The Eternal Defiance

by Sharon Lea Ford

  The Assistant Director quickly glanced through the report and closed it shut. He then paused before saying, “Look… I know you’ve worked hard on this case for the past couple of months, but… I think I’m going to hand the case over to Wilson and Colbert. They’re more experienced in the field and can handle these types of mobsters, which I’m absolutely positive are vicious cutthroat animals.”

  “But sir.”

  “That’ll be all Agent Hall, please shut the door on your way out, thanks.”

  “I think you’re making a huge mistake,” she said angrily and then slammed the door behind her as she left.

  This… just makes me even more determined, and these assholes are not going to get away with it. If they think I’m going to take this lying down just because I’m a woman, then they’ve got another thing coming.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  Harry could feel the tension building in his gut as he pulled up at a nearby street, close to the building where Deak’s’s lived. The sound of his own heartbeat smashed against his chest and he had to continually tell himself to suck it up.

  His mind was full of racing thoughts of the woman he’d only just met and fallen for. One could only hope that they haven’t tortured her yet, or worse… killed her.

  Nervously he glanced in every direction to make sure he hadn’t been followed, before reaching under the front seat for his pistol.

  He exited the vehicle, then slowly approached the high rise building and entered the back entrance maintenance doors, keeping an eye out for all security cameras.

  Luckily the doors were unlocked and he managed to slip in un-noticed. Once inside he observed the building evacuation plan on the wall and headed up the service stairs to the top floor. He knew it wasn’t going to be that easy to get into Deak’s’s without some kind of confrontation, but… what the hell he never did do things the easy way.

  After climbing ten sets of stairs, Harry finally made it to as far as he could go before hitting the service stairs to the penthouse floor. Carefully he picked the door lock that led to the floor hallway and vaguely could hear voices shouting from inside Deak’s’s apartment.

  Quietly he hugged the hallway wall as he stepped slowly toward the entrance of the apartment with Glock in hand.

  Unexpectedly the elevator bell indicated which was just about to stop on the current floor and someone could potentially get out, he thought.

  He waited anxiously ready to shoot his target while waiting for the elevator door to open.

  As the large steel doors opened, a huge beast of a guy stepped out with a stunned look on his face to see him standing there with a weapon pointed directly at his head.

  His look turned to an insulting grin, and then unexpectedly charged at Harry while attempting to reach for his weapon.

  Harry’s gun jammed and all he could think of was, shit.

  As the large male plunged toward him he was now staring down the barrel of his 22 pistol.

  With quick reflexes he knocked it out of his hand sending it flying across the floor, landing hard against Deak’s’s door.

  And without warning he felt a heavy blow to his jaw. His enormous fist connected to Harry’s chin, snapping it hard and propelled him hard into the wall.

  Gradually Harry stretched the knot out of his neck giving it a little crack, before moving forward.

  He then stepped up to the huge male who would have to be at least seven foot tall and tree trunks for arms. “Is that all you’ve got?” Harry asked.

  Before the giant had time to think about the question, Harry aimed and with one quick blow he thrust his leg up and kicked him fair in the testes, causing his opponent to fall to his knees.

  Harry knew it was a cheap blow, but he didn’t have time to muck around with this guy.

  And without hesitation gave him a deadly Jack-knife, throwing a roundhouse kick and a hook kick to finish him off.

  The colossal male proved to be one hell of a contender. He sprung from the ground and lunged at Harry with full force, throwing them both toward the floor.

  As the male grabbed his shoulders Harry flung him high, rolling him over his head and cart-wheeling him with a loud thud, smack into the wall behind them.

  His opponent then gave out a low grunt, before he attempted to heave himself off the indented concrete wall.

  Harry didn’t wait for him to attack again, he leapt toward the man with one powerful hit, landing hard to his throat and Harry drove his knife firm into his windpipe he had tucked away in his boot.

  Within seconds his dark lifeless eyes stared back up at Harry’s with a hollow anonymous glare.

  Lastly he checked his vitals and there was no pulse. Noticeably he was dead, but you never could be too careful Harry thought.

  Quickly Harry gathered his composure before making his great entrance into Deak’s’s apartment.

  He picked his weapon up off the floor and checked the chamber for any obstructions. It was clear, but thought that was a close call!

  Harry sucked in a deep breath! And just when he was about to knock on Deak’s’s front door his mobile phone began to vibrate.

  He hastily unzipped his top pocket, pulled it out and swiped it open. Strange! He thought, there was no number displayed on the screen. “Hello,” he said hesitantly.

  A sudden sense of relief came over him when he heard Blake’s voice on the other end of the phone. “Quick… come and get me! I’m on the corner of Ash, and… High Street and they won’t be too far behind I would imagine,” she yelled roughly.

  “Give me five. I’ll be there as quick as I can,” Harry stated while checking the time on the phone before finally turning it off. Deak’s will have to wait for another time Harry thought as he ran back down the stairs the way he entered.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  “Excuse me sir sorry for the disturbance, but I think you’re going to want to see this.”

  Deak’s placed his glass of Rum and ice down on the edge of the spar and was handed the remote control for the plasma TV adjacent to him.

  “Channel seven sir,” Dog implied.

  Inquisitively Deak’s watched as the latest news update was announced.

  And… in the top news today

  Police were called to investigate a possible homicide when a body of a well-known syndicate figure was found today at a warehouse south of London.

  The forty eight year old man known to most as Mr Smith or simply just Smith was one of the world’s most notorious organized crime bosses and has a reputation of murdering up to as many as twenty people. His mutilated body suggest he was struck by a moving vehicle and had about ninety bones completely broken.

  The Federal Bureau of Investigations appear to be staying tight-lipped at the moment and say they are following up on some new leads, but don’t have any suspects at this stage.

  Deak’s felt the anger rise in his body to the point of explosion. He had a pretty good idea who took his cousin out and he wasn’t going to rest until they paid for it. “There dead! That bitch, Forbes and Harrison King and any other living relative are all… going to die,” he screamed while stepping out of the spar naked.

  The two terrified girls left in the spar kept still and quiet before told to get out by Dog. They did as they were told and ran off without hesitation.

  Dog waited for instruction from his boss who was visibly upset and fuming, but knew too well not to make the matters worse by opening his mouth.

  Deak’s wrapped the towel around his belly. “Get… Baltimore on the phone, it’s time to call in the heavy artillery,” he finally declared.

  Dog nodded his head in agreement and dialled the number on the cordless phone. When the receiver on the other end picked up, Dog said. “The boss wants to see you.” And then Dog hung up straight away.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  The GPS on the dashboard displayed Harry was getting close to High Street as he sped along a narrow back road, watching franticly for the turn off.

  He noticed
the street sign and turned the corner slowly knowing Ash Lane was only one block away. As he approached he saw a phone booth, but Blake was nowhere to be seen.

  Harry began to fear the worst sending a chill up his spine. I must be too late! Where in the hell are you… Blake? He wondered.

  Slowly Harry pulled the car into the gutter and crawled along the empty laneway, watching and waiting for a glimmer of hope.

  This part of town was the beginning of the industrial area and pretty much a desolate neighbourhood. Most of the stores had closed down years ago by the looks of it. With the windows covered up with newspaper and graffiti. He could only imagine what type of criminals hung around these streets and how even… he wouldn’t want to be caught out there alone. Bloody hell… Blake, how did you manage to get yourself here? And where’s Smith and his goons? That’s what I’d like to know.

  The unnatural silence was killing him to the brink of madness, when Blake unexpectedly opened the passenger side door and hopped in. “Gees… what happened? Are you okay?” Harry shouted.

  The look on Blake’s face was concerning when she shouted back. “Just drive!”

  Harry wasn’t going to hang around and wait for an answer. He put his foot down, did a U-turn and headed out of the city. “Are you hurt? How did you get away from Smith? I was just about to storm into Deak’s’s when I got your call,” he said.

  Blake heaved a sigh of relief and looked visibly exhausted. “I’ll explain everything later, the main thing is that you’re here and we’re together. Let’s just get the hell out of this town, this country and go somewhere where no one is trying to kill us.”

  Before Harry could respond, he was distracted by what looked like a black SUV in the rear view mirror approaching them from behind and coming up pretty fast. “Bugger… it looks like our nasty friends have discovered us already.”

  Blake spun around in her seat and then shrieked at him, “Go.”

  They turned sharp at the next street, mounting the gutter and sideswiped a footpath bench. But Harry’s radicle remover hadn’t deterred the pursuing vehicle leaving it bearing down on top of them. The Jeep Wrangler still had some grunt though and he managed to pull away from them slightly.

  The next set of lights just two blocks ahead went yellow, so they veered franticly to the left into a small laneway.

  He just narrowly missed a pedestrian by seconds which tested his reflexes continually mounting the already frayed nerves, but he managed to keep it together for now.

  Harry pulled out into the traffic with the SUV still hot on their trail, and headed into the one way street the wrong way, narrowly missing the oncoming motorist. Car horns beeped at them intensely as they swerved, and weaved in and out of the busy traffic, playing chicken with so many innocent lives.

  Still right behind them the SUV followed taking out a couple of cars in the process, he noticed when he glanced quickly in the mirror.

  Just in the nick of time the Wrangler barely squeezed through an approaching bus full of tourist, he detected as they whipped passed the tourists view with Cameras clicking wildly.

  With his breath still held in Harry ducked right into another side street and thankfully with no major casualties.

  As he glanced from the mirror to the road, he knew he wasn’t going to outrun them and had to think of something fast. There was just nowhere to hide and know way to out run the bastards, he believed.

  With the sound of the tires roaring along the tarred road and the annoying computer voice of the GPS still bellowing in his eardrums, it was beginning to drive him nuts. “Shit…! Where are we going?” Harry shrieked at Blake for suggestions.

  “Turn here,” Blake responded and pointed to a parking lot entrance.

  As they flew around the screeching bend, he felt a hard thump pulling the steering wheel from his fingers abruptly and drove the Jeep sideways into a concrete pillar.

  The SUV had slammed them from the rear and sent Blake’s head slamming into the dashboard. “Bloody hell, are you alright?” Harry yelled.

  Blood poured down her face he noticed as he tried to steer the car through the driveway, knocking down the boom gate in the process.

  “I’m fine… just lose these bastards will you?” she responded.

  The relentless SUV stayed hot on their heels and he couldn’t help the feeling that the whole chase was just so useless. Harry pulled out his weapon, handed it to Blake and shouted, “Do you think you can get rid of these guys once more? It would be much appreciated.”

  But it seemed that the bad guys had the same idea. Whoever they were, they began to fire upon them. Glass shattered as the rear window was smashed in, sending a bullet spiralling into the dash and lodging it into the annoying GPS, silencing it for good.

  More gun shots were heard as Harry attempted to weave the car in and out of the firing line and narrowly missing another driver reversing from their parking space.

  But the unfortunate driver wasn’t so lucky he noticed. The SUV slammed into it, sending it spinning like a top and then smashed hard into another parked car. Nothing it seemed was too big of a hurdle for the massive vehicle. It just mowed through the little sports car and stayed right on their path.

  “Watch out, Blake screamed. A woman pushing a shopping trolley appeared out of nowhere, and they nearly collected her and the trolley as they flew around the corner to the next level of the parking lot.

  Desperately Harry hoped she wasn’t going to have the same fate as the last one, when he closed his eyes for a second before glancing in the mirror. But thankfully the woman jumped back in time.

  Harry was certain that the poor unsuspecting woman was going to be the next victim for the SUV to carelessly mow down he thought.

  Blake fired a few rounds at the SUV, but with all the swerving she managed to hit everything else, but the target. “I’m out,” she shouted.

  Before they knew it they were on the roof when he realized there was no escape from the persistent assholes determined on killing them both.

  Quickly he glanced at Blake with determination and caught the same look in her eyes. “Just go for it!” she said.

  The barrier around the parking lot looked flimsy enough and Harry thought if he put his foot down… they just… might be able to make it through and land on the roof of the building ahead.

  Without hesitation he went for it anticipating the SUV would do the same.

  Just at the last minute Harry changed his mind. With just inches away he spun the steering wheel sideways, flipping the car up onto two wheels and safely landed on all four, hard up against the railing.

  There was a huge bang behind them when the SUV didn’t stop. It ploughed through the barrier without breaking.

  They both watched in amusement as the heavy vehicle smashed into the neighbouring wall and dropped about nine floors below, exploding into a blazing ball of flames.

  Finally Harry took a breath and sighed with enormous relief. “Well… that was close!”

  Blake glanced in his direction with a look of liberation and said, “Can we go now?”

  “Sounds good to me!” he responded, knowing the police couldn’t be too far away.

  They drove out of the parking lot, out of London and as far away as they could from their hugely mounting rivals.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  South Pacific Ocean

  The fresh salty sea air was breathtaking as Harry took in the spectacular scenery of the crystal clear waters and cobalt blue skies. As he steered the 7metre yacht gracefully through the reef a cool spray from the ocean splashed lightly against his face, giving a pleasant relief from the warm morning sun that was beginning to have a bit of a bite to it as the day warmed up.

  This brilliant tropical paradise was nothing in comparison to the fast paced life Harry had come so accustomed to over the years he thought as he sailed through the calm majestic waters. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen and just beyond the horizon set a beautiful tropical island surrounded by the most magnificent p
ure white sandy beaches that he had ever laid his eyes upon.

  This had been their home and sanctuary for the past six months since their escape from London.

  Harry grinned as he heard the sound of Blake’s sweet voice whisper in his ear. “Hey gorgeous…”

  “Hey… yourself,” he replied as he spun his head around to meet her awaiting lips.

  “Ready for some lunch!” she asked.

  “Um… maybe…” Harry responded casually.

  Blake handed him a chicken sandwich and he undecidedly took a bite. “Canned chicken again I presume?”

  “Sorry… we’re running a little low on supplies,” she announced, then chucked the half eaten sandwich back on the plate.

  Harry let out a sigh of acknowledgment. “Okay… I know it’s time to go to the mainland. We need to pick up a few things. And if you’re lucky… we might just catch a movie, what do you think?”

  Blake grabbed the back of his head, pulled him in toward her and laid a huge kiss smack on the lips. “I thought you’d never ask!”

  Harry stared deeply into her green emerald eyes and said, “I know… I’m going a little stir crazy myself. I do miss the busy hustle and bustle of the city, but… only just… a little.”

  Little did Blake know he was already heading in that direction. He needed to find a drug store for her upset stomach she’d had for the past couple of weeks. He knew Blake hadn’t been feeling the best and was beginning to suspect something else was wrong with her. It could only mean one thing, but Blake wasn’t giving away any secrets, not until she was certain one way or another. But… there was no question about it. Blake had to be pregnant and carrying his baby.

  He must have caught a glimpse of anxiety on her face when he asked, “You okay? You’re looking a little pale, but still beautiful all the same. Too much of this warm sun perhaps?”

  “Yeah… I guess,” she responded with a smile, but tried to hide it once more. But deep down it was so hard to keep his excitement contained. He thought he was going to burst any moment.