by Mike Ryan
“Oh my God, thank you so much!” Mrs. Gilbert said, as her and her lover scrambled to put clothes on.
“If I were you two, I’d be more careful next time.”
“We will.”
“Or better…you…you might wanna see a divorce attorney. I might not be around next time,” Recker said, smiling.
“Are you a cop or something?” Fitzpatrick asked.
“Not quite. You, call the police and tell them what just happened,” Recker said, pointing at the boss.
Recker noticed Gilbert starting to move around and went over to him, punching him in the face, temporarily incapacitating him again.
“What are you doing?” Lorissa asked.
“Making sure he doesn’t wake up again,” Recker replied.
Recker picked Gilbert up from behind, grabbing him underneath his arms, and dragged him along the floor across the room.
“Open up that closet,” Recker told them.
Lorissa did as the stranger instructed and opened the closet door as her boss was on the phone with the police. Recker threw Gilbert into the closet and closed the door, locking it. He looked around and saw a chair, maneuvering it in front of the door to prevent it from opening, just in case Gilbert had a fit of rage and tried to plow through it.
“What are you doing now?” Lorissa asked again.
“Making sure he doesn’t escape.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“He was about to kill the both of you,” Recker answered. “Do you really want to be here by yourselves when he wakes up?”
“Uhh, no, good point. Aren’t you staying with us until the police get here?”
“Sorry, don’t have the time. I’ve got other things to attend to.”
“Poor Martin,” his wife said.
Recker rolled his eyes at Gilbert’s wife’s pity. “If he wakes up before the police get here, don’t you think about opening up that door, no matter what he says.”
“Don’t worry about that, I’ll make sure of that,” Fitzpatrick replied, walking over to them. “Police should be here in a few minutes.”
“Good. Next time you wanna screw one of your employees, you might wanna make sure they’re not the violent type,” Recker warned.
“Noted.”
“Who are you?” Lorissa asked.
“Oh, just call me the silencer.”
“What?”
“I’m just someone who silences problems.”
Recker then left, eager to get out of the hotel before the police arrived. Once he got to his car, he stayed for a few minutes and watched to make sure none of the parties left before the police got there. The cops arrived a little over five minutes later, Fitzpatrick and his lover still waiting in the room for the police. With the police being there, Recker’s work was done. He drove out of the parking lot with the intention of going home. He figured he’d let Jones know he was finished as he drove.
“Jones, mission accomplished.”
“Excellent, Mr. Recker. How did it go?” Jones asked.
“No problems. Gilbert’s subdued, the wife and boss weren’t harmed, police are there now. I’d say everything went off without a hitch.”
“Very nice. Where are you heading now?”
“I figured I might go home for the night. You know, get some sleep,” Recker said.
“What about Ms. Hendricks?”
“She’s still at work. She’s going straight home after her shift is over.”
“Do you think it’d be wise to cruise around her apartment just to make sure that Eldridge isn’t waiting for her?”
“Why, you have something indicating he might be?” Recker wondered.
“Nothing specific. But his threats lately have been escalating. You already had a physical altercation with him and alienated him.”
“And you’re thinking it’s gonna come to a head soon.”
“That would be my guess. He thinks you might be her new boyfriend, or something along those lines. I would think you’ll be seeing him again sooner rather than later.”
“All right, I’ll head over there for a bit. Once she comes home I’ll wait there for a couple hours to make sure everything’s safe and sound. After that I’ll check out for the night.”
Recker then proceeded to drive the forty five minutes it took to reach Hendricks’ apartment. It was a group of four story buildings that housed a couple hundred apartments. He drove into the lot where her building was and was startled to see her car parked there. She wasn’t supposed to be home for another two hours or so. He got out of his Explorer and walked over to her car and felt the hood. It was still warm so she couldn’t have been there long. She must’ve gotten done work early. Recker just casually turned his head, not looking at anything in particular, when more alarm bells started going off. Eldridge’s pickup was there. Recker quickly ran over to it, hand on his gun, just in case Eldridge was in there and decided to make some trouble for him. Once Recker got to the truck, he looked inside. It was empty. Recker sighed and got Jones on the com.
“Looks like my night’s not over yet, Jones.”
“What’s the matter?”
“Mia’s already here. Must’ve got done work early,” Recker said.
“Why is that troubling?”
“Cause I also see Eldridge’s truck…and he’s not in it.”
“Oh my. You better get up to her apartment,” Jones told him.
“I’m on my way.”
Recker ran towards the apartment entrance and rushed down the hallway until he got to the stairs. It’d be quicker than waiting for the elevator. He quickly ran up the steps, skipping several at a time until he got to the fourth floor. He ran down the hall, stopping once he stood in front of Hendricks’ door. From the commotion that was coming from inside the apartment, it appeared as if she was in trouble. It sounded as if Eldridge was roughing her up, her pleading with him to stop. Recker turned the handle to the door but it was locked. He took a step back and then violently kicked the door open. Once the door swung open, Recker saw Hendricks laying on the floor with Eldridge standing overtop of her, lunging down as if he’d just hit her. Upon seeing the stranger who’d roughed him up once already, Eldridge jumped up and stepped back from his ex-girlfriend. He had a gun in his waistband and started reaching for it. He didn’t get the chance to use it though, as Recker rushed into the room and speared Eldridge in the gut, slamming him into the floor. The gun was knocked from Eldridge’s hand as his body hit the ground. The two of them wrestled on the ground for a minute, exchanging a few punches. Once they got back to their feet, Eldridge attempted to land a couple of shots on Recker’s face, though the former CIA agent blocked most of them. Recker returned the favor and had better luck, landing several punches to Eldridge’s face, bruising him around his eye. Hendricks had gotten back on her feet and went to the kitchen, standing by the counter to observe the action. She would’ve called the police if she had her phone but she didn’t have a landline, and her cell phone was in her purse, which was on the other side of the room and she didn’t want to interfere in the tussle between the two men.
After a few more minutes, Recker was clearly getting the upper hand and Eldridge was looking to escape. After successfully peeling Recker off him, Eldridge escaped back into the hallway, though Recker decided to pursue him and followed him down the hall. He caught up to Eldridge as he reached the door to the staircase and the two of them scuffled as they burst through the door onto the steps. Recker was the first to his feet and delivered another blow to the side of Eldridge’s face, knocking him down the steps. Eldridge was dazed and struggled getting up. Recker slowly descended the steps, knowing he was now in full control of the situation. He grabbed the back of Eldridge’s shirt and helped the brutally beaten man back to his feet, only to smack him around a few more times. Eldridge fell again, his back on the steps, and though he was woozy, came to the conclusion that the man in front of him had the intention of killing him. Since Recker stood in front of him, blocking
his access to the bottom of the stairs, Eldridge stumbled away from his attacker, going up to the roof in hopes of somehow getting away from him. Recker kept following his victim up the stairs, though he no longer deemed it necessary to hasten things, walking methodically up each step. Recker assumed his target had nowhere to go, unless there was some type of ladder on the side of the building to allow his escape, and knew Eldridge couldn’t get away from him. As soon as Recker walked through the door to the roof, he was met with a right hand from Eldridge. Though stunned for a split second, Recker immediately shrugged it off and went back on the offensive. He hit Eldridge with several more blows, the amount of punches now taking their toll on his body as he crawled along the rooftop floor. Once he got to the end of the roof, he pulled himself up by the concrete ledge that lined the rooftop.
Eldridge was able to turn himself around, breathing heavily from the punishment he’d absorbed, to face his attacker. He put his hands out, hoping to stop Recker from coming closer to him.
“Just wait,” Eldridge pleaded, wiping blood off his forehead. “I have some money.”
“Not interested,” Recker replied, continuing to walk closer to his subject.
Eldridge coughed and looked around, hoping for something he could use to fend off the man who seemed to be intent on killing him. There was nothing there though. Nothing that would save the day for him. He looked over at the building next to them and knew his only chance would be to jump onto the roof next to them. It was a big gamble though. It was about eight feet away and he wouldn’t be able to get much of a running start. Plus with his injuries, he wasn’t sure if his body was strong enough to make the jump. But he knew that without taking the chance, he was as good as dead anyway. He was positive that the man who’d beaten him so severely was going to kill him. His only chance at surviving was to jump to the adjacent roof and escape down the stairs. Eldridge quickly mustered enough strength to get back to his feet and faced the neighboring building. Recker continued walking toward him, wondering what the man was planning. It looked as if he was thinking about jumping, but Recker didn’t think he could make the jump. Recker slowed his walk a little bit, deciding to let him take the risk if he was so inclined. Eldridge turned around to take one last look at Recker, who was still coming. It was now or never. Eldridge took a few steps back, then hurled himself off the roof. He just barely reached the neighboring building, his fingers grazing the concrete ledge, unable to take hold of it. His nose was broken as his face violently hit the brick building and he fell straight down the side of the building. The back of his head and neck were the first parts of his body that hit the ground, and he died instantly, unable to take the brutal impact of the forty foot fall.
Recker looked on from the roof, staring down at the lifeless body of the man he’d just beaten to a pulp. He sighed and shook his head, not really concerned about Eldridge’s death, but on how it would complicate matters. Now the police would come in and do an investigation. He wanted to quickly talk to Hendricks before the cops arrived to make sure she was OK. Recker rushed back down the stairs and down the hall, going into Hendricks’ apartment. She was sitting on the couch, holding her head.
“You all right?” Recker asked, closing the door behind him.
Hendricks took her hand off her head and looked up at him, relieved to see him. “Uhh…yeah. Yeah, I think so.”
“What happened?”
“I got done early from work. When I got here, I got to the door, and as I was unlocking it, he came up to me. I didn’t see him. I don’t know where he was. I guess he was waiting for me,” she recounted.
“What then?”
“We started talking and I told him to go and I didn’t want to see him again. That made him mad. Really mad. He shoved me inside and started yelling at me and hitting me.”
“That’s when I walked in.”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, you won’t have any more problems with him.”
“You don’t think he’ll come back?”
“Not likely.”
“How can you be sure?” she asked.
Recker sighed, knowing there was no good way of telling her. “He’s dead.”
“What?” Hendricks said, standing up in disbelief.
“As we were fighting he went up to the rooftop. I guess he figured his only chance of getting away was to jump to the next building. He didn’t make it,” Recker explained.
“Then you didn’t kill him?”
Recker shook his head. “No. Can’t say I didn’t want to, but no. He did that on his own.”
Hendricks looked disappointed, not that she wasn’t happy to have Eldridge out of her life finally, but she didn’t want anybody dead, even him. “So what now?”
“Police will probably be here soon.”
“So what do we tell them?”
“Just tell them the truth and what happened. You’ll be fine.”
A peculiar look came over her face, as it sounded to her like he wasn’t planning on sticking around. “You say that like you won’t be here too.”
Recker made an agonizing face of his own. “I can’t really.”
“Why not?”
He sighed, not wanting to get too involved. “It’s complicated. The police can’t know anything about me, even my name.”
“Why?” Hendricks wondered. “I don’t understand.”
Recker knew he was in a difficult spot. He risked compromising himself whether he told her the truth or not. “Let’s just say that the police may not believe that someone like me didn’t throw him off the roof instead of him jumping.”
“Is that really what happened? Did you throw him off the roof?”
“No. What I told you is exactly what happened.”
“Then I don’t understand why you can’t stay..”
“I don’t expect you to.”
“I’m scared,” Hendricks told him.
Recker put his arm around her to try and comfort her as best he could. “I know. Just tell them when they arrive that you don’t know who the man was that helped you.”
Still looking quite nervous, Hendricks still tried to get him to stay. “I just don’t know what to do.”
“You’ll be OK. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“Are you wanted by the police for something?”
“No. Not for the reasons that you’d think. I’m not a criminal or anything. There are bigger things at play that I don’t have time to go into right now though,” he said.
“What if I just tell the police that I fought him off and he left despondent. And that he went to the roof and jumped.”
“Mia, you don’t need to lie for me. You can just tell them what happened,” he smiled. “Just conveniently forget my name.”
Hendricks nodded, agreeing to his terms. Recker took his arm off her and started towards the door when Hendricks asked for a favor from him. “If I do as you ask, would you be able to meet with me tomorrow and explain what this is all about? Please?”
Recker sighed, knowing it was against his better judgment to agree to her request. But there was just something in her voice that he couldn’t deny it. Plus, he was in a no win situation. If she told the police his name it’d be just as bad as if he stayed and talked to them himself. “OK,” he told her.
“Can I call you in the morning?”
“Why don’t I just meet you again for lunch at Joe’s Diner at noon?” Recker countered.
Hendricks nodded again. “OK. Thank you.”
Recker left the apartment, making sure nobody saw him exit, and went down the stairs to the main floor. He walked out of the main entrance and noticed a crowd starting to gather around Eldridge’s body. He went to his truck and just sat in it for a minute. He didn’t want to be there when the police showed up so he didn’t waste any more time in staying there. He started driving to his apartment, calling Jones along the way.
“Jones, doesn’t look like Eldridge is gonna be an issue anymore,” Recker informed him.
/> “Why is that? Did he finally get the message?”
“Well, yeah, in a way. He’s dead.”
“Oh no. What happened?” Jones asked.
“Fell off the roof.”
Jones was temporarily stunned. “Fell off or was thrown off?”
“Fell off. Well…jumped to precise.”
“Excuse me for my apprehension, but didn’t you say something about throwing him off a roof when we first started this case?”
“Oh, come on, I was only joking when I said that,” Recker replied. “Well, sort of.”
Jones sighed, knowing this wouldn’t help them to remain inconspicuous. “How is Ms. Hendricks?”
“She’s fine. A few bumps and bruises from Eldridge before I got to him.”
“Well, I’m glad she’s not more seriously hurt. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
“Thanks, I will. It’s kind of been a long day.”
“We’ll discuss your methods further in the morning,” Jones sternly told him.
“Can’t wait,” Recker sarcastically responded.
Chapter 8
Recker came into the office the following morning, breakfast in hand, hoping it’d help to smooth things over with Jones. He knew Jones probably wasn’t happy with him in regards to Eldridge’s death.
“Is this supposed to be a peace offering?” Jones asked, taking his food.
Recker shrugged. “If that’s what you want to think of it as.”
“I can’t be bought with food, you know.”
“So what can you be bought with?” Recker prodded.
“Nothing,” Jones replied, not taking his eyes off the computer screen. “Have you seen this?” Jones asked, handing over a copy of the newspaper.
Recker sighed, sure he was about to find himself in there somehow. He immediately saw the headline of the situation that happened at the hotel involving the Gilberts.
“It appears the man in the trench coat has been nicknamed The Silencer,” Jones stated. “Wonder how they came up with that.”