by Luis Samways
Jacob exhales deeply and pats his pockets down. He reaches into his inner suit and takes a cigarette out. He lights it.
‘I’m sorry Frank.’
‘You’re sorry? Is that supposed to make me feel any better? If you’re not going to help me then why am I here?’
Jacob looks Frank Square in the eyes. The tension in the room is heavy as Frank dissects Jacob’s harsh stare. Jacob’s eyes dart to the intercom on his desk. Frank reacts. He gets up and covers the intercom with his hands so Jacob cannot operate it. Jacob shakes his head in disappointment.
‘There’s no use trying to stop the inevitable Frank. You are going to get caught, sooner or later.’ Frank pulls the chord out of the intercom. The room is filled with a static buzzing sound for a few seconds.
‘Looks like you have already made your mind up, sooner seems to be what you’re batting at the minute Jacob. Like every true great batsman, you’re going to strike out, sooner or later.’
Jacob leans into face Frank nose to nose over the desk, both men staring each other down, both men with their hands on the table, both men waiting for the other to react.
‘Looks like we have a problem here Frank, not only have you got a warrant out for your arrest, you also have your self locked down in a government building with highly trained men. You lay one finger on me and you will be taken down. You may recall me talking to the guard at the gate. I told him that if you are spotted by yourself in the building then they have permission to shoot on sight, you are not leaving here without me letting you go!’
Thirty Seven
Chief Shaw pours himself another double.
‘Whisky in the early afternoon helps me think’ He says
Commissioner Alvarez remains seated while reading the newspaper in Shaw’s office. He is a slender and tall man of Mexican descent, he is known for his loyalty to the working officers of the Boston PD and the so called suits, an every man’s man. Chief Shaw overshadows Alvarez not by height but by demeanour and manner. Shaw’s New York Irish accent is worlds apart from the well-spoken tone of Commissioner Alvarez. The commissioner crosses his legs. His shiny shoes reflect the light in the room. Well-polished, his suit is well pressed. Shaw feels underdressed standing across the room to the well-tailored Alvarez. Alvarez rests the newspaper on his legs. Every action he depicts is as elegant and swarve as his $4000 suit. He looks up at the chief of police with a smile. Shaw thinks to himself how surprised he is that the man sitting across the room hasn’t got a gold tooth, considering his high price suits and style, its only befitting that the man have a gold tooth.
He laughs.
‘What’s funny Mr Shaw?’ Asks Alvarez
Chief Shaw takes another swig of whisky. The ice hits his teeth and makes him cringe. The clanging sound echoes around the room, another drink. He pours himself another double, braces himself, and clears his throat.
‘Nothing sir, it’s just been one of those days. I’m glad you made it down here okay. I heard that they shut down the airports after Connor Chase made his way into our lives.’ Says Shaw
Alvarez smiles and takes a sip of coffee while surveying the Chief’s body language over the rim of the cup.
‘I think you mean “minds” Chief Shaw.’
Shaw takes another sip, this time being more cautious of the ice in the glass hitting his teeth, using his mouth as a shield.
‘I don’t think I get you sir.’ Says Shaw
‘Not many people do Mr Shaw. What I meant was, when you said Connor chase made his way into our lives, I think you meant minds’
Shaw shakes his head
‘No sir. I meant lives’
Commissioner Alvarez gets up from his seat and pats himself down. He walks over to Shaw and puts his hand on his shoulder.
‘If Connor Chase was in my life, then I’d be scared to walk out of the door. I would be looking over my shoulder every ten minutes, watching and waiting for him to show up. Connor Chase is nothing more than fear in my head.’
Shaw looks Alvarez up and down, taking in the splendour of his apparel.
‘I’m quite sure that the people he’s holding hostage find Mr Chase very much in their lives sir.’
‘That may be, But to me he is just a number, a number that has to be eliminated out of the equation. Life is a formula Shaw, and Connor Chase is fucking up the formula!’
Shaw is shocked at the outburst of Alvarez. He takes another sip of whisky trying to take the edge off.
‘We are doing everything we can to capture Chase and his men’ Says Shaw
‘Obviously it’s not enough Chief seeing that you know where they are located and still have not intercepted them!’
‘It’s not that easy sir. Protocol has to be followed. It’s a public building sir. There are hostages involved and heavy media coverage on the case. We cannot jeopardise the safety of those hostages by bum rushing the place. More lives will be damaged than saved.’
Alvarez turns his back on Shaw and walks up to the drinks carbonate. He pours himself a double and drinks it in one shot. He turns to face the Chief of police.
‘I did not tell you to bum rush the place. I just want results and I want them fast! People’s lives are at risk here and not to mention Washington is breathing hard on me at the moment. They want this thing sorted out fast. They do not want a shit storm, so control it.’
‘Understood sir’ Says Shaw
Alvarez cracks a forced smile.
‘Look Shaw, you have ten hours to distinguish this Chase situation. If you don’t succeed then the FBI will take over all on-going operations out of this building.’
Shaw shakes his head in disappointment. Alvarez puts his empty whisky glass down on Shaw’s desk and makes his way out of the room. He pats Shaw on the shoulder and walks out of Shaw’s office, closing the door behind him.
‘Ass hole’ Mutters Shaw
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his mobile phone. He looks at the menu in anticipation.
‘Still no messages, what’s going on Nathan?’ Shaw asks himself
He puts the phone back into his pocket and pours himself another drink.
Thirty Eight
Nathan’s eyes open to a circle of humanity surrounding him, all looking down at him while he lies on floor catching his breath. His vision is blurry, unclear. He immediately realises what is going on. The pain in his jaw reminds him of the punch that he suffered not too long ago. The ominous crowd reminds him of where he is. Blurry vision or not, a few dozen guns pointed at his face is enough to make him snap out of his daze. The guards keep their guns drawn at Nathan as he slowly sits up with his hands raised.
‘Relax fellas’ Says Nathan calmly
The butt end of an AK47 strikes Nathan’s face knocking him back to the ground. Dirt splatters onto his face from the impact. He spits out a bloody tooth. The pain is back again.
‘Shut the hell up!’ says the AK47 swinging guard
Connor Chase pushes his way through the circle of animals surrounding Nathan, gun in hand. His pack smiles at his presence, cheering and jeering as he signals them for quiet.
‘Looks like you’re a bit banged up there Nathan my boy!’ laughs Chase
Nathan scrambles back up to a seated position.
‘Ah ah ah, don’t you move!’ Says Chase
Nathan bares his surroundings and scans the area for an escape route, none found. He doesn’t like his chances. He closes his eyes preparing for the worst.
‘Look at me!’ Says Chase
Nathan follows the order and looks Connor square in the eyes.
‘That’s better. Now I know that this may come as a shock to you, but you are being held prisoner now.’
‘No shit’ says Nathan
The guard with the AK47 kicks Nathan in the face sending him back down to the ground with a thud.
Connor puts his arm in front of the guard’s chest to stop him pouncing on Nathan.
‘Not yet Mike, You’ll have your fun I promise you that!’
<
br /> The guard called Mike grunts in understanding.
‘Looks like we have a problem Nathan, It seems that my crew have taken a disliking to you. I’m not quite sure why that is; maybe you can shed some light on the matter.’
Nathan once again sits himself back up; now blood is pouring out of his mouth like a waterfall spurting out of a rock face. He wipes his bloody mouth off with his dirty sleeve and takes a deep breath.
‘I don’t follow’ Says Nathan
‘I’m sure you don’t. I’ll fill you in, you see Nathan my men are good hard working men. You could say they pull their weight around here, and maybe you don’t. I think that could be a good enough reason. I don’t know maybe you left the toilet seat up and someone needed a crap and they had to take the time out of their day to put the damn seat down. Maybe you pissed on the seat, so when they did manage to get the seat down they had pissy hands for all of their hard work!’
The surrounding men chuckle at Chase’s remark; he turns to his men and gives them a stern look that stopped the chuckling dead in its tracks.
‘As I was saying, maybe you’re just an ass hole and nobody quite likes you. I can reason with that, I have noticed that you have one of those faces that I just want to punch…no offence of course. Could it be that reason Nathan? Is it because you have a stupid face?’
Nathan shrugs his shoulders in confusion. Chase’s face fills with rage and he cocks his gun.
‘Answer me god dammit!’
He points the gun in Nathans direction, the cold barrel touches Nathans scull and sends shivers down his spine.
‘I don’t know why they don’t like me!’ Nathan pleads
Chase pulls out a mobile phone from his pocket, Nathan’s mobile phone. Nathan’s Adams apple sinks deep into the back of his throat.
‘I believe you left something on the operating table next to poor old Hodgey, God rest his soul. Why have you got a mobile phone on you? I told everybody when they started that mobile phones are not allowed on the job. Outside communication with the world is prohibited. It could jeopardise the mission. Why do you have the phone?’
Nathan says nothing, just stares down at the floor.
‘Okay fine, don’t tell me, you’re only hurting your self boy!’
Chase clicks the buttons on the phone, skimming through the contents displayed on the small LED screen. He stops at the messages and reads them. He takes a good five minutes giving Nathan time to soak in what he thinks is his last breath. Chase smiles and nods as if the messages were answering his questions. He throws the phone on to the floor and stamps on it, obliterating the device in no more than two stomps. The debris from the phone splinters on the impact of the stomp and hits Nathan in the face. He doesn’t blink, just keeps staring at Connor who by now is licking his lips.
‘Interesting messages you got there Nathan, interesting messages indeed.’
Connor smiles once more, making his intentions clear as he paces from side to side. Nathan braces himself. Connor kicks. Nathan’s vision goes black. No sound. No sight. Knocked out.
Thirty Nine
Crystal undoes her blouse, slowly and meaningfully as the smooth velvet falls off of her curvaceous bust, she grabs Jason by the belt, looking deep into his eyes, deep into his soul. She undoes the belt, pulling it out of the braces that hold Jason’s trousers up. The sound turns her on. It’s a whizzing sound, a sort of whoosh that sends shivers up her neck as her hair brushes up against his chest. She’s on her knees, pulling down his trousers. Taking off the belt was supposed to make the ordeal easier; his erect penis is stopping the pulling motion. She is wanting and what she wants is Jason in her mouth. She can’t stand the wait. She tugs the trousers down harder. He lets out a whimper.
‘Damn that hurts’ He says
She looks up at him, her eyes saying “so what”. He smiles down at her as he helps her undo his trousers, helping her pull them down. They fall to his ankles, she watches as the hairs on his legs stand on end. She gasps in air as she finally sees his hard penis staring straight at her, inviting her in. She opens her beautiful mouth and grabs it, pulling it closer to her until she feels it enter. She feels full. He grabs her hair tight, bunching it up as he is being pleased. She moans as she takes every thrust deeply in her mouth. He thrusts harder as he grabs at her breasts. They feel firm and hard as he thrusts even harder. Her knees start to hurt rubbing against the small train toilet floor. He stops looking at her as he raises his head up and looks at the ceiling.
She gives an acknowledging moan as she grabs his penis with both hands. She sucks in hard as she rubs him at the same time. He grabs the side wall nearly ripping the mirror off as he releases in her mouth. She embraces the warm liquid. She looks up at him with devious and sexy eyes. She knows he enjoyed it. He continues to stare at the ceiling as he convulses in pleasure, finally looking down at her with nothing but euphoria in his eyes
Forty
Officer Mullins is sat in the patrol car waiting for his partner to come back from the coffee shop. The radio in the car starts to go off. Mullin’s reaches for it.
‘Car 765 receiving over’ Says Mullins
‘Car 765 we have a confirmed sighting of suspect Frank McKenzie spotted entering the industrial area in downtown Boston. He was spotted in a dark blue Ford Capri. Suspect is presumed armed and dangerous, approach with caution.’ Says the voice on the radio
‘Shit’ Shouts Mullins.
He sounds the horn and sirens for a few seconds to catch the attention of his partner in the coffee shop. His partner is chatting up a waitress when he turns around and notices Mullin’s signalling him. The officer rushes out of the shop and makes his way to the patrol car. He enters the car out of breath.
‘What’s the rush Mullins?’
‘We just got a 10-4 on Frank McKenzie’ Says Mullins
‘Where about is he?’
‘Just strap up and let’s go!’
‘Keep your blonde Irish ass in check man; I’m strapping up damn it!’
He puts his foot down on the gas pedal and swerves out of the parking space. The patrol car speeds through the lower east side of Boston, blues and twos rolling.
Forty one
‘Blocking the door won’t do you any good Frank. They can breach it if they must’ Says Jacob whose standing afar witnessing Frank rearranging the room. Frank is sifting through the furniture turning desks over and pushing filing cabinets down to the ground.
‘Where the hell is it?’ Asks Frank
Jacob looks on in confusion
‘Where the hell is what?’
Frank stops what he is doing and turns to face Jacob.
‘Where the hell is your key card?’
Jacob laughs while shaking his head at Frank.
‘My key card, what the hell are you talking about, what key card?’
Frank walks up to Jacob and grabs him by the corporate looking blue tie he is wearing.
‘The Key card to the armoury’
Jacob pushes Frank off him.
‘Are you crazy Frank? This is the Twenty First century. We don’t carry key cards anymore.’
‘So how do you get access to certain buildings?’
Jacob smiles while doing the jazz hands gesture
‘Fingers Frank, every place in this building is secured with military grade finger printing security. You will need an authorised person to unlock the doors.’
Frank’s eyes widen with glee as he approaches Jacob, reaching into his pocket he pulls out a blade. Jacob screams but Frank grabs his face, muffling the sounds of his cry for help.
Forty Two
Eddie Smith is lying face down on his desk fast asleep. His arm twitches and knocks an empty bottle of vodka off the table. The crashing sound wakens him to a bitter taste of cigarettes and alcohol. He stretches his arms wide above his head. The colour is drained from his face, only illuminated in the dark room by the beads of sweat dripping off his forehead, shining in the light coming through the cracks on the window
blinds. He lights another cigarette and gets out from his chair, stretching once more, he walks over to his liquor cabinet and scans the area for any bottles. He finds none. His mobile phone goes off. He answers.
‘DA Smith speaking’
There is a static sound coming from the other end of the phone. Eddie looks at the bars on his cell and moves closer to the window to try and catch a better signal.
‘Hello, any one there?’
A sneer on the other end of the phone sharply awakens the DA.
‘Who is this?’ Asks Eddie
‘Don’t you think it’s strange how a person can stay on a phone, not say one word but still feel like there is still a point in talking to the other end? I mean let’s face it, if this was a real conversation in person and I just stopped talking to you, you’d move on wouldn’t you? But no, for some reason people seem to think that a ringing phone is an important phone, when in all matter of fact, the real importance is the person on the other end. Most bad news on the phone is just that, bad news on a phone. The reason people call people to tell them bad news is because they are too scared to tell them in person. I’m not scared off any one, and believe me that if I had a chance to get an audience with the District Attorney then I would, but unfortunately certain circumstances prevent me from accomplishing that. I hope you don’t mind…….’ Says the voice on the phone
The DA rubs his face and takes a long hard drag on his cigarette.
‘No I don’t mind, I was wandering when you would call Mr Chase.’ Says Eddie
‘Oh so you do have some intelligence after all. The papers got it all wrong then, saying how you are not the smartest or toughest or, well quite frankly, DA material. I got to give you credit where credit is due, not many people could just figure stuff out so quickly, I mean how long did it take you, three seconds? That’s impressive.’