The Combative

by Mike Ryan

  “I hate to be a wet blanket, but I think I should go,” Thrower said.

  “What, where you going?” Franks asked.

  “I still have the Vogels to look after.”

  “I told you, I got that.”

  “Yeah, I know, but right now, they’re my responsibility.”

  “Nate, what’s wrong?” Tiffany asked, getting the sense that he knew something he wasn’t sharing.

  Thrower cleared his throat. “After what just happened, I just think I should be there.”

  “You think they’re gonna try something?” Jacobs asked.

  “Well, I’m trying to put myself in Ames’ position. I’m amping up the pressure. I broke into your place and tried to take out Tiffany. Lost a few men there. Followed you to the safe house and tried again to take you out. Lost a few more men there. Then I get lured to that warehouse and lose a bunch more men there. Now I’m angry. I’m really pissed. None of my plans are working, I’m losing men left and right, everything’s failing. So what do I do?”

  “Leave town?” Franks said.

  “No. I’ve got two options. I either recoil and go hide somewhere for a while, regroup, try for another time.”

  “Or I keep trying to hit, figuring eventually I’ll break through,” Jacobs said, anticipating Thrower’s thoughts.

  Thrower nodded. “And since I’ve lost the tracker, and I have no idea where any of us are, there’s one more thing I can do right now. There is someone I do know that will make you hurt.”

  “Tiffany’s parents.”

  Thrower nodded again.

  “But they’ve already tried that,” Tiffany said.

  “If they’re going to stay on the offensive, it’s the only move they’ve got right now,” Thrower said.

  “Well, maybe they’ll just realize they’re not winning and go away for a while.”

  Thrower shrugged. “It’s always possible. I just wanna err on the side of caution. I think I should be there in case.”

  “If you’re going, I should go with you,” Jacobs said.

  “Let’s go.”

  “I wanna go too,” Tiffany said.

  Jacobs turned to face her and put his hands on her shoulders. “No. It’s too dangerous. You’ve already been through a lot. Stay here with Eddie.” Jacobs heard Gunner whining and looked down at him. “You too, buddy. Stay here and protect them.” Jacobs then looked at Franks. “You keep working on that house and car.”

  Franks nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Thrower had already left the house to get the car warmed up. Jacobs ran out the door.

  Just as he exited, Tiffany spoke up. “Let me know if they’re OK!” She wasn’t sure if Jacobs heard her.

  Franks gently squeezed her arm to comfort her. “They’ll make sure your parents are OK. Don’t worry about that.”

  Tiffany looked at him and faked a smile. Her eyes were getting glossy. “I don’t understand why. Why all this is happening. Why are people so cruel and heartless?”

  Franks shook his head, not really having a good reason. “I don’t know, honey. It’s just the way of the world, I guess. It’s cold, ruthless, and unforgiving at times. Thankfully, there are also good people in it who are willing to stop people like that. Don’t you worry, though. If there’s anything to be stopped, those two will stop it.”

  Jacobs and Thrower pulled onto the Vogels’ street. Almost immediately, they knew something was wrong. They slowly drove past the house, looking at each car that was parked along the curb. There was no one in any of them.

  “Where are the guards?” Thrower asked.

  “I don’t know. That’s a good question.”

  “There’s supposed to be two of them, right?”

  “That’s what Eddie said.”

  Thrower drove down the street, then turned around and went back the way they came to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

  “Still not seeing anything,” Jacobs said.

  Thrower looked at the Vogels’ house, seeing one of their cars was missing. He parked along the curb across from the house, then tapped Jacobs on the arm and pointed at the driveway. “His car is missing.”

  “So did just Mr. Vogel go somewhere, and she’s still here, or did they go somewhere together?”

  “With two guards, if they split up, I’d think one of them would have stayed here,” Thrower said.

  Jacobs immediately got out his phone and called Franks. “Eddie. The guards aren’t here.”

  “Then where are they?”

  “I don’t know. I want you to call them and find out where they are and what’s happening. Mr. Vogel’s car is missing, so they might have followed him somewhere. I just wanna make sure.”

  “All right, give me a minute to check. I’ll call you back.”

  While they waited for Franks to call back, Jacobs and Thrower kept their eyes glued to the house in case they saw Mrs. Vogel.

  Franks tried calling the number to one of the guards, but got no response. He then tried calling the other one, but still no answer. He thought it was a little strange, but wasn’t ready to panic yet. Once he tried each of the numbers again, still with neither of them picking up, he then started to worry.

  Tiffany was at the kitchen table, watching Franks try to get a hold of someone. He didn’t tell her what he was doing, not wanting to make her even more anxious and nervous than she already was. But she could see that something wasn’t right.

  “What’s the matter?” Tiffany asked.

  “Oh, it’s, uh, nothing. Nothing at all.” Franks let out an uncomfortable smile. “Just trying to get you guys a new place. Not always easy bargaining things like this.”

  Tiffany nodded but wasn’t totally buying what Franks was trying to sell her. She had a feeling it had something to do with her parents. By the look on Franks’ face, it seemed like he was worried about something. In the short time she’d known him, she didn’t think he’d worry much about finding a house.

  Franks kept trying the numbers of the two guards for a few more minutes. He even tried sending them text messages, hoping they’d respond in some way. But they were still silent. He looked at his phone, not sure what to do next. He glanced over at Tiffany, trying to remain calm so as not to give anything away and make her more concerned than she already was.

  Franks dialed Jacobs back, glancing over at Tiffany, and choosing his words carefully. “Uh, yeah, that’s, uh, that’s a no-go on that request.”

  “What?”

  “I, uh, can’t really divulge anything further. But in regard to your conditions, I cannot meet them.”

  “Are you trying to talk in code?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Tiffany’s nearby?”

  “Right again.”

  Jacobs sighed, knowing what he was saying. “You can’t reach the guys?”

  “No, I cannot.”

  “Damn. What are we gonna do now?”

  “Uh, I don’t know. We could always ask the subject who knows them best to see if they can reach out to them and see if they get a response, but that would involve someone getting clued in on that.”

  “Hold on.” Jacobs took the phone away from his ear and let Thrower know. “What do you think?”

  “Well, if there’s something wrong, she’s gonna find out about it sooner or later anyway. And if there is, the sooner we can get on it, the better off they’ll be. If we wait a while, and they are in trouble, it might be too late to save them.”

  Jacobs agreed, putting the phone back to his ear. “Have Tiffany call them.”

  “You sure?” Franks asked.

  “Yeah. If there’s a problem, the sooner we know, the better we’ll be.”

  “OK. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

  Franks walked over to Tiffany. She was staring at him the whole time. By the way he was walking and the look on his face, she immediately thought there was trouble.

  “There’s something wrong, isn’t there? I can tell.”

  Franks
put his hands out. “Now, now, there’s nothing to get alarmed about yet.”

  “Yet? There is something wrong.”

  “Just relax. We don’t know if there’s a problem yet. Right now, we don’t know where the guards are. They’re not outside your parents’ house, and they’re not responding to my calls or texts.”

  “Oh my god.”

  “Just wait, just wait. Your dad’s car is missing. Now, that doesn’t mean they’re in trouble. Could be they went somewhere, the guards followed, and they can’t get a signal or something. Do you know where your parents might be?”

  Tiffany put her hands on her head. “Uh, I’m not sure. They like to be outdoors a lot. Go to parks, trails, go down by the lakes, fish. They could be anywhere.”

  “Do you wanna try to get them on the phone? If they answer, don’t indicate anything is wrong. Just say you’re calling just to say hi. And see if you can find out where they are.”

  “And if they don’t pick up?”

  “They’ll pick up.” Franks wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he had to keep Tiffany’s mind at ease as much as possible. “They’ll pick up.”

  Tiffany immediately called her mom. Her nerves frayed after each ring. Finally, on the fifth ring, her mom answered.

  “Mom?” Tiffany was happy she answered, but almost shocked at the same time. She had just about convinced herself that something was wrong.

  “Hi, Tiff, how are you?”

  “I’m fine. Are you OK?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine, why? Is something wrong?”

  “Uh, no, no. I, uh, just drove by the house and saw that you weren’t there.”

  “Oh, you should’ve let us know you were coming.”

  “So where’d you guys go?” Tiffany asked.

  “We’re down by the lake. Your dad is fishing and I’m just reading a book.”

  “Oh. OK.”

  “You can always come down and join us if you want. We’ll probably be here a few more hours or so.”

  “Oh, thanks, but I don’t think I can. I was going to see Brett soon.”

  “Oh, that’s nice. He seems like a nice guy. We can’t wait to see him again.”

  “Yeah, maybe soon we can all get together again,” Tiffany replied.

  “Definitely.”

  “OK, well, I’m going to call Brett now. I’ll talk to you soon, Mom, OK?”

  “Love you, dear.”

  “Love you too,” Tiffany said.

  Tiffany put the phone down, looking and sounding relieved. “They’re at the lake. She said they’re fine.”

  Franks looked a little surprised. “Oh. Well… that’s good.” He was actually expecting a different result. But he was happy to hear it anyhow. He got back on his phone and immediately called Jacobs.

  “Yeah?” Jacobs answered, also expecting the worst.

  “They’re fine.”

  “What?”

  “Tiffany just talked to her mom. They’re down by the lake. They’ll be there a few more hours.”

  Jacobs breathed a little easier. “Well, that’s a relief. What about those guards, though?”

  “Yeah, I don’t know. I’ll keep trying.”

  In the middle of their conversation, Jacobs' phone started buzzing. There was another call coming in. He looked at the number and immediately knew it was bad news. “I’ll call you back, Eddie. Ames is calling.”

  “Ames is calling?”

  Jacobs hung up on Franks, then answered Ames’ call. “What do you want?”

  Ames let out a laugh. “I’ve gotta hand it to you. You’re a very resourceful guy. Seems no matter what kind of shit I throw against the wall, it just doesn’t stick.”

  “Sorry to hear it. Better luck next time.”

  “Luring us to that warehouse was a nice touch,” Ames said.

  “Well, you went through all the trouble of putting that tracker underneath my car, I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

  “I almost had you.”

  “Almost. If you wanna meet me right now, I can give you your runners-up prize.”

  “Oh, we’ll be meeting soon enough.”

  “Just so you know, when it comes time to kill you, I’m gonna make sure it hurts extra special,” Jacobs said. “You’re getting too personal. Tiffany did nothing to you.”

  “She knows you. That’s enough.”

  “And I thought Mallette was bad enough. You might be even worse.”

  Ames laughed. “I’ll take that as a complement. Be that as it may, we have other business to discuss here.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “If you’ve been trying to check in with those guards you have on the Vogels’ house, you may be wondering where they are just about now.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Well, right now they’re safe and sound, but only for the moment. If you don’t agree to my terms, they’ll be dead within the hour.”

  “What are your terms?”

  “Before we get to that, also know that my men have eyes on the Vogels as we speak. In case you don’t know where they are, the lake is lovely this time of year. So if you choose to believe that the guards are expendable, and believe me, if I were in your shoes, I’d let them perish. But aside from that, I have a very accomplished shooter with a rifle scope planted firmly on the back of the head of Tiffany’s mother. She’s sitting alone reading a book right now. If you’d like, we can put her head in the story, if you catch my meaning.”

  “You’re one evil…”

  “Now, now, before you start cursing me all over the place, perhaps you’d like to hear my terms on how to keep them alive and healthy?”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I want you to meet me in one hour at a place of my choosing. Once you arrive, I’ll call my men off the parents and release your guards.”

  “What guarantee do I have?”

  “Well, I guess you don’t really have one. But, if you do nothing, they’re as good as dead anyway, so you might as well take the chance. But all I really want is you. They’re basically just a way to get to you. If I have you, they’re not really needed anymore. And I doubt Tiffany or her parents could hurt me after you’re gone.”

  “You’ll let them go.”

  “If you agree to my terms, then yes. I’ll leave them alone after this. On one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You bring that new guy with you. He’s becoming irritating as well.”

  “Can’t. He’s dead.”

  “Oh, come now, do you really expect me to believe that?”

  “It’s true.”

  “I know very well he was the one who saved Tiffany inside your place. And I know he was at the warehouse when you ambushed my men. So don’t go giving me some sob story.”

  “It’s not a story. He took a knife when saving Tiffany. We were able to fix him up, but he took a couple bullets at the warehouse as we were leaving. Eddie took him to a hospital, but he didn’t make it. He died before he got there.”

  “I should be so angry that I take out her mother right now just for you having the stones to think I’m so gullible to believe that.”

  “It’s not a story. It’s true. He’s dead. I’m sorry I didn’t take a picture for you, but he’s gone. I can’t bring someone with me who’s not even breathing.”

  “OK. Let’s just say I’ll take your word for it for now. Who is the guy, anyway?”

  “Couldn’t tell you. Eddie hired him. He was just a bodyguard to me. Only thing I knew about him was his name was Andy. Never got a last name.”

  “Fine, I’ll go with that for now. You’re the main thing I want, anyway.”

  “So what’s the deal?” Jacobs asked.

  “Simple. You come to the place I tell you. Bring that dog of yours with you. Then when I see you, I’ll tell my men to stand down on the Vogels. That’s the deal.”

  “What do you want the dog for?”

  “He’s almost as much of a pain in the ass as you are. And I don
’t wanna take the chance of dealing with him again after this. So that’s the deal. Do you want to show? Or do you wanna be the one to break it to your girlfriend that you let her parents die, and you did nothing about it?”

  “I’ll show up. Just tell me where.”

  16

  Jacobs and Thrower went back to Franks’ place so they could grab Gunner, since he was needed for part of the deal. When they got there, Tiffany greeted Jacobs with a hug like she usually did. She had no idea what was about to come down since Jacobs didn’t let anyone else know before he got there.

  “So what’d Ames want?” Franks asked.

  Tiffany looked back at him, confused, then turned toward Jacobs again. “Ames? What? What’s going on?”

  Jacobs glared at Franks for a second, a little peeved that he let the cat out of the bag already, though he supposed he wasn’t going to be able to keep the secret from Tiffany, anyway.

  Jacobs cleared his throat. “Uh, Ames called after you talked to your mom.”

  “And? Are they OK?” Tiffany was starting to get worried all over again.

  “Um, Ames kidnapped their guards. He knows where your parents are.”

  “Oh my god, we have to go get them.”

  Jacobs shook his head. “There isn’t time.”

  “What? What are you saying? You’re just gonna let them…”

  Jacobs put his hands on Tiffany’s shoulders to calm her down. “No. No. They’re gonna be fine. I’m who he wants.”

  Tiffany scrunched her face together the way someone did when they were battling a glare from the sun, and shook her head, not quite sure what he was trying to say. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”

  “I’m supposed to meet Ames in about an hour with Gunner. Once he sees me, he’ll call off whoever’s on your parents.”

  Tiffany stared at him for a few moments, letting it sink in. “Soooo, you’re just, what? Gonna give yourself up to him? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “That’s what he wants.”

  “And you’re just gonna do it? Just like that? You’re gonna trade your life for theirs? Because we all know he’s gonna kill you if you do that.”