Night Watch by Tony Reed

Author:Tony Reed [Reed, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

“One, two, three—”

Lincoln, Mich, and Cooper pushed against the forklift while Shauntelle crouched beside the machine, ready to pull the body free once the weight was lifted. The one-ton forklift rocked on its crushed roll frame but stayed in place.

“Again,” Lincoln urged. “Everything we’ve got.” Combined groans echoed through the aisle as the forklift shifted.

Shauntelle leaned closer and pulled on the bloodied hand. Half the body slipped from the wreckage, but the other half was still trapped under the forklift. She took a closer look under the machine. “He’s caught on the controls.”

“One more time, everyone.”

Mich groaned. “For a small forklift, this thing is damned heavy.”

Lincoln felt his muscles stretch to their limits as he pushed with all his might. “It’s a counterbalanced forklift. It’s the batteries inside these electric babies that are heavy.”

“How do you know so much about forklifts?” Cooper inquired through clenched teeth, his shoulder hard against the siding.

“He’s the king of useless trivia,” Mich piped up.

“There’s that,” Lincoln said, grinning, “and Kmart. Six months as a store man.”

“Sorry about the small talk, but how’d they treat you?” Cooper asked, wincing from the strain.

“The people were great. The pay, not so much.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Nearly dere,” Shauntelle encouraged.

This time the combined groans from all three men produced results. The forklift edged over, allowing Shauntelle space to reach under and yank the body toward her. As the corpse slipped over the controls and came free, she fell backward, pulling the driver away from the wreck. Lincoln, Mich, and Cooper released their grip and the forklift crashed back onto the crushed roll cage.

Before the machine had finished its death rattle, Lincoln pulled away the ski mask. Crushed from the impact, a bloodied face with sightless eyes stared back at them. “Anybody recognize him?”

His question was met with blank stares and shaking heads.

Lincoln searched the body. He retrieved an empty wallet and tossed it aside. Further searching proved more fruitful. “Do your thing,” he said, passing the cell phone to Mich.

“On it,” Mich replied, already tapping the screen. “An Android. Easy.”

Cooper leaned closer to Mich with a quizzical smile. “How are you going to unlock the phone?”

“Tricks of the trade.” He powered off the phone, then held down the volume, power, and home buttons. Blue text filled the screen. He scrolled down and tapped the power button next to WIPE DATA/FACTORY RESET. He tapped the power button again, and, after a few seconds, the screen sprang back to life.

Shauntelle grinned. “Clever boy.”

“How do we get his code when you’ve just wiped the phone clean?” Cooper asked.

Mich swung the phone around so that the screen faced him and tapped away. “Sorry, but that part of the lesson is a trade secret.”

Cooper and Shauntelle looked to Lincoln for an answer, but he held his hands palms out. “Don’t look at me,” he added with a crooked smile. “Your guess is as good as—”

“Done,” Mich said triumphantly. With the phone unlocked, he quickly searched the user data. “It appears that the very dead gentleman with the crushed skull lying before us is a Mr.

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