by Jamie Bowers
‘How long do we have to stand out here? I’m starting to freeze.’
‘I don’t know, it all seems a bit much to me. Why don’t you go for a walk to warm yourself up? I’ll be okay here.’
‘Are you sure? Okay, I’ll be back in five minutes.’
The guard walked away and round to the other side of the building as the one who remained lit a cigarette. Joe knew that he needed to get inside the gate and this was his opportunity. He felt the ground around his feet and picked up a small stone. Aiming it carefully he tossed it at a barrel outside the gate.
‘What the hell?’ said the guard, standing behind the chain-link fence as he tried to look at what hit the barrel. Joe picked up another small handful of stones and threw them one after the other against the same barrel. Alarmed, the guard pulled a handgun from inside his jacket and opened the gate slowly, looking around as the barrel continued to chime. As the guard got close to the barrel Joe stopped and watched as he stepped around, looking for a possible explanation for the noise.
‘Is someone there?’ the guard shouted, but no response came from the poorly lit docks. ‘It must be those fucking rats.’ The guard turned away from the barrel, put his gun away and started to walk back towards the gate. Joe quickly ran out of the darkness keeping as quiet as possible and slipped his arm firmly around the guard’s neck. The guard struggled as best he could but Joe’s grip was too fierce and he soon dropped unconsciously to the ground. Still holding him around the neck, Joe dragged the body into the shadows, hiding it from sight in the darkness between some boxes.
Joe slipped his hand into the guard’s jacket and took the pistol from its holster before quickly stepping inside the gate, closing it behind him. He walked over to the front door of the warehouse and placed his hand on the door handle.
‘Hey. Where are you?’ Joe could hear the other guard shouting as he came back around the corner. Without thinking again, Joe ran around the corner, into the darkness between the fence and wall. His eyes adjusted to the lack of light enough so he could see it was a dead-end, nothing but a solid wall on two sides and the tall chain fence on the other. Joe span around on the spot to see the guard approximately twenty feet away, standing at the gate. The guard was looking anxiously through the mesh wire, trying to find his colleague.
‘Hey, Dom, where have you gone?’ the guard took a flashlight from his pocket and shone it along the bottom of the fence. Joe started to panic as the light was getting closer, following along the base of the fence. He looked up around his head and could see a small window with bars on approximately nine feet high on the side of the warehouse with the fire escape platform above. He stepped away and quickly ran against the wall, vaulting his body up the brickwork he reached as high as he could and gripped onto the bars with both hands. Joe lifted his body and legs as high up the wall as he could and looked down as he could see the guard’s light shining on the wall where he stood.
‘Dom, where the hell are you?’ the guard continued to call as he opened the gate. He walked around the other side of the fence, searching for the other man who was no longer there. ‘Where have you disappeared to?’ he shouted. He went back through the gate, locked it behind him and walked to the front of the building. Joe held onto the window bars as well as he could as he heard the guard muttering to himself, most likely displeasure that his colleague has left his post. Joe watched the guard disappear from view and he pulled himself up the window a few inches more and reached his hand to the grating underneath the fire escape. Hanging from the metal frame like a child on the monkey bars, Joe swung his arms to the edge and hoisted himself up and over the railing as quickly as he could.
Taking a moment to get his breath back, Joe lay on his back and stared up at the star filled sky. Uninterrupted natural beauty illuminated the darkness with hundreds of dots of light. For just those few seconds, Joe’s mind escaped the current situation and he drifted to a happy memory, remembering the day that he proposed to Gina. He took her to the roof on a clear summer night and presented a ring to her that he had saved up for months to buy. She laughed as she cried and said yes to his proposition. Joe felt an uncontrollable smile on his face as he remembered the happy times. His fall back to reality came too soon as he heard the front door to the warehouse slam shut.
As quickly as he could, Joe jumped to his feet and started to ascend the metal ladder that led from the fire escape platform to the roof. He gently placed his hands on the top rung and pulled himself up to see another guard standing on the roof, holding a rifle in both hands. The man was constantly watching the other side of the building that overlooked the water, obviously making sure that nobody got too close. Joe quickly stepped over the wall, ducked down behind an air vent and watched the man from a distance to see if he moved. The guard was fixated on his job and didn’t move from his position or turn to look at anything but what was below him. Joe saw this as a good sign and quickly crept up behind the man. He stopped a few feet behind the armed guard and stood up with his arms stretched out, ready to take him out. A gunshot from the front of the warehouse alerted the guard and he quickly turned around to face Joe. Without even thinking, Joe jumped forward and grabbed the gun with both hands. He pushed the guard backwards to the wall, pinning him against the top of the bricks. Another gunshot fired from the front of the warehouse and Joe quickly thrust his head forward, hitting the guard between the eyes. Still holding the gun firmly with both hands, Joe pushed the guard over the top of the wall and heard the dull thud of his body hitting the hard concrete below.
Joe ducked down behind the wall and checked the chamber to make sure it was loaded.
‘Are you still there, Joe?’ Shouted Gordy from the ground..
Joe moved behind the wall and looked over slowly to see at least four guards standing around Gordy. Tom was kneeling down at the edge of the dock overlooking the water, his hands bound behind his back. Joe knew that this wasn’t going to end well, unless he thought carefully about his next move.
‘There you are.’ Gordy shouted as he could see the silhouette of Joe’s head in the night sky. Joe quickly ducked back behind the wall before someone was able to get a good shot at him.
‘Let him go.’ Joe shouted, ‘He has nothing to do with this.’
‘Oh, I wish that were true.’ Said Gordy, looking up at the wall where Joe was. ‘But he knows too much and I can’t just leave people behind.’
‘Was this your plan all along, to kill Tom when you’re done with him?’
‘Well, I only need one of you and it’s so much easier to keep an escaped convict by your side because he knows that if he does something wrong he will be right back in the concrete fortress which will end up being your tomb.’ Joe could hear Tom starting to cry.
‘Please let me go, I won’t tell anyone.’ He sobbed, ‘I won’t go to the police because I’m an accessory and they’ll lock me up as well.’
‘Do you really think I am that stupid?’ Gordy said, pressing his gun against the back of Tom’s head. ‘If I let you go and your brother stays then it will only be a matter of time before you play vigilante.’
Joe stood up slowly with the rifle and handgun raised above his head.
‘Okay.’ He shouted, throwing his guns over the wall and onto the ground, ‘I’ll come down. Just don’t hurt Tom.’
Joe walked back across the roof to the fire escape and scaled down to the platform. He kicked the ladder down to the ground and climbed down, to be greeted by one the guards holding a gun to his head.
‘Nice and slow.’ Said the guard, pushing Joe around the corner to where the other men stood.
‘What now?’ said Joe as he stepped over to Gordy, still pressing the pistol firmly against the back of Tom’s skull.
‘As I said,’ said Gordy, ‘I only need one of you from here on. But, then again two of you could be even better.’
‘Let him go, Gordy. This is between you and me. If my wife owes you money then I am the one to get it back for you, not Tom.’
> Joe stepped forward to speak only for two guards to grab him by his arms. Gordy lowered his arm and took three steps over to Joe. He held his gun down by his side and took a cigarette from his top pocket. Igniting his lighter, Gordy lit the cigarette and blew the first smoke into Joe’s face.
‘Do you think that this is all about money? You see, your brother knows my secret and I can’t just let him go.’
‘I don’t know anything,’ Tom blubbered, still staring into the dark water below him.
‘Shut up!’ shouted Gordy.
‘But I don’t know anything.’ Gordy walked over to Tom, knelt down beside him and spoke into his ear.
‘You see, Tom, you know that I framed your brother. You have been with me from the beginning and you know my entire operation. I can’t just let you walk away now, can I?’
‘Just leave him alone, Gordy. Let him go.’ shouted Joe, trying to shake himself free from the two guards. Gordy turned around quickly and shook his gun frantically towards Joe’s face.
‘Just stop talking! I am sick of you talking! Actually, fuck it!’ Gordy raised his gun, pointed it at the back of Tom’s head and pulled the trigger. The bang echoed around the silent docks. Tom’s body fell almost instantly onto the concrete, blood quickly pooled around his head.
‘No!’ Joe cried, trying to pull himself free from the grasp of the guards holding him.
‘Now we’ve got that out of the way we don’t need to worry about who stays and who goes.’ said Gordy with a wicked grin across his face. He stepped over to Tom’s body, blood spilling from the hole in the back of his head. ‘Such a shame, he would have been useful to me if he wasn’t so weak.’
‘Why?’ Joe cried as tears streamed down his cheeks.
‘It’s simple, really,’ said Gordy as he looked down at Tom’s body bobbing gently in the sea, ‘I don’t need him anymore. Not now that I have you.’
Gordy walked towards the entrance of the warehouse, slipping his gun into the back of his belt as he stepped. He opened the door and held it as the two guards ushered Joe inside. The other two remained at the waterside.
‘Make sure you take care of that body.’ Said Gordy as he closed the door behind him.
Chapter Thirty
As soon as the door slammed shut, Joe was thrown to the floor. He looked around to see two cars parked in the warehouse. There was a set of stairs at the back that led up to an office or storage area, this must be where Gordy was keeping Gina and Mary.
‘What now?’ Joe asked as he slowly stood. He turned to face Gordy at the door for the two guards to be pointing their guns at Joe. ‘Is this the end for me as well?’
‘Upstairs now!’ Gordy ordered.
Joe lifted his hands gently above his head, turned around and walked towards the stairs. He stopped at the bottom and stared at the closed door at the top.
‘What are you looking to get out of this?’ Joe asked.
‘I thought I told you, Joe. I need what is mine, and I will do anything I can to get it.’
The two guards remained by the front door, it was obvious to Joe that Gordy wanted what came next to be personal between them. Joe lifted one foot and placed it on the first step. A loud noise from outside distracted them both. A car crashed through the front of the warehouse, collapsing the door. The guards seemed to disappear in a moment. Gordy had been knocked off his feet and Joe was lying on his front on the stairs. They both looked through the dust to the car and could see Francis sitting in the driver’s seat.
‘Run, Joe.’ She shouted. She lifted a gun from her lap, opened the door and fired several bullets into the wall above Gordy. ‘Get out of here, Joe!’ she ordered once more.
Joe quickly got to his feet and ran up the stairs, throwing the door open quickly. He turned to close the door for a bullet from Gordy’s gun to narrowly miss his head. Slamming the door shut he ran along a small corridor with several doors leading off.
‘Gina, Mary!’ he shouted, opening each door. ‘Where are you?’ As he opened the third door he heard a voice coming from the next room.
‘Joe. We’re in here.’ Joe quickly ran to the next door and tried to turn the handle but the door was locked. Taking a small step backwards he lunged forward and broke the door down. In the corner of the room was Gina, holding Mary tight to her chest in a blanket. She was sitting on a dirty mattress but there was nothing else in the room that suggested they had any nice treatment.
‘Joe!’ Gina exclaimed standing up and running over to give him a hug.
‘Is she okay?’ he asked, pulling the blanket back to reveal Mary’s face.
‘She’s fine. We need to get out of here.’ Joe grabbed Gina by the wrist and pulled her out into the corridor.
‘Don’t go anywhere.’ Gordy shouted from the end of the corridor. He was standing with his arm gripped tight around Francis’ neck with a gun pressed firmly against her cheek. ‘Drop the gun and get back in the room.’ Francis clearly had a gunshot wound in her shoulder that was releasing a large amount of blood. She was clearly very weak and in no way able to fight off Gordy.
Joe and Gina stepped backwards into the room as Gordy got closer. Still holding onto Francis with an iron grip, Gordy pushed her through the doorway.
‘You asked me what I want to get out of this.’ said Gordy pointing the gun at Joe. ‘Let me tell you. I want my daughter.’ Joe looked at Gordy with confusion.
‘Your daughter?’ he asked.
‘Why don’t you tell him, Gina?’
‘Gina?’ Joe asked. ‘What is he talking about?’ Gina looked at Joe as her eyes filled with tears.
‘I’m so sorry, Joe.’ She said. ‘I wanted to tell you but I didn’t know how to.’ Tears streamed down Joe’s face as the news started to sink in.
‘But why have you gone to this great length to get rid of me?’ he asked Gordy.
‘It’s all very simple really, Joe. I wanted my daughter and Gina refused to leave you so I needed to get you out of the picture. The only problem was that your brother found out what I was going to do. Instead of just taking my daughter and leaving I threatened to kill them both if Tom didn’t do as I wanted. That was until I got enough money and power so nobody would dare to touch me. But now that you’re here I guess I need to change my plans.’
Joe froze in place, staring at Francis struggling to stand.
‘How did you know about my condition? How did you know that I would not remember?’ Joe asked.
‘I have some friends in good places and I knew that your rage is triggered by these pains. When I heard you shouting at Gina one night I figured it was a good time so two of my boys came and sorted it out.’ Joe couldn’t believe what was being said. Tears streamed down his face as the reality sank in. He turned and faced Gina, still holding Mary tight to her chest.
‘Why would you sleep with him?’ he asked. Gina started to cry as she spoke.
‘I owed him so much money and I know how proud you are of everything. He to threatened to do horrible things to you if I couldn’t come up with the money unless I slept with him.’
Still being held by Gordy, Francis’ eyes began to close and she dropped to the floor as he could no longer hold her upright. Pointing the gun at Gina he reached out his hand.
‘Give her to me, now!’ He demanded.
‘Please don’t take her away from me.’ Gina begged.
‘It’s okay, Gina.’ Joe said, taking Mary from her arms and passing her to Gordy. ‘It will be okay.’
With his gun still in one hand, Gordy cradled Mary in his arms and pulled back the blanket to reveal her face. He smiled at her innocent face as she lay peacefully. Gordy tucked the blanket under her chin and held her close with one arm. He pointed the gun at Joe and Gina.
‘If I see you following me, I will not be held responsible for what happens next.’ He ran out of the door and they heard his footsteps descend the staircase to the warehouse below.
Joe stepped over to Francis and went down on one knee.
‘Frann
y, can you hear me?’ he said panicked.
‘Is she dead?’ Gina asked with fear in her voice.
‘No, she’s still alive but she hasn’t got long if we don’t get her to a hospital.’ Francis opened her eyes softly, just enough so she could see Joe’s face.
‘You need to save your family, Joe.’ She whispered with what breath she had, ‘If you love them as much as you say you do you will go after him.’
‘I can’t leave you, not like this.’ he said with tears running down his cheeks.
‘The police are coming, Joe. I told them everything and they will be here soon. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you anymore. Just go.’ With her last whisper, Francis’ eyes closed and her breathing stopped. Joe placed his fingers on her neck to feel her pulse, but there was nothing there.
‘Thank you, Franny.’
Joe stood up and wiped the tears from his face. Grabbing Gina’s arm he led her into the corridor, picked his gun up from the floor and tucked it under his shirt.
‘I want you to stay here, Gina.’ He said. ‘Wait for the police and tell them everything you know.’ Gina grabbed Joe’s arm to stop him from going.
‘No, Joe.’ She said, ‘this is my fault and I’m coming with you. He has another warehouse on the docks that I’ve heard him talk about. It’s number 168, he has probably taken Mary there.’
Without wasting any time arguing, Joe and Gina ran down the stairs, stepping over the dead bodies by the cars they stood on the dockside. Gina picked up a gun from the debris and held it tight in her hand. With the warehouse being on the end, there was only one way they could go. Joe tried to remember any signs he had seen previously that told him where certain units were.
As they ran down between the towers of buildings they could hear the unmistakable echo of police sirens getting closer. Eventually they found the row that had the building they were after. This was smaller than the last warehouse and probably easier for Gordy to see them coming. Joe drew his gun and walked slowly to the front door. It was already ajar and a light inside indicated that someone was in there.