Ordinary Hero

by Ellis Michaels

  “I'm not going to let him have you,” I said. “But I need him to think I am, so play along.”

  “Okay,” Amber replied, nodding her head.

  I unmuted the phone and replied to Carter, “Fine. Deal.”

  I shot Amber a look and she yelled, “What? James, you can't! He'll kill me!”

  “Shut up!” I yelled, then slapped my hands together as hard as I could.

  Smack!!!

  “You'll do what I tell you to,” I said, then resumed talking to Carter. “I'm done trying to protect this worthless chick. She's nothing but trouble. Where and when do you want to make the switch?”

  After a short pause, Carter answered, “Keep your phone on. I'll call you in a few hours with a time and place.”

  Before I could respond, Carter hung up. I put the phone down and sat in silence for a moment, trying to sort out my thoughts and feelings. Overwhelmed with emotion, I did my best to put them aside so I could think clearly and rationally – my best friend's life depended on it. When I finally wrapped my head around everything and knew what we had to do, I looked up at the girls.

  “We need to follow through with the plan,” I said.

  “The plan where I lure one of the Southie Soldiers out of their pool hall?” Melissa asked.

  “Yup. That plan,” I replied. “And we need to do it fast. We need to find out where Kasie is being held before Carter calls back to arrange the trade.”

  “You're not actually gonna trade me for her, are you?” Amber asked.

  I got up off the bed and walked over to Amber. With a smile on my face, I gently stroked the side of hers and replied, “You have nothing to worry about. Ever since we met, I haven't let anyone hurt you and I'm not going to start now.”

  Amber smiled, tilting her head slightly to the side. I wanted to put her mind at ease because I never would've traded her for Kasie. I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but I dismissed it almost as quickly as it arrived. If I had to choose between which of them to date, it would be a no-brainer: I'd pick Kasie, hands down. But this wasn't about who to date: it was about who I was willing to sacrifice and the answer was neither. Besides, I knew that Carter would likely kill all three of us as soon as I brought Amber to him. I needed to find a way to get Kasie back without Amber and I getting captured or worse in the process. Fortunately, I'd already come up with a plan that could work – it had to work.

  “So, what are we going to do?” Melissa asked.

  “We're going to do precisely what I said we're going to do,” I replied. “You're going to get your hands on some kind of fast-acting sleep-inducing drug. Then, we're going to go to Southie and you're going to lure one of Carter's thugs out of the pool hall and into your car. I pop up from the back seat, inject him with the sedative, we bring him somewhere isolated, and question him until we find out where Kasie's being held.”

  “What makes you think he's gonna tell us anything?” Amber asked. “These guys are as tough as it gets. They're not gonna tell us where Kasie is or anything else.”

  “This is my best friend we're talking about,” I replied. “I'll do whatever it takes to get the answers we need to save Kasie. Whatever it takes. Every man has his breaking point. I'll do whatever I have to do, no matter how ruthless, to find out where she is. I'll stop at nothing.”

  “Okay, then,” Amber said. “I'm not doubting you, James. I just want you to know what you're up against.”

  “And I appreciate that. But what I'd appreciate even more right now is if you'd help Melissa get ready. Help her pick out an outfit and makeup and whatever else you think will allow her to easily lure one of the Southie Soldiers out of Side Pocket. And remember, we need to move fast.”

  I left Melissa's bedroom, leaving the girls by themselves to get ready. As hard as I tried to get it out of my head, all I could think about was hearing Kasie's muffled screams over the phone. Any anxiety that I should've had, given the situation, was nowhere to be found. The only emotion I could feel brewing inside me was pure, unadulterated anger.

  16.

  When Melissa came out of her bedroom a little while later, I was absolutely blown away. Melissa always looked attractive but in a professional, classy kind of way. She was a medical doctor, after all. But when she walked out of her bedroom, classy was the last word I'd use to describe her.

  Melissa was wearing a very-short plaid skirt with fishnet stockings and a pair of black open-toed heels that easily added three inches to her height. My eyes started at the shoes and slowly worked their way up her lengthy legs. For a top, she was wearing a skimpy red tank top and what must've been the thinnest bra she owned. I could just barely see the outline of her nipples through her top. My eyes stopped on them for a moment before continuing north to her face. Melissa usually didn't wear much makeup – she didn't need to – but Amber had dolled her up heavily. She was wearing dark-red lipstick and black eyeliner. And her blond hair, which was usually tied back in a ponytail, was fiery and wild, flowing freely down her back. Head to toe, Melissa looked unbelievably sexy – trashy sexy – which was exactly what we were going for.

  “Well?” Amber asked. “What do you think?”

  “You tell me,” I replied. “I mean, I think she looks insanely hot, but it's not me we're trying to seduce. Do you think any of the Southie Soldiers will find her attractive?”

  “Oh yeah,” Amber answered. “Ohhh yeah.”

  “Excellent. That just leaves one more thing and then we can head to Southie. We need some kind of sedative that I can use to knock the guy out once you get him into your car.”

  “Way ahead of you,” Melissa said, tapping the small black purse hanging from her arm.

  She pulled out two syringes, both filled and ready to go. Melissa handed one of them to me to check out while she explained how to use it.

  “Ever used one of these before?” she asked.

  “Nope,” I replied while I examined the needle.

  “When you're ready to use it, you take off the protective orange caps from both sides. Then you quickly push the needle into the skin and press the plunger all the way down. Both needles are filled with lorazepam, a fast-acting sedative. Now, you know how in the movies and on TV, when someone injects a sedative into someone, regardless of where they inject it, they fall asleep right away?”

  “Yeah.”

  “In real life, it doesn't work that way,” Melissa continued. “You need to inject it directly into an artery or vein. Otherwise, we're going to have one pissed-off gang member in my car for about ten to fifteen minutes until he finally passes out. Your best bet is going to be injecting it into his carotid artery. Those are the big arteries in your neck. If you're hiding in the back seat, you should be able to pop up and inject him in his carotid artery before he knows what hit him. Any questions?”

  “Yeah,” I said, “Just one: I figured you'd have to go to your work to get your hands on those. You just happened to have two syringes full of powerful sedatives laying around your condo?”

  “A girl never knows when she might need to knock someone out,” Melissa replied and winked with an almost-scary smile.

  I think Melissa's comment not only surprised me but Amber, too. Maybe it was the outfit. I put the syringe that Melissa handed me into my pocket, carefully. She put the other one back into her purse. I used the bathroom and finished getting ready to go.

  “What do you want me to do?” Amber asked. “Am I coming with you or staying here?”

  I looked at Melissa and said, “I think it's probably best if she stayed here. We can't risk any of the Southie Soldiers spotting her. Is it cool if she stays in your condo?”

  “Of course,” Melissa answered. “Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

  “Awesome.”

  I gave Amber a hug and a kiss... Actually, she ran up to me and gave me a hug and a kiss, then Melissa and I left her condo. We got into the rental car and started heading down to Southie. I sat in
the passenger seat and had a hard time keeping my eyes off Melissa. She looked insanely hot. From the side, her breasts looked magnificent. The wrapping around her ribs pushed them up, making them look even bigger than they already were.

  It didn't take long to get down to Southie. We stopped at a store along the way so I could pick up a few things that we might need. There was tons of traffic coming north, commuters driving into the city, but very little going south. I directed Melissa to Side Pocket, staying low in my seat to make sure no one saw me. She parked just a little bit down the street and I slipped into the back seat.

  “I've never done anything like this before,” Melissa said. “I'm nervous.”

  “You're going to do fine,” I said, trying to give her a last-minute pep talk. “All you have to do is go into the pool hall and get a table. Before long, some guy is going to come along and start talking to you. If you get asked why you're in there, just say that you pass by it all the time and have always wanted to stop by. Say you've always wanted to learn how to play pool. Do you know how to play?”

  “Not really, no. I played, like, twice in college and sucked both times.”

  “Perfect. Then just go in there and start hitting balls. Looking the way you look, guys will be lining up to teach you how to play. Pick one and be flirty: not too flirty, but enough to make him want to leave with you. Then get him to come out here with you and into the passenger seat. I'll take care of the rest.”

  “For you, my hero, I'll do it. I wouldn't do this for anyone else on the planet. But, for the man who saved my life, I will.”

  “I wouldn't have asked you if there was any other way,” I said, crouching down behind the passenger seat. “But this is the only thing I can think to do to find out where Kasie is.”

  “I know. You miss your friend. You feel responsible and want to help her. Just like you helped me. And now it's my turn to help you. Wish me luck.”

  “You won't need it. But, just in case, good luck.”

  Melissa smiled, took a deep breath, and got out of the Chevy Tahoe. It was a fairly-large SUV and there was plenty of room in the back seat. The side windows were tinted, making it hard to see in from the outside. Still, I thought it'd be best to hide myself as much as possible. Melissa had a small blanket on the seat which I threw over myself. I dug the needle out of my pocket and held it in my hand, examining it and thinking over Melissa's instructions. Pull off the orange caps, stick the needle into the guy's carotid artery, and push the plunger down. Seemed pretty straightforward to me.

  I did my best to get comfortable because I knew it could be a while. At the same time, I wanted to stay vigilant and ready. I settled into a half-crouching, half-kneeling position and waited... and waited... and waited. Every time I heard someone walk near the Tahoe, my heart rate would double and I'd get all excited and anxious. Then, when I realized it wasn't them, I'd gradually calm down over the next few minutes.

  After a while – a long while – I started getting worried. What if something happened to Melissa? Did I just send her in to get captured by the Southie Soldiers – or worse? These kinds of thoughts filled my mind and I began thinking about what I'd do if she never came out. I knew it would be suicide to walk into Side Pocket but I couldn't just leave Melissa in there. I thought about calling her cell phone to make sure everything was okay but, right when I reached into my pocket to take out my phone, the driver and passenger doors opened.

  “And then, after all that,” I heard Melissa saying while laughing, “I found my keys in the bottom of my purse. So I ended up giving that guy a BJ for no reason. Oh well! I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. And I know he did!”

  “You really are something else,” the man getting into the passenger seat said in a deep voice. “Most women around here are way too uptight. You seem to be very in touch with your sexuality. Speaking of which, now that we're out of the pool hall and away from the other guys, I think it's about time I get in touch with your sexuality.”

  When the doors opened, I was so startled that I nearly jumped up. That certainly wouldn't have been good. Once again, my heart rate doubled – maybe tripled. I looked at the syringe in my hand and tried to recall Melissa's directions. I was so full of adrenaline that it was hard to think. With my hands shaking a little bit, I pulled off the two orange caps, letting them drop to the floor. I held the syringe in my hand with my thumb on the plunger, ready to inject its contents into the neck of whoever was unlucky enough to be getting into the passenger seat. It was go time.

  I heard both doors shut and, the second I did, I snapped into action. Both of my legs were half-asleep but I managed to pop up, tossing the blanket onto the back seat. The man in the passenger seat was someone I'd never seen before, a muscular man of average height with about a week's worth of facial hair. He didn't seem to see me and I slowly brought the needle up, getting closer and closer to his neck. Then, I jabbed it into his carotid artery and pushed the plunger all the way down... or at least I thought I jabbed it into the artery.

  “Ow! What the...” he yelled, then turned around. His eyes lit up when he saw my face. “Hey, you're the guy the boss is after!”

  I guess I missed the artery. Melissa said that it would kick in within a few seconds unless I missed, then it would take at least fifteen minutes. It seemed unlikely that I'd be able to get the hardened gang member in the passenger seat to have a friendly fifteen-minute chat with me while I waited for him to fall asleep. Especially since he turned around and tried to grab me as soon as he realized who I was. Carter must've showed him and all the other Southie Soldiers a picture of me because I was sure we'd never met before.

  Turned completely around in the passenger seat, the scruffy man grabbed me by the neck and squeezed it really hard with both hands. I punched him in the face a couple times as hard as I could, but it didn't seem to phase him at all. I didn't have much room to cock my arm back, nor did I have any leverage whatsoever. Unable to breathe, everything started getting darker. The irony of getting choked out by the guy I was supposed to be knocking out wasn't lost on me. That very well could've been the last thought I ever had if it wasn't for Melissa.

  As my vision got narrower and narrower, I made one last attempt at stopping him. I tried to press my thumbs into his eyes but didn't even have the energy to reach his face with my hands. Just as my eyes were about to close, I saw a needle pierce the man's neck. A couple seconds later, his grip weakened and I fell back onto the seat, gasping for air.

  “Good thing I brought the other syringe,” Melissa said, looking back at me. “You okay?”

  I didn't answer right away. I couldn't answer right away. It took a moment for the blood to return to my head. All I could do was blink and breathe heavily. A few seconds later, I was able to respond.

  “Yes. I'm okay. And thank you! I'd be the one asleep if it wasn't for you. Now, let's get out of here.”

  Melissa started the vehicle and we drove off. It took me a couple minutes for my heart to slow down and my breathing to return to normal. When it did, I asked her what happened inside Side Pocket.

  “There weren't many people in there – a few guys and one or two girls. I did like you said: I got a table and started playing pool or, at least, tried to. Within five minutes, I had two different guys talking to me, trying to teach me how to play. This guy was the smaller of the two so I started showing him signs of interest. The other guy kept trying to suggest they share me, but this one wasn't having it. He seemed to be of a higher rank or whatever than the other guys in the pool hall because he kept telling them what to do, bossing them around. He excused himself to take a few phone calls, too, probably to that guy Carter you're after. Eventually, he suggested we leave the pool hall and we came out here. You know the rest.”

  “Well, you did good, Melissa,” I said. “Really, really good. Hopefully, this guy knows where Carter's keeping Kasie. As soon as we find out, we'll put together a plan to go save her. Then, once she's safe, I need to figure out
a way to put an end to Carter once and for all.”

  We drove to an abandoned warehouse I knew about that wasn't far from my apartment. It had been abandoned for years and I used to hang out there with a couple friends freshman year, drinking and having fun. I wanted to interrogate the Southie Soldier somewhere that no one would hear him if he screamed. If I had my way, he'd just offer up the information I wanted voluntarily. But I knew that it would probably take some serious arm twisting to get him to open up.

  Normally, I'd never even consider tying someone up and hurting them. Especially a stranger that I'd never met before. But I wasn't doing it for the fun of it: I was doing to save my best friend, a friend who was in serious danger because of me. I was prepared to do whatever it took to get the information I needed out of that muscular thug.

  17.

  “How long until he wakes up?” I asked Melissa as I dragged the drooling man into the warehouse.

  “Well, let's see: You injected a full dose into the muscle in his neck and then I injected a full dose into the artery in his neck. And, on top of that, he drank at least three beers this morning, which strongly amplifies the effects of the drug. So, it could be a while. Unless...”

  “Unless what?”

  “Unless I inject him with a little vitamin A,” Melissa answered with a smile.

  “Vitamin A?”

  Laughing, she replied, “A as in amphetamines. That's a little doctor humor.”

  “And I suppose you have some of that in your purse, too?”

  “It just so happens that I do!”

  “I'm not even gonna ask why you keep a syringe full of amphetamines with you.”

  “Good, cause you don't want to know the answer,” she said, again with a somewhat-scary smile.

  I probably should've been worried that the young doctor I'd been intimate with several times kept syringes of powerful sedatives and stimulants on hand but, at the time, I was just thankful. We didn't have time to be sitting around all day waiting for that guy to wake up. Carter could call me at any time and I needed to find out where Kasie was before that happened.