by Mike Ryan
“Good plan.”
“Yeah, so try that.”
“I can’t. It’s about the size of my foot,” Jacobs said.
“Oh. Well, can you break the floor and drop down to the room below?”
“You’re watching too many movies.”
“Yeah, yeah, probably. Just look.”
Jacobs looked around as Gunner continued guarding the door. He went from room to room, but he didn’t see much he could use. “Nah, there’s not much here. Nothing I could use quickly, anyway.”
“How ’bout shooting the floor to weaken it, then you can drop down.”
“Am I supposed to do that for the next four floors?”
“If you have to?”
“I’ll waste all my ammunition on that and won’t have any left once they find me. It’ll take too much time.”
“Hey, how ’bout the roof?”
“What about it?”
“Well, they’re expecting you to go down, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Throw an audible and go up instead.”
“And what am I supposed to do once I’m up there? Throw on my cape and fly off?”
Franks looked at the building. “Oh, yeah. There’s no adjoining buildings to jump onto.”
“Unless you have the ability to get a chopper here in about five minutes.”
“Why don’t I just call the police?”
“And how am I gonna explain all these bodies here?”
“Just tell the truth.”
“I’d rather go out swinging then get taken down for questioning.”
“Well, if we don’t think of something quick, you’re gonna go down swinging.”
“I’ll just have to do what I can,” Jacobs said. “I’ll see you if I see you.”
“No, no, no, just wait a minute. There’s gotta be something else.”
“I can’t think of anything. If I don’t make it out, promise me you’ll find Tiffany.”
“I’m not making any promises like that ’cause you’ll be looking for her yourself.”
“Eddie…”
“Wait, I’ll call Butch.”
“He ain’t gonna come. And even if he does, I doubt he could make it in time.”
“Just let me try.”
“Fine.” Jacobs went over to the door and peeked out again. Almost immediately, a bullet came whizzing by, barely missing his head. Jacobs saw a few men coming through from the stairs. He returned fire. “Gotta go!”
He put his phone away and looked out again, continuing to fire and be fired upon. Gunner darted from the door and started running toward the shooters.
“Gunner, no!”
Jacobs, worried about the safety of his dog, jumped into the hallway, landing on the floor and rolling over, trying to give Gunner as much protection as he could. Without it, he feared they’d shoot and kill him before he got there. While the three men were initially about to shoot the dog, as soon as they saw Jacobs’ body dart into the hall, they switched their focus to him. It was enough time to allow Gunner to sink his teeth into the first man he saw. It also made the other two more visible. Jacobs got to one knee and started firing, dropping the first man. The second man exchanged fire with Jacobs, with both of them getting hit. They both dropped to the ground, though Jacobs’ wound was basically a graze of his leg. It burned slightly, but he didn’t have time to worry about it now. He continued firing, taking out the second man. Once he was eliminated, he turned his attention to the last man, who was still trying to fend off Gunner. Though Gunner was on the man’s arm, he was attempting to stand up, giving Jacobs a clear shot.
Jacobs looked down both ends of the hall and started walking toward the stairs again. He looked down at his pal.
“Don’t do that again unless I tell you.”
Gunner whimpered a little. Jacobs looked down again and noticed specks of red on his paws. Concerned, he knelt down to check him out. Gunner was still standing, not giving any indication of being hurt. Jacobs ran his hands over the dog’s legs and body without Gunner giving off the slightest bit of pain. It appeared to just be blood from one of the other men that splattered onto Gunner.
“You good?”
Gunner let out a bark. He was fine. Jacobs let out a few deep breaths. They still had a long way to go. Jacobs put his hand on the door and quickly threw it open, ready to fire right away if need be. There was no one there. He looked over the railing to see if he could see anyone coming up, but he didn’t see anyone. Didn’t hear any noise indicating someone was walking up either.
“Let’s go.”
They started walking down the steps, knowing trouble was likely to find them at any moment. They slowly descended until they reached the platform for the fourth floor. Almost immediately, the door opened up, hitting Jacobs in the arm and knocking him against the wall. Two men appeared, ready to do harm if they were able. The first man aimed his gun at Jacobs, but Gunner lunged up and grabbed hold of the man’s forearm, tugging at him and knocking his gun loose. The second man had to move to avoid their conflict, giving Jacobs enough time to recover and put a round in his chest. He then pointed his gun at the man struggling with Gunner, putting a bullet in the side of his head.
Just as the man slumped to the ground, Jacobs hurried to the railing, hearing footsteps. A lot of footsteps. It sounded like several men running up. He looked down and saw the edges of what looked to be at least four or five men on their way up. Might’ve been even more. Jacobs looked inside the fourth floor briefly, and while he didn’t see any trouble immediately, wasn’t that eager to duck inside either.
“Gunner, check.”
As Gunner went onto the fourth floor to look for bad guys, Jacobs stayed in his spot. He was waiting until the group running up the steps got to him. He could surprise a few of them and take a couple out once they arrived. Then he’d have to duck inside the floor if he was able. He wouldn’t have to wait long. He could hear them getting closer.
Within a minute, they were almost on top of him. They were now just one small flight of steps away. As soon as they rounded the corner, Jacobs would open fire. He quietly took a few steps in their direction, wanting to get the jump on them and take out as many as possible. Seconds later, there they were. Six of them, coming up side by side.
As soon as the first group of two showed their faces, Jacobs opened up, putting a couple rounds into each of them. As they fell, Jacobs went down a couple steps to fire on the two men right behind them. They all fired simultaneously, with all three men going down. Jacobs got right back up, shrugging off the pain and the blood that was now coming out of his left arm. He didn’t even look down at it. He was too focused on the men in front of him. There were two more men who started firing, though everything missed their mark but ricocheted off the walls, causing some extra chaos and panic. Jacobs crawled to get away from the others, sneaking his way through the door as the other two men crouched down out of sight on the stairs.
Jacobs closed the door after he crawled through it, with Gunner coming up to him almost immediately. He put his nose on Jacobs’ wounded arm. Jacobs smiled and pet his friend on the head.
“I’m OK, buddy. Let’s just worry about getting out of here. Didn’t find anything else, I take it?”
Gunner sat next to his owner, letting Jacobs know that there was no further danger on the floor. Jacobs knew he wouldn’t have done that if there was anything else on the floor to be concerned about. Suddenly, the door on the other end of the hallway opened up, with several more men bursting through.
“Oh, jeez.” Jacobs crawled over to the corner of the wall to give himself some cover. “You gotta be kidding me. Is this ever gonna end? How many men they got?”
The answer to Jacobs’ question was ten. They still had ten more that were alive and breathing. Five of them he had already seen, with the three that just came onto the floor, and the two others in the stairwell. Of course, he didn’t know that. For all he knew, it was like a video game where they just kept coming a
nd coming without ever running out.
Jacobs took out the empty magazine from his gun and replaced it with a new one. He waited there for a few seconds, not moving an inch, trying to catch his breath. He didn’t have long, though. The door to the stairwell he just came from opened. Jacobs sat there, pointing his gun at where he assumed the man would be coming from. Moments later, a man rushed onto the floor. Jacobs immediately fired, killing the man instantly.
“Still one more from there.”
Jacobs peeked around the corner of the wall to see if the others had advanced from their position yet. He didn’t notice them moving. But he couldn’t tell where they were either. They must’ve ducked in a room somewhere. For the next few minutes, Jacobs tried to split his concentration between the two areas, knowing there was danger in both spots: the hallway in front of him, and the stairwell he just left.
Jacobs then felt the vibration of his phone, then heard the ringer. He caused himself some pain, moving his left arm to take the phone out of its slot on his vest.
“Yeah, Eddie?” he answered, breathing heavily.
“Listen, I got Butch and his boys. They’re on their way. You just gotta hold on a few more minutes until they get there.”
“How long’s a few?”
“Maybe five at most. You think you can do that?”
“Well, I’ll sure give it a shot.”
“You all right in there. You hurt or anything?”
“Uh, well…”
The door to the stairwell opened again, with a man diving onto the floor, hoping to surprise Jacobs, and he started shooting in the direction he assumed Jacobs was. Jacobs instantly returned fire, ducking a little as the bullets were going over his head, though not especially close. Jacobs’ first two shots missed as well, but his third one did not. The man was hit in his stomach area, though his eyes were still open, and he was moving a little. He started crawling to his gun that had been knocked out of his hands upon getting shot and hitting the floor. Jacobs fired another round, hitting the man fatally this time. Jacobs waited a few seconds for anyone else to come in, though no one did. He checked his friends around the corner too, but he still didn’t see them. He picked up his phone again.
“You were saying?”
“Holy hell, what is going on in there? Sounds like you’re in the middle of World War Three.”
Jacobs struggled to catch his breath, but eventually he did. “Uh, yeah, it’s been interesting.”
“You guys hurt?”
“Gunner’s fine. I got nicked in a couple places, but nothing that’ll kill me.”
“You sure you’re all right?”
“Hardly even feel it.”
“Where at?”
“Grazed on the leg and the arm. I don’t think I still have the bullets in me.”
“You don’t think?”
“Well, I’m a little too busy to check.”
“Just hang on, man, just hang on. Help is almost there. Where are you at?”
“Fourth floor.”
“Just stay there. I’ll let them know where you are. That way Butch’s boys can find you without worrying about shooting you.”
“I’ll do what I can. There’s still three more on this floor.”
“I’ll tell them.”
“Tell them to announce themselves before showing up, because I’m not asking names or questions before I see anybody. I’m just firing at will.”
“Roger that.”
Jacobs put the phone back in his pouch, then looked over at Gunner.
“Well, looks like we just need to stay put for a few minutes. Help’s on the way.”
Gunner looked at the openness of the hallway and started growling. Jacobs peeked around the corner, but saw no movement.
“I know. But we don’t need to take chances now. Let’s just be smart.”
Gunner got up in his stance again, growling. Jacobs knew something was going on. He looked around the corner and saw the men moving from room to room. They were trying to get closer. Jacobs leaned back against the wall for a moment, knowing his night wasn’t over yet.
Gunner started barking, causing Jacobs to lean over, waiting to see one of them moving. As soon as one of them crossed the hallway to get to the other room, Jacobs opened fire, shooting four times. None of the bullets hit their mark. Another man came out of the room, but clung to the wall and stayed on the same side. Jacobs fired a few more times, though this time he hit his target. Two of his shots hit the man in the legs, dropping him to the ground and making him scream in agony. Jacobs fired another shot to put him out of his misery permanently.
Gunner started growling again, then took off against his owner’s wishes.
“Gunner, no! Damn it!”
As Gunner ran to a room, Jacobs quickly rushed down after him, not knowing where the third man was. Gunner went into the room that Jacobs knew the shooter was in. Jacobs’ head snapped toward the room, though, forgetting about the third man, when he heard shots. He raced into the room, finding the man on his back, with Gunner on top of him.
“Gunner, off!”
Gunner released his grip of the man. As soon as he did, the man, who still had a hold of his weapon, raised his arm to fire at Jacobs. Jacobs was too fast though, putting three into the man’s chest. He quickly looked at Gunner to make sure he was OK. The gunshots must’ve been the man firing at Gunner and missing because the dog didn’t appear to be hurt.
As Jacobs was checking on Gunner, the third man of the group started sneaking up on them. He had just about reached the door and was about to fire on Jacobs, when several more shots rang out. Jacobs immediately switched into an attack position, ready to fire himself. He looked at the doorway just in time to see the man drop to the ground.
“Jacobs!”
Jacobs didn’t recognize the voice, so he couldn’t be sure it was Butch’s men, or just one of the others looking to make a deal. Or trying to lure him into a trap to kill him easier.
“Jacobs!”
Jacobs peeked around the door, seeing several men standing near the door to the stairwell. He partially stepped into the hallway, only showing half his head and body, but still pointing his gun at them.
“Who are you?”
“Butch sent us. We understand you need help.”
“Maybe. There might be more downstairs on the other floors.”
“It’s taken care of.”
“How do I know you are who you say you are?”
Then the door to the stairs opened up again, Franks bursting his way through. He came down the hallway to greet his friends. Jacobs now took a breath of relief. He holstered his weapon and leaned against the wall, sliding his way down until he sat.
“You look like crap, man.”
Jacobs couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah. I think I’ve had better days.”
“Easier ones for sure.”
“How many more were downstairs?”
“I dunno, five or six, something like that.” Franks looked at the wounds on Jacobs’ arm and leg. Neither appeared to be serious. He then looked at Gunner, noticing some splotches of blood on him. “You all right?”
Gunner sat down, drawing a look from Jacobs, who pet him on the chest. “He’s good. We’re good. We still gotta find Tiffany though.”
“We will. First things first, though. We gotta get you out of here and clean you up. We’ll find her soon enough.”
Jacobs got up, with a hand from Franks, and started walking towards the stairs, though somewhat wearily.
“How do you always get yourself in situations like this?”
Jacobs snickered. “Just lucky, I guess.”
18
Jacobs and Franks were back at Jacobs’ place, finishing up tending to Jacobs’ wounds. After putting bandages on them, Jacobs gingerly moved his arm around.
“You all right?”
“Good enough to shoot if that’s what you’re asking,” Jacobs replied.
“Well, that wasn’t what I was asking, but I guess tha
t’s good enough.”
Jacobs got up and started walking around the room, brooding. His thoughts were with Tiffany, not his injuries. His were nothing more than scrapes. “They should be calling or something.”
“Relax, man,” Franks said.
“How can I relax when I know they have her somewhere? Who knows how they’re treating her or what they’re doing to her?”
“I know, I know, but there’s nothing you can do until you know where she is. Putting a hole in the floor from you wearing it out ain’t gonna help any.”
“Well, it’ll keep me from going crazy.”
“I been on that train, man. It’s best if you don’t buy a ticket.”
“I can’t let this happen again, Eddie. I can’t let this happen again.”
“You won’t. She’s fine. She’ll be fine. We’ll get her back safe and sound and that’ll be that. Don’t psych yourself out.”
Jacobs was having a hard time doing that, though. Especially without knowing where Tiffany was. All he could do was wait. And he wasn’t great at that.
“Just get it over with. Just call and tell me where and when.”
Franks scratched the side of his head. “Well, you probably threw a wrench in their plans with that last place.”
“That was their fault, not mine.”
“I know, I’m just saying, they probably didn’t expect you to make it out, so they probably didn’t have a backup plan ready.”
“I find that hard to believe. People like Ames always have backup plans. They can’t afford not to.”
“Then they’re probably just getting ready for you.”
“Speaking of getting ready…”
Jacobs, knowing he was out of ammunition from the vacant apartments, went into the garage and into a tall cabinet to restock his weapons. He shoved magazines and a couple of guns into a black bag, then went back inside the house, where he picked up his guns off the table and put them in the bag as well. He put the bag on the couch, then grabbed his vest off the floor and put it next to it.
“Going somewhere?” Franks asked.
“Just want to be ready and not waste time when the call comes in.” Jacobs hesitated for a second and froze, thinking the unthinkable. “If it comes.”
