Chapter 8 - THE NIGHT ON LAMAR STREET
The clock on the wall of Maize ticked past midnight.
Inside the small restaurant, Jolene was fast asleep on a cot in the back storage room, exhausted from the emotional weight of the day, while little Mabel slept soundly beside her, clutching her rag doll.
Outside, the rain had stopped, leaving the asphalt slick and reflective under the amber streetlights.
A nondescript gray van turned slowly onto Lamar Street without its headlights on, rolling quietly toward Unit Seven. Two men stepped out from the sliding side door, both wearing dark hoodies and carrying heavy plastic canisters filled with accelerant.
They crept toward the front entrance of Maize, raising a crowbar to pry open the wooden door.
Before the metal could touch the wood, a massive hand clamped down over the shoulder of the lead arsonist with the crushing force of a vise.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Perry's deep, calm voice echoed like rolling thunder in the empty alleyway.
Before the second man could turn around, three black SUVs rounded the corner of Lamar Street with their high-beam headlights instantly flooding the storefront in blinding white illumination. Doors flew open simultaneously. Twelve of Knox’s most elite security operatives swarmed the area in absolute, synchronized silence, cutting off all avenues of escape.
The two arsonists dropped their canisters instantly, raising their hands in surrender as Perry shoved the lead man face-first against the brick wall.
From the lead SUV, Knox Sheridan stepped out. He wore a heavy black wool overcoat, his collar turned up against the chill. He walked slowly across the wet pavement toward the front of Maize, his leather shoes clicking sharply against the concrete.
He looked at the discarded fuel canisters, then up at the faded white sign that read MAIZE.
"Sal Marcone is impatient," Knox said coldly, his voice carrying effortlessly in the cool night air. He turned his dark eyes to the trembling arsonists. "Tell him his message has been received and thoroughly answered."
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Perry nodded, signaling the operatives to secure the prisoners and haul them away into the vehicles without waking a single neighbor on the street.
Knox walked up to the glass door of the restaurant, peering inside through the dark window. He could see the faint silhouette of Jolene sleeping peacefully in the back room, safe because he had stayed to watch over them.
