“I’m Batman,” Hollister answered.
“Now is hardly the time to argue but clearly I’m Batman and you are Robin.”
“Never gonna happen,” Hollister argued. Fun ended immediately when Hollister suddenly whispered, “Somebody’s coming. Now, Indi. What do we…”
Before Hollister could finish talking, Indi fell down and screamed as loud as he could, holding his neck with one hand and his knee with the other. “Help! Shit, fuck…I think I broke my back!”
Just as Hollister had predicted, a security guard came around the corner. Hollister yelled, “This man fell down your fucking stairs! There’s nothing up there letting anybody know. Yard and then drop off into this fucking pit. I’ve called 9-1-1. You need to go find somebody in charge of this shit hole. If anything happens to him, you’re fucked!”
Just as Hollister had hoped, the guy took off running instead of just using his phone or walkie talkie. They wouldn’t have long before he paused long enough to realize he could just call for help. He grabbed a small box from his back pocket and took out the utensil he would need for a lock this size. “Here Robin, hold this while I get us inside this building. We don’t have long before the idiot realizes he could just call for help.”
“I don’t care how fast you can unlock that chain, I’m Batman,” Indigo teased. The lock hit the concrete, mocking him. Hollister giggled with glee. “I’m still Batman.”
“Whatever you say, Boy Wonder.”
“Shut up. Let’s move,” Indi ordered. After pulling the door open and then closing it back, leaving the chain inside with them in hopes the security guard wouldn’t notice, Indi said, “Sky, search. Quiet.” He held Clay and Levi’s shirt pieces to her nose again. Within seconds, she was leading them through winding hallways, her claws clicking as quietly as possible. They hadn’t made it far when Indi heard voices. He held up his hand to indicate for Hollister to stop walking and be quiet. Sky leaned her body against the front of Indi’s legs, stopping him from moving forward.
Indi cringed as he heard Hollister moving around behind him…then he was at his knees next to sky. Lord only knew what the boy was doing.
*****
“Explain it to me one more time, Doc. I need to make certain I understand all the aspects of this plan you developed…on your own, I might add.” A male voice said.
“I’ve explained it three times, Sir. I assure you, it’s a solid plan. Taking these men out will plug all the holes we have in our organization. Once they are handled, we’ll be on top of the world again,” the Doctor assured the man.
“So…you are telling me that you have a Federal Agent and probably, if your instincts are correct, a mercenary chained in the basement.”
“Yes, Sir. They were taken fairly easily.”
“By Leonard and his crew?”
“Yes, Leonard’s improved considerably since our last disagreement. I should have sided with him anyway—the other fucker was the Federal Agent.”
“And now, as we speak, Leonard and his crew are out to pick up a young man that lived across the street from you and helped sell drugs for our organization.”
“Yes. Him and his two brothers, just to be on the safe side. Oh, and a blind guy that lives in the neighborhood. We weren’t sure what all he’d seen, so thought it would be safe to bring him in, too. Other than Hollister, he only has one other visitor and that’s a male escort. Nobody will miss him.”
The man laughed softly. “I’d dare say the blind guy hasn’t seen anything, Doc.”
“Well, yeah, of course. But there’s no telling what Hollister might have shared with him. Just trying to take care of your commodity, Sir.”
“That’s generous of you. When is it we expect Leonard and the crew to be back?”
“I would have already thought they would be here,” Doc answered. “Let me call and check in.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll call.”
The blast of a gun echoed throughout the building. Sky and Indi remained completely silent. Hollister, for his part, was silent, but he collapsed against Sky…who shoved against Indi. Indi held his ground and hoped that the man on the other side of the door hadn’t heard anything over the echo of the gun blast. He pulled Hollister up and whispered against his ear, “Is it safe to move?”
“The door is only cracked, and his back is to us now. I saw him, Indi. I saw him kill that man. He shot him right in the head. I’m not lying here…I’m about to lose my shit.”
“No, you aren’t. Pull yourself together and let’s move. We have to get to Clay and Levi and get the fuck out of here. Sky, search!” Indi followed down the hall, half expecting to feel a bullet rip through his back at any given second. Nothing happened, though. They may have actually gotten lucky, and the guy didn’t hear them. Hollister’s breathing was labored. Indi knew it was a panic attack; he’d had many after the accident when he’d wake up in the dark, not knowing where he was, who was there, or what might be about to happen to him. They needed to find Clay and Levi before Hollister lost it completely.