An explosion of red dust hit the security guard full in the face. Instantly his eyes, nose, and mouth, were burning with incredible pain. Before he could take a breath, something slammed into his solar plexus with unbelievable force, driving the remaining air from his lungs.
Stone grabbed the helpless security guard, quickly pushing him backward along the corridor, and out through the emergency exit door. They were on a bare concrete landing at the top of the fire escape staircase. The stairs were dusty and unswept, and there was no visible sign of any security camera. Stone relaxed and gently lowered the security guard to the ground. He was wheezing from the punch to the gut, and coughing helplessly because of the cayenne pepper that Stone had just thrown into his face.
Taking care not to get any of the red dust on his own hands, Stone rolled the security guard onto his back, and roughly stripped the man of his shoes, pants, and underpants. When he tried to resist, perhaps fearing that he was about to be raped, Stone quickly subdued him with a second punch to the gut.
“Who sent you?” Stone demanded.
“My face is burning!” the man coughed and spat, his eyes and nose were running freely.
“Who sent you?” Stone asked again.
“Fuck off!”
Stone pulled the man’s right hand away from his face and stood on it, partly to add to his discomfort, but also to subdue him a little more. The man groaned and drummed his heals in pain. Then Stone pulled a wickedly sharp paring knife from his pocket. It was the second item that he had bought in the kitchen store. He leaned closer.
“Listen to me very carefully. This knife is very sharp.”
Stone pulled the flat of the blade across the man’s thigh before placing the sharp edge at the base of the security guard’s exposed penis.
“You will answer my questions, honestly and immediately. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”
The man suddenly became very still, his streaming eyes and nose forgotten.
“Yes,” he croaked.
“Who sent you?”
“Peter White.”
“Who’s Peter White, how do you know him?”
“Sometimes I do work for a place called Second Chances — it’s in Aylesbury. Peter tells me what to do. I got a call from him this morning.”
“Describe him,” Stone snapped.
“He’s tall. A posh guy, about sixty-five, always wears a tweed jacket. He has a little beard on the end of his chin.”
“How do you contact him?”
“I don’t. He always contacts me when he has some work.”
The guard coughed again, he was having trouble breathing. Stone didn’t care.
“How many others are here?”
The man paused. Stone could see he was counting in his head.
“Six — I think.”
“You think?”
Stone increased the pressure on the knife. The guard squirmed in panic.
“Six… It’s definitely six — that’s all I saw.”
“Describe them,” Stone demanded.
“There’s Peter White, and there’s Jerry and Mike who I work with sometimes. They’re both wearing the same costume as me. Then there’s three other guys. I don’t know who they are. One has dark hair; he’s wearing a dark coat. The other two looked like twins. They’re real big with shaved heads.”
He squirmed some more, trying desperately to move away from the knife.
“That’s all I know, mister. Please don’t cut me!”
“Tell me about the Wrecking Crew.”
“Who?”
“The Wrecking Crew. Where is their base?”
Stone backed up the importance of the question with a poke from the knife.
“I’ve never heard of them — I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man said with obvious panic in his voice.
“Tell me!”
He poked a little harder, drawing some blood with the tip of the knife.
“I don’t know — please, please. I don’t know.”
Stone eased the pressure slightly. He had decided that the security guard was telling the truth. If the positions were reversed, Eric thought that he would find it very difficult to lie. Unfortunately, it also fitted in with what they had found out so far. The Wrecking Crew was very good at maintaining separation and secrecy.
“What was the plan for today?” he asked.
“We were supposed to arrest you, and another guy, for shoplifting. Then take you out to a black Land Cruiser in the parking lot. That’s it — it’s all I know.”
Stone couldn’t think of anything else to ask, and he was aware that precious time was passing. He put the knife back in his coat pocket and gently pulled the man’s left hand down away from his face.
“I believe you,” Stone said in a soothing voice, “now just lay still, and you’ll get out of this alive.”
As soon as the man relaxed, Stone swung his fist in a fast wide arc, striking him on the side of his chin, with a perfect knockout punch. The guards head snapped violently to the right, and he instantly slumped into unconsciousness. Before rolling the man into the recovery position, Stone performed a quick search. He found a billfold, a small walkie-talkie, and a sheet of paper showing pictures of Carter, himself, and Linda.
Leaving his shopping bag behind, Stone walked back into the shopping mall. After he had shoved the security guard’s shoes, underpants and pants into the nearest waste bin, he checked in with Ed on the radio, quickly explaining what had just happened.
“Good job, Eric,” Carter said. “What now?”
“Well, it’s a safe bet that the other two security guards will know nothing more than this guy did. If I can take them out, it could give us a clear run at Helen Atkins. She may know something.”
“Ok,” Carter said, “I’m in a card store, opposite the coffee bar. I can’t see any woman waiting around, but there’s another security guard down here. He’s leaning on the railing near the bridge.”
“I’m still on two, but I can see him from here. You hang tight, Ed. I’ll try and deal with the guard on the first floor, then make my way down to you.”
“Got it.”
“Linda, are you ok?” Stone asked softly.
“Yes!” she snapped, then immediately she spoke more gently, “I’m sorry — I’m fine.”
“Listen… That security guard had pictures of all of us. That includes you, Linda. They know what you look like, so keep your eyes open. Lock the doors, and if you see someone suspicious, just drive away. Ok?”
“Don’t worry, I understand. And Eric… ”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I love you both,” Carter cut in, “but can we please get on?”
Linda blew another raspberry.
Stone climbed off the escalator onto the first floor just in time to see the back of the fake security guard as he walked into the men’s restroom. He jogged across the concourse and walked in through the same door just a few seconds later. Pushing through the door into the apparently empty room, he saw something flash in his peripheral vision. Acting instinctively, in one smooth movement Stone blocked the blow and turned into the attack. A baton bounced off his raised forearm, causing some pain, but no significant damage. The security guard was temporarily thrown off balance, and Stone took the initiative by driving his fist into the man’s face. There was a satisfying crunch of breaking bone, and the man staggered backwards with his nose streaming blood.
It was a solid punch and Stone half-expected the man to go down, but he was obviously made of sterner stuff. With a shake of his head, he roared, and charged forward again. Stone ducked under the swinging baton, and as the attacker staggered by, he countered with a sharp kidney punch. Enraged, the fake security guard spun on his heel and charged again. Unable to avoid this third attack, Stone was driven backwards into an open cubicle, where he slid downwards until he was sitting on the toilet seat. With no room to maneuver or escape, Stone was suddenly at a dangerous disadvantage.