by Tom Haase
As he pulled up on the driver’s side of the truck, he noticed they had passed under the approach to the Talmadge Bridge. They were now speeding along Bay Street toward Martin Luther King Boulevard, a major intersection at the entrance to the historic district of Savannah. After lowering the driver’s side window, he used the arm of the side view mirror to steady his pistol, but that didn’t prove useful.
The truck ran the red light at the intersection and Mike did the same. He lost all of his fear, disregarded any safety measures for his own protection, and as carefully as he could manage aimed at the cab of the truck. He knew the awkwardness of his firing position held no great hope of achieving a kill shot, but didn’t care and fired his weapon. Four more times he pulled the trigger. Then he saw a car blocking his lane attempting to make a left hand turn. He slowed and let the truck pull away from him or he would smash into the front of the car.
The entire length of the truck sped by and seemed to him to have accelerated. The only thing he could do, fall in behind and wait for another chance to get his goods back. As the seconds passed, he lost the maddening urge to plow straight ahead and some logical thought started to regain control. He needed to wait until the truck stopped. At that time, he could make his move and take back his property. He breathed in deep breaths and his heart ceased the loud pounding in his head, at least to an acceptable level that allowed him the think.
Ahead of him, the truck accelerated and crossed over the double yellow line in the middle of the street. He watched as it sped past the city hall. The semi moved over into the oncoming traffic lane. In total disbelief, he witnessed the impact.
* * *
When the driver warned of the Hummer coming up on his side, Karim stretched over to look into the driver’s side view mirror. He couldn’t see the Hummer. While he attempted to get a glimpse of the Hummer, the driver increased speed in order to get away from the threat. The sound of gunfire entered the cabin. Karim looked over at the driver who had floored the gas pedal at that moment. More gunshots were heard. The driver’s head jerked backwards and then slumped forward. A small patch of blood sprayed onto the windshield.
Karim reached to pull the man away so he could grab the steering wheel, but the driver’s hands slipped off the steering wheel and slid inside the wheel as his body slumped forward. The weight of his body caused the wheel to turn to the left and the truck started to move toward the center of the street.
The truck glanced off a car in the oncoming traffic lane. The size and speed of the semi flipped the car over. More cars now headed straight at the semi with horns blazing and drivers frantically trying to get out of the way of the giant truck crossing over into the oncoming lane.
Karim desperately grabbed to pull the man off the steering wheel, but the man’s weight and his arms pinned inside the steering column made that temporarily impossible. Next, Karim tried to lift the man’s leg off the accelerator. He succeeded, but when he looked up, the truck had crossed the centerline and now plunged ahead at over sixty miles per hour. When he raised his eyes higher, the sight of a statue of a brown Griffin loomed immediately in front of the speeding semi. The cab of the truck bounced over the sidewalk and careened into the statue and impaled itself on a guardrail over the thirty-foot drop to a roadway below.
The abrupt stop slammed Karim against the dashboard. He barely managed to save his head from making a deadly impact on the windshield. He glanced at the driver but knew he no longer lived. He shook his head a few times to clear it, quickly examined his body to see if he’d sustained any damage, and determined he hadn’t. He grabbed his handgun and opened the passenger door to climb down.
The Hummer came to a screeching stop about thirty feet away.
He again checked his weapon to ensure it could function on demand as it looked like he would need it in a few moments.
56
Savannah, Georgia
Mike Alexandro watched through the Hummer’s windscreen in total disbelief as his stolen truck careened into the statue of the Griffin in front of the Cotton Exchange and finally stopped before going over the wall and plummeting down onto Factor’s Walk. He reasoned he had to take out Karim to stop him from telling the police about the weapons if he were to be captured. That seemed like a possible outcome after the events of the day. The truck contained his Russian dolls and it had been hijacked. He just wanted his goods back. Mike stopped and parked behind the wrecked semi.
Soon there would be plenty of police around after this destruction in the middle of the city. He could more easily explain his efforts to stop someone from stealing his property, as he owned the paperwork and legal right to import the goods that were the listed cargo in the truck. It might be a long process, but he stood within his rights. His planned trip to Russia might have to be put on hold for a few days.
At that moment, Karim jumped down from the cab. He looked shaken up a bit as he appeared to be trying to find his bearings to stand without holding the truck door for support. The man, who stole his truck, appeared to be regaining his balance as Mike exited his Hummer with gun in hand. He saw Karim now looked directly at him and raised his weapon.
In a smooth motion, Mike fired before Karim could get his weapon up and aimed. His bullet hit the terrorist in the leg. Blood exited the wound and he collapsed backward. Mike ran forward and peered down at the collapsed Karim.
“You piece of shit. You tried to steal my shipment. Now you die.”
He heard another car slam on its breaks directly behind him. He swirled away from the victim he intended to kill.
* * *
Scott’s car raced ahead of Matt and skidded to a stop a few feet from the Hummer. They could see Alexandro over a prone body just a few feet in front of them.
“Stay in the car,” Gerti said. “We can wait on Matt, he’s the agent. Look, Alexandro’s got a gun.”
“So have we,” Scott said, as he flung open the car door and got out. He held his gun in his right hand and saw Alexandro looking up from his position over Karim’s supine body. Alexandro could see that Scott held a gun. Scott didn’t get a chance to aim his weapon as the man rotated quicker than Scott expected.
Gerti jumped out of the car obviously intending to stop Scott. She ran around toward the front of the car. This careless act put her closer to Alexandro. Scott saw Alexandro raise his weapon to fire at Gerti as she rounded the front of the car. He ran with speed that he didn’t know he possessed. He raised his weapon as he ran and fired at the target who now centered Gerti in his sights. Scott jumped in front of Gerti as Alexandro’s weapon discharged. He heard another weapon fire and simultaneously felt the impact of the bullet in his chest. Everything went black in his world.
Gerti saw what happened and raised her weapon to fire at the man, but he ran. He escaped down the steps leading to the walk below. She rushed to where Scott lay on the pavement. Blood had stopped pumping from his chest wound.
“My God, he’s dead,” she shouted.
* * *
Bridget jumped out of the car before Matt stopped beside the still running Hummer. She heard Gerti make her proclamation on Scott’s death. Matt followed a few steps behind and they both stopped when they reached Scott’s location. Bridget’s mind reeled at the sight of her brother. Shot dead by that bastard. She wanted to cry. She wanted to kill Alexandro. She needed to get justice for him. She turned away, the sight of her dead brother now forever imbedded in her mind. There is no way she wanted to fall apart now. She could grieve later. It now took everything in her being, but she had to keep going.
“He went down those steps,” Gerti said and pointed.
“Stay here,” Matt said to Bridget.
“Fuck that. I’m going to get him,” came her reply as she ran to the steps.
“I can’t go anywhere. I’ll stay here with him,” Gerti said. She knelt down beside Scott and took his head in her hands.
Matt ran after Bridget.
57
Savannah, Georgia
Bridg
et reached the bottom of the stairs on Factor’s Walk, a narrow sunken road on which in the old days the horse-drawn cotton wagons used to pass under the brokers who bid on their loads from up on top. She searched in both directions and saw Alexandro disappear behind a stonewall to her right. The street, paved with ballast stones taken from old sailing ships, proved difficult to run on. She heard Matt calling for her to wait.
She ignored his demand and ran forward. Alexandro peered his head around the corner fifty to sixty feet in front of her. She saw him clearly. The bastard had killed her brother.
“Bridget, wait up,” Matt called again.
She focused on the face of her brother’s murderer. The man ducked back behind the protection of the wall for just a second. Then he jumped out into the street, gun raised and fired.
Bridget wasn’t taken by surprise. She hoped the bastard would fight. The bullets flew by her head, one barely missing, and she felt the breeze from the round in her hair. Without any hesitation, she returned fire. Twice she tried to hit the target, but handguns were not precise at any distance other than close range and not worth anything if one was running.
The man disappeared behind the wall. Bridget reached the corner where he disappeared. She took a quick glance around the stone edifice. A bullet greeted her effort. The round splintered shards of stone into her face. Blood started to trickle down from her forehead. She wiped it away, not wanting anything to blur her vision. This reignited her rage. Now the maniac had spilled her blood as well as her brother’s. She didn’t care anymore, she would end this.
Matt placed his hand on her shoulder. She ignored it and stepped around the corner and out into the open.
“What are you doing? Get back,” ordered Matt.
Directly to her front, Alexandro stood in the middle of the confined space. He dodged into a recess which trapped him on three sides. The stonewalls reached high above their heads. There wasn’t any escape path from this little recessed area unless he came out the same way he went in.
Alexandro brought up his gun and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened, just the sound of a click. He tried to fire the weapon again and again.
Bridget raised her weapon to a firing position. She hesitated for only a split second.
“You killed my brother,” she said. Her hatred of this man boiled to a feverish pitch. No way would he stand trial and get off with a slick lawyer. He had deprived her of her only brother.
She pulled the trigger. The bullet entered the center of Alexandro’s head.
As the corpse hit the ground, Matt gently took the weapon from her hand. She didn’t feel anything but relief.
“A clear case of self defense,” Matt whispered in her ear.
Bridget heard Matt call Liz and brief her on what happened. There were now sirens coming from several directions on the upper level above the Factor’s Walk. Matt led her up to meet soon to be arriving local police and FBI.
Karim lay on the ground. He tried to get up but couldn’t. Matt went over to him and put cuffs on him. Local police and ambulances were now arriving on the scene.
“I need a doctor,” Karim said.
“You’ll get one soon. I want you to be healthy for your execution. Georgia has the death penalty,” Matt said. He went back to where Bridget stood. He took her arms and moved her to a nearby bench. He placed her on it. The semi in front of them.
“It’s over,” she heard Matt say. Her adrenaline slowly returned to normal by the time they had arrived at the wrecked semi.
Bridget took Matt’s hand. “Thank you.”
He held her close and gave her a hug. She started to cry. Now she could grieve. The tears came.
58
Savannah, Georgia
After he gave a report of the events to the local police, Matt went over to the Special Agent in Charge of the Savannah FBI office. The SAC informed Matt he’d been ordered to handle the locals and Matt needed to get out of the area as soon as possible. Matt knew there would be a mountain of paperwork generated over the entire episode, but that would come later and this man could now assume responsibility for it. He excused himself and went back to sit beside Bridget.
“Have they taken Scott’s body away?” Bridget asked.
He assumed they had. He went over to the local EMT who was treating Karim’s wound and asked about the body.
“What body? The only body is down on Factor’s Walk and the ME is with it. This wounded man is the only one I’m treating. Sorry, but we’ve got to get him to a hospital.” The EMT moved off with the stretcher to place Karim in an ambulance.
Matt looked around the scene of the shooting as he walked back to join Bridget. He didn’t see the Hummer. The rental car used by Scott and his own FBI car were present, but no Hummer.
He searched the area, scanning up and down the street. Nothing.
“Have you seen Gerti?” Matt asked Bridget as he sat down beside her.
“No, I assumed the police were interrogating her.”
“Listen, I hate to say this, but Scott’s body isn’t here,” Matt said.
“What?” she said in total confusion. “Why not?”
“No one here’s even seen his body. Gerti isn’t here either,” Matt said.
Bridget grabbed for her phone.
Gerti answered on the second ring.
“Where are you?” Bridget blurted out as soon as she answered.
“I’m at Memorial Hospital Emergency Room. Get here now.” The line went dead.
59
Savannah, Georgia
Memorial Hospital
Bridget thought emergency rooms were about the same all over. Doctors and nurses flitted about, going from room to room. The smell of antiseptic cleansers filled the air. Some patients were on gurneys in the hallway. Another ambulance pulled up to the entrance as Matt and Bridget arrived.
Bridget frantically looked for Gerti. She couldn’t imagine why Gerti would come to a hospital. Perhaps she suffered a wound they hadn’t noticed, or some other calamity befell her after she and Matt took off after Alexandro.
That explanation didn’t ring true in her mind. Here, someone who had never been in combat or never even seen death by gunshot, declaring her brother dead. Maybe she thought he was but something changed her mind while she and Matt pursued Alexandro. This scenario made much more sense. Then she started hoping her brother might yet be alive. She started to believe it as it appeared the only reason Gerti had taken off with the Hummer and Scott to a hospital.
Please, God, let him live.
“Over there,” Matt said. He pointed to Gerti surrounded by medical personnel.
Bridget ran over to her.
“Are you all right? What happened to you?” Bridget asked assuming she had suffered something to warrant a trip to the emergency room.
Gerti held up her hand to stop Bridget. Her white blouse contained blood streaks all over the front. She only nodded to Matt when he arrived.
“These are the doctors working on your brother,” Gerti said.
“What? What are you talking about? You said he was dead,” Bridget said.
“Hold on a minute.” She took a deep breath, exhaled and spoke rapidly. “When you ran off after Alexandro, I knelt down and held Scott’s head. No blood pumping from his wound, so I assumed he was dead. I was wrong. When I took his head in my hands, I thought I felt a slight pulse. I gave him mouth-to-mouth and performed CPR. In a few seconds, he opened his eyes.”
Bridget grabbed her and hugged her.
“I looked around for help but didn’t see anyone. I pulled Scott over to the Hummer and manhandled him in. I was afraid if I waited for an ambulance he would die. So I came to the nearest ER guided by my phone.”
“So, how is he?” Matt asked. He looked at the medical professionals clustered around them.
A man wearing a white coat with the nametag Dr. Watson spoke. “He’s going to be okay. The bullet didn’t penetrate his chest. It glanced off his rib. From what I understand from Miss Schultz,
he twisted to get in front of her when he sustained the impact. It ripped open a wound on his chest as it traveled along the rib for a few centimeters. It looked worse than it was. The impact of the bullet appears to have caused a sudden stoppage of his heart, probably due to the force exerted right over his heart. This young lady took the correct action and revived him.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Bridget and Gerti said at the same time.
The doctor smiled and walked off to another room where a new patient arrived on a gurney only moments before.
“This is so amazing,” Bridget said. “I’m having a hard time believing it.”
“They said he’ll have to stay in the hospital for at least a day,” Gerti said. “I plan on being here with him. That dumb bollox jumped in the way of a round meant for me. What the hell was he thinking?
“Probably of you,” Bridget said and gave Gerti an ear-to-ear smile.
“This has all been great,” Matt said. “But we need to return the Hummer to the police. They will understand your action in using the vehicle, but it’s evidence.”
“Let me stay long enough to see Scott,” Bridget said.
“They said it’ll be about an hour before we can see him. He’s in the recovery room now,” Gerti said.
An hour later, after visiting for a few minutes with Scott, who remained very groggy from the anesthesia, they went out to the Hummer. They easily found it in the parking lot outside the entrance to the emergency room. Matt opened the driver’s door and climbed in. Bridget went around to the passenger side.
“I’ve never been in one of these,” Bridget said.
“God, you are a different person now you have Scott back. Did you notice the name of the doctor? Watson. I wonder if Holmes works there, too.”