Wild Cards

by R. C. Stephens

  “Thanks, Derek.” I smiled curtly. I didn’t have time to explain anything and I felt guilty enough as it was. She left town to bury her father after I was an asshole to her and pushed her away. When I find her, I had a lot of making up to do.

  I boarded the jet and waited for takeoff. Only we were still on the tarmac not moving, when I saw another black SUV pull up beside the jet. It was one of Bryce’s cars. A moment later, he stepped out wearing a pair of jeans and a black baseball cap. I’d never seen him in anything but a suit. He took a black bag and swung it over his shoulder and made his way over to the jet.

  “Luc.” He nodded. “I need to find my daughter.”

  “I know, Bryce, I know. I’m freaking out here. This is bad,” I admitted. I didn’t want to scare him but it was the truth. The jet revved its engine and we sped down the runway. Moments later we were airborne. “My father is really pissed off about Henri’s death. I know he’s out for revenge, my only guess is that he is hoping I get killed in the crossfire too. He’s been watching me here in New York for the past two years. I’m such a fool.”

  “Go easy on yourself, Luc, you knew it was a possibility you were being watched,” Bryce said, leaning back in the chair across from me.

  “I know, that’s why I had no right to fall in love with your daughter,” I frowned.

  “You don’t control who you love, Luc, trust me I know. My family tried to force me into loving my first wife but I never did,” he said with a distant look in his eyes. “I loved Vicky’s mother. I was a fool not to go after her.”

  “I am dangerous, Bryce, you see how my family operates? She will never be safe and that’s if we can even save her now.” My body shuddered at the thought.

  “Luc, my friend from the FBI is sending undercover agents to Thunder Bay. They will be in unmarked cars, but do you have a plan?” Bryce asked, looking at me. His eyes looked creased and tired. He looked stressed out.

  “I do, Bryce, but I can’t tell you that plan. I just need you to trust me.” I replied.

  “I trust you Luc and I believe you love my daughter, but I also trust that you can’t do this alone. I’m here to help. So spit out your plan now because we are going to refine it and make it work,” he said and I knew it was an order not a request.

  “Okay, Bryce, here’s my plan….”

  Chapter 29

  Joe

  After driving ten miles out, I was met with defeat. The lady at the front desk had not seen a black Mustang. I’d called into the police station as well, and the Mustang had not been spotted yet. Fear crawled its way up my throat. I had spent the last two years fucking up big time. I acted like a little shit and my sins have caught up with me. My mother’s death stung so hard I felt like I couldn’t breathe for the first six months. While I was drinking on the beaches of Mexico, I left Vicky to fend for herself. I left my papa to fend for himself, and now he was dead. I was terrified that my sister would meet the same fate and that I would get sucked even deeper into the black hole I had just recently swum out of.

  I drove around for another hour. I knew that as the moments ticked by she might be getting further and further away. Vicky’s cell phone rang.

  “Hello!”

  “Joe, its Luc. I am here in Thunder Bay.”

  “That was fast.”

  “Yes, I have a plan. I need you to listen,” Luc said into the phone. I sat quietly and tried to figure out if this could actually work. I turned the car around and headed for my parents' house. The undercover FBI agents and Bryce Andrews would be meeting me there. I’d had time to process the fact that Vicky and I didn’t share the same parent’s for two years, yet knowing I was about to meet her biological father was painful. The words radiated in my head. I was about an hour out right now. It was going to take me time to get back.

  “Okay, Luc, I’m on my way back to you,” I replied, as I swerved the car in the opposite direction.

  The hours were passing by and I was not stupid. I knew our chances of finding her depleted with the passing minutes.

  Chapter 30

  Luc

  Bryce and I arrived at the home that Vicky grew up in. The front door was locked, but I efficiently picked the lock and we were inside. The house was empty. Bryce walked around and looked solemn and sad. Especially when his eyes landed on a family portrait in the hallway.

  He exhaled a long breath. “It’s hard to live a life that is filled with so much regret.”

  “You are still young, Bryce, you have time to make things right for yourself,” I responded as we made our way into the kitchen. I flicked on the lights. Bryce tapped my back.

  “Let’s just get her back, Luc.” He nodded. We had to get her back. I made a quick call to Joe; he would be here in ten minutes. The undercover agents arrived and Bryce debriefed them. Everybody was armed and they were bringing more ammunition into the house. This place was really going to light up tonight.

  I called my father as planned. I wasn’t a fool. I knew he wasn’t in New York anymore. There would be no meeting at the pier.

  “Father,” I said when he picked up after one ring.

  “You never were a good listener were you, Luc?” he chuckled into the phone.

  “Let’s stop playing games. You know damn well why I am here.”

  “Of course, Luc, but I am not happy about the fact that you have agents with you,” he answered. FUCK! He was already here. He was watching us. “You know it only takes one phone call and she’s dead,” he chuckled again.

  “You wouldn’t be so foolish, Father. You kill her and you don’t get my help with the Dubois. Even though I don’t think it’s my help you want.”

  He laughed and it was deep and throaty. “You know me well, S.on I am glad to see I’ve trained you well. You were always smarter than your brothers. The family has felt a great loss since you left. Contrary to what you believe, I don’t want you dead. I want you home. I will even allow you to bring the girl with you, if you so wish,” he said, surprising me. Maybe I was of service to him. He probably hadn’t found someone that could maneuver the international transfers like I can.

  “Come here to the house we can talk,” I said hoping he would take the bait.

  As I was talking on the phone, I switched clothes with one of the agents. He’s a big tall dark guy like me. Bryce’s friend at the FBI really delivered on this one. We could be mistaken for identical twins in the darkness. With my father on the phone, I left the house along with the other two agents. Everyone came in separate cars. We needed to cause a diversion again. I had mapped out all possible motels in a fifty-kilometer radius. The agents and I would be scoping the area. That left Joe and Bryce with my father. I hoped neither of them got killed because Vicky would never forgive me.

  I left Vicky’s house in the old Tracker, while the other two men got into their rentals. I told them I was driving out to the farthest, most deserted motel in the area.

  “Luc, you mistake me for a fool. Remember who taught you everything? I know you left the house. My men are just trying to determine your direction. I will find you and come to you. You really are a smart boy, Luc, but you are fucking weak. At the end of the day, it’s your weaknesses that will get you killed,” he said and I heard the phone close.

  FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

  He knew I was on my way to Vicky. I just hoped she was at the motel that I was en route to. I dialed Joe’s number.

  “Hello,” he picked up anxiously.

  “Joe, my father knows I left the house. He knows I’m on my way to Vicky. I’m headed to a motel off the highway…” I gave Joe the directions and he said he would meet me there. My father was going to Vicky, and he definitely brought his goons. He’s too much of a coward to face me on his own. The other agents had begun to scan the area motels and they had already said they had come up empty. I texted them to meet me at the motel I was guessing she was at. My father thought he could get in my head and figure out my next move, but it’s a two way street and I knew how he operated.

/>   After driving for thirty minutes, my heart was racing fast in my chest. I knew deep down that my father could give the order to kill her, and everything would be over. I would be finished. I would have nothing to live for.

  I called Joe back. I just had an idea, “Luc?”

  “Yeah, Joe, you said you checked out the car rental today. Is there anyway we can get a look at the cameras from the car rental place, so we can get a description of the men that took Vicky?” The phone was quiet for a minute and I could hear Joe muttering, maybe he thought I lost it.

  “Luc, I will drop Bryce off at the car rental and he will have a look at the footage. I like how you think, Luc. Once we get a description, Bryce will call it into his friend at the FBI and….”

  “Yes, Joe,” I continued on his train of thought. “We need their cell phone numbers. Maybe we can track their cell phones. We need to do this fast Joe, my father must have been watching your parents’ house, but now he’s going to wherever those thugs have Vicky.”

  “I’m driving out on the highway, but we don’t have time to be wrong about our location.”

  “Luc, I just dropped Bryce off at the Budget Car Rental. I’m going to call someone I work with, she’s already found some info this morning, maybe she can hack the cameras,” he suggested.

  “Okay, Joe let me know,” I said, ending the call. I was pretty sure my father’s goons took her to the motel by the lake. It looked like it was far enough out in the forest and away from the highway that they would think they wouldn’t get caught. My gut told me I was right but a mistake now could cost Vicky her life. I drove down the dark highway, and I was approaching the exit for the motel. I had my black bag beside me, filled with guns. My pulse raced and I began to sweat just thinking about it, but I had to do what I had to do to save Vicky and our baby. Thinking of the baby made my eyes swell with tears. I felt like I’d been given a second chance at life with Vicky, and my father wanted to take it away from me.

  My cell rang, “Hello?”

  “It’s Joe, Luc. Your location is smack on. There are two cell phones there. Both men are on a watch list with the FBI, and they are both French. You were smart to tell me to leave Bryce behind, I don’t need the guy getting killed trying to help us. Vicky doesn’t need to lose another parent.”

  “You’re right, Joe, but what about you, you’re her brother. She told me you disappeared on her, but she never mentioned you were DEA,” I said, as I exited off the highway. The side road didn’t have much lighting and the road was unpaved.

  “She doesn’t know I am DEA, Luc. I don’t want her worrying,” he said. It sounded like a warning to keep my mouth shut.

  “I’m about three minutes out. Where are you?” I asked, as I drove down the last long stretch of road.

  “I’m about five minutes out. I’m right behind you, but I am calling for back up now.”

  “Joe, I think you should wait. If there is too much noise or someone close by, it can really mess things up.”

  “Do you have guns, Luc?”

  “Yes, I’m not a fool, Joe, you are about to walk into some fireworks. I hope you are prepared.”

  “Oh, I’m no fool either, Luc. I’m very prepared. I’ve dealt with the likes of people like your family,” he cackled.

  “I hope so, because I don’t need Vicky upset about you getting hurt either.”

  “I’m good, Luc, just watch your back.”

  “I’m here, Joe. The place isn’t too busy. I will go around back and look for the Mustang.”

  “Good luck, Luc,” Joe said and I ended the call. I needed to get my weapons on and I needed to get to Vicky. I saw the black Mustang parked outside one of the rooms. I parked on the other side of the motel because I didn’t want to alert them that I was here. Parked beside the Mustang is a black SUV. My fucking father…

  I strapped a gun over my back. I had another tucked into the front of my jeans and another smaller handgun at my ankle. I slowly walked toward the motel room. I saw a car pull up behind me in the distance. I assumed Joe had arrived. I scanned the area but it seemed that no one was outside. They must all be in the room. My cell phone rang.

  “Hello, Luc. Don’t be so secretive, come join the party,” my father said, opening the front door to the motel room. I closed the phone and placed it back in my pocket as I walked through the door. There were four men inside the room, including my father. Everyone was armed. Vicky was tied to a chair with a gag around her mouth. My fists clenched and my blood boiled.

  “Long time no see, Son,” my father drawled in French.

  “Pleasure as always, Father,” I replied and my father threw his head back.

  “Brother.” My younger brother Justin nodded. I couldn’t believe my father brought him here. Why?

  “Justin.” I smiled. I knew he always felt prisoner to this life too, but he was too weak to disobey my father. I felt sorry for him. He looked torn in the moment.

  “So what’s on your mind, Luc?” my father asked, sitting on a chair and folding his hands in his lap.

  “It’s very easy…give me Vicky and we leave and you leave us alone.” I grinned.

  “If only life were that easy,” he said with a smug grin. Asshole!

  “Why do you need so many men around you, Father? Do you fear I would hurt you?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. I was giving off a no fear attitude, but my insides were torn up, I needed Vicky out of that gag and those ties now.

  I walked over to the other side of the room and stood in front of Vicky. The two men holding guns cocked them, getting ready to make a move. Justin stood there looking defenseless, while my father still had the same devilish grin. And then I just lost it. I took the risk that my father wasn’t armed because he usually had other people doing his dirty work, and Justin was not Henri, he wasn’t going to shoot me. That meant it was me, taking down two men. It was doable. In a swift motion I grabbed both of their cocked guns by the tips and pulled them from their hands, then I took each gun and whacked the two men in the face. They both fell forward in rhythm. I pushed the two guns under Vicky’s chair and got back to beating the shit out of the two goons. I elbowed one in the face, while doing a roundhouse kick, which landed in the other guy's abdomen. With both men down, I took turns throwing strong punches and beating them to a pulp. As I predicted, Justin didn’’t move, and my father watched with the same smug look like he was proud of what he created. With both men on the ground, my father began to clap. Then he stood up from the chair with a wide smile on his face. Justin looked nervous. My father reached down and picked up one of the rifles that was under Vicky’s chair and my heart sank.

  “I taught you well, Son, you see what an asset you would be back home? No one can fight like you. No one has your brains to problem solve their way out of a situation like you do. You are a mastermind and now this charade is over. Time to come home, Luc,” my father said. I knew it was an order with a threat. The gun was now pointed at Vicky and my stomach sank. As strong as I was physically, she was my weakness. She was my heart.

  A moment later, Joe entered the room with a gun pointed on my father. My father still had the rifle on Vicky, and now Justin had a handgun pointed at Joe. This was a fucking mess.

  “Put down the rifle, motherfucker,” Joe hissed to my father. He hadn’t given Justin a sideward glance.

  “Who is this fool?” My father asked, still smiling.

  I didn’t answer. My father then pulled a small revolver out of the back of his pants and pointed the rifle at me and the revolver on Vicky.

  “Who should I shoot first, Luc? You or Vicky?”

  I noticed Joe hadn’t flinched at all from my father’s words and kept his gun pointed on him. That’s when it happened, my father shot and I saw red. There was one shot, then another shot. Joe was shooting. Vicky was bleeding. Shit! Vicky was bleeding. Alarms went off in my head, and I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Justin shot Joe, and Joe shot Justin, my father shot me and there was only one person left
to shoot.

  I never thought my life would come to this. For two years I remained focused on the purpose of my life: do well and stay out of trouble. I had lots to make up for in this world. When I met my end I still wanted to choose heaven and not be destined to an eternity of hell. My father was determined for me to rot in hell beside him. Maybe now that he killed Vicky, I wanted to rot in hell. I had nothing to live for. He was right, I rejected my destiny every step of the way. Now I was going to fuck myself over once more, but I had nothing to lose.

  “What’s in that head of yours, Son?” he smiled. I probably looked like a mad man as my head flicked back and forth between my father and Vicky, who was hunched over and bleeding. I needed to get to her, but now my father was pointing that damn handgun to my face. I realized I had been shot and I placed my hand over my shoulder as blood oozed out of me. Justin lay bleeding at my feet; he had been a victim in this life like I had been. He was not like Henri, who had been consumed by the evil that resonated through this life of crime.

  “So do it, Luc, what are you waiting for? You’ve always been a coward, and you will die a coward, you fool,” he chuckled to himself, looking directly into my eyes like he was daring me to shoot him. With my good arm I held my gun, pointed to his face. I knew if I shoot, he would shoot too, and this would all be over, but I could hear Vicky gasping for air. I knew she needed me.

  “Luc, brother, this is not the answer,” Justin cut in with a shaky voice as he held onto his stomach, bleeding out on the floor. I had been where he was. I saw death, I knew what the end looked like. I wanted to do better, to be better.

  “Justin, shoot your brother,” my father ordered, without removing his eyes from my gun or me.

  “Father, please,” Justin begged, looking between us with sad eyes. “Luc, please don’t do this. Let’s talk, there is a way out of this,” Justin pleaded like a lost boy. We had all been lost boys with a cruel father. Only now Justin lay helpless and bleeding on the floor.