BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1)

by Philip Duncan

  “Hell yeah! Nice shooting, kid!” he exclaimed. “Let’s keep moving.”

  Decklan got back to his feet, wiped the snow off his entire front, and they continued on toward the house. They got lucky with how the bodies fell and since he used a silencer, the shots weren’t heard. However, if either one of his victims had fallen forward over the railing and down to the ground below, it could have easily garnered some unwanted attention. For once, something seemed to be going his way, but the night was still young.

  They got within fifteen yards of the house, but they found themselves on the wrong side of a fence. This wasn’t the kind of fence that was there to keep a dog from getting out, but more the kind of fence to keep a dog from getting in…or in this case, two armed men.

  “Shit! You never said anything about a fence, Teddy!” Decklan said, frustrated.

  “I forgot about this damn thing! I didn’t exactly have to climb a fence to get in the first time so I guess it just slipped my mind,” Teddy responded.

  You can remember how many rooms there are in the house but not that the whole damn place is enclosed by a security fence?

  “What the hell do we do now?” Decklan asked.

  “Let me think for a minute.” Teddy replied.

  “Teddy, we don’t have a minute. Every second we aren’t in there is a second closer to the bodies being found. If that happens then they will be expecting us.”

  “I got it! Open your bag!” Teddy said.

  Decklan looked at him, confused, but did it anyway.

  “Perfect! I always leave these in here just in case I’m ever in a situation like this,” Teddy said, as he reached into the bag and pulled out something small and silver, resembling a lighter.

  “You think a lighter is going to get us through this high-grade steel fence?” Decklan said.

  Teddy looked at him. “Just watch.”

  He pressed a small button on the side and Decklan watched as a high-power laser shot out. Teddy held it about six inches from the fence and started to cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

  “Holy shit!” Decklan said, amazed and shocked. “Where did you get that from?”

  Teddy smiled. “Just an old toy from a past life.”

  Decklan wasn’t sure what he was referring to, but now was not the time to ask. After a minute, Teddy had a hole in the fence large enough for them both to get through. He let go of the button, stuck the end in the snow to cool it off, and stuck it in his pocket.

  “Never know if we are going to need this again,” Teddy said.

  They made their way to the giant south-facing wall that Teddy laid out in their plan. They made sure to stay tight to it so they would be hard to spot if anyone was looking outside. Once at the end of the wall, the next move was going up the concrete stairs and into the house. This would be their first move where they would be exposed in the open so they had to be aware and ready to shoot if they had to.

  “Got your gun ready?” Teddy asked.

  “Ready,” Decklan replied.

  “Let’s move, and stay low.”

  They turned the corner and quickly moved up the stairs. They could see directly into the house through the double glass doors they would be going through. No one in sight. Teddy grabbed and turned the handle, slowly pushing the door open, and lucky for them, it was unlocked.

  Decklan followed directly behind, staying on Teddy like a shadow, just like he had been taught in the military whenever entering an unknown room. The tighter you were to the guy in front of you, the smaller the target for the enemy to shoot. Decklan slowly closed the door behind them, trying his best not to make any noise. They went right, first moving through the dining room. It was empty, so they moved into the kitchen, where they saw one of Vladimir’s guys at the fridge, with his machine gun strapped around his back. He was facing away from them, so they moved in closer in order to get a clean kill.

  Teddy pulled out his combat knife, got directly behind the guy and plunged it deep into his neck, catching the bleeding man’s weight and lowering him to the floor. The guy was a goner, and the placement of Teddy’s knife disabled the man from making any noise. They pulled him back behind the counter out of plain view and pushed on.

  There were now three dead bodies to be found, but they couldn’t risk trying to move him outside. They needed to keep going. Once through the kitchen, they moved into the next room, which appeared to be a living room. Just like the dining room, this room was empty. Three rooms down and one to go before working their way upstairs. They both stopped moving and looked at each other. They could hear noise, but it didn’t sound like people talking—more like a TV. They moved closer and peeked around the corner before entering. They could see a couple of Vladimir’s guys sitting on the couch watching TV. But there was a problem…there were two girls with them. They both stepped back.

  Decklan whispered, “What the hell are we going to do? I told you before, I’m not killing innocent girls.”

  Teddy just looked at him, clearly thinking the opposite, but before he could respond they heard the two girls talk…

  “Excuse us, boys, but we need to go freshen up.”

  Music to my ears, Decklan thought.

  They waited until they heard the girls leave the room before moving in. The way the couch was sitting, the two guys were facing forward, meaning Decklan and Teddy would be entering from their left. This would allow them to move in without instantly being seen. Teddy looked at Decklan and nodded, indicating it was time to move. Teddy moved in first, with Decklan on his heels. Teddy fired two quick and silent shots, killing both men instantly. But they still had one problem…the girls would be coming back and would, without a doubt, scream bloody murder when they saw the bodies of the two men they were just with seconds earlier.

  “We need to find those girls and get them out of here safely,” Decklan said.

  “I know,” Teddy replied. “Stand behind that wall and when they come back in, we can grab them before they have the chance to scream.”

  Seconds later, the girls entered the room and found themselves being held by two strangers without warning.

  “Listen, you need to get out of here right now and you can’t make any noise!” Decklan said, where both girls could hear. “These are very dangerous men and if you stay here you will die, do you understand me?”

  Both girls nodded in agreement since they had their mouths covered with Decklan’s and Teddy’s hands.

  “Are there any more girls in the house?” Decklan asked.

  Decklan’s girl nodded her head up and down.

  “I’m going to let go of your mouth so you can talk, but you can’t scream. If you do, then we all die,” Decklan said, reiterating death in hopes of getting his point across. “How many girls are here?”

  “Three, upstairs…with him,” she said, shaking and holding back tears.

  They both knew she was referring to Vladimir, which was exactly what they had planned for.

  “Thank you, now go!” Decklan said, gently moving her toward the front door.

  Teddy let go of his girl and they scurried off to get their purses and coats before heading out into the wintry night.

  They were in a lot better position now having cleared out the first floor and knowing how many girls were left in the house. Teddy looked at Decklan. “You go left, I’ll go right.”

  The stairway was the kind seen in movies or celebrity houses, where it started with a wide single stairway leading to a flat area before splitting off both directions. So far, they had been tight and moving as one person but since there were now two areas from above that could potentially have someone shooting down at them, they needed to split up in order to neutralize that possibility. They moved swiftly up the stairs with their guns at the ready. They made it up both sides without any issues, but now they needed to regroup and begin checking all the rooms.

  “I believe the master suite is in the very back of the hallway, but we
need to check all the rooms leading down the hall first, so we don’t have bullets flying at us from behind,” Teddy said.

  They looked down the hallway and counted four doors, two on each side, plus the main door at the end, which would make five. They moved up to the first door on the left and Decklan checked to see if it was locked. It was open, so he cracked it open to get a look inside. He didn’t see anyone so they both moved all the way in to clear the room. It was empty. They moved to the next room, the second one on the right side. Again, Decklan checked and again it was unlocked. He peeked inside and spotted someone lying on the bed facedown. It looked like the person was passed out. They both moved in slowly, trying not to make a sound but Decklan accidentally kicked over an empty vodka bottle. It clanked against the hard floor and rolled until it hit the wall next to the bed.

  “Shit!” Decklan whispered. “Go check and make sure no one is coming.”

  The guy on the bed was clearly passed out drunk, as he didn’t move an inch from the noise. By the looks of all the liquor and beer bottles on the floor, Decklan could slam one of these bottles against the wall and this guy wouldn’t budge. He was clearly not a threat but Decklan knew he was one of Vladimir’s guys so he couldn’t take the chance and let him live. He grabbed one of the pillows off the bed, placed it over the drunk guy’s head, and fired a single shot through the pillow, ending another life. He turned to leave the room but making sure to be more cautious of his steps this time.

  “Are we clear?” Decklan asked.

  “Clear,” Teddy replied, indicating no one was coming.

  They were now through two rooms, with two more to go before what would end up being the last stand in the master suite. Up to this point they had been lucky enough not to get in a fire fight, and as far as they were concerned, no one knew they were here. They cleared the next two rooms without any issues, which was concerning to them. How could they have made it all the way here without any confrontation? And where the hell were all of Vlad’s men? Could he really have thought he was safe coming back here? Did he assume that Decklan wouldn't find out where he ran off too and follow him? Maybe Vladimir Ivanov wasn’t as cunning and intelligent as previously thought. But if there was one thing Decklan learned in the military, if the mission seemed too easy then something was missing. There was no way in hell, after everything he had been through to get to this point, that it was going to end like this. No! Something was definitely off, and it was waiting for them on the other side of the door.

  CHAPTER 21

  They both stood there, anxiously wondering what they were getting ready to walk into. Decklan took a deep breath, looked at Teddy and nodded. “You ready?”

  Teddy nodded back. “As ready as I can be. Whatever happens next, just know you are one hell of a soldier!”

  “You too, Teddy,” Decklan replied.

  This door was different from the others. It was a double door, so they both grabbed a handle and swung open their side. As soon as they let go, they both pulled out their assault rifles, being ready for what could come next, but what they saw was completely unexpected. So much so that Decklan thought maybe he wasn’t seeing things right. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. After all, he hardly ever slept and had been in a constant state of stress for over a month. It would make perfect sense for him to have side effects…like seeing things that weren’t really there.

  “You seeing this, Teddy?” Decklan asked.

  “Sure am, kid,” Teddy replied.

  Decklan kept his gun aimed directly at Vladimir, as he inched closer to ask some questions and get some answers.

  “What the hell happened here?” Decklan asked, as Vladimir sat there in a chair in the middle of the room.

  Vladimir smiled. “I was wondering how long it would take you to find me.”

  “Answer the fucking question!” Decklan yelled. “What the hell happened here?”

  “What do you think happened here, Mr. Jennings?” Vladimir replied.

  Decklan looked around at all of the bodies around the room. Vladimir’s men and the three girls were all dead, and he was sitting there smiling.

  “You mean to tell me that you killed all of them?” Decklan said.

  “They were no good to me alive, so why not kill them myself?” Vladimir replied. “When you have lived as long as I have and seen the things I have seen, you know when something is inevitable.”

  “And what exactly is that?” Decklan asked, not sure what he was talking about.

  “You, of course. I’m talking about you. After what my men did to your family and your friend, I knew it was only a matter of time before we ended up here.”

  “So you did kill my family?”

  “Not me directly, but yes, my men. You have already killed the ones personally responsible, so that leaves only me…and the big guy.”

  “Who’s the big guy?” Decklan asked as he was trying to keep his anger contained.

  “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not the mastermind behind this whole operation. I’m merely a pawn used for my particular skill set.”

  Teddy finally chimed in. “What skill set is that exactly, asshole?”

  “I have a way of getting things done, quickly and quietly without ever getting my own hands dirty, which means it’s nearly impossible to ever trace anything back to me. That’s why the big guy likes me…that is until you came along,” Vladimir replied, clapping in admiration for what Decklan had been able to accomplish.

  “Who’s the big guy?” Decklan asked a second time.

  “I will tell you. I promise. But I believe there is a part of this puzzle that you will find much more interesting than who my boss is,” Vladimir said.

  Decklan looked confused. It seemed at this point there wasn't anything he could say that would be surprising, but what came out of Vladimir’s mouth next would change his world forever… again!

  “You have been so hell-bent on chasing and killing me that you never stopped to ask yourself some important questions,” Vladimir said.

  “Like what?” Decklan replied.

  “I am sure you want to know why your family. Am I right?”

  “Of course! I have been trying to figure that out since day one. I just assumed I pissed someone off at some point and they wanted revenge, or that my family was chosen at random and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Decklan answered.

  “Do you believe things happen randomly, Mr. Jennings?”

  “I think shitty things happen to good people every day and I believe bad people do bad things because that’s who they are,” Decklan answered.

  “So you believe everything happens for a reason, then?”

  “I guess I do.”

  “Okay, great. You ever wondered how I knew you were at the docks that day?”

  Decklan hesitated before answering.

  “I assumed you had been following us,” Decklan finally said.

  “And you’d be wrong in assuming that,” Vladimir said.

  Decklan was starting to get lost. He couldn’t see where Vladimir was going with all of this.

  “And how about the other night, at your house. Why did the cops never show up? Surely with all of that gunfire and noise blistering through the night air, someone would have heard it and called the police.”

  Vladimir could see the gears turning in Decklan’s head, as he was desperately trying to connect the dots. Decklan looked down at the ground as he was quickly figuring out where Vladimir was going.

  “You’re fucking lying!” Decklan snapped. “You’re just trying to save your own pathetic life!”

  Teddy hadn’t figured out what Decklan and Vladimir both now knew.

  “What’s he talking about, Decklan?” Teddy asked.

  Vladimir was now laughing, but that was soon put to a stop as Decklan kicked him in the chest and off the chair.

  “Tell him!” Vladimir said, sitting on the ground.

  Decklan quickly turned
and pointed his gun at Teddy. “Did you know?”

  “Whoa, kid! What the hell are you doing? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Teddy said, dropping his gun and putting his hands up.

  Vladimir began laughing again.

  “Shut the hell up, you piece of shit!” Decklan yelled, staying fixed on Teddy.

  With his hands still raised, Teddy said, “Just tell me what you’re talking about so we can get on the same page.”

  “Parker!” Decklan replied.

  “Your brother?” Teddy said, seeming clueless.

  “Yes! What did he tell you? Did he tell you to kill me or make sure I didn’t make it back?” Decklan said.

  “No, nothing like that! I had no idea, I swear,” Teddy replied.

  Decklan took a moment to think. If Teddy was in on this, then surely he would have tried killing him back at his house or in the middle of the field where no one would ever know. He had been too helpful up to this point and hadn’t given Decklan any reason not to trust him. Decklan had to decide: believe Teddy and let him live, or think he was lying and pump him full of lead where he stood.

  “You swear on your life?” Decklan asked.

  “I swear, kid! I hadn’t talked to your brother in a couple of years until he called me up about you,” Teddy said. “If I knew anything, I would have told you as soon as possible.”

  Decklan could hear the sincerity and shock in his voice, so he lowered his gun away from Teddy.

  “I’m sorry, but I had to be sure,” Decklan said.

  “I get it,” Teddy said, reaching back down for his rifle.

  Decklan directed his attention back to Vladimir.

  “So why did Parker help you? He’s my brother and the chief of police. What could he possibly have to gain from this?” Decklan asked.

  “It seems that your brother is a bit of a greedy coward,” Vladimir answered. “When the big guy finally found where you were living, he recruited me and my men for the job. The only thing that could possibly get in our way was the police, so I went to talk to your brother. At first, he refused to help and swore he was going to warn you, but that quickly changed when I showed him a picture of one of my men at his house watching his wife cook dinner. Once he feared for his wife along with his own life, he didn’t think twice about saying yes. Of course, I was still unsure he would follow through, so I bribed him. I told him I’d wire him two million dollars once the job was done and believe it or not, he agreed. Your own flesh and blood.”