Bystanders

by Phillip Murrell

  They run a few more blocks, then suddenly all three stop. In front of them is a black limousine. They know what this means, and it’s not good.

  The second associate voices the concern that all three share. “Ah hell. What are we gonna do?”

  “Be cool,” Power instructs. “I got this.”

  Power tries to put some swagger into his walk as he approaches the limousine. His steps become less sure the closer he gets to the car.

  The chauffeur gets out and walks slowly around to open the door and let his passenger out. A pair of stunning female legs with expensive shoes extend out. Julie Tress gets out of the vehicle.

  Julie is beyond gorgeous. She’s the epitome of the perfect female body. Her only visible flaw may be that she’s too thin. She’s in her late twenties, wearing the most stylish and expensive clothing there is, which always possess sleeves. She’s The Speaker of The Enterprise. The Enterprise is the name used within the organized criminal element. Julie is the face for most of the street level workers. They don’t get to meet The Chairman often.

  “Mr. Wiener,” Julie begins with a predatory smile. “Would you please take a ride with me?”

  Power is terrified. The only thing that scares him more than getting inside that limousine is what will happen to him if he doesn’t. With a gulp, he walks toward the door.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he weakly utters. “Anything for The Speaker.”

  Julie continues to smile. It feels evil, however sincere and polite it appears. “Thank you. It’s always comforting when business associates know how to behave.”

  The two enter the vehicle. The chauffeur closes the door, gets into the driver’s seat, and pulls away. Power’s friends quickly run in a different direction.

  Inside the limousine, Power attempts to control the conversation. “Ma’am, I would just like to say that Night Terror just hit me and my crew again. I’m down to just two guys, but I did save most of the drugs.”

  Power motions toward the backpack on his shoulder.

  Julie tenses at that last word.

  “I’m sorry,” says Power, “the product. I saved most of the product. I think you should get on the phone and call in your top guys to get this Night Terror.”

  Julie looks at him with a curious expression. “I’m sorry, ‘Night Terror’ is it?”

  “That’s just what we’ve been calling him,” Power admits.

  “I deduced that. I just want to know who told you that it was acceptable to name him?”

  “What?”

  “You give something strength when you give it a name,” Julie explains. “This is simply another obstacle. He’s just The Opposition.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Mr. Wiener, relax. You may name your boogeyman, if you must. That isn’t why I asked for this conference.”

  Power gulps again. He may only have moments left to live.

  Julie continues. “I want to know if you’ve seen The Opposition in person?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Then explain to me why twice now you’ve lost numerous workers and product to him?”

  “That wasn’t my fault!”

  Julie raises an eyebrow in warning.

  “I apologize for raising my voice. That wasn’t my fault. Yesterday, I left before the hit even went down.”

  “What about just now?”

  “I didn’t know he was there, but when my guys chased this couple, I didn’t want to leave the product exposed. I came back to get it. When I heard the shooting, I told my last guys to grab the product and get gone.”

  “Mr. Wiener, surely you can see how this looks suspicious. Twice in as many nights you seem to leave just as things go wrong for The Enterprise.”

  Power tenses. He waits for the killing blow, but it doesn’t come.

  “Fortunately for you, our sources in the CPD have confirmed that you aren’t on any informant list. I have enough sources to believe them.”

  Power lets out a sigh of relief.

  “However,” Julie continues, “this doesn’t take away the fact that you’re an obvious coward and very unlucky. The Opposition has it out for you, for some reason, and The Enterprise will use that.”

  Power is a bit upset for being considered a coward, but he realizes that Julie is expecting him to speak. He decides to swallow his pride.

  “Ma’am, I ain’t no snitch. I don’t know why this dude got it out for me, but I’m willing to do whatever The Enterprise needs me to do to show my loyalty and to influence The Enterprise’s bottom line.”

  Julie continues to beam her predatory smile.

  “Excellent, Mr. Wiener, The Chairman will be pleased. We’ll send gentlemen to your apartment tomorrow to interview you. Please be home and dressed.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Julie looks outside the window as they pass by dilapidated buildings.

  “Well,” she says, “it looks like our conference is adjourned. You may go now. Remember to tuck and roll.”

  Power’s body tenses. He hates this woman’s games, but he’s resigned to play. “Yes, ma’am. I always do.”

  The limousine slows to about twenty miles per hour. Power opens the door and falls out the side. He’s quick to roll and avoid tires. He stands up with minor scrapes and cuts.

  Power dusts himself off as he mutters, “Stupid bitch. I know yours is bigger than mine. You could stop the damn car.”

  Power continues to brush himself off and looks around. He grabs his backpack from the ground.

  “Where the hell am I?”

  Power walks toward the nearest bus stop.

  Donald and Alex finally arrive at the crime scene they were dispatched to. Many police are there, and they have it cordoned off. Only one injured person is still present. The three injured thugs have already been transported to the hospital. Donald notices two covered bodies.

  “So much for never killing,” he mutters to himself.

  Karen sees the two and flags them over.

  “Alex, over here,” she states.

  Alex approaches Karen. “What have you got for us?”

  Karen sits with a female victim. The woman clutches her phone with fierce determination.

  “I’m telling you I’m fine,” she protests. “This is Lou’s blood. That monster used a shotgun on him. I need to get my story on the air pronto. Lou would want the story to get out.”

  Karen tries to convince the woman to see reason. “Claire, I think you’re in shock. These guys will take care of you.”

  Donald takes this opportunity to enter the conversation. “Yes, ma’am. Just let us look you over real quick, and you can be on your way. Can you tell me your name please?”

  “Claire Kennedy. What’s yours?”

  “I’m Donald Singh, and this is my buddy, Alex Williams.”

  Karen walks off to join Carlos. Donald waves at her as she goes.

  “Hi,” Alex says. “Did you really see Mortician?”

  Claire scoffs. “His name is First Line, and yes, he was here. Watch D2I News if you want to get anymore. I’ve got footage, which is why you guys need to let me go.”

  Claire attempts to stand defiantly and quickly groans. She clutches her ribs and pulls away a bloody hand. Alex and Donald share a concerned look.

  “I told you, it’s Lou’s blood,” Claire explains.

  “Let’s just be certain,” Alex says.

  Alex partially lifts Claire’s shirt and points out two small entry wounds.

  “Ma’am,” Alex begins, “you’re going to have to come with us. It looks like you caught a few of the pellets.”

  “No, I have to get on the air.”

  Donald intercedes. “Ma’am, that won’t happen today. You need to get to the hospital.”

  “I’m keeping my phone.”

  “That’s fine,” Donald concedes. “Now please come with me.”

  “Fine,” Claire relents.

  Claire allows them to assist her to their ambulance, and they drive off toward the ho
spital.

  The hospital is still busy in the early hours of the morning. Colberton is a violent city, and rarely a night goes by where there isn’t a shooting. The past month has been especially hard on the spinal surgeons. The vigilante’s brutal methods often leave people permanently disabled.

  Surgeons quickly prepare for another operation including Dr. Tina Sanders, the head spinal surgeon. Tina is a handsome woman in her mid-fifties. Her once dignified appearance is in a poor state because of the sudden surge in late night/early morning emergencies. A large man who attacked a couple downtown is this morning’s spinal case.

  “Did Villain do this again?” Tina addresses her nurse, Mike Folsen.

  Mike is a chunky man, pushing full blown obesity, in his late thirties. His curly hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Mike nods at Tina somberly as he arranges medical tools.

  “Yeah,” he says. “All the news stations are trying to come up with clever names for him, but I think they should call him Crippler. It seems like that’s all he does.”

  “He’s an evil man,” Tina declares. “So, Villain is perfect. What happened this time?”

  “We’re not completely sure. None of the past victims have ever talked. They have the worst kind of PTSD. And, that’s just for those beaten light enough to still be able to talk. I doubt the three who came in today will be much different.”

  “This hospital can’t afford this for much longer. Alright, let’s try and save another quality of life.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The two begin the surgery on the large thug.

  Claire sits in her hospital room. She’s engaged in excited conversation on her smartphone with someone. Benji arrives to question her about the attack and Lou’s death.

  Claire speaks into her phone. “Boss, what I’m trying to say is I’ve got footage. It’s good stuff, but these bastards say I can’t leave the hospital until twenty-four hours have passed.”

  Claire listens to the response on the other end of the phone.

  “We can’t wait that long,” she implores. “I want this footage on television.”

  Claire listens again.

  “To hell with that. I’m not giving you the footage without being a part of the story. I got shot for this.”

  Claire listens again. The response sends her into a rage.

  “I know that Lou died! You think I forgot that already? It doesn’t change the fact that I should get some God damn credit!”

  Benji tries to interrupt. “Excuse me, Miss Kennedy--”

  Claire fixes Benji with the nastiest of glares. She’s clearly telling him that she’s on the phone. Benji waits patiently.

  Claire continues to shout at her boss. “Boss, I’m not giving this over to anyone until I’m on television with it.”

  She listens.

  “Uh huh.”

  She listens again.

  “Uh huh. Still no.”

  Claire seems to have a light bulb moment.

  “Boss, how about if you interview me in the hospital? I’m one of the innocent bystanders First Line has saved. Having Gabe interview me in my hospital room will sex it up a bit. Then we can play the video, and I can bravely share my story of a lost friend and the terror I felt.”

  Claire listens again.

  “Boss, when a man dies in your arms, he’s your closest of friends. Besides, the viewers won’t know that.”

  Claire listens for a final time as the conversation ends.

  “Okay, I’ll see Gabe a little before he goes on. I’ll hand over the footage and give my story. I want to speak first, then the footage, then me again. I’ll make sure to be extra weak and scared. The audience will go nuts over this. Alright, I’ll talk to you later. Ciao.”

  Claire hangs up the phone and looks at a disapproving Benji. “Don’t judge me. This is show business first and news second.”

  “I didn’t say a thing,” Benji responds.

  “Who are you anyway?” Claire asks.

  “I’m Detective Benji Tanner. I was hoping you could answer me a few questions about last night, perhaps let me have a look at your footage?”

  “That’s not going to happen. You can see it at four o’clock with everyone else.”

  “I’ve got a lot of people to talk to in this hospital today. I can wait until four to get the footage, but I’ll need your phone.”

  “If you say pretty please fire station.”

  “What?”

  Claire tears up a little. “Sorry, it was something that Lou would say.”

  “You mean Lou Drive? The man who died?”

  “Yes, he was new to the team, but the nicest man you’ll ever meet, and I truly mean that.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss, but pretty please fire station, will you give me the phone after your show airs?”

  “Only because you’re so handsome. What can I answer in the meantime?”

  Benji smiles at Claire. He thinks she’s flirting with him and decides to test the waters.

  “I wish we could have met in a bar instead of a hospital. You’re an intriguing woman.”

  “No reason we can’t meet in a bar later.”

  Score! Benji decides to ask her officially later, but now he needs to get back to work.

  “I’d like to bring that topic up again, but for now, down to business. What did you see?”

  “I saw First Line, of course.”

  “Was it the first time?”

  Claire hesitates.

  “I won’t tell your viewers,” Benji says.

  Claire smiles. “Yes, I started calling him First Line yesterday and was hell bent to get some actual pictures of him.”

  “So, is that why Mr. Drive was with you?”

  Claire’s voice begins to quiver. “Yes. He was a big guy, and I thought he would be a deterrent to anyone who wanted to cause problems.”

  “So, the two of you went into the inner city?”

  Claire nods.

  “Then what happened?” Benji asks.

  “We saw a couple of street dealers and their customers. I think the leader got suspicious of us, and a few of them approached the car.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I told Lou to drive away, but he wasn’t moving. He was barely breathing. I don’t think the poor guy had ever been in a confrontation in his life, much less an actual fight. So, I just got out of the car and ran away.”

  “Did they pursue you?”

  Claire nods.

  “What about Lou?” Benji asks.

  “I think me slamming the door woke him up from his funk. He jumped out of the car and followed me.”

  “That’s when you turned down the alley?”

  “Yes, biggest mistake of my life. I was just running in any direction, but it was a dead end. When we realized, and turned around, the four who followed us had already blocked the exit.”

  “When did the vigilante show up?”

  “First Line seemed to be stuck to the side of the wall above us.”

  “Stuck?”

  “Or, maybe he was flying, I don’t know, it all happened so fast.”

  “Then what? Did anyone say anything?”

  “One of them threatened us, then shot. I don’t know if she was aiming at me or Lou, but Lou pushed himself in front of me, then I felt his weight knock me to the ground. I think he was already dead. I looked up and First Line beat the shit out of all of them. It was about this time that I started to film with my phone, but I also had a hidden lapel camera that was shooting the whole time.”

  “I’d like to see that footage as well.”

  Claire nods. “It was over in about a minute. My attackers were dead or unconscious. Lou was dead, and I was just sitting there in my piss.”

  “Is there anything else that you remember?”

  Claire hesitates.

  “Please, Claire, you’re being so helpful.”

  “He stood in front of me and let me take video of him.”

  “Did he say anything?”

/>   “I asked him a bunch of cliché questions, but he didn’t answer.”

  “But, did he say anything to you?”

  “He called me a fool. He said I could tell my story, then he flew away.”

  Benji is a bit perplexed. “I’m sorry, he flew away?”

  Claire responds meekly and quietly. “You can see it at four.”

  Benji nods. He knows that he’s pushed her a bit and is thankful for what he has. He stands to leave.

  “That’s it?” Claire asks.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “No, I mean you aren’t going to ask for my number? I thought it was implied that you would?”

  “I absolutely would like that,” Benji admits. “I didn’t want to seem too forward.”

  “Trust me. I’ll be the problem in that department. Here’s my card.”

  Benji takes the card with a warm smile. “I’ll call you later, and we can arrange something. I look forward to seeing your performance at four also.”

  Claire smiles. “It won’t be one to miss.”

  Benji smiles one final time and leaves the room.

  He steps into the hallway and opens his notepad. He scans a list of witnesses, consisting solely of the three living attackers. Benji realizes that two of them are still in surgery, but Sean Smith, the small attacker, is awake and available. Benji makes his way to the young man’s room.

  After meandering through the hallways, Benji finally arrives at Sean’s hospital room. He notices a police officer sitting outside, a bored sentinel.

  “Is he awake?” Benji inquires.

  The officer is slightly startled from his tedium. “Yeah, a lot of good it’ll do you. He won’t speak to anyone. I don’t know if he’s more terrified of the vigilante or what his higher ups are planning to do to him.”

  “Great,” Benji says. “I’m still going to try.”

  “Be my guest.”

  Benji opens the door and walks inside.

  Benji looks at the young man. Sean’s arm is in a sling and his nose is extensively taped. The total number of bandages look to weigh more than he does. His eyes are puffy and red.

  “Are you Sean Smith?” Benji asks.

  Sean refuses to acknowledge him with eye contact.

  “I hear you had a run-in with our vigilante last night,” Benji continues. “Anything you’d like to say?”