Shutting the suitcase I tucked the key in my pocket before reaching for the phone on Brian’s nightstand. Glancing down at the phone number written on my arm I punched in the digits and waited.
“Yes.” The male voice on the other end of the line sounded rushed.
“Ummm, I’m looking for……..is there a…..I wondered….” I didn’t know why the faceless voice was making me so nervous.
“Eva.” I finally blurted out.
“You would like to speak with Eva?” The man sighed. “One moment.”
Licking my lips I clutched tightly to the suitcase in my hand wondering how much time I had before A.J. and Brian were tipped off that I would not be coming through the lobby but instead was already roaming free on the fifteenth floor of the hotel above them.
“Yes.” Her voice made my heart thump…. or was that anxiety from fear of being caught by A.J. and Brian……or was I having a heart attack? Oh my god. What if I had a heart attack right here in the middle of the ransacked room, the metal suitcase full of stolen property in my hand? For sure those two would blame me. I could just see them standing there shaking their heads as my lifeless body was loaded onto the gurney the sheet placed over my face.
“We had no idea he was a thief.”
“We loved him like a brother and he lied to us.”
“Why god whhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyy…..”
“Is anybody there?”
“Shit, sorry.” Snapping back to reality I tried to focus.
“Eva I need to see you.”
“What, now?”
“Now, five minutes ago…..you know, whatever works for you.”
“Are you okay? You sound funny?”
Knocking the receiver against my forehead I took a deep breath before replacing it to my ear.
“Look, I don’t have time for chit chat-“
“Chit chat.” She snorted.
“Small talk, banister………whatever.”
“I think you mean banter?”
“EVA!” I shouted.
“Okay, okay. Where.”
“Somewhere private.”
Rattling off an address she promised she would meet me in ten minutes.
Dropping the phone to the floor I checked my watch on the way to the door.
* * *
“Hey Kaos where are you off to.”
Opening the door I bumped into Howie as I shut the door tightly behind me.
“Shit you scared me.”
“Sorry Kaos.”
“Why the hell does everybody keep calling me that?” I whined.
“Because you’re the God of the Green Goo my friend.” Laughing Howie slapped me on the back. “So where you off to?”
“Meeting a friend.” Re-tightening my grip on the suitcase I started to walk around him.
“What’s up Nick?”
“What’s up with you Howie?” Smiling I was trying to let him know it was none of his god damned business without coming right out and saying it.
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” His lips tightened into a thin line.
“Are you?”
“Quit answering my questions with questions Nick.”
“Quit asking me questions Howie.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Touche’.” He replied with a smile.
“God why does everybody think I wear a hairpiece. First that reporter in France and then-“
“Nick I said touché’ not toupee’?” Stepping to the side Howie laughed. “Man I don’t know why I would think you were in any kind of trouble. You’re like a little kid trapped in that big body.”
“Yup that’s right.” I mumbled under my breath on the way to the stairwell.
Just a little kid with a shit load of jewels stuffed in a suitcase.
* * *
Coming out the side entrance of the hotel I walked out onto the street, lucky to have a passing cab catch my signal and pull over.
Climbing in I slammed the door shut behind me.
“Can you take me to Columbus and Dearborn.” Setting down the suitcase on the seat beside me I slouched down low in the seat as we pulled away from the curb.
“Hey Kaos what’s up?” The driver asked tipping the rearview mirror down so that he had a better view of me in the backseat.
“You know me?” I asked studying his heavily lined, tired gray eyes in the mirror.
“Of course I know you. You don’t remember me?”
“Sure I do.” I lied looking out the window as we pulled up to a stoplight.
“So did you have fun last night?” He continued the conversation as I attempted to catch the eye of the man in the cab next to us.
“Yeah you bet. Tons of fun.” I tapped lightly on the glass but the guy in his three-piece suit and Armani tie didn’t have the time of day for a kid in an oversized sweatshirt and baggy jeans.
“How about those strippers. Man those strippers were great weren’t they.” Laughing to himself the cabbie pushed his foot on the gas as the light changed.
Strippers? What the hell was this guy talking about?” Dammit Mr. in the cab next to me, look over this way in case you’re the last person I see alive before this insane cab driver kidnaps me-
“That one who liked you, what was her name? Flossy, Fanny-“
“Flash.” I blurted out, surprised by my recollection of such a bizarre name.
“Yeah Flash.” The cab driver slapped the wheel of the cab with his hand. “Good times man.”
“You mean you really know me?” Watching Mr. Armani in the cab next me slip into a sea of cars with places to go and people to see I realized that my life was taking a turn for the bizarre.
“Yeah I know you. I picked your sorry drunken ass up off the street and you told me you could get me chicks. I told you no way, you passed out and then when you came to again you came up with a much more convincing argument of why I should be your pal.” Scratching my head I sighed.
“Did I get you chicks?”
“You bet you did God of the Green Goo. You tellin’ me you don’t remember?” The guy waggled his eyebrows in the rearview mirror as I rolled his eyes at the Kaos reference.
“You were the life of the party kid. I don’t think there was one stripper in that place that didn’t give you a lap dance.”
My mind tripped and stumbled along trying to find one single concrete memory of the night before.
“How did I get back to my hotel room?”
“How do you think you got back to your hotel room kid? Me and the Flash brought you back.”
Leaning forward I braced his elbow on the front seats.
“And that’s it?”
“Yeah. We helped you to your room. Dumped your ass on your bed and left. Why?”
Chewing on my lip I drummed my fingertips on the driver’s side headrest.
“Did you see anything or hear anything weird when you dropped me off?”
“Nah-“ Lifting his eyebrows the driver flipped on his signal cutting off a guy in a shiny black Porsche. “Well, unless you count the three guys dressed like they were going trick or treatin’ or something as weird.”
“Trick or treating?”
“Yeah. Three dudes dressed funny with wigs and whatnot carrying a metal suitcase. Like that one you got there.” Hitching a thumb over the seat he pointed to the case on the seat beside me.