“The others are probably waiting outside, taking the opportunity to have a bit of a break.”
“So what do we do now?” Linda asked.
“Our film is showing on screen four. The seats I picked are on the right, in the very back. We’re next to the upper exit. We’ll wait for the main feature to start and let it run for a little bit. When I give you the signal, I want you to leave. Just walk out calmly as if you’re going to the restroom. Wait here by the stairs — I’ll be right behind you.”
Linda nodded.
“Promise me we can get a hotel with pay-per-view. I really wanted to see this film.”
Stone smiled at Linda’s ability to make light of a serious situation.
“We’ll come back when this is over — deal?”
She pulled a frumpy face.
“Deal… ”
They had to wait almost twenty minutes for the lights to go down, and another twenty for the adverts and trailers to finish. It was an hour after they had arrived, when Stone gave Linda the signal. She leaned over as if to whisper that she was going to the rest room, then she stood and walked towards the exit. She paused for a moment as people are inclined to do, as if to catch some important bit of dialog, then she went through the door. Stone thought it was a nice touch.
He had seen the guy in the brown leather jacket come in. He was seated on the isle about halfway along. Once the lights went down, Stone saw the man move to an empty seat that was one from the back row, and nearer to the center. In his peripheral vision, Stone had managed to see the guy glancing their way every few minutes. Now he was watching quiet openly. Stone slowly counted to ninety, then he stood up and walked directly out of the door. He didn’t pause and he didn’t look back.
The upper corridor was empty, except for Linda, who was leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs. Stone walked forward ten steps, stopped, turned, and waited. Twelve seconds later the door swung open and the guy in the leather jacket stepped through, blinking at the daylight. Stone immediately strode forward, as if he were returning to his seat. Finding his quarry unexpectedly coming towards him, the man slowed indecisively. Stone continued forward, smiling confidently. As the gap closed, he lifted his hands to shoulder height, and said three words.
“Something’s on you.”
As he spoke, Stone’s left hand went towards the man’s right shoulder, as if to brush away some dirt. The misdirection worked. His hand passed over the shoulder, and then whipped back in an arc. Stone struck the back of the man’s neck with a horizontal ridge-hand strike, and simultaneously slapped the center of the man’s forehead with his right palm. The whiplash effect of the two opposing strikes instantly knocked the man unconscious. Stone caught the lifeless form and carefully rolled him into a recovery position, so that he wouldn’t choke. He jogged across to Linda and pointed to the stairs.
“Jesus, Stone. Is he dead?” she asked as they sprinted down the stairs.
“He’s unconscious. He’ll probably be out for a few minutes or so.”
Before leaving their seats, they had both swapped their sweaters for jackets, in the hope that they would be less recognizable to the watchers. However, they still needed to get out of the building unobserved. As they reached the bottom of the staircase, Linda headed towards the exit, but Stone gently pulled on her arm.
“Wait.”
“But we need to go — he could wake up at any moment!”
“Wait… ” Stone said calmly.
“Someone could find him,” Linda hissed urgently.
“It’s ok… Just wait a little longer.”
He checked his watch and held up a finger.
“Any second now.”
Almost on cue, the door to screen two swung open, and a crowd of people poured out. They were all talking excitedly about the film they had just seen, and eager to be first out of the parking lot. Earlier, Stone had checked the finish times of the other movies. He had carefully timed their exit to coincide with the crowd. He gently took Linda’s arm.
“Let’s go. Stay with the crowd, go out the left-hand door, turn left, and go into the first store on the left. It’s a computer store.”
“Got it.”
They went through the door on the left side of the crowd. Keeping their heads low, they peeled left as soon as they were in the open. Once they were inside the computer store, Stone glanced back. Over the heads of the milling crowd, he could see two men standing in the center of the parking lot. They were both craning their necks in an effort to spot somebody. Stone stepped away from the window and joined Linda at the back of the store.
For a few minutes, they drifted around aimlessly, looking at the computers and printers. They made sure that the display counters always provided some cover from the windows. The approaching sound of a siren suggested that someone had found the unconscious man in the theatre and called for an ambulance.
Linda tried to lighten the air of tension.
“Perhaps we could buy Megan a present.”
Stone was distracted. Staring out of the window, he completely missed the humor.
“This stuff is all above my pay grade, but I suspect that she’d be insulted.”
Linda tried again.
“We could get her a mouse to go with the cats.”
Stone smiled as he finally got the joke. However, when he noticed the anxiety written in Linda’s face, his grin dissolved.
“That reminds me, we’d better let Megan know what’s happened. You have the phone. Can you text her? Send something cryptic — to be safe.”
Linda typed for a moment.
“How about this, ‘Had to change our electricity supplier at short notice.’ Will she understand that we’ve dropped off the grid?”
“That’ll do just fine.”
She sent the message and seconds later, the phone bleeped a reply.
“She says, ‘Understood. I have found a light bulb, call me when you can.’ I guess she has some new information for us.”
Linda peered over the counter towards the windows. Their partial view of the parking lot showed no sinister activity — other than an arriving ambulance.
“We need to get out of here.”
Stone nodded.
“I think I have an idea.”
He looked towards the rear of the store.
“It’s almost lunch time. How much do you suppose they pay the staff here?”
“Probably not as much as they would like.”
Stone sidled over to a pimply youth who was refilling the display of printer cartridges. Linda followed curiously. The lad noticed the approaching couple and cracked a weary smile.
“Can I help you, sir?” he asked unenthusiastically.
“I hope so.”
Stone squinted at his name badge.
“Tell me Philip, do you drive to work?”
“Excuse me?”
“In a car,” Stone persisted, “did you drive to work today?”
The lad nodded.
“Where do you park?”
Philip frowned and pointed a thumb over his shoulder.
“Staff parking’s at the back.”
He looked around.
“I have work to do. What were you looking for?”
“A lift.”
“Huh? I don’t understand.”
“We would like to give you money for a lift in your car.”
“I don’t do lifts, I got work to do.”
“Three hundred quid,” Stone said flatly.
“What?”
Philip stood, suddenly interested.
“Three hundred quid, for a short ride in your car.”
Stone delved into his pocket and pulled out a wad of fifties.
“Cash money — no catches.”
Linda jiggled her car keys in front of his face.
“And… you get to drive a brand new Toyota GT86 sports, for a couple of weeks.”
Philip glanced around suspiciously.
“What’s going on? Is this some kind a joke?”