That last call prompted Bruce to leave the apartment momentarily; Bud assumed the conversation was very private, something the "boss" didn't want overheard. It relieved Bud somewhat when Bruce left for those fleeting moments. It gave the elderly homeless man time to reflect on how things went so completely wrong. After all, Zoe was still safe and sound in Neva's secret chamber deep beneath the Centralia. Surely Neva was aware that trouble was brewing; the dragon seldom let such things slip her all-knowing eye. Bud prayed hard that Neva would come swooping into this prison, give Bruce the business, then free both him and Zoe. He shook his head as his gaze never left the dingy, cracked window with no view other than the nearby El tracks the fire escape steps just outside, and old tenement rooftops still gleaming with yesterday's rain. Bud sighed, knowing that death would come soon, for surely that phone call was orders to kill him.
"Lord," he muttered with eyes cast upwards, "if ever I needed You now, this is it. I never was a prayin' man, but I still believe. I made a mess of my life, with my drinkin' and gamblin'. Lost me the best wife and child a man could ever have 'cause I couldn't stay away from that gin bottle. Lost a good payin' job, too. Me and Willa could be travelin' now, visitin' our daughter and grandbabies. Please, dear Lord. Whatever's to become of me, watch over my girl for me. I know I haven't been a good husband and daddy. I haven't laid eyes on my baby girl since she was fourteen. She's probably married now and has her own kids. Maybe went on to college and got her degrees and a good job. She's the first in my family to get a degree. And Lord, watch over Zoe. She's like family, too.
So is Neva. She's the one who helped me get off the bottle. She's a good old girl, that Neva. Been seen things in this country for over five hundred years. Must've had a plan for her when she got off that ship back when Columbus was just a little boy..."
Something stopped Bud in mid-prayer. A light tapping drew his eyes back to the window. Bud couldn't believe what he was seeing. Were his prayers answered already? Had to be, for there, on the fire escape, was an old woman dressed in ragged clothing. Her pale wrinkled face sported rather large gold-green eyes and a wide toothless smile. An old red bandana covered her wispy whitened hair. She peered through the glass and motioned to him then spoke in a high-pitched, wheezing Oklahoma twang.
"Hey there, Bud. I'm gonna get you out of this here jam. Just sit tight."
Bud, his face all lit up like a bottle rocket on Juneteenth, was ecstatic but worried all the same. Not a few moments ago he prayed fervently for divine guidance, now help arrived in the most unlikeliest of forms. How could this aged woman, probably not much older than he, open that window, unlock the cuffs, and escape this prison without alerting Bruce. The thug could come gunning for both of them, possibly shooting them dead as they valiantly tried to get away.
The woman took a curious tool from her weather-beaten black woolen satchel and commenced cutting the glass. Being careful not to attract much attention, she cut a wide enough hole that would enable entry and escape. Ever so quietly, and with hands wrapped in filthy rags, she removed the glass. Bud nearly wept with relief that freedom was only moments away. He prayed that Bruce would be gone good and long, enough time to make an escape, but Bud had an inkling that something would go wrong.
Sure enough, he heard Bruce's resounding footsteps approaching. Without warning, the brawny henchman flung open the bedroom door and espied the woman at the window.
"Hey! Get away from there!," he bellowed threateningly, waving his gun at the woman. "You heard me! Get out of here!"
The woman, her face skewed in a mixture of fright and righteous anger, hurried away down the fire escape. Bud's heart sank as his only chance of getting out of his
predicament was thwarted so swiftly.
"Old man," said Bruce, the veins in his thick neck bulging, the ugly snake
tattoo on his balding head almost appearing to spring to life, "your bag lady friend didn't get her way. I got my orders to shoot anyone who tries any funny business. Now, eat this." He flung a sack of burgers on the bed. "Enjoy the grub, old timer, 'cause it's your last meal. The boss wants you plugged. I'll be in the other room watching TV. You eat up fast 'cause the boss wants the job done before it gets dark."
With that, he unlocked Bud's handcuffs then moved the heavy chest in front of the window. "In case your friend decides to return. No escaping this time, old man."
******
All of Richard Kendall's suspicious about his lawyer and friend were confirmed with Andy's confession. Nevertheless, it still didn't make much sense. Richard and Nathan checked gained access to Steve's files only to discover the man had no plans to buy or raze Centralia Square. To Richard, it didn't add up. Why would Steven Dix kidnap Richard's only child over something that never existed?
"There has to be something else, Richard," said Nathan as they sat in the waiting room biding their time until the police
finished interrogating Andy Ford.
Still no word on Zoe, where she could be or what has happened to her. Richard worried endlessly that Zoe indeed met with foul play. Perhaps Dix has her; perhaps he has already killed her. Then there was Andy's account of an elderly homeless man who, according to Andy, was inside the Centralia only to be accosted by Andy and Donna. Afterwards, Dix had the old man taken elsewhere. Perhaps, surmised Richard, this man knew something, even found Zoe, but Dix and his minions got to him first.
"Richard, maybe this man freed Zoe. It is a possibility," said Nathan, himself silently and profoundly dreading the worst.
"Then, Nate," replied Richard, sweeping his hand through his neatly cropped gray hair, "the cops had better find that man. He could be the key to finding my daughter alive and well. At least I hope she's OK." With that, Richard buried his face in his hands and silently wept. Nathan comforted his future father-in-law, wondering if Zoe would ever be found alive.
******
Bud sat down the bed again, paying no particular attention to the rumbling of the El or even to his own breathing. He just sat there, staring out in space and counting down his final minutes. Just then he heard a voice calling to him.
"You know, Eldon, you shouldn't lose faith so quickly. You have been more help to me than you'll ever know."
Bud wheeled around, rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and said nothing as the same old woman approached. How did she get in here? Bruce blocked the window. Surely she didn't enter through the door without being detected. He finally asked, "How did you get pass that thug out there?"
She laughed, sat down on the bed beside him, then said, "Eldon, don't you know me?" She stared at him with her large golden eyes. He finally got it.
"Neva! But how...?"
"Hush, my friend. Now, we must leave this place. I'll take you back to the chamber."
"But what about Zoe?"
"She will be safe, but there is something I must do before I free her."
"What do you mean? The cops probably got the folks who kidnapped her. She should go home to her daddy."
"No, Eldon. She is still in danger. I finally realized why I came to this country so long ago, and why I had to remain in hiding all these centuries."
"Why, Neva?"
"Because someone has been hunting me for more than 500 years, and that person is here, in Chicago, among us."
"What are you talking about? I thought you just stayed here and observed history."
"I did observe history – Zoe's history – and the evil man who wants to end my life is here planning his next move. If he gets his way, Zoe's very future – her entire family's future – is in dire jeopardy."
She rose from the bed, saying, "Do you still have the orb?" Bud nodded and produced the crystal orb from his pocket.
"I had this on me ever since that punk whacked me. That Bruce dude never found it on me."
In a flash, the orb vanished from Bud's hand. He gasped, "What did you do?"
Neva replied, "I have my reasons. Now, let us leave this place."
Before Neva could work her magic, Bruce burst into the room, waving his gun
ominously. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Angrily he bellowed, "How in
the hell did you get in here, you old bat? I thought I blocked that window." He
glanced at the chest still in front of the window. With a smirk, Bruce said, "I
should've guessed you tramps have your ways of getting in places where you're
not wanted. I must've dosed off when you busted in. Oh well..."
He took aim at both the woman and Bud. "Say your prayers, folks. I guess the boss won't mind me plugging two for the price of one." He cocked the hammer and commenced squeezing the trigger.
A wildly agitated Bud hollered at the woman, "You gonna let him shoot us in cold blood? Do something!"
Within seconds the very building shook as if struck by an F-5 tornado. The room grew dark then took on an eerie greenish golden light. The once smirking, swaggering Bruce was reduced to a cowering, frightened heap. Bud was no where to be found; to Bruce it was as if the old man vanished in thin air. And the woman? In her place a fearsome dragon stood before the hired thug. The gold eyes became hot with rage; fire and sparks flew from her mouth and nostrils. She bellowed and roared, thrashing her long tail about. The entire
building began to collapse about them. Flames shot everywhere as the dragon bent
before Bruce. The man had no idea what was to come next. He believed surely the creature would
either burn or eat him alive. He thought wrong as he felt the dragon's hot breath upon him.
"Oh my God, please...don't...!"
******
"But," said Nathan Kellerman, "when Dix had Ford call the second time, demanding Richard halt his Centralia Square project, we thought..."
"We believed," rejoined Richard, "that Steve had his own plans for the property, but we were wrong. There was never any such plan, no investors,
no renovation, no shopping center, no office complex, nothing. So what is the real reason he
kidnapped my daughter?"
The answer to Richard's question would come sooner than expected, for the phone rang again. It was Frannie, who, in an excited, incredibly agitated voice spoke, "Oh my God,
Mr. Kendall! Turn on the TV! You guys won't believe what's going down in Centralia Square!"
TO BE CONTINUED...Go to Chapter 7