Chapter Twenty-Three: Just Missed Me

          Bob put away his cell phone and stared at the star map lying on top of the red satin sheets. A triumphant smile crossed his face. He was no longer in deep trouble with his boss, no longer in danger of being killed and thrown into the sea. He was a free man right now, his perseverance and quick thinking had paid off. I am a genius, thought Bob, an absolute prodigy to the sneaky craft. I think I deserve a raise for being so daring and forthright. Any other man would have cracked under the pressure, but not me, not this man… I was calm, cool and collected the whole time. I saw the prize and seized it like the last slice of apple pie.

Bob chuckled at his own wit. It had all been by blind luck that he had found Tom’s room and the map. Skill and talent had nothing to do with it. He had found the strange star map under Tom’s pillow, but only after making a mess of the luxurious bedroom. He had thrown Mr. Hoffman’s jeans and t-shirt on the ground and had pulled off the fluffy white down comforter. He had mixed up the linins and sheets and checked under the mattress and the bed. For a while it seemed that he wouldn’t find the map, but his determination paid off. A worn corner of a sturdy piece of paper was sticking out from underneath one of the pillows and Bob had seized it brusquely and, at the same time whipped out his phone and dialed his boss. 

The maid, who had fixed the whole room, had to watch painfully as Bob tore apart every piece of the bed; all her labors of the day seemed to fly right out the window. It was enraging to watch, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She felt trapped and helpless as her captor singlehandedly destroyed the beautiful and meticulous work she had put into making the room beautiful. Here she was, leading a complete stranger around the Fantas House in hopes that he wouldn’t kill or hurt her once he got what he wanted. Well, she had lived up to her end of the bargain, and it seemed, that she was getting the shaft.

Bob leaned over the map and examined it more closely. His eyes ran over the bright white dots on the surface of the impenetrable fibers. The whole dark canvas looked like someone had sprinkled a jug of bleach on it. How does anyone read this thing, thought Bob? It looks like it’s been run through the wash a few times. Bob noticed that there was a bigger, brighter white dot in the corner of the map. It was about the size of a small coin and had sharp points coming out of it.

“What the heck is this thing and how is it supposed to get us to the island?” He ran his finger over the big dot. It felt smooth and tough. Bob started to fold it back into the little square that he had found it in, turning to the maid he gave her a sly, almost devilish look. He still needed to take care of her before he left the Fantas House for good. No one could ever know that he was here. No one could ever know that he was the one that had taken the map. The maid was a loose-end that needed to be tied up. He would have to do it quickly.

The maid was in complete shock still. She couldn’t believe how inconsiderate Bob was being right now. The man had totally desecrated the room with which she had spent hours vacuuming and dusting. He was a slob and needed to leave right this instant. She would not stand for uncleanliness. She had done her part; it was time for him to leave.

“Sorry about the mess,” said Bob as he noticed the maid’s indignant expression. “That’s just the collateral that comes with my job. I run into heaps of collaterals and loose ends in this job… as you can very well see, and sometimes…” He pause and thought about his words carefully. “You just can’t avoid getting your hands dirty.” He walked over to her slowly. He was trying to be casual. He didn’t want her to run before it was time, that would make more work for him, and he hated the thought of using up more energy than was necessary. He wanted to play it off like it was cool, and that nothing was going to happen.

The maid watched him approach with disgust. She resisted the urge to run and hide. She wanted to punch the idiot in the face for underestimating her. She hated it when people thought she was stupid and didn’t know what was going on. She hated it when people made prodigious assumptions about who she was as an individual. If this stranger thinks he can walk on me, he has another thing coming, thought the maid. She balled her hands into fists and bit her bottom lip.

Bob didn’t seem to notice her emotional rage as he confronted her; she was hiding it semi-well behind here long black hair and deep brown eyes.

“Is there an easy way out of this place?” Bob looked around the room. His eyes fell on the open balcony in the corner. The doors were open and the wind was blowing gently through the burgundy drapes. In the distance the sound of the birthday party could be heard. People were talking and laughing. The band was playing softly. Bob looked back over to the maid. “Is there a back door or do I have to use the window?”

“Yes. You shouldn’t go back through the house,” said the maid in an attempt to finally be rid of the man. Bob could see the hatred burning in her eyes now. He stopped his approach and tried to sound a little more sympathetic.

“Hey, look, I am sorry about the room, but if you show me a way out of here you won’t have to look at my face again…” He smiled. “I promise you, you won’t even know I was here. You can go back to doing whatever it is that you do around here and just forget about me.” Bob kept his distance. He tried to look friendly. “You see, I can be a reasonable guy… now that I have what I want, no one has to get hurt. We can just go one living our lives.”

The maid wasn’t buying his sweet-talk. She was still as mad as fire. Her nails were beginning to dig deep into her palms.

“You are going to pay for this. Mr. Tash will hunt you down and kill you… no one can get away from him.”

“I am pretty sure I can.” Bob patted the chest of his catering coat. “I have a few documents here I found in the boarding office that will have Mr. Tash eating from the palm of my hand. Once he sees what I have, he’ll call off the hounds. He’ll do it or all this information will go to the cops,” said Bob with confidence. “Now, show me the way out of here and we’ll call it a day.” Bob paused and shook his head. “Better yet, just hand over that map thing you were looking at in the hall a few minutes ago, and we both can go our separate ways. You can go back to cleaning rooms for the rest of your adult life, and I can go get that raise that I am in much need of. ”

The maid put her hands over her pockets and shook her head firmly. She was determined not to give Bob a single thing more. The wretched man would need to find his own way out of the house. Plus, giving away her map to this friend would only tell Mr. Tash that she had helped him escape. It would mean death for her. She had to hold her ground now.  

“No I can’t do that…”

Bob was getting fed up.

“Well then, I am afraid you leave me no other choice. I am going to have to kill you.”

He was about to lunge forward when the door to the room swung open and smashed into the wall. The force of it caused some of the paintings to shudder and hit the floor. Bob and the maid turned quickly to see what was going one. Both of their expressions changed as they made eye contact with the large man standing in the threshold. He was wearing black aviator sunglasses and had a red rose resting in his suit coat pocket. Behind him stood another man who Bob recognized immediately; it was Tom, who looked stunned at the scene in front of him.

* * *

Kaplen gave the intruder a stone-hard stare. His jaw muscles were twitching now with excitement and adrenaline. He had not seen action like this in the Fantas House in a long, long time. And now that it was here, he almost couldn’t control himself. He saw Bob only as a sheet of paper set up for target practice. He saw Bob as the most unlucky person on the planet right now. He was going to make this moron suffer. He was going to smear this chump’s blood all over the walls and ceilings. He was going to pull his spine out from his mouth and beat his lifeless corps with it. He was going to see blood and a whole lot of it; at this thought Kaplen’s expression changed. A slight grin crossed his face as madness set in. He liked the thought of gore and carnage.

“Oh, you’re in trouble now,” said the maid. “Kaplen is going to rip you apart!” She was going to walk over to the bodyguard when Bob seized her from behind. The maid struggled and screamed. She tried kicking and clawing at her captor but to no avail. Bob wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her close to his body. He began to back up slowly. His heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour. He had gotten caught again. 

“Let her go,” said Kaplen softly.

“No!” yelled Bob. He pressed his cheek up against her hair.

“This is your last chance to let her go.”

Tom stepped out from behind Kaplen. The image of Runt’s death was replaying over and over in his head. Bob was the one that had pushed them off the cliff. He had made their day a living hell.

“Let her go, Bob. It’s over, you’re caught.” He was going to get a little closer when Kaplen’s hand fell over his chest and pushed him back.

“Stay out of this, Mr. Hoffman,” said Kaplen firmly. “Bob, here, is going to have to get through me.”

“You’re in trouble now. Kaplen is going to kill you. It doesn’t matter what information you have, you are never going to leave this house alive,” said the maid through clinched teeth. She was still trying to break free.

Bob was getting sick of hearing her childish voice.

“Shut up, you bloody wog, no one wants to hear from a wog!” He took a few more steps back. He gripped the star map tightly in his left hand and held it behind his back. He needed to find a way out of the house. He needed to escape and get back to his boss.

Kaplen reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out his chrome revolver. He pointed it at Bob and smiled patiently.

“Put down the map, Bob.” He put his finger on the trigger. “Put down the map.”

“Don’t shoot me!” yelled the maid.

“Shut up!” yelled Bob. He was trying to think.

Kaplen fired a round at the feet of Bob and the maid. Both of them jumped and screamed. Bob held even tighter to the maid.

“Are you crazy!?”

“Yep,” said Kaplen. He pointed the gun back at Bob’s head. “Hand over the map, and whatever else you have in your possession.” He held out his free hand in an obvious gesture; he wanted what Bob had stolen from the house and bedroom. “That was a warning shot I gave you. The next one won’t be a warning shot; the next one will the killing shot. The next one will be right between your eyes.”
            “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t shoot me!” yelled the maid.

“Oh, I mean it,” said Kaplen and the smile from his face disappeared suddenly. He hated it when people didn’t believe him. He was going to make this chump see the error in his ways. “I always mean what I say.”

“You wouldn’t shoot your own worker.”

“Is that a risk you are willing to take?” asked Kaplen slyly. “I am a Fantas, I’ll shoot whatever and whoever I please.”

“Don’t shoot me!” yelled the maid again. Tears were coming to her eyes and running down her cheeks now. She knew Kaplen’s nature. She knew that he rarely lied about things like this. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

Bob was growing uneasy with every protest from the maid. She was acting like Kaplen was really going to shoot the both of them. She was acting like they both were about to die.

“Shut up!” he yelled in the maid’s ear. “Just, shut up and let me think for a minute!” He looked back over to Kaplen. The bodyguard’s expression was still stone-hard. He looked like he meant business.

“The heck with you!” yelled Bob. “I have a boss that will do far worse to me if I don’t get him this map. Far worse!” He started shuffling awkwardly with the maid towards the balcony. His heart was still pounding in his chest and sweat began to bead his forehead.

Kaplen smiled slightly. It was obvious that Bob wasn’t going to go quietly. He had followed Mr. Tash’s rules of engagement; he had done the verbal protocol, now it was time to act. He reached into his suit coat again and pulled out another chrome revolver. He pulled back the hammers of both guns and took aim.

“I can see that you want to make things difficult. You have a nice day!”

“No!” yelled the maid.

Bob’s composure failed him as he saw the madness in Kaplen’s eyes. This man wasn’t kidding when he said he would kill the both of them.

“Crap!” said Bob as he threw the maid to one side and bolted for the balcony at full speed. Kaplen started to laugh as a dozen .44 bullets left the barrels of the guns. Fire and smoke filled the air all around the bodyguard. Paintings and bits wallpaper were blasted into shreds and fell to the floor as hot led tore through them. An uncontrollable surge flashed through Kaplen and caused his brain to shut down and his instincts to kick in. He was no longer human it seemed. He bolted after Bob. His fingers were still alive on the triggers. Screams and chaos broke out all over.

Bob could see his short, pathetic life flash before his eyes as a jolt of pain shot through his left hand. He screamed out wildly as the star map fell to the ground and landed on the floor. Bullets continued to spray passed his body from behind. Pain and discomfort tore through his legs and arms. Bob reached the balcony and leaped with all his might into the still night air. For a minute it seemed like he could fly. It seemed like he would just sail away into the night air, then he hit the ground and tumbled head over heels for what seemed like an eternity. The cool crisp grass crunched softly under his weight. 

Kaplen let one more shot ring out over the night sky. He stood on the balcony and watched as Bob Morgan came to his feet and gimped away as quickly as he could. The smell of the long dark ocean flooded Kaplen’s mind as he turned and walked back into the house. The barrels of his guns were now piping hot and smoking. He was calm and cool. He looked over to Tom who was now lying on the ground with his hands over his head. He looked as if he were taking cover from an earthquake.

“He got away,” stated Kaplen. “What are the odds?” He walked over to Mr. Hoffman and kicked him softly in the side. Tom looked up. His eyes were wide and frantic. He pushed himself up off the ground and brushed himself off.

“What the heck were you thinking?”

Kaplen laughed.

“I was hoping to shoot his legs out from under him. Mr. Tash usually likes to talk to the spies that enter his house illegally. We haul them down to the basement for deep questioning. Once I saw he was going to make it to the balcony, I tried to go for more of a body shot, but it was too late by then.” He looked over to the balcony. “He won’t get far. Aggerton is a little city in Mr. Tash’s book. He has a lot of friends on the inside of everything. That Bob character won’t last a day. I’ll have a hit on him by tomorrow. His body will wash up somewhere up North, in Trenton or somewhere.”

Tom stood up.

“Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?” He looked around the room at all the massive holes in the walls. It looked as if someone had taken a metal ramming rod and jammed it into all the fixtures and paintings. There was a jagged outline of bullets from where Bob was standing all the way to the window. The place was a mess, an absolute mess.

“What if you had missed and hit the girl, Kaplen?” asked Tom.

Kaplen shrugged his shoulders and looked over to the maid. She was now on her hands and knees crying over all the damages done to the bedroom. She looked as if she was about to go into shock. This sight was quite amusing for Kaplen for some reason. He tried to keep from laughing as he explained himself.

“She doesn’t seem to even care about that right now, Mr. Hoffman. She seems more upset about the mess than her life being taken.” Kaplen said as the maid clutched at the smoking burgundy drapes and continued to sob. He ignored her and walked over to the far wall and picked up the star map lying on the ground. He examined it for any damages or frays. It appeared to be in one piece, which surprised Kaplen. He had thought he had hit the thing dead on during the encounter.

“How did your little friend know that we have the map? How did he get in here?”

“What?”

Kaplen turned.

“How did Bob know you were here?”

“I don’t know,” said Tom. “Maybe he just overheard us talking about it somewhere. I don’t know how.”

Kaplen looked incredulously over at Tom. Everything that was coming out of his mouth seemed suspicious and dodgy. It felt as if the man was hiding something from him. The Fantas House was quiet and still before Tom and his friends had shown up. No spies had shown up until they had come.

“How did he survive the fall from the balcony?” asked Tom.

“He rolled when he hit the ground.”

“He rolled?”

“Yes, he rolled.”

“Oh.” Tom shifted on his feet. “That’s amazing.”

“We have to get back to Mr. Tash and tell him the news.” Kaplen placed the star map in his pocket and walked over to the far side of the room. Grabbing the dark nightstand, he tipped it over so that the wooden structure hit the floor with a bang and slid a few feet to the left.

“I can’t believe he survived the jump,” said Tom as he made his way over to where Kaplen stood. “The balcony must be at least thirty feet off the ground.” His stomach began to churn with vertigo as he thought about jumping off a tall building like the Fantas House. It seemed like a suicide mission. “It would have killed any other man.”

Kaplen was on his hands and knees now feeling around the floor for something. He pulled back the red rug and was examining the floorboards. He gripped the baseboard and ran his palm along it.

“Well, at least that Bob character didn’t leave here without a souvenir.” He looked up at Tom and smiled. “I put quite the hole in that pretty little hand of his. That will make it easier to find him in the city later.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for a door.”

Tom bent over and examined the floorboard.

“You’re looking for a door? I can’t see a door.”

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Kaplen was going to slide his hand further under the rug when his cell phone went off. The young bodyguard sat up and pulled the thing from his pocket. He hit the “talk” button on it and spoke into the receiver.

“Talk to me.” He paused as the person on the other end spoke. “Why, hello sir. It’s nice to speak to you too.”

Tom couldn’t hear the other person on the phone. All he could hear was mumbling; occasionally Kaplen would grunt and give a response. The bodyguard was smiling as he gave his account of what had just happened in Tom’s room. The person on the other end didn’t seem quite as amused as Kaplen was. After a few minutes Kaplen hung up and looked over to Tom.

“That was Mr. Tash. He wanted to know what was taking us so long. So I told him about the delays in the nightmare halls and about Bob. I can say that he wasn’t too happy to hear about Bob. He wants a full blown hit on the man before the night is done. It might take awhile to settle this matter, but mark my words, it will be settled. Mr. Tash always gets what he wants in the end. Always.” Kaplen gripped something under the rug and pulled up on it. The floor around the wall began to crack and move revealing a small wooden passage. “During the construction of this house, they installed emergency exits throughout the whole basement. These tunnels should lead us to Mr. Tash’s office, that is, if we find the right tunnels.”

“Be sure to come back and put more holes in the walls if you can!” screamed the maid angrily from behind. “You’re idiots! I work all day and clean up your messes. I am through with it!”

Kaplen turned and gave her a hard stare.

“I am not in the mood right now, Elly. Just pick up what you can of this place and go to bed. Me and Tom, here, need to go. We’ll talk about your punishment later.”

“I don’t care what you do to me,” said the maid. She plopped down on the ground and folded her arms. “You can shut up for all I care.” She wanted vindication more than she wanted anything else in the whole world.

Kaplen ignored her and walked into the open passage. Tom followed his lead and closed the wooden door behind him and in minutes everything was quiet again.