by Mike Ryan
Without saying another word, he looked at Malloy, then left the room. He heard Ambersome crying as he left, her knowing what their fate was. Malloy moved around to the front of them to ask them a final question.
“You want to see it coming?” Malloy asked the pair.
“Whatever,” Ianetta responded. “Just hurry up and…”
Malloy interrupted his sentence and didn’t wait for an answer, quickly pulling his gun up and putting a bullet in Ianetta’s forehead before he even knew what was happening. He moved over to his girlfriend’s chair, though she was too busy crying to have a response. She was looking down, not wanting to see the final blow coming. Malloy gently put the gun to the side of her temple and squeezed the trigger. The force of the blast knocked her chair over and onto the floor. He motioned to the others to follow him outside to rejoin the boss. Vincent was waiting on the porch as the others came out, looking up at the sky.
“Something wrong, boss?” Malloy asked.
“Nothing, Jimmy. Nothing at all. Beautiful day out, don’t you think?”
Malloy grinned. “A little chilly out, but not too bad a day.”
Vincent nodded. “Yes, not a bad day at all.”
Once Recker arrived at Devereaux Street, he parked a few houses down, quickly getting out of his truck. He went around the back of one of the neighboring houses, carefully going from house to house, hopping some fences and ducking behind some large obstacles, making sure he wasn’t seen, until he got to the one Marcus Ambersome was in. He quietly maneuvered to the back door of the house. Recker wiggled the handle of the door to see if it was locked. After a minute, he was able to pick the lock and slowly opened the door, hoping it didn’t creak and give him away. The door led into the basement on the raised home. Recker quietly walked inside and started searching the room. Mara wasn’t there. Recker assumed she must’ve been upstairs in one of the bedrooms. He went over to the stairs, standing at the bottom and looking up to where they led, up to a closed door. He climbed them and stood on the top step, putting his ear to the door to see if he could hear any voices. He clenched his grip on his gun a little tighter as he heard footsteps coming closer. Someone was walking back and forth past the door, apparently mumbling to themselves. After a couple of minutes, Recker figured it must’ve been Ambersome. It seemed as though he was trying to call his sister and getting frustrated that he wasn’t able to get through. Recker waited about ten minutes before making his move, just to make sure there were no other people in the house. Satisfied that Marcus was alone, since he heard no other voices or movements, Recker decided it was time to act. He waited a few more minutes until Ambersome paced by the door again and then he would strike. Once Ambersome walked by the door to the kitchen, Recker waited for him to come back. As soon as he heard him walk by, Recker threw open the door and hit Ambersome in the back of the head, knocking the kidnapper to the floor. In one motion, Ambersome hit the floor, rolled over, and reached for his gun, which was tucked inside the front of his pants.
“Don’t do it!” Recker shouted, having the drop on him.
Ambersome didn’t listen and tried to pull his gun out, giving Recker no choice in his response. Recker pulled the trigger on his Sig Sauer, firing two shots into Ambersome’s chest. Ambersome immediately slumped down further on the floor, the life evaporating from his body. Recker walked over to Ambersome’s body and kicked his gun away from him. The bedrooms were upstairs and Recker ran up them to check for Mara. The first bedroom he checked was on the right. He opened the door and there she was. Just sitting on the floor in the corner with her knees up to her chest. Recker smiled at her and put his gun away. He walked into the room, trying not to frighten her any more than he knew she already was.
“Mara, my name’s Michael,” he softly told her. “I’m here to take you back to your mommy and daddy.”
“Where are they?” she asked.
“They’re waiting for you at home. I’m gonna take you there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” he smiled. “Maybe if you’re good, we can stop for an ice cream or milkshake on the way.”
“Chocolate?” Mara asked, perking up.
“Whatever you want.”
“OK.”
“I’m gonna pick you up, OK? There’s something downstairs that I don’t want you to see.”
“OK.”
Recker picked her up and went downstairs, shielding her eyes so she didn’t see the dead body on the floor. He carried her all the way to his truck, putting her in the front seat. He didn’t have a car seat for her, so at least by having her next to him, he could keep his eyes on her and talk to her. Before starting the car, he called Mr. Ridley and let him know that he had Mara safe and sound. He put Mara on the phone with him so her mother and father could hear her voice again and know she was all right. After a couple minutes, Mara handed the phone back.
“I promised Mara I’d stop on the way for a chocolate milkshake,” Recker said. “Other than that, we’ll be right there.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Mr. Ridley replied.
“There’s no need.”
Recker did as he promised and stopped to get Mara a chocolate milkshake, the biggest one they had. After that, he drove right to Spruce Street, the Ridley’s waiting on the steps leading up to their front door. Recker pulled up right in front of their house into an empty spot. The Ridley’s eagerly rushed over to the truck to see their daughter. Recker unlocked the door so they could open it. Her parents pulled her out of the truck and hugged her. Recker got out and walked around to the front of the truck and watched them, relieved that it was a happy ending. Mr. Ridley pulled himself away from his family to approach Recker.
“I don’t know what to say,” Ridley said.
“Nothing needs to be said,” Recker responded.
“While we were waiting, my wife and I were talking, we wanted you to have some kind of reward.”
Recker put his hand out to prevent him from going any further. “I don’t need any reward. Getting her home back to you safe and sound is reward enough.”
With tears in his eyes, Ridley smiled and nodded. “You know, I never did get your name.”
“It’s not important. Your family’s waiting for you,” Recker told him, nodding in their direction.
With his work done, Recker drove back to the office. On the way, he called Vincent, just to let him know how it all turned out and to thank him for his help. It was a brief conversation as Vincent said he had other business to attend to, but he was glad to help. Once Recker got back to the office, Jones was waiting for him. It was the happiest Recker had seen him look since they started their little partnership together.
“I think I might wanna take tomorrow off,” Recker stated.
“You really think you’ve earned it?” Jones needled.
Recker laughed, knowing he was kidding.
“By all means, Mike. You’ve earned the day.”
“I think that’s the first time you’ve called me that,” Recker said.
“Then when you get back, we have more victims that will need our assistance.”
“All in a days work, right Professor? All in a day’s work.”
Other Books
The Cain Conspiracy
The Cain Deception
The Cain Directive
The Cain Redemption
Rogue Ghost
Ghost Pursuit
Ghost Fall
About the author:
Mike Ryan lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, three kids, and three dogs. He is currently working on another book. He loves country music, 80s hair bands, superhero movies, and cop shows.
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