Sins of the Father by Mitchel Scanlon Read Free Book Online

slim gaps between the metal panels that made up the walls and force them far enough apart to create handholds. It was hard work, and as he felt his feet slip and slide on the slick wall below him in search of purchase Leonard remembered Daniel's words from earlier. Whatever you do, don't look down. It was sound advice. Admittedly, the elevator car would have blocked the view, but if Leonard had looked down and seen how high up they were, he got the feeling he might have puked.
    Finally, gratefully, Leonard made it to the top of the shaft and hauled himself onto the thin ledge peeking out from beneath the sliding doors on the two-hundredth floor. Balancing carefully, he prised the doors open.
    Emerging from the shaft, Leonard stepped out into a softly carpeted hallway with Daniel beside him. There was no one about. The floor seemed deserted. Looking about him, Leonard saw a row of doors set either side of the hallway, each with a small rectangular metal plaque on the front with writing on it.
    That's the one . Daniel hurried to one of the doors, his voice excited as he read the words on the plaque. Nails and Ah-so-she-ates, Import and Export. James Nails, Leonard. That's the bad man. That's what he calls himself .
    Advancing to the door, Leonard tried the handle and found it was locked. Checking the hallway again to make sure it was empty, he put his shoulder against the door and tried to use his weight to gently ease the lock open. Instead, the lock broke with an audible metallic shriek. Wincing, Leonard swiftly stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him. Inside, the room was dark, but he could see light creeping across the floor from underneath a door at the other side of the room. Someone was working late. Hearing movement, Leonard quickly hid behind a desk in the darkest part of the room and gestured at Daniel to stay behind him.
    He waited.
    "Who's there?" he heard a voice call out as the door on the other side of the room opened. He saw a man appear, a gun visible in his hand as he was silhouetted in the lights of the room behind him.
    "Who's there?" the man called out again. He stepped cautiously away from the doorway into the darkness, the gun in his hand raised and ready.
    Even as the man moved further towards them, Leonard could see him clearly in the light spilling out through the open doorway at his back. The man was thickset and broadly built, with a slight paunch to his stomach and a slouch to his shoulders. The skin of his face was taut, and it seemed strangely tight around his cheeks and forehead.
    Step by step, the man came closer.
    "I know you're there," he called out again. He had a young man's face, but an old man's voice. "I can hear you. I can hear you breathing."
    He was bluffing. Leonard could hear the slight tremor of uncertainty in the man's tone. It was a dead giveaway.
    "The Judges are on the way," the man lied again. "I called them." He moved closer to the place where Leonard was hiding.
    Closer. The man was nearly within arm's reach now. Leonard could see his eyes as they nervously scanned from side to side, trying to penetrate the shadows. For an instant, the man's gaze lingered on a lamp on a nearby table as though he was wondering whether to turn it on. It was all the opening Leonard needed. Jumping out from behind the desk, he lashed out, batting the gun from the man's hand. Feeling his fingers break the man tried to cry out, but Leonard's hands were already around his throat. Leonard tightened his grip, lifting the man easily so his feet dangled above the floor. He began to squeeze.
    "Kill him!" Daniel was quickly at Leonard's side. The boy's voice was shrill and breathless. He yelled out loud, no longer caring if anyone heard them. "He's a bad man, Leonard! He was one of the men who hurt me! Kill him! Kill him now!"
    Leonard did what Daniel told him. He squeezed harder. The man's hands scrabbled desperately at Leonard's arms, his feet flailed uselessly beneath him. His eyes