"Nothing," he said. "I want absolutely nothing from you. No, strike that. What I want from you is to get the hell out of my building."
"Or else what?" I asked, wondering what he was planning to do.
"Or else I burn it down," he said, talking slowly as if speaking to a child. "What part of that didn't you understand?"
"I'm just trying to understand what it is you'll gain from doing that," I said as the elevator opened on the third floor and I looked down the hallway.
"Uh, uh, uh," he scolded. "Press the down button and go away."
"What kind of sick game are you playing, Vangel?" I demanded as I stepped back and let the doors slide shut. I pressed the first floor button and felt the elevator grind as it slowly moved down to the ground floor.
"I'm not playing any game, Connor," he said. As he continued, his voice rose to a crescendo. "I simply want to cause you as much pain as you have caused me. I want you to feel the loss of things you care about. The humiliation of NOT GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE!"
"You are so far beyond fucked up, Vangel," I muttered as I quickly tried to figure out how I could stop him before he did anything irrevocable.
"I'm not fucked up, Connor," he said calmly. "You've been an asshole to me since the day I started, and now I'm going to make you pay for the fact that I did not get the Lieutenant position. That's on your shoulders. It's your fault that I didn't get what I deserve."
"How in the hell is that my fault?" I yelled. I was running out of patience with his delusional ranting, and I was afraid that he was actually going to harm Liz and Alex.
"You turned Chief against me and he refused to recommend me for Lieutenant," Victor said. "You told him I didn't deserve the position. You poisoned everything!"
"I didn't do shit, Vangel!" I shouted. "I had nothing to do with you getting or not getting the promotion. Jesus H. Christ, you are fucking delusional! The promotions all go through HQ and you have to pass the Lieutenant exam then wait for a station to open up. No one has that kind of power, you fucking idiot!"
"You do," he said coldly. "I know you do. You're the fire department poster boy after your horrible tragedy. People listen to you. They take your advice, and you hate me. You've always hated me."
"Victor, I'm not sure what you've been smoking, but what you're saying is complete and utter bullshit," I said as the elevator reached the ground floor and opened up into the lobby. I hesitated a moment, then pressed the button and decided to risk going to the basement.
"Where are you going?" he said suspiciously. "Get out of the building!"
"I'm getting out," I said, hoping that he didn't have the laundry room wired with cameras, too. When the doors opened, I stepped out and walked toward the back of the room. The two women who'd been doing laundry were still there, and I motioned for them to get out of the room.
"Where are you going, Connor?" Victor screamed into the phone. "You must get out of the building!"
"I'm getting out, you psycho son of a bitch," I growled as I pushed open the door to the back room and slipped through. "Don't get your twisted little panties in a bunch."
"I'm going to set this place on fire, and it's all YOUR FAULT!" Victor yelled as he disconnected the phone.
"Not if I stop you first," I muttered as I backtracked to the outer door and called the crew on Engine 102 and alerted them of the possible danger since I had no idea what Victor was going to do. They assured me that they'd alert the Rogers Park Police and send a truck if necessary.
As I scanned the backside of the apartment building, I noticed the fire escape stairs climbing up the structure, and decided that there was no way Victor could have wired those stairs with a camera -- or if he had, I'd get a call letting me know.
I decided to take a chance and start climbing.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Alex
I could hear Victor talking on my phone outside the door of the room. It was muffled, but when I moved over and put my ear to the door, I knew he was talking to Cam. I listened and tried to gather information that would help me get us out of here, but after listening to the argument, I knew Victor had no intention of letting us go.
"You two need to come out into the living room," Victor ordered as he threw the door open and stood staring down at us. "Help her get up."
"What is going on?" I asked.
"None of your damn business," he said as he turned and walked halfway down the hallway. "Get up and get your asses out here now!"
I shook Liz and tried to rouse her, but she was out of it. I put one of her arms around my shoulder and lifted her up off of the mattress. It wasn't easy getting her down the hallway because her body was like dead weight, but I knew that if we could hang in there long enough, I'd get her out of there and off whatever drugs Victor had given her.
"What are you doing?" I repeated as I pulled Liz toward the sofa and lay her down. "This makes no sense whatsoever."