At First Sight

by Joe Pascente

  “Good work, Rocky. Way to be a team player even when you aren’t feeling one hundred percent.”

  “Piece of cake,” Rocky said with a smug smile on his face. “Hey, do you have any more bottles of those pills?”

  “I do. I also have great news for phase two. While you were taking care of business inside, I spoke with Bows and Worm. They found a picture of Dr. Haven’s ex-lover, Jeremy something or other. They are en route to his home to kidnap him, and bring him to us. If she wasn’t coming for this guy, she sure as hell will come for this Jeremy guy. We’ll have this bitch right where we want her.”

  “What about Boulder? You didn’t say anything about him,” Rocky asked.

  “I didn’t? Oh, he’s with them too. He can’t wait to see you. He’s excited you’re doing better.”

  Duke was lying, of course. Bows had updated him on Boulder’s condition. He was in terrible shape, being shot in the rib cage, and a sliced up eyeball. He lost a lot of blood and if it weren’t for Bows and Worm to patch him up after the safe house brawl, he would have died. They were in some shady motel for the time being, letting Boulder rest before making their way to grab Jeremy. Duke recognized if he told Rocky any of this, it would sidetrack his mission because Rocky was quite unstable, especially when it came to Boulder, or Bows. So he lied to him, and now they were on their way to their new destination.

  Outside Mr. Hornsby’s beach house, Jacobi silently prepared himself for the confrontation. He would never have imagined his boss betraying him like this, but this was the only explanation he could think of. Angela was practicing with the gun Jacobi had given her just moments ago. He wanted to teach her how to use it, in case they were separated once again. He told her it was probably too big for her hands, but it would do the job if necessary. He taught her how to load it, how to aim and how to take the safety off when she was ready to pull the trigger.

  “I don’t want to shoot anyone. I’m not a killer,” she said.

  “You won’t have to, but I want you to know how, in case one of these maniacs finds you again. I don’t want you to be a victim. You should know how to defend yourself if I’m not there.”

  “Why wouldn’t you be there?” she said, putting the gun down on the dashboard.

  “I will be, I’m just saying it’s good for you to know how to use it,” Jacobi inhaled a deep breath squeezing his eyes shut. “I have to go in there now. Please, just wait for me here and do not come out no matter what you hear. Promise me.”

  “No. What if I hear gunshots? I’m not going to just—”

  “Angela, please! Promise me,” Jacobi demanded.

  “Fine. I promise. But, this is stupid.”

  Jacobi squeezed her hand, looking her square in her eyes. He wanted to kiss her lips so badly right now, but this wasn’t the time. He didn’t even know if there would be another time for that. There was a connection brewing between the two, but he didn’t know what to make of it and now wasn’t the time to figure it out. He had business to take care of and Mr. Hornsby was on his right mind now.

  Jacobi walked out of the car and made his way up his boss’s driveway. Angela kept fiddling around with the gun, not being completely honest about her dislike in handling this weapon. She found it to be a much-needed distraction right now and felt a bit empowered being a bit more knowledgeable about these things.

  Startled at the loud ringtone of her phone, Angela put the gun back on the dashboard. She looked at the screen of her phone and answered it at once when she saw it was William’s number calling.

  “Oh Will, you have no idea what my day has been like today!” Angela said, expecting him to ask her a million questions. But all Angela heard was muffled sounds coming from the other end.

  “Angela! Don’t come for me! Stay away! I—”

  WHACK!

  There was a solid thud after she heard William’s breathy pleading coming through the receiver’s end.

  “Will? Dr. Rayne? Are you there?” she asked frantically.

  “Oh, he’s here, my dear. But he’s suddenly unable to speak with you. I’m sure he’d love to see you in person though. How about you bring that sweet ass over here and meet with us? After all, we all have so much to discuss.” Rocky said, laughing softly after speaking.

  “Who is this? Please don’t hurt him. We’ll meet you wherever you are, please…”

  “Don’t worry about who this is. And there is no ‘we,’ that’s going to meet us. We only want to see your pretty face. You better ditch that big oaf who’s with you. Although, I’m sure I’ll see him soon enough to put a bullet through his head.”

  “Please, let Dr. Rayne go. He has nothing to do with this!”

  “I promise he’s in good hands until you get here. If you come alone and meet us at the location I send you, nothing will happen to him. You better get a move on soon, and I’ll be in touch where to meet us, pretty lady. Dr. Rayne is counting on you…”

  Rocky ended the phone call and Angela sat in the passenger seat shaking.

  What do I do now? This can’t be happening. But, William needs me.

  Wiping the single tear that was starting to form in her right eye, Angela unbuckled her seat belt and slid over to the front seat of the car. With her back still aching from the knife wound she had to sew shut in the panic room, she grabbed the gun off the dashboard and placed it in the passenger seat. She didn’t start the car; she just sat there pondering what she should do.

  After Jacobi picked the lock to the front door and let himself in, he noticed none of the lights were on. The home was quite dark, except for the moonlight seeping into the glass house. It was a cloudy night, so the light kept coming in waves creating shadows all over the walls. There was a distant thumping noise, coming from the upstairs floor.

  Jacobi had armed himself with a couple of guns from the safe house, before pushing Ace into the caved in floor. That’s how he was able to spare a gun for Angela. He kept his gun out in front of him, holding it with his good arm. Mr. Hornsby wasn’t a fighting man, so he didn’t have to worry about a hand-to-hand fight with him, but he did know how to shoot a gun.

  As Jacobi made his way to the bedroom, the thumping sound got louder. Slowly, he opened the bedroom door and peered inside. He didn’t expect to see Mr. Hornsby in this condition. He stepped inside the room and put the gun to his side. The thumping sound was Mr. Hornsby’s legs hitting the bedpost every time the ceiling fan would spin around. He had hung himself on the ceiling fan and was slowly spinning around in a circle.

  Jacobi walked up closer to examine him and it looked as though he had been dead for a couple hours. There was a single note on the bed with his name written on it. Jacobi picked up the note and read:

  Dear Jacobi,

  As you probably guessed, I’m not the man you thought I was. I regrettably betrayed you, and Steven, and I’m disgusted with myself. The man I gave your whereabouts to won’t be finished with his mission to kill Dr. Haven, or anyone else in his way, until it’s done. I’m sorry for my weaknesses and I hope you have it in your heart to forgive me. I don’t deserve it, but I hope one day you will see how trapped I was.

  See you on the other side.

  Jacobi folded the note and placed it in his pocket. He walked down the stairs in a state of shock. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen with his own eyes. The man he had looked up to as his boss and friend for so many years had committed suicide and admitted his betrayal. There would be no confrontation with Mr. Hornsby tonight. Jacobi walked out the front door and shut it behind him, making sure to wipe off the fingerprints he could have left. He didn’t want any trace of being at Mr. Hornsby’s home.

  He didn’t know what he was going to tell Angela. But, he didn’t have to worry about that at the moment, seeing as Angela was gone.

  She had taken off to be the hero for her boss, leaving Jacobi stranded at his dead boss’s home. Jacob
i called Angela over and over again, hoping there was some explanation for her disappearance, but she didn’t answer. She knew if she did, Jacobi would convince her to come back and she couldn’t be persuaded, not when her boss’s life depended on her. After the tenth time calling, she finally answered.

  “I’m sorry, Jacobi, but I had to leave. My boss is in trouble and they told me to come alone. You have to let me do this.”

  “Angela, get back here right now. Don’t be insane! They’ll kill you! If they really do have your boss, let me help you save him.”

  “They want me to come alone, you can’t be there, or he’s dead. I have to try. I…I just want you to know…I—I don’t want you to blame yourself if something happens to me.”

  “Don’t do this, Angela. Please, we can find another way.”

  “I’ll see you soon, Jacobi.” Her voice was shaking and tears swelled up in her eyes.

  CLICK.

  “Angela? Angela, are you there?...Fuck!”

  CHAPTER 10

  ANIMAL CRACKERS

  I. Caged

  Through their earpiece communication devices, Rocky and Bows were exchanging the sappiest words chatting about how much they loved one another. It was nauseating to the rest of the team listening in, as they were all on the same frequency forced to eavesdrop. Duke was trying not to pay them any attention, driving the stolen car to the abandoned zoo. This was the place he had envisioned Dr. Haven surrendering herself to Rocky if she wanted to see her boss alive. Lying unconscious in the back of this stolen car, was Angela’s boss, Dr. Rayne, drooling on his shoulder. His wrists were tied behind his back and there was a solid bump on the back of his head, due to a vase Rocky had smashed on his head earlier.

  “Baby, I will never scare you like that again. You never have to worry about your Rocky-bear.”

  “Would you two shut up, already? We’re almost there and we need to be prepared for her arrival.” Duke wasn’t in the mood to hear the couple conversing about their relationship over the communication devices.

  “Sorry, sir. It’s all business from here on out. Hear that, baby? We’re almost at the Old Zoo. Good luck with your operation, even though we won’t need this Jeremy fella. I’m confident Dr. Haven will show up to save her boss man. And when she does, we’ll kill this broad, once and for all. Over and out.”

  Duke grimaced in Rocky’s direction, saying, “What’d I tell you about saying that shit? You sound like a goddamn fool.”

  “My bad, boss.”

  Duke was clearly stressed out about phase two of his plan. There wasn’t supposed to be a phase two, but the first go around was quite a blunder of epic proportions. So, here he was, driving Rocky and the man he just kidnapped to an abandoned zoo in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. It was known as, the Old Zoo, and it was completely abandoned, except for the hikers and random visitors that frequented the grounds during the day.

  The empty animal cages lined the park pathways, and during the daytime, children enjoyed pretending they were lions, or elephants, walking around on all fours, entertaining their parents. The walls inside the vacant cages were spray painted with artistic graffiti from all the years of teenaged-hoodlums coming by to cause a bit of mischief. Some of the graffiti was inappropriate, but most of it was creative and inspiring from artists with authentic talent.

  At this hour of the evening, the Old Zoo was unoccupied and Duke knew this would be the perfect destination to trap Dr. Haven. She and her bodyguard had made a fool out of Duke’s team of assassins and he wasn’t going to let it go on any further. The Mayor of Chicago had paid Duke good money to get this operation done in a timely fashion. If Dr. Haven was not eliminated by dawn, it’d be considered a failure in his book.

  Pulling into the parking lot, Duke took out a cigar and clipped the end of it. Once lit, he puffed on it until it had the perfect burn. This made Rocky think about smoking pot, so he checked his pockets for any left over joints he might’ve had, but found nothing.

  Duke must’ve found and tossed my stash when I was being patched up. Damn it!

  “You ready, kid?” Duke asked, still puffing on his cigar. The car was filled with ashen smoke and Rocky began to choke on it. Duke was the first to open his car door, slowly making his way over to the passenger side to help Rocky get out of his seat, but Rocky swatted Duke’s arm away.

  “I can do it myself!” Rocky bellowed, holding onto the wrap that covered his chest wound.

  There was a dab of blood soaking through the bandages, but Rocky paid no mind to this. He recognized he was in need of more drugs if he was going to get through the rest of this night. At this point, the pain was too unbearable.

  Duke could see the distress in Rocky’s eyes, but he was proud of his determination to get out of the car on his own, even if he was in excruciating pain. He was proud of the discipline and willingness his team of assassins had for always ascertaining they were warriors ready for battle. They were never a disappointment to him, even when they were in terrible predicaments. Except for Ace, who was Duke’s biggest disappointment, as of today.

  When thinking over all the years Ace had been his right hand man, leading the team to victorious results in all the various missions, Duke felt a sense of frustration.

  Where did I go wrong with him? How could he turn his back on me? I’ll show him what happens to a man who crosses Duke Harrington…

  Once Rocky managed to get his aching body out of the car, he followed Duke to the trunk.

  “How the hell does this thing work? Open up, you piece of shit.”

  Duke was talking to the keychain contraption on the set of keys he was holding. Since he had stolen this vehicle, he wasn’t familiar with the gadget that unlocked the trunk. With enough force of his thumb on the button, the trunk popped open and Duke showed Rocky what he had brought along with him.

  Rocky looked inside the trunk and saw a wide assortment of weapons to choose from. Duke was never much of a weapons man, as he mostly handled the planning of the missions and the finances to cover the missions. Plus, he had a club to run, even if it was a front for his hidden headquarters. But even if he wasn’t on the frontlines of these missions, he knew what his team appreciated—and that was, clearly, a good weapon to choose from when handling business.

  Rocky’s face lit up as he saw the Sais. He had always been drawn to them, even as a child. He mastered the weapon taking Jujitsu classes with his brother. Their hand-to-hand combat skills were fanciful and intimidating, but watching Rocky spin and twist the Sais around his fingers was an uncanny sight. He was a natural spinning them around, even as his chest felt like it was on fire.

  “These will definitely do.”

  Duke closed the trunk, after grabbing a revolver for himself. Phase two didn’t involve him being close by, but he thought it would be a good idea to arm himself, just in case things drifted off course again.

  “This is it for the pills, until we get back to Sway. Be mindful of taking them. We don’t want you falling apart out here in case things get serious.” He said to Rocky, handing him the last bottle of pain pills.

  Rocky opened the bottle and put three pills in his mouth. Duke turned away from Rocky to load the revolver and Rocky snuck a few more pills from the bottle swallowing eight pills in total. It would only be a matter of minutes before they started to kick in and that warm fuzzy feeling would return to his neck and face.

  “Let’s get into our positions. Call her again and get her ETA,” Duke ordered.

  He walked in the opposite direction of Rocky, with his revolver in one hand and binoculars in the other. Even though he wouldn’t be standing with them openly, he would see and hear everything that happened when Dr. Haven surrendered herself.

  And she was just minutes out at this point in time.

  What the hell am I doing? I should turn back now and pick up Jacobi. But then they will kill William. I can’t just leave him to
die. I’m not a coward. They’ll make a trade. My life for his—or, they’ll shoot us both and we’ll be dead. Shit. What do I do?

  Angela was speedily driving down the back roads towards the Old Zoo. Rocky had given her directions and made her prove she was alone in the car using her camera. She gave him the finger and hung up on him after he gave her the last bit of directions.

  The night sky was dark, except for a few airplane lights in the dense atmosphere. The pollution in the sky created a haze over the city’s lit up stratosphere. Angela had the windows rolled down and the music cranked loudly. If she was going out tonight, she wanted to feel alive, at least for the remainder of the time she had left.

  She looked at the many missed calls from Jacobi on her phone and felt a sense of sadness. She didn’t know this man well, but she cared for him and felt horrible about stranding him at his dead boss’ home. The text messages from Jacobi were pleading arguments on why this was such a bad idea. But Angela felt as if she had no choice in the matter. These psycho assassins had her friend, and she wasn’t going to be the reason he was murdered. She couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t try to save his life.

  But Angela didn’t feel heroic. She felt scared, as anyone would while walking into a trap. Knowing she might not make it out of this abandoned zoo alive, she began to think about her life and how fulfilled she felt it had been. The tears in her eyes welled up, thinking about her accomplishments and the love she had experienced, but they didn’t fall down her cheeks. She had been crying for several portions of this day and she was spent.

  No more crying, Angela. Get yourself together. You’re almost there. Be strong.

  The zoo gates looked quite eerie from afar, and this propelled Angela to go with her gut and park further away than she intended. Walking down a white rocky path, she noticed part of the Old Zoo was lit up in the distance.