Chapter 3: The Abduction of Toes

It took us another hour to figure out how we were going to hold on to Toes until Friday. Though we’d found our solution, we still agreed once we had him at a safe location we were going to contact Brown and try to have him delivered early, which was the smartest thing to do.

I went straight to the Silver Palace to start the first phase of our plan: my mission was to persuade either one of the receptionists into getting Billy in the doctor’s office before Toes arrived. We were unaware of the office’s working hours or the patients schedule yet, so that was also for me to find out.

As I was reaching the front entrance, I called Moon. I needed him to get me inside the building, any other excuse was probably going to draw suspicion, and our plan was only going to succeed if we stayed under the radar.

If I could get to Moon’s office, I had enough pretext to hang out for a while there, then go missing. We used to spend a lot of time at GoneTouring, and I thought of a few faces that were going to be glad to see me.

The phone rang a few times, just a little longer than usual, but Moon finally picked it up. He was in the middle of something, which meant he was glad he had something better to do and was running downstairs before hanging up.

After parking the car, I slowly walked towards the building. It hadn’t change a bit in the past few years: passing a green space and a white fountain decorated with three spectacular horses, you could see the glass doors at the front entrance, which was as tall and wide to fit a small herd of elephants. The floor was covered in dark blue tiles that glittered against the marble walls, and the front lobby rose right in the middle of it like a chromed oasis.

Security was dressed in dark grey suites with mirrored glasses, and they were strategically positioned to reach any threat at the lobby in less than five seconds. The personnel behind the front desk consisted of five chatty women who had little time for the people in front of them, but still looked adorable and understanding. Neither of these groups were good to mess up with today.

I waited for Mooney just two steps after passing the main gate, trying to stop analyzing every inch of the room. I still wasn’t on Alert mode, but couldn’t help myself thinking about the smoothest retreat and how many shots I was going to get if I succeeded in disarming just one of the guards.

My head had been there before. Many times it had planned a glorious escape from this well protected building, rambling about how I could defeat every obstacle untouched and finally landing on a nice looking convertible with a hot blond on the steering wheel. I definitely got bored in this place enough to fantasize such a flawless getaway.

Luckily, Moon was stepping out of the elevator, coming to save me from my own thoughts. He walked right to me barely getting his eyes out of mine to sweep his card through the security post.

One thing I could never understand is how such a giant man could look ordinary enough to keep everyone’s looks away. He was by far the tallest guy I’d ever seen and his broad back was anything but muscular. His pale blond hair was politely trimmed and timidly falling back, leaving him a large, shiny forehead.

He was always wearing a long-sleeved shirt, mostly white or beige. Today’s was tan. Anyone could spot the chubby person inside those undersized clothes, but he still insisted in wearing them as tight as possible.

As he approached me, I noticed one of the guards tilt his head slightly in my direction in what appeared t be an eyeing move directed to one of his colleagues across the room. But then again, the guy could have probably been just angling his head to have a better look at the striking black haired woman in a green suit nobody cared to introduce to yours truly.

I had to focus. Fast.

“There’s my guy!” Moon said as he padded my back. His voice, unlike his presence, was light, almost diminishing. “It was about time you showed up; I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“I was in the neighborhood…” I replied as I started to stroll away from the doors and towards the elevators area. We walked right through the atrium in a matter of seconds; Mooney was so excited it took him about five strides to do so.

We were just reaching the first security guy when something happened to me; something I hadn’t experienced in a very long time: I had goose bumps. I certainly hadn’t felt this thrilled in a very long time, which didn’t speak well of me.

It was true that my sky-scraping ambition together with my fearless personality had forced me to take extreme measures to achieve a good level of gratification, usually reached by near-death experiences of a sort. This definition of my personal drive definitely didn’t correspond to what I was now experiencing. Ecstatic just for being four feet away from an armed man who could or couldn’t have even noticed me? I should have been ashamed of myself.

But my instincts were right once more, as when we were crossing the guard’s sight he stretched his arm in our direction and pivoted his body to face ours.

“Oops,” whispered Moon instantly.

“Sir, you’ll need to go to the front desk,” said the security guard pointing at the middle of the hall. “A receptionist will fill a form, take a snapshot and keep your ID during your visit today.”

Perfect. Just what I needed, another trail to leave behind.

This was exactly the kind of things that could go very wrong in a weakly planned move. That was why you don’t trust coffee to wear out last night’s Margaritas and go on a suicide mission without sleeping on it first.

This was the first red flag.

I nodded slightly, guiding my eyes into what I thought was the guard’s sight trajectory behind the shades. My feet lazily shifted left and faced our new designated stop. By the time Moon realized I’d changed destination, I was already half way to the reception.

Dozens of people paced hastily in and out of the already populated building, and walking through them I realized most of them probably ignored the fact that a mass murderer was going to walk the same steps in a matter of hours. A little monkey with cymbals inside my head kept reminding me that.

For a split second, I thought I saw a familiar face, some guy I’d met in the past. The feeling was really annoying, wanting to remember something out of a mentally taken picture. I quickly got rid of this thought, as it was ridiculous for me to think I wouldn’t find any known individual in a building I so frequently visited not too long ago.

The situation was entirely different on the front desk: I didn’t recognize anyone. This was truly not a surprise. Receptionists didn’t last long in this place, or most places actually.

It wasn’t a simple job any college girl could take to pay for her studies, but it definitely wasn’t rocket science either. It all came down to having a strong personality, being resourceful and strictly follow orders.

On the other hand, the employees in this section never reached the two year anniversary. It’s not like anyone is born to be a receptionist; it’s more like an in-between jobs position, or a stepping stone for the least ambitious ones.

Oh yes, I’d seen a lot of pretty faces behind that desk, although I never took any real interest –maybe it was too easy, or perhaps I just felt I wouldn’t really gain any powerful ally.

“Silver Industries, how may I help you today?” Murmured the ebony goddess on the other side of the counter.

Moon opened his mouth to respond, but I knew better. I raised my hand and positioned it in front of his face without taking my eyes out of Miss Monique Parker, as her badge declared. The girl then started to give instructions in an even lower tone as she dialed a five digit number on the modern switch placed in front of her.

Surprised, yet with a clever look on his face, Mooney looked at me from the corner of his eye as he laid back facing Miss Parker with a serene posture. He surely thought of me as a sophisticated business man for knowing this protocol, but deep inside I had to admit I accepted that tradition after making a fool out of myself repeatedly.

After a long moment, the receptionist finally noticed us standing in front of her, and gave us a quick look while raising her eyebrow impatiently. I gave her my ID without making eye contact and she took it without further notice.

She started high-speed typing looking at the monitor and only took one of her hands out of the keyboard to place the webcam in my direction. She froze for half a second, probably noticing the person on the other side of the glass – I’d always been worth noticing, but quickly came back to work, clicking inaudibly to take the picture.

“Purpose of your stay?” She asked still keeping her eyes on the computer.

“Friendly visit.” I answered, not completely sure I’d said the right thing. I’d been thinking about how I was going to answer that question, and after many elaborated lies I decided I should just choose the easy one. Moon dimly placed his weight on the tip of his feet, half waiting to be asked for his acknowledgment.

“You may retrieve your ID at the end of your stay, Mr. Reeves.” Said the girl in the same monotonous tone as she slid a snow-white card over the counter and in my direction. “Enjoy your visit.”

The sweat started to fall back as I approached the elevators, knowing I was, for now, out of danger. It’s strange how mind works: so far, my trip to Silver Palace had followed regular protocol and was easily categorized as a simple, almost dull visit to a friend. How many times had I crossed that hall and got in and out of Moon’s office without even being noticed.

It was true that I’d never done something illegal during my stay, not that I recalled at least. But if you take out the one little detail of Toes’ kidnapping, the whole thing didn’t look fishy at all.

That’s when your mind starts playing with your nerves. And mine was already trained to have a tactical eye and a claustrophobic reaction, not a good combination.

A few years ago this wouldn’t have happened. Back in the old days danger was a daily status: I got loads of trouble and dealt with it easily. But that was before. Before I realized I wasn’t getting any younger; before I understood I wasn’t invincible; before I cared.

“So what’s up?” Moon said as we got inside the elevator. There were three other people in it, but as usual in monkey-business mode, nobody noticed us.

“Not much,” I responded trying to avoid giving much explanation. “How’s the family?” I added to make sure he wouldn’t insist on my visiting reason. Instantly, his smiley face brushed away and was replaced by an aging, miserable look. It was like looking a man get older fast-forward style.

“Fine, thank you.” His voice sounded older too. For a moment, I felt remorse flowing through my veins, screaming to go back in time and drop the question; that’s how bad he looked.

“Billy’s coming over too.” I told him, desperate to avoid the uncomfortable silence that struggled to arise.

“That’s great!” He answered, his eyes bright again followed by a timid smile. “I miss Billy too!”

Moon did this sometimes, act like a ten-year-old. It was still something I couldn’t get used to, and not because of lack of try. He really looked like a giant, white bear in a suit, which made it really difficult to picture him as underdeveloped.

I was under the impression that Mooney wanted to tell me something then, since his eyes looked up without focusing on anything, as if he was thinking hard about something. He then gazed at me kind of realizing I was there, and his features lightened up again. It was an awkward silence this one. Fortunately, the elevator smoothly stopped and got Moon out of his reverie.

GoneTouring looked exactly the way I remembered it. With an olive colored wall set and matching counters, the place resembled a quiet jungle. Of course, if you actually stayed there long enough, you would notice the peaceful exterior merely concealed a boiling inside that could only be compared to a wild herd of self-loathing lions.

The whole company was rotten from every angle you looked. The management liked their status and prevented any A-player from ever getting promoted. The ambiance was extremely competitive, almost destructive, which made it impossible to build a healthy culture.

Even Moon’s group was sinister: his boss was an ancient bachelorette with high self-esteem and a low share of principles. She used to keep Mooney out of every office update and ignored him most of the time, except for the rare occasions when she literally insulted him for making a mistake. Eventually, she realized he wasn’t in there for the glory, and switched her mood to utter indifference.

There were two other people working side by side with my good friend Mooney. Frank Devries, a.k.a. Sarge, was a retired military man who had returned home pretty shaken after a series of irrational combats. He was rather easy to work with, since he barely talked and limited his share of actions to sudden fearful turnarounds half a dozen times a day.

Their other coworker was a young girl called June, and she was also a strange character. She was very depressed and had tried to kill herself a couple of times, which was why everyone was instructed not to mention death near her. Unlike Sarge, she was a small-talker. She would talk about anything, even if she didn’t have a clue what was being discussed. But, luckily for everyone, she wouldn’t stay much and rather leave the room after spitting out a comment or two.

Yes, GoneTouring was definitely not a gift from heaven, and that was probably why I enjoyed spending time there so much.

I stepped out of the elevator and passed through the entrance glass doors. Not too sure why, I prepared myself for a warm reception and even thought about the look I’d wear in my face in case anyone applauded.

Naturally, none of this happened. Everyone was so submerged in their jobs they didn’t seem to notice me arriving. Deep inside, I knew this was a good sign, because it meant less people would remember me being there. But the proud lion inside my chest moaned in disgust as people went by my side almost crashing against me, but without seeing me at all.

Instinctively, I lowered my sight and followed Moon to his office, at the end of the right corridor.

In a futile attempt to give the company a friendlier look, the front wall of every room was made of glass. Of course, most of the staff who didn’t have to face customers on a daily basis had taken care of this exposure with big plants and extra furniture.

As we walked, I did notice a couple of curious looks in my direction, which was a bless for my nearly wounded ego. Thankfully, none of those came from any of the few people I wished I wouldn’t have to face again.

That was what happened when you spent a decent amount of time in the same place: you got memories, good ones and bad ones alike. In this case, I was stupid enough to flirt with the Assistant Director of Business Development, which in plain English means “no good”.

She wasn’t even that hot, but like every good salesgirl she sure knew how to advertise herself. We went out a couple of times until I got bored of her, as usually happened. What I didn’t realize up until then was that she had a bit of an obsession with yours truly, and ended up stalking me in a childish, yet effective way. That was the first time I willingly entered a court room, to get the restraining order.

And I did have some other individuals in my blacklist, or rather they had me in theirs. James Landon and Drew Kazarzkian were two of the top travel agents of GoneTouring. Their numbers were up in the sky, and their means dirty as an unused pool in Fall.

It didn’t take too long for me to figure out there was something fishy about them, and the fact that Moon specifically asked me to stay away from them was too good of an indicator to confirm my theory. Yet in time, I had found a way to mess up with them.

There was this hot blondie who was a client of Landon and had been to the office a number of times already. I didn't actually try to prevent myself from flirting with her; any man would have gone mental just by looking at her... jeans. And I had a line for those flashy women that never failed.

So after taking her to dinner she brought up her whole vacation plan, designed exclusively for her by Mr. Landon. It turned out to be a cheap trip with lame sightseeing and trashy hotels wrapped up as a luxurious and quite expensive journey. As much as I knew what I was getting into, I wasn't going to miss hitting that sexy thing.

That was one enemy I won. As for Mr. Tricky-K-name, well I had to admit I didn't like him at all and it didn't take long before I found a good excuse to piss him off.

Yeap. Those two gave me a hard time back in the old days, although I was the last to cry victory -and I literally cried, but I had that story well blocked up in my mind.

So we reached Moon's little office, and the place hadn't changed a bit. The desks were right in the same spot: Sarge's well against the wall to avoid any unexpected event, and June's facing the small window she kept decorated with colorful plants, probably step number eleven or something.

As soon as we got in, both of Monney's partners looked in our direction. June stood up and danced in my direction, wrapping her arms around my neck when she reached me.

"It's so nice to see you again, Lee!” she sang with her colorful, high-pitched voice.

"How've you been?" I replied flatly, yet giving her a shy smile. She was a nice person, after all.

"Not bad." Nor dead, I reckoned.

Then, in a second, she was back at her station, resuming work. Sarge, thankfully, had stayed put without giving any more notice on my arrival.

I discreetly looked around looking for Mooney's boss, aka the daughter of Satan, but she was nowhere to be found. After a moment of hesitation, I decided not to ask Moon about that at least for now. I had work to do.

I grabbed a chair and placed it in front of Mooney's desk. He sat on his not so comfy seat with a wide smile on his face and stared at me like I was Superman or something.

With some regret, I thought it would be best to try and let him talk some.

"So, what’s up?" I said friendly.

That was it. Moon, who often looked like a huge puppy with a new toy to tear apart, got so excited he spent the next twenty minutes talking about what his life had been in the past few years. He included a high level of detail I never would have guessed he could even understand, and guided me through every significant event in his existence, like the new flat screen he had in his living room, and that time the building's authorities had banned the use of cell phones in the lobby for almost a whole week. Most of it I already knew, it hadn’t been that long since we last met, but I let him tell the story anyway.

My patience started to run out, though. I had so many things to do and so little time to do it. I waited for him to pause for a second, and then excused myself, telling him I wanted to check on some old acquaintances.

He flushed a little and laughed darkly, surely thinking I meant some lady. Luckily, it worked like a charm. A few moments later, I was out of his office, waiting for the elevator to take me to the doctor's office.

I had memorized the names of all of the companies in the building, just in case someone thought I was out of place. The doc's office was on the twelfth floor, and it only had a small sign announcing it was a private practice.

I pushed the bell once and pressed my hand against the door. A second later, it started vibrating and yielded against my touch.

When Billy described this place to me, I imagined it white and flat, like a dentist office. The place was far from that. The walls were painted electric blue, all frames pitch-black. Despite the dim choice of colors, the place looked quite bright thanks to the windowed left wall which was actually covered in navy curtains that filtered the light in such an effective way it mirrored against the big colorless floor tiles.

There were three couches in the small lobby, all in the same sapphire tone. The large one was aligned with the windowed wall and opposite to the main desk, at the right of the office. At both its sides, the other two pieces faced each other. Finally, right in the middle, a small glass table held dozens of fashion and paparazzi magazines which, by the look at them, didn´t seem to be even a week old.

Standing next to the table was my good friend Billy, arguing with one of the receptionists who had stepped out of her station as I got into the office to get closer to him and avoid yelling. Yes, everything was going as planned. It was my turn now.

I let my eyes look to the other receptionist’s direction and found her staring at me with open eyes. She quickly returned to her screen and her cheeks went tomato red. I thought about her reaction for a while, trying not to worry too much unless it wasn’t absolutely necessary. I knew I was easy on the eye, but she wasn’t looking at me that way. That look had a purpose, a meaning I couldn’t figure out.

I started walking slowly towards her, cautious in case she spotted a threat in me. As I reached the desk, she swallowed and looked up with shameful eyes, and then I saw it. She couldn’t help it: her eyes twitched for a split second in my shoulders direction, and she was now focusing hard on looking straight to my eyes. It was the hair.

I have always had shaggy hair and had recently decided to let it grow a bit more than usual. I never liked long hair, so I’d decided not to reach the ponytail phase. Nonetheless, the thick top layer was now reaching my ears, and the bottom one my shoulders. I didn´t belong in a hair transplant office.

I smiled timidly and flashed my white teeth searching for a smile back. She gave it to me and swiftly came back to her surely normal non-friendly style.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked surfing the keyboard with her fingers.

“I…” I had to wait now. Any minute now, Billy would be getting the other girl to see the doctor. I needed to buy some time.

I thought about talking to her, but I needed a more convincing delay. Instead, I took out my mobile, frowned at it and then lifted my index finger while starting an imaginary conversation.

I strolled around the lobby murmuring some nonsense from time to time until Billy had finally convinced the other receptionist into letting him in to see the doctor. It took him long enough, I would have thought of an easier way to get in if I was him. He could have definitely used the extra hair.

Both Billy and the girl entered the room and closed the door behind them. I put away my phone and returned to my receptionist.

Once I was in front of her, I exhaled and took a second to try and build my character. She had her name sewed on her blouse: Bonnie.

Instinctively, I decided to change my approach, something I hadn’t done in years. I looked at her with severe eyes and virtually crossed my fingers.

“I don’t have an appointment, and I’m not here to see the doctor.” She looked puzzled for a moment, and then her cheeks flushed again.

“Bonnie,” I whispered to her, “I’m here for revenge.”

This totally confused her. Her fingers stopped typing while her body moved half an inch away from me.

“I don’t expect you to understand,” I continued, “but I’d like to tell you my story.”

This felt so Lord-of-the-Rings I feared it was going to blow up sometime soon. It was a new strategy, something I have never tried before, and I had a crazy feeling it might work.

So I started telling her the most heartbreaking story I had ever conceived; the story of how a man who called himself Toes had destroyed my loved one and therefore my whole world. I thought of Ginny to get more into character, and I even got my eyes wet enough for her to pout. 

She was so focused in me she had missed the fact that her partner hadn’t gone out of the room yet, and I took advantage of it to lengthen my tale and act a bit more. Once finished, I looked deeply into her eyes trying to unveil her thoughts, and got ready to avoid a punch in the face if I’d misread her.

She looked solemnly back at me and her lips shuddered a little. She’d bought it.

Now, it was time to take her back to reality the hard way: Toes was soon to get here.

“Bonnie, I need you to listen to me very carefully. The man that was arguing with your partner is a friend of mine.” She looked to her right, remembering there was supposed to be someone there.

“Where is Ginger?” she asked, somehow undisturbed.

“She couldn’t be trusted,” Bonnie’s eyes widened and her breath got heavier. “She is fine,” I assured her instantly, before I lost her confidence. “She is unconscious and unharmed, just like Dr. Richards.”

I wasn’t sure I could fully trust her yet, but I had to do this quickly to avoid being caught unprepared by Toes and his friends. I gestured with my left hand inviting her to come to the office with me. I needed to show her they were alive and well.

She hesitated and didn’t seem to want to get up from her seat, so I approached the door carefully without taking my eyes off her and opened it. Inside, Billy was seating in the doctor´s chair, waiting.

“Is she ready?” he asked thinking I had stuck to the original plan.

“She is going to help us, but I want to show her nobody got hurt.”

Billy’s frown got deeper and he peeked through the door in Bonnie’s direction. She remained seated and still as a statue.

After exchanging looks with me, Billy finally opened the white curtain to his right and showed her Ginger and the doctor lying on the stretcher. At first Bonnie looked frightened, and I started thinking of a way to convince her to get in and check on them without feeling threaten by us, the thugs. But while I was on it, she stepped up and walked to the little office confidently.

Billy tilted his head in my direction, bewildered. I shrugged and followed her with my eyes.

After confirming they were both breathing she turned her back on Billy and walked out of the room again. She got to her chair and looked down for a moment, but then she raised her eyes to me.

“I never liked them anyway, they are too bossy.”

I couldn’t help smiling at her in relief.

“So now what?” she said. I was starting to like this girl.

We had some twenty minutes to go through the plan, so we needed to hurry. I gave her the basic instructions while Billy got the doctor’s room ready. Bonnie was going to play a big part in our play, and she needed to know everything from top to Toes. That was funny.

I educated her in every aspect of our plan right before the getaway part. She kept focused, asked me some questions and even made a suggestion that I delicately refused. She was quick and smart, but not smarter than me.

We went through the plan several times until she knew it by heart. We even role-played to make sure she looked convincing. But soon enough, it was time.

I went to sit on the chair next to the door: having my back against the entrance improved my camouflage. I saw Bonnie came to me holding something with her right hand. When she got close enough, I noticed she was bringing me a cap.

“You might want to use it,” she said putting it on the table. I smiled and thanked her, putting the cab in my jacket while I finished with my preparations.

I moved to the sides and tried every angle both sitting and standing to make sure I had everything under control. Then, I took some magazines and spread them over the large couch, hoping that would draw Toes to the seat in front of me. After that, I took my final position and waited.

It was almost time. Billy was getting anxious and looked at me from the corner of his eye every ten seconds.

Bonnie was playing her part well. Although she was definitely a liability, I had faith in her. She'd proved to be trustworthy already, and I hadn't thrown her the threat yet, which was a good sign.

I eyed Billy so he would get into the room; I was going to take it from here.

There was nobody else in the lobby, just Bonnie and I. Carefully, I took the cap from inside my jacket and put it on, making sure my abundant hair was out of sight. I had to play my part well, and if I stayed there, at a hair doctor's office looking like a shampoo model, as I was, that would have definitely given me away.

The clock showed it was time for Toes to be here already, and yet there wasn't a sound in the hall outside the practice. Bonnie looked at me after noticing the time. She didn't look frightened; she seemed... somehow ready. I gave her a flirting smile hiding half my eyes under the cap and noticed her blush and look distractedly at her computer again.

I was beginning to think of a way to thank her after everything was done when I heard the elevator stop in our floor. She seemed to notice that too and stiffened. She looked like a statue under that marble desk.

My heart accelerated involuntarily for a second, thinking her amateur spirit could blow up our quickly thought yet highly developed strategy. But somehow that idea vanished a moment later, when looking at her I saw her loosen up and return to her usual, dormant state.

The bell gave two fast rings. A buzzing sound indicated the door was being released for the new arrivals to enter.

I hid my face behind some gossipy magazine that announced some big star's infidelity with blurry pictures. Carefully, I used my panoramic vision to count the company, and my eyes drew the fat tiny figure of Toes, followed by a taller yet equally wide siluette that moved slowly behind him.

My semi-masked presence wasn't too out of place; after all every man going through that deep transformation preferred to be undercover from indiscreet eyes. I still longed for Toes to be out to the doctor's office shortly so I could relax and concentrate on my next move.

After announcing himself, he went to sit in the exact place I had planned for, the one opposite of me, and the farthest too. His bodyguard stayed next to the front door, still as a statue. I really hoped he wasn't gay, as that could potentially ruin the whole operation. Well, unless… No. I pushed that idea away for the time being.

After only a few seconds, the silence, only partially obstructed by a low monotonous music, was broken by a lazy, playful voice.

"Where is Gillian?” Toes asked.

"She's having a late lunch," Bonnie answered with no hesitation and without taking her eyes off the screen. "We had a very busy day."

"I thought Tuesdays were quiet", he replied with a stronger inquisitive tone.

"Usually, but not today," she said after an almost unnoticeable pause. This was impressive from her, considered she had chosen the words carefully enough to keep him from questioning further without providing much information. On the other hand, she probably faced similar situations on a daily basis, with no guns involved of course.

Silence fell in the lobby again, and my muscles begun to tense. I remembered to turn the page to keep my character in place and angled my face to the upper left corner of the article. Some singer's dog was leaving a pet cosmetician's with a new haircut. Pet cosmetician... That puffy dog had more beauty products on its fur than me on my hair.

A few minutes went by. I had to force myself through some more useless reading. I wondered when Bonnie was going to make Toes get into the freaking office, but quickly remembered she had to keep the natural rhythm of the practice.

After what seemed like an eternity, she typed something in the keyboard and lifted her eyes to Toes.

"The doctor is ready for you now," she announced cheerfully.

Toes took a moment to exhale and then slowly lifted his body from the noisy couch. He walked to the room silently and opened the door without giving notice.

This was one of those moments where I felt simply powerless. I hated delegating, relaying in others. I rather do the dirty work myself instead of waiting, praying for everything to go right.

And this situation was even worse. Not only was I relaying on Billy, which sounds crazy just to think about, but I also had my faith on a complete stranger, a skinny little girl named "Bonnie".

Seconds ticked by. I had already left the magazine on the side couch and was playing with my fingers when I noticed it.

It looked like I had underestimated Bonnie. There I was, just this close to freaking out, thinking about what could possibly be going on in that girl's mind, and it turned out she had already made a move.

She was smiling behind her desk, switching her eyes from the floor to the bodyguard every other second. At first I instinctively looked away, but when I dared looking back I noticed the guy was staring at her flirting, open-mouthed.

It didn't take long for him to approach her and begin whispering. She looked back at him with eager eyes, and they merged into a chit chat in no time.

The guy knew it would take Toes another hour at least, and if he was dumb enough to believe her innocent approach, then he would probably be as predictable as I needed him to.

I saw Bonnie looking at her watch and gesturing the guy with her long-nailed finger. The bodyguard turned around to look at me. I was playing my best sleepy character, eyes barely open, loose limbs.

That seemed to convince him, as I heard him ask what I was waiting for.

She surely gave him the over rehearsed answer, and that was enough for the big guy. He exhaled and approached her slowly.

I heard Bonnie giggle and waited a few seconds before looking up. When I did, I saw the guy had turned his back on me, something he would never have done unless he was absolutely certain I posed no threat. The decoy was doing well.

I stood up in slow motion and then crossed the lobby in two strides. I got so close to him that his sour cologne soaked my lungs and I almost lost my balance.

Should he have had longer hair like mine, I would have probably missed hitting him in the right place. The guy’s head was so uneven, pockmarked; it took me a whole second to find out where his neck started.

I took my favorite piece from the jacket and smacked baldy at the top of his neck. He fell over the desk and slid down to his knees while he put his left hand over his now bleeding head. Then out of nowhere, he turned around and pointed me with his gun, which he took who knows when and how.

I shifted to my right to land on his blind spot, behind his head and lifted arm. He followed me with his gun and reached for the trigger. Lucky for me, my Tae-Kwon-Do lessons had taught me more defense than offense, and I was able to push the gun off his hand while twisting it in until I got him on his back. Then, with more force than necessary, I hit him twice right over the head wound with the side of my hand.

And that was the end of it. I stood there, motionless, staring at the unconscious guy, half waiting for him to react again.

I’d learned about the waiting the hard way. In my younger years I had walked away from fights thinking it was over just because the other guy’s eyes were closed and sometimes a funny groggy face came along with it. My first lesson was with Dean Aston, some prick from high school.

He’d started the fight because of some misunderstanding about the relationship I had with whom he called his “girlfriend”. And we were kicking each other’s butts hard, until I hit his cheek bone so hard he fell to the floor like a rag doll and laid there, frozen.

I’d already had enough, so I turned around, grabbing my jaw in my way, and started leaving. I should have known all the surprised faces in front of me were not staring at the fight winner but looking passed me at the raising opponent. He seized my shoulder and pulled me around, and before I even noticed what had happened, he managed to hit me three times in the face.

I must admit there were other occasions in which I left before I had to, which is embarrassing for someone as smart as I am, but it happened. More times that I would admit.

So after almost an extensive pause I decided he was knocked out for good. I went through him looking for auxiliary weapons, finding two in the way.

Then I slowly picked him up and dragged him to the doctor’s office. There, I knocked three times. Billy opened the door in a flash and looked down at the bodyguard.

“Boy, you’re getting messy,” he said while he helped me place him inside.

“And Toes?” I asked, ignoring his comment.

“He’s out too. I have him prepped up and ready to go.”

I looked through the door that connected the office to the Operating Room and saw a white bulk over the table.

“All right,” I said in a whisper while we accommodated the bodyguard in a corner, “I’m going out to get the car ready. I’ll call you once I have it in front of the building so you can get him out.”

Billy nodded once while he gagged and tied the guy up.

“Do not leave before my call,” I added staring intensely at him.

“I won’t, mom,” he replied.

I went outside and found Bonnie sitting still on her desk, her eyes focused somewhere in the wall in front of her, looking a bit scared but altogether fine.

"I know I should leave now, but I think it would be better if I stayed" she said quietly, almost waiting for my approval.

"That's fine. You did great, girl," I replied looking deep into her eyes. I thought about giving her directions, but she had been through enough already. She was going to be fine.