Presidential Cleaning: A Psychological Suspense Novel (4 page)

The dogs that guarded the front door, from the inside, started to bark, alerting us that the other two men had finally arrived. Those who wished to enter Adam’s bunker needed to do so with a dog whistle- one blow and the dogs would start barking like crazy. There were no door bells or doors to knock on. From the outside, it simply looked like a manhole cover- though a bit suspicious considering there was a manhole deep in the woods.

I greeted Iron, who had obtained his alias due to his inability to show expressions. ‘How you doing, man?’

‘Long time no see,’ he replied, keeping the neutrality on his face. If I guessed that he was excited to see me, I may have been wrong. If I said he was indifferent when it came to seeing me, that may have been more accurate.

Tony, on the other hand, was a talker. Always on a high, he smiled from ear to ear. ‘Look at you. Look at you. Man, I thought you’d just dropped off the face of the earth and into some far away galaxy.’ He reached out a strong arm, complete with bulging veins and pumped up muscles. I took his hand and shook it firmly.

‘It’s good to see you too,’ I smiled- less enthusiastically than he did.

‘So, what are we here for?’ he got straight to the point.

Adam pushed his way between us. ‘Joe’s wife.’ He raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips and nodded fervently.

The two stared at each other for a while before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. I glanced at Jones who didn’t seem to find the situations as humorous as they did. A part of me felt as though there was something up with Jones. The Jones I remembered was a lot more carefree, a lot gigglier.

‘Nah,’ Tony replied. ‘Don’t mess with me like that.’ Tony and I had worked side by side for the entirety of my career with the government. And though I could understand his disbelief, I found his laughter annoyingly obnoxious. ‘You mean, to say’ he continued, ‘my buddy over here done got himself tied up. Don’t tell me you have kids too. Little Joe’s running around with their AK 47s and shit.’

Again, laughter bounced from section to section in the room. This time, Jones joined in. Iron’s chest moved up and down, mimicking laughing motion- though his face stayed as unreadable as usual.

‘Okay guys. Enough of that. Can we get started here?’ I looked from person to person, ensuring that they noticed the firmness on my face- the one that said I meant business.

Everyone gathered around the long stainless steel table that took up the entire center of the room. I’d created files for them to examine. Files that contained information on Derrick Shaw as well as the miniscule amount of information I could gather on Harry Peterman. In addition to all this, was a photograph of my wife- something that was necessary as they all needed to know who we were fighting for. I’d spent hours scavenging through photographs; trying hard to pick the right one- a photo that would pierce their hearts and instill sympathy into their rough souls. Of course, these men were soulless, but still, I held onto the hope that the right photograph would ascertain that they fought their very hardest.

I dished the files out to each member of my team, sliding it easily across the table and watching as their hands smacked down on the paper.

‘Inside those folders are pictures and information on the guys we’re after as well as a photograph of my wife Lila. The first guy, with the five-hundred year shadow is the one who took my wife, Harry Peterman. The second photo is of Derrick Shaw, who I’m sure you all remember. And the third and final photo is of my wife, Lila Chandler.’

‘Hold up a minute,’ Jones interrupted. ‘What does your wife have to do with Derrick Shaw?’

The room filled with chatter in an instant. Whispers and guesses-right before my eyes- of what connection my wife had to Shaw, was the main thing in discussion.

‘Guys!’ I pounded my fist on the shiny silver table. ‘She’s a victim. She’s innocent. The people we need to be talking about are Derrick and Harry. Now, may I continue?’

Everyone nodded.

‘The Harry character that you see on the paper, is Derrick Shaw’s brother.’ I noticed a few eyebrows furrow in confusion. ‘They share the same mother. So DNA bound, womb bound, that kind of sibling. And Harry wants him back.’ Iron’s hand flew in the air like a middle school student who was trying to work his way to teacher’s pet. ‘Yes Iron.’

‘Why don’t we just get him from the cell and deliver him to Harry Peterman.’

‘Because,’ I paused. ‘We’re talking about Shaw. Derrick Shaw.’

‘The president’s already moved him,’ Adam intruded.

Iron nodded, knowing just what this meant.

‘But how soon before he uses him?’ Tony asked, tapping a pen forcefully on the picture, directly against Shaw’s face.

‘Hopefully not very soon. But, that’s what we’re here to find out. If I’m lucky, we’ll be able to do all this before the president’s ready for him.’

‘Sorry,’ Jones’ voice took on a less than optimistic nature, ‘but you do know that the president doesn’t keep them in Block 8 for more than two weeks. So, I guess what I’m asking is- how much time do we have?’

Chuckling came from the far end of the table. ‘What is it, Adam?’ I prompted.

‘Not that I’m at all inclined to say no to any plan that you muster up but you don’t really think we’ll be able to pry our way into Block 8, do you?’

‘No,’ I answered firmly. Of course, I’d considered this option, but knowing how well guarded the place was, I decided that against it.

‘Good, cuz the president would eat you alive. I’ve got to ask though. Wouldn’t it be easier if we just took Peterman out?’

‘I can’t risk it.’

‘But you can risk getting on the president’s wrong side? You know he has people like us working for him right? Except their stronger, younger and probably more fucked up in the head.’

‘I can risk it, because I have reason to believe that my wife’s sitting on pounds of dynamite and Peterman won’t hesitate to blow the living shit out of her if I piss him off. Plus, I know just how to appease the president’s appetite. Once we get Peterman, we’ll have more to give than we took.’

‘Alright,’ he raised his hands in the air, his palms facing me- a sort of surrender. ‘However you want it.’

‘So,’ I went on, ‘the plan is to figure out when the president will be having Derrick Shaw moved from Block 8 to the Presidential Cleaning location and interrupt them there. Seeing as no one has ever tried what I’m planning on doing, my guesses are that he won’t see it coming, which gives us a slight advantage. Tony, I’m going to want you to get in touch with your people and gather information on all the private planes that come into DC in the next couple of days. Figuring out when the Mexican President, Russian President, UN Secretary General and the Director of the CIA are all in town at the same time will give us a better idea of when shit’s going down. Ever since we’ve been working for the president, these guys have never missed a Cleaning. So, I think this will be the perfect cue. Iron, I’m gonna need you to hand out phones to some people on the streets who can keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Hobos, junkies, anyone who can be bribed into being reliable. The president will be using one of four locations and so, we need to cover all of them, just to make sure. Adam and Tony, you’re gonna help me to set up the rest of the plan which you can find in the back of the folder. Now, guys. We’ve got to move quickly. As soon as we get word that all the right figures are in our neighborhood, we need to be ready to move. There’s no time to fail. Because one downfall will lead to the failure of the entire operation.’

We went over the plan for another two hours, ironing out the details and safeguarding that everyone understood the role they were expected to play. Though nothing would have been better than not having to deal with such a situation in the first place, it was uplifting to know that I could count on these guys. Like me, they had the necessary degree of training to get the job done.

Once all was said and done, we decided to kick back a few drinks for old time’s sake. Tony spoke a million miles per hour, telling us just how great business was going for him. He still loved killing, perhaps more than before considering now, it came with more dollar signs attached to it that he could have ever dreamt of. Iron, as always, remained relaxed, not seemingly overjoyed by the success that he was a part of- though even if he were, his impassive face wouldn’t allow us to know otherwise.

Adam and Jones were living pretty much regular lives- detached from anything emotional and serious, but as regular as one could expect from them. The only thing missing was the fulfillment they got from being a part of NW45. They craved the kill, the rush of adrenaline they would feel chasing after the bad guys and serving them their own form of justice. Me, I’d been okay without it. The life I once lived was a life I no longer yearned for. Sure, it may have been nice brushing shoulders with important people who didn’t realize how insignificant they were about to become. There certainly was a charm to carrying out off the record duties for the president, duties that would create a dystopia out of the United States of America, if the citizens knew just how much evil hid in the shadows of the mighty. However, regardless of how cheesy it all sounded, Lila was all I needed. She was my adrenaline, my rush. She replaced my old life in a way that couldn’t be compared with.

‘So guys,’ I raised my glass, bringing them away from laughter and side conversations. ‘I just want to say thank you for- you know pitching in and agreeing to help me out.’ Not that they had a choice. ‘I truly, truly appreciate it.’

‘To working together again,’ Tony chimed in.

‘To working together again,’ everyone agreed and our glasses clanked together, with drinks of beer, champagne and rum tipping over the edges and onto the dark wood flooring.

I pushed the glass against my lips, titled my head back and swallowed the last drops of my drink.

‘I think I’m going to call it a night now. So folks, I’ll see you when I see you.’

***

The hike back to my car was long, cold and dirty. As I maneuvered my way through stray branches and under masses of bush, I felt like I was back in a time where stakeouts were a common part of my day. Especially in the heavy darkness that lay before me and the absence of the moon and stars, wiggling around in unchartered territories was no easy task. However, I’d made it through, albeit in a longer period of time than it took me when I was traveling through the woods in the daytime. My car, parked across the street in a hardware store parking lot was easy to spot. I looked around- ensuring there was no one to see me- before I made my way to my feet and dashed across the lonely streets. I fiddled around in my pocket, pulling out the keys to my Audi A5 and speeding off into the night.

Upon entering my home, the loneliness of life struck me. No Lila. A messy apartment- filled with paperwork rather than dirty plates. I flopped down on the couch and stared at the nothingness of the ceiling. Though I had a plan in action, there was no removing the awful feeling that had taken hold of the pit of my stomach. However, now, I had at least the smallest bit of info to give to Harry when he called. Info that would hopefully prevent him from introducing my wife to aggression that I would need to repay him for. And then it struck me. I’d smashed my phone to bits and though finding my home number was definitely no problem for him-considering he knew just where I lived- he’d called on my cell. What if he thought I was avoiding him? What if he thought I just didn’t care what happened to Lila? I jumped from the couch, much more quickly than I’d landed in it and sprinted my way down the stairs.

‘Joe. You alright,’ asked my neighbor Erica, who had her hand lightly placed on my shoulder.

I caught my breath. ‘Yeah. You know, considering…’

‘Well, if there’s anything at all I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to come knocking. Lucas is out of town for a few days, so you really can come talk anytime you please. I’m here for you Joe. Everyone in this building is here for you.’

I smiled politely, trying hard not to believe what I knew was true. The subtle smile, nice gesture and hands where I didn’t want them was done with an ulterior motive. She was flirting. There were no two ways about it. My already achy stomach turned at the gall on Erica. She knew just what I was going through and found it fit to try to make a pass at me. Not to mention the fact that she was married. Of course, it wasn’t hard to tell that her relationship was a ruse. Girl in her twenties married to a man who could be her father, or grandfather for that matter.

‘Thanks Erica.’ I forced a smile before turning away to show her that the conversation was done- that I had nothing else to say.

‘You know where I live,’ she replied, slowly pushing the door open and disappearing on the inside.

On my keychain dangled the small mailbox key. ‘Please be empty. Please be empty,’ I prayed to the mailbox before assembling up the courage to reveal its contents. My eyes squinted, my heart raced and I tried with all my might to avoid the big brown envelope that stared back at me. There’s no way it could be what I thought it was. There’s no way Harry could have done what I think he did. It had only been a few days since he made his threat.

‘Please don’t be what I think you are. Please don’t be what I think you are,’ I whispered, reaching into the mailbox and gripping the envelope in my fingers.

Chapter 6

I held the brown envelope tightly in my hand, trying hard to feel the contents inside. There was paper- that I was sure of but the numbness and coldness of my hands didn’t allow for me to feel if there was much more. I took a deep breath, trying hard to acquire the strength the flip the envelope to the other side and decipher the name that was more than likely printed on it. ‘Just do it,’ I whispered. My frazzled hands jittered as I took the envelope by the corner and flipped it around.
DC Electric
. I positioned the envelope underneath the front light of my building, just to make sure the darkness wasn’t causing me to see what I wanted instead of what was really there.
DC Electric.