Eton's Escape

by Dale Mayer

  “I heard about that,” Stone said. “The world never changes, does it?”

  “Nope, assholes are everywhere,” he said. “So can I go now?”

  “Yes, go slow, stick to the right-hand side, and a pretty steep section is coming up,” he said. “I want you to park at the bottom of that and then turn the vehicle around, so you’ve got your getaway vehicle on a bit of the shoulder off to the side.”

  “I can do that,” he said, and he followed the instructions exactly because the one thing about having eyes in the sky was that they had access to information that he did not. As soon as he found the steep section, he immediately turned around, pulled into a small shoulder area and pulled off onto the far side and blended the dark truck into the trees. Then he got out and slipped through the trees, his phone still at his side, as he climbed up the steep section of the hill. “Where am I going?”

  “On the left is a garage. I thought I saw a door open,” he said, “but I can’t be too sure if it’s open or closed now. The shadows are weird.”

  “Okay, I’m almost there. Thanks. I’m signing out.”

  “Good luck,” Stone said.

  Eton raced up to the side of the house and flattened himself against the back of the house and waited. Absolutely nothing else was here. He remained against the building and waited until his heart stilled and his mind focused. The garage was open. “Good,” he murmured. He slipped inside the first corner and waited in the darkness, until his eyes adjusted. A door was up ahead that he had seen from the outside on his way in. This garage was attached to a huge house. He was hoping it was the guy’s home but no way to know at this point. Eton also didn’t know if any security was here, whether personnel or hardware. He quickly sent a message to Stone, asking him if he had any way to check. Stone responded, saying he was on it.

  And, with that, Eton pocketed his phone, made his way over, and hid himself against the door connecting the garage to the house. The garage itself was massive, big enough to hold four vehicles. But only one was here, and that was the truck he’d followed. It gleamed black and chrome, very high-end all the way, slightly dusty, but that made sense, given the location where this guy lived.

  Eton tested the doorknob, and the knob turned easily under his hand. He pushed the door open ever-so-slightly and stepped inside. Nothing but silence. He tilted his head, trying to figure out who was where and how many were inside. No way to do a heat scan inside the building from the satellite at this distance, especially with all the tree cover. They could catch figures outside but not inside, which was too damn bad because Eton was going in blind here, and he had no physical onsite backup. His only backup at this point was Garret and Stone, via technology. And Stone just confirmed these very thoughts.

  As Eton moved forward, he checked out the room closest to him, a laundry room. He kept on going through, deeper into the house, until he came upon the living room. There he stopped and studied the area, but it was empty, no sign of anyone. The dining room was empty, and, as he got to the kitchen, he noted an open bottle of scotch on the counter and a glass with about two inches in it. But, of the drinker, no sign. That made Eton suspicious as hell. He immediately withdrew, until he heard a toilet flush and a door open. As he watched, his prey came out, snatched up the glass and tossed back the liquor. Eton quickly and silently walked around, so he’d come up to him in a better position. As Eton stepped forward, he took his handgun and pressed it against the man’s ear. “You’re the one I want to talk to,” he said.

  The man froze.

  “Put down the scotch,” Eton said and slowly the man lowered the drink. And then, with the gun still pressed against him, Eton led him over to the kitchen chair, where he sat him down hard and knocked him out with one punch. He had to work fast now and yanked his hands behind his back. Pulling handcuffs from his pocket, Eton quickly clipped his hands together. Then, knowing it wouldn’t be hard for his prisoner to stand up and to loop his arms around his feet and back to the front of him, Eton searched through the kitchen and found some zip ties and quickly bound his hands to the chair and then his feet too, both supertight. With the man now securely tied, he was slowly coming to.

  Eton smiled. “Are you alone?”

  The man just glared at him.

  “In that case, I’ll go check it out myself,” he said, “and see if I need to take care of anybody else.”

  He quickly searched the house, but it was empty. With a quick text to Stone, giving him Eton’s status, Eton headed back to the dining room. He smiled as he shifted the man’s clothing so he could pull out his wallet. And, sure enough, it was Karl. “Hi, Karl,” he said. “Do you know me?”

  The man shook his head.

  “Well, you should,” he said. “You wanted me brought up to the townhome lot.” At that, the man’s eyes widened. “Yeah, I lived through the explosion. Didn’t you know that?” he said. “Of course Joe is badly hurt. He’s in the hospital, and his son’s dead, compliments of you. But then you thought that you should try to burn down Sammy’s house,” he said. “How the hell does that work?”

  The man just shook his head. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

  “And you are lying,” he said.

  “I am not,” he said. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

  “Well, I saw you throw that Molotov cocktail into the house,” he said. “I was in there too, but, by the time we got the fires put out and everything cleaned up, I decided to let you get home, so you could feel safe for a little bit,” he said, with half a smile. “But I’m here now, so let’s have a talk.”

  “I don’t know anything about this,” he said. “You’re just bluffing.”

  “No, not true. You were tracked by satellite, by the way, so you can give up the lies.”

  His eyes widened at the idea of satellite surveillance.

  Most people don’t think there are eyes in the sky, even when they consider the type of jobs they were involved in.

  “That can’t be,” he said quietly.

  “Did you really think Kingdom Securities wouldn’t keep track of what you were doing?”

  At that, the other man paled in fright.

  “Oh, yeah,” Eton said. “Just because you’re dealing with one of them doesn’t mean somebody else doesn’t know what’s going on,” he said, with a knowing smile.

  “That can’t be,” he said. “I don’t have anything to do with them.”

  “Well, that’s bullshit,” he said. “You see? We’ve already checked your bank accounts. We already checked the amount of money you paid Joe to deliver me.” Eton paused. “I’m insulted by the small figure, by the way. I’m worth more than that, you know?” he said, sneering.

  But the man now shook his head rapidly. “Look. I do business with them, that’s all.”

  “That’s all that was to you, right? Just business?”

  He swallowed hard. “You don’t understand.”

  “You’re right. I don’t,” he said. “This is all bullshit, as far as I’m concerned. My friends have been attacked. You’ve tried to kill several of us, and now you’re after Sammy. And what you did to Joe, preying on his need to save his grandson like that? It’s a damn shame.”

  The man just kept shaking his head. “You don’t understand. You don’t understand.”

  “No, I don’t,” he said. “So you better tell me, so I do understand.” He waited for Karl to speak. “Your chance to do that is running out. So start talking now.”

  The man stared at him, as if trying to figure out what to say.

  “Only the truth and do it now. I don’t have time for any more bullshit,” he said.

  “You don’t know what these people are like.”

  “Buddy, you don’t know what I’m like,” he said in a hard voice. “So start talking.”

  He just shook his head.

  Eton lifted a hand and backhanded him in a swift move. “You really think I’m here to play games?” he asked.

  “They will kill m
e,” he said.

  “Don’t you realize you’re already dead?” he said, with a feral smile. “Because, once they know that I’m here, you’re history. They already know, by the way. It’s just that simple. You were history the minute you got involved with them.”

  He kept shaking his head, as if trying not to believe it, yet something was in his gaze that said he already had a good idea. “It can’t be,” he said. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

  “Of course not. It’s never supposed to be like this,” he said. “But guess what? It almost always ends up this way.”

  “No,” he said, “that’s not fair.”

  “Fair?” Eton said. “Now that’s a really interesting comment. What is fair about playing Joe? His son is dead. You torched Sammy’s place. What is fair about that?”

  Karl just stared at him and said, “I wasn’t supposed to get found out. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to work on Joe at all. He knows me.”

  “So why did you?” Eton asked curiously.

  “Because somebody I know said I had to. Plus they had something on me.”

  “That seems to be the way of the world, doesn’t it, Karl? You do something, and nobody lets you forget it.”

  “And I didn’t even do anything wrong,” he said bitterly. “But I didn’t want to open it up to the world either.”

  “And that weakness is what got you in trouble,” he said.

  “Yes, and now you’re here,” Karl said.

  “Apparently these guys really like exploiting the weaknesses in people,” Eton said.

  “That’s not all they do,” he said. “You know that, as soon as we’re caught, we’re dead anyway.”

  “That’s exactly what I just said to you,” he said.

  “I’m not here alone either,” Karl said. “I was hoping they’d come and rescue me, but now I suspect they’ll just be here to take us both out.”

  “Does that explain the whiskey?”

  “I was asked on my way in if I’d stopped to make sure the job was done, and of course I hadn’t, so they were not impressed,” he said. “I wondered then if I’d crossed a line.”

  “It’s a good thing you didn’t check because it would have meant that the fire would have been much worse, but instead we put it out fairly quickly. They would know that too by now.”

  He nodded calmly. “I didn’t want to hurt Joe, and they didn’t like that either.”

  “What they don’t like,” Eton said, “is resistance.”

  “Arguing over Joe got me into trouble.”

  “Well, don’t look to me for sympathy,” he said, searching the area, “and you can help yourself by helping me.”

  “Why would I do that?” Karl asked. “I’ve already been paid a ton of money.”

  “Well, you can’t access it,” he said. “We’ve frozen your accounts.”

  Karl stared at him in shock. “You can’t do that,” he said.

  “Watch me,” Eton replied.

  Just then rapid gunfire came through the living room window. Eton hit the floor and bolted backward behind the kitchen island, even as he watched another spray coming through, crossing the living room and hitting Karl right in the head. Swearing, Eton raced through the kitchen’s rear patio doors and outside. The worse thing he could do was get caught up inside like that.

  Once he was outside, he checked the surroundings and bolted for the trees. It was already way too late for Karl, so what Eton had to do was make sure he was safe, and then all he could think about was Garret and Sammy. He bolted through the trees, back down to the base of the house, and yet, as he went past, he saw another vehicle firing multiple gunshots into the house, followed by something that looked like a grenade.

  When, all of a sudden, he heard an explosion, he realized it was a small bomb, and the house just went up in smoke. He stared at the house, realizing how much destruction these guys were hell-bent on doing, with no consideration for those inside. As he analyzed the situation, the vehicles took off in front of him. He raced down to his truck, hoping they hadn’t seen it. When they bolted past it at top speed, he hopped in and headed out after them.

  All he could think about at that point in time was that they were heading toward Sammy’s house. He quickly called Garret and screamed into his phone as soon as Garret answered. “They shot Karl and completely torched his house with military-grade explosives,” he said. “Get the hell out of there right now. They are heading back, and I don’t know if they’re coming for you or not.”

  “We’re on it,” Garret said.

  “Just keep yourselves safe. I’m behind the assholes,” he said. “I don’t give a shit if they see me at this point. I want to make sure I chase them away from you guys.”

  “How far out are you?”

  “Twelve minutes,” he said, “probably the longest of my life.” After a pause, he said, “Stay safe, brother.” Then he threw down the phone, slammed his foot harder onto the gas, and roared forward. If they torched Sammy’s place the same way they just did Karl’s, it wouldn’t matter if they were inside or not. Anything even nearby would go up regardless. All he could do was hope they got her father out safely. Because this plan had just gone all to shit.

  Chapter 12

  Sammy leaned against the busted living room window, staring out into the night. An explosion had occurred somewhere only moments ago. Garret started moving, the phone to his ear. Shoving it back in his pocket, he snatched up his laptop and said sternly, “Get your father, fast. We’ve got trouble coming even faster. We have to get away from the house.”

  She stared at him in shock and bolted toward her father’s room. “Dad, Dad, wake up!” she called.

  No answer. When he slept, he slept so damn hard these days. She heard Garret rushing around, presumably picking up whatever equipment he needed. She raced over to her father’s side and gave him a good shake. Hard enough that he should wake up. His head moved a little to the side but no reaction other than that.

  She stared at him in shock, and, reaching down, she hesitantly placed two fingers against his neck, looking for a pulse. There wasn’t one. She placed a hand on his chest and then her ear, searching for any signs of life. But, when she lifted his hand and dropped it, it fell, completely lifeless. She turned to the doorway, where Garret stared at her. “He’s gone,” she whispered. “I think he’s gone.”

  Garret, his expression somber, raced over and checked for himself. He nodded and said, “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “We can’t just leave him here,” she cried out, but Garret ushered her from the bedroom.

  He asked, “What about your work?”

  She looked at him, shrugged, and said, “It’s all in the cloud.”

  “Passport, purse?”

  She stared at him in shock but snatched her passport and put it in her purse, grabbed a sweater, and put on shoes.

  “Let’s go. Move, move, move,” he said, pushing her out the back door of the kitchen.

  “What the hell is going on?” she cried out. Her heart was still in the house with her father. She couldn’t believe that he had died just like that, while she was in the living room. It just seemed so wrong.

  At the same time, it seemed so very right. Of all the most peaceful ways to go, in his sleep had to be it. But why? Why right now? He had seemed to be holding his own. Certainly he’d been declining, but she had no indication that today was the day. She didn’t have a chance to even think about it because Garret was now pushing her to the hillside behind the house.

  “Climb,” he said, “fast.”

  His demeanor didn’t leave room for anything but complete and absolute compliance. She didn’t know what the hell was going on, but it was obviously serious. She heard vehicles rushing down the road and realized he was trying to get her well out of the way from whatever those guys would do. With that realization, fear lent wings to her feet, and she raced up the hill, carrying just her purse. She thought of all the things in the house they could destroy but
hoped that none of it would come to pass. He’d wanted her to grab necessities, which in her world was just her purse because it had her wallet and credit cards. But then she thought of all the mementos of her life in there. Still, she had had no time, and he kept pushing her.

  “Up, up, up,” he said.

  Finally she reached the top of the hillside and collapsed to the ground, raggedly gasping for breath. “What the hell?” she asked.

  He said, “Look.”

  She turned back to see her house burning bright. “Oh, God,” she cried out. “No, no!” She stood and tried to race down the hill, but he wouldn’t let her. He grabbed her, threw her to the ground, and held her there.

  “You can’t go,” he said.

  She stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “My father,” she said.

  “He was already gone. If we had tried to move him, we’d have become fuel for the fire. Just ask yourself how your father would feel about leaving this earth—body and soul—along with one of his greatest creations, surrounded by all of his memories,” he said.

  She just stared at him. “Surely we can stop it.”

  “I’m sure the fire engines are already on the way,” he whispered. “What we can’t know is whether the guys who did this have left or if they’re lurking somewhere to see if they succeeded.”

  She shook her head. “It’s just too much.”

  He held her close, and they both heard the buzzing of his phone. He pulled it out and said, “It’s Eton.” She snatched the phone from his hands. “Eton, we’re up the mountain behind the house,” she said, “my house.”

  “I know,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

  “How could they do this?” she wailed.

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said.

  “No,” she said, her voice a bit stronger. “You catch those assholes.”

  He hesitated.

  “Listen. I know your people are probably tracking them. Don’t waste time coming up here. We’re fine. Just go after them and learn what you can.”

  With that, he hung up.

  She stared down at her home, feeling tears in the corner of her eyes. She realized she was also looking at her father’s funeral pyre. “I just—” And she stopped.