The Final Goodbye
The lights flickered out in Adrienne Sinclair's office. In the dark, she grabbed her flashlight to find her way out.
Thunder boomed in the distance. Lightning crackled across an evening sky. Torrential rain drenched the streets. She groaned. What else can go wrong tonight?
A mysterious envelope laid by the door's crack. She widened her eyes on the pocketbook and stashed it in her pocketbook. ?What the hell? I have no time for this or selfless mind games.?
Adrienne snatched her poncho, her briefcase, and her key ring. A thunderstorm reminded her from when they last cracked a safe together and made love. It carried a subtle hint of d?ja vu too.
She sprinted to the front desk and zipped across the parking lot. She hopped inside her car to dry off and get warm. As she started her engine, she fished for her spare flashlight in the glove compartment, and lifted the envelope to inspect the address.
There weren't any train tracks shown. The woman looked like her in disguise as a fellow cat burglar. Dressed in black, she held a lightning rod on a stormy night like this one.
Sebastian. She shook out her clammy hands as sweat beads formed on her forehead. 'Rennie, you know where to find me. Follow the clues. Sebastian.'?
Thunder rattled. Lightning struck twice near the complex. Too close for comfort. She peeled away, flicked on her wipers, and headed for the highway.
At first glance, she'd known where to find him at their secret hiding place. Clandestine trysts and plotted moves in a treasure-trove filled cubbyhole. ?The Amtak train station.?
Taped on the other side of the photo, a skeleton key at the Amtrak station in Inverness. He kept this knowledge away from her. She sent him to prison and through with his tedious cat-and-mouse games. Sebastian knew where to get her. When intrigued, she would look for him.
The platform and the antenanae held at Amtrak's station in Inverness. Inside the depot, his skeleton key opened a secret locker. After all this time, he kept this knowledge from her. ?Sonofabitch!?
A dawning thought hit her like lightning striking twice in a pitch dark night. ?Bastian wouldn't dare to try to trap me? Or would he??
At the parking lot, she veered to the right and stopped at the nearest slot, nearest to the entrance, She checked the train schedule on her tablet. Surveyed the tracks. Not many people in the terminal. ?A half-hour before it arrives. Just like old times, too.?
She hopped out and dashed to the sliding doors. No security detail around, except for the surveillance videos.
She returned her gaze to the photo once more... and flipped it to the back. Sebastian wrote the number and its location. I hope I won't find you there, Bastian. ?'320?Near Cotati Gate.'?
That wasn't too far for her. With her penlight, she kept the beam shining bright in the darkened hallway.
She placed her gloved fingers on the lock and turned around. Too hard to detect any moving shadows. But she could hear her heart beating inside her chest. She preferred to pick the lock than spinning any dials. Easy to break, easy to crack the safe.
?Bastian, where are you?? Adrienne asked. She couldn't shake this feeling he lurked around somewhere like last week at the Point Reyes Shipwreck.
?Turn around, Rennie!? Sebastian approached her in a big stride.
She jumped and dropped her penlight on the tiled floor. She hated him when he scared her like that and scowled. ?Why are you here? What's going on? Are you alone??
?Yeah. But I believe I'm being watched...? He darted his eyes across the hallway. ?I've cut a deal.?
I don't like the way this sounds. I wouldn't bail him out anymore. ?What? What deal?? Did he know something else he didn't let on again?
?With the D.A.'s office. For a lesser sentence, I've told them what I know and kept your name out of it.?
Someone like him should spend twenty years behind bars. She blinked. ?Go on. Thanks, Bastian, I guess. What sentence??
?Immunity to testify against my former employers. The whole damned lot.?
Adrienne gasped.Was this some death wish? ?You've turned State's evidence against them for probation or lesser jail time??
Sebastian nodded and stepped closer to her. ?Yes. I know they're dangerous and ruthless.? He stood close to her.
Tears formed in her eyes and streaked her cheeks. ?Why? They would kill you more than me.? She feared for his life along with her own. No matter how much she hated him, she never stopped loving him.
?To be with you and to be free from them. Tha's why I'm entrusting you with what's inside the locker. Open it.?
?Key??
He handed it to her and stood back. He swiped her cheeks with his black gloved hands. ?My lips are sealed.?
Adrienne opened it and shone the penlight inside. Bound moneybags, another letter stack, journal entries, and small framed artwork along with Da Vinci's secret project. Her jaw dropped. ?Woah! No idea there was more....? Holy cow! Is this the Holy Grail? If they ever found out about the missing loot and Sebastian double-crossing them, both their lives would be at stake. She understood why he placed his livelihood on the line. For her. She needed a safe place to hide it and away from Inverness. Maybe in Cotati?
?That's all I've stolen from our former fencers. It's for you.?
?Why??
?Because I never stopped loving you. I need a safe place to hide and go off-the grid for awhile. Watch your back, Rennie.? Sebastian disappeared into the darkness, leaving her in silence.
Adrienne's heart slid down to her throat. She looked both ways, stashed the items into the duffel bags from the locker, and made her way to the Cotati gate. If anyone were onto her, she would board the Amtrak train and go underground.
Topic: The Final Goodbye-Draft 3 (Read 609 times)