Bridge Over Troubled Water

by Alfonso Vaughn

  "Complaints about a domestic," Darryl explained. "Officers made the routine call. Husband said he had a gun, his family was being held, and that he wanted to talk to you. Only you."

  Why me? wondered Jerry.

  A subordinate offered Darryl a printout, but Jerry snatched it out of his hands and immediately read the information. It took him a few seconds to remember the name...

  "Jesus Christ. Get me a radio and mic."

  The SWAT team leader had one ready for Darryl, but passed it over to Jerry, who put the earpiece in, connected it to the radio, and tucked it all into his jacket pocket.

  "Did you two kiss and make up?" he asked.

  Darryl and the SWAT team leader sheepishly nodded.

  "Thermal scans of the house indicate two adults, three children," the SWAT team leader explained. "All in the front left living room."

  From behind a squad car, a radio operator pointed a listening device at the house.

  "It's gettin' loud and hairy in there."

  The SWAT team leader took out a handgun and offered it to Jerry, who refused the weapon.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Were all your men out drinking before they came here?"

  "Of course not!"

  "Then we're good."

  "And we're ready to go on your call."

  And with that, the SWAT team leader left for a better vantage point to oversee the operation.

  Darryl turned to Jerry, a concerned expression on his face.

  "You look like shit."

  "I feel like shit."

  "Want me to handle this?"

  "I still get the cheese, kid. Just watch. Watch what is happening all round you. Understand everyone's roles and the relationships."

  And with those words of wisdom, he moved off towards the house. Darryl was still concerned by Jerry's state of mind and appearance.

  "Jerry...be careful in there."

  Jerry nodded and continued on.

  Marcus was drenched in alcohol and sweat. He poured more vodka into his mouth. His petrified wife, Sara, and his young children watched in disbelief and horror. Their hands and legs were bound.

  "Marcus, please," pleaded Sara.

  "Shut up, whore. Shut up!"

  "But you forgave me."

  "No more. I'm too focused now."

  "You're screwing up our children!"

  "After tonight, they're gonna need a shrink for the rest of their lives."

  "Why? Why are you doing this?"

  "Because the next life has to be better than this one. But I need my respect back, first."

  Knocking at the door brought a slight relief to this madness.

  "Fuck off! This is family business."

  "Marcus. It's Jerry Craig."

  Marcus carefully peeked through the window and then stepped towards the door.

  "Should have let me jump, Jerry. You put me in this position."

  "I'm coming in."

  Marcus trained the weapon on Sara, back-stepped to the front door and opened it. As soon as Marcus saw him, Jerry became the new target.

  "Are you alone?"

  Jerry held up his arms.

  "And unarmed."

  He entered, closed the door, and took in the situation.

  "What's going on, Marcus?"

  Jerry was ushered into the living room, took a position so that everyone was in his line of sight.

  "Should have let me jump, Jerry."

  "If I knew this was coming..."

  "Too late. It's too late!"

  "It's never too late."

  "Believe me. It's too late"

  "Then why did you call me, Marcus?"

  "Because you had to see it firsthand. Your actions, your words caused this!"

  "I was trying to save your life!"

  "All you did was destroy theirs."

  "So what? You're gonna butcher your family? Not going to happen, Marcus. You'll get one shot away before some hotshot sniper takes your head off. Don't believe me?"

  Jerry activated his mic.

  "Show beams."

  A dozen red beams danced around Marcus's body and head. They disappeared two seconds later.

  "See what I mean? So let's stop this. Get you help."

  "Help, for me? I'm not the one who broke this trust."

  "So your wife fucked another guy. It happens every hour, every day, in every city in America!"

  Silence. Jerry studied the children.

  "Let me take the kids out, Marcus. They're innocents. Come on. Help me out. They shouldn't be here. They shouldn't have to witness this..."

  Jerry moved to the kids.

  "I'm untying them. You wanna shoot me, shoot me."

  He leaned down, untied the kids. Marcus's anxiety rose, the sweat affecting his grip on the gun.

  Darryl listened to the conversation through a pair of headphones.

  "What the hell is he doing?"

  Everyone else listening in was thinking the exact same thing.

  The gun shook in Marcus's hand. Conflicting emotions attacked his brain as Jerry untied the kids, lifted the two smallest up, and turned to the eldest.

  "Follow me to the door. Understand?"

  The eldest kid first glanced at Marcus, who didn't offer any objection, then nodded at Jerry, who turned to Sara.

  "I'll be back in ten seconds."

  Sara was paralyzed with fear.

  "Do you understand me?" pressed Jerry.

  Sara managed to nod. Jerry took that as his lead and moved to the door. He struggled with the kids' weight, but managed to talk into the mic.

  "The kids are coming out."

  Jerry opened the door enough for them to escape. He waved at the eldest kid to get his attention and pointed at Darryl.

  "Bring your brother and sister to that man over there. Do you understand me?"

  The eldest kid didn't need a second invitation: he took his siblings by the hand and brought them over as fast as possible.

  Jerry closed the door, cautiously walked back into the living room, and made eye contact with Marcus.

  "Well? Are we all gonna walk out of here?"

  "You were right, Jerry," Marcus replied. "I couldn't do it in front of the kids."

  The bullet destroyed Sara's face.

  Her lifeless body collapsed to the floor.

  "No!" screamed Jerry as he took cover, for he knew what was coming next. Bullets rained in from the windows, impacting all over Marcus's body.

  He fell to the ground.

  Jerry scanned over the destruction. Swallowed hard. Particles of debris seemed to dance in the light of the targeting lasers as they floated down to the floor.

  Deflated, Jerry walked away from the house as emergency personnel ran past him. Darryl approached.

  "Not now!" yelled Jerry.

  Darryl grabbed him by the jacket.

  "You left the wife wide open in there! It was completely unprofessional!"

  Jerry grabbed him back.

  "Well, we couldn't have sent you in. Then they would have all been odds-on to die!"

  Jerry tried to free himself from Darryl's grip, but he wouldn't let go. Their momentum forced them down onto the lawn. It turned into a wrestling match, then became a fist fight. Nearby officers had to neglect their duties and try to separate them. They eventually did, got the two men to their feet, and moved them apart.

  "You're a liability!" screamed Darryl.

  Jerry broke his restraints, punched Darryl, and walked away.

  "Take a goddamn holiday, cheese-eater," mocked Darryl.

  Jerry arrived at a police car and exchanged words with the officer beside it. They both got in, and the car drove away from the scene.

  Darryl regained his composure. The others went back to work. Helms finished a phone call and ran over.

  "Darryl, where's Craig?"

  "Sulking over his ruined record. Why?"

  "You know t
hat woman he's been seeing?"

  "Lindsay Allen."

  "They just found her husband's body in the Coast Ranges mountains."

  Darryl's eyes widened.

  "No way."

  "Bring him in."

  "Yes, Captain."

  Jerry closed his house's front door and switched on the main light.

  "Ellie. Ellie!"

  "She's not here."

  Jerry froze. He knew that voice all too well.

  He walked into the living room and shook his head when he saw his ex, Deborah. It was too awkward: neither had anything more to say at that particular moment.

  Jerry's cell broke the tension. He answered.

  "Yes, Chou. No, I'm not gonna make it. Put a grand on her to win."

  He hung up, stared down Deborah.

  "I didn't think you would show."

  "I have time in my life for my daughter when she needs me."

  Jerry just couldn't bring the words to his mouth.

  "I could have taken her years ago if you had let me," Deborah continued.

  "Well, you've got her now. Logan's in London. Ellie needs her son in her life. I'm all out of ideas. I have to take her comfort zone away. Where is she?"

  "She called me a bitch, slapped me, and ran out."

  "What did you say to her?"

  She didn't answer.

  "What the fuck did you say to her?"

  "The truth. You were too busy. Weren't responsible anymore. And needed time away from her. I see she's back on the drugs. The stupid little girl didn't even know what time of day it was. Don't get me started on her clothes."

  "What the hell have you done?"

  He sprinted out of the house.

  Out front, Darryl's car skidded to a halt. He quickly got out. Jerry didn't even acknowledge him, but hurried into the passenger seat. He banged his hand on the window.

  "Let's go, let's go!"

  Darryl, caught in two minds, got into the car.

  The fog was bad on the Golden Gate. The ground wasn't even visible. A baked Ellie approached and walked right past the Bridge Authority hut that guarded the bridge.

  In Darryl's car, Jerry stared at the speedometer, then at the wheel, and then at Darryl.

  "Can't this thing go any faster?"

  Darryl accelerated.

  "They found Lindsay's husband's body, Jerry."

  "Good, the pig deserved to die."

  "Where's Lindsay?"

  "Who knows?"

  "Were you not in Vegas together?"

  "Darryl, right now, my concern is my daughter."

  Helms' voice crackled through the radio.

  "Darryl. Come in, Darryl."

  Darryl picked up the mic. "Go ahead, Captain."

  "Found Craig yet?"

  Jerry's eyes pleaded with Darryl not to turn him in.

  "He wasn't at home. On my way to the track now."

  "Allen has been arrested in France. She's confessed. Craig killed the husband so they could be together."

  Jerry bit his tongue.

  "I don't believe it," said Darryl.

  "Neither do I, but we go by the book. Arrest him on sight."

  "Yes, Captain."

  Darryl set down the mic.

  "Don't ask me the question," Jerry said. "I'll come with you once we find Ellie."

  "What the fuck have you done?"

  Jerry did not, could not, and would not answer; he just stared out the window. Approaching in the distance was the Golden Gate.

  Ellie climbed over the Golden Gate's rail and lowered herself onto the pipe. The fog was so thick, it obscured her from the waist down.

  At the Bridge Authority hut, Darryl's car screeched to a halt. Jerry nearly lost his footing, he got out so fast. He ran to the hut and banged on the door. It eventually opened. The guard was surprised to see him.

  "What's up, Jerry?"

  "Has anybody walked onto the bridge?"

  "They're not allowed to at night. You know that."

  Jerry pushed past the guard and ran to the surveillance equipment, where another guard sat, evidently more interested in the sports section of the newspaper.

  "Check the bridge."

  The guard took control of the equipment and scanned the bridge.

  "The fog's high."

  "Good thing she's not a dwarf, then," replied Jerry.

  All eyes were focused on the monitor, looking for any sign of life. The camera picked up an image of Ellie. The guard was shocked.

  "How the hell did she get past?"

  Jerry and both guards stormed out of the hut. Jerry sprinted along the Golden Gate, running as fast as he could. The two guards mounted quads and followed. One of the guards sped past Jerry on his quad. The second slowed to let Jerry jump aboard, and when he was secure, sped on. Darryl got into his car and drove after them, quickly gaining, then rushing past.

  Ellie looked out over the blanket of fog. Tranquil. It suffocated everything in sight. It was pure, like a fresh fall of snow. The serenity was broken by the sound of Darryl's car roaring over the asphalt. Ellie's baked-out expression didn't change.

  Darryl's tires screamed to a halt. He jumped out, ran over to the side of the bridge, and searched for her. But it was the wrong side. He slapped the rail in frustration and sprinted to the other side.

  "Ellie! Ellie!"

  He spied her. His eyes didn't leave her as he climbed the rail and lowered himself onto the pipe, where he inched towards her. He too was taken in by the surrealism of the foggy scene.

  "You can't stop me," she said. "Stay away."

  "Just calm down, Ellie."

  The first quad to arrive attracted Ellie's attention.

  "Who's that?"

  She inched closer to the edge. Darryl's hand reached out to her.

  "He won't come near or hurt you." He yelled over his shoulder. "Stay away!" Then he focused back on her. "Please, Ellie. The fog, you can't see the edge. Move back. Move back until we talk this through."

  A guard appeared at the rail.

  "Need anything?"

  "Just stay away!"

  Darryl edged closer to her.

  "Look at me, Ellie. Look at me."

  Ellie looked at him through those lost eyes. Darryl knew she was bad.

  "I don't know how to be normal..."

  "Who is normal, Ellie?"

  The second quad slowed down. Jerry jumped off before it came to a complete stop and directed his momentum towards the rail. He threw a leg over it.

  "Back off, Jerry," warned Darryl. "I got this."

  "Bullshit!"

  Jerry was about to descend farther when Ellie edged closer to a potential four-second base jump. That brought Jerry to a standstill.

  "Jerry! Back off. You're piling pressure onto the situation. Guards, I swear to God if you don't stop him, I'll have your jobs."

  The first guard approached Jerry and received a right hook in the face for his efforts. His partner reached for his mic.

  "We have a code red on the bridge. Need backup."

  He then grabbed hold of Jerry and tried to restrain him. The first guard shook off the punch and helped his colleague, but Jerry still got the better of them and landed blow after blow. Again, he made his way to the rail and would have climbed it if the guards hadn't managed to get hold of him again. Another tussle.

  "Get the fuck out of my way!"

  "Don't get involved!" the guard pleaded.

  "As if I'm gonna leave her in his hands...what is it now, zero and two?"

  The drone of a helicopter's blades filled the air. It shone down a spotlight.

  Inside, the pilot switched on his radio after studying the situation below.

  "I found Craig fighting with the bridge guards. They're beating lumps out of each other. One jumper. On the pipe. Female. Twenties."

  Helms' reply was instant.

  "Land on the bridge and arrest Craig. We're on route. L
ess than two minutes."

  "Yes, Captain."

  As the helicopter descended, Jerry fought to free himself from the two guards.

  "That's my blood!"

  The helicopter landed and both pilot and co-pilot disembarked. They helped the guards hold Jerry.

  "That's my daughter! Take me when she's safe. I'll come. I swear to God, I'll come with you."

  "Just relax," ordered the pilot.

  They ignored his pleading and tried to pin Jerry to the concrete as emergency vehicles sped up the bridge.

  "Don't screw this up, Darryl!"

  Darryl was inches away from Ellie.

  "Dad?" she called out. "Are you okay?"

  "He's safe on the bridge, Ellie."

  "I love my dad. I love everything he has done for me. Sacrificed his world..."

  "He loves you, too."

  "But he passes me off. Fed up. I was too much. On top of everything else, I stuck him with a grandson."

  "That's not true. Your father loves Logan."

  "How would you know?"

  "Because he's the only thing Jerry never talks about."

  Ellie was lost in thought.

  "He never gets to be a real grandfather to him. He only sees him at Christmas and his birthday. What kind of grandfather have I made him into?"

  Jerry had managed to free himself from the guards and pilots and made it to the rail.

  "You're my main concern, Ellie! Logan has four grandparents to take care of him. You're my only child!"

  "Back him the fuck off!" roared Darryl.

  The guards and pilots tried again to usher Jerry away from the rail, but he locked his arms around it and refused to budge.

  "You can arrest me later!" he yelled.

  "Arrest him? What's he done?" asked Ellie.

  Darryl was dismissive.

  "Later, Ellie. Come with me...we can talk about it."

  The emergency vehicle convoy came to a stop. Helms, police, and paramedics got out of their vehicles and rushed to the rail. Helms shook his head at Jerry.

  "Asshole."

  Darryl stole a bit of distance between himself and Ellie.

  "Let's go and talk to your dad. He needs you."

  "I took his happiness away. He needs to be freed."

  The helicopter rose into the air. Ellie's eyes darted towards it and watched as it flew off into the night. She looked back down at the fog.