JACKS ARE WILD

by Christopher Greyson

  Jack opened the door.

  Marisa was tied onto a bed, but her head was turned, and she glared at the door. Her eyes locked with Jack’s. Her mouth twisted and he could see the mix of hope and disbelief in her eyes. She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. The truth appeared on her face like a sunrise; the doubt faded until her eyes suddenly widened and gleamed.

  She lost it. Her chest heaved and she sobbed and strained against her bonds.

  Oh, Angel…

  A surge of emotions crashed within him. His chest tightened and he could feel the rush of adrenaline course through his body. Instantly, he was at the side of the bed. Jack’s palm smashed the headboard and pieces of wood flew against the wall. He pulled her wrists free. Marisa wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.

  “Jack. Jack,” she sobbed.

  “I’m here, Angel. I’m right here. I gotcha.” Jack held her tightly.

  She clung to him.

  Kiku appeared in the doorway, and a knife flashed in her hands. She cut Marisa’s ropes and then patted her down, looking her over for any injury. She stood up and nodded to Jack.

  Replacement appeared in the doorway, and Jennifer stood behind her.

  “Jack, Morrison will be here any minute. Alice and Kiku have to go. If they’re found here…”

  Jack nodded.

  “The town isn’t that far. Can you make it to the base and catch a ride back to the hotel? Cut down the trails so no one coming from town will see you. We’ll meet you back at the Imperial as soon as we’re done.”

  Replacement shook her head. “I stay with Jack.”

  Kiku leaned in and whispered into her ear.

  Replacement clenched her teeth and gave a curt nod. She walked past Jennifer and Kiku. “Is that the plan? We go back to the Imperial, and you meet us there? How long?”

  Jack shook his head. “It could be awhile.”

  Kiku looked at Jack, and her lips pressed together. “How will you explain this?”

  Jack shrugged. “I’ll figure out something. I’m thinking about going with the man-in-the-cape angle.”

  Jennifer paced the room. “Wipe down and leave your gun,” she told Kiku.

  Kiku turned to Jack.

  “Yeah. If not, ballistics will start looking for you and your gun.”

  Marisa continued to cry, and Jack just held onto her.

  Replacement’s hand reached out for Marisa and hovered just above her shoulder. She left it there briefly before she turned and walked away.

  “I’ll keep an eye on her.” Kiku winked at Jack and left.

  Jennifer looked at him, and then slipped out of the room.

  Marisa wept, and Jack gently rocked her. He could only imagine what she’d gone through, and right now he just wanted to get her to the hospital.

  “Angel?” Jack whispered.

  Marisa glanced up at him. Deep black circles stood out under her eyes, and the right side of her face was swollen. She searched his face, and a brief smile flashed across her lips before she buried her face in his neck and pulled him close.

  “Jack, please get me out of here.”

  “The police will be here in a minute.” Jack rubbed her back.

  “Please? Get me out of this room.” She continued to cry.

  “I will. I’m going to take you out to the car, but I’m going to carry you, okay?”

  She nodded.

  Jack lifted her up in his arms and carried her out of the room. He pressed her face into his shoulder so she wouldn’t see the carnage inside the cabin. The left side had a large double window next to the door. Jack had to step over the body of the guy blocking his path.

  Jack frowned as he passed him. He cradled Marisa, stepping down the two short steps, and looked across the open field that Jennifer had crossed.

  Marisa gulped in deep breaths of cool air and blinked rapidly. He could feel her long lashes against his neck. Through the woods he saw the Impala. Jennifer hadn’t driven all the way up to the house. He carried Marisa to Prescott’s car. He yanked open the rear door with one hand and gently set her down. He pulled the seat belt around her and it clicked into place. “I’ll call Ilario and tell him you’re safe as soon as I have a signal.”

  She smiled up at him.

  Where’s Morrison? He should have been here by now.

  As he reached into his pocket for his phone, he remembered Jennifer had taken it.

  His jaw clenched as several thoughts sped through his mind.

  Her screaming at Prescott when he mentioned Marisa’s tattoo. Her thinking he lived on the third floor. Her running—not limping.

  He stood up and looked at the spot where the four of them had crouched before they came to the house. Her words slammed into his head.

  He sent me a text…he may try to get revenge against Severino by killing her.

  Jack froze.

  Jennifer lost her phone in the garage.

  As Jack started to turn, the bullet tore into his side. He stumbled against the car. He twisted around and pitched forward. All of the wind was knocked out of him as he landed face first in the dirt.

  “Jack,” Marisa screamed.

  Jennifer ran up and pistol-whipped Marisa in the side of the head. Her head snapped back, and she fell onto her side on the seat. Jack blinked rapidly as he tried to get his breath, but he felt as though someone had a foot on his throat. He coughed and could taste the blood. He couldn’t breathe.

  Lunged.

  His muscles weren’t cooperating as his hand fumbled for his gun. The slightest motion caused pain to sear through him.

  Jennifer picked up his pistol and heaved it back toward the house. “I tried to get you to stop, Jack,” she growled.

  Jack lay there helplessly as he struggled to breathe. He could only take in the slightest bit of air before he had to exhale. His vision blurred.

  Jennifer squatted down. “I’m sorry about having to shoot you, Jack. I am. But I’m going to give Marisa over to the Mancinis and get my ten million. This actually is working out better with your stupid interference. Now that you’ve killed my partners, I get to keep it all.”

  Jack tried to speak but couldn’t. He just shook his head.

  “What? Speak up.” She sneered. “They won’t get me, if that’s what you’re trying to say. They won’t even be looking for me. Once I send Marisa down the ski lift, the Mancinis send the money up at the same time. Nice, huh? Of course, she’ll be dead by the time she reaches the bottom. I’ll give her just the thing to make sure of that. That’s my present to Severino. Right after they get her body, I’ll give them a call. I’ll warn them you were in on it and give them the number of the room at the Imperial. I’m sure they’ll be real nice to Kiku and Alice.”

  “Bitch.” Jack coughed, and blood sprayed across the ground.

  He wheezed in a deeper breath.

  “Yeah. But now I’m a rich bitch. Now I’m the one who gets to disappear and start over.”

  She stood up.

  “If you weren’t such a Boy Scout, you might have saved the girl. I’m sure you’d have figured it out. I played Prescott, and he went right along with my idea. Men are so easy. All you have to do is press the right buttons. With Walter, it was hate. He couldn’t stand that he was going to retire without beating Severino. But you? You’re the white knight. The guy at the garage wasn’t there to kill me. He was getting instructions from me. But you thought I needed rescuing.”

  Jack spat up some blood.

  “You’re a good guy, Jack. And the good always die young. They should find your body in a couple days.”

  Jennifer walked around and got into Prescott’s car with Marisa. Jack kept his head down as they drove away.

  Damn it. Do it. Breathe, Jack. You’re lunged. Army Emergency Evac class. Plug the hole.

  He felt through his shirt for the bullet hole. If he had any air in his lungs, he’d be screaming as he pushed some of the fabric from his shirt into the wound. He forced himself to inhale dee
ply, and the pain felt as though his chest was being torn in two. He coughed, and his mouth filled with blood. He spit it out, but at least he could draw in a little air.

  This will probably kill me—plugging the hole this way—but I just need to buy enough time to get to Marisa.

  He clawed at the ground and pulled himself to his feet. He could see the Impala through the woods.

  Move.

  He started to stumble forward and forced his legs to keep going. More blood seeped from his mouth, and he gritted his teeth.

  No time. Faster.

  He held the wound on his side as he stumbled through the small stretch of woods. Everything was becoming gray. He knew, with a chest wound, the last thing he should do is move, but he forced himself to stagger faster until he finally leaned against the Impala. His bloody hands fumbled for the door handle. The big door swung open, and he fought for air.

  Breathe. Made it. Breathe.

  One hand grabbed the door, and he swayed as his vision blurred. Air wheezed out of his lungs, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Jack’s head hung down, and he looked at the door panel.

  Get it.

  He grabbed the panel.

  This is going to hurt.

  Jack yanked hard, and the panel popped open. The pain felt like a knife in his chest, and he fell forward against the doorframe. He reached down and pulled out Paolo’s Magnum.

  Two shots left.

  He dropped the gun on the seat and sat down. As he dragged his legs in, his right arm seemed to be cooperating more than the left.

  No…

  Jack stared at the ignition. There were no keys in it.

  Jennifer took them after she went to get help.

  His hand shook uncontrollably as he reached up and strained to grab the ignition.

  Come on, baby.

  He tried to jiggle the worn-out dial, but it didn’t turn.

  Please, girl. Please.

  The ignition rotated forward, and the Impala roared to life.

  Good girl.

  He slammed the Impala into reverse. The car sped backward until he reached the main road, pumped the brakes, and spun the wheel. Jack slumped sideways and spit up more blood.

  Groaning, he grabbed the steering wheel tightly and pulled himself to a sitting position. The transmission clicked into drive, and he jammed the gas pedal to the floor. He struggled with his left hand but managed to pull the seat belt across his chest.

  She’s headed for the ski lift.

  Jack tried to mentally recall the map Replacement had pulled up on her laptop when they’d reached the cabin.

  She’ll have to go all the way down and then cross over to the road. There’s another dirt road that runs straight down. I can cut her off and get in front of her.

  Jack’s feet fumbled with the brake pedal as he furiously raced down the curving roads. He scanned ahead for the turn and gritted his teeth when he saw it. Both feet jammed down on the brake, slowing him down enough to take the hard right.

  No one would call it a road—it was a logging path that ran straight down—but it was his only chance of getting to Marisa in time. Rocks pinged off the undercarriage of the Impala, and branches raked the car. One deep pothole tossed him sideways, and his head slammed into the window. His vision blurred, and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. His eyes burned, and he blinked rapidly. He glanced at his hands and saw they were covered in blood.

  After he swerved right around another pothole, the whole car lurched left as he clipped a tree. The sound of crushing metal filled his ears as the car scraped along the pine trunk. In the rearview mirror, he saw his quarter panel spin off into the woods.

  The road curved slightly left, and he fought the wheel as the front end kicked in the air off a rock. As the Impala shot forward, he was pushed into the seat belt, and pain exploded from his side.

  The shirt came out. Damn.

  His left hand shook as he reached again for his wound. Gulping for air that would only come in the smallest amounts, he struggled to see as branches raked the windshield. He grasped the fabric and swore as he crammed it into the hole in his side.

  A huge branch ripped off the driver’s side mirror, and the windshield spider-webbed with a loud crack. The wheel pulled left, which brought him swinging dangerously toward a tree, and he yanked right hard with both hands. The Impala straightened out, and so did the road. Jack tried to press himself back into the seat as his left hand started to shake.

  Through the woods he saw the sedan. He was ahead of it now. If he went a little farther, he could double back. He floored it, and the shocks groaned in protest. The main road approached, and he locked up the brakes and cut the wheel.

  His vision blurred, and his right hand trembled as he reached over and picked up the heavy Magnum.

  He jammed the gas pedal down and the Impala surged forward. Jennifer’s car came around the corner up ahead.

  The sedan has an air bag. I have to hit her hard enough that Jennifer’s not getting out. No way I live.

  Jack rubbed the dashboard.

  Sorry, baby. I don’t think either of us makes it out today.

  Jack steadied Paolo’s gun on the dashboard as the speedometer’s pointer raced up.

  I’ll never be able to hold the kick. I’ll only get one shot.

  The shot blew out the windshield, and Jack winced as the huge gun jerked back. The Magnum spewed smoke and fire. Jack let it fall to the floor and put both hands on the wheel.

  Steady.

  Prescott’s car kept coming straight at him.

  She’ll try to cut right.

  He could see Jennifer now, and she looked scared.

  Marisa’s in the back with a seat belt. She should be safe.

  Jennifer was shooting now, and bullets pinged off the Impala.

  Jack made sure he flashed her a bloody grin.

  For one split second, everything froze. He saw Marisa. Her head rose. She was in the backseat, and she looked directly at him.

  Love. Guilt. Anguish. Anger.

  Jack didn’t know whether he could actually see all of those emotions on her face, or whether he just knew her so intimately he could tell her thoughts.

  Please let her live.

  Jennifer hit the brakes.

  Jack hit the gas.

  Tires screeched. Glass shattered. Metal exploded.

  Everything went black.

  Fool’s Bargain

  Jack coughed and blood flew all over the dashboard. His head rested against cold glass. Puzzled, he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but he could see the driver side window of the Impala somehow hadn’t broken. As he looked around, he saw everything else had.

  The whole front seat was at a strange angle; twisted metal rods poked through the firewall into the leg section of the passenger seat. Glass was everywhere, and the passenger door was gone.

  Jack let his head roll to the left. Prescott’s car was fused together with the Impala. His eyes searched for Marisa, but he could only see a small empty portion of the sedan’s backseat. His breath was ragged and, as he exhaled, he could hear bubbling in his chest. He let his head fall back against the window. Smoke rose from the engines of the cars, but Jack could no longer move. His right hand twitched uncontrollably, and his legs were numb. He closed his eyes and listened to the hissing from somewhere in the wreckage.

  The metal clinking on the road caused him to open his eyes. Someone stood where the passenger side door had been. Jack groaned as he tilted his head. Marisa stood there with tears running down her face. She shook her head. She knelt on the front seat where broken glass crunched beneath her.

  “It’s okay, Angel.” Jack wheezed.

  “No, not you, baby. Not you…” She touched his hand, but he couldn’t feel it.

  “Listen.” Jack wheezed.

  Crying, she pulled herself closer. She winced and gritted her teeth.

  “No regrets.” Jack coughed.

  Marisa’s hand reached out and softly caresse
d his face.

  “No. Please, Jack. I can’t lose you, too. Not because of me.”

  Jack tried to shake his head, but the pain cut off what little air he was getting.

  “Favor?” His throat tightened.

  Marisa nodded and tears fell on his shoulder.

  “Live.”

  She sobbed and sat back on her haunches; she held up a hand while the other went to her mouth. Weeping, she nodded and moved out of the car.

  “Hang on. I’ll get help. I’ll get help,” she repeated as she stumbled backward.

  She has no shoes.

  Marisa started to run, and Jack’s eyes narrowed. At first he thought she ran the wrong way but then he realized the impact had spun the cars around almost one hundred eighty degrees.

  Marisa’s hair fanned out as she raced away. She ran down the hill, and Jack smiled as he thought of the little girl in the picture.

  She’ll be okay.

  Jack coughed and could feel the cold glass against the side of his face. He looked over at Prescott’s car, and he could see Jennifer slumped over the steering wheel.

  She’s dead.

  He watched as Marisa disappeared in the distance.

  Fool’s bargain.

  He closed his eyes.

  **********

  “JACK, JACK!”

  Someone stood next to the driver’s side of the car and beat on the window.

  Jack’s eyes slowly opened. Replacement pulled at the door with all her might. Her eyes were huge, and tears poured down her face. Jack lifted his head. He coughed, but no blood came out. Replacement ran around the car so she could crawl onto the seat. Her hands hovered over his broken body.

  “Jack, what can I do?” she pleaded.

  “Marisa…ran…down.”

  Replacement looked back, and he could see Kiku standing there.

  “Kiku? Kiku, what can I do?” Replacement begged.

  Kiku lowered her eyes.

  Tell her.

  Replacement’s hand touched his head. “I’m going for help. Don’t you give up. Damn it, Jack, please don’t leave me.”

  “Alice…” Jack swallowed. “Thanks.”