by Caleb Meeks
Leo dropped to his knees, tending to his partner. Damon looked up at me, his sadistic smile interrupted from the gun cracking into his face. I didn’t waste any time. He saw me coming, and re-adjusted his gun to take another shot, but I reached him before he could pull the trigger. The only way I could get the gun out of his hand was if I put myself into his grip. He wrapped his arm around my throat, but I grabbed hold of the hand that had the gun. With a little creativity, I managed to fling the gun from his grip. It landed a few feet from us. Now I had to worry about the arm around my throat. I’d been in this position with him before, and it wasn’t something I’d ever managed to get out of. I’d changed, though.
“Funny, I remember being here, training you just before you decided to leave us.” I didn’t bother responding, but instead, quickly pulled my head forward, and recoiled it back into his. As hoped, his perception of victory had weakened his grip, and I was able to step out of it. I turned around, immediately noticing the blood dripping from his nose.
“Things change.” I said, readying myself for whatever he was preparing to attack with next.
“Guess so.” He jumped at me like some vicious animal, hungry for blood. I watched him advance towards me, waiting for an opportunity to arise. Just before he crashed into me, I sent my fist flying into the space between his arms. It collided with his sternum and stopped him in his tracks. His breath flew out of his body, which gave me another opportunity to send my opposite fist into the side of his head. He stumbled to the side, shaking his head to bring himself back. “You know, I don’t miss you.” He pulled two knives from the inside of his jacket. He always had a way with his knives.
He mounted another attack against me, both blades swinging. Fortunately, he had taught me how to fight in a knife battle, so I knew his tactics, and since then, I’d been in a few of my own. He swung at my stomach, but I repeatedly maneuvered out of the way. The problem was that now he had the upper hand, and those knives would split anything they touched. Watching myself was imperative to beating him. After dancing around in circles for a solid minute, I saw an opportunity, and I took it.
He jabbed one knife at me but left the other dangling at his side. I rolled to the side, wrapping my arm around the arm he had jabbed at me. In a maneuver he taught me, I pulled the blade from his hand. Unfortunately, he had engaged his other arm. It wrapped around the arm I didn’t have around his and used it to pull me around to his front. I felt the blade in his hand slice my bicep.
I yelled in pain, pulling away from him. I landed face first on the broken asphalt road. “I was starting to wonder if you had actually gotten better, Judas, but I see that I was mistaken in thinking that.”
Fortunately, in landing on the asphalt, I was practically on top of Matthew’s gun, which was still lying where it had fallen after I threw it. I wrapped my fingers around the handle as quietly as I could. His shoes were crunching rocks as he was walking towards me. I rolled over, gun in hand, and his expression changed from victory, to accepted defeat. He still attempted to lodge his knife in me once again, but I pulled the trigger before he could. His body landed just next to mine.
Leo and Matthew ran over to get me. I was still lying on the ground next to Damon. Leo reached out a hand and helped me stand up. My arm was bleeding, but it was something I’d gotten used to these past few days. Before either of them could open their mouths, I looked at Matthew. “How’s your arm?”
“Better than yours, I think.” I jokingly shrugged. “The bullet just tore through the outer tissue. Some stiches and I should be fine. Thank you for getting me out of the way.”
Leo immediately jumped in. “How’d you know what was going to happen?”
“I know him.” I nodded towards Damon’s body. “He’s one of Abaddon’s head enforcers, and one of the men responsible for beating me into what I am now. On top of that, I realized that Abaddon had to know I was involved, because of the captain ending up dead. I figured he wouldn’t be stupid enough to send just anyone to transport his new recruits. I knew there was no way either of you would be alive if I didn’t do something, so I did something.”
“We both owe you a lot. Thank you.” Leo said, a genuine smile on his face. I nodded back to him. “There’s an ambulance on the way. It should be here soon. I’m going to check out the back of the caravan for the new recruits.” Both Matthew and I nodded at him.
“Hey, Leo.” He turned back towards me. “Next time, we’ll do it my way.” He laughed in agreement, then continued towards the caravan.
Chapter Twenty-Nine.
Matthew and I did our best to control the bleeding while waiting for the medical team to arrive. Leo Made his way to the caravan, and found, as expected, a group of terrified young people. Like I told him, none of them knew what they were doing. They were desperate, and when the opportunity arose, they jumped at it. When he told them they were being carted to be guards for a crime boss, they were all horrified. Some of them even teared up, knowing they were hours away from selling their souls to the devil.
They all had something going on. Be it a sick family member, an addiction, a debt. Each one had some broken past Abaddon had managed to grab hold off, and he was going to bring them to their knees because of it. Hopefully, such a jarring experience would be what they needed to reach out for help. Looking at them, I could only see versions of myself.
Squad cars, as well as an ambulance, pulled in some time after. I was too distracted by watching the group of kids give their testimonies to Leo to really pay attention to the cut in my arm. Matthew and I had both ripped up and wrapped a shirt we we found in Leo’s car around our wounds. Our arms seemed to be bleeding steadily, but we did everything we could to keep it under control. Two teams of paramedics started working on us almost immediately. They made quick work of the necessary stitches, and we were finished. The officers who arrived spoke to me about Damon, but considering they were some of the officers around when Dimos came, they didn’t have many questions. They took his body, his guard’s body, and loaded all the people from the caravan into squad cars to transport them back. Matthew and I rode back in the ambulance together.
“Hey, you okay? You’re really quiet.” Matthew asked me.
I guess I hadn’t realized it, but when he brought it up, I realized I hadn’t said a word since they started pulling people from the caravan. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just burned out.”
He nodded. “You sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the kids in the caravan back there?”
I inhaled and exhaled loudly. “I don’t know why it’s bothering me so much. I just can’t get them out of my head.”
“You think it’s because they remind you of yourself?” He prodded. It didn’t feel forced, though. It surprised me how well he managed to know me, though.
“Probably. They had absolutely no idea what they were getting into, and if we hadn’t gotten here when we did, they may not have survived. Once he got his hands on them, they would have been hopeless.”
“Well, clearly not hopeless. You got away from him.”
I laughed. “Yeah, if you could call it that. I physically got away from him, but his influence never left me.”
“Okay, that’s true, but look at you now. You just took a cleaver to the arm to save the lives of two people who have been working to bring you down. And, on top of that, now you’re working with us to bring someone else down. That sounds like you’re doing a pretty good job of taking that second chance.”
I let what he said settle in. Vulnerability never was my greatest, or easiest, quality. “I guess I owe some of that to you. I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t decide to bring the bloody body of the man who had just abducted you back to your house.”
“I wouldn’t be here either. This arm could have been far more severe if you didn’t jump out of the car and push me out of the way. By the way, I don’t think I have ever seen someone actually throw a gun. That’s not something I am ever going to forget.” We both laughed. I looked back down at the gr
ound. “Look, there are twelve people who are going to get a second chance at life because you choose to use your second chance for good. I’d say that’s a good day.” He slapped my knee, smiling. I smiled back, realizing he was right.
We arrived back at the station about an hour later. Everyone was anticipating our return, and clapped when we walked back in the room, followed by the twelve people in the caravan. It shocked me to be praised for something like that, but as we walked past people, and as they patted me on the shoulder, I started to realize what it felt like to be part of a community. I liked it. Matthew, Leo, and I congregated in the back of the room. We watched as officers sat down with the people we brought in to take statements.
Leo leaned in towards me. “One of the crime scene techs said they might have discovered where Abaddon’s been hiding out.” Matthew and I both looked at him surprised.
“Did you just find this out?” Matthew asked.
“Yeah, I just got the phone call on the way in. They found a place that might match up, and it’s exactly where the caravan’s GPS was headed.”
“Should we head there now?” I eagerly asked. I couldn’t tell if I was excited, or if I was fearful. Either way, I knew it was what we needed to do next.
“Not yet. They don’t have all the details. It seems like a safe bet at this point, but no one really knows anything definitively. You should lay low and try to get some rest if you can. If this is as big as you say it’s going to be, then you are going to need to be as prepared as possible.”
I was about to open my mouth to object, when an officer started walking towards us. Leo turned to him. “The team has a lot of questions. We can take statements, but we don’t really know what we’re doing, or what we’re dealing with. Could you give a statement, maybe just try and calm everyone down.”
“Yeah, I can try at least.” He walked to the head of the room, facing everyone’s eyes, which were locked on him. Even the people we just brought in had their eyes glued to him. “I don’t really know if I am the one who should be doing this. There is a man back there who is the reason both Matthew Newman and I are still alive. He is also the reason everyone who was pulled from that caravan were pulled from that caravan. I know he’s probably sick and tired of me making him come up here and talk, but it would be an honor if Judas would come up and give everyone the update they are all wanting.” The eyes that were just on him flipped towards me, awaiting an inspirational speech.
I slowly ambled to the front of the room, feeling all the eyes on me. “Honestly, I don’t really know what to say up here. I’ve never really had a way with words, but until now, that hasn’t been important. I know that I just invaded this place today, and everything has already been flipped upside down. I wish I had the details you wanted, but I don’t yet. We have a potential location for Abaddon, but it’s just a potential location right now. Once we get an official location, though, we will be moving in on him. By tomorrow, this could all be over.” I trailed off. I looked back at Leo, who looked to be recoiling from imagining it being over. We’d both been fighting our separate battles, and to think both could be over so soon was alien. “Here’s the thing about the next step in this battle. Everyone in this room has been fighting criminals, and I’ve been a criminal. In taking down Damon Veranda today, I realized something. You and I know the same set of skills, mine are more honed, because I’ve used them more, but that’s not the point. You know everything to be a bad guy, and I knew how to be a good guy, it’s all about how you choose to apply that knowledge. All that to say, thank you to everyone in here, Leo and Matthew especially, for believing in me. I’ve been one of the bad guys, and I can personally say that being one of the good guys is far more fulfilling. Anytime now, we could get a call about the location of the greatest criminal in history, and as the good guys, we will work to take him down. Thank you for letting me be a good guy.” I finally took a breath. Like I said, vulnerability has never been something that I was comfortable with. Being vulnerable with a group of people I trusted was something more freeing than I had ever thought it would be.
Leo walked back to the head of the room and patted me on the shoulder. “For the time being, keep up what you’re doing. When we know anything else, we will let you know.” He walked back down to the other side of the room with me, his hand still gripped on my shoulder.
“That was good. Really good.” Matthew affirmed.
“Thank you.”
“Hey, I hope you don’t kill me for doing this, but I think there is one person left for you to talk to.” I cocked my head slightly. “I called him in. He’s sitting in the conference room.”
“Okay.” I hesitated.
“Leo and I will be right there with you through the whole thing. I think it will be good, for both of you.”
I nodded, still hesitantly, but I trusted Matthew enough to know he wouldn’t do anything to put anyone in danger. We all walked away, me at the head. Once we reached the room, I could see the back of a man sitting in a chair. I slowly put my hand on the nob, and then cracked it open. He immediately turned around, seemingly on edge. I took a seat across from him. Leo and Matthew sat down in the chairs on either side of us.
“Mr. Martin, thank you for coming in on such short notice.” Matthew said.
“Of course, what was it that you wanted me to come down for? Do you need to me to brief this man on the case?” He asked, pointing at me.
“No, sir. He’s quite familiar with the case. Jonathan, there is no easy way to say this, but please just try and stay calm.” He flashed a look of concern at Matthew. “This,” he pointed to me, “is Judas.” His eyes glazed over, like they had just told him his child had been found murdered. Matthew turned to me. “Judas, this is Jonathan Martin. He was involved in the incident that happened four years ago.”
“No, this can’t be happening. That can’t be him. It can’t be.” He panicked. I thought he was going to get up and leave, but he just sat there, eyes locked on me.
Leo stepped in. “A lot has happened, sir. Believe me, when I first saw him, I attacked him. Now, I’m not proud of it.”
Martin interrupted Leo. “How could you bring the man responsible for the death of my two best friends into the same room as me, and why isn’t he rotting in a prison cell?” He seethed.
“Jonathan, you have to listen to him. Let him explain everything that happened. It’s not what you think.”
“What do you mean?” He questioned.
“Judas, why don’t you start it out.” Matthew said. I could tell the man’s defenses were up. Chances are, he would be using a gun if he had one on hand.
I took a shaky breath. “Four years ago, something really terrible happened. And I am so sorry that it did, but I will just start this by saying I didn’t have anything to do with it. I know you aren’t going to believe me, but I didn’t. There is a man called Abaddon, and he is the one responsible for it. I worked under him for three years. I let him turn me into this. I won’t deny anything that I’ve done, because I’ve done awful things. You’ve seen the case files. This man, Abaddon, he’s the one who is responsible for the events that happened four years ago. I left him, and his forces. I hoped that if I could get away from him, I could start over. I was hoping that I could come here to the police, maybe strike a deal for some information. Unfortunately, he caught up with me. I was fully planning on giving up this information and starting over. Leaving that past behind, well, it’s harder than I thought. He came and found me and was not happy that I was going to give up information about him. So, he broke into the building with his group of guards, and he took back what he had deemed his. There was hell to pay for what I did to him. Believe me, I’ve got the scars to show for it. I even managed to secure a copy of the security tape. I have it here on my phone, if you would like to see it.” He half nodded, clearly stunned by everything I was telling him. I reached into my pocket and pulled my phone out. With a few clicks, I had the video pulled up. I fast forwarded to the relevant section and hand
ed it to him. He reached out a shaky hand to take it. Leo, Matthew, and I watched his face as the video played out. When Abaddon walked in the room and put a bullet in my stomach, we could see the change happen in his eyes. It was like a switch was flipped, and he had relief he hadn’t had in years.
“You’re telling me, that all these years have gone by, and we’ve been hunting down the wrong guy?” His voice was quaking.
“No.” I immediately answered. “You were looking for me, and I was definitely the right person to hunt down. Just not in this case. There were far more dangerous powers at play here.”
“I can’t…” He paused. “If you are the bad guy you keep saying you are, then why are you helping us?”
“I realized a lot of things, the least of which is that being a good guy is much more fulfilling than being a bad guy. I won’t get too deep here, but I’ll help you try and understand. My father was physically abusive. Because of that, I didn’t have a good home life, but I also didn’t have anyone outside of my home life, so that was where I grew up. Years later, he got into drugs, and soon after that, he got into hardcore drugs. After that, he became incredibly physically abusive. My mother convinced me to be quiet about it, and so I was. That was my childhood. Eventually, he disappeared. My mother and I thought it was going to be good from then on, and it was…for a while. Years later, I came out to find him standing in the living room. The only thing he wanted to do was kill me, and he almost did. Believe me, I have the scar from that, too. After he tore a hole in my chest, I put three bullets into him. He died at my feet. My next memory was in the hospital, when my mother screamed that I was responsible for tearing apart our family, and that she never wanted to see my face again. Flashforward to being out of the hospital, I’m living with my nurse from the hospital. We bonded immediately, and he offered to help me get my feet back on the ground considering I didn’t have anywhere to go. He ended up becoming my best friend, and my ally through everything. He didn’t believe in what I was doing necessarily, but he believed in me enough to stand by me. He kept me alive through everything I did. Eventually, I did break away from Abaddon, and he disappeared. I thought he died. During that time, I created this worthless empire built on killing and power. My friend, Dominic, stayed by my side through it all. Abaddon wasn’t dead, though, and now he’s back. He decided to start his war against me by taking Dominic. I found him with just enough time to have him die in my arms. Abaddon has almost killed me twice, and if it wasn’t for Matthew here, I wouldn’t be alive. And if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be working with you guys to take Abaddon down. He shared with me his life, and it helped me realize a lot about mine. I’m helping the police because I believe in taking Abaddon down, and I believe that good is stronger than evil, no matter how long I spent on the other side.” I stopped talking and looked around at the faces looking at me. Martin was shocked, and Leo looked broken down. I realized it was the first time he had heard any of my story.