Matt says, “I don’t have any body armor.”
Phil says, “That’s okay, you stay with the vehicles. We will have to get you some body armor.”
I pick up my radio and say, “We are going inside now. Try to keep radio silence, unless you see a problem for us inside here or you need assistance.”
William replies over the radio, “Yes sir, and good luck Ryan.”
I exit my SUV.
Bobby G, Shaun, Phil, Jon, and Matt exit from the vehicles.
Matt holds his rifle at shoulder height and aims it at the front entrance of the resort.
Shaun looks at Matt and says, “Be safe bro. Keep a lookout for us.”
Matt nods his head.
I look at the main entrance to the Clearwater Sand Beach Resort and see that it’s clear of danger.
I see the Conqueror symbol of the circle with the cross in the middle spray painted in red next to the main entrance doors.
I make sure everyone is ready to enter the building, and I lead the way towards the main entrance of the Clearwater Sand Beach Resort.
The resort is a very nice luxury resort that I have been to many times before the world fell apart.
Before the world fell apart, this resort was a beautiful place located on Clearwater Beach and had amenities such as several pools, hot tubs, volleyball courts, outdoor beach activities, a five-star restaurant, beautiful lobby, and multiple large conference rooms.
I take out my handguns and aim them at the front doors of the resort.
Shaun holds the door handle and opens it.
I walk through the main entrance doorway.
The resort doesn’t look to have power, as it’s very hot inside and none of the ceiling fans seem to be working either.
The only light in the main lobby is coming from the large windows that overlook the green algae filled pool, the tan sand, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The lobby is empty as we enter the resort.
I walk straight as my team fans out and checks out the rest of the lobby.
I hear some noise come from the back of the first floor where the restaurant is located.
I move my head to where the noise came from as Phil looks at me.
Phil walks over to me and says, “The lobby is clear. I think we should have two people stay here at the lobby.”
“Good idea.”
I call Jon and Bobby G over and say, “I need you two to guard the lobby.”
Bobby G and Jon agree to guard the lobby.
I walk towards the back of the resort with Phil and Shaun.
As I step towards the back of the resort, I hear sounds of people inside the restaurant.
Shaun, Phil, and I make it to the entrance of the restaurant.
“Hello gentlemen, we were expecting you,” says a man to us as we enter the restaurant lobby.
“Will it be just the three of you joining us today?” asks the man.
I recognize the man from the Big Club, when I met with Jacob the first time.
“Jason? Aren’t you Jason?”
Jason replies with a smile, “Very good. You do remember me, but then again, I’m also very hard to forget.”
I point my handguns at Jason as he stands behind the large hostess desk of the restaurant.
Jason isn’t fazed at my guns and acts like everything is okay.
Shaun and Phil have their guns pointed at Jason and are shocked that Jason isn’t worried about us.
Jason looks at us and says, “You can lower your weapons, we are here for a meeting, not a fight.”
Jason walks away from the hostess desk at the entrance of the restaurant.
“Follow me. I’ll escort you to your seats,” says Jason.
I don’t follow Jason and neither does Phil or Shaun.
“What planet is that guy from?” jokes Phil.
I watch Jason as he walks down a walkway, by a fully stocked bar, and into the back part of the main dining section of the restaurant.
“That guy is weird,” says Shaun.
I start to walk towards the back of the restaurant, but I am stopped by Phil.
“You sure about this Ryan?” asks Phil.
“No, but I think we have to find out. I can’t take the stress and anxiety of not knowing anymore.”
I walk towards the back of the restaurant.
Shaun and Phil follow me.
I walk by the bar and into the main dining section of the restaurant.
The restaurant is well lit as tons of natural light from the oversized windows fill the main dining section of the restaurant.
I see Jason standing next to an empty table that has a note on one of the plates.
“Where is Jacob?”
Jason says, “Come sit down, enjoy the amenities of this place.”
I walk towards the table and see the note sitting on a plate.
I place one of my handguns on the table and pick up the note.
Jason sees me pick up the note and snaps his fingers.
I read the note and it says, “Turn Around.”
I turn around and see Jacob, DK, and five armed men looking at me.
Phil and Shaun turn around and point their guns at Jacob.
I holster my gun into my right thigh holster and say, “Lower your guns guys.”
Phil and Shaun don’t lower their guns and stay aimed at Jacob.
DK steps in front of Jacob and aims his rifle at Shaun.
DK’s rifle has a precision red laser on it, and it’s placed on Shaun’s head.
“I can splatter your brains all over this expensive floor!” shouts DK.
“Lower your weapons guys, we are here to talk!”
Phil realizes that we are outnumbered and lowers his gun.
Shaun lowers his rifle also.
“Good, now we can get started,” says Jacob.
Jacob walks over to me.
DK and his men take Shaun and Phil’s weapons.
Another member of DK’s men takes my handguns.
I look at Jacob and say, “We are only here to talk. No need to take our weapons.”
Jacob sits down at the table where the note was and says, “You will get your weapons back, if I say so.”
Jason brings a bottle of wine to the table and pours Jacob a glass of red wine.
“Care for a glass of wine?” asks Jacob.
“I want your word that we will make it out of here!”
Jacob takes a sip of his red wine and says, “I give you nothing, but I hope you make it out of here. It would be a shame for your wife.”
I instantly get worried for Lauren after Jacob mentions her.
“Where is Chris?” asks Phil.
DK walks over to Phil and gets in his face.
Shaun stares at DK and wants to punch him in the face.
DK puts his rifle up against Shaun’s forehead and says, “Give me a reason. I’d love to end your miserable life right now.”
“Call off your dog’s Jacob.”
Jacob shouts, “I’ll decide how this goes! Not you!”
I turn away from Jacob and look at DK.
I look at DK and shout, “Get your fucking gun out of my man’s face, before I shove it up your ass!”
DK goes to move his rifle off Shaun’s head and aim it at me.
I swiftly move his rifle barrel away from me and put my small knife against DK’s throat.
DK freezes in fear.
“Next time you point your gun at me or my crew, make sure you take the safety off first!”
DK’s men click off their guns’ safeties.
“Call off your men or this bald fuck dies!”
DK looks at Jacob.
Jacob says, “Kill him if you want, but you’ll die too.”
I look at DK and say, “You hear that DK, he doesn’t care about your life. Call off your men, and I’ll lower my knife.”
Phil grabs DK’s rifle.
DK hears his men adjust there aim and shouts, “Okay! Men lower your weapons!”
“You sure
DK?” asks one of DK’s men.
“Yes, just fucking do it!” shouts DK.
Jacob looks at DK with a shocked look.
DK’s men lower their weapons.
Shaun walks over and grabs his and Phil’s guns back.
I keep my knife on DK’s throat and walk over to a chair.
“Sit down!”
DK sits down in a chair as I keep my knife pressed against his throat.
I look DK in his eyes and say, “I have no problem with you DK. My issue is with Jacob and Chris. You won’t be harmed if you stand down.”
I pick up my radio and say, “We need backup in the restaurant. Everyone available come to the restaurant now.”
Phil and Shaun move behind Jacob who is still sitting at the table.
“Why did you come here Ryan?” asks Jacob.
“We came here to set up a new agreement for St. Pete, Channelside, and the rest of Tampa Bay.”
Bobby G and Jon run into the restaurant.
DK’s men point their guns at Bobby G and Jon.
“What’s going on Ryan?” asks Jon.
“We are negotiating. Setting up a new agreement. Take cover and take aim at someone other than Shaun, Phil, or me.”
Jacob says, “I’m willing to talk now Ryan. We had to make sure this wasn’t a setup and that you weren’t coming here to kill us.”
“We want Chris, but we will settle for you,” says Shaun.
“Why? Chris is nothing,” says Jacob.
“He’s long over due for what’s coming to him,” says Bobby G.
“Why do you want to discuss Channelside and St. Pete? They are both lost causes,” says Jacob.
DK whispers to me, “Let me go, and I’ll help you take Jacob down. I know his weaknesses and how to defeat him.”
I am intrigued by what DK is saying.
Hector and Felix come running into the restaurant.
“What’s going on Ryan?” asks Hector.
“Take aim at someone other than myself or my people.”
Hector and Felix aim their guns at DK’s men.
Felix recognizes DK and says, “Ryan, that man you have your knife on saved us.”
“I know he did, but I’m just making sure we make it out of here alive.”
“You leave Channelside alone, and St. Pete will be mutual territory for now. St. Pete needs to be cleared out first, but then we can both benefit from it.”
Jacob says, “Channelside is useless to me, and St. Pete is a warzone. They are both yours.”
“The last thing is, Chris. Where is he? His time is up. He attacked us and needs to pay for that.”
Jacob laughs and says, “I don’t know, but he’s all yours. He’s useless to me anyway.”
DK looks up at me and says, “I’d get down, if I were you.”
I’m confused by what DK just said and notice something flashing on his vest.
The loud engine of something flying towards the resort is heard.
William shouts over the radio, “Ryan! You have a big problem coming your way! You need to get out of there, now!”
I look down at my radio that is clipped to my belt.
DK pushes my knife away from his throat and pushes me to the ground.
DK shouts, “Get down!”
A barrage of bullets comes flying into the restaurant through the windows from something flying towards the resort from the beach.
Glass from the windows explodes into the restaurant.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Phil, Shaun, and Jacob hit the floor.
Jason is hit several times by the broken window glass and the bullets that came from the flying object outside.
Another barrage of bullets comes flying across the restaurant and shoots out the remaining windows.
BOOM! BOOM!
DK, who is laying on top of me, says, “I will help you take Jacob down, but for this I’m sorry.”
SVAASH!
DK stabs me in my left thigh with my knife.
More gunfire and smoke fill the restaurant.
It’s hard to see anything in the restaurant.
A side door opens, and I hear people exit the restaurant.
“It was a fucking drone!” shouts Phil as he looks at the beach through the broken windows.
The loud engine of the military drone is heard flying away from the restaurant back into the Gulf of Mexico.
Shaun comes over to me and sees the blood on my hands.
“Are you okay? What happened?” asks Shaun.
“I’ll be okay, we need to go though. We need to get back home and stitch me up.”
Bobby G grabs some towels from behind the bar and ties a towel around my thigh wound.
The white towel around my thigh quickly turns red from the blood that is coming out of my wound.
Everyone leaves the restaurant.
I see Jason’s dead body as I walk out of the restaurant with Shaun.
We make it back to my SUV.
Shaun hops into the driver seat and drives us back to Citrus Oaks.
My left thigh is bleeding profusely. I am keeping pressure on the wound, but the blood is still pouring out.
“Did anyone see if Jacob survived?”
“He got away with DK,” says Shaun.
“Fuck! We had them!”
Bobby G says, “Don’t worry about that, son. We need to get you healthy. We all made it out alive, that’s all that matters right now.”
“Yeah, but so did Jacob. So much for our new agreement.”
Shaun speeds down the road, followed by Phil in his SUV.
As Shaun speeds home, I can’t help but to think of how I fucked up this meeting and if I am going to lose my leg.
CHAPTER 12
YOU NEED TO REST
“I can’t handle this anymore Ryan! I’m so stressed and worried every time you leave this place!” shouts Lauren at me as I lay in bed.
“I’m okay. We all made it out okay. The wound is okay. The nerve, muscle, and artery are in good shape. I will be fine.”
“That’s not the point! You have been shot and stabbed, what’s next? You going to lose an eye?” shouts Lauren.
“Sweetie, please calm down. I need to recover, and all this stress isn’t good for you or anyone.”
Lauren looks at me with tears in her eyes.
I look at Lauren and say, “You are right. I need to do less risky things for a while, and I will.”
Fran walks into my master bedroom and asks, “How you doing Ryan?”
“I’m okay Fran. I’ll be okay. It will take some time to get back to 100 percent, but I will be okay.”
“Good, we were worried about you,” says Fran.
“How’s Keith?”
“He’s pretty good. He’s been sleeping a lot lately,” says Fran.
“Did he take the insulin I got for him?”
“I think so, I think he did. I showed him that you got some for him,” says Fran.
Bobby G walks into my bedroom with Shaun and Phil.
“How you doing?” asks Bobby G.
“I’m okay. My leg hurts, but I stitched it up pretty good.”
“You did a good job, but I think you should teach us some medical skills. Nothing too elaborate, but even the smallest skill could save someone’s life,” says Shaun.
“I agree, I’ll teach a class when I’m feeling better.”
“Glad we got those medical supplies. They probably saved your life,” says Shaun.
Lauren starts to cry and walks out of the bedroom.
“Something I said?” asks Shaun.
“It’s just been a lot for her lately. I need to take it easy and not do anything too crazy for a little while.”
“I understand that. You rest and take it easy. We will hold the fort down. We are going to talk with Channelside,” says Shaun.
“Tell them I’ll be there in a couple days, I can barely walk right now.”
“Rest now, you need to heal up,” says Bobby G.
&nb
sp; Bobby G and everyone exit my master bedroom.
I try to relax in my bed, but I feel a sense of apprehension that I’m suck in my bed after what just happened.
Bobby G walks back into my room holding Milo.
Bobby G puts Milo down on my bed and leaves my bedroom gain.
Milo walks over to me and starts to purr.
I look at Milo and say, “Hey, belly man.”
Milo rubs his head against my head as I lower it towards him.
Lauren walks back into our bedroom with antibiotics and some water.
“How did Milo get in here?” asks Lauren as she hands me the antibiotics and a bottle of water.
I swallow the antibiotic pills and drink some water.
“You need to sleep. We will take care of everything around here now,” says Lauren as she leaves the master bedroom and shuts the door.
I relax in my bed with Milo and eventually fall asleep.
“Should we tell Ryan the good news?” asks Phil to Shaun.
“He needs to sleep. When he’s up and about, then we can tell him,” says Shaun.
Jon comes over to Phil and Shaun and asks, “You guys ready to go talk with Brad and Eric at Channelside?”
Phil and Shaun get into the electric truck with Jon.
Jon starts up the electric truck, and he drives towards the South entrance of Citrus Oaks.
Shaun looks at Brody and the three other Warriors guarding the South entrance of Citrus Oaks as Jon drives through the South entrance.
“I’m glad Ryan is going to be okay. I was worried about his leg,” says Phil.
Shaun replies, “Me too, but Ryan is tough. His knife wound didn’t look that deep and should be fine.”
“I wonder what’s up with DK. I can’t believe he has a freaking military drone,” says Phil.
“That thing was badass. It destroyed that restaurant,” says Shaun.
“We should have all been killed. There is no way that we all should have survived that drone attack,” says Phil.
“I’m just thankful we all did. It got crazy in that restaurant,” says Jon.
Jon arrives at Davis Island and drives to the docks.
The luxury neighborhood is looking worse and worse as time goes on. Looters have started to vandalize the properties and destroy the windows and doors of the multimillion dollar homes.
Several loud gunshots are heard around downtown Tampa.
PKOW! PKOW! PKOW!
Jon, Shaun, and Phil look towards downtown Tampa at the sound of the gunfire but don’t see anything.
Fight 4 Us (Book 7): Weaponize Page 12