ten feet of Rhonda, Danny yelled "He's got a gun Rhonda, SHOOT!"

The crack of the little .380 filled the warehouse as she emptied the magazine into the person who threatened her happy life with the sleazebag Danny.  Slayton could see hotspots of the warm liquid coming out of Ron's torso, watched as he slowly crumpled to the floor and lay still.  Rhonda had taken out another obstacle hindering Danny from escaping without being followed.

Rhonda just stood there not fully knowing what she had just done, nor, who the person was on the ground.  The eerie quietness was broken by the person on the ground as he expelled the last breath from his body.  Another shot sounded and Slayton watched as Rhonda crumpled to the floor.  Danny himself pulled the trigger this time to rid himself of what he considered a huge problem.

Slayton held his position and watched Danny move to the body of Ron Phelps and began going through his pockets.  He grabbed his car keys and stuck them, the mans wallet, and a 1911 from Ron's hand, into his pockets.  He didn't even pause when he walked by the body of Rhonda at the foot of the stairs.

"Man you are one cold dude" Slayton thought.  He knew he would have to do the world a favor and take Danny out.  Slayton was a business man.  Not a murderer.  He had men to do that job for him.  And they were outside with specific orders to not let anyone OUT of the building.  He'd mistakenly not thought about keeping others from entering the building.

Slayton listened while Danny rummaged around upstairs and heard what sounded as if he were pulling up floor boards.  Cautiously, a step at a time, making sure he always was behind a partition, a filing cabinet or something that would prevent his body heat from being detected by the infrared cameras, he edged closer to the staircase through which Danny would be forced to come.

Within ten minutes of packing what he was taking, which included the discs and the weapons, he started clumping down the stairs, still peering through the goggles.  He had scanned the room to the right, but saw a movement in his peripheral to the left.  The direction he would have to go in order to exit the building.

Acting as if he had not seen it, he stepped off the bottom step, then stepped over the body of Rhonda laying in a pool of dark stuff emanating from the hole in her chest, and took about three steps.  He had both hands completely engaged in the carrying of his meager belongings and a fortune and no way could he offer a quick response to anyone who would accost him.  He was very vulnerable at that moment.

The voice spoke out of the darkness.  "Hello Danny.  Quite a show you put on here tonight.  Who's your next mark?

© 2000 - 2025