by Mike Ryan
“Van?”
“Eddie got some type of van for this. It was the best way to get all the equipment and monitors in there, along with all of us, and it’s a car they don’t know. So we should be able to stay out of sight.”
They walked out of the house, immediately seeing the blue van parked out front. It had the name of some fake electric company on it for extra authenticity. Thrower was in the driver’s seat while Franks was waiting by the side door.
“Not taking Gunner?” Tiffany asked.
“He’s inside already,” Jacobs replied. “Hack’s in there too.”
“Oh. The gang’s all here.” She took a few deep breaths, looking as though she was getting nervous. It was one thing to talk about doing something like this, but it suddenly got more real when it was time to actually put the plan into action.
“You OK?”
Tiffany nodded, breathing out. “Yeah.”
“You don’t have to do this, you know. If you’re not feeling it, we can do it another way.”
Tiffany shook her head. “No. This is still the best way. I’ll be fine.”
“OK. I guess it’s time, then.” Jacobs gave her a kiss, then walked her to her car. Once she was in, he returned to the van and hopped inside.
“Ready to roll?” Franks asked.
“Yep. As soon as she pulls out, keep a loose tail.”
“Will do,” Thrower said. “I’ll keep it looser once we get to the school.”
Jacobs looked at the monitors again. There were six of them. “What am I looking at?”
Hack explained it. “This monitor here, as you can see by Tiff’s face, is the camera I put in the dashboard of her car. This monitor has the tracking device that I put in the car, so we’ll have that location at all times. This third monitor, that has a tracker inside her shoe, so if they take her, we’ll still know where she is. The fourth monitor is a little camera that I placed in her necklace. The fifth monitor is also tracking her location, also by a tracker placed in her necklace.”
“And the sixth?”
“Well, if they take her out of the car, they take off her shoes, they rip off her necklace, we still have one more tracking device that I put on the inside part of her pants. So we should never lose contact with her or not know where she’s at. We’ve got her every step of the way.”
Jacobs nodded, pleased that they seemed to have everything covered.
“Now all we gotta do is wait for the other shoe to drop,” Franks said.
They followed Tiffany to school, giving several car lengths distance between them. Once she pulled into the parking lot, they pulled over onto the side of the street where they could still observe.
It didn’t take long. As soon as Tiffany had parked, she’d barely got out of the car before being approached. It was Selby who came from behind. He was on her before she even knew it.
He had a hand inside his jacket. “I got a gun inside here. So you either come with me, or I can splatter you on the ground right here.”
“What do you want?”
“We’re gonna go for a little drive. Cooperate and you’ll live to see tomorrow.”
Even though she knew this was likely going to happen, Tiffany was still terrified. She didn’t have to act the part.
“Here we go,” Franks said, staring at the monitors.
They watched as Selby led Tiffany over to another car. There was another man waiting behind the wheel of it. Selby pushed her into the back seat and away they went. As soon as they pulled out of the parking lot, Thrower followed.
“Everything’s going perfectly so far,” Franks said.
“Remember,” Jacobs said. “Whenever they stop and get out, you get ready.”
Hack nodded. “I’ll be ready.”
“If we can, I’ll get Tiff out here and in the truck, and you take off right away and get both of you to safety.”
“And if not?”
“Play it by ear. If you and Eddie feel threatened, take off. Don’t wait for us.”
“OK.”
They kept a safe distance away from Selby’s car, making sure they didn’t get an inkling that they were being tailed. They drove for about thirty minutes, ending up in a less populated area, more of an industrial spot.
“I think we’re getting close,” Franks said. “Looks like a good spot to me.”
Jacobs grabbed his weapons, checking them over. “Everyone get ready.”
They appeared to be getting ready to stop in the lot of a warehouse. There were only a few other cars there, but it didn’t look like a functioning business. The cars had to belong to Mallette and the rest of his men.
Thrower kept the van out of sight of the other car, near the entrance of the building. He and Franks then switched positions, that way Thrower could jump out of the car quickly with Jacobs.
They watched on the monitors as Tiffany was brought out of the car and led into the building. As Selby approached the front door, Mallette appeared.
He looked around, making sure they weren’t followed. “No trouble?”
“Easy as pie,” Selby said. “Nobody else there. I told you it’d work. Jacobs and the other guy are out and about. Left her completely unguarded.”
Jacobs stared at the monitor. “Yeah. Completely unguarded.”
Mallette still looked tense as if he couldn’t believe it was that easy. “OK. Take her inside.”
“What next?” Selby asked.
“Now we have to get the word out to Jacobs that we have her.”
“Don’t worry,” Jacobs said. “I know. And I’m coming.”
22
Jacobs kept watching on the monitors as Tiffany was brought into a room and put in a chair.
“When you wanna do this?” Thrower asked.
“I just wanna make sure I know where she is.”
“Go in, make a right, last door on the left, right?”
“Yeah.”
“We got her.”
Jacobs took a deep breath. Now was the time. Mallette and Selby were in the room with Tiffany. If they went in now, they could catch them by surprise. At least that was the plan. “Let’s do it.”
“Plan?”
“Get Tiffany and shoot whoever gets in our way.”
Thrower smiled. “My kind of plan.”
“Hit it, Eddie.”
“You want me slow and steady, or you want me rocking this thing?” Franks asked.
“Get us there as fast as possible.”
Franks laughed. “You got it, man. Here we go!”
Franks put his foot down to the floor. The van took off, driving into the parking lot of the warehouse at a speed that was probably too fast. He drove it almost up to the front door. It actually looked like he might crash through it at first, but he was able to slow it down just in time.
Just as they got there, Jacobs and Thrower jumped out of the side door. Almost immediately, they were met at the front door of the building by two of Mallette’s men. Franks, though, had a pistol between his legs, and fired at the men before they were able to do any damage. Both men went down.
“Ha ha!” Franks laughed. “You sons of bitches! I’ve been practicing, man!”
Jacobs and Thrower jumped over the dead bodies and raced into the building. They were quickly met by a couple more of Mallette’s men. One in front, and one to the left. Jacobs took the man in front of him while Thrower took the other.
Seconds later, Mallette rushed out of the room, seeing what the commotion was. “Fool! You led them right to us!”
Selby came out of the room and started firing at Jacobs’ direction. Jacobs took cover and returned fire. Selby firing gave Mallette a little bit of a cushion to escape. He took off the back way.
“Mallette’s gonna try to get out the back!” Thrower said. He tapped Jacobs on the shoulder. “I got him!”
Thrower took off down the hallway in front of them, hoping to cut Mallette off somewhere before he was able to escape. It left a blind spot to Jacobs’ rear, though, and another of Mallette�
�s men appeared.
Jacobs suddenly felt a burning sensation in the back of his left shoulder. He dropped to the ground, but quickly rolled over, finding his target and shooting back. Jacobs fired off several rounds, taking his opponent out. Another man appeared seconds later, though Jacobs easily disposed of him.
Though he was hurt, Jacobs didn’t have time to worry about it. Not with Tiffany still in danger. He turned his attention back to where Selby was. They had a back-and-forth exchange for a few seconds. Jacobs didn’t want to spend a lot of time waiting for the right time, though, and jumped out from behind the corner of the wall he was behind, sliding in the middle of the floor. He fired at Selby as he slid, hitting him a few times, none of which were in a lethal area. Selby was stunned, though, and a little off balance. One of the bullets penetrated his left arm, and another lodged in his left leg. He stumbled farther out into the hallway, where Jacobs was now able to get a clear shot at him. And he didn’t miss. Three shots to the chest, and Selby was now out of commission for good.
Jacobs picked himself up and ran down the hallway until he got to the room where Tiffany was. He kicked the door open, ready to fire if someone else was in there.
Tiffany quickly shook her head. “There’s no one else here.” She was relieved to see him. “I’m so glad you’re here.” Jacobs quickly untied her. As she got him, she saw the blood coming out of his shoulder. “You’re hurt. Are you OK?”
Jacobs barely looked down at it. “I’m fine. Mallette’s trying to escape, and Nate’s trying to cut him off. I gotta go find them. I’m gonna get you to the van first.”
Jacobs led her out of the room and down the hallway. He was ready for any surprises that might await them. Luckily, there were none. Once they finally reached the front door, they saw Franks standing outside the van, waiting for them.
Franks helped Tiffany inside, then turned back to Jacobs. “What’s the status in there?”
“Two or three more including Mallette. Nate’s trying to find him now. I gotta go back in.”
Franks pointed at him. “Keep me posted.”
Jacobs ran back inside, going down the hallway where Mallette had escaped.
Thrower had found the back door, but it didn’t look like anybody had gone out through there. But there were a bunch of tight spaces and some empty crates and boxes that were left behind by the previous owners.
After a few minutes of searching, Thrower suddenly came face to face with one of Mallette’s men. They were both surprised, and both attempted to fire at the same time. Only one of them got a shot off, though. With the man down, Thrower continued looking. He came to the corner of the hallway and stopped for a moment. He didn’t hear anything. He then turned the corner.
Mallette was standing there with a gun pointed at him. “Looking for me?”
Thrower laughed. “Yeah. Guess I was.”
“I would say it looks like you chose the wrong side.”
“Think so?”
“Yeah. I do.”
Thrower shrugged. “Maybe.”
A shot rang out, and Thrower blinked, expecting to feel a sudden rush of pain all over his body. Instead, he saw Mallette drop to his knees, his gun falling out of his hand. Thrower looked straight ahead and saw Jacobs running toward him.
Another shot rang out. This time Thrower was the one who dropped. The shot came from behind him. As he fell to the ground, it opened up a clear path to the man who was behind him. Jacobs fired multiple rounds, killing the man.
Jacobs looked all around to make sure there was no one else there. With it being clear at the moment, he bent down to check on his partner.
“You OK?”
Thrower sat up and put his hand on his side. He looked at his hand which had blood on it. He lifted up his shirt, and Jacobs took a look at his wound.
“I think you got grazed,” Jacobs said.
Thrower happened to glance at Mallette’s direction, and saw him grab his gun again, and get back to his knees. “Brett!”
Jacobs spun around, firing continuously, hitting Mallette in the chest with what must have been a dozen bullets. There was no coming back from that. Jacobs walked over to his adversary and stood over his lifeless body. The blood was pooling underneath Mallette’s body.
Jacobs looked down at him, and he suddenly felt numb. There was no happiness, but he did feel a small sense of relief. It was finally over. After all this time, it was finally over. It also felt a little strange. Once he walked out of there, he’d no longer have to look over his shoulder. He no longer had to worry about protecting Tiffany. He no longer had to hide. It was finally over.
Jacobs went back over to Thrower and gave him a hand to help him back to his feet. The two men went back to Mallette’s body, standing next to it.
“Must feel pretty good, huh?” Thrower asked.
“I dunno. It should. Hard to feel good after so much pain.”
Thrower nodded, understanding what he meant. He put his hand on Jacobs’ good shoulder. “Well, I think it’s time we put this behind us, no?”
“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”
They started walking away, though Thrower quickly came back to Mallette’s body. “No, I think I chose the right side, by the way. See ya.”
They walked out of the building, instantly greeted by the others.
“That’s it,” Jacobs said. “It’s over. He’s gone.”
Tiffany put her arms around Jacobs to hug and kiss him.
“Well, I never thought I’d see the day,” Franks said. “I always hoped. But… I just never thought we’d see this day.”
Jacobs looked at him and finally let out a smile. He put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Me neither. But we got there. We did it.”
Franks puffed his lips, then wiped his forehead. “I guess that’s gonna wrap this thing up, then. There’s nothing else to do.”
“Not quite. There’s still one more thing I gotta do before I can move on.”
23
Jacobs and Tiffany held hands as they walked from the car with Gunner out in front of them. It was a bit of an overcast day. The sun had been trying to come out all day but just couldn’t seem to escape the dark clouds that were blocking it. They walked between the markers until they got to the ones they were looking for. Once they arrived at the graves of Valerie and the kids, Gunner lay down between two of the headstones.
Jacobs and Tiffany released hands as Jacobs moved forward and got down on one knee, in front of Valerie’s grave. He put down some flowers that he was carrying. He then plucked a piece of grass as he leaned on his knee for support.
“You know, through all of this, I always thought I’d see you soon enough. I really never thought this would end any other way for me, except me lying there next to you. And that was really how I wanted it. I wanted to live just long enough to see Mallette put in the ground, then that would be it for me. But now… now I feel like I have something to live for again.”
There was a look on Jacobs’ face that he hadn’t worn in a long time. There wasn’t the worry, or the guilt, or the weight of the world showing on it. He actually looked content. Maybe even a glimpse of happiness.
“I can’t join you just yet. I’m not ready now. I feel like I can build something with Tiffany. Something similar to what you and I had. She’s not you, and she’s not replacing you, but I feel like she’s what I need. I’m not sure I deserve her, but I’m gonna make sure I’m the man she needs me to be. The person I want to be. The person I used to be. I’m not sure I can ever get there again, get that back, but I am going to try. I hope you’ll understand. I’ll always love you. And there won’t be a day that I don’t ever think about you and the kids.”
Jacobs cleared his throat, then wiped the tears that were forming in his eyes. Tiffany looked on, wiping her own eyes. She knew how hard this was for Jacobs. She knew he never expected to move on, either in body or in spirit. But here he was, doing exactly that.
After another minute, Jacobs was able to comp
ose himself, and he stood up. He went over to each headstone and kissed it. Tiffany smiled at him as he walked back to her. They stood there for another minute, holding hands, just looking at the graves. There were no other words that needed to be said.
Jacobs turned and looked at his girlfriend. “You ready?”
“Yeah.”
They turned and started to leave. They walked only a couple of steps, though, before stopping. Tiffany had something else on her mind.
“Actually, could you give me a minute?”
“Sure,” Jacobs replied.
They released each other’s hand, and Tiffany walked back to the graves. She went over to Valerie’s grave, kneeling on one knee, in almost the exact same spot that Jacobs had.
“Hi. I guess this is kind of awkward, huh? I’m not really sure what to say. I guess I just want you to know that I’m going to take very good care of him. I could never replace what you guys shared. You had something very special, and I could never take that away. I hope Brett and I could create our own special thing, similar to what you had. But you will always be in his heart. I just hope you know that.”
Tiffany paused for a second, looking over at the graves of the kids. Gunner had nestled his way in between them again. She smiled at him.
“I wish I could have met all of you under different circumstances. You’d love Gunner.” She took a deep breath. “I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to worry about him anymore. I’ll do everything I can to make him happy again. And I hope we’ll have your blessing up there.”
Tiffany reached out and touched Valerie’s grave. She stood back up and walked over to Jacobs again. As she reached him, he put his arm around her and hugged her, kissing the top of her head.
“It means a lot that you’re here,” Jacobs said.
“Of course. There’s nowhere else I’d want to be than with you right here.”
Jacobs grinned. “You know, I used to think that…” He looked back to the graves for a second. He put his arm up toward them. “After all this, I used to think that…” He was having trouble putting into words what he was thinking.