The Fall

by E S Richards

  Chapter 13

  Harrison panted as he tried to catch his breath, hands on his knees as he bent over the two gang members’ bodies. A precise gunshot wound marked one of their heads, Harrison's bullet finding a home where he had intended it. The other man was simply unconscious, Harrison disarming and subduing him before shooting the other.

  Harrison couldn’t believe what had just happened. He was certain the men all belonged to the same gang, but was bewildered by how many members there were and how they had managed to take control of Lake Michigan. Harrison hadn’t managed to get his radio working, so he didn’t believe the gang members had any way of communicating with each other over long distances and that only made things more concerning. It was slowly beginning to look to Harrison like the gang was prepared for an event like this. Like they already had a plan and now was just the perfect time to put it into operation. If that was indeed the case, that made the Latin Kings even more dangerous. Violence and crime was one thing, but when it was backed up by a well thought out plan it was very hard to put a stop to.

  Not wanting to wait around and let the rest of the gang members come searching for him, Harrison made sure his Glock was securely in the holster and tightened the straps on his rucksack. He had to figure out what to do about Len. He had no idea what the gang was going to do with him or why they wanted to capture them in the first place. With no electronics working there was very little to gain from having hostages; no one would be paying ransom money for many, many days.

  Picking his way through the dried leaves and broken twigs underfoot, Harrison tried his best to walk silently. He wanted to loop back around the gang and watch what they did from a distance, and then he could truly figure out what his best option would be.

  A part of Harrison did think it might be easier for him to continue on toward Canada alone. Len was only slowing him down and he had no desire to travel to South Haven, as there was nothing for him there. His own child was his purpose for making this journey and now that he had started it, Harrison felt a stronger desire than ever before to see his daughter again. He had thought of her often during the long years spent in his bunker, the house reminding him too much of the wife and daughter he had lost. But it wasn’t until Harrison had had a real conversation with Len that he was reminded how much he truly missed his family. Sophia was never coming back, but he could still see his daughter; he could still make sure Nina was okay.

  The decision plagued Harrison as he crouched low behind a speedboat to watch the gang, the boat mounted onto a trailer behind a large truck, now unable to make it to the water. Harrison was uncertain where the gang was going to go, without any cars or boats moored up besides the one Harrison and Len had used themselves. Perhaps if another boat had been at the small dock that would have tipped them off to the nearby gangs, but unfortunately the ambush had been executed perfectly.

  Looking at the useless powerboat he had been driving a few moments ago, another selfish thought entered Harrison’s mind. With Len out of the picture and a bit of time to fix the boat, Harrison could use that to get all the way up to Canada by himself. It would probably take a few days to fix the boat and so would not shorten his journey by any great deal, but it would mean a lot less walking and a much easier journey.

  The idea dangled flirtatiously in his mind as Harrison tried to decide what to do. He couldn’t deny the urge was strong to continue the journey alone. He had everything he needed in his rucksack and he was comfortable fending for himself against any new dangers that arrived. If he was thinking about everything in an entirely rational and direct manner, it was definitely what made the most sense. Anything to help him get to his daughter.

  But then, Len was a father too and he had already shown Harrison what that truly meant. The devotion Len carried for his son was unlike anything Harrison had ever seen before. When Nina was younger—and when his wife had still been alive and healthy—Harrison had been a good father. He’d taken Nina to ballet classes when she was a toddler and watched her softball games when she was in high school. He loved his daughter then and he still did now, but somehow it didn’t seem the same as the love Len felt for his son.

  Len’s entire life was built around his boy and Harrison knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he stopped the two of them from being reunited. As much as it might not be the logical thing to do, he knew saving Len was the right thing, and he needed to do it. Being a father meant taking responsibilities on even if you don’t want them, it meant looking after those in your care and making sure they are safe. In a way, Harrison was already learning these lessons just from his short time spent with Len and deep down he knew he had a lot more left to learn.

  Settled on his decision, Harrison looked ahead to see one of the men with shaved heads kicking at Len’s prone body on the ground. Due to the fact they both hadn’t been shot on sight as soon as they moored up the powerboat, Harrison had to assume that Len wasn’t dead and merely laid there unconscious. The gang members spoke fairly loudly so that a few of their words carried on the wind toward where Harrison hid, the Hispanic twang further confirming his suspicions about who the gang was. Sadly, their conversation wasn’t loud enough for Harrison to figure out what they were about to do and he resigned himself to waiting in place until they started to move.

  He didn’t have to wait long though. The men continued kicking at Len until he began to rouse to a conscious state and then poured a bottle of water over his head as they laughed at his pathetic condition. They all kept their weapons pointed at him just in case—they didn’t look like the type of people who were going to hand out second chances.

  As Harrison watched, he saw the man he’d knocked unconscious stumbling back towards the rest of them, rubbing the side of his head where Harrison had hit him with his pistol. He had considered killing the man as he lay unconscious, but didn’t want to waste a bullet when it wasn’t necessary. Now he regretted that decision. Although it would have become obvious to the gang members eventually that Harrison had escaped and some of their own were dead, it would have bought him a couple of extra minutes if he’d killed them both.

  The gang member staggered forward, reaching the three others around Len and joining their circle. Harrison winced as he saw the fourth man reach down and grab Len by the scruff of the neck before punching him squarely in the face. Some sort of payback for what Harrison had done surely, but thankfully Len managed to keep his eyes open after the punch. Seconds later he was hauled to his feet and Harrison made himself as small as possible as the group started walking away from the dock, Len sandwiched between the four men.

  He held his breath as the group moved past where Harrison was hiding, desperate to not give his location away. The thought occurred to Harrison that it might be easier to rescue Len now, before he was taken to wherever the Latin Kings had set up their base. He was a good shot, and thought he could kill two of them before they had a chance to fire back at him. It was risky though and with Len’s life hanging in the balance, Harrison decided it wasn’t the right decision. His companion would be the most likely to die in the situation out of the two of them, and Harrison didn’t like to gamble with other people’s lives.

  Making sure he remained hidden, Harrison waited until they had passed and then started shadowing the small group as they walked along the lakeside path, heading away from the water and into what should have been more densely populated areas. Instead the streets were deserted, much like they had been in Chicago earlier that day. Harrison knew it would be dark soon and he didn’t much fancy being out on the streets when that happened. With gang activity clearly in the area, he knew he’d have to find somewhere safe to spend the night.

  His mouth slowly dropped open as Harrison continued to follow the men, eventually realising where they were taking Len. The gates of Washington Park Zoo were guarded by a couple more men, both with shaved heads, welcoming more members of their faction back to what they had clearly set up as their base. Harrison was dumbstruck by the choic
e of location, immediately wondering how the Latin Kings were managing to deal with the animals that must be inside. Were they still inside? Suddenly the threat of people on the streets wasn’t Harrison’s only concern as his mind took him back to one afternoon many years ago.

  ***

  As Harrison looked at Sophia’s beautiful face, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was. So many boys had chased after her but somehow he was the one with her on his arm as they paraded around Lincoln Zoo. Some of the things he’d done in order to win over Sophia he wasn’t particularly proud of, but now that he had her by his side Harrison knew he’d do absolutely anything to keep her there. As they wandered around the zoo, Harrison tried his best to look interested; in reality, he found zoos boring and thought the animals would be better off set free, but Sophia had wanted to come so naturally he had obliged.

  Squeezing her hand as they moved through the monkey enclosure, Harrison barely noticed the animals that were surrounding them. He didn’t notice the other people edging back against the walls or running for safety, he didn’t hear the screams of terror that punctuated the air. Not until it was too late.

  An ear-splitting roar pierced Harrison’s mind and brought his focus back to where they were. Sophia was shaking beside him as a large chimpanzee over five feet tall towered over the pair of them, the sharp teeth in its mouth dripping with saliva. Harrison instantly flung Sophia behind him, blocking her from the animal with his body. Glancing around he tried to figure out what had happened, how the animal had somehow managed to make its way past the fencing and jagged wires on the top of every wall.

  As the chimpanzee took a lumbering step forward, Harrison pushed backwards, trying to force Sophia to run behind him. Her body was frozen with fear, unable to run, move, or even scream. Harrison had to protect her somehow, but for the first time in his life he felt like he was truly unprepared. It made him feel weak and pathetic and as he covered Sophia’s body with his own, he vowed he would never feel that way again. From that moment on, Harrison would be prepared for anything.

  ***

  Now that Harrison knew where Len had been taken, he turned around and snuck away down a side street. He needed to find somewhere to hide and come up with a plan, and potentially running into a lion or a bear made him feel on edge.

  Several thoughts ran through his head as Harrison stepped into a broken storefront, almost all of the things inside pillaged. He knew he couldn’t waste much time before getting to Len; they both had children to find and waiting around for days wasn’t going to help anyone. That meant he needed to act tonight.

  Breaking into a zoo definitely wasn’t one of the things Harrison had prepared for when he set off with Len on their journey and it wasn’t something he was particularly looking forward to. Sitting down to take off his rucksack, he reached inside for the silencer attachment for his pistol. At that moment Harrison wished he still had the bow and arrows; firing his Glock in a zoo surrounded by gang members and probably animals wasn’t the wisest idea. The stealth of a bow would have definitely made things easier.

  As darkness began to fall outside and the now-familiar dance of colored lights spun their way onto the sky, Harrison closed his eyes for a brief moment. He needed to get at least a couple hours of rest before he attempted his rescue mission. There was no way of predicting what would happen once he was on the other side of the zoo’s walls.

  Chapter 14

  Dragging himself as quietly as possible from his bed, Andy crept out of the dorm where the rest of his crew slept. Despite the hours he’d been in bed, he hadn’t slept a wink. His mind was spinning over what would happen if they couldn’t get the engines started again, what their plan would have to be.

  They were just over three hundred miles offshore, but without anything on the boat working Andy couldn’t even be certain of that. He’d made this trip several times in the past with Brett and knew it only took about a day and a half to get back into port, but without an engine or a working radio all of that information was useless.

  As Andy walked towards the control deck of The Mako, he whispered a quiet prayer under his breath. Everything still looked normal. The radio was resting in its cradle, the anchor was deployed, and the engines just looked like they had been shut down for the night. Maybe this was all just one big prank, the young trainees taking this a step too far. It was a tradition for them to try and prank Andy and Brett when it got towards the end of a trip, but normally that just involved shouting “shark” during a dive or pretending to drop a camera. Shutting down the entire boat was a bit extreme, but as Andy reached forward to try the engines he desperately hoped that’s all it had been.

  Once the engine key clicked into place and nothing but silence filled Andy’s ears, he knew it was real. He checked the radio just to be sure, but it wasn’t even producing static. Suddenly the open ocean was a very quiet place, nothing but the sound of the waves lapping against the stern of The Mako and Andy’s suspicious thoughts occupying his head.

  “Still not working, boss?”

  Andy turned around from the control deck and saw Lucas standing in the doorway, his hair sticking up at odd angles from his night’s sleep. The poor kid was only twenty years old. Andy felt responsible for keeping him and the other trainees safe. They’d all come on a few trips by now, but he was still very aware that all three had parents back in Australia who were expecting to see them return safely. The boys may have chosen life on the ocean to some extent, but no one expects to be at sea forever.

  “No,” Andy shook his head, “I’ll get in the water with Brett once he’s up and take a look underneath. There must be some way of sorting this out, don’t worry.”

  “It’s cool,” Lucas shrugged, “worse comes to worst we’ll just get a few extra days of research, right? In a place like this we can’t exactly complain.”

  Andy watched Lucas as the boy turned around to gaze out over the ocean. It was a beautiful spot; the sun just rising over the horizon and the sea as flat and calm as it had ever been. He wasn’t sure if Lucas was just having a positive attitude or whether he really didn’t understand the gravity of their situation, but Andy couldn’t bring himself to put the boy down. He knew how much more dangerous their situation would become if people started panicking. The Mako wasn’t a huge ship and if half of the crew lost their heads things would start getting dicey pretty quickly.

  “It is beautiful,” Andy sighed as he walked away from the controls, passing Lucas and giving him a pat on the back. “Why don’t you see if you can put together some breakfast? I’ll go and get the others up so we can get started.”

  “Yeah, all right,” Lucas smiled at Andy and slid past him, heading down to the kitchen area to see what he could find.

  Andy paused for a moment on deck before heading back towards the dorm to wake up the rest of his crew. He knew Brett and Cory would be tired; they’d stayed up a great chunk of the night fiddling around in the engine room but Andy also knew they couldn’t wait around for everyone to get enough sleep. Brett was the better engineer out of the two of them and he would definitely need him on the dive to try and fix the boat.

  To his surprise Brett was already tugging on his boots as he walked into the dorm room, fishing and research partner and best friend offering him a reassuring smile as Andy entered.

  “Morning, man,” Brett said in a loud voice, not bothered about waking anyone else up now it was time to start the day. “You all right?”

  “Yeah,” Andy mused, not really sure how to answer the question. “The engines still aren’t working though.”

  “Ah, that’s okay,” Brett said confidently as the other three men in the room started to slowly wake up around them. “We can get down and look at them from below today.”

  “Yeah,” Andy repeated. “Lucas is just putting together something to eat, and then we should get down as soon as possible I’d say.”

  “Right behind you!” Brett pushed himself up to his feet and placed a hand firmly on his friend’s shoulde
r. “Don’t worry man, we’ll sort this out. We always do.”

  Even the short conversation with Brett did wonders for Andy’s outlook that morning. Brett had always been a level-headed man; it was one of the things that kept their friendship so solid. Brett never lost his temper in situations that often had Andy blowing up and overreacting. The two of them were complete opposites from the outside, but it was a relationship that worked well and they would never change. They’d been best friends for almost thirty years, the bond going back to when they used to take surf lessons as children many years ago.

  When the rest of the crew was finally awake and on deck, they sat down and munched through some cold oatmeal. Without any means of boiling water the texture of the packet breakfast was grainy and hard, not a single man aboard The Mako appearing to enjoy it. It was necessary though; Andy could tell they were going to have a long day ahead of them. He wanted to make the most out of every hour of daylight and that meant getting in the water as soon as possible.

  It was decided that Pablo would join Andy and Brett in the water. Out of the three trainees, he definitely had the most engineering knowledge and would be a useful second set of eyes for Brett as he analyzed the engine. Andy himself had a pretty basic knowledge, but he was more going down for principle. The Mako was his ship; she’d never failed him before and if something was wrong now Andy wanted to know exactly what it was. Without any children of his own, he could proudly call The Mako his baby and he wanted to see for himself what had happened to her.