by David Banner
"It's okay. He's always there, in the back of my mind. It’s nothing I'm not used to."
"I know exactly what you mean," I said.
"Oh ... Right," Hope said. "Now I'm sorry."
"No need to be."
It wasn't until that moment that I realized just how similar Hope and I really were. Both driven by the same force, the same need to do good for the people we had left in our lives. We'd both lost something special, and it was that loss that fundamentally changed us forever, giving us the drive that kept us going even years later. I lost my parents, that much was true, but Hope lost more than that. She's lost her parents twice. I couldn't imagine how hard that must have been.
"What about after all of this?"
"What about it?"
"Where are you gonna go? Back to Savannah?"
"I'm not sure, I guess it depends on which way the current is flowing that day."
"You can stay," I said. "Here, with us ..."
"Brandon ... I ..." There was something in her voice. Something I hadn't heard from her before, a kind of unguardedness that made me wish I could see her in that moment, face-to-face.
"Just think it over, Rachel and I—"
"He's here," she said, snapping back to her usual collected self. "Jacob is here and the old lady is with him. I'm sending you over the photos now."
"Alright. Here we go!"
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
"I 'VE GOT YOUR ANSWERS," I SAID, MARCHING THROUGH THE DOOR OF THE LARGE MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE HOUSE.
Inside was a grand, open foyer, trimmed in beige and gold with intricate detailing along the ceiling and walls. It was a beautiful house by anyone's definition, and in any other situation, I would have taken the time to appreciate it. But I had something far more important to do, I had to save the lives of three innocent people.
"Well," Sofia said, walking through the living room toward me, twirling a pair of rosary beads in her hand. "Go ahead with it then."
"Olivia Connely and her grandsons.
"Those two-bit dealers from the hotel? They're a joke, Mr. Waters. If this is all you've got, well—"
"You only think they're a joke because they want you to."
"I assure you. I've investigated them. They're not on my level. In fact, I chose not to even waste my time taking them out.”
“Well, you might want to rethink that," I said.
"And why is that?"
"Because." I smiled wide. "They're about to take everything you've got."
I took my phone from my pocket, clicked open Hope's photo, and handed it to her. She looked at for a moment, not saying a word, then looked to me.
"And what does this have to with Charles Mitchell?"
"Oh," I said. "Didn't you know? Charles Mitchell is the money behind the old woman and her grandsons. It was him who hired Olivia to take your entire lot of product."
"Why would he do that?"
"You have his daughter, Ms. Alvarez. And like you said, he's a good person. He's also a fighter with steadfast principles. He won't give in to you. It would be like the U.S. government negotiating with a terrorist. In his eyes, it's the same. But he won't just sit twiddling his thumbs either, he's fighting back. You have something he wants, and now he'll have something you want, your money."
I hadn’t set out to twist the truth in such a manner, but I was left with no choice, I had to make her believe it was all real. I had to make her believe that her business was on the line, and that someone more powerful than she thought was behind it all.
"Well, Mr. Waters, if you're right about all of this, then maybe you'll have saved the lives of two people."
"Two?" I asked. "You're holding three people here."
"Yes, but if Charles Mitchell thinks he can threaten me and not face any repercussions, he's got another thing coming. Your brother and your girlfriend may live after all, but I'm afraid the same can't be said for little Zoey ..."
"She's innocent in all of this."
"I hardly see how that matters," Sofia said, still holding the beads in her hand. "But let's not talk about such things now, if these people are planning to steal from me, then I want to be there to see them try. Let's go, Mr. Waters."
"Go?"
"Yes, certainly, you didn't think I'd let you miss out on seeing your work come together, did you?"
"I suppose not," I said, as Sofia walked over and took my hand.
"You've done well, and if this all plays out to my benefit, then you'll have everything you want." She motioned toward the door.
One little nod of her head sent the entire house spinning. The usually statue-like guards sprang into action, each one opening a drawer or small cabinet, and removing guns. I watched as they loaded up with ammunition and firepower.
It's strange really, the way your mind puts things together, this was our plan, to insight a war between two drug dealers; and it was working. But, somehow, during all that planning, and all the time I spent going over it in my head, I always seemed to skip this part. The violent part. I never pictured the guns, the shooting, the blood ... All that just seemed to escape my mind completely.
But, as all the men under Sofia's employ scattered around me in every direction, preparing for what I could only pray wouldn't turn out to be a bloodbath, it all suddenly seemed so much more realistic. The chance of more murder, more violence, and more innocent people caught in the crossfire. The thoughts were almost too much to bear.
And only a few short minutes later, there we were, a high-power drug dealer, her personal body guard, and me; all riding along Anna Maria's coastal highway 789. It was only a few minutes form Coquina Beach back to the docks, and all I could do was hope everything worked out. Hope that I had taken enough measures, and hope that no one lost their cool too quickly.
"You know ..." Sofia said, looking out the window. "I was honestly starting to question whether you'd be able to prove yourself useful to me."
"I hope I've done that," I said.
"Time will tell, Mr. Waters."
I almost hated myself for going about things this way, for bringing even more people into this mess of mine, even if they were not-so-innocent drugs dealers. My problems were still my problems, and I really didn't like the thought of anyone else getting mixed up in them.
"How are you going to handle the situation?" I asked.
"If what you're saying is true, and someone is threatening me, well then there's only one true way to handle it."
"I'm sure that if you approached it diplomatically, they might be understanding."
"The time for diplomacy is over, Mr. Waters. We must go about this the only other way we can."
"The way of violence?"
"Tell me of a war that's ever been won without violence. Tell me of a battle that didn't result in a least a few lives being lost." She looked at me. "You can't, and there's a reason for that, Brandon. Very few things in this world are given over freely. You have to fight for what you want, it's been that way since the beginning of time. Animals fight to protect their home, their food, and their territory. And while people like yourself might not like to admit it, we are nothing but animals. And when we feel threatened, we fight. The sooner you accept these truths, the happier you'll be. Guilt is for the weak, and I am not weak."
There was an anger in her voice. A righteousness she believed to be the truth, and nothing I could do, or say, would dampen that flame, it had been burning too long.
"Look, there's my shipment. And there's Oliva Connelly. Looks like you were right, Mr. Waters," she said as our car approached the dock. "I guess it's time we—"
"Looks like we've got company!" the driver said as a black SUV came barreling toward us from behind.
"Give me that gun!" said Sofia. "This ends, now!"
CHAPTER THIRTY
T HE SOUND OF OUR ENGINE ROARED LOUD AS THE DRIVER FLOORED THE ACCELERATOR, BUT THE SUV WAS GAINING ON US, QUICKLY, AND AFTER ONLY A FEW SECONDS, IT WAS ONLY INCHES FROM OUR CAR. I needed to get out of the car and onto
land as quickly as possible.
'BAM!' My head slammed against the passenger side window as the SUV collided with the rear end of our car.
"Fuck this!" said Sofia, pulling a gun from the guard's belt then climbing onto the armrest, and sticking the top half of her body through the moonroof.
Shots rang out, echoing across the dock, bullets ricocheted off the large black SUV, bouncing in every direction.
'BAM!' The SUV rammed hard into our car causing Sofia to slip and fall back inside. I quickly pulled her away as she landed face down into my chest.
"Who is that?" I asked.
"Probably that fucking lunatic grandson."
We sped down the long dock, swerving between large shipping containers of every color, but with each move, the black SUV stayed right on our tail, slamming into the back of our car repeatedly. With every hit, Sofia became more and more enraged, until finally climbing back up through the moonroof, and firing at our assailant again.
Our tires screeched across the weathered concrete of the dock as we slid around getting rammed repeatedly by whoever was driving that SUV.
Suddenly, through the chaos Hope's face flashed through my mind, I could only pray it wasn't her in that SUV. Surely, she would be too smart for that, right? If she were going to be following us she'd have told me, right?
"She's going to get herself killed!" I said to the guard sitting across from me. "Pull her back in."
Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, the sound of shattering glass filled the air, I quickly covered my face as small shards exploded all around me, flying through the car and slicing my hands and neck, as they fell.
"Fuck!" I said, opening my eyes to see the bullet had gonestraight into the guard's chest.
I had no choice but to watch him bleed out in front of me as we continued winding our way around the dock.
"Get in!" I said to Sofia.
It wasn't that I was concerned so much with her safety, I just needed all this to stop as soon as possible on the off chance that was Hope in that SUV. Not to mention my own safety from a random stray bullet.
"Quiet!" She fired off another shot as the SUV rammed hard into our car, sending her falling once again.
'BAM!' I saw the bright lights of our assailant suddenly come into view from the driver's side window before getting thrown to the floor from the impact. The sounds of our roaring engines and screaming tires carried throughout the car in a manner that was almost deafening.
Momentary relief flowed through my body as I looked up, I saw that the person behind the wheel wasn't Hope after all, Sofia was right, it was Jacob, and he didn't look too pleased. His vehicle kept pace with ours as we drove down the large dock, until finally, her driver turned his wheel hard to the right. Our car fishtailed out of control, coming to a hard stop as it slammed into a stack of orange shipping containers.
The world fell silent as the engine died, and the smell of burning rubber wafted through the warm coastal night air. My head rang like a southern church bell as I struggled to get myself out of the car, but I wasn't fast enough. Looking up, I saw Jacob standing at the car window pointing his pistol right at me.
In a moment of instinct, I grabbed the large guard’s body from the seat above me and slung it over myself. His heavy body shook hard as the bullet entered it, then from outside the window I heard a metallic thud.
"Come on!" Hope's voice filled the air. "Now!"
Throwing the large man's body from atop me, I managed to pull myself out through the back window. Small shards of broken glass dug into my skin as I slid my body across the car until finally falling onto the broken concrete.
"These idiots called in help!" Hope yelled, pulling me up from the ground. "I think they made a deal with someone from Tampa. We're out numbered, let's go!"
"What about Sofia?"
"Leave her!"
"She's unconscious, they'll kill her," I said.
"So?"
"We might need her later."
"Fine," Hope said. "Then let's stash her."
I picked up Sofia’s unconscious body then we ran as fast as we could toward the maze of shipping containers, but just as we rounded the first corner, I saw Hop’s body fly back toward me and slam into the ground. I skidded to a stop, laid Sofia on the ground, pressed my body against the side of a bright red container when around the corner came a man with long black hair. He was carrying a gun, and even though I was unarmed, now I had no choice to try to defend Hope.
Popping out from the side of the container, I dropped to the ground, spinning around, and kicked his feet out from under him. He grunted as he hit the ground, his hand falling to his side. Quickly, I spun my body around, placing my legs on either side of his chest and straddled his body. One after the other, I slammed my fists into his face until he stopped moving, then I took the gun from his hand.
"Come on!" I said to Hope, opening the door of a bright yellow container. "Here. Let's put her in here."
Together, we lifted Sofia's body, quickly laying it down inside, then locking the door behind us, we made a run for it. As we ran down the long line we came to an end where I noticed a small ladderlike structure going up the side of one of the containers.
Extending my arm, and grabbing hers, I lifted Hope up onto the side of a brown container, helping her to climb to the top as I followed behind her.
"Where are Rachel and Micah?"
"I've got it covered, don't worry."
"What does that mean?" Hope said, dropping to her knee to avoid a flying bullet.
"It means I've got it covered, let's go!"
Rising to our feet, we ran along the top of the maze of containers, jumping from one to the next, while trying our best to dodge the bullets that seemed to be flying in every direction. I could see the worry in Hope's eyes, but I knew if everything went according to my plan, both my brother and Rachel would be okay.
"I thought you were going to stay and get them."
"I couldn't," I said. "Believe me, Micah will be fine, and so will Rachel, she means a lot to me."
"She means a lot to me too, Brandon. I don't have a lot of friends."
"They're going to be okay," I said, firing off a round in the direction of the sound of the gunfire that followed us. "Come on!" I said, grabbing her arm, and heading in the direction of a large building at the far end of the dock.
Quickly climbing down the last container in the row, Hope and I ran fast for the large metal building, and just as we entered, I breathed a short sigh of relief.
"Tampa PD!" A voice echoed out. "Hands up!"
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
"O N YOUR KNEES," THE MAN'S VOICE ECHOED THROUGH THE EMPTY WAREHOUSE.
I could see the panic in Hope's eyes as she slowly moved toward the ground. It was dark, and even though I couldn't see much, I could still make out the beautiful blue in her eyes. I wanted so badly to tell her the one thing I'd been keeping to myself these last few hours, but I couldn't, telling her the truth would have only endangered her.
Hope was a lone wolf, that was the way she worked, it was only my connection to Sonny that convinced her to help me in the first place. But I liked to think it was the bond that formed between us that brought her back.
"It's okay," I said. "Just do what they're telling us."
"I can't go to jail. I won't!"
"You're not gonna go to jail, neither of us are, I promise you."
"You can't promise that, Brandon. Who's to say these police aren't as crooked as the people we're fighting? Who's to say they haven't been bought?" she whispered.
"We have no choice but to trust them."
"That's not exactly true," Hope said, pulling a small knife from her shoe, and in one quick motion, threw it back toward the officer. He fell to the ground as the blade slid into his leg like it was butter.
As his body landed, another officer came running into the building, aiming his gun right for Hope.
She turned, pulled the knife from the injured officer’s leg, then ran
full-speed toward the other one. He fired several shots in the dark, lighting up the warehouse for a second with each bullet. But his desire to stop her was no match for Hope's desire to get out without being caught, and only seconds later, Hope appeared behind him, sliding the knife into his leg, and taking the gun from his hand.
"Hope!" I ran to the officer. "No!"
"Come on! We need to go, this is getting out of hand!"
"No!" I said, tearing the long sleeve from my T-shirt, and wrapping it around the wound. "I can't leave them like this."
"What are you talking about? We have to go!"
"I have to call for help. You need to stay here!" I said, finishing tying the wound and running to catch her.
"And get arrested? What the fuck is wrong with you, Brandon. Come on!"
"I can't go."
"Well I can't stay," Hope said, her bright blue eyes looking into mine. "What about Micah and Rachel? What about Zoey. Let's go get them, while we still can."
"I've got that handled!"
"What do you mean, you've got it handled?"
"Just stay here and it'll make sense, I promise you."
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Just listen," I said. "hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Right ..."
The entire dock and container yard had fallen into silence with only the sound of distant chatter floating through the air. I had only one choice. To take Hope by the hand, walk out into onto the concrete and face the repercussions of everything we planned.
Stepping out of the dark warehouse we were greeted by the flickering blue and red lights of at least a dozen police cars. There must have been twenty police officers all walking around, collecting evidence, processing the scene, and taking photos of the damage. I hadn't realized just how much destruction we left in our path as we drove around the shipping yard trying to stay away from Jacob.
"Look. He's in handcuffs," I said, turning to tell Hope.
I guess it shouldn't have come as a big a surprise as it did when she wasn't there. The whole police scene just wasn't her thing. She had made that clear to me many times before, but still, turning to see she'd vanished into the warm night air suddenly left me feeling very alone. I turned, looking in almost every direction, but it was no use, she was in the wind now, and I honestly couldn't be sure I'd ever see her again.
