by Mel Odom
“No.” Bobby Lee shook his head like a scared child. Unshed tears gleamed in his eyes. “I heard stories about what prison’s like, man. I ain’t gonna go. They ain’t gonna do something like that to me. I ain’t gonna be no…”
Spider wouldn’t stop moving.
Shel knew that was a mistake, and it was like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion. He wanted to tell Spider to stay back, that the FBI snipers would put Bobby Lee down without hurting the young woman if it came to that, but he couldn’t. If he spoke, he would further split Bobby Lee’s attention and ratchet up the tension.
It was at a time like this, Shel knew, that his brother Don would have told him to pray. But Shel had never been a big believer in the power of prayer. He had prayed on occasion, but he’d never been able to put his heart into it or really believe.
Instead, he remained still and hoped that he was wrong about how events were about to unfold.
“Bobby Lee, listen to me.” Spider took another step. He was close enough now that he could have reached out and touched the pistol in Bobby Lee’s hand.
Bobby Lee pointed the pistol and squeezed the trigger without warning. The detonation filled the tattoo shop with rolling thunder.
Spider recoiled only slightly. His head jerked to one side. Shel saw the ugly wound in the side of his face and the huge exit wound in the back of Spider’s head. Death had to have been instant, but he remained on his feet for just a moment. Then his legs went out from under him and he sank to the floor.
“I told him!” Bobby Lee shouted. “I told him to stay back! It wasn’t my fault he didn’t listen!”
Even though he’d seen it happen before, Shel couldn’t believe the suddenness with which the violence had erupted. He watched Spider fall in the periphery of his vision, but he kept his eyes on Bobby Lee. Beside Shel, Max bunched, ready to leap into action. Shel stilled the Labrador with a hand signal and Max subsided.
One of the sniper’s ruby dots flicked to the exposed side of Bobby Lee’s head and tracked across his face. Even though he couldn’t see the light, Bobby Lee instinctively pulled back more tightly behind the young woman. She shuddered as she cried. Tears tracked her face and blood ran down her chin.
Shel continued to hold his hands up and offered no threat. He debated saying anything until the young woman started fighting against Bobby Lee.
“Don’t fight him,” Shel instructed. “Just-”
“Shut up!” Bobby Lee roared. “Shut up! Shut up!” He brought the pistol around and pointed it at Shel. Shel saw the young man’s finger tighten on the trigger and knew he was going to shoot.
Before Shel could move, two sledgehammer blows chopped into his chest and one caught him in the right shoulder. The impacts vibrated through him and drove him back as pain washed away his thoughts. The sharp bite of intense agony told him the vest hadn’t stopped all of the bullets. As he fell, he managed to grab Max’s left foreleg.
Hold on, Shel told himself. Hold on. He tried because he knew that Max might attack. Without him there to back Max up, Bobby Lee would gun him down. Shel tried to maintain his grip, but the white-hot pain sucked him into a whirling pool of blackness.
›› 2040 Hours
Helplessly Victor Gant sat handcuffed in the back of the FBI sedan and watched his son write his death warrant. Victor spoke through the wire mesh that locked him in the rear seat.
Urlacher was crouched behind the driver’s side door with the loudhailer clutched in one hand and a pistol in the other.
“If you kill my boy,” Victor threatened hoarsely, “the deal’s off. I won’t tell you nothing. You hear me?”
“Hold your fire,” Urlacher said over the radio. He didn’t turn around or even acknowledge that Victor had spoken. “Nobody shoots until I give the word.”
Adrenaline flooded Victor’s senses. In frustration, he pulled at the handcuffs that kept his arms behind his back. He watched the violence unfolding in the tattoo shop and tried not to be sick.
For the first time in years, Victor was afraid. Fear hadn’t touched him like that in a long time. And he couldn’t remember the last occasion he’d been concerned over anybody outside of his own skin. Not even for Fat Mike, who’d been with him for over thirty years.
But he was afraid now for his son, whom he’d barely gotten to know. A man was supposed to be afraid for his son. Victor didn’t want to be, but he saw so much of himself inside Bobby Lee that he didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
And he was scared to death that something terrible was about to happen. All he could do was sit and watch.
“Bobby Lee,” Urlacher said over the loudhailer.
Inside the tattoo parlor, Bobby Lee spun toward the line of cars out in the parking lot. He brought the pistol up to the side of the young woman’s face. The barrel was superheated from the recent firing. She jerked her head away as the barrel seared her flesh.
Don’t shoot, Bobby Lee. Victor willed his son to hear him. She’s just scared and hurt. You still got her. But for a moment he thought Bobby Lee was going to shoot anyway.
Instead, Bobby Lee pulled the pistol back and clubbed the woman’s ear. She stumbled and nearly fell, but she stayed on her feet in front of him. A handful of ruby laser dots danced across Bobby Lee’s face.
Victor stopped breathing and waited for one of the snipers to empty Bobby Lee’s brainpan.
“Hold your fire,” Urlacher ordered.
Bobby Lee yanked the woman in front of him again. He propelled her to the door and opened it a little. “I want a car!” he yelled. “And I want an airplane standing by at the airport.”
“Kid’s seen too many movies,” the FBI driver said quietly.
Victor cursed at him and kicked the back of the seat.
Urlacher and the FBI driver ignored him.
“Bobby Lee,” Urlacher said, “I’ve got your father in the car with me. He doesn’t want you to get hurt. He wants you to surrender.”
“You lie!” Bobby Lee yelled. “My old man wouldn’t give in to nobody like you!”
Urlacher turned to Victor and spoke through the mesh. “It’s your play. You want to talk to him or sit on the sidelines?”
Victor hesitated only for a moment. “I’ll talk.”
Urlacher nodded at the driver. “Get him out of the back.”
Gingerly the driver eased back and opened the rear door.
Looking back, Urlacher locked eyes with Victor. “You try to run, I’m gonna shoot your legs out from under you. That’ll probably spook Bobby Lee; then these men out here will blow him out of his socks. You be sure and think about what you’re doing.”
“I am,” Victor gritted. He didn’t try to get out of the car. “Can you make this go away too? If I give you what you want?” If Tran didn’t kill him first.
Urlacher hesitated. Victor wouldn’t have believed the man if he’d just said yes like it was nothing.
“It’ll take some doing,” Urlacher said, “but I can convince the right people that what you’re going to tell us will be worth it.”
“Even after Bobby Lee killed them men?”
“It’ll be a tough sell,” Urlacher admitted. “But I’ve sold worse.”
Victor nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.” He slid off the seat and stood beside the car. He raised his voice. “Bobby Lee, can you see me?”
Bobby Lee jerked his head around. His Confederate flag bandanna hung askew and allowed his hair to trickle down into his face. He looked worried and scared and lost.
Just like a kid, Victor realized.
“I can see you,” Bobby Lee said. “What are you doing with them?”
“They got me under arrest.” Victor smiled like it was all one big joke and he was just getting to the punch line. He turned slightly so that the handcuffs showed.
“Why?” Bobby Lee demanded. He looked more lost than ever. He kept turning his head from side to side, trying to take it all in.
“Bobby Lee,” Victor said, afraid he was going to
lose him, “look at me.”
Bobby Lee settled a little.
“You’re gonna have to turn yourself in,” Victor said.
“No way.” Bobby Lee shook his head vigorously. “I ain’t going to prison. I got me a hostage. They’re gonna give me a car and a plane, or I’m gonna kill this girl.”
The ruby lights hung on to Bobby Lee’s head, face, and exposed shoulder like a clutch of predatory insects.
“That’s stupid talking,” Victor said. “I cut you a deal. They’re gonna let you go free.”
Thirty years and more of dealing with Tran, and Victor was going to burn that bridge in a heartbeat for a son he barely knew. It almost didn’t make sense, but blood was blood, and Bobby Lee was his boy.
“Don’t need you to cut me no deal,” Bobby Lee shouted back. “I’m gonna cut my own deal.”
“They ain’t gonna let you out of here, Son,” Victor said in the calmest voice he could manage. “They can’t. Goes against FBI rules.” He didn’t want to tell Bobby Lee they could kill him in an eye blink because that might unnerve him even more.
“You scared?” Bobby Lee asked.
The question startled Victor. “No. Why?”
“Because you ain’t never called me son before.”
Victor hadn’t, and he only then realized he’d called Bobby Lee that. But it had seemed so natural calling him that when he was trying to calm him down.
“Just give up the girl,” Victor said. “Put your weapon down. We’ll get through this just fine.”
Bobby Lee hesitated; then he shook his head again. “I can’t. I don’t want to go to prison.”
“You ain’t gonna go to no-”
“Shut up!” Bobby Lee roared. “I don’t know how they got you here to lie to me, but I ain’t gonna believe you! You ain’t never cared about me!” He pointed the pistol at Victor.
Not knowing what to do, Victor stood silent and helpless. His stomach turned sour, and bile burned the back of his throat.
“Get me a car!” Bobby Lee ordered. “Get me a car and a plane or I’m gonna kill her and kill as many of you as I can before you get me!” He fired three shots at the unmarked sedan where Victor stood.
The bullets smashed through the windshield and caromed off the top of the car. The federal agents ducked to cover. Victor never flinched, but he grew cold and still inside as he waited for the FBI to return fire.
“Hold your positions!” Urlacher ordered. “No one shoots!”
You’re a greedy man, Victor thought. Still wanting what I can give you. He watched the FBI agent from the corner of his eye, but his attention was focused on Bobby Lee.
“Get me that car!” Bobby Lee shouted.
Pride thrummed through Victor, but it was short-lived as he watched the big man with the dog slowly push himself to his feet behind Bobby Lee. Victor had clearly heard all three gunshots when Bobby Lee had shot the man at almost point-blank range. There was only one way the man was getting to his feet.
He’d been wearing a bulletproof vest.
And if he’d been wearing a bulletproof vest inside the tattoo shop, that meant he was some kind of cop.
“Bobby Lee!” Victor yelled. “Look out! Behind you!”
If Bobby Lee had turned instantly, if he’d trusted the warning, Victor knew he would have caught the big cop stone-cold. But he didn’t. He hesitated for just an instant, and by then it was too late.
1 4
›› Spider’s Tattoo Shop
›› Doggett Street
›› Charlotte, North Carolina
›› 2043 Hours
Shel struggled to focus through his swirling senses as he stood unsteadily on his feet. Bobby Lee was in front of him, his back to Shel, hugged in tight to his hostage.
Chest straining as his empty lungs tried to kick into action again, Shel ignored the burning pain in his right shoulder and reached for the SOCOM. 45 holstered at the small of his back. His fingers found the grip, but the pistol felt alien to him and his hand felt too big and numb.
It’s just shock, he told himself. You’ve been here before. Just work through it. He was dimly aware of the action out in the parking lot, the shouting voices, and the traffic beyond.
Bobby Lee started turning. His pistol dropped away from his hostage, and he shoved it forward to track toward Shel.
Shel tried to bring his right arm up, but it wouldn’t work properly. Pain arced through his shoulder and chest. He gave up and managed the SOCOM in one big hand. Ruby laser sights danced over his body and lit up his left eye, but he ignored them and hoped the FBI sharpshooters held their fire.
Either way, Shel had decided Bobby Lee was leaving the picture. The young man was too unstable to deal with and more people were going to get hurt-beginning with the woman he was holding.
Bobby Lee’s mouth moved. Shel couldn’t hear the words. His ears still rang from the previous gunfire, and the pain had detached his brain to a degree, leaving only the part of him that focused solely on survival. But that part was Marine-trained, the best military training in the world.
Despite the danger, despite the fact that he’d already been shot, despite the fact that he might get shot again by Bobby Lee or the FBI, Shel held his fire until he had his target cleanly in his sights.
Bobby Lee’s pistol had almost gotten all the way around toward Shel. The barrel belched a muzzle flash that stood out bright and hard in the tattoo shop, but the bullet went wide. Shel centered his sights at the bottom of Bobby Lee’s chin just over the woman’s shoulder and squeezed the trigger. The pistol bucked against his palm and he rode the recoil slightly up. He fired again and he knew the second shot was a few inches higher than the first.
Without a sound, Bobby Lee fell backward. He dragged the woman down with him, or her legs gave way out of fright. Shel wasn’t sure which. He was just as surprised when the FBI didn’t open fire on him.
›› 2044 Hours
Grimly Shel marshaled his reserves and went forward. His balance wasn’t too good, and he knew he wasn’t very strong. But he had to secure the weapon.
Max got there first. The Labrador bunched and sprang into action. Before Shel could take another step, Max seized the pistol in his teeth and tore it away. He flung it to one side and stood guard over Bobby Lee.
One look at the young man’s face told Shel there was no need to guard, but the dog had been Marine-trained too, and Shel wasn’t going to break that. In fact, Shel wasn’t certain he was going to stand up much longer. But he did.
“You okay?” Shel asked the young woman.
Her face was covered with Bobby Lee’s blood, and she was seriously freaked. She couldn’t answer.
“It’s going to be all right, ma’am,” Shel said. “You’re going to be all right now.”
“Special Agent McHenry,” the loudhailer announced, “this is Special Agent Urlacher of the FBI. Put down your weapon. We’re coming in.”
Shel turned and put the pistol on the counter. He reached for the woman’s hand, took it in his, and gently pulled her to her feet.
“Come on now,” he said. “Let’s get you away from that.”
She started to look back at the body.
Shel caught her chin in his hand and gazed into her eyes. “That’s not something you want to do,” he told her gently. “Just let this part of everything go.”
The woman nodded; then she wrapped her arms around him and wept uncontrollably. “I thought he was going to kill me.”
“Yes, ma’am. But that didn’t happen, did it? You came through this just fine.” Shel stroked her hair and patted her back like he would for one of Don’s kids. Bad situations could make children fearful of everyone, and it took a gentle hand to bring back courage and confidence.
She looked up at him. Tears had tracked through the blood, but she’d smeared a lot of it on Shel’s shirt. “He was going to kill me, wasn’t he?”
Shel thought about lying to spare her from those thoughts, but he knew she’d see the truth in
him. He’d never learned to lie very well except while he was undercover.
“Yes, ma’am. I believe he was,” Shel said.
FBI agents rushed the door.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome.” Shel held her for just a moment longer; then the FBI agents invaded the room.
Two of the agents advanced on Shel. Max barked at them furiously and bared his gleaming white teeth.
One of the agents pointed his pistol at Max.
“Mister,” Shel said in a cold voice, “if you hurt that dog, I’m going to put you in the hospital.”
“Call the mutt off,” an older agent ordered. “I talked to your commander. Coburn. We’ll get this sorted out in a little while, but until then I’m taking you into custody.”
“That’s fine,” Shel said. “But the dog goes with me. He’s not going to allow us to get separated.”
The agent nodded.
Shel stood still and endured the pain as one of the FBI agents secured his hands behind his back with disposable cuffs.
“Get him to a medical unit before he bleeds out,” the older agent said. He glanced back at Bobby Lee Gant lying on the floor and cursed fluently enough to impress Shel, who’d been around Navy men most of his life. “This is a total mess.” Then he cursed some more.
›› 2056 Hours
Light-headed and hurting, Shel sat on the bumper of the ambulance while the emergency medical technicians worked on him. They cut the disposable cuffs, freeing his hands, then cut off his shirt and unfastened the Velcro straps of the Kevlar vest. One of the two bullets embedded in the vest dropped to the parking lot pavement.
The EMTs kept working on him and ignored it.
“Hey,” Shel said. He had to struggle for the words, and he didn’t understand that. He’d been shot before.
“I got no exit wound,” the lanky black EMT said as he searched Shel’s massive shoulder. “Bullet’s still inside.”
“Don’t worry about that,” the blonde EMT said as she examined the massive bruises already forming across Shel’s chest. “The OR can take care of that. Let’s just get him stable.”
