by Mike Ryan
Thrower instantly went up to the man on his left and blocked a couple of punches, then unleashed a few of his own, connecting with left and right hands in immediate fashion. As Thrower sent the man down to the ground, the third man punched him on his right side, causing Thrower to hunch over.
It was only for a second, though. He shook it off, then let his feet do the talking. Thrower used his skills to land some powerful kicks. He started on the left side of the man’s leg, bruising him just below the knee, then went to the other leg. Thrower kept up with the kicks, working his way up the man’s leg, finishing up on the outside of his thigh.
As the man leaned forward slightly to feel his throbbing legs, Thrower took the advantage and put his hands on the back of the man’s head. He brought his knee up high, driving the man’s head into it. With all three men on the ground, Thrower turned around, only to see the first man getting back to his feet.
Thrower rushed over to him before he had a chance to use his gun. Just as the man was about to point his gun at him, Thrower put both hands on the man’s wrist to battle for control over the weapon. They wrestled for a few seconds, then Thrower was able to outmuscle him, getting the man to drop the gun.
As the gun dropped to the ground, the man nailed Thrower with a left hand, sending him down to one knee. It wasn’t enough to stun him long enough for the other guy to get the upper hand, though. Thrower immediately raised back up and punched the man in the stomach with his left, as well. Then Thrower mixed in a heavy array of crosses, hooks, and uppercuts, eventually sending the man back down to the floor.
Thrower looked back at the other two men, both of whom were moving around again. They were starting to reach for their weapons, not wanting to engage Thrower in hand-to-hand combat again. They’d already lost that battle. They just wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible.
Thrower, also knowing he had to end this contest quickly, before he wound up on the wrong end of it, looked around for the gun he knocked out of the man’s hand. He saw it, and dove for it, scooping it up in his hand as he rolled over onto his back, instantly firing. Two shots went into the first man, then just before the second man was able to get off a shot, several bullets went into his chest, putting him back down permanently.
With those two down, Thrower looked back at his friend from the front seat. Three more rounds at point blank range put him out of commission as well. Thrower didn’t need to look at or check the bodies at that point. He’d seen enough dead bodies over the years to know when they weren’t getting back up.
Now his attention went to whatever was outside the building. Who knew how many more Scorpions were out there? Maybe none, maybe a hundred. But judging by the fact that no more of them came in to see what was happening, Thrower had a hunch there weren’t many. Of course, that wasn’t a hunch he was betting big on. He’d still be cautious, just in case they were waiting for him to step outside to pick him off.
Thrower went over to the door and opened it, making sure he stayed to the side of it in the event anyone out there was trigger-happy, and started shooting at the first sign of movement. There was silence, though. Thrower was in no hurry to prove someone was or was not out there, either. He didn’t mind waiting for a few minutes.
Thrower continued waiting by the door, listening closely for a sound. He didn’t even care what it was. Any sound would do. A voice, a car door, footsteps, a gun, anything that would indicate someone was out there. It was actually the worst part of situations like this. It wasn’t the fights, or the guns, or the danger. It was the uncertainty of it. If he knew what was coming for him, he could prepare for it, he could ready himself. But when he didn’t know what, or how many, or if there was anyone at all, that was the toughest part for him.
He thought about texting Recker back, letting him know he was in control of the situation again, but he wanted to wait until he was absolutely sure that he really was. Not until he was out of there completely and on his way back to the hospital. Now Thrower’s thoughts turned to Mia. She was unguarded. If the Scorpions decided to alter their plans, they could take another shot at Mia, knowing Thrower was pinned down there. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to make a move.
Thrower took a few deep breaths, then poked his head out the door. Not enough to get it shot off, but just enough to take a look at what was out there. After a second or two, Thrower brought his head back to safety beyond the door. After another deep breath, he stuck his head out again. He was thankful that he wasn’t ducking any bullets, though he still couldn’t be sure none were coming his way.
Seeing his car directly in front, Thrower thought his best option at the moment was to make a run for it. He remembered leaving the keys in the ignition, so he hoped they were still there. He didn’t recall anyone taking them after he got out.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Thrower darted out from the building, running straight for his car. He got to it without incident, though he still got inside quickly. He put his hand down by the ignition and felt the keys dangling. He breathed a little easier as he started it up. He peeled out of the property and headed right for the hospital. On the way, he called Recker to let him know what happened.
Recker answered, though he was a little hesitant, still not sure what was going on. He didn’t know if Thrower was calling on his own, or if he had a gun to his head. “Yeah?”
“Hey, sorry about all that.”
“What’s going on?”
Thrower sighed, embarrassed to say. “They got the drop on me. Took me someplace.”
“I’m assuming you got away?”
“Yeah, basically. I’m on my way back to the hospital to make sure Mia’s OK.”
“I’ve been texting her for the last few minutes, making sure. She’s fine.”
Thrower was glad to hear that. “Thankfully. I was worried they were gonna take a run at her with me out of the way.”
“She’s not going anywhere until you show up again, so it’s all good.”
Now that he knew everyone was safe, it was time for Thrower to get mad. Mostly at himself. “Sorry, man. I blew it on this one.”
Recker wasn’t mad, though. He was well aware of how things could go sideways in this business. Everything seemed OK. Nobody got hurt, at least on their side, and Mia was still safe. “It’s fine. What happened?”
Thrower then explained how everything went down, from the moment he left the hospital, until that very second he was driving.
“Wasn’t your fault,” Recker said. “Could’ve happened to anybody.”
“Yeah, except it happened to me. I’m supposed to be better than that.”
“Hey, we knew they’d eventually try something else. They knew they’d have to bring more numbers, try something different. And they did. Mia’s fine, and I’m glad you were able to get out of it. You hurt or anything?”
“Not where it shows.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. Like I said, happens to all of us at one point.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I’ll come meet you at the hospital.”
“Why don’t you just wait for me to get there? Then I can scout around, let you know if I see anything. If you don’t hear from me, then something else happened. And if I text you everything’s good, then you don’t have to waste the trip.”
“OK. I’ll let Mia know not to leave until she hears from you.”
Once Thrower got to the hospital, he drove through the outside parking lot in front of the building, as well as going through the parking garage to the side. He was leaving nothing to chance. He drove around the property several times, making sure everything was clear. If there was even a hint of danger, he’d let Recker know. Luckily, he saw no sign of activity from the Scorpions.
He parked out in front, keeping his eyes open, and his head on a swivel. He wasn’t going to be taken by surprise again. He sent Recker a message, letting him know it was all clear. Thrower waited for two more hours before Mia let him know she was ready. He got out of
his car and met her on her floor, just like he always did.
“You wanna tell me what this is all about?”
“What?” Thrower replied.
“Mike kept texting me asking if I was still at work. Also kept telling me not to leave until I heard from you. Makes me get the feeling that something happened.”
Thrower shook his head. “Nope. Everything’s fine.”
“Uh-huh.”
They continued walking through the hospital, then walked outside, with Thrower continuing to look all around as he escorted her to his car. His movements weren’t lost on Mia. Once inside his car, she continued with the questions.
“Again, you wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Thrower said.
“Nate. I thought we agreed I wouldn’t be treated like a child about these things.”
“I’m not. Honestly, everything’s fine.”
“Did something happen?”
Thrower grinned. “Nothing that I couldn’t handle.”
19
Recker was already waiting in their hotel room by the time Mia and Thrower walked in. Mia ran over to her boyfriend and hugged him. Recker looked a little confused. It was almost like he was the one that had been in trouble.
“What’d I do?” Recker asked.
“I’m just glad we’re both OK.”
Recker looked at Thrower, who sort of just looked away, not wanting to bring the subject up again. “He’s the one that was captured and in trouble.”
Mia took her arms off Recker and turned around to face her bodyguard. “What?!”
Thrower showed an uneasy-looking smile. “Oh, I, uh, didn’t mention that part to her.”
“Oh.” Recker shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Is that what all that stuff was about?” Mia asked. “They captured you?”
Thrower still didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “Well, like I told you in the car, it was nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me that?”
“Like I said, it’s not a big deal. I’m back, I’m fine, I’m not hurt, you’re not hurt, everything’s good.”
“Everything is not good if you got taken somewhere. Where did you go? What did they do?”
“Well, I don’t really want to go into all that. Let’s just say there’s a few more of them who aren’t walking around and won’t be bothering you anymore.”
“Nate…”
“I’m fine. Really. But thank you for the concern. I appreciate it.”
Mia suddenly got a solemn look on her face and walked over to a chair, and sat down. Both men could see something was now bothering her.
“What is it?” Recker asked.
“We can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
Mia demonstratively waved her arms around. “This. All of it. The guarding, me, everything. We can’t do it anymore.”
“Well what do you propose?”
Mia sighed, realizing that she was putting not only herself in danger, but Thrower, as well. And while she knew that was his job, and he wasn’t complaining about it, she still didn’t feel right about doing that to him. “I think maybe I should take some more time off.”
Recker looked surprised, though not displeased. He didn’t think it was something that Mia would say or do. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”
“I thought you would be.”
“Truth be told, though, I was going to tell you the same thing anyway.”
“You what?”
“I was actually going to tell you that you needed to listen to reason and stay away for a while. It’s getting too hot. They’re coming, and at some point, we’re not going to be able to stop them. I was ready for a fight and an argument with you, but it’s nice to hear that you’ve come to the same conclusion.”
“I really don’t want to. But I know this can’t keep happening. It’s not fair to Nate.”
“Hey, don’t worry about me,” Thrower replied. “I know what I signed up for. Don’t make any decisions on the account of me. I’m good.”
“No, it’s not fair. And it’s not right to possibly involve any innocent people at the hospital that may get caught up in whatever else these monsters are planning. And we all know they won’t stop.”
Recker grinned, happy that she was coming to the same conclusion he had. And he was right. On the way over there, he was preparing for a battle with her. He was determined to keep her away from that hospital at all costs. No matter what it took, or whatever was said, he was not letting her go back there under any circumstances.
Thrower wasn’t quite sure where that left him anymore, though. “You still need me to stick around?”
“I’d appreciate it if you would.”
“Just name what you want me to do.”
“Just stay here with her until we have this resolved.”
Thrower looked around. “I’ve been in worse spots.”
“Yeah, think of all the fun we can have,” Mia said. “Daytime soaps, gin rummy, and washing dishes all day for who knows how long. How fun.”
Recker was going to try to make her feel better about it, though it wasn’t necessary. “Mia…”
“Hey, I get it. I’m not mad about it. It’s what needs to be done right now. I’m in complete agreement with you. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but I accept it. I’ll get through the boredom.”
“Well, at least there’s a balcony here to look out.”
“Yay for me.”
“Hopefully it won’t be for too much longer. Maybe a few of those names of the guys you gunned down will lead us somewhere. David’s working on getting that now.”
Thrower scrunched his face together, wondering why they were bothering with that. “Why not just run down the head guy?”
“Because we don’t know who’s in charge yet.”
“Didn’t I tell you his name?”
“You’ve got it?”
Thrower slapped himself on the forehead. “Damn. With everything going on, and wanting to get back to the hospital, I must’ve forgotten to tell you. I got the guy’s name.”
“Who is it?”
“Ronnie Slater.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. I mean, that’s the guy who I was talking to. Whether he’s in charge of the whole organization, or just that little group that had me, I don’t know. But he sure seemed like he was high up in the food chain. The other guys really deferred to him.”
Recker put his hand on Thrower’s arm, thankful to get that piece of information. He immediately got on the phone to Jones. As he was talking to his partner, Thrower sat down on a chair across from Mia.
“Well, looks like it’s gonna be me and you in here for a while,” Mia said.
Thrower smiled. “You really think I’m boring, don’t you?”
“Don’t start that again.”
Thrower laughed. “Hey, for what it’s worth, I think you’re probably making the right decision in staying here.”
“It really does go against my nature.”
“Does it?”
“I already told you I don’t like to hide.”
“You’re not hiding. You’re smart. You’re making an intelligent decision. As far as I can tell, that doesn’t go against your nature.”
“I suppose so.”
After Recker got off the phone with Jones, he came back over to the others. “David’s plugging his name into the computer now. With any luck, this could be the break we needed.”
“Assuming he didn’t give me a fake name,” Thrower said.
“Let’s hope he’s not that bright.”
“He wasn’t. They had every intention of killing me, so I really doubt they’d take the time to worry about it. I don’t think they believed I’d ever be leaving that building to tell anyone, so… I’m sure it’s legit.”
“Probably so. Now let’s hope he pops up somewhere.” Recker went over to Mia and gave her a kiss. “I’m going to the
office to help run this down. Hopefully something will turn up.”
“Please find something, so I’m not here for an eternity,” Mia replied.
“We’ll try.”
“You know, maybe it’d be better if Nate went with you.”
Recker raised an eyebrow. By this point, Thrower had proven himself to be worthy, and Recker wouldn’t have minded working with him, but he didn’t want him away from Mia.
“I think he’s best served here with you.”
Mia tried to explain further. “I’m just saying, with Chris not back yet, you don’t have a lot of help, in the interest of getting this thing finished as quickly as possible, maybe it’d be faster if he was out there with you.”
Recker looked at Thrower briefly. “I’m good with whatever you want,” Thrower said. “I’ll go out there if that’s what you decide.”
Recker turned his attention back to Mia. “I want him here with you.”
“Nobody knows we’re here,” Mia replied.
“Good. Then I won’t have to worry.”
“Mike…”
“No. Don’t Mike me.”
“Stealing my lines?”
Recker shrugged. “If it fits. If he’s here, nobody else knows you’re here, I can have a clear mind and do what I have to do without worrying about what’s going on here.”
Mia nodded. “I know. I was just saying… well, you know what I was saying.”
“I do. And if I didn’t have to worry about what these jerks might do to you if they found you, we wouldn’t have to do this. But we do.”
She was somewhat dejected, but completely understood. “I get it. Just work as fast as you can, OK?”
Recker gave her another kiss. “You know I will.” He then walked past Thrower and tapped him on the shoulder. “Call me if you need me.”
Thrower nodded and put his hand up to give Recker a wave goodbye. “You got it.”
Mia shrugged. “It was just a thought.”
“Probably for the best for now.”
“Why?”
“Well, the less I know, the better off everyone is.”
“How do you figure that?”
