BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1)

by Philip Duncan

  It was clear that Vladimir was trying to get Decklan fired up and pissed off. He took joy in watching other people suffer.

  “Why the hell should I trust a word that comes out of your mouth?” Decklan said.

  “At this point, what do I have to lose? I already know I’m a dead man. Even if you don’t kill me, my boss will,” Vladimir answered. “I might as well die with a clean conscience.”

  I doubt that’s possible, Decklan thought to himself. “Let’s say you are telling the truth. Why would Parker tell me where you ran off to and why would he hook me up with an old buddy to help me while I was here?” Decklan asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Vladimir said. “He figured if you killed me, then he would be in the clear and you would have no way of ever finding out he was helping this whole time.”

  Damn it! That actually makes sense. “Okay, but he had to have known…”

  “That, my friend, is a good question. I suppose he didn’t think about that. So I guess your brother is not only a greedy coward but also naïve,” Vladimir replied, with a sadistic grin. “Maybe he thought you would just kill me on sight, but clearly you needed answers because I’m still alive.”

  Not for long! Decklan thought. “What about your boss, the big guy? Why would he choose my family to murder?”

  “Let me answer your question with a question,” Vladimir replied. “Does the name Igor Abdulov mean anything to you?”

  Decklan had to rack his brain for a minute. The first name didn’t ring any bells but the last name was trying to pull something from his memory.

  “The last name. I’ve heard it before, but I can’t remember where,” Decklan answered.

  “Allow me to refresh your memory, Mr. Jennings. You see, it seems that about fifteen years ago you were deployed overseas in Germany, is that correct?”

  “How could you possibly know that?” Decklan replied.

  “Do you remember why you were sent to Germany for that particular deployment?”

  Decklan thought back…

  “Yes. We were sent over there to infiltrate a large drug operation that was constantly pumping drugs into the States and killing hundreds, if not thousands, of people a year. Me and a few of my men specialized in undercover operations so we had the best chance at success.”

  “And your main target?” Vladimir asked, seeing the realization slowly coming to Decklan.

  “Holy shit! Dimitri Abdulov, who I now assume was related to Igor Abdulov,” Decklan said, completely shocked.

  “That is correct, but not just related. Dimitri was his son,” Vladimir replied, clapping like a proud parent. “It turns out Igor has been carrying that hatred for you for the past fifteen years, waiting for his opportunity to seek his revenge.”

  “How could he have known it was me? We were undercover, and that cover was never blown,” Decklan replied, still not completely understanding the full weight of the situation.

  “You are correct, Mr. Jennings. You were undercover and they would have never figured out who you were if it weren’t for your fellow soldier who you thought died during the mission. Turns out, when some of Igor’s men found him, he was fatally wounded but still alive. One tough son of a bitch from what I hear. Took them days to beat the information out of him, but every man has his breaking point, no matter how tough they are, and they found his. He gave up your name, along with those of the other two soldiers with you who made it out alive.”

  Teddy hadn’t moved during this entire conversation. He knew Decklan was fragile and could snap any second, so he stayed ready but quiet.

  “Why didn’t he just kill me if that is what he has been waiting for all these years?”

  “That’s the thing—he doesn’t want you dead. He wants you to have to live with the fact that your family was torn away from you without warning. He wants you to feel the same pain he has felt for fifteen years.”

  “But you have clearly been trying to kill me for weeks now. That would be the opposite of his plan, according to you,” Decklan said.

  “Yes, that is correct. I tend to get a little carried away sometimes when I’m pissed off, but killing your friend was reward enough for me,” Vladimir replied, smiling.

  Decklan flipped his rifle around and drove the butt of the gun directly into Vlad’s nose, shattering it on contact.

  “That’s for Langley, you heartless bastard!” Decklan said.

  “Son of a bitch!” Vladimir yelled out in pain. “Why don’t you just shoot me already!”

  “Not yet. You still have answers that I need,” Decklan replied. “Where do I find Igor?”

  Vlad started laughing, before suddenly stopping to hold his broken nose. “You don’t find Igor, he finds you. But even if I told you, you couldn’t get within ten miles of him without being killed. You think I have been hard to get to? It pales in comparison to Igor and his army of loyal soldiers.”

  “I don’t care how many men he has. I’m going to hunt him down and end his life, just like you,” Decklan replied, sharply.

  “I wish you luck, Mr. Jennings. It was never personal, only business,” Vladimir said, as if those words meant anything to Decklan.

  “That’s where you're wrong, Mr. Ivanov. It's always been personal,” Decklan said.

  Vladimir noticed a sudden change in Decklan’s eyes. It was as if his eyes had been emptied of all hope and faith in humanity. He now had the eyes of a ruthless killer, dark and void of light.

  “Ah, finally! Let’s get this over with!” Vladimir yelled. “Pull the trigger!”

  Decklan raised his rifle and pointed the barrel directly at Vlad’s chest. He stood about five feet in front of him as Vlad was still seated on the floor, but for some reason he hesitated. He didn’t know why, but his finger wouldn’t squeeze the trigger. He closed his eyes and instantly saw his beautiful wife holding his hand and leading him toward the ocean. She was wearing a white sundress and had a smile that could outshine the sun on the brightest day. He could hear her voice—her sweet, caring voice. He didn’t know why this was happening right now. Right before he was about to kill the man who was responsible for the slaying of his family.

  I see you, baby, and I miss you so much. I’m doing this for you and our children. I’m so sorry I let this happen. I love you!

  “Well, what the hell are you waiting for!” Vladimir yelled again, now on his feet.

  This caused Decklan to open his eyes and snap back to reality.

  Then Teddy spoke. “Hey kid, you need to make a move. We don’t have all night.”

  Teddy was trying to give Decklan a push. Every second that passed was a second that more men could be closer to showing up.

  Decklan had no problem killing Vladimir Ivanov. Even though he wasn’t the true mastermind behind the whole thing, he was still just as responsible as Igor…and Parker.

  Six shots fired from his rifle and directly into Vladimir’s flesh. The force of the bullets knocked him back against a dresser and blood leaked from the bullet holes. Amazingly enough, he was still alive as he tried to mutter some words through his blood-filled lungs, but they were in Russian, so Decklan didn’t understand. Rather than finish the job off with his gun, he pulled out his knife and knelt down next to Vladimir. He slowly plunged it deep into his abdomen, making sure to keep direct eye contact the whole time. He wanted Vladimir to know that he took pleasure in killing him.

  Decklan stood back up and turned toward Teddy. “Let’s go. Parker’s next.”

  Teddy nodded in agreement, not having any words for what just unfolded, but he did know they needed to get the hell out of there before reinforcements showed up.

  They hurried out of the house, leaving the same way they came in. They didn’t want to risk walking out the front door into possible trouble. The snow was still falling, but not as heavily as before. The wind was still howling, which made the icy cold air feel like it was cutting right through the skin. They walked back through the same hole Teddy
had cut for them to enter and headed straight for the car a couple hundred yards through the snow-covered field. Teddy was hauling ass as fast as he could, but Decklan had stopped and turned around to look at the house one final time. Here he was, over five thousand miles from home, standing in the middle of a foreign field and having just killed the man responsible for killing his family. But the job wasn’t finished.

  Now he had to go back home and confront his little brother, who had betrayed him and his family. They may have never been close, like most brothers were, but what he did was wrong and unforgivable. To Decklan, Parker was just as responsible as Vladimir and Igor. Hell, maybe more so since he was his own damn brother. He hadn’t had time to figure out how he was going to confront him yet, but he figured the long flight back would give him time. He gave the giant lifeless house one last look before turning around, never to return. His mind was now set on getting back home as quickly as possible.

  Teddy had been so focused on getting back to the car he hadn’t even noticed Decklan had stopped. He was a good fifty or so yards ahead of Decklan and almost back to the car. Decklan picked up his pace to try and catch up as well as wanting to get out of the brutal and unforgiving Russian cold. Finally, back, they tossed their shit in the back and climbed in. Teddy cranked the key and blasted the heat as high as it would go. Considering what they just went through and managed to pull off, they weren’t actually gone that long. However, it was long enough for the car to be covered in snow and half frozen. It would take several minutes before they could drive.

  “What are you going to do about your brother?” Teddy asked. “I still can’t believe he would do something like that.”

  Decklan stared at the dashboard with such intensity, it was as if he was trying to burn a hole through the car with his eyes.

  “What would you do if you were in my situation?” Decklan replied.

  “Shit, kid! I don’t know. I guess I’d be pretty pissed off. Probably want to kill him,” Teddy said.

  “Do you think Vladimir was telling the truth?” Decklan asked, still clinging to the hope that it was all a lie.

  “Hard to tell with someone like that, but he did seem to know a lot of shit that he shouldn’t have known,” Teddy answered.

  Decklan’s glare didn’t budge from the dash. “We never really got along but never in a million years would I have thought he’d be capable of something like this.”

  “Me either, kid. But I guess you never really know who someone truly is. Everyone has their demons.”

  The car was finally thawed enough to start moving, so Teddy threw it in gear and they headed back. Back at Teddy’s, Decklan jumped out of the car quickly and headed for the blue door. He wanted to get his bag and book his flight back as quickly as possible. He got lucky; there was a flight leaving in two hours. Teddy knew Decklan was ready to leave but he tried to convince him to stay and cool off before doing anything he might regret.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here a little while, even if just for the night?” Teddy asked. “You just went through a lot of shit and found out some stuff you weren’t expecting. It might be a good idea for you to take a breather and try to rest.”

  “Rest? You think I’ll be able to sleep after finding out my own brother was working with these bastards?” Decklan snapped. “I need to know why he would do something like this, and I won’t be able to sleep until I do.”

  Teddy didn’t bother arguing with him; he could clearly see it was a losing battle. “All right, kid. At least let me give you a ride to the airport.”

  “Thanks,” Decklan said, as they both headed right back out into the snowy night.

  CHAPTER 22

  The ride to the airport was quiet. Decklan was too focused on what he was going to do with Parker, and Teddy knew he could never find the words to help. He needed to figure out how to confront him. Should he act like everything was okay to see if he confessed, or should he let him know from the jump that he knew everything?

  This was going to be difficult since it was his own brother. It was hard enough trying to deal with the fact that someone out there wanted to hurt his family, but the fact that his little brother was a part of it from the start was almost too much to comprehend.

  “Here we are, kid,” Teddy said, as they pulled up to the front of the airport. It was almost the exact same spot where Decklan got in the taxi when he arrived.

  “Thanks for everything, Teddy. I couldn’t have done it without you,” Decklan said.

  “Anytime,” Teddy replied, as Decklan went to get out of the car. “And good luck with everything. I hope you can find some closure.”

  Decklan nodded his head at Teddy and climbed out of the car. He closed the door behind him and headed into the airport through the automatic doors.

  Since he had only been in this airport the one time, he wasn’t sure which direction his gate was. He headed for the security check and it didn't take him long to get through since there weren't many people at the airport at this time.

  He looked down at his ticket: gate seven. He found someone who worked at the airport and pointed both directions, indicating he needed help finding his gate. The Russian looked up and pointed to his right.

  “Thank you,” Decklan said, not knowing if the man could understand English.

  He headed for his gate, and found an empty seat, which wasn't hard since there didn't seem to be anyone else on this fight with him. He had an hour to kill before his flight started boarding so he had plenty of time to think and reflect.

  He couldn't shake the idea that there was no way Parker would be a part of this. Surely his own brother would have warned him or tried to protect his own niece and nephew if he knew they were in danger. Whether or not Vladimir was telling the truth, Decklan would soon find out.

  He understood that Parker could easily deny the accusations. Hell, that was probably exactly what he would do because if it were true then he was a coward, and this time wouldn't be any different than when Vladimir first approached him.

  Before he knew it, the hour had flown by and it was time to board. He stood up and slowly walked toward the gate as if walking off the plank of a pirate ship. He knew he needed to do this, but it didn't make it any easier.

  He found his seat, stuck his only bag in the overhead compartment and sat down. He could see a few other people boarding the plane as well, but it was nowhere near full. He slid open the window cover and looked out into the dark, wintry night.

  He felt as if he was leaving a part of himself behind, but that was okay because it was a part that he needed to let go of. Vladimir was dead and couldn't hurt anyone else. He had other things to focus on now, Parker and Igor. He knew that he could never be completely at peace if he didn’t hear it from his brother face to face. He got lucky this time and he didn't have to worry about carrying on a conversation with a stranger, because he was in no mood to talk. However, he did wonder how Rebecca was and if she was able to find her mother and get some closure.

  She’s a nice young girl. She deserves to be happy.

  Decklan could feel the plane start to move as it was backing out and heading for the runway for its takeoff. Soon he could feel himself being pressed back against his seat as the giant aircraft reached speeds of well over one hundred miles per hour. For some reason, this allowed him to relax, and he suddenly felt the weight of his eyelids. He knew he needed sleep. It’d been two days since he’d actually slept like a normal person. His body had been running on pure determination and anger, but that seemed to have worn off for the moment.

  Fifteen hours later Decklan was woken up by the force of the plane's wheels hitting the runway. He slowly opened his eyes, sat up straight, and looked out the window.

  That was fast.

  He felt rested for the first time in weeks, but that didn’t make what he was about to do any easier. He still hadn’t figured out the approach he was going to take with Parker, so he figured he’d just wing it once he
saw him. He figured he’d know what to do once he saw him, so he was going to let whatever happened happen. It didn’t take him long to exit the plane since there were only about ten other people on the flight with him. He headed straight for the front door, where he could head directly for his truck in the parking garage. He wanted to go home first and get a shower and change of clothes before going to see his brother.

  Once back home, he went inside and grabbed a fresh pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and headed for the guest room downstairs. He still wasn’t ready to take a shower in his room yet; it was too soon. Clean, changed, and ready to confront Parker, he grabbed his truck keys and was out the door in under thirty minutes. He tried calling Parker three times, but no answer. He sent a couple of texts letting him know he was back and needed to talk, but no reply. He figured he was probably at work, so that was where he headed. He pulled into the station, parked his truck, and jumped out. He headed for Parker’s office, but before he could get past the front, the officer on duty stopped him.

  “If you’re here to see the chief, he’s not in,” the young female officer said.

  “Do you know when he will be here?” Decklan asked.

  “No sir. We haven’t seen him in a couple of days, and no one can get hold of him. Figured he was taking some personal days.”

  Decklan was thrown off. It wasn’t like his brother to just disappear without warning, especially from work. Something wasn’t right.

  “Has anyone been to his house to see if he was home?” Decklan asked, thinking that was the obvious next move.

  “I’m not sure. You should talk to Officer Smith. He was the last person to talk to him,” she said.