by Lourdes Skye
“What?”
“The blonde one with green eyes from two weeks ago, is gone. And guess who else is gone. Spike and the new guy.”
The realization of his words, hit home. “Fuck. You think he’s taken him with him to make a delivery.”
“Yeah and that would mean that he’s cut us out. I told you that new guy would be trouble. I smelled it on him.”
“I can’t believe Spike would do us like this,” Axl continued to rant.
“Oh shut up. Let me think.”
“Whatever. I’m going to get something to eat.”
Barney followed the SUV at a safe distance. He’d already put the call in to his boss as to the situation at hand. Right now, undercover police and Coast Guards were getting into formation to take these assholes down once confirmation was received that they acquired the package. Beth Carter’s parents were on standby. If all went well, the little girl would be sleeping in her own bed tonight.
They passed 22nd Street and W. 30th Street where the Port Authority Heliport is. Barney tsked. He knew why they didn’t pick this to be the delivery point. Had they tried to get a helicopter out of the city, Port Authority police would’ve been on their asses fast. They would’ve been arrested before the chopper’s propellers began to spin. Next they passed W. 43rd Street where the Circle Line Cruise ships are docked. They bypassed W. 46, W. 49 and W. 72nd Street. Finally the Tahoe pulled into Riverside Park. They drove till they reached the expanse of the Hudson River where the New Jersey shoreline sat at the opposite bank. The outline of the George Washington Bridge and the beginning of the gorgeous Palisades Interstate Park could be seen in the near distance. The buoyed boats and small yachts bob languorously in the water. The Manhattan skyline began to fade into the background as the George Washington Bridge loomed larger as they parked close to the river’s bank. Barney stayed back, parking behind a cluster of trees. Barney had to give the assholes credit. No one would’ve come here suspecting a crime was being carried out. They would’ve gotten away with it.
He straightened in his seat as a stretch black limo drove up opposite the Tahoe. In a distance, in the water was a personal yacht. Judging from the design, height and width, Barney would guess it was about a 50 foot yacht. It appeared to have three tiers. A small motor boat was in the water coming towards the shore. Spike climbed out of the Tahoe as did a well-dressed white man, exit the limo. They came together, had a few words and shook hands. Finally Spike turned towards the Tahoe and gave a hand signal. Cobra exited the back of the jeep toiling the blonde-haired girl. Barney watched everything transpire, his hand was on his gun and he was prepared to run interference should things go south. Several times the girl tried to pull away. She kicked at Cobra’s legs and tried to bite his hand.
“Ah, I see she is feisty, Azores smiled; this should be a real challenge to break her. I love a challenge.”
Cobra wanted to puke at the thought of what all this sick fuck had in mind to do to Beth.
“Does she meet your approval?” Spike asked.
“Yes. I am most pleased.” Turning to the limo, he signaled for his associate. The tall man stepped out of the limo holding a dark briefcase in his hand.
“Five hundred thousand as we agreed upon. Feel free to count it,” Azores said.
Spike took the case, laid it on the hood of the Tahoe and sifted through it. Satisfied, he told Cobra to release the girl.
It was the hardest thing he’d ever done. To hear her pitiful cries and see the vivid fear in her eyes. But he had no choice. He pushed Beth Carter into Azores outstretched arms. Spike and Cobra waited on the bank of the water, watching as Azores, his associate and Beth climbed onto the small motor boat and were taken across to the yacht.
“One down and many more to go,” Spike turned to Cobra.
Cobra’s hand itched to knock his teeth down his throat.
Spike clapped him on the back. “Two hundred and fifty thousand of this is yours my friend. How does that sound now to your low pockets?”
“It sounds damn good.”
“Come on, let’s go get a drink.”
Barney took one last look at the yacht before he turned the car around and followed the SUV back into the city. Though he couldn’t see them, he knew that his boss had people hidden all along the banks of the river and the Coast Guards were waiting at a planned location to take the yacht down. The buyer and his people were smiling now, but they’d be crying later. Of that he was sure.
“Barney, Chief Wiseman’s voice came over his ear piece; we’re tailing the yacht as we speak. We’re giving them fifteen minutes of run time before closing in. You and Cobra stay with the main man. I’ll get back to you as soon as we have them in custody.”
“Will do, Chief.”
Not only did Barney follow them back into the city, he followed them to a bar, where he parked and came inside. Sitting at a table far enough away from them but close enough that Cobra would see him, he gave a head nod as he picked up his mug of beer. The gesture was a code to let Cobra know all had gone as planned.
5:54pm
Two Coast Guard cruisers pulled up on the sides of a personal 50 foot yacht registered to one, Mason Azores.
“This is the United Stated Coast Guard, turn your engine off and come on deck with your hands up. Failure to do so will result in automatic seizure and dearth of life!”
They gave till the count of five and then no less than thirty men in black tactical suits with M203’s, stormed the vessel. In the end, five men were shot dead, two men arrested and a little girl, saved. Amongst those dead was Yuri Azores. By 6:57pm, Beth Carter was in the arms of her mother and father.
The condo felt so empty without Cobra. Jace watched a few movies and took a nice bubble bath but now he was dying of boredom. His mind thought back on the brief text that he received. Cobra said he missed him. In truth, he missed him as well. And that scared him. After falling head over heels in love with Octorian so soon, he feared that he could be traveling on the same path. What did he really know about love and relationships? Octorian had been the only man he’d been with and looked how that turned out. Oh sure, he’d been sweet, kind, loving at first. But no sooner that wedding band was securely on his finger, Octorian flipped. The marriage became a prison. A realm of never-ending torture. What if he was seeing all the wrong signs in Cobra? What if he was acting on want and desire instead of reality? Stop it, he mentally scorned himself. You’re bored and you’re letting your fears get to you. Not every man out there is like Octorian. Not every man is a monster. He was now free. Free to simply be. He couldn’t allow Octorian to control anymore of his life than he already has. If he was going to give this thing between him and Cobra a real shot, then he had to cast those fears aside and date Cobra. Not assume and punish him for the crimes of Octorian. Hell, he wasn’t going to be a victim any longer. With this newfound confidence, he dressed and grabbed the house keys. He was going for a walk. He refused to stay holed up in the house hiding.
What’s the deal?” Rock asked as he sat on the couch twirling the blade in his hand. Every now and again he’d run his finger over the sharp edge. Marveling in the beauty of the weapon. “I didn’t come here to sit in a hotel and watch television all day. I could’ve done that in Jersey. You promised me a kill, and a kill is what I shall have.”
Octorian rolled his eyes. “Yes, you will have your kill but first, we have to acquire the target. You, nor myself wish to be arrested in this caper so we had better use our heads and plan accordingly. Obviously my husband has acquired new friends since he’s been in New York. From what I saw, it looked like those cops knew him fairly well. They seemed to be following him. I thought perhaps we could grab him at his job but that too, proved to be fruitless. What we need is a new plan. A way that we can extract him without being seen.”
Octorian sank down in the chair at the business desk, the suite provided. For reasons unbeknown to him, he picked up the phone and dialed home.
“Hello Vanderhuff residence.”
“Ruslan.”
“Yeah, it’s me. What do you want?”
“First off dear cousin, I think you’d better check your tone. That’s my house that you reside in and my food that you eat. All of my assistance could cease at any given moment. Now, tell me, has anything new happened in my absence? Has Jace called?”
Ruslan smirked, he so wanted to say, and why would he do that. That would defeat the purpose of running away from you. But instead he found himself saying the complete opposite. “No, he hasn’t called. Oh mm, two detectives came by. They said it was imperative that they speak with you. I told them you weren’t home—.”
“Did you tell them where I am?” Octorian rudely interrupted.
“Dear cousin, how could I tell them where you are when even I don’t have that information,” he replied sarcastically.
Octorian grind his teeth. The little prick was being smart. “Did they say what they wanted exactly?”
“Mm, Detective Magee said to tell you that you better stay away from Jace Reynolds. That a Supreme Court judge granted Jace an immediate divorce on the grounds of spousal abuse or something like that. Anyway, he said that if you come after Jace and they catch you, you’ll never see daylight again.” Well, the cop didn’t say those exact words. He embellished a bit.
Octorian was livid. Oh no, Jace thought it was that easy to get away from him. No. The saying goes, what God has joined together let no man put asunder. Only God could terminate the vows between them. Which he’d be doing soon enough once they captured him. He wanted to be free. Then by all means he would be. Death, would be his freedom.
“Ruslan, I want the house shut down. No one is allowed inside or on the grounds. You are to tell no one that we’ve spoken. You understand me!”
“Yes, loud and clear. Uh, they left some papers here for you.”
“Listen, you get those papers right now. Get them! I want to hear you walking.”
Oh shit, Ruslan never heard Octorian sound like this. It was as if Dr. Jekyll had possessed Octorian and was now running the show. Unsure of what Octorian wanted him to do, he complied. “Alright I have the papers.”
“Good. Turn on the fireplace in my office and once the flames are high enough, toss them in.”
“Uh Octorian, these are legal court documents. I can’t tamper with them. I could go to jail. And besides, the cops know they left them here with me. I had to sign for them.”
“Dummy, I said, toss them in that fire now!”
Doing as instructed, Ruslan turned on the fireplace and waited till the flames were roaring. He then walked over to the desk and grabbed a handful of printer paper and tossed them into the fire. “It’s done.”
“Good. You’ve finally earned your keep. Now lock down the house.”
“Whatever you say.”
Octorian disconnected feeling triumph in his ability to dominate Ruslan and make the man bend to his will. It was such a heady sensation to know that folks cower at your feet when you out-rank them in life. Ruslan wouldn’t dare defy him, not if he wanted to continue the posh lifestyle that he’s granted him. He didn’t have to take him in when their parents died. He could’ve let him become a ward of the state or end up in some awful orphanage. Instead, he opened his doors. Of course, him being beneficiary over Ruslan’s trust fund had something to do with his sudden generosity. A trust fund that he has since depleted. All that remained were a few measly dollars.
“Octorian, you alright man, Rock cut into his thoughts; you look pissed.”
“I am fine. I just have some loose ends I must tend to when I return home.”
“Loose ends, I hate them. You know if you need help with them, I’m at your disposal.”
Thinking it may very well be in his best interest for Ruslan to expire before his birthday, he said; “I very well may take you up on that offer. But first, we need to finish this.”
“I’m ready, willing, and able. I’m just waiting for you to give the word.”
No sooner Spike and Cobra returned to the house, Axl and Tyrone intercepted them.
“Okay, what’s up with all the mean mugging? Why do you two look like you just loss your best friend?” Spike demanded.
Axl sucked his teeth while Tyrone huffed. “So, this is what it’s come to. You take new jack instead of us, who have been by your side for umpteenth years.”
“Yeah this is what it’s come to. You and Axl were acting like straight assholes earlier today. The both of you came at my neck as if I don’t know how to run my ship anymore. I make the decisions. I’ve kept y’all well-feed and out of jail. I-keep money rolling in y’all pockets. And yet new jack was the one who had my back today. Before you start questioning my authority, question your own loyalty,” with those words he slammed the door to his office, in their faces.
All eyes turned to Cobra.
“New jack, cute,” Cobra taunted as he turned and walked away.
Axl waited until he’d gone upstairs to say, “I don’t like him.”
“Yeah? Join the club. Well, I’m outta here. I’ve been promised a blowjob and I’m going to go and collect. Catch you cats later,” Tyrone said a few minutes before leaving the house.
Great, everyone has conveniently disappeared, leaving him with the task of feeding the kids. As he stalked into the kitchen and begin preparing the bologna sandwiches, he grumbled to himself, “Shit, I ought to get new jack’s ass down here. Put him on bitch duty and make him tend to the kids.” However that probably wouldn’t work. Seeing as how he’s all buddy-buddy with Spike now, it would probably just backfire. He’d probably have to tend to those rotten kids for the rest of the week.
Cobra waited till the house was quiet. He had to get to the kids. Spike told him at the bar that Dakar would be the next one to go. Seeing as how Dakar was older than Beth, he’d probably fight twice as hard. This Maconochie guy seemed like bad news. Spike told him that the guy had zero tolerance for bullshit and little patience. If Dakar resisted in any way, Maconochie could kill him on sight. Very slowly, Cobra opened his door and peeked into the hallway. Great, all clear. On stealth mode, he accessed the stairs, moving on the toes of his feet. The house had an alarm, therefore the guard did not need to patrol but once every hour. He already had his plan mapped out. If caught, he’d simply say he was hungry and going to the kitchen. Great, he made it to the first floor undetected. The only sound heard was the ticking of the grand grandfather clock which stood in the foyer. Spike seemed to like antiques. Who the hell has a grandfather clock nowadays? Making his way to the basement door, Cobra stopped and listened for any indication of movements. His first thoughts upon entering the basement was, damn, it’s cold as a motherfucker down here. They might as well just store the kids in the freezer. A large circular ring hung on a hook on the wall opposite the cellar door. Carefully he lifted the ring and approached the second door. He’d already seen the kids in the first cell. Dakar wasn’t in there. Each door he opened, broke his heart a little more. The children, who were woke, would cower in the corner crying. They looked dirty, cold and hungry. Finally he found Dakar in the fifth cell. There were three boys in here. Dakar looked to be the oldest.
“Sh-I’m not here to hurt you. I just need to talk to Dakar.”
The boy liked at him with frightened eyes. He looked as if he were planning a dastardly attempt at freedom. The noise from such a move could wake the entire house.
“Don’t do it, Cobra warned: I just want to talk to you.” He pulled the boy out of the cell and closed the door.
“W-what do you want?” the boy’s voice trembled.
“Listen to me very carefully. I’m a cop. I’m undercover.”
Dakar stared at him doubtfully.
“I don’t have my badge with me for obvious reasons. Tomorrow you’ll be taken from here to meet a man. You must not fight him. Act scared but do not physically fight back. You won’t see them but the police will be there. I promise you nothing bad will happen. You’ll be back home before you know it. Do y
ou understand me?”
Dakar nodded yes.
“Tomorrow when you see me, I may have to treat you roughly, be mean to you. Cry, act scared. Remember, when we get to the meeting place with the man, don’t try to fight him. I promise this is all going to work out. Now you’ll have to go back in your cell. I do apologize for that. Don’t tell any of the kids what we’ve talked about. This is all about to end for all of them but everyone must play their part. And we need the others to be scared or a rescue won’t work. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Locking the boy back in the cell was tedious but a must. Placing the ring back on the hook, Cobra closed the cellar door and made his way back upstairs. What he didn’t see was the figure standing in the entryway of the kitchen, watching him. The figure watched as he silently crept from the basement door to the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.
Now in his room, Cobra gave a sigh of relief. That was close.
15
The next morning the house was in a state of perpetual movement. The children were being tended to. Spike was on the phone with Maconochie and Tyrone was detailing the cars.
Spike called Cobra into his office. “I know that you’ve been anxious to go home. Today will be that day. You’ve proven yourself. And you fit right in. I just need one thing before you go, I need you to take a ride with me.”
“Another delivery?”
“Yes. Maconochie wants us to deliver Dakar to him today. He managed to secure a private plane and will be flying out of JFK airport this afternoon. Dakar will be on that plane with him. It’s time to get our millions baby,” he smiled.
“I feel that.”
“Cool. Axl is preparing him as we speak. Do whatever you gotta do and meet me at the Tahoe in fifteen minutes.”
Cobra nodded before taking his exit. Quickly he made his way upstairs to the bathroom. Speaking into the button he quickly relayed, “Okay Barn, we have to do this right. Get the team to JFK. This Maconochie fellow is slick. If he gets that kid on that plane, we’ll never have another chance to get him back. This is a one shot deal.”