Finishing The Job

by Harley Fox

  “Oh shit, I almost forgot about it,” Jake says. He helps Emily into the car and then fishes the keys out of his pocket. He hands them to me.

  “It’s that one,” he points it out.

  “I’ll take the lead,” Lance says, waiting at the driver’s side door. My body nods its head and Jake climbs into the back while the rest of the doors shut. Walking over to Jake’s bike I climb on it and start it up. Lance pulls out of the parking lot and I follow close behind, the wind whipping my hair back as I do.

  I follow close behind Lance on our way to the hospital. My mind feels … strange. Addled, and oddly empty. It’s hard to think. Hard to think about what just happened, or come to terms with it. Everything still feels far away. Like it’s not really happening, or it’s happening but I’m viewing it from far away, or from overhead.

  Something happened, though. Back in the warehouse. When Jake and Will Silver had their guns on one another. At the times when I was yelling to Will, I was … it was like it was me yelling. I could feel myself doing it. I wasn’t just listening. It felt like my voice. It sounded like something I wanted to say.

  Eventually we reach the hospital and the bike follows Lance’s car to the emergency entrance. Wasn’t I here already this morning? The sliding glass doors open and two male nurses, the same two male nurses as before, come out with a wheelchair. But if they recognize me or Lance, they don’t make any notion. Lance tells them they need another wheelchair and one of them rushes back to get a second one as Merryn is helped into the first. Soon enough Emily’s in a wheelchair too and they’re both taken in, Jake following. Lance shuts the doors of his car and gets back in. I follow him to the parking lot where we park side by side. In silence we walk back to the emergency entrance. If he notices the irony of this like I did, he doesn’t mention it.

  When we get inside neither Merryn nor Emily are present, but Jake is. He’s pacing back and forth, muttering. It seems his usual fervor has come back with a vengeance.

  “… they there? They shouldn’t have been. It was dangerous, they knew that …”

  We approach him and he looks up, sees us.

  “What the fuck happened?” he asks us, his eyes nearly bulging out of his skull.

  “Sit down,” Lance says, but Jake doesn’t seem to hear him.

  “They weren’t supposed to be there!” he almost shouts. “Merryn, with Will Silver. And Emily! What the hell was she thinking?”

  “It was fucked up,” Lance agrees. “Nothing went the way it was supposed to.”

  Suddenly Jake blinks, as though seeing Lance and me for the first time.

  “And what the fuck were you doing there?” he asks me. He looks at Lance. “And who the hell are you?”

  “My name’s Lance Rush,” he says. His voice is calm and level. “Trista and I were there for the exact same reason you were.” His eyes dart side to side, taking in the surroundings of the hospital. He doesn’t elaborate on what that reason was.

  Jake’s breathing hard, but he doesn’t say anything. So Lance goes on.

  “When I was a kid, my little brother got killed. Shot because he saw a poker game go on between Will Silver and a mob boss. I thought, at the time, that it was the mob boss who shot Danny. But I just found out that it was Will. Before I found that out, though, I had it in for him for something else. Another kid, this little baby. Will wanted the baby dead. And he wanted me to do it.”

  I feel something click in my head.

  “Wait … what was the kid’s name?”

  Lance looks at me. “Why?”

  I lower my voice. “Was it Nathan Willow?” His eyes widen, answering me. “I was still working as a cop when Jeannette Willow came in to report … something. She was in danger, and it was with Will Silver. So I told her to leave the city until I got things figured out. Flynn and I were planning on taking Will out, but it never happened. The morning we thought he was going to show up,” I look at Jake, “that was when you showed up.”

  Jake blinks, his energy having fizzled away, but Lance nods.

  “So that’s why she was leaving,” he says.

  “I’m sorry,” Jake says, and now it’s my turn to look surprised. “About yesterday. I’ve fought with Merryn a lot about it. And I didn’t know that you were planning to … and this kid, Nathan. I didn’t know about that.”

  I feel my head nod. “It’s okay,” I say.

  Lance inclines his head. “Let’s sit down.” And so we go over to the rows of seats, finding three together. Although it’s silent between us, it doesn’t feel as tense as it did before.

  Jake’s the one who breaks the silence. “So you two were there for the same reason I was?” We both nod. “Do you have any plans now? Now that, you know, it’s over?”

  My head shakes and so does Lance’s.

  “No,” he says.

  “Well, maybe we should keep in touch,” Jake says. “In case we find we can work together on this.”

  I think about Sal, and about what he’d said about Jake Hawksley. Good head on his shoulders. When he’s not blinded by rage or sex, he’s got it all figured out.

  “Yeah,” I say. “That sounds good.”

  So Lance and I exchange our numbers with Jake, who gets ours in turn. Once our cell phones are stowed away we go back to waiting. The hospital moves all around us, the clock ticking by slowly on the wall. People come in the emergency, others go. I see some of the same staff as I did this morning, but if any of them recognize me none of them make any notice.

  Finally a nurse approaches us.

  “Jake Hawksley?” she asks, and Jake stands up. Lance and I follow suit.

  “Yeah?”

  “We’ve got Merryn and Emily in stable conditions,” she says, and I see relief flood its way through Jake. “We thought that maybe Merryn had gone into labor, but it was a false alarm. The baby’s fine. Emily has a few broken ribs, but other than that she’s okay. The camera she came in with is shattered beyond repair, I’d say.”

  Jake nods. “Can I see them?”

  “Yes, you should be able to see them,” and so she leads us down the hall. “Since you all came in together we put them in the same room,” she explains as she leads us through a door. Inside are two beds, the closest one occupied by Emily, the farthest by Merryn.

  “Oh God, Emily,” Jake says, and he goes to his little sister. Lance and I hang back as Emily gives a weak smile and raises her twisted arms to give her brother a hug.

  “They should be good to go home as soon as they can get dressed,” the nurse tells the room, and then she departs.

  “Emily, you idiot,” Jake says. His sister releases the hug.

  “Go see Merryn, dummy,” she says, her smile a little brighter now. Jake stands up and walks over to the other bed where the very pregnant Merryn lies in a hospital gown. But Jake doesn’t go to hug her as he did Emily. Instead he stands at the edge of the bed.

  “Merryn,” he says, shaking his head. I can’t see his face, but the tone of his voice is a bit different now. “What were you thinking?”

  Merryn looks like she’s struggling to hold back tears. Tears of shame, I would imagine.

  “Jake, I’m so sorry,” she chokes out. The tears betray her and roll down her cheeks. “I should have told you. I only wanted … I just wanted there to be peace.”

  “But Will Silver, Merryn,” Jake says. “How did you think you could trust him? What was going through your head that you thought it would be okay to go see him? Alone?”

  “Because he came to us!” she protests from the hospital bed. “He told us he needed help. I trusted him. You trusted him, too! That’s why you went!”

  “But I wouldn’t have put myself alone in a room with him,” Jake counters. “And you’re pregnant, Merryn. For God’s sake, our baby! What if he did something to our baby?”

  “He wouldn’t have done anything to our baby,” she says.

  “He held a fucking gun to your head!” Jake explodes, making everyone in the room jump. “What the fuc
k were you thinking? He wouldn’t do anything to our baby? He almost killed you, and you just trusted him! You’re always going on about trusting people and look where it got you! In a fucking hospital having almost prematurely delivered our baby!”

  He’s breathing hard now, I can see. It’s like a switch was flipped. He was so calm before. Merryn opens her mouth but Jake cuts her off before she can speak.

  “You lectured me! You told me I was acting crazy, that I was getting paranoid! And then you fucking go behind my back and you put yourself and our baby in danger, and for what? Now the fucking plan is ruined! Will knows now, now he’s going to be suspicious! You didn’t even bring backup! You didn’t tell me, I could have covered you! Nobody knew where you were! What the fuck were you thinking?”

  “Jake, stop it,” Emily says from the other bed. Merryn’s crying again, the tears a constant stream on her face. She’s shaking her head, but she looks tired.

  “Jake,” she croaks. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, you’re sorry!” He throws up his hands. “Well stop the fucking presses, Merryn is sorry! I guess that solves everything, now doesn’t it?” He turns and starts pacing. I see his face now and it’s a ruddy shade of red. “Sorry. Sorry! Time to go home now and act like nothing ever happened because Merryn is sorry!”

  Merryn lets out a sob, but it doesn’t faze Jake.

  “Jake,” she croaks again. “I … I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “Jake,” Lance speaks up, “maybe take a walk or something. Drink some water.”

  Jake’s shaking his head again. It’s like he can’t stop.

  “You don’t know what to say.” It’s like he didn’t even hear Lance. “Maybe there’s nothing you can say, Merryn. I can’t trust you. And if I can’t trust you … then I can’t have you in my life.”

  He lifts a hand, runs it down over his face.

  “I want you out of the apartment, Merryn. Pack your bags and go.”

  Lance

  The pregnant woman on the bed lets out a sob.

  “Jake …” Her voice sounds thick and creaky. I feel my mouth is open and I close my jaw with a snap. “Jake, please …”

  “No, Merryn,” he says, his eyes darting around at all of us. “I can’t trust you. You have to go.”

  “Jake, what the fuck is wrong with you?” It’s that girl with the arms and legs, on the other bed. She looks angry.

  “Shut up, Emily,” Jake snaps. “This doesn’t concern you.”

  “Like fuck it doesn’t concern me!” she spits back. “Jake, you’re being an idiot.”

  “Jake,” I try in a level voice, before he can respond to his sister, “think about what you’re saying. Take a step back and look at the situation as a whole.”

  “Yeah,” Trista, beside me, finds her voice. “This is a mistake. You shouldn’t do this.”

  Jake looks around at all of us, almost spinning on the spot. We’re all looking at him.

  “Oh, so it’s me against all of you now?” he asks, and I shake my head as Merryn lets out another cry.

  “None of us are against you,” I say. “We want what’s best for everyone.”

  He turns to face me. He and I are about the same height, both taller than anyone else here. My muscles tense up as I wait for him to make his move.

  “Go fuck yourself,” he says in a slow voice. “You don’t want what’s best for me. You want what’s best for yourselves. None of you are thinking about me.”

  “You’re not thinking about anybody except yourself!” his sister yells from the bed. Jake practically throws up his arms.

  “Ugh, fuck this,” he says. “If you’re all against me then I guess I’m on my own.”

  And he makes for the door, long strides taking him there quickly. I feel like I should reach out, try to stop him, but I know that’ll lead to a fight. This environment. He’s on edge, ready to prove himself at the slightest provocation.

  He reaches the door and yanks it open, steps out, the thing slowly closing back in place.

  And then Merryn starts crying.

  She breaks down, her emotion all leaving her at once. She’s sobbing, bawling. I can’t imagine what fucking catastrophe of emotions and hormones and confusion might be going on inside of her. Trista’s at her side in an instant.

  “Hey, there there,” she says, sitting on the edge of Merryn’s bed. Even Emily, Jake’s little sister, throws off her bed sheets, swinging her twisted legs over the side as she grimaces against the pain, grabbing her crutches from their place against the wall.

  I’m out of my element. I can’t go over to comfort her. I’d be like a big, lumbering bull.

  “I’ll go after him,” I say. And before anyone can respond I make for the door, although nobody calls out after me anyway.

  I open it up and start down the hall, heading for the nearest exit. When I turn the corner I see the back of Jake. He’s moving fast so I make myself move even faster, catching up to him when he’s almost at the doors out of here.

  “Jake,” I say. I’m ready to put a hand on his shoulder if he doesn’t stop, knowing that’ll probably trigger him to defend himself, but luckily he turns around. His own eyes are rimmed with red. Good. That’s a good sign.

  “What?” he asks. “Are you here to tell me not to leave?”

  I level my gaze at him. “Obviously,” I say. “Jake, think about what you’re doing. Merryn is pregnant. She looks like she’s going to give birth any second. Are you seriously just going to kick her out, just because she made a mistake?”

  He bristles. “She put herself in danger. She wasn’t thinking.”

  “No, she wasn’t thinking,” I agree. “She should have had backup. But it sounds like she did it for you. It wasn’t like she was trying to go behind your back. And why didn’t she tell you? Do you know?”

  “Because,” he starts, but then pauses for a second. “Probably because I would have said no.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Exactly. Can you really blame her for going behind your back? You’ve got a temper, man. It’s obvious. It’s like a hair trigger. You’ve got to learn how to control it.”

  A scowl forms on his face. “What’re you, my therapist?”

  Katie. I push the thought away. “No. I’m just a guy in a similar situation as you. I want Will Silver dead. My girlfriend doesn’t.”

  Jake nods. “So you know how I feel.”

  “I know it’s frustrating trying to find a solution when none of them are easy. But I also know you shouldn’t leave this hospital. Merryn needs you right now. Don’t leave her, man.”

  Jake pauses, glances away, seems to be thinking it over. Finally he shakes his head.

  “I can’t,” he says. “Merryn fucked too much of it up. She made her mistake, and now she’s got to live with the consequences. I mean, she broke my trust. How would you like it if your girlfriend broke your trust?”

  The thought of Katie floats to my mind again, more pervasive. Break my trust. Has she ever broken my trust?

  I shake my head. “I don’t know,” I tell him, and Jake gives me a look.

  “Then you don’t really know what I’m going through,” he says, and with that he turns and lets the sliding glass doors open in front of him, stepping out into the bright day.

  I watch him go. I should go after him, I know, but it won’t make a difference. He’s not coming back. Not right now.

  Katie. Now that she’s in my head it’s hard to get her away. I was so mad at her before. Why was that? Because she was changing her mind about wanting to kill Will Silver? Was that what it was? It felt so important at the time. Now it just feels … petty.

  And seeing Jake do that to Merryn … that was cold. I would never do that to Katie. Wouldn’t I? Isn’t that what I’ve already done? Just left her. Gone off and done my own thing, not thinking about her, not thinking about us.

  Before I realize it I’m taking my cell phone out of my pocket. The screen lights up and I find Katie’s number, hit Call.


  The phone rings in my ear when I lift it up. Two times. Three. It picks up.

  “Lance?”

  Her voice. It feels like everything inside of me melts. How could I ever want to leave her, after everything we’ve been through?

  “Katie,” I say, ignoring the new tightness in my throat. “It’s good to hear your voice.”

  “Lance, what’s going on?” Concern in her tone now. “You sound different. What happened?”

  I cough away the tightness, try swallowing to clear it.

  “Too much,” I say. “Too much has happened. I have to see you. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the Thirsty Sister,” she says. Her favorite bar. “Do you remember it?”

  I can’t help the smile. “Yeah, I remember it.”

  “Does this mean you’re ready to talk?”

  “Yes. I’ll come by … as soon as I can.” Merryn and the others. They have no way to leave. I have a car. “I don’t know when. Stay there. I’ll come by as soon as I can.”

  “Lance, what’s going on?”

  “I’ll tell you when I see you. Katie … I love you.”

  A pause that lasts a lifetime. “… I love you too.”

  I wouldn’t be able to wipe my smile away if you had a gun to my head. I hang up and stash my phone away, then go back to the room. By the time I get there I’m back to neutral.

  When I walk in both Trista and Emily are at Merryn’s bed. Merryn is no longer sobbing, but instead is drawing in hitching breaths. The others are speaking softly to her, comforting her. Emily looks angry, and she’s crying too, silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

  No one seems to have noticed I’ve entered the room. I stand, uncomfortable, unsure what to do. The door opens behind me and the nurse who took us here comes in. Her eyebrows shoot up.

  “You’re still here?” she asks. “You can go home now.”

  Both Trista and Emily wheels angry glares around on her.

  “Can’t you see we’re in the middle of something here?”

  “You can be in the middle of it somewhere else,” the nurse says, unfazed. “We need these beds for other patients.” And then she turns and leaves without saying another word.