by Mike Ryan
Once they pulled up in front of the small building, they got out and looked around. They were at a manufacturing plant that had gone out of business several years ago. But it would serve their purposes. There was only one way in. The front gate used to be closed tight, but the place had been used by just about every criminal element over the years. Now the gate just stayed open. There wasn’t even a lock on it anymore.
The property was also surrounded by tall fences and even taller trees. There were even a couple of older cars near the front gate. One was an old white pickup truck that had clearly seen better days. It looked to be over twenty years old, and one of the tires was flat. In recent years, it was used by kids as a place to smoke.. The other vehicle was a blue van, but that too had fallen on hard times. It didn’t even have its front tires anymore. They’d been stolen a long time ago. Now the two vehicles just sat there like statues, greeting people as they came in.
Jacobs and Thrower stood in front of the building and looked at it for a few seconds. Then they walked around a little bit, getting a feel for the area.
“What is this place?” Thrower asked.
“Used to be a manufacturing plant. They made clothes, blankets, fabric, and things like that.”
“Ever been here before?”
“Not physically, no. Drove by a few times, but never had to stop in.” Jacobs noticed Thrower walking with a slight limp, though he was doing pretty good considering. “Why don’t you just sit tight and take it easy? I’ll walk around.”
“I’m good. Hardly even feel anything. It’s just good that it didn’t go in too deep or catch the bone.”
They walked around the property, getting an idea of where they wanted to set up. Once they were done, they walked back around to the front and stood by their cars, discussing a few ideas.
“I figure we got three options,” Jacobs said.
“Probably the same ones I’m thinking of.”
“We can wait by the front, out of sight, then surprise them when they come in. Two, we can get inside that building, and mow them down when they get closer. Or three, we can split it. You take one side, I’ll take the other. What do you think?”
“Same options I had. But I think there’s only one for us. And that’s setting up by the entrance.”
“Why?”
“If we set up in different spots, there’s a chance we could hit each other in the crossfire. That’s not very appealing.”
Jacobs laughed. “No, it’s not.”
“From the way it looks, there’s only one way out of here, and that’s through that gate.”
“Yeah.”
“Which means if we set up in that building, there’s no guarantee we’re getting out. They could figure out the same thing and just trap us in there.”
“True.”
“So I figure we wait by the front, when they come in, we catch them from behind.”
Jacobs nodded. He was on board. “Yeah. I agree.”
“Might be nice if we had the dog here, just in case. From what I’ve seen so far, that dog is worth his weight in gold.”
“He is. But I feel better knowing that he’s with Tiffany. You know, just in case.”
“I hear ya. I’d probably do the same.”
“At least if he’s with her, I know she’ll be protected.”
“Probably should move my car out of the way, that way when they come in, they only see yours.”
Jacobs nodded. “Good idea. Probably best if you take it completely outside, that way if we have to leave in a hurry, we’re not blocked by anything.”
“How much time you figure until they get here?”
Jacobs shrugged. “I don’t know. Seems like they’re ramping things up. If they keep that up, shouldn’t be long.”
Thrower went over to his car and got in. He drove back out of the property, parking the car just down the street. He hobbled back in a few minutes later, finding Jacobs standing there, staring at the building.
“You good?” Thrower asked.
“Yeah. Yeah. Just thinking.”
“Anything special?”
“Um, I dunno. Stupid stuff, I guess. Just thinking how peaceful everything seems right now, but in an hour or two there might be dead bodies all over the place.”
Thrower nodded. “If we’re lucky. And if we’re really lucky, we won’t be one of them.”
“You know, you don’t have to do this.”
“What?”
“This. Be here. It’s not your fight. You were hired to look after Tiffany’s parents. This is kind of outside the scope of that agreement, don’t you think?”
Thrower shrugged. “I dunno. My nickname’s The Bodyguard. A bodyguard’s job is to protect people, right? Kind of looks like right now… I’m protecting you.”
Jacobs looked at him, then both men laughed. “I hear you. But you still don’t have to do this.”
“Feels like I’m involved now. Besides, my own personal motto is to try to do what’s right. Not necessarily what’s best for me. And right now, this is it. Being here feels right.”
Jacobs nodded at him. “I appreciate that. I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
“Well, you’re paying me, so I guess maybe there’s that.”
Jacobs smirked. “I have a feeling you’d be here even if I wasn’t.”
Thrower smiled. “Don’t let that get out. I don’t want my next jobs to be freebies.”
They went over to the vehicles, and Jacobs pulled out his phone. He called Franks, who immediately picked up.
“Hey, what’s shaking?”
“Nothing yet,” Jacobs replied. “Just wanted to call and make sure everything was good there.”
“Oh yeah, man, no worries. We’re all good here. We’re just sitting here playing cards.”
“Cards?”
“Gotta keep busy somehow, you know?”
“I guess so. How’s Gunner?”
“He’s good. Think he realizes he’s missing out on some action though. He seems mopey.”
Jacobs laughed. “I’m sure he is. You sure you guys are good?”
“Positive. I made so many turns on the way here I made myself dizzy.”
“Should be used to that feeling by now.”
“Hey. Anyways, we’re all good. I’ve been checking out the window every couple minutes. The pooch is all quiet, so we’re good. No need to worry here.”
“OK.”
“You just make sure you do what you gotta do on your end.”
“We’ll do our best.”
“Good. There’s someone else here that wants to talk to you.” Franks handed the phone off to Tiffany. “Brett?”
“Hey.”
“Be careful, OK?”
“Always.”
“Don’t worry about us. We’re fine. Just concentrate on you and getting back here in one piece.”
“I will.”
“That goes for Nate too.”
“I’ll tell him.”
Once Jacobs hung up, he relayed the concerns to his partner. “Tiffany says to make sure you come back in one piece.”
Thrower grinned. “I’ll do my best.”
The two men started setting up, both of them sitting inside the broken-down van. They’d be able to hear any cars coming. While they waited, they passed the time by saying whatever came into their minds.
“She’s a nice woman, Tiffany,” Thrower said.
“Yeah, she is.”
“When I took this job, Eddie told me about your history. Everything you’ve gone through. I’m glad you’re able to turn the corner.”
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a tough road. For a while there, I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it. I was about ready to give up.”
“What changed?”
“I met Tiffany. I don’t know. I met her and… I just started feeling normal again. Like, maybe there was still hope for me.”
Thrower smiled. “Amazing what the love of a good woman can do.”
“She just
accepted me for who I was and believes in me more than I do, probably. I wasn’t sure I’d ever find that again. Or if I really deserved it either.”
“You do.”
“Is this it for you? Hanging up The Eliminator name when this is all over?”
“I dunno. Probably. I was really only doing it to get back at Mallette. And because I was angry. Now I’m just doing it to protect those I care about. Once Ames is gone, I don’t think there’s anything left for me to really fight for.”
“Even when Mallette gets out of prison?”
Jacobs shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m torn, you know? On one hand, I still wanna make him pay. On the other hand, maybe I can have something special with this other woman who believes in me. But I don’t know if I can ask her to put that on hold indefinitely while I go fight another battle. I mean, I don’t know if it’s fair to keep asking her to wait.”
Thrower nodded. “You’ll make the right call.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’ll feel it in your heart. Whichever way you go, you’ll know what’s right for you.”
“What about you? What would you do?”
Thrower shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t even imagine. I haven’t been through what you’ve been through. It’s different looking at it from the outside. From where I’m looking at it, it’s easy. But when you’re the one that’s had your heart ripped out, it’s not so easy.”
“What about you? Wife, girlfriend, kids, anything?”
“No. It wouldn’t be fair to have someone waiting for me all the time while I travel around the world doing what I do.”
“Ever think you might want that?”
“Yeah. Eventually. I’m not gonna be able to do this forever. But I get to travel, see things, and make a lot of money while I’m at it. That way, whenever I do settle down, I’ll have a nice cushion to fall back on.”
“I take it you’re not one of those guys who spends every dollar he’s got.”
“Not me. I’m socking it all away. When I’m done, I wanna live on a beach somewhere and pay for the house in cash. No mortgage, don’t have to work, just enjoy the sun and the sand.”
“Speaking of your work, how’d you get mixed up in this, anyway?”
“Well, I enlisted in the military straight out of high school. My dad was a Marine, so it was just something that seemed to be in the family.”
“So why’d you get out?”
Thrower laughed. “Ten years is long enough, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“I dunno. Just kind of got tired of it. Wanted to do my own thing.”
“And your own thing was beating people up for a living?” Jacobs asked with a laugh.
“It’s a hard adjustment when you leave the military. You’re used to certain things that civilian life just can’t provide. And I really didn’t have a ton of other options. One day I saw an ad online for a company looking to hire bodyguards. They were protecting politicians and musicians and things like that. Turned out I was pretty good at it. Maybe a little too good. One day I worked some guy over pretty bad who was harassing someone I was protecting. The lawsuit came and there went the job. So I figured since I was pretty good, I’d work for myself. Word got around I was pretty good, and I started taking jobs all over.”
“I take it they’re not usually mundane and boring assignments?”
“No, I don’t usually get those ones. Ain’t nobody hiring me to keep teenagers away from a pop star or something. I usually get hired when someone’s life has been threatened, and their own security team either isn’t enough or isn’t qualified enough to handle it.”
“Well, you’re certainly good at it. No doubt about that.”
“You’re not too bad yourself. After this is over, you should think about training dogs or something. You’ve done a good job with yours.”
Jacobs smiled. “I wish I could take all the credit for it. I taught him some things, worked with him, but sometimes… sometimes I feel like he trained himself, you know? He’s one smart dog.”
“I can tell. I might have you train one for me that I can take wherever I go.”
“Hey, you find the dog, and I might take you up on that.”
They laughed for a few seconds, but the good times were quickly silenced when they heard the sound of car engines nearby. They looked over the front seats, through the windshield, and saw a bunch of cars going past them.
“Here they are,” Thrower said.
“You ready for this?”
Thrower nodded. “Let’s show them who’s boss.”
15
Ten cars passed them. Jacobs and Thrower weren’t going to reveal themselves until they knew for sure that was all they were dealing with. They waited an extra minute or two. They looked out the window of the van, seeing Ames’ men pile out of their vehicles. There appeared to be between twenty and thirty men milling around the front of the building. Once again, it didn’t look like Ames was among them.
“Follow my lead?” Jacobs asked.
“Right behind you.”
Jacobs snuck out the back door of the van and went around to the front of it, using the vehicle as a shield. Thrower did the same, but went to the back. Jacobs was the first to open up, firing his rifle. Thrower started firing as soon as he heard the first shot.
Chaos ensued as Ames’ men started hitting the ground. With several men dead already, the rest of them started to disperse. Some got behind their cars, and some got into the building. They all tried to figure out where the shots were coming from. It only took a few seconds before they figured it out. Then they started to return fire.
Both sides were locked into their positions for the next several minutes as the bullets went back and forth. For Jacobs and Thrower, the idea wasn’t to stay there all day and engage in a battle. They simply wanted to dwindle the numbers of Ames’ crew a little more. They’d already accomplished that.
And while they would have liked to take more out, they also knew that reinforcements might have already been on the way. They couldn’t stay and get outnumbered in an overwhelming fashion. They had to hit and move. Keep Ames’ crew on the defensive. Keep them guessing as to where they’d show up next.
“Another minute and let’s split!” Jacobs yelled to his partner.
“Got it!”
Both men continued firing, trying to pick off a few more men before they left the scene. Before leaving, each of them mowed down two more men. Thrower left his position and joined up with Jacobs at the hood of the car.
“Why don’t you grab the car first and I’ll cover you?” Jacobs said. “Then bring it up to the gate.”
“Right.” Thrower gave it about three seconds, then tapped Jacobs on the shoulder to let him know he was going. He raised himself up and ran towards the gate.
To keep his partner covered, Jacobs fired at a furious pace, not aiming for anyone in particular, but wanting to keep Ames’ men ducking for cover so they didn’t have a target to shoot at. He quickly looked back and saw that Thrower had made it through the gate.
While he waited, Jacobs took aim again, hitting one more man before he heard the wheels of Thrower’s car speeding up near the gate. Jacobs looked back and saw the car, then took off running as fast as he could. Thrower had the back door open for him, so by the time Jacobs got there, he had to just dive in. As soon as he was in, Thrower hit the gas, speeding off as fast as possible.
“Looks like that was a success,” Thrower said.
“Yeah, we took out a few of them.”
“How many you think we hit?”
“I dunno. Maybe ten?”
“It’s a solid number. Chopping them down a little at a time. Keep doing enough of that, and pretty soon Ames will have to start doing his own dirty work.”
Jacobs laughed. “I’m not sure about that. But we can hope.”
Once the pair got back to Franks’ place and walked through the door, Tiffany ran over to Jacobs and hug
ged him.
“Everything’s fine,” Jacobs said, putting his arms around her.
“I know I said I wouldn’t do this, but I worry every time you walk out that door.”
Jacobs knew there was nothing he could really say that would ease her mind. “I know. Just know that I’m doing everything I can to be as safe as possible.”
Franks came walking over. He looked at Thrower. “I like you and all, but if you think I’m hugging you, you got another thing coming.”
Thrower laughed. “I’ll take a high-five instead.”
“Well, that I can give you. So how’d everything go out there?”
“About as well as expected,” Jacobs said. “Took out about ten of them.”
Franks clapped his hands together. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Bringing them numbers down.”
Jacobs didn’t seem as enthused as his friend. “Yeah, but we’re not gonna be able to keep doing that.”
“Why not?”
“For one, they’re not gonna fall for that again. By now, they’ve gotta realize we know about the tracker on the car, and that we lured them there. Two, they’re gonna be on their guard for anything from here on out.”
“Doesn’t hurt to try.”
“And three, I need another new car. Had to leave the other one there, and I’m not going back for it now.”
“Another new car?!” Franks said. “Man, how many cars are you gonna go through? You go through cars like some people go through cheeseburgers. You just eat them right up.” Jacobs smiled and shrugged. He didn’t have any response. “So now I gotta find you a car and a new place to live?”
“That’s the business you’re in, isn’t it?”
“Man, I need to raise my prices for all the extra work I’m doing.”
“Speaking of houses, how’s that working out?”
“I’m working on it, I’m working on it. Already got some feelers out.”
Thrower stood there silently, letting the others converse with themselves, while he contemplated things from Ames’ point of view. He tried to put himself in his shoes. And he wasn’t liking what he came up with.