Free Deadrock by Jill Sardegna Page B

pounds!"
    "You're a
liar, Bird!"
    "Well, I'll
admit it sounds like a lot of weight, but the mother swears-"
    "Not
that, you dizbecile! You lied when you said you've been gone forty-five
minutes! I've been here waiting for you for over two hours!"
    "Max. I'm
surprised at you. I thought we agreed on mutual trust. You know, since you said
you'd just been back a half-hour, that makes you a liar, too."
    "We're
talking about you – not me! Where have you been all this time?"
    "Like I
told you. I followed Ted, then when I saw that he was
going in the building I decided to get some lunch. Took forty-five minutes. Maybe a bit longer. By law I could've taken an hour but-"
    "It doesn't
add up, Bird. As my Grandma would say, I smell a rat!"
    "It's
probably Big Red there, said Bird, pointing to the dusty suspended rat. "I
think he's getting a bit fusty."
    Max looked
into the big, innocent, braid-framed face. This guy is good, he thought. He
lies to my face without any hesitation. "I'm watching you, Bird. If I find
out you've been gambling when you should be working-"
    "Speaking
of working, Max, I think I need to get back on the trail," said Bird, glimpsing
something over the cubicle wall and bounding out of the opening.
    "Bird!
Hold on! Don't try to run out!" Max called and ran to catch up with his
partner. "I'm in charge!"

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter
13

 
    At the
doorway, Bird screeched to a halt and Max, unable to stop, rammed into his
broad back. "Gotta give Ted time to get a little ahead," whispered
Bird. The two watched as Ted, briefcase and clipboard in hand, took a last look
at the shipping list, shook his head, and went out through the etched glass
doors.
    They counted
to ten, sprinted out the doors, down the stairs, and bumped into two thugs
entering the building. Like a pair of massive granite bookends, the bruisers
blocked their way.
    "Presnell?"
the one with half an ear demanded in a Russian accent.
    "Rhoades?"
the one with the flattened nose barked.
    "Look-For-A-Bird,"
said Bird.
    "Where?
Where?" The two ducked and looked skyward as Max and Bird hurried to catch
up with Ted.
    "Who were
those gorillas?" asked Max.
    "Probably
friends of Powers and Ted," said Bird, slinking around the corner.
    "Friends
who don't know them by sight? Maybe they're paid assassins after Ted!"
    "They
asked for Powers, too, Max."
    "Hmmm. Maybe
the two partners are in trouble with the mob. They looked like mob goons!"
    "Look
around you! Everybody in the twenty-first century looks like a goon," said
Bird, pointing to a man with a brain tattooed on his bald
head . "Hey, there goes Ted!"
    They followed
him toward the subway stairs where Bird held back to allow some of the late
afternoon commuters to fill in between them. He craned his neck to keep Ted in
sight.
    A woman in a pretzel
costume parked her hot pretzel cart next to the subway stairs and called out, "Hot
pretzels, a buck-fifty! Pretzels!" The yeasty aroma filled Max's nose and
tugged at his stomach.
    He rummaged in
his pockets, pulled out a one-dollar bill and flipped through the pile of coins
in his palm. Fifty cents, fifty cents – that's two
quarters, right? Gnartz! I only have eight dimes and a bunch of pennies!
I hate dealing with money!
    "Come on,"
said Bird, Max followed him down the steep, dark stairs. The smell of urine and
sweat wafted upward and made him feel a bit better about having to give up the
pretzel.
    Max lost both
Bird and Ted in the moment it took for his eyes to adjust from bright sunlight
to the underground gloom. People swirled around him, busy to get to their
trains, impatient with him to move out of their way. Don't panic, Max, you'll
find them, don't panic, he told himself.
    "Psssttt!
Max, over here!" Bird peeked out from behind a concrete pillar and pulled
the boy to cover.
    "Sorry to
lose you, Max. Hope I didn't scare you."
    "Scared?
Get genuine, Bird!" Max scoffed, taking a deep breath to still his racing
heart. He pulled the Mets cap from his back