I made a beeline towards the east exit, which was the closest, but about three quarters of the way there turned and ducked around a table full of canapés and darted into the back garden, where a dance party was going on. While better than house music, the Mayor was pretty behind the times, and most of the music was from the eighties and nineties. I guess it made sense, considering his age, but I could have done without Maddona doing Like a Prayer. I don't even think the DJ had the original version, but some cover artist version.
I circulated through the group of about fifty or so in the dance area, which was an actually decently laid temporary floor. When Like A Prayer ended, I followed a small group of ladies towards the back door, until I could cut around the side of the house. I waited until I was in a very dark area before darting across the side lawn and leaping the wrought iron fence that surrounded the property. I had planned my escape earlier in that regard, and had parked my car not on the property, but in a Circle K parking lot a half mile away. I dropped into the seat and started the engine, glad it was my last night with the vehicle.
I checked my rearview mirror numerous times for signs of being tailed, but I seemed to be clear. Pulling a Bluetooth headset out of my inner jacket pocket, I slid it in my ear and tapped the power button, connecting it to the burner phone I had in on the dash. No use in getting pulled over for using a phone while driving if I didn't have to. "Dial memory 1," I said, pulling up the only programmed number in memory. The phone burred in my ear, and the call was picked up on the second ring. "Done. Now it's your turn."
Chapter 7
Mark
The next day, just as the clock in the University tower was chiming noon, I was able to meet with a man for the last part of my plan. It seemed strange to conduct a deal such as I was about to do in the middle of the day, but I'd learned that it was in fact the safest. During the day time, most of the police in the city were either rookies who didn't know what to look for, or cops who were tired of dealing with the corrupt bullshit that ran the force to do more than the bare minimum to get to retirement. Combine that with the deal going down in an upper class neighborhood, and I think I could have bought a lot more than what I did.
"So what you've got here is your standard US Marine Corps M-14 rifle that fires a seven point six two millimeter round," the man I was making the deal with said. While the meeting was taking place in the open, I was still wearing a hooded sweatshirt and glasses, and driving one of my backup vehicles I had when I was Mark Snow. It was another calculated risk, but I didn't have the vehicles for Marcus Smiley yet, and I couldn't risk putting it in a rented vehicle, since it was connected to a credit card. "Depending on the round you fire, you can get a minute of angle accuracy out to about eight hundred meters or more."
"And the ammunition?" I asked, looking at the deep brown wooden stock. It was a beautiful weapon, and deadly in its intent. "I'm expecting armor."
"You have armor problems, I have armor solutions," he said, opening a small bag in the truck beside the rifle. "M61 Armor Piercing Rounds. This will punch through up to a half inch of steel plating like it's nothing. It can defeat any ballistic vest material in use today. You wanna get more, you're going to have to upgrade to a fifty cal, or maybe a Winchester 300 Magnum."
I nodded and pulled out a thick envelope of cash, all twenties, and handed it over to the man. "You do good work."
"Pleasure doing business with you," the man replied. He took the bag of ammo and set it inside the case the rifle was in, which to the outside looked and was marked like one used for electric pianos. I pulled the case out and carried it over to my car and set it in the back seat. The dealer, an out-of-towner I'd only known through the Internet for a few months, got into his car and drove off. I waited two minutes before taking a circuitous route back to the warehouse. Once there, I dropped off the package before quickly driving my car to a paid parking lot on the other side of town, and hopped on a bus back to the warehouse area. It is one of the frustrating side effects of trying to be circumspect; you waste a lot of time.
Arriving at the warehouse, I took the elevator up to the third floor, where Sophie and Tabby were waiting. Sophie already had the rifle out, and had stripped it down to its parts. Considering I'd never covered the M-14 with her, I was impressed. "This is powerful enough?" she asked as she looked the receiver over with a careful eye. "I thought we were going for something higher caliber."
"It's more than powerful enough with the rounds he sold us," I said, indicating the black tipped armor piercing rounds. "It also has the advantage that I can put it on full auto if I need to. With two or more guys coming in, that could be useful."