by Mike Ryan
“Wonder what they’re planning for this?”
Jacobs sighed. “Guess I’ll know when I get there.”
20
Jacobs and Franks sat in the car, staring at the building. It felt so familiar to the last one they visited. There was one big difference with this one, though. It wasn’t as big as the Jefferson Apartments. The Woodside building was only two floors and used to be an office complex, with various businesses setting up shop within its walls. It’d probably been vacant for close to a year, with most of the businesses relocating to either bigger or better locations.
Gunner was in the back seat, raring to go. He was panting and pacing all over the seat. He was ready for round two.
“They’re sure to have some surprise in there waiting for you,” Franks said.
“No doubt about it.”
“Might even be more explosive than the last time. They’ll learn from that.”
“Maybe.”
“Doesn’t bother you?”
“Only thing that bothers me is there’s a woman in there who’s probably scared out of her mind and wondering what’s going on and why this is happening to her. That’s what bothers me. The rest of it is just background noise.”
“Man, I don’t know how you get used to this.”
Jacobs shrugged. “You just do.”
“Well, at least it’s a little different this time. Remember, you got help out here now. You don’t have to do it alone.”
Jacobs wasn’t sure how true that was. “Maybe.”
“Butch has got six of his boys out here hiding in the weeds. As soon as you give the signal, I’ll give them the word to go in. You don’t have to get surrounded like last time.”
“But it was so much fun.”
“Yeah. Just remember, you got help out here. OK?”
Jacobs nodded and smiled. “Hopefully I’ll get a chance to call for it.”
“Nobody’s going in until you give the word, man, so make sure you give it.”
Jacobs nodded again. He wasn’t sure what would happen, but he thought it would probably be different than the last time. At least in some way. They would change something up after the last plan failed. Jacobs looked in the back seat at his trusty companion.
“You ready to go, bud?”
Gunner let out a loud bark.
“I guess that means yes?” Franks asked.
Jacobs smiled. “He’s ready.”
“You two take care of each other in there.”
“Always do.”
Jacobs got out of their car, keeping the door open for Gunner to jump in the front seat and then exit through the open door. Jacobs kept Gunner off-leash, knowing he wasn’t going anywhere. They slowly started walking towards the building, which was about fifty yards away from the car. Jacobs kept his eyes peeled, looking all around in case something or someone popped out unexpectedly. Like the last building, there was a fence around the property, but it wasn’t even the metal kind. It was basically just the orange plastic safety fence that was put around the perimeter. Once they got to it, Jacobs pulled out a folding knife and cut it open. Once through it, they continued their march toward the building.
“Stay alert, buddy.”
Jacobs debated entering through the front door, or whether he should try the back, but assumed they would think he would be coming in through the back too. So he decided to go in through the front. When they finally made it to the door, Jacobs tried to open it, but it seemed to be locked. Most of the door was glass, with just the outside trim encased in wood. If he broke the glass, he assumed they would then know he was there. He took a few steps back and took several powerful kicks at the door to see if he could pry it open, but it was no luck. Not wanting to waste any more time, he just took his gun and smashed part of the glass, the rest of it falling to pieces on the ground. Gunner wanted to go through it, but Jacobs held him back for a second, wanting to see if something happened first.
Without seeing any issues at first, Gunner jumped through the door, Jacobs following him. Jacobs immediately saw several doors on each side of the hallway. Just like the other building, they’d have to clear them first before going past them. Each door was closed, so Jacobs opened them, allowing Gunner to go in and check first while Jacobs kept an eye on the hallway for any unexpected guests.
They went through the first doors with no issues. Jacobs was somewhat surprised they hadn’t run into any trouble yet. He assumed that Tiffany would be held on the second floor, but they still had to go through the rest of the first floor before heading up there. The thought did run through his mind that she wasn’t there either, but he still had to go through the process. Luckily, it wasn’t as big of a building as the last one. Not only was it two floors instead of five, it also wasn’t as long. There were only six more doors to check on the first floor. They methodically went through each of them, finding nothing. Each of the rooms was empty, and there were no signs of Ames’ men either. Something wasn’t right, Jacobs thought. With the first floor clear, he stood at the bottom of the steps, to which there was no door, and pulled out his phone to call Franks.
“How’s it shaking in there?”
“Not a sign of anybody yet,” Jacobs replied. “We’re through the first floor.”
“Maybe that talk about you shooting anybody you saw had an effect. Maybe they’re steering clear.”
“Maybe.” Jacobs hesitated before saying anything else and looked around. “Still… something seems off here.”
“Like?”
“Like I don’t know. It seems… too easy now.”
“Really? Before it was too hard and now it’s too easy? Just take the wins when you can get ‘em, man. Be grateful they don’t have a battalion set up for you.”
Jacobs knew something was wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but something just wasn’t right. He didn’t have time to sit there and analyze what it was, but he guessed he would find out soon enough.
“All right, stay ready if I need you.”
“You got it,” Franks said.
Upon putting his phone back in its pouch, Jacobs looked at Gunner. “Stay sharp.” He motioned for Gunner to go up first, which he did. Jacobs stayed close on his heels, though. Once they got to the second floor, there was a closed door. Jacobs had a feeling that as soon as he opened it, they’d start to feel the action. He took a few deep breaths as he put his hand on the handle and looked at Gunner to make sure he was ready. Then he pulled the door open quickly and dropped to a knee, pointing his gun in the middle of the hallway, all in one motion. Gunner ran through the door, looking for someone to attack. There was nothing there.
Jacobs apprehensively got to his feet and started walking, still expecting someone to jump out at them. They got to the first door, and they did the same as they did on the first floor. They went through each and every door, not finding anything inside.
“What’s going on here?” Jacobs whispered.
They kept going down the hall until they had two doors left. Jacobs was now expecting to find nothing in them, though he still couldn’t afford to let his guard down. After he opened the door and let Gunner inside, Jacobs looked all around, still waiting for a surprise. He couldn’t believe there was nothing there. They moved to the last door on the floor. Jacobs opened it and Gunner sprinted inside. Jacobs took a peek, then did a double take, shocked to see Tiffany seated there. She was in a chair, her hands and feet tied together behind the chair, and she had a gag in her mouth. Jacobs took one last look around before going in. Gunner didn’t appear to have any problems.
As Jacobs started walking into the room, Tiffany violently shook her head at him. She also tried to say something, but with the gag, it was tough for Jacobs to understand what it was. As Jacobs approached her, he did a three-sixty, making sure nobody was waiting to attack him. Satisfied the room was empty outside of her, Jacobs rushed over to her to make sure she was OK.
“Gunner, door.”
As Gunner went over to the door t
o guard against any unwanted intrusions, Jacobs holstered his gun and carefully took the gag out of Tiffany’s mouth. Once it was out, he put one of his hands on each side of her face.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Please, you have to leave,” Tiffany replied.
“What?”
“They planted bombs all over the place.”
“What?”
“You have to go.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Tiffany tried to smile at him, though she just started crying. “Please, I don’t think there’s time.”
With his hands still on her face, he moved in a little closer. “I am not leaving you. C’mon, I’ll get you untied.”
Jacobs moved around to the back of the chair. Then he saw it. There was a bomb strapped to the wood of the seat. There were several wires, one of which looked as if it was attached to the duct tape going around her hands and ankles. He cleared his throat and let out a sigh.
“I told you there’s no time. Please, just go and save yourself.”
Jacobs moved back around to the front of the chair. “I told you. I’m not going anywhere. We’re getting out of here together. OK?” Tiffany nodded, though she was still scared. “Is this the only one?”
Tiffany shook her head. “I’m not sure. They blindfolded me for a bit so I couldn’t see.”
“OK. It’s OK. We’ll get out of here. I promise.”
“It’s a bomb.”
“I know. I know. Luckily, when I was in the police department, I hung out with the bomb squad guys once in a while. They taught me a few things.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So just relax. I’ll get through this.”
Now that Tiffany was a little calmer, Jacobs moved to the back of the chair again. He got down on one knee, put one hand on his thigh and the other over his mouth as his elbow rested on his knee. He sized up the situation. Some of what he told Tiffany was true. He did get a few tips from the bomb squad as he was friends with a few of the members, but he’d never tried to diffuse one himself. He was mostly just trying to make Tiffany feel better about the situation and calm her down. As for himself, he wasn’t quite sure he knew what he was doing. But there was no going back now. He had to try. There were only two options and two outcomes. He’d either figure it out, and they’d get out together, or he’d do something wrong and they’d blow up together. Leaving her was not on the table.
There was a timer on the bomb, and it was counting down. There was about thirty minutes left. At least he had some time to figure it out and wasn’t down to seconds and just guessing, though it may come down to that, anyway. With Gunner guarding the door, he knew he didn’t have to worry about being interrupted. He’d give him an alert if someone was coming.
Jacobs knew he had to get started. He wiped his face, his mouth, his head, then wiped his hands on his pants. He was nervous. He carefully touched the wires, trying to see where they all led to. There was a red, green, and blue wire.
“Are you able to do it?” Tiffany asked.
“Yeah. Yeah. I can do it. It’ll just take a few minutes, OK?”
Tiffany tried to breathe easier, though it was tough to relax when there was a bomb strapped to your chair.
Jacobs mumbled under his breath. “I hope I can do it.”
21
Jacobs took out a small pair of scissors from one of the pouches on his vest. He grabbed one of the wires and put the scissors near it, thinking about cutting it. Just as he was about to make a move, his phone rang. He slightly jumped and took a deep breath, a little startled. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm as he took his phone out.
“I’m a little busy, Eddie.”
“Doing what?!”
“Well, I’ve got a…”
“Listen, I can see a bunch of people going in that building right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“People. Going in. Now.”
“How many people?”
“I’m not sure; can’t count specific numbers from where I am. Looks to be maybe five or six. And that’s just the front.”
“What do you mean just the front?”
“Well, looks like a few went around to the back too.”
“From the same group?”
“No, different. Looks like you’ll have a welcoming party in each direction.”
“Great, just what I need right now.”
“Why, what’s wrong? You find Tiff yet?”
“Uh, yeah, yeah, I found her.”
“So what’s the problem? Sounds like something’s wrong.”
“Just a little problem,” Jacobs said. “She’s sitting here tied to a chair.”
“So what’s the deal? Just untie her and get out of there.”
“The bigger problem is there’s a bomb strapped to it.”
Franks was almost speechless. “Um…”
“Yeah.”
“There’s a, uh… a… a bomb? You sure?”
“Yeah, pretty sure. I’m looking right at it.”
“Well, what’s it look like?”
“It looks like a bomb.”
“I got that part. Is it on a timer, is it just set to explode, what?”
“On a timer.”
“How much time?”
“Twenty-six minutes.”
“Oh. Plenty of time, then.”
“Says you. You’re not the one looking at it.”
“I got an idea.”
“What?”
“Send me a picture of it.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause I wanna remember it! Why do you think? I got someone who can help.”
“There’s no time to get someone here and get them through that traffic downstairs.”
“No. I can get him on the line, show him the pic, then he can walk you through it.”
Jacobs was skeptical. “Who is this guy? Some kind of nut?”
“No, man, why you gotta be like that? This is a respectable guy. Well, respectable in terms of knowing his way around explosives. Wouldn’t say he’s necessarily respectable in certain other things, but that’s completely beside the point.”
“Uh, OK, I guess we can give it a shot.” Jacobs took a picture of the device and sent it to Franks.
“OK, I got it. Listen, don’t do nothing until I hear back from this guy.”
“Sure. I’ll just sit here and have a cocktail while I’m waiting. I got nothing else going on or anything.”
“Don’t be like that. Just hang on tight, all right?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Is everything OK?” Tiffany asked, getting more nervous as the time went by.
Jacobs moved around to the front of the chair. “Yeah, it’s good. I think I know which wires to cut. I sent a picture to someone just to make sure. So I’m just waiting to hear back from him.”
“You think you know?”
Jacobs got down to one knee and put his hand on her cheek. “We’re going to get out of this, OK? Don’t worry.”
Tiffany tried to force a smile. A tear slipped out of her eye. “Kind of hard not to do when there’s a bomb strapped to you.”
“I know.” Jacobs wiped the tear from her eye. “Listen, I’m sorry this happened.” He shook his head as he tried to find the words. “I’m really sorry. This is all my fault. It’s all my fault.”
Tiffany shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
“I knew it was a mistake to see you. I knew something like this could happen. That’s why I resisted. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I didn’t want…”
“Stop. Just stop.” Tiffany’s eyes started tearing up again. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. You can’t control what other people do. This is the fault of the people who did this. Not you. You can’t live your life afraid of what might happen because of every move you make. You have to live. I don’t blame you.” Jacobs put his head down, and he started tearing up as well. “It’s not your fault, Brett.�
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“I wish I could believe it.”
“You should. Because it’s true.”
“Doesn’t make it easier to accept.”
“If something happens here, or you’re not able to figure this out in time…”
“Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Just… if it does. I want you to promise me you’ll just go and leave me.”
“No. That’s not going to happen.”
“Brett, please, if something happens, I want you to go on and live your life and try to stop blaming yourself for everything that happens. It’s not your fault. I want you to understand that.”
“We are getting out of here. Together. And that’s that.”
Tiffany smiled and nodded. She just hoped it was in one piece. A minute later, Jacobs’ phone rang.
“Yeah?”
“Listen, my guy says to cut the red and blue wires.”
“He’s sure?”
“Says he’s positive. Says it’s a relatively simple bomb to make and deactivate. Says the green wire’s a dead man switch, and if you cut that, you’re all going up.”
“How much faith you put into this guy?”
“When it comes to explosives, I’d put my life in his hands.”
“How ’bout ours?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Then trust me when I say this guy knows his stuff. Trust me on this.”
Jacobs sighed. “OK. Red and blue.” It also happened to be the ones he thought about cutting. Jacobs looked at Tiffany and smiled. “We’re getting out of here now.”
Jacobs moved around to the back of the chair and knelt down. He gently picked up the blue wire and put it between the scissors. Though he believed it was the right one, there was still naturally some apprehension about it. He closed his eyes and pressed down on the scissors, cutting the wire in half.
“One down.”
He then gently grabbed the red wire and put it between the scissors. He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. He pressed down and cut it. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and looked at the timer. It was off. He took another deep breath and wiped his forehead.
