by Mike Ryan
“So why would you want to take that kind of chance again?”
Tiffany’s shoulders slumped, and she made a face like she was going to cry, even though she wasn’t. “Because I want this to be over with. I want a normal life again. I want to be able to go outside without a bodyguard. I want to be able to drive myself to work without having to worry if someone’s following me. I want us to move forward with our relationship. I want my parents to eventually come home again after this fake vacation they’re having. I just want… I just want it all to be done.”
“So do I. I want all of those things. But I can’t risk you in order to do it.”
Tiffany wiped a tear from her eye. “But what other way is there?”
“The way we’re doing it. We’re closing in.”
“Brett, all this could take weeks or months. And that’s assuming it even works at all. I don’t want to wait that long. I’m tired of living like this. And I don’t know how you’ve been able to live like this for so long, because I couldn’t do it. And I’m not sure how much longer I can.”
“I know it’s frustrating. I know.”
“I just want… us to be happy. And live a normal life, without worrying about someone coming after us, or hiding in the bushes, or following us, or any of those things.”
“So do I. And we will.”
“When? In two years? I can’t wait that long. I don’t want to wait that long.”
“It won’t take that long,” Jacobs said.
“I think this is the best way. I trust you. And I trust Nate. And I trust Eddie. And I trust that if we decide to do this, that you’ll help keep me safe. I believe that. And I know you won’t let anything happen to me.”
Jacobs briefly looked away and wiped his eyes, making sure he didn’t drop a tear. As he did, Tiffany looked at the others.
“Don’t you think I’m right?”
“Uh, well, you know,” Franks said, looking at Thrower to see if he thought it was safe to interject.
“I think it’s something you guys gotta figure out if you’re OK with,” Thrower said. “If both of you are, then we can talk about making it happen, and making sure you’re as safe as possible.”
Tiffany grabbed both of Jacobs’ hands. “Brett, I love you, and I want to be with you. But this has to end. And it has to end soon.”
Jacobs looked up at her. “I know that. And I’m doing everything I can to make that happen.”
Tiffany shook her head. “Not everything. Everything would include me.”
“I can’t afford to lose you.”
“You won’t. If we can do it like we did the last time, we’ll be fine.”
“But we can’t count on it going as smoothly as it did the last time,” Jacobs said. “He’ll be more aware. He’ll be more on guard. He’ll be on the lookout for traps, just like we are with him now.”
“Believe me, I can’t even believe I’m talking like this myself. I don’t consider myself an especially brave person. And I don’t really want to do this. But I think we need to do this. I mean, you’ve taken bullets for me, Nate’s been stabbed for me… how much longer can we go on like this?”
Jacobs put his head in his hands. “I just… I’ve already lost one woman I love. I’ve somewhat recovered from that, thanks to you… but I don’t know if I could recover if I lost you too.”
“Then we’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen, won’t we? Believe me, I’m not some superhero who wants to make myself a target. God knows, when this is all over, I don’t ever want to see another gun again for the rest of my life. I want unicorns, and rainbows, and tranquil walks in the park, candlelit dinners, quiet nights watching movies, and just plain old boring days. I can’t wait to get back to that. But if this is what it takes to get there… then that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
“I’m just not ready to put you in danger again. Not if I can help it.”
Tiffany sighed, then thought of how they could reach a compromise. “OK. How about this? I’ll give you one more week to do it your way. Then after that, we try mine. Deal?”
Jacobs took a deep breath, not wanting to agree to those conditions. He looked back at Franks and Thrower. He could tell by their faces that they were in agreement with Tiffany.
Jacobs rubbed his face for a second. “OK. One more week. If I can’t get him by then… we’ll do it your way.”
16
With Jacobs and Thrower out of the house, it left Franks and Tiffany some time alone to discuss things. Things that Tiffany had on her mind. And they were things she couldn’t talk about with Jacobs around.
“Hey, Eddie?”
“Yeah?”
“What do you know about Brett’s brother?”
“Not a lot, really. He and Brett had a falling out a while back.”
“Why?” Tiffany asked.
“Well, it was a combination of things, really. When Brett’s father got killed, Terry had some resentment toward Brett, thinking it was everything he was mixed up in that was the cause of it.”
“Was it?”
“Oh yeah. No doubt. But that wasn’t Brett’s fault. Mallette ordered the hit from prison as a way to get at Brett even more. There wasn’t anything that Brett could’ve done.”
“Brett hasn’t really talked much about any of that. I mean, he’s told me what happened, but not really the details.”
“It’s a hard thing for him to look back on. His wife and kids were murdered, then his father was killed, then Terry’s kids were kidnapped… it was bad times, man. A lot of bad times.”
“So Terry just blamed Brett and pulled away?”
“Well, there’s more to it than that,” Franks answered. “It really was a combination of things. There wasn’t that one thing that did it. At least as far as I remember it. There was their father getting killed, then Brett continued down the road that he’s on, and Terry wanted him to just give that up and… I guess turn the other cheek. Or at least forget about all this and do something else. He figured Brett was putting everyone in the family in danger by proceeding.”
“And Brett couldn’t stop.”
Franks shook his head. “Nope. You know how he is now. This is… personal. After everything that’s happened, he can’t just walk away. And to be honest, even if he wanted to, I don’t think he could. He’s right that as long as Mallette’s out there, he’ll be a target. Nothing he can do to change that. Except to get rid of the problem, of course.”
“So they haven’t talked since then?”
“Not to my knowledge. Terry wanted to get his family as far away from this life as possible, and Brett didn’t think that was a bad idea either. He figured if he didn’t have contact with them, and Mallette knew they were on the outs, they wouldn’t be a target anymore. Mallette is only interested in hurting people that were close with Brett… people that would cause him pain if they were gone.”
“I guess I can understand that.”
“And Brett didn’t want anyone around him that might get used as a target or get hurt. He thought it was for the best that everyone stayed as far away from him as they could.”
“Except you,” Tiffany said. “You’ve been there since the beginning, haven’t you?”
“Well, pretty darn close to it. I think I met him a few weeks or so after his family was killed. Before he became known as The Eliminator. I helped him take those first steps into this thing.”
“Ever regret it?”
Franks didn’t hesitate. “Not for a second. He needed a purpose and a reason to keep on going. If he didn’t have that, he wouldn’t be here right now. He was lost, like someone who’s on a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean, and you’re just flailing around, drowning, hoping to get your hands on a raft or something. Just something to help keep you afloat for a while until you can get yourself back to shore.”
“Do you think he’s back to shore yet?”
“No. He’s still in the water. But he’s close. He’s got the shore in sight. He’s
close. Thanks to you.”
Tiffany shook her head. “No, I didn’t really have much to do with that.”
“You’ve everything to do with it. To be honest, I don’t think he’d even be here if it weren’t for you. Before he met you, I saw some dangerous signs in his eyes. I saw a man who was tired, who was ready to give up, who was losing that purpose to keep on going. Then you walked into his life, and I started to see that energy again, that will to keep on fighting. He was getting that back. And you had everything to do with that.”
“I just want to help him so much. I want to do more for him.”
Franks smiled. “And that’s why you hold a place in his heart. Because he knows that.”
“There must be something else I can do.”
“Just keep being there for him. That’s the best thing you can do. Just keep being there.”
“Do you think he’s going to give this up? Even after Mallette?”
“Oh yeah. He’s helped people along the way, but he’s not in this to be some vigilante superhero, ridding the city of crime and all that. If he can help, he will, but once his mission’s over, it’ll be over for him. Don’t you doubt that.”
“It’s just hard to think about what it’ll be like when this is done.”
“It won’t be too much longer now,” Franks said. “It won’t be long.”
“You know, I was thinking, what if I could get Brett and his brother back together?”
Franks put his hand up. “Wait a minute there, hotsy-totsy. I don’t think that’s such a great idea.”
“Why not? Don’t you think they’d want to?”
Franks rubbed his chin. “Well, I’m just not sure that’s such a good idea right now. Especially with Brett still dealing with Mallette and all. Maybe after everything is over and all, but… I don’t know about right now.”
“I want Brett to be happy again. And if I could help him get his family back together… do you think Terry would be interested in that?”
Franks shrugged. “I dunno. Probably. I know they were pretty close at one point, before all this happened. So if you were close once, you can be again. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t try. I’m just thinking you should wait a bit. Even if you were to get them together again, Brett wouldn’t want to do it while Mallette’s still prowling around out there. After that bastard’s gone, I think you can have at it to your heart’s content. Go ahead and be a matchmaker. Just not yet.”
Tiffany nodded. “I know you’re probably right. I just feel like I don’t do enough. I sit here mostly.”
“That’s not true. You’re what keeps Brett’s fire burning. Without it, no telling where he’d go. No place good, I can tell you that. That wasn’t why you offered to use yourself as bait, is it? ‘Cause you don’t think you’re involved enough? Because if that’s it, I can tell you right now that’s not the case.”
“No, that’s not why. I think it’d be the best way to end this as soon as possible.”
“Speaking of that, did you have any ideas on that?” Franks asked. “About how you’d put yourself out there?”
Tiffany shook her head. She really hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. And she didn’t have any specific plan in mind. “No. I imagine it would have to be going to or from school, though, right?”
“Maybe. I don’t know about that, though. We’ve already done that.”
“But not me alone. They were following me and Brett.”
“Ah, so you’re thinking maybe drive yourself.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Just a thought.”
“Well, you keep thinking about it. We might need to use it before all is said and done.”
“You don’t think Brett and Nate are gonna find Mallette before the week is up?”
Franks rubbed his chin. “Well, I have my doubts. We’ll just leave it at that. I have my doubts.”
“I guess I should start trying to drum up my courage now, huh?”
“Best thing you can do is not think about it.”
“Didn’t you just tell me to think about it?”
“Did I?”
Tiffany nodded. “Yeah. Pretty sure you did.”
“Oh. Well who listens to me, anyway? Regardless of all that, if it comes, it comes, but don’t spend all day and night worrying about it. That won’t do you any good.” Franks continued to rub his chin, deep in thought. “I’m just wondering, though.”
“What?”
“I’m just wondering if there might be a better way to go about it.”
“About what?”
“Well, if it works out that way where you’re the star of the show, I’m wondering if there might be a better way than putting you at school to draw them out.”
“What way?”
Franks shook his head. He didn’t even have it all worked out in his own mind yet. And maybe he didn’t even have anything at all. It was just an idea. “Maybe we can put the word out, you know, the way we sometimes do… about you being somewhere for something. Like I said, they already followed you from school once, so they might be extra wary about doing that again. But if we can do something different… maybe we can catch them napping a bit.”
“Sounds like you have something up your sleeve.”
Franks laughed. “Well, you know me, I always got something up my sleeve. It’s just a matter of whether I can pull it out of it, you know? I’ll give it some more thought, though.”
“Well, whatever you think up, I hope it’s good.”
Franks smiled. “Oh, you better believe it. If I think up something for this, you know it’s gonna be good. One hundred and seventeen percent guaranteed. And you can take that to the bank.”
17
Jacobs and Thrower got back to the house. As soon as he entered, Jacobs dropped his equipment on the couch. He was more than a little frustrated.
“Nothing, again.”
Thrower tried to keep his partner from getting too down. “We’ll get him.”
“When? Don’t forget, we’ve only got a few more days until Tiffany wants to enact her plan.”
“Speaking of which, where is she?”
The words had just left his mouth when Tiffany appeared, coming from the hallway. “Here I am. Didn’t hear you come in. I was just in the bedroom cleaning it up a bit.” She saw the look on Jacobs’ face and instantly knew what it meant. Another trip where they came up empty. “I take it you didn’t get him?”
“Nope,” Jacobs replied. “He wasn’t there.”
“Well, you did think it was a long shot. The tip Eddie got didn’t make it seem like it was probable.”
“Yeah, I know, but I was still hoping.”
“Well, let’s look at it this way,” Thrower said. “There’s only so many places left that he can hide.”
Jacobs gave his partner a look. He appreciated the positive attitude, and knew the sentiment was just likely to give him a lift, but he didn’t believe that for a second. “Do you know how big this city is? He could pick a different building every night and not be found for decades.”
“The more you move around, the more likely you are to be spotted. He’s no different.”
“Should we talk about the other thing now?” Tiffany asked.
“No!” Jacobs answered. “I’ve still got a few more days, and I’m going to use all of them. I still can’t believe you even wanna do this.”
“I don’t want to. I just want to move on with our lives.”
“OK, OK, let’s not get into that again. Let’s figure out how we’re gonna do this before we put your plan into action.”
Seconds later, there was a loud knock on the front door. Jacobs rushed to the door, while Thrower ran over to the window. Upon looking out, Thrower let his guard down. He looked over at Jacobs and nodded at him, letting him know it was safe. Jacobs opened the door, knowing who was going to be on the other side of it.
“Hey, fancy meeting you here.”
Franks barged right in, just as if he were invited. “Sure, mi casa, su casa,
or something like that.”
“So it appears.”
“So what happened at that place? Find Mallette? Get into it with him? Give him the old one-two punch? The old juke and jive? The left and the right? The up and the down? The—”
“How many sayings do you have?” Jacobs asked.
“Dude, I got a whole trunk full of them, man. I got so many I could make your head spin.”
“You don’t need any help in doing that.”
“Funny, funny. Anyhows, what was the dealio out there?”
“Well, the dealio was that he wasn’t there. Neither were his men. It was a complete waste of time.”
Franks looked a tad dejected. “Oh. That’s too bad. I was hoping it would be legit. Oh well.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I told you in advance I wasn’t sure about it. If you recall, I did say I didn’t think it’d turn out to be anything.”
“I remember,” Jacobs said.
“But now we know.”
Jacobs hated the small talk. “We sure do.”
They all stood there for a minute, looking at each other. Nobody seemed sure whether they were done or whether there was something else that needed to be said. Eventually, Jacobs spoke up again. He thought it strange that Franks continued to stand there, not moving.
“So is that it, then? Are we done?”
Franks scratched his cheek. “Well, there was one other thing that I needed to talk to you about. I almost hate to mention it.”
“If you hate to mention it, then don’t.”
“I said almost.”
Jacobs sighed and looked up at the ceiling, letting out a grunting sound. Whatever it was, it sounded like he wouldn’t like it. “What is it?”
“Well… I got another little thing that you guys might be able to check out.”
“What?” Jacobs didn’t sound pleased. “What do you mean, you got another thing to check out?”
“Just what I said, man. I got a tip about Mallette and his boys being somewhere, and I just figured I’d pass it along to you.”
“You just got another tip? Exactly how long ago did you get this?”
“Uh, yesterday.” Franks put his finger in the air to interrupt Jacobs before he even said anything. “No, wait, that’s not right. No, earlier today. Yeah, that was it. Earlier today.”