Page 99 of Emergency Exit
Find another option.
That wasn’t a rule of business. That was karate. If Shihan was right and life was like karate, then he needed to find another option. Don’t do the expected.
“I want Harper back with me immediately after I hand you the damn research,” said Ash.
Emma is still using the phone you gave her. I’ve got a ping on her. I’ve given it to the cops. She’s definitely on a boat.
“She’s on a boat,” said Mason. “She’s perfectly safe.
Cops say go for Bell Street Pier as a location. No cruises are expected, and they can control the facility.
“But it won’t be instantaneous. Harper will have to disembark at a marina. Once we have the research—”
“No,” said Ash. “We’ll meet at Bell Harbor. I know some people. They can dock at the cruise ship terminal.”
“You know some people,” muttered Mason derisively.
“Yes,” said Ash. “I do. They’re the kind of people who like cash. Talk to Marty when you get to the terminal gate.”
Ash had no idea if there was a Marty or not, but he figured the cops could find a pretend Marty.
“Fine,” snapped Mason. “Meet me in an hour.”
31
Harper
White Noise
Harper looked around the… she supposed it was a deck. She wasn’t familiar with boat terminology, but in the movies, they called the boat’s floor thedeck.It was a huge boat. Harper thought it was possibly a yacht because it had three stories, with the top level being a separate room for the driver. Currently, Harper, Stephanie, and Emma were on the main level. Through the raindrops on the glass, Harper could see the gray Seattle skyline and harbor off to one side. The room was heated, but chill tendrils of December air still crept about her ankles. The boat traveled slowly across the harbor, and the lights on the Ferris wheel on the waterfront flicked between green and blue, making streaks of light in the rain.
Emma was nervously pacing while Stephanie reclined on the couch and poked at her phone. Through the back doors, Harper could see that the deck area was wet and slick with rain.
Harper was at the table. Emma kept clenching and unclenching her hands in the pockets of her trench coat, and Harper thought she was touching the gun she’d pointed at Harper earlier. The thought made Harper nervous. Emma looked too tense to be handling firearms.
Harper was not sure about kidnapping protocol, but she felt like she ought to be restrained. However, having gotten Harper on the boat, Stephanie and Emma seemed to think that was enough.
“This is a bad idea,” muttered Emma as she passed the back doors for the third time.
“Then you shouldn’t have gotten caught,” said Stephanie, without looking up from her phone.
Emma spun and glared at her sister.
“We don’t need her, and we shouldn’t have involved her at all,” said Emma, gesturing to Harper.
“You tried talking to him,” said Stephanie, allowing her phone to fall into her lap. “You said he was insistent that he liked her. We may just have to accept that they are dating.”
“I said he said he wouldn’t get back together with me! There’s no way he’s actually dating her!”
“She’s kind of cute, and she does have good taste in designers,” said Stephanie. “I mean, it’s a little vibrant for me, but he’s always been a little out there on color. Maybe that’s what does it for him.”
“The doorman says he never went anywhere with anyone! There is no way he had been dating her for months at Mason’s birthday party!” yelled Emma.
Harper felt a little bad. She knew what it was like to second-guess everything after a break-up. The intent had been to make Ash look stable, not make Emma feel insane.
“Actually,” said Harper, “we met in the elevator on the way to Mason’s birthday party. We just said we’d been dating for months because people were weird after your breakup.”
“Oh, thank God!” exclaimed Emma. “You see? You see? I told you so!”
