by Pinki Parks
I dug around in the bag over my shoulder until I found a pair of safety glasses useful for firing at the range. I put them on and they didn’t distort my vision. My mind was made up.
“I can’t tell you something I don’t know,” Grant grunted in response to a right cross to his jaw. I knew it was a selfish thing to wish for, but I was hoping the attack wouldn’t happen until he was suitably admonished.
“This is getting tedious and maybe I have been going about this the wrong way. You obviously have a deep affection for Gillian. I wonder what would happen if I were to bring your mother in here to take your place. You can prevent that by telling me what I want to know.” It was cowardly of him to use his mother against him.
“I would seriously reconsider that option. If anything happens to my family then there won’t be a place on this earth you will be able to run from me. By your own admission, I have resources which go beyond the normal. I have back alley contacts. Money speaks louder than any loyalty.” Grant was dangerously close to picking a fight with a man with a gun pressed to his temple.
“I have no love lost for people like you. You think the world revolves around you and everybody else is there to do your bidding. I can respect the allure of power. I have the undying fealty of several young soldiers willing to pay their dues.” Sanchez was a small fish, but I knew his destiny was to lead his army of foot soldiers into battle.
“I have power cultivated in every branch of the government. I have the influence of high ranking officials ready to take my phone call. We might be the same, but we are different in so many ways. I could give the word tomorrow and have your entire family wiped off the face of the earth. Where we differ is I can kill with impunity without getting my hands dirty.” Grant’s power was limited to how long he was going to remain breathing. The report of his death would translate into his father reacting with his own form of revenge.
“We aren’t as different as you might think. We both live surrounded by an army of loyal servants. We both have men willing to lay down their lives for us. We even have something more in common than you may be aware of. We love women who can’t possibly reciprocate in the same way.” Sanchez was good at reading people and his poker face was worth the price of admission to any card game.
The desk Grant was kneeling in front of was his own. Sanchez went around and sat down with his feet up slamming them down onto the polished wood. They were dripping mud and snow. He was smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I’m sure there’s some way we can work this out. Tell me what your conditions are.” He had reverted back to the political animal raised on the teachings of a despicable man.
“We have nothing to talk about unless you have five billion dollars. I would gladly take four billion if you had it lying around here someplace. Why do you suppose I have gone to these great lengths to get those diamonds back into my hands? The simple truth is I can’t go home without them.” It was always about the money and how much he could make on those toiling in the mines in Africa.
“I will give you five million dollars to walk away.” It was more money than most people would see in a lifetime. Sanchez was shaking his head with the insult of his offer.
“That isn’t even a drop in the bucket compared to what I could get. I hate to say this, but I am a greedy son of a bitch. You have no idea what I went through to get my hands on those diamonds. I lost some of my respect when the deal went sideways. I have every intention of making them see I never forget.” Sanchez was more worried about his reputation and I would say some people were talking behind his back.
“I can see there’s no reasoning with you. The only thing you want is the diamonds. It’s the one thing I can’t give you. Gillian will know where her share of the diamonds is located, but the rest remain out there in limbo. If I were Gillian and the team of Navy Seals, I would make sure the diamonds were never in the same place. I would be paranoid and keep moving them around.” It did sound like a good idea, but it wasn’t one that we had come up with.
“I’m usually a very patient man, but this year has shown me that loyalty can be fleeting. I bet you didn’t know I promised the men who accompanied me a portion of the profits. Normally, I would only have to snap my fingers and they would obey without question. I want those days back and will go to the extreme to make it happen.” Sanchez was a man without a country and this exercise was his way of getting his foot back in the door.
“I have no doubt of your sincerity. I can’t figure out what you expect to accomplish with this insanity. You’ve already said it yourself. She doesn’t love me in the same way I carry a torch for her. One whiff of danger and she would have hightailed it out of this town. I wouldn’t blame her. Everything you are doing might be for nothing.” Sanchez had lost favor with his people after he was found lying helpless at the scene on that fateful day in January.
I had followed his decline from his throne of power. It wasn’t slow and gradual. Losing the diamonds had left him with a lot of questions he couldn’t answer. I’d heard through the Grapevine that he had made a solemn vow to track down those responsible. He just couldn’t get any traction.
“I thought coming here would find her cowering in fear at my feet. I should have waited until I could verify she was inside the estate. I wallowed in self-pity with no discernible leads until a family member came to me with your announcement. I had no choice but to act.” The two men with him began to pummel Grant into a pulp.
They didn’t avoid the face and continued until Sanchez put up his hand to cease further hostilities. They went back to their post by the door.
I had a feeling their silence was courtesy of somebody relieving them of their tongues. They were the last of the old guard. When his reign of power came tumbling down on top of him, these two scattered until I heard an inkling of a rumor they had resurfaced.
Chapter 25
Gillian
“I wish there was a better way than a frontal attack. We had the right idea when we were picking them off one at a time. Speaking of which, I took the liberty of darkening the snow with their blood. His cousin and the other three are currently being covered with snow.” The howling wind of the storm had masked the gunshots from above.
“I didn’t hear a damn thing.” I had been listening and there were no sirens or any indication of the police intervening.
“It was like playing a video game with a joystick. It was a silent death. The small pops would’ve been heard but this fortunate storm was able to keep them from hearing me coming.” He was itching to press the trigger. He got his chance to play god with their lives.
“I don’t want you to do anything unless I give you the signal to proceed. It’s about that time. Wish me luck. I hope I won’t need it, but it’s always good to have.” I went to the balcony and stood 5-feet away with my gun trained on the glass. I will have to shoot it to get in.
I was breathing the cold air in through my nose and out through my mouth. I leveled my gaze on one specific spot and began counting down from 10 in my head. When I got to five, I got into a football stance and readied my body for the impact.
“Here goes nothing.” I calculated my odds and they weren’t as strong as I would have liked them to be.
I went back a few more feet to get the velocity I was looking for. I propelled myself forward and began firing the revolver in my hand. It was in a pattern. I aimed my body directly at the weak point I was creating. The guard standing in front of it turned in surprise. Melanie was on top of him before he was even able to pull his gun from his holster.
I crashed into the glass and I felt it give underneath the weight of my insistence. I rolled behind the couch and came up with both hands currently occupied with the same 45 model of gun. I surveyed the room and dropped three men before somebody began returning fire. It punched through the couch ripping through the fabric and barely missing me by an inch.
Everything was happening in slow motion and it was hard to r
egister where the bullets were coming from. They appeared to be everywhere at once. Automatic weapons firing a fuselage of bullets were hard to ignore.
“Watch out behind you.” Melanie’s voice was warning me and I was in no position to argue.
I dropped to my back and drove a hollow point into the man’s chest standing over me.
He was thrown off his feet and came crashing down into the glass coffee table. It shattered it into a million pieces. It was apparent he wasn’t wearing a vest by the pool of blood spreading around him.
Melanie was peppered by bullets pinning her to the wall. There was no blood. They didn’t take the kill shot by putting one between her eyes. It was their mistake and one that was going to cost them their lives. Her breath was knocked out of her with the possibility of a few cracked ribs.
“I’ve got you covered.” I follow that statement by poking my head above the couch to fire at any available target.
Melanie was crawling to a more advantageous position. She snatched the gun lying useless on the floor covered in the man’s blood. We got them in a shooting range between the two of us.
I heard the screaming of the innocent lying on the floor. They were caught in the middle. I could only hope none of them would have the stupidity of getting up during the mayhem. The carnage was a throwback to a different time and place.
“I’m almost out.” I dropped the guns with nothing left in their chambers and found another one flying toward me seemingly out of nowhere.
I procured it out of the air and turned in time to see one of my enemies sneaking up on me with his finger on the trigger. I fired a split second sooner and his bullet went off into the ceiling. He clutched his chest and looked at me defiantly before dropping to his knees.
I could smell the gunpowder burning off in the air. The aroma was sickening and made my stomach lurch. I gave myself permission to be sick after the threat was neutralized.
The faces of my victims were going to find themselves in a haunted reminder imprinted in my mind. I knew how Dalton was struggling. Asking him to pick up a gun again was necessary, but I didn’t have to feel good about it.
Two Hispanic men were sheltered behind a table they had upturned. I jumped from where I was hiding behind the couch and rolled to a sniper position on the floor. The gun bucked in my hand with the recoil of the bullets exiting the chamber. I had no interest in paying the ultimate price. I had to keep reminding myself it was either them or me.
“Keep them pinned down and I might be able to level the playing field.” The window was behind them and Jackson was moving the drone into position.
It didn’t seem fair for them not to see their enemy face to face. It was an impersonal approach, but effective. It was cold as ice.
The two shots through the glass made their guns go deathly silent. The gust of cold air through the opening was bracing.
“I hope I’m not judged unfairly for my actions here today. It does show how technology has come a long way over the years.” It was tempting to turn him off, but we were in this together whether we liked it or not.
“Gillian, four of them have gone into hiding and we need to find them. Jackson can keep an eye on these people. Anybody who comes close to them will be dealt with harshly. We need to treat this as quadrants and clear each one before moving onto the next.” I was hoping we weren’t going to have to deal with this eventuality.
“I’m with you every step of the way. It’s good to see you are still with us. Like there was any doubt. They have us at a disadvantage, but we have been in tight spaces before.” She was wiping her brow of sweat with the gun of the dead man still in her hands.
There was a streak of blood on her forehead courtesy of how the handle was stained with the dead man’s blood. She was wearing her own form of war paint. She looked like she was ready for just about anything.
“That reminds me of the time we had to chase down a terrorist in Nicaragua. We spent five nights sitting in the rain waiting for him to arrive. The six of us made him a footnote in history. If I didn’t die that day then I won’t find my end in this place.” It sounded like she was spitting nickels and biting her tongue to halt the venom from spewing from her lips.
“It can’t be easy to see all of this. We fought for their freedom. They didn’t lift a finger and depended on us to do what they couldn’t. It’s galling to think of how we put our lives at stake. Melanie, we can’t think like that and we can only do what we feel is right.” She paused for a moment to contemplate what I said and then she nodded her head.
“It’s different when it’s happening in your own backyard.” I could understand where she was coming from, but we didn’t have time to dwell on it.
“We have to take this time to put ourselves in the same mindset as our enemies. The shadows are going to crawl all over them which will inevitably lead to mistakes.” I was about to go up the stairs when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
I twisted to an about-face to see the closet door by the front entranceway opening. I had my finger on the trigger ready to send him straight to hell. A young woman in the same maid’s outfit Melanie was wearing came out pleading in a different language. I was very close to making her an unfortunate casualty in this war.
I heard a lower pitched squeal and looked up in time to see Melanie fighting with a man twice her size. She pitched him over the railing and sent him careening down to the floor below. He got off a desperate shot before he landed with a sickening thud.
I could hear Melanie wheezing and I ran up to find she was hobbling on one leg. I tore off a piece of my shirt sleeve and bound her leg as best I could under the circumstances. I determined the round had gone straight through. The bullet was no longer inside her leg.
I felt the muzzle of a gun pressed up against the back of my head. My life consisted of the military, but I wanted something more. In that instant, there was the sound of my biological clock ticking at an alarming rate. I wanted to be a mother and to see my children grow up to be responsible adults.
I heard the cock of the gun and there wasn’t even a chance to move out of the way. I had to risk doing something. I felt this desperate energy in the air. I pushed off with all of my weight feeling the bullet penetrate my earlobe. The pain echoed through my eardrums.
We bounced off the wall together and he momentarily stood at the top of the stairs. His balance was precarious and the terrified look in his eyes was hard to turn away from. He tried to grab onto the railing, but his hands slipped off and he tumbled. He landed awkwardly at the bottom twisted into shape no human body should ever be in.
I saw Dalton and he was leading Grant with his arm draped over his shoulder. They were the men in my life. What was I going to do? I could only hope Grant would understand and would give me my freedom.
We searched the house twice and found that the other two had gone in search of new employment. I never did find out where they finally landed on their feet.
We did find Grant’s father, dead on his bedroom floor. It was self-inflicted and the gun was still in his hand smoking from the barrel. There was a note explaining his cowardice. He was the one that contacted Sanchez to make a deal. The coroner confirmed that his death happened moments after the home invasion. Grant was despondent and I held his hand to give him my support.
“I hope you don’t think this is over. I’m afraid I can’t let this end this way.” I had heard similar words from Dalton in a different context.
Chapter 26
Dalton
I saw her walking down the aisle and she couldn’t have been more beautiful. The wedding dress was the same one I had seen her wearing. It was altered to make it easier to move without tripping over her feet.
Grant was standing at the altar wearing a big grin of satisfaction on his face. I had no idea why I was putting myself through this. The pain in my shoulder was nothing compared to the sensation I felt when she told me her decision.
I had inter
rupted them while they were torturing Grant by going through the window. I felt a sharp piece of glass bury itself in my shoulder.
One shot took down Sanchez and his body lay in the chair with the blood from the bullet trickling down the bridge of his nose. Two more shots and the deed was done. It was over and we spent the day being grilled by the authorities.
This was her wedding day and I wasn’t going to be anyplace else.
The veil was lifted and her face showed exactly what she was feeling in the moment. She looked to Grant and meekly smiled before turning to me. I was getting everything I wanted. The diamonds were no longer going to be an issue. We had a standing arrangement with Tony. The meeting was set for right after the wedding.
“We gather here today in the presence of God to witness this unholy union between two people who have love in their hearts.” Jackson had found a way to be ordained as a minister and was officiating over the ceremony.
“That’s not exactly how it’s supposed to go, but why quibble over details. The result will still be the same.” I was poking fun at him and I forgot he wasn’t prone to taking jokes well.
“I believe the bride and groom have written their own vows.” I had done no such thing, but he was purposely putting me on the spot for his own selfish amusement.
“Gillian, we have been through a lot and I hope this is only the start of our adventure together. Life is nothing without you by my side. Time stands still when I look into your eyes. It’s never going to be boring. Let’s begin this new journey with our eyes wide open.” I continued my spiel and found my stride until finally, it was her time to speak.
“I’m never going to take my eyes off of you again. If I could, I would have you chained up in the basement. Your strength is nothing compared to the gentle way you touch me deeply. I have only eyes for you. Kiss me already.” We made out and I could hear the hushed voices of those behind us witnessing this display.