Friction

by Dwayne Gill

  “That’s it,” said Ara. “They’re inside.”

  “How many brothers does April have?” asked Cane.

  “Three,” said Ara.

  “Anyone else supposed to be there besides the six of them?”

  “Not unless they have company,” said Ara. “Her brothers have their own homes but spend a lot of time here with Guy. I’d say at least one of them is in there. I think that’s one of their trucks parked right there.” Ara pointed to a red, beat-up Ford from the early 2000s, a gas-powered model.

  Cane didn’t care if the whole family was there, but he wanted to know what to expect. Right now was not the time for anyone to be testing him, for he was filled with anxiety about his missing friends. He considered calling Daniel but decided to wait until he had April and Mercy safely in hand. Daniel would have called him had there been a significant development.

  “Are you going to kill them?” asked Ara.

  “If they screw with me or that family, yes.”

  “Can I come?” asked Ara.

  “Stay here,” said Cane. He didn’t want someone else to worry about. Ara looked down but listened, and Cane hoped she wouldn’t get any brave ideas.

  Since they’d approached from the rear of the house, Cane walked through the backyard and looped around to the front porch. There were lights on inside, especially toward the front, so Cane assumed they were still awake.

  When Cane opened the screen door of the porch, it creaked, likely giving away his presence, so he abandoned any tactful approach. He didn’t have time to toy around with these men. He needed to be back on a plane headed home as soon as possible.

  Cane kicked the old wooden door, but it didn’t give. He could hear shouting inside, so he kicked again, this time sending the door flying inward. The first person he saw was a middle-aged man standing in the center of the den, his arms already raised.

  “Don’t shoot!” said the man, obviously caught off-guard by the sudden, violent entry. He stared at the gun in Cane’s hand with his hands extended in front of him, as if trying to ward off imaginary gunfire.

  “April and Mercy,” said Cane. At the sound of the names, the man looked even more terrified and pointed down the hallway behind him.

  “They’re safe,” he said.

  “I believe you’re looking for her?” said a man coming from the opposite side of the room to Cane’s right, inside the dining room area. Cane assumed the older gentleman was Guy, and he held April from behind, who had Mercy in her arms. His left arm was wrapped around her neck while the right one held a gun to her temple. “Why don’t you put that gun down before someone gets hurt?”

  April didn’t look afraid, maybe because she didn’t believe her father would really kill her, but Mercy was crying and had her face dug into her mother’s shoulder. Cane didn’t know the actual risk of Guy pulling the trigger, so he had to make a quick choice. Cane had seen a lot of dangerous men in his life, and he’d had to discern the ones who bluffed from true killers on several occasions. Never had he had something so valuable weighing on his decision, though.

  Guy’s eyes were cold and hard. He definitely had the look of a man who knew violence, but would he hurt his own daughter? Maybe, thought Cane. If the old man thought his own life was at risk, it was a possibility. If Cane surrendered his weapon, he thought it highly likely Guy would try to kill him immediately, so that was an option he wouldn’t take.

  It left one choice, and Guy never had a chance to widen his eyes before registering Cane’s decision. Cane put a bullet cleanly through Guy’s forehead and watched the old man’s eyes go blank, causing him to release his grip on April and slide to the floor. Mercy cried loudly, although thankfully the girl didn’t witness the execution. April didn’t look overly surprised or bothered by what had happened; she wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her tightly, rocking and shushing her.

  The son stood in shock in the middle of the room, hardly believing what just happened. Cane had his pistol trained on him, but the man wasn’t making any threatening motions. It looked like he was frozen in place.

  “William sent me to get you,” Cane said to April. “He’s back in the U.S.”

  April smiled as tears rolled down her cheeks, and Mercy lifted her head off her mother’s chest. “Daddy?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” said April. She looked at Cane, and for the first time, he sensed emotion in her eyes. “Please get me out of here. Take me to my husband.” April walked through the den and shot a look at her brother. “You’ll burn for this. When William finds out, he’ll kill you all.”

  The brother was red-hot with anger, ignoring Cane as he berated April. The man was irrational and off the hinges, very different from the calm, collected version Cane had just seen. He also seemed very capable of violence, though Cane doubted he’d be stupid enough to try anything while a gun was pointed at him. “You think this is over, you bitch,” said the brother. “I’m gonna kill you and that little brat you’re holding. I’ll find you no matter where you try to hide. I’m coming for you. I’m gonna—”

  Cane shot him between the eyes. April jumped and looked at Cane, while Mercy still had her head dug into her mom’s shoulder.

  “I won’t listen to it,” said Cane. “I’m not in the mood to hear nonsense.”

  “Thank you,” said April.

  Cane wondered what the lady had been through here, at her father’s house, for she didn’t seem affected by the murder of her father or brother, despite it happening in front of her daughter.

  “Is there anyone else here?” asked Cane. April shook her head. “Let’s get you home, then.”

  Ara had waited at the edge of the clearing, right where Cane left her, but she sprinted across the backyard to greet April and Mercy when she saw them. They embraced for a full minute and exchanged pleasantries while Cane waited. When they were done, Cane handed April his earpiece. “Call William,” he said to April.

  April walked around the clearing while she talked to her husband, giggling and laughing the whole time. She even let Mercy talk, although the little girl still appeared shaken up. Cane looked at Ara, who was smiling at him. “Did you kill them?” she asked Cane.

  Cane stared at her blankly, waited a beat while she stared at him, and finally nodded.

  “Good,” said Ara. “I hope they died painfully.”

  Then and Now

  NOW

  October 2, 2028

  10:55 p.m. CST

  Naperville, Illinois

  Calvin watched in horror as Rick continued his assault on Lynks. The monitors in the panic room showed footage from every angle downstairs in the house, and Calvin had been glued to them since they’d been locked inside. The rest of the room’s occupants had watched initially, but after seeing Lynks get pulverized, they’d quickly had enough. Natalie, Kristy, Jordyn, and Taryn now sat huddled in the corner, trying to keep each other calm. Zeke and Wally kept a close eye on Tom, who was still restrained to his chair.

  This is all my fault, thought Calvin. Earlier, he’d told the others what had happened, and they tried to comfort him, but there was no denying the facts. He’d led Rick and the marked men directly to the only safe spot they all had, and now Lynks and Fletcher would likely pay the ultimate price. Calvin could barely bear the guilt of his stupidity, which was one reason he forced himself to watch Lynks on the monitors. You deserve it, you idiot. You deserve to hurt.

  Rick was undoubtedly trying to get Lynks to give up the access code to the safe room, and the beating he was taking bore witness to his resolve. There was no audio accompanying the grisly images, but Calvin could extrapolate plenty from the silent footage. Though the images weren’t in high definition, Calvin could see the massive damage Lynks’s face had sustained.

  Calvin had tried to formulate a plan or idea that could save Lynks, but so far he’d come up empty. Their cell phones didn’t work inside the steel enclosure, but they would have done them little good, anyway. Cane and Daniel were far away, and so were Hart a
nd Barkley, entangled in their own missions. There was a landline inside that had never been hooked up, which, again, was Calvin’s fault. They at least could’ve called 911, assuming the local police weren’t also corrupt.

  Zeke and Wally were dealing with their own torment, for Fletcher was caught outside in the situation too. The marked men had done little to him other than to restrain him, but everyone knew his eventual fate. Once they were done with Lynks, they’d dispose of the sentinel.

  Calvin realized there was more than one reason to be concerned. Lynks had proven a tough one to break, but there was no way he’d last much longer. Rick would either kill him or make him talk, and if it turned out to be the latter, everyone inside the panic room would be compromised. Would they sit and watch their friend be tortured and do nothing, only to see him eventually crack and give up their position? It appeared that was exactly where this was headed.

  “Your friend won’t last much longer,” said Tom, who’d been unusually quiet until now. “There’s no way he can continue taking that kind of punishment.”

  “Shut him up, please,” said Natalie. Zeke stepped toward Tom, who rolled his eyes and put his head down.

  “He’s right,” said Calvin. “If he gives Rick the code, we’re all dead.”

  By the looks on everyone’s faces, they’d been thinking the same thing. “What do you propose we do?” asked Natalie. “We can’t exactly go toe-to-toe with them.”

  Of course, she was right. They’d never be able to take on the marked men outside the door. “I don’t think doing nothing is an option,” said Calvin. “We’re dead if they open that door. At least we’d go out with a fight.”

  “We have pistols,” said Zeke, referring to himself and Wally. Theirs were the only two weapons in the room, which was yet another careless oversight. Calvin should have made sure they stocked the panic room with a few weapons.

  “They don’t know we can see them,” said Calvin. “Right now, there’s only Rick and one other guy in the library.”

  The rest of the men in view of the cameras were scouring the house, likely hoping to find the code written somewhere. There were no cameras upstairs, but Calvin counted three more men downstairs in various parts of the house.

  “All we need is a few seconds to retrieve Lynks and bring him into the room,” said Calvin.

  “How do we get him away from Rick?” asked Natalie. “He’s a lieutenant. He’s not easy to deal with.”

  “He’s also unarmed at the moment,” said Calvin. Rick had laid down his gun a while ago to interrogate Lynks.

  “If we’re doing this, it would have to be now,” said Zeke. Calvin was glad to have Zeke and Wally there. They were willing to risk their lives to save Lynks while knowing they wouldn’t be able to do the same for Fletcher. Someone had moved their friend to the den, too far away for them to help.

  Natalie and the other women were clearly not happy about the plan, but no one outwardly protested. It was simply the best option available.

  “Once we open the door, we must neutralize Rick and the other guard,” said Calvin. “I’ll run, grab Lynks, and drag him inside while you two cover me,” he said to Zeke and Wally, who nodded their approval. He looked at Natalie. “If anything goes wrong, you swing this door shut. Don’t take any chances.”

  Taryn was bawling as Jordyn held her, both knowing how dangerous this tactic would be for all parties. Natalie and Kristy were focused, and both nodded to Calvin.

  “Look at the screen,” said Zeke. To Calvin’s astonishment, Rick looked like he’d taken a phone call, for it showed him walking out of the library.

  “Let’s go. Now,” said Calvin.

  *

  11:00 p.m. CST

  Calvin typed in the code while Zeke and Wally waited at the doorway, and as soon as it opened wide enough, Zeke took the first shot, hitting the unsuspecting marked man in the chest as he sat at the table in the library. “Go!” said Zeke.

  Calvin sprinted out the opening toward Lynks, who was less than ten feet away and tied to a chair. He seemed barely conscious and hadn’t reacted to the sudden commotion as his head dangled haphazardly on his chest. Calvin tried to grab the chair with him in it, hoping to drag him into the panic room but quickly realized he’d never be able to do so. Besides the added weight, the chair made it too awkward to move Lynks fast enough. Calvin struggled with the bonds, which were only rope, knowing it was taking far longer than he’d planned.

  A shot rang out and Wally flinched and returned fire while Zeke assisted. A moment later more shots echoed, this time originating from different locations, and Calvin saw both Zeke and Wally fall to the floor in front of the open door of the safe room.

  Calvin battled frantically with the rope until he freed Lynks’s arms, but out of the corner of his vision, he saw Rick charging directly at him. He didn’t have time to react to the impact, which sent him flying backward, and Lynks fell forward face-first to the floor. Rick was immediately on top of Calvin and landed a searing punch that rang his bell. Calvin knew he was done; his plan had failed, resulting in the deaths of two more of his friends, and now he could only hope Natalie would shut the door in time.

  However, not only had she not closed the door, but Natalie now stood behind Zeke’s fallen body, holding the sentinel’s gun and firing it. She looked more comfortable than she should have as she wielded the weapon, though her lack of skill was plain. Still, she managed to hit a marked man as he rounded the corner to enter the library.

  Kristy was the next person he saw coming out of the room, but instead of holding a weapon, she was running toward Calvin. She barreled in quickly and jumped on Rick’s back; he was surprised by the move. Taryn exited and ran to help Kristy, but Calvin knew Rick wouldn’t be that easily overpowered. Shaking off his cobwebs, he realized just how high the stakes had grown. If we fail here, we die.

  Calvin got to his feet and punched Rick in the face as he struggled with Kristy, who had locked her arms around his neck. The lieutenant didn’t react much to Calvin’s blow, but Calvin continued his assault. Taryn was scratching and clawing at Rick’s face, which distracted him from reacting properly to Kristy’s chokehold.

  It almost seemed like they were making progress, but the whole thing had happened fast, and Calvin knew there were other marked men coming. Just as he finished the thought, he saw Natalie fly backward, obviously hit by a bullet, and she disappeared into the darkness of the safe room. Wally was back on his knees, firing back, but was also struck again, and this time he fell to the floor and didn’t move.

  Calvin felt the tide turning, and Rick’s sudden recovery completed it. He slung Kristy over his shoulder like a baby doll, hard enough that she landed a few feet in front of them, on her back, and slid to a stop. Rick backhanded Taryn, who went flying into the wall, then punched Calvin hard in the chest, causing him to slump forward, out of breath. Rick followed this with an uppercut that stood Calvin up, and the last blow sent him crashing to the floor on his back.

  Rick now stood over him, and as two of his men entered the library, he waved them away. “We’re not killing them. Yet.”

  Calvin held on to consciousness, but part of him wished he’d just die so he wouldn’t have to witness what came next. They’d given it their best shot but had failed, and now they’d all pay the price with their lives. As he lay there, he thought once again of Marcene and wondered where she was. Why let this happen? It seemed like she’d been orchestrating things behind the scenes for years and had these carefully crafted plans, but when they needed her most, she was silent. Is this part of her plan?

  Calvin saw the two marked men flinch and fall even before he heard the gunfire. He looked around and saw the last person he would think to be an ally, and he was holding Zeke’s weapon. It was Tom, standing in the doorway of the panic room, unrestrained. Rick looked at him with shock as Tom aimed and squeezed off another round, but the gun was empty. Unable to reload fast enough, Tom sprinted toward Rick like a football player trying to make a g
ame-saving tackle. Rick was bracing himself for the collision, so Calvin sat up, lunged forward, and grabbed Rick’s ankles, pulling at them with all his strength.

  The move wouldn’t have been so effective had Tom not put all his weight into the takedown, but Calvin’s hold threw off Rick’s balance just enough to ensure the lieutenant lost his footing when Tom made contact. When they hit the floor, Tom was on top of him, and the turned man looked possessed. He punched, kicked, and scratched, causing Rick to assume a defensive posture.

  Calvin knew what was happening and couldn’t let the opportunity pass; he looked at Kristy and Taryn, who were getting to their feet, and shouted, “Safe room!”

  They snapped into action and staggered forward. Calvin limped over to Lynks, who was on his stomach, grabbed his arms, and dragged him. Out of nowhere, Jordyn appeared and lifted the chair to help as they both escorted Lynks into the panic room.

  By the time they reached the doorway, Taryn and Kristy had pulled Wally and Zeke inside, and Calvin slammed the door shut to ensure their safety. Everyone collapsed, but Calvin recovered quickly and walked to the monitors.

  Rick had regained the upper hand in his struggle with Tom and was now on top of Jordyn’s dad, sending thundering punches crashing into his face. Rick looked pissed, and even after Tom ceased to move, the lieutenant continued the onslaught. Calvin tried to stand in front of the monitor to shield it from Jordyn’s view, but a moment later he felt her push his shoulder, nudging him aside.

  “I want to see,” she said. Calvin looked into her tear-filled eyes, but there was resolve mixed with the pain. “This is how I want to remember him. Saving our lives.”

  “What happened?” asked Calvin.

  “I untied him,” said Jordyn. “He asked me to. I didn’t believe him when he said he wanted to help, but he proved it was really him.” Jordyn cried, struggling to finish. “He called me his gummy bear,” she said. “It was his name for me. That’s when I knew he was back. He was my dad again.”