by Anna Collins
The gun did go off, and it must’ve been temporarily jammed and out of commission. The blast took down part of the ceiling with plaster raining from above. It was like watching a real life 3D movie, and I had the ringside seat of sitting behind the desk like a disinterested spectator. I was anything but, considering what happened to Casper really did affect me in more ways than I wanted to admit. He had captured my heart, and he had opened me up to new experiences I would never have tried on my own. The biggest risk for me was coming here to Bali, and it was like a lightbulb had gone off in my head.
I thought Casper was going to get the best of him, but this man really did know his stuff. He slammed the butt of the gun into Casper’s underbelly. Casper doubled over with the shotgun coming back down onto his back with a sickening thud. He collapsed to his knees looking like he was ready to beg for his life, but he was not the kind of man I had fallen for. He showed grace under pressure; he was actually sitting there on his knees looking up at this man with the gun. There was no hatred, and there was no crying. It was like this sense of calm came over him. He had resigned himself to his fate.
“I was stupid to grab this thing on the way in here, and I should’ve gone and got my own tools of the trade. I was improvising, and I’ve always been good at finding something to use in the nick of time. I can’t believe the gun jammed. We’ve used it several times skeet shooting in the back yard, but this in the first time I have ever seen it act up. It could be a coincidence, or maybe you do have nine lives. I find there’s almost a beauty in the way you have faced death head on. I’m going to give you the courtesy of giving you a small clue as to the reason why he wants you dead. After all, you’re not going to be able to do anything about it. The decision is really out of your hands,” The Raven said as he put the shotgun up to Casper’s forehead.
I saw him cringe and his back stiffened. It had to come from the feeling of that hot piece of metal burning into his flesh. I don’t know what came over me, but I felt this fire burning within, it could not be contained. I needed an outlet. Otherwise, I was going to explode. I found it picking up everything I could get my hands on. I was whipping them with no finesse whatsoever at the enemy who was no more than a few feet away.
The paperweight I was going to use to help Casper had now found its mark between the eyes of the Raven. There was quite a substantial weight behind it and the force in which I had thrown it was not girlie by any means. It struck him squarely between his eyes.
It looked like he was going to pass out, but he only stumbled back with the gun shaky in his hands. Casper finding a way to improvise had grabbed it and pulled it from his fingers before he could get a better grip. He tossed it to the side where it landed with an audible smack against the wood grain of the floor. I saw it there mocking me and I was desperate to reach it, but to do so would only make me a target in the Raven’s eyes.
Casper tackled him, and they both went through the glass door with glass and wood splintering around them. The sound was like raindrops on a hot tin roof. The glass had punctured various parts of their bodies, and it wasn’t like they were paying any attention to it. Casper wasn’t even trained in this kind of combat, but he was a desperate man. That could lead to someone capable of just about anything.
“I don’t care what happens to me. I could die here today, and I would know I have found the love of my life. I can’t let you take me away from her without a fight to the death. I will make sure you feel something more than guilt for killing me,” Casper said as he wailed like a madman possessed by an evil spirit that wouldn’t take no for an answer.
It didn’t matter the Raven was trying to shield his eyes and his face from any kind of damage able to hamper his ability to fight back. Casper leveled blows to his arms and to whatever body part he could find, including slapping his hands up against this man’s ears.
They both rolled around in their own blood with me walking to the broken enclosure of the door to see all of this playing out. The paper weight wasn’t the only thing I had thrown, but the rest of the items were inconsequential like pens and paper clips; they were merely a nuisance. Casper looked like he had gotten him on the ropes, but then the man’s mind switched to something I couldn’t see. It was just a feeling in the air, and he managed to kick Casper in the face and scramble away. It was not in a blind panic. He stood, and I heard the cracking of his neck as he moved it back and forth like it was some kind of intimidation tactic. He motioned for Casper to stand and then he gave the four finger salute to draw him into what could possibly be the worst beating of his life.
“I haven’t had to use my training with my own two hands in quite some time. It is going to be a real pleasure to take you apart piece by piece. It would be better you took your medicine like a man. By all means, take your best shot or have you already done that and failed repeatedly?” Raven said as he was in a stance turned slightly to give Casper very little target to hit.
Casper must’ve thought his first instinct about tackling him was the right one. He tried it again and got a swift knee to the face, it staggered him and had him holding his bloody and broken nose. He swung wildly like a fighter in the ring he knew his time was coming to an end. Casper was not acting the right way. He needed to calm himself down and stop thinking about the wound to his ego and his pride combined. The bloody nose was a nice touch and easily one to make Casper feel outmatched and outwitted.
“I’m going to do you a favor and give your woman a free pass. She was never meant to be a part of this, and I think I can live with her pining for you. It will serve her right for making a rash decision about being with you. I can see the love you both share for one another. It kind of gets me right here, but my debt of honor has never been more clear,” The Raven said as he dodged every attack Casper made without even laying a finger on him
I found his technique was more defense than offense. He was waiting for Casper to make a move. The Raven did nothing to overreact or try something to make him susceptible to Casper’s wild swings.
“Don’t do anything. Stay still and wait for him to come to you. I know how this sounds but trust me it’s the only way you’re going to be on a level playing field. Don’t make the mistake of going after him. Anger is driving you to act without thinking,” I said seeing the only way this was going to end was with one of them dead and not a threat. I could only hope Casper wasn’t so far gone to take this man's life.
I felt like I was miles away and I wondered why the both of us were still standing after everything we had been through. I heard his name, and it always made me smile to scream it at the point of my ecstasy. It would be a heartbreaking if I were to witness him die in this manner. I would miss him more than I could ever say and the pain would be so overwhelming I would want to die.
Casper must have thought I was crazy to think standing still was going to accomplish anything. Instead of arguing, he showed he was no longer desperate and stood with a defiance resembling a soldier more than a civilian. He had seen his fair share of fights, but nothing like standing toe to toe with a professional like the Raven.
“I’m going to give you one more chance to reconsider. Think carefully about what you really want to accomplish in this life and what legacy you want to leave behind for your child,” Casper said as we both looked and found him blinking for the first time.
“You have no idea if I have any children, but I think you understand a father does what he has to for the protection of his young. They will never know this side of me. I will never groom them to become anything like me,” The Raven said as they both stood paralyzed in one place waiting for the other to make the move that could jeopardize their health.
“Kids these days are more than a match for us. They see things, and they hear things without us even realizing it. My daughter is the same way, and I didn’t want her to know how ruthless I could be, but there were always those moments I showed I was not the one to back down for any reason. We haven’t spoken in five years, but it has not been from lack of
trying. She has gone her own way and joining Greenpeace was her way to thumb her nose at her father. Be careful. You think you’re shielding them, but the only thing you are doing is making yourself look more suspicious in their eyes,” Casper said.
“I’ve been very careful, and it’s almost like a switch goes off which makes me a family man when I walk through those doors. Their mother died during childbirth after the last one. I live a few blocks away from where I have become an indentured servant to Nash Miles. I’m afraid I can’t waste any more time on you. This has taken a lot longer than I was hoping for. I’ve already revealed too much, and this makes it necessary to use whatever is at my disposal to make sure you take your last breath,” Nash said as he showed a very sharp blade meant to give Casper more than paper cuts.
“I would mention it’s not a good idea to bring a knife to a gunfight. It really doesn’t make much of a difference. It’s not like I have anything to match to whatever you are going to throw at me next. Come at me and see where it gets you. Like I said, I’m not afraid to die, but I won’t go into the night willingly,” Casper said as the knife sliced through his clothes and left a very noticeable red line from side to side.
I had to find an equalizer and the one I came up with was the discarded shotgun right beside the desk. I took a few steps back, still keeping my eyes on what was going on and hoping Raven was too hung up on killing Casper to know what I was doing.
They were grappling for the knife and Raven was elbowing Casper’s face. This was a sure sign he knew how to do two things at the same time. The only thing that made Casper a match for someone like the Raven was his need to stay alive at any cost. He got two more hits with the same elbow and then the knife came in with a jab like an uppercut. Casper moved just in time, but not enough to avoid a flesh wound.
I bent down slowly and retrieved the shotgun only to see there were no shells. It would still make an impressive weapon and even without the shotgun shells; it became more of a deadly club.
“I don’t know about you, Casper but my heart has never pumped this fast. I love you are a challenge, and you don’t just whine like a little baby. You’re a man of character and to show this kind of weakness would only make you feel like a fool,” The Raven said as he came in one more time and this was when Casper used a maneuver and had the Raven’s wrist turn in such a way it would definitely be painful.
Chapter 31
I hid the shotgun behind me, trying to keep it out of sight and not give the Raven any chance to come to the conclusion I was not some meek little thing going to stand idly by doing nothing.
I could tell Casper was not going to be the same after this fight. The bloody nose and the slice across his stomach, not to mention the wound to his side bleeding quite profusely through his clothes was getting the best of him. Amazingly, he was still standing, gritting his teeth and showing nothing but contempt for the adversary coming to do him in.
I got behind Casper, and the shotgun came around, and he held it in his hands. He looked surprised by my overture, and then he noticed the shotgun shell was vacant from the chamber.
“That thing is not going to do you any good without the shells. I’m going to make it sporting and give you a fighting chance,” The Raven said as he took out the shotgun shells from his pocket and threw them into the corner of the room.
It meant Casper was going to have to go through him to get to the shells. It didn’t look like this was going to be much of an option. It was exactly what the Raven was counting on.
The Raven came forward with the blade again and got the butt of the gun down on his wrist for his trouble. I heard the crack of the bone and it must have felt like pins and needles in his fingers as the knife slipped from his grip. Casper thinking it was over decided to put the final nail in the Raven’s coffin by swinging the gun by the muzzle with enough force to knock a baseball out of the field.
It was kind of haphazard, and the Raven made it look like he had choreographed the move down to the follow-through. He ducked underneath it and came out with his other hand to contact the vulnerable side of Casper. The pain was quite severe and made him fall back until he was landing in a chair nearby. He sprung back on his feet on top of the furniture. He looked like a Bengal tiger.
“That fucking hurt and now you’re going to have to pay for it with your life. I was just playing it for all it was worth, but it’s time we got down to the real reason why I have been sent,” The Raven said as he was the one to tackle Casper. They both went tumbling over the side of the furniture to the floor below and hey both made very noticeable grunts.
I stepped forward and used my right foot as if I was playing soccer. I caught the side of the Raven’s face. Casper brought down his elbow. I got down on my knees, grabbing the Raven’s hands and holding them over his head with my knees pressing into his palms at the same time to keep him from fighting back. He was losing the air from his lungs, but I could tell from his eyes he was holding his breath.
“I appreciate you have this need to survive, but why won’t you die ready. The two of you are no match for me,” The Raven said as Casper didn’t hold back with one blow after another. Watching this side of Casper was hard.
Casper broke this man’s nose, and the blood sprayed made it look like a Jackson Pollock painting on the wall. I think in his mind Casper was returning the favor from Raven breaking his nose. Casper didn’t stop there, and it wasn’t long before the kicking and thrashing came to an end.
I was afraid to touch Raven’s pulse, but I was quite surprised to see he was still breathing. Casper did not kill him and having me around had given him a real reason not to kill. Those after him probably were quite taken back by the way Casper did not want to kill them. He probably did, but he was doing me a solid by keeping those tendencies to himself.
“I don’t know how long he’s going to be out for. Grab any of those papers with Nash’s name and mine on them. We can’t go back to your place, but we can go to mine. From there, I will be able to watch and see who comes and goes looking for me. You didn’t sign up for this, and there’s no sign this storm is going to let up anytime soon,” Casper said once again trying to push me away and having no luck whatsoever.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from going with you and see this thing through to the end. I might be asking for trouble, but I don’t see I have much of choice. You might think you’re protecting me, but the only thing you’re doing is making me stand strong like a woman is supposed to when they are having their man’s back.” I said as I went back into the office, making sure not to touch any of the glass scattered about in no reasonable pattern I could ascertain.
The gun blast would’ve been heard by those down the street, but rarely do civilians find it necessary to stick their noses where it doesn’t belong. Not many people would get involved in disputes out of their business. There wasn’t this rare humanitarian or stupid person who thought they needed to do something by calling the cops or intervening to see what they could do to render aid.
I came back out to see Casper was holding the same towel I had used to break the glass. He was using it to staunch the blood flowing from his nose. Yet another towel was wrapped around his waist to stem the wound to his side. He was walking funny. He could’ve had broken ribs or maybe they were just bruised. He wasn’t going to let the pain overshadow what he had to do next.
“We’ll take Wes’ motorcycle. It’ll help us get through the streets in this traffic and then we’ll ditch it where they will hopefully never find it again at the bottom of a ravine or maybe in the ocean itself. I think we’ll play it by ear and see how it goes,” Casper said as he had me as a crutch holding him while I was clutching the folder full of papers. Hopefully, they would make sense once we got a better look at them.
“I think I might be rubbing up on you… I mean rubbing off on you. You can call it a Freudian slip. It’s not like you don’t know how I feel about you. You’ve given me hope our time
together is not something you take for granted. We treasure every moment regardless if we are in danger or otherwise. We can’t let them pull us apart. This will feed them with you on a silver platter. With me by your side, I’m giving you a way to do things that are not going to land you in hot water with the local authorities,” I said with Casper looking confused and then a sort of recognition came over his face when he saw the motorcycle.
“I’m not going to be able to drive. It’s going to be up to you to get us there without running afoul of somebody trying to kill us,” Casper said as he allowed me to climb on first. I was getting a feel for the beast between my legs.
I felt his hands wrapped around me from behind. I was thinking about protecting him. I thought love was a secondhand emotion; it was only relegated to those of college sweethearts and some who settled for what they had.
“I thought it might be necessary to tell you to hold on tight, but it doesn’t look like you are opposed to that. Some men might feel letting me take the reins makes them weak and inferior. I’m glad you are not so stubborn to not see what kind of pain you’re in. It might be a good idea to stop at a local clinic, but I’m reasonably confident it’s the first place they’re going to look for you. Raven will think you are foolish enough to go to somebody for help. It’s a good thing none of those wounds are life threatening. You’re going to need a blood transfusion,” I said as the engine came to life and the vibration underneath me was enough to keep me wide awake and alert.
