“Damn, we got so much stuff here now. Do we really need all this?” asks Jon.
“Yes, yes we do,” answers Shaun.
“Let’s start unloading this stuff and get a plan for what we will do with all this,” says Phil.
Shaun jumps into the back of the box truck and starts tossing items at Phil and Jon.
“I think we can trade a lot of this stuff. We don’t need ten tablets and seven coffee makers,” says Shaun.
“Let’s make an inventory of what we have and then we can decide what to do with all this crap,” says Phil.
“I’ll make a list of the items after we organize everything,” says Jon.
Shaun, Phil, and Jon continue unloading the items from the box trucks and Phil’s electric truck.
Bobby G finishes up unloading his SUV.
Lauren and I finish unloading the items from the electric car.
I close the trunk of the electric car.
Bobby G sees me standing next to the electric car and calls me over to talk with him.
“You okay son?” asks Bobby G.
“Yeah, I’m okay. That idiot Donnie and his group didn’t come close to hurting us,” I answer Bobby G.
“How’s your head though? Are you okay with everything?” asks Bobby G.
I look at Bobby G with a confused look.
“This new world is a terrible place that can make you do some terrible things. I’m worried that your tough decisions are weighing you down,” says Bobby G.
I see the concern in Bobby G’s eyes and answer Bobby G, “I’m okay dad. I have my moments, but I feel that my choices were justifiable. My conscious is clear.”
“Good, I know how hard you are on yourself. You have always been a leader… And as you know, being the leader is tough at times. Especially with decisions that may get people killed,” says Bobby G.
I look at Shaun, Jon, and Phil unloading the items from a box truck and say, “I’m fine with the decisions I have made, especially the ones that have kept my people alive.”
Bobby G sees Shaun toss a large stuffed animal at Jon, smiles, and says, “Me too. I’m glad we are all safe.”
“To be honest, I have tried to avoid killing people. Even with the disapproval of Phil and the guys,” I say to Bobby G.
“You are doing a good job son. This place is great. Keep doing what you are doing,” says Bobby G.
“Thanks dad,” I reply to Bobby G.
“I think letting go of the Big Club was the right move. I was always worried about that place. It was only a matter of time until someone tried to take it over,” says Bobby G.
I reply, “Yeah, one less headache around here.”
“That is true,” replies Bobby G.
I say to Bobby G, “I’m going to help Lauren inside my house and then go see Keith. I’ll see you later.”
“I’m going to help the guys unload the trucks,” replies Bobby G.
“Good luck. Try to keep Shaun from fooling around too much,” I jokingly say to Bobby G.
I walk into my house and Bobby G walks over to help unload the trucks with Phil, Jon, and Shaun.
CHAPTER 8
SPLASH
SPLASH!
A crab trap is lowered into the water from a fishing boat that is anchored in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I’m glad you decided to come out here and talk with us,” says Brad to an unknown man as he sits inside the cabin of the fishing boat.
Carmine walks into the cabin of the fishing boat and sees Brad.
“How are we looking Carmine?” asks Brad.
“Good, we just lowered the crab traps back into the water, and we are all clear,” answers Carmine.
“Very good nephew,” says the unknown man as he sits in the shadows of the dimly lit cabin inside the fishing boat.
A puff of cigar smoke fills the cabin of the fishing boat.
“Do you want me to leave?” asks Carmine.
“You can stay,” answers Brad.
Carmine looks at the man that is smoking the cigar and asks, “So what’s the plan uncle Sal?”
The man, who Carmine called uncle Sal, leans forward, places his cigar in an ash tray, and then stands up from the chair he was sitting in.
Sal stretches his back and then looks at Carmine.
“We are working on that now nephew,” answers Sal.
Sal is a five foot seven-inch-tall Italian American man with a thick New York accent. Sal, Trish, and Carmine have the same thick New York accent.
“I’m open to whatever you think is best Sal. I just want our Captain to go away for good,” says Brad.
Sal gives Brad a creepy smile.
“Is it okay that I call you Sal or do you prefer Salvatore?” asks Brad.
“Sal is fine,” answers Sal.
“I think we should do it on a boat,” says Carmine.
“That’s what I was thinking also. It makes the most sense for the Captain to come out here with us, and he never comes back,” says Sal.
“Will people believe that though?” asks Brad.
“They will believe whatever we tell them. People want a leader, they want to follow someone who is making the tough decisions. People just want to stay alive right now, and they don’t care who is leading them,” answers Sal.
“What do you want in return for helping us with this?” asks Brad.
“We will discuss that after it’s done, but we will be running Channelside together,” answers Sal.
“Fish On!” shouts Eric.
“Damn, nice catch!” shouts Trish.
Eric reels in a large fish from the Gulf of Mexico. Eric and Trish unhook the large fish and place it in a large cooler on the deck of the fishing boat.
Trish stares at Eric, and Eric can feel her staring at him.
Eric looks at Trish and they lock eyes.
As Eric and Trish stare at each other, they both feel a strong attraction and desire to kiss each other.
“How many fish do we have now?” asks Carmine as he walks towards Trish and Eric.
Eric looks at Carmine and answers, “I think ten now.”
“Nice, good job Eric,” says Carmine.
“How many did you catch?” asks Carmine to Trish.
Trish answers, “Two.”
“Man, you suck!” shouts Carmine.
“Shut it Carmine!” shouts Trish.
“How are things looking with your uncle and Brad?” asks Eric.
“Good, they are finalizing the plan now. It looks to be happening tomorrow,” answers Carmine.
Trish casts another fishing line in to the Gulf of Mexico and Carmine goes back into the cabin of the fishing boat.
“You okay with all this Brad?” asks Sal.
Brad hesitates to answer.
“It needs to be done,” says Carmine as he sits down in a chair across from Brad and Sal.
“Yeah, it does,” replies Brad.
“My uncle will get it done,” says Carmine.
“Have you done this before?” asks Brad to Sal.
Sal smirks at Brad and Brad nervously awaits Sal’s answer.
“We don’t like to talk about the past. The past is the past, but we will get it done,” answers Sal.
Sal stands up from his chair and says, “Let’s get some fresh air.”
Brad and Sal walk out onto the deck of the fishing boat and see Clearwater Beach and Sand Key Beach Park.
“This place is so quiet now… Well, if you can get past the gunfire, explosions, zombies, and people screaming,” says Sal as he and Brad look at the beach coastline.
“Yeah, Tampa Bay is just a paradise now,” jokes Brad.
Sal smirks and says, “We will make this place great again, and it all starts tomorrow.”
It’s the next morning and Carmine, Trish, and Sal are prepping the fishing boat for their trip back out onto the Gulf of Mexico.
Brad and Eric are talking outside in the center courtyard of the Channelside community.
“I don’t feel oka
y with this, but I know this place needs new leadership,” says Brad to Eric.
Eric nods his head in agreement but doesn’t say anything to Brad.
Carmine walks over to Brad and Eric.
“The boat is ready. We are all set. All we need is the Captain now,” says Carmine to Brad and Eric.
“I’ll go get him,” replies Brad.
Eric and Carmine walk towards the fishing boat while Brad goes to get the Captain.
“Do you have a thing for my sister?” asks Carmine to Eric.
Eric is shocked by Carmine’s question.
“Aren’t you married?” asks Carmine to Eric.
“Yes, I am married,” answers Eric.
Eric sees Trish working on something on the deck of the fishing boat.
“I don’t care what you do, but it could get pretty messy around here if you are getting with my sister,” says Carmine to Eric.
Eric stops walking towards the fishing boat and looks at Carmine.
Carmine stops walking and looks back at Eric.
“What makes you ask if I’m getting with your sister?” asks Eric.
Carmine laughs and answers, “Relax big man. I won’t say anything. I’m not a snitch.”
DJ runs over to Eric.
“What’s going on Eric? Are you going out on the boat today?” asks DJ to Eric.
Carmine gets onto the fishing boat.
DJ looks at the fishing boat and sees Carmine, Trish, and Sal standing on the boat.
“Can I talk with you for a second?” whispers DJ to Eric.
Eric and DJ walk away from the fishing boat.
“You know who that man on the boat is?” asks DJ to Eric.
“Yeah, it’s Sal. He’s a good guy,” answers Eric.
Brad walks towards the fishing boat with the Captain.
DJ sees the Captain stumble and almost fall into the bay.
Brad gets help from Carmine to get the Captain on to the fishing boat.
DJ looks at Eric with a concerned look on his face.
Eric feels that DJ knows what they are planning to do.
“Come on Eric! We need to go!” shouts Trish.
Eric looks at DJ and says, “See you later, DJ.”
DJ watches Eric get onto the fishing boat and feels that something isn’t quite right.
Eric unhooks the fishing boat ropes from the Channelside dock and Carmine drives the fishing boat down the bay towards the Gulf of Mexico.
“Who was that guy you were talking with?” asks Trish to Eric as they sit on the deck of the fishing boat.
Trish massages Eric’s shoulders and upper trapezius muscles.
Eric gets anxious and fears that Carmine or someone will see Trish rubbing his shoulders.
Eric quickly faces Trish and whispers to Trish, “We need to take a break. Your brother knows about us.”
Trish smiles and replies, “No one knows anything. My brother is just being a pain.”
Eric gets a nervous look on his face.
“I don’t feel okay with what we did. It can’t happen again,” says Eric to Trish.
“You didn’t like it?” asks Trish.
“It’s not that. It’s just wrong. I’m a married man Trish,” replies Eric.
Trish gets upset and starts to cry.
Eric tries to comfort Trish.
“I’m sorry, but this is wrong,” says Eric.
“Eric! We need you down here!” shouts Brad from inside the cabin of the fishing boat.
Eric looks at Trish and says, “I’m sorry Trish, you are a great girl. You’ll find someone else.”
Eric stands up and walks into the inside cabin of the fishing boat.
Brad and Sal are sitting at a table that is right inside the cabin of the fishing boat.
Eric steps down into the inside cabin of the fishing boat and he sees the Captain on his knees and puking into a bucket.
“What the fuck? That smells so bad!” shouts Eric as he steps towards Brad, Sal, and the Captain.
“See if you can find something to clean up his puke that he got on the floor,” says Brad to Eric.
Eric goes into the backroom of the inside cabin of the fishing boat.
The Captain throws up into the bucket and then passes out on the floor of the cabin.
“Well, it looks like this is going to be easier than I thought,” says Sal to Brad.
“I wish I could have gotten some information out of him though... About Channelside and the Conquerors,” says Brad as he looks at the Captain who is lying face down on the floor of the cabin of the fishing boat.
Eric walks back over to Brad and Sal.
“I found some cleaning supplies and another dirty bucket,” says Eric.
Suddenly the fishing boat stops.
Carmine stops the fishing boat engine and Trish drops the anchor.
“This is it,” says Sal as he looks at Brad.
“Hold on, let’s see if we can get anything out of him before we do this,” replies Brad.
Brad opens a bottle of water and dumps it on the Captain’s face.
The Captain coughs up some water as he wakes up.
“Wakey, wakey,” says Sal to the Captain.
The Captain is awake now, and he is lying with the side of his face on the floor of the cabin of the fishing boat.
“We are here, and the area is clear,” says Carmine to Sal as Carmine looks into the inside cabin of the fishing boat.
“Very good, Thank you nephew,” replies Sal.
“What is going on?” asks the Captain as he looks at Brad.
“I want to talk with you. I want to know a couple of things,” answers Brad.
The Captain looks at Sal, and he gets scared as he recognizes Sal.
The Captain panics, stands up, and runs out of the cabin of the fishing boat.
“Shit!” shouts Brad.
Eric and Brad exit the cabin of the fishing boat.
The Captain runs towards the front of the fishing boat.
Carmine, Brad, and Eric step towards the Captain as the Captain stands at the front of the fishing boat.
The Captain doesn’t have anywhere to go.
“We only want to talk!” shouts Brad to the Captain.
The Captain turns around and looks at Carmine, Brad, and Eric.
“Why are we out here?” asks the Captain.
“What is your deal with Jacob?” asks Brad.
“Why do you want to know that? Why couldn’t we do this back home?” asks the Captain.
Sal steps towards the Captain and shouts, “Just answer the damn questions!”
The Captain gets scared and thinks about jumping into the Gulf of Mexico.
“I wouldn’t do that,” says Carmine to the Captain.
The Captain looks into the Gulf of Mexico water and sees the red water, meat, and chum that Carmine threw into the water.
“Shit,” says the Captain.
The Captain looks at Brad and says, “The deal was with Joseph not Jacob. I haven’t seen Joseph in a while.”
“Joseph is dead, Jacob is running the Conquerors now,” says Brad.
“I haven’t talked with Jacob. I never set up a deal with him,” says the Captain with a shaky voice.
Brad starts to feel a great sense of remorse and doesn’t want to kill the Captain.
Brad looks at Eric.
Eric looks down at the deck of the fishing boat.
Sal senses that Brad and Eric don’t want to kill the Captain.
Sal steps closer to the Captain and the Captain shouts, “Please! Please don’t kill me!”
“Why would I kill you?” asks Sal to the Captain.
The Captain puts his hands towards Sal and shouts, “I’ll give you whatever you want! Please don’t kill me!”
The Captain pleads for his life.
Sal is standing right in front of the Captain now.
“Look Cap. I don’t want to kill you,” says Sal to the Captain.
The Captain just stares at Sal with fear
tears in his eyes.
“I’m a realist though Cap… I think you are too,” says Sal to the Captain.
“Please,” begs the Captain.
Sal steps closer to the Captain and whispers, “It’s nothing personal. It’s just a smart move for us.”
SHICK!
SHICK!
SHICK!
Sal stabs the Captain in his abdomen three times with his large hunting knife.
The Captain grabs his stomach with his right hand as blood starts to saturate the bottom of his blue shirt.
“Why?” asks the Captain to Sal in a low tone of voice.
“Because you are being replaced,” answers Sal.
Sal pushes the Captain’s head towards the front of the boat and the Captain falls into the red Gulf of Mexico water.
SPLASH!
Sal looks at the red chum filled water.
Brad, Eric, and Carmine walk over to Sal.
SPLASH! SPLASH!
The Captain desperately pushes water around and shouts, “Help me! Brad! Please!”
Brad looks at the Captain and feels bad for him.
The Captain makes eye contact with Brad.
Brad walks away from the front of the boat.
Sal takes out his handgun and shoots the Captain.
BANG!
Sal’s bullet hits the Captain right between his eyes.
“It is done. Take us home nephew,” says Sal to Carmine as Sal holsters his handgun.
Carmine runs back to the fishing boat controls.
“Raise the anchor Trish!” shouts Carmine.
Eric looks down in to the Gulf of Mexico and watches the Captain’s dead body sink into the red chum filled water.
Carmine starts up the fishing boat and drives back to the Channelside docks.
“You okay with this?” asks Sal to Brad.
“I know it had to be done,” answers Brad.
“Stuff like this is hard to deal with at first, but you’ll get used to it. We got your back,” says Sal to Brad.
Brad feels uneasy at the thought of working with Sal and what might happen next with Sal and Channelside.
Carmine makes it back to the Channelside docks.
“Remember the plan, the Captain goes out a hero,” says Sal to Brad.
Brad nods his head in agreement.
Eric exits the fishing boat and Trish follows him.
Trish catches up to Eric and wants to talk with him.
Fight 4 Us (Book 9): Settlement Page 9