Mr Hook's Big Black Box

Marco Schmidt: Exit Strategy

I'd never thought that all the cords I used to secure stuff in the truck bed could be used as a seatbelt, but Monty was fitting herself in pretty well when I got back to the truck. Using the building's loading dock had made it easier to get the Box on the back, but it was quite a narrow space, so going round to the main exit was easier than jumping down for me, especially as the truck's paint job was relatively new and I didn't want to scratch it.

When I first saw Monty up there I wanted to ask if she knew what she was doing, but it was pretty obvious there'd been some discussion between the girls in the few seconds it took me to get around. I could trust Ferrari to make sure they were safe. I put the key in the ignition and started the engine, then paused once more to stick my head out of the window.

"You okay back there?"

"Just drive!"

It was all the instruction I needed. I pulled out of the car park and onto the main ring road that circled campus. It was quite a long road, nearly two miles, and pretty much the only way to get from one part of the site to another because of the main streets and walkways all being laid out for pedestrians. So once I was on the road I just had to drive slowly until I reached the exit. There were actually two ways off the campus, and this time I figured it would make sense to take the smaller road, rather than get caught up in the morning traffic turning off the highway for the town centre.

I was pretty much moving on autopilot, I'd done this journey often enough not to really think about every turn. There were a few other cars on the road, but it wasn't anything like heavy traffic. Most students lived on campus, after all, and walking direct to lectures was almost always easier than driving all the way round the ring road and then looking for a free parking spot along one of the radial avenues. Only once I had to wait at a junction for someone else turning out.

I was jerked out of my reverie by the sound of banging on the window behind me. The rear view was partly obscured by a tarp in the back, and partly by two girls sitting against the window, but I could see Ferrari gesturing frantically toward something to the left. There was a car stopped at the end of a side street with the engine running. A dark saloon car, black or navy or some colour like that. Two men in the front seats, with almost-matching monkey suits. Engine running and looking ahead, but making no move to pull out. They could have been waiting for someone, giving a kid a lift home or something, but they were stopped right at the junction, as if they wanted to be able to move as soon as they saw something. Both turned their heads to watch as we passed, and one of them said something.

"More of those guys from last night?" Dwayne asked nervously, gripping the seat belt like he was afraid he'd fall out. I glanced back at them, and shook my head.

"No. The guys last night acted like they were in uniform, every movement calculated. They were disciplined and experienced, almost like real soldiers. Those guys, one of them's chewing gum. They're heavily built, they could be ready to fight, but they're not looking at us like fighters. Violence is like their second or third option. And they don't look comfortable in the suits. Someone's told them they need to look smart and they're not too happy about it." I paused a little to give myself a mental pat on the back. A year earlier, I would never have managed to pick up on any of that, but Ferrari had been coaching me some on reading an opponent's stance. The last time we'd been to an actual kendo tournament, she'd been walking me through the little nuances that let her separate the crowd into competitors, amateurs, and observers just by their posture and eyes. I hadn't realised I was getting so good at it.

"Maybe cops," I hazarded, once I'd got over congratulating myself, "But plain clothes cops would be used to dressing so they don't stand out. Campus security's my bet, trying to figure out what happened after last night. The wannabe cops among them will jump at going undercover, playing at men in black, and don't realise just how obvious they are."