by Andrew Hess
He waited until Claire dragged the chair to the back and disappeared through the bedroom. Opening the door, he caught Thornton searching around the front. He drew his gun, pretending to be on watch.
“Freeze!” the Puppet Master shouted.
Thornton raised his hands. “Reyes, don’t shoot. It’s me, Detective Thornton.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to check on Ali. Where is she, and why are you here?”
“She called me to watch the place until she got back. There was no food in the house and she didn’t want to drive around with the prisoner.”
“I think I’ll wait here till she gets back. I’m supposed to take over the watch while they get some sleep.”
“Funny, she never mentioned anything about it.”
“You can call it in to your lieutenant if you want.” Thornton moved closer to the porch, pulling his cell. The Puppet Master played along, fearing he would blow his cover. He reached for the phone, dropping his guard long enough for Detective Thornton to draw his gun.
“What the fuck?”
“No one was supposed to know about the place. There were only a few people that even knew Dr. Cain was being moved to a safe house. You weren’t one of them. Now, where the hell is Ali?”
The Puppet Master merely smiled at Thornton before swatting at the arm with the gun in it. The glock spilled to the ground allowing the Puppet Master to raise his weapon.
Thornton was quick to grab his wrist. The gunshot echoed through the night sky as they struggled for control. A palm strike to the nose and a knee to the stomach knocked the Puppet Master to the ground, while Thornton stood over him. He could feel his wrist being twisted and pulled back as the gun was ripped from his hand.
“I won’t ask you again,” Thornton shouted with rage in his voice. “What are you doing here, and where’s Ali?”
“Check the house. You might still find her in one piece.”
“Get the fuck up; you’re coming with me.
The Puppet Master had his hands pinned behind his back as Thornton cuffed them and pulled him to a standing position. They walked back to the house together with the Puppet Master leading the way.
“Ali, you here?”
“Shout all you like, Detective.”
“Shut the hell up,” Thornton spat as he struck the Puppet Master between the shoulder blades. “Not another word out of you unless I’m asking you a question; you got that?”
“Now I’m not sure if I should respond. You told me not another word, but you asked a question.”
“Just shut up and show me where to find Ali.”
They entered through the front door. Another click could be heard from behind the door. “That’s far enough, Detective.” The Puppet Master knew Claire was waiting behind the front door. “Hands up, or I’ll blow your head off right now.”
“So, you two have been working together all this time?”
The Puppet Master spun on his heel displaying the satisfied smirk on his face. “I can’t believe it took you this long to figure out. You and Detective Ryan are supposed to be the top two detectives between Ulster and Dutchess County. Yet neither of you stopped to think the man you were so desperate to find was working alongside you for months.” He watched as Claire relieved Thornton of the gun.
“Take the cuffs off him,” she ordered.
Thornton gave a side eye, which probably meant he was weighing his options before ultimately doing as he was told. Once the cuffs were off the Puppet Master, he grabbed the Detective’s arms and shackled them, ensuring he couldn’t cause any more trouble.
“Go get us another chair,” the Puppet Master commanded. Claire obeyed the order and hurried back to the kitchen.
“You really think you’re gonna get away with this?” Thornton asked as he glanced towards the kitchen.
“You said it yourself; no one knows any of us are up here. But don’t worry; I’ll make sure your death is quick. There’s no need to make you suffer.”
Claire returned with a chair, which was shoved towards Thornton. “Sit down, hot shot.”
The Puppet Master adjusted the handcuffs, securing Thornton to the chair. “There, that should hold him.” He turned to Claire and smiled. “Drag her ass back out here.”
********************************************************
Ali
Knowing James was outside with Reyes was tearing me up inside. Part of me wanted him to walk away so his life would be spared, but the other part wanted to be selfish. It was that lingering hope that he would outsmart Reyes and Claire, arresting them both or putting a bullet in their heads as he rescued me. But I couldn’t sit back and hope for either situation. I needed to do something to save myself. The only way that would happen was to free myself of the restraints. Lucky for me, Claire was dumb enough to leave me near the S.W.A.T. gear.
I gripped the sides of the chair, I pulled myself forward until I landed on my tiptoes. I only needed to move a few feet, but felt pain in every inch I made. Setting the chair back down next to the bag, my hands blindly searched for something to cut the ropes.
In the distance, I could hear a gunshot go off. There was no turning back. I needed to get free. Thornton was in danger. I didn’t know if the shot connected with either man or if it was a stray. It didn’t matter; we’d both be dead if I didn’t get free.
My hands probed the bag until I pulled a Swiss army knife from the tactical gear. I frayed the rope enough to loosen the binding on my left hand. Slipping it out, I worked on the ropes that kept my other hand and legs at bay. I could break free at any moment, but the sound of Claire’s voice caught my attention. She was coming closer to the room. I needed to make a choice; continue to play along with their game, or take matters into my own hand.
I was done playing their game. I didn’t care if they killed me, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. Cutting the last bit of rope, I hurried to the door and waited for Claire to enter the room. The door opened with the gun outstretched.
“What the fu_”
Before she could say anything else, I grabbed her arm and used a Judo throw to take Claire down. I ripped the gun from her hand and smashed my forearm into her nose.
“Get the fuck up,” I ordered. Grabbing her by the arm, I forced Claire to her feet and shoved the gun against the side of her head. I walked into the hallway and found James sitting in a chair with Reyes standing behind him. “I got your girl; now drop your gun, Reyes.”
He pressed his gun to the back of James’ head. “Claire knew the dangers of the plan. She was willing to die for it.”
“Then you won’t care if I put a bullet in her head?”
“No, but I don’t think you want me to shoot Thornton. I mean this would make the second boyfriend that dies in front of you.” I pulled my gun away from Claire and aimed it at Reyes. “Go ahead, pull the trigger. But if you shoot me, I shoot him. If you shoot Claire, I’ll shoot him. Either way it doesn’t look too good for your Don Juan.”
“Then I guess we have a stalemate.”
“Or you could sacrifice yourself for him by letting Claire go and handing over your gun.”
“You really think I’m that stupid?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself.”
He pulled a second gun from the back of his pants, directing it at me. He pulled the trigger before I could think. The bullet whizzed by my ear causing me to duck. Claire slammed her elbow into my stomach and connected a right hook that put me on my ass. She recovered the gun and aimed it at me again.
For a moment, I thought our lives were over. Reyes and Claire had the upper hand, ready to pull the trigger at my slightest move.
“James,” I shouted as his eyes met mine. “I’m sorry…I love you.” I closed my eyes and waited for what happened next.
The front door slammed open, taking everyone by surprise. I kicked Claire’s legs out from under her, knocking her to the floor. She tried to aim the gun at James, but I was quick
to pin her arm over her head. The bullet fired into the wall. I looked to see what happened with Reyes. He was busy fighting off the six-foot beast he framed for murder.
Claire took the opportunity to cheap shot me in my throat. She slid out from under me and aimed again. This time I rushed her, slamming my body against her, sandwiching her into the wall. I left her on the floor while I retrieved the glock. I turned to see her scrambling for one that Reyes dropped. Before she could point it, I fired my weapon twice. The first bullet hit her left shoulder. The second hit squarely in the chest.
Reyes turned towards the gunfire, seeing the blood pouring from her chest. “You bitch,” he shouted. Grabbing the gun, he pointed it at me. I was ready to return fire, but didn’t need to. Rodney, the man Reyes had fought, tackled him to the ground.
“You’re done, Reyes,” Rodney said.
With the fighting done, I noticed the swirling red and blue lights filling the house as more police filled the entrance. They took Reyes into custody while Rodney and I checked on James.
“You all right?” Rodney asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Took you long enough to get here.”
“We wanted to make sure we had enough incriminating evidence on Reyes and Claire before we moved in.”
“Looks like your plan worked, Ali.”
It didn’t work out exactly as I had hoped. We played too close to the edge, and James nearly paid for it. Then I looked back where the medics were trying to stop the bleeding from Claire’s wounds. It was no use. The second shot was a kill shot. I knew where the bullet hit, and there was no way she would live through it.
“Yeah, the plan worked perfectly,” I mumbled.
As we walked out of the house, two car doors opened. The lieutenant stepped out of the driver’s seat and walked up with my sister, Amanda.
She sprinted up to me. Her arms wrapped around my waist as she buried her face into my shoulder. “Don’t you dare pull that crap again,” she cried.
“Don’t worry; it’s all over. He won’t hurt us again.”
Epilogue
We gathered at the lieutenant’s house for one last cookout before the fall weather settled in. Thankfully, we were all given the weekend off. Hell, we deserved it after what we went through to bring Claire and Reyes down.
“You’re lucky that plan worked,” Esposito said as he stood next to me. “You put a lot of people at risk, including yourself.”
“I did what I had to do to draw him out. It was the only way to take him down.” I admit the plan was half thought out, and was successful due to sheer dumb luck.
“I know.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and smiled. “I’m proud of you, Ali.”
“Thanks, Lieu. Maybe now is a good time to ask for some time off. I’m thinking another two-week vacation.”
The smile faded from his face and was replaced with stern look. “How many vacations and leave of absence do you think you get?”
“I figure one for every major case I solve.”
“We’ll talk about it on Monday. For now, enjoy the party.”
I walked back to Rodney and James. “Hey guys, let’s raid the lieutenant’s fridge.” I looked back to see the scowl on Esposito’s face. I smiled back at him. “Just kidding, Lieu.”
“Leave the poor man alone,” Rodney said. “You gonna drive him into an early grave.”
“Who me? Why would you say a thing like that?” The sarcasm in my voice was more than obvious.
“Because I know you, and know what you put us through.”
“What?”
Rodney looked at James. “I used to have a full head of hair before I met this one. Now look at me.”
“Oh stop it, Rodney.” His wife, Mia, was six months pregnant with their second child, and was seven inches shorter than her husband. Despite their size difference, Rodney still feared his wife.
James started to laugh, but he caught the side eye from me and wiped the smirk from his face. Instead, he placed his hands on my waist and lowered his lips to my ears.
“You talk to Esposito about taking some time off?”
“Yeah, he said we can talk about it Monday.”
“And here I was hoping we could start our vacation early.”
“Down boy,” I joked. “There are kids around. We don’t need to be sending the wrong message.”
“I can fix that.” James bent down and scooped me into his arms. I fought out of it until he let go of my legs. He grabbed me by the waist, hoisted me up and carried me around on his shoulder.
“James, put me down.”
He smacked my butt as he trotted towards the gate. I lifted my head and saw Rodney eye up his wife. I saw her mouth the words, “I don’t think so.”
“James, where are you taking me?” I shouted.
“Taking you home so we don’t send the wrong message.”
The lieutenant stepped out onto the deck and cleared his throat loudly. I thought he was going to scold us for behaving like children, but the look on his face told me something else happened.
“James, you need to stop messing around; something’s wrong with the lieutenant.” He placed me back on the ground and stared at Esposito.
“What’s up, Lieu?”
“You three, inside now.” He turned his back and walked inside the house. Rodney, James, and I looked at each other wondering what pissed off the lieutenant. He shut and locked the backdoor as we entered the house, leaving his wife outside with Mia and the kids.
“What’s going on?” Rodney asked.
“Yeah, who peed in your coffee?” James joked.
“Enough! No more games; this is serious.” The flaring nostrils and the pulsating vein on the side of his head meant he wasn’t joking, not this time. “As of this moment, you’re all on the clock.”
“What? Why?” we asked.
“I came in to check my phone and found this on the voicemail.” He set his cell on the table and placed the call on speaker mode.
“You fucked with the wrong people, Lieutenant Esposito.” It was a low raspy voice that was altered to sound like the guy from the Saw movies. “Now, your daughter will pay for the business you cost us.”
“Daddy,” a young woman’s voice shouted. I’ve been around the Lieutenant to recognize the voice of his twenty-year-old daughter, Valentina. Then the call ended.
The End
About the Author
Andrew Hess is a resident of Long Island, New York and a Lindenhurst High School Alumni (graduating class of 2001) Having been a fan of writing creative writing and journalism, Andrew found himself with the desire to become an author while studying Psychology at SUNY New Paltz. His first book, Chamber of Souls, debuted in 2011 where he depicted the life of a broken man wallowing in self-pity. Using free verse poetry, he brought this character to life while he journeyed to find himself.
Hess also found himself immersed in the world of mystery and thriller novels. His first Series, The Phoenix Blade, showcased a group of vigilante 20 year olds hired by the government to rid the country of those that have evaded justice. This fictional government conspiracy series currently has three books available and was awarded the Best Series of 2014 by Indie Author Books.
Despite spending most of his life Lindenhurst, Andrew also spent five years living in the New Paltz and Poughkeepsie areas. His return trips helped inspire his second series, The Detective Ryan Series. Currently, there are two books in the action packed series that depicts the life of Detective Ali Ryan as she investigates a series of murders while struggling to keep her family together.
Andrew won Indie Author Books: Best Mystery Thriller Author of 2015
Nominated for Best Male Author, Best Mystery Suspense Author of 2015
(By Wickedly Devine Divas, The Three Bookateers, & SNSBAH Promotions)
He was also nominated for Book of the year, and Best Mystery Book of 2015 for Campus Killer
(By Wickedly Divine Divas, The Three Bookateers, SNSBAH Promotions, & Indie Author Boo
ks)
Hess is also an avid blogger at The Writers Revolution (http://thewritersrevolution13.blogspot.com) and Between the Coverz (https://www.facebook.com/betweenthecoverz) where he promotes and interviews other authors, as well as reviewing books of all genres.
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Other Works by Andrew Hess
Chamber of Souls
Hall of the Forgotten
The Phoenix Blade: Project Justice
The Phoenix Blade: Awakening
The Phoenix Blade: Pandemonium
Trapped Inside: Living With Agoraphobia
Campus Killer (Detective Ryan Series Book 1)
Scorned (Detective Ryan Series Book 2)
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