The Einstein Pursuit by Chris Kuzneski

rounded the sharp bend near the incline, he felt a glimmer of hope that he was mistaken. His feeling was crushed when the SUV pulled to the curb and two men exited.
    Sahlberg recognized them both.
    They were the men who had entered his home.
    Thinking fast, he turned toward the ticket counter to see who was working that day. He was pleased to see a familiar face smiling back at him.
    ‘Darla, my sweetheart, I didn’t notice it was you.’
    ‘Well, you would have if you weren’t so preoccupied with that window.’ She eyed him curiously, her smile still beaming. ‘What’choo lookin’ at anyhow?’
    ‘I’m supposed to meet a lady friend of mine,’ he lied, not wanting to reveal the true nature of the threat, ‘and I—’
    ‘Is she younger than you?’ Darla pried.
    ‘She’d have to be, wouldn’t she? Any older and she’d be dead.’
    Darla burst out laughing, so hard she almost fell off her stool.
    ‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘I’m supposed to meet her here, but I think I just spotted her husband’s car outside. Needless to say, I’m slightly concerned.’
    ‘You horny old dog,’ she said with affection. ‘I should be disgusted by your cheating, but I’m glad to hear that a man your age still has some lead in his pencil.’
    ‘Excuse me?’
    ‘Some blood in your bone. Some pop in your tart.’ She stood and unlocked the door to the ticket booth. ‘There’s an office in back. I’ll let you know when the coast is clear.’
    Sahlberg thanked her profusely as he made his way through the booth. Darla closed the door and turned back toward the ticket counter just as Masseri and his partner entered the station.
    Masseri scanned left, then right. The space was small, with nowhere to hide. He approached the ticket booth and pressed a picture against the glass. ‘Have you seen this man?’
    Darla pretended to study the picture for a moment, even going so far as to adjust her glasses for a better look. All the while, it was clear the man in the photo was Sahlberg. ‘Yeah, he looks familiar. He walked by about ten minutes ago. Headed down toward the city.’
    ‘Two tickets,’ Masseri demanded. He slid his money under the Plexiglas that separated him from Darla. In return, she handed him two passes and his change.
    ‘Enjoy the ride,’ she said as Masseri and his partner made their way toward the waiting cable car. A minute later, they were on their way to the lower station.
    Sahlberg watched it all unfold on the small video monitors in the office. From there, he could see the outside of the upper station, the ticket booth, the cable car entryway, and the exit at the lower station. All were covered by closed-circuit video cameras. After the cable car left the upper station, Darla knocked on the door. He opened it sheepishly, not completely sure how to explain his actions, but nevertheless thankful for what she had done.
    ‘Honey,’ she said, ‘you need to get yourself a new girlfriend, because her husband looked as angry as Ike Turner.’
    Payne sprinted the two blocks from his building to the Monongahela Incline, but he was still behind schedule for his meeting with Sahlberg. The last thing he wanted was to miss this opportunity. If Sahlberg had already left, he would have to wait for him to make contact again …
if
he made contact again. Who knew when that would happen?
    Payne slowed to a jog as he approached the station, hoping to spot the older man. In many ways, the physical exertion helped to control the adrenalin he had been fighting since he had left McCormick’s office. It wasn’t just the excitement of meeting someone who had known his father – although that certainly had piqued his interest – it was the possibility of danger.
    The rush was something he missed.
    It made him feel alive.

10
    As he neared the entrance to the incline’s upper station, Payne passed two men in business suits who immediately grabbed his attention. They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, and yet he