by Mike Ryan
“So when’s all this going down?” Turner asked, looking around at all the boxes.
“About an hour,” Davis responded, nudging Turner to move.
Davis pushed Turner forward to keep him walking as they made their way to the back of the warehouse. There was a door that led to a flight of steps, Davis continually pushing Turner to keep him moving. Once they got up to the second floor there was a hallway with several doors on each side to be used as offices. Davis picked one in the middle and led Turner inside, sitting him down in a chair behind a desk. Though Turner’s hands were already tied behind his back, Davis tied him up even further, wrapping rope around Turner’s chest and tying it to the chair. Davis then grabbed a black box from a bookshelf and placed it on the desk in front of Turner.
“What’s that?” Turner nervously wondered.
“Oh, just a little explosive. Nothing to worry about,” Davis laughed.
“Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
“Hey, if everything goes according to plan, you’ll be home before you know it. Scout’s honor.”
“You were in the boy scouts?”
“No,” Davis laughed again. He then left the room and went down to the main level to get ready for his visitors.
It was seven o’clock and Parker and Cole were getting ready to leave. They left Parker’s apartment and started walking to Cole’s truck when Parker suddenly stopped as she noticed Turner’s friend, Mark, sitting on his porch. She looked at the parking lot and didn’t see Turner’s car. Parker thought it was a little strange that Mark was sitting there and Turner wasn’t home yet. She tugged on Cole’s arm to stop him as the two of them approached him.
“Mark,” Parker greeted. “What’s going on?”
“Hey Alex. Just waiting for Ryan,” Mark replied.
“Where is he?”
“Beats me.”
“He’s probably just working late,” Parker assumed. “Or maybe he’s out with Marissa.”
“Nope. I talked to him on his lunch. He said Marissa was working tonight and that he had a light workload today and was gonna knock off around five, then come home and we’d cook some burgers then watch Return of the Jedi,” he explained.
Parker looked at Cole, concerned that something had happened to Turner.
“It’s not like him to be late and not let me know. I got no texts, no calls, nothing,” Mark said. “Seems strange.”
“I, uhh, gotta check something,” Cole said, going back to his apartment, leaving Parker and Mark on the porch.
Cole went over to his computer and activated the tracker that he’d previously placed on Turner’s car. Once the location came up on his screen he immediately recognized that it was the same address that Nazarov had given them. He shook his head and sighed before rushing out the door to tell Parker.
“We gotta go,” Cole told Parker.
“I’ll let you know if I hear something,” Parker said to Mark as she quickly followed her partner. “What’s up?” she asked, getting inside Cole’s SUV.
“I activated the tracking chip I put on Turner’s car.”
“Don’t tell me.”
“It’s right where we’re already headed. Davis must’ve picked him up as he left work and took him to the warehouse with him,” Cole said.
“Why would he do that?”
“Protection. Leverage of some sort. Maybe something to bargain with,” Cole reasoned.
Parker was quiet for a few minutes, looking out the window, worried about whether Turner was OK. Cole briefly looked over and could tell she was troubled.
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “We’ll get him out of there.”
“I just hope we’re in time.”
Cole put his foot down on the gas pedal and raced down the highway. They got to the warehouse in half an hour. They parked across the street and sat there for a few minutes, sizing up the situation.
“Looks pretty quiet,” Parker stated.
“You know what they say about looks,” Cole replied.
“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. No lights or anything.”
“Let’s just give it a few more minutes.”
They sat there for five more minutes, waiting for any sign that someone was already in the building. They eventually got it when they saw a light turn on in an upstairs window.
“Well it seems someone’s there,” Cole said, noticing the light.
“All right, let’s get in there,” Parker said, putting her radio earpiece in.
“Wait,” Cole said, grabbing her arm.
Three expensive looking cars then pulled into the warehouse parking lot. Four men, most wearing suits, got out of each car. A few seconds later another car pulled in. One of the men opened the passenger door to let a man out. Parker and Cole assumed this guy was the leader of the bunch. They noticed the man give the signal to the rest of his bunch to go into the warehouse. Several of the men took guns out of the insides of their suit jackets as they proceeded. That was all Parker and Cole needed to see. Something was about to go down and they needed to get in there. They needed to get over there quickly and didn’t feel they had enough time to go around the back of the building for cover.
Once the group of men entered the warehouse, Davis came down the flight of steps to greet them.
“Victor,” Davis greeted, shaking his hand. “How are you?”
“I’ll be much better once I have the information you promised.”
“It’s right here,” Davis said, giving him a CD.
“You don’t mind if I just double check the contents?”
“Not at all.”
Victor grabbed it and handed it to one of his men, who set up a computer on a nearby desk.
“Is this all your men here?” Davis asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“I got word a couple CIA agents may have found out about our meeting and try to disrupt it. You may wanna put someone outside on the door.”
Victor motioned for a couple of his men to go outside, who complied with his wishes. He then turned his attention to the laptop.
“How’s it look?” Victor asked.
His man nodded in approval. “It’s looking good.”
“I told you everything would be in order,” Davis said.
“You have kept your word. I will keep mine,” Victor said.
Victor’s employee took the CD out of the laptop and handed it back to him. He then went over to the entrance and grabbed a duffel bag and brought it over, putting it on the floor in front of Davis. Davis knelt down and unzipped the bag, smiling once he saw all the money that was stuffed inside.
“One million dollars, just as we agreed upon,” Victor told him.
Davis looked up at him and smiled, then stood up. The two of them shook hands, both very satisfied with the transaction.
“I hope you get everything you’re looking for out of that,” Davis said of the CD.
“We will,” Victor smiled.
Parker and Cole made their way to the side of the building when they noticed a couple of the men stationed outside.
“Once we show our faces here everyone inside will know we’re here,” Cole stated.
“I got an idea,” Parker responded, putting a silencer on the end of her gun.
She walked toward the front, holding the gun behind her so it wasn’t visible. She turned the corner, startling the two men who raised their weapons at her.
“Ah,” Parker screamed, pretending to be startled. “I work with Davis. He didn’t tell me such good looking men were going to be here though,” she told them, trying to get their guard down. She rubbed one of the men’s chest, her plan working as they both lowered their weapons. Once they did that, she instantly swung her gun around and promptly put a bullet in each of their chests. As they laid on the ground, not moving, she put one more bullet into each of them, just to make sure they were dead.
“Let’s go,” she told Cole, peeking her head around the corner.
“Before we go racing in, why don’t you go around the back and see if there’s another door,” Cole told her. “There’s at least twelve more in there. If they’re all right inside here, it’s gonna be tough for us both to get in without getting picked off once they see us. If you can get in from the other side we’ll have a better chance and we can get them in the crossfire.”
Parker nodded in agreement. “I’ll let you know when I’m in position.”
Parker quickly ran to the back of the building. She found a door in the rear of the building, the bottom half of it wood, the top half made of glass. She slowly and quietly turned the handle but it was locked. Within a few seconds though, she had the lock picked.
“All right Cole, I’m in,” Parker told him, opening the door.
“Let me know when you’re ready,” he replied.
Parker walked in and continued looking around, her head feeling like it was on a swivel, gun held directly in front of her and ready to fire. The room was pretty empty, only a few boxes thrown about on the floor. She quickly moved to the door frame in front of her, though there wasn’t an actual door there, just the opening for it. She peeked around and saw the group standing there talking. Her eyes bulged out a little once she saw Davis.
“I see Heath,” Parker said.
“How many you count?”
“Thirteen including him. I’ll fire the first shot to draw their attention away from you. When you come in, there’s two men directly to your right. Get them first. There’s a couple of big pallets right next to them you can use for cover.”
“Roger that,” Cole replied.
Cole sighed, a little antsy waiting for Parker’s signal. This was the part of the job he enjoyed most. Nothing like a good gunfight for his satisfaction. Parker peeked around the edge of the door frame again, trying to line up Davis. She didn’t have a crystal clear shot at him though with a couple of Victor’s men in the way. She took what they gave her though. She fired her first shot, hitting one man in back between the shoulder blades. She unleashed another shot, hitting someone in the arm.
“They’re here!” Davis shouted, pulling out his gun.
Victor’s men all turned their attention toward Parker and started firing their weapons. As soon as they did, Cole burst through the door, firing his automatic rifle, immediately killing the two goons to his right. He took cover by the pallet of boxes right away and fired again, killing two more men. Victor and his men were at a huge disadvantage as they were standing in the middle of the room without much cover. A few of them dispersed, trying to hide behind whatever boxes they could find. A couple weren’t quite sure which direction they should be firing at and the indecision cost them their lives as they got caught in the crossfire between Parker and Cole. Within a few minutes there was only four men left of Victor’s group, including himself. One of the men tried to sneak his way around the edge to Cole’s position, but Cole noticed him before he got there and ended his existence.
“It’s not too late for the rest of you. Give it up now!” Cole shouted.
“Did you really think I didn’t expect this?” Davis asked.
With a lull in the action, Parker snuck in through the door opening and took better cover behind a pallet to the right of it. Victor stood up and tried to make a run for the door. Parker had him in her sights as he got to the door, finally pulling the trigger, unloading a round that found it’s way into Victor’s temple. He immediately dropped to the floor, killing him instantly. The last remaining men of Victor’s stood up and starting firing their guns, trying to make their way to the back of the warehouse where the steps were. Cole and Parker returned fire, killing both men.
Davis was the last one left. He actually hadn’t even fired a shot yet. He simply took cover and hoped Victor’s men would take care of them. But it didn’t change his plans in the event that they didn’t. Davis then stood up with both of his hands in the air, one gripping a gun, and the other holding some kind of device, with the duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He walked toward the center of the warehouse, in plain view of the CIA agents.
“Let’s talk about what’s in my hand right now,” Davis told them, as he continued his way toward the door.
Parker and Cole now revealed themselves, coming out from their positions as they moved closer to him.
“As soon as I press this button, this entire building goes up in flames, including everyone in it,” Davis told them. “So unless you have a death wish for today, you’re gonna let me walk out of this building.”
“Where’s Ryan?” Parker asked.
“Oh, he’s a little tied up right now,” Davis jokingly replied.
“Where is he?!”
“If I told you, that’d take out the fun of looking, wouldn’t it?”
“Let’s just shoot him and take our chances,” Cole said.
Davis pushed the button and tossed it on the floor, unleashing a massive amount of smoke. He raced for the door, hoping the smoke would conceal his movements. Cole fired a few rounds in Davis’ direction, none of which hit its intended target.
“You get Turner. I’ll go after Davis,” Cole told his partner.
“He’s gotta be upstairs,” Parker said, running toward the steps.
Cole quickly ran toward the door and opened it. As soon as he stepped outside he was met with gunfire. Before he even knew where the bullets were coming from he felt a sharp pain coming from his shoulder. He felt a sudden shortness of breath. He looked down and noticed blood coming out of his shirt. He dropped to a knee as the pain was becoming unbearable. Within a few more seconds he closed his eyes and slumped over to the ground.
Parker had raced upstairs and quickly checked each room while also being mindful of her surroundings in case Davis had planted any other surprises for them. She finally got to the room Turner was in, kicking open the door.
“Alex! Thank God!” Turner shouted. “How’d you find me?”
Parker looked around the room for signs of any other trouble. Without immediately seeing anything, she rushed over to Turner’s chair, cutting the ropes that tied him with her knife. Once he was free, he jumped up out of the chair and hugged his rescuer. She reciprocated the hug, then broke free of him. Parker looked up at him, wanting to kiss him. She instantly came to her senses though.
“We have to get going,” she told him. “I don’t know how much time we have.”
“Is Cole here?” Turner wondered.
“He went after Heath. C’mon.”
Parker grabbed Turner’s hand and led him out of the room as they rushed down the hallway, racing down the steps. They ran across the warehouse as quickly as they could, hoping they could get out before the place blew up. Once they stepped outside, Parker saw Cole lying there.
“Cole!” she shouted, kneeling down beside him. She turned him over and checked for a pulse. It still seemed relatively strong. Parker pulled out her cell phone and called for an ambulance while she looked around to see if there was any sign of Davis, but she assumed he was already gone by now. Turner knelt down beside Cole to see if he could do anything to help. Parker then called Burnett to let her know what was happening.
“What the hell happened out there?!” an agitated Burnett asked.
“We arrived at the location and engaged in gunfire with Davis and the people he was doing business with. Once we eliminated the other twelve or thirteen men, Heath fled the building. Cole went after him. It looks like Davis was waiting for him as soon as he exited the building,” Parker explained.
“Did Davis get away?”
“Yeah.”
Burnett sighed, not happy about the events. “How does Cole look? Will he make it?”
“It’s tough to say right now. You know how shoulders can be. A lot of damage can be done in there. Looks like he’s lost a lot of blood so far.”
“You go with him to the hospital and keep me updated.”
“I will.”
“I’ll get a team out there to process the scene,” Burnett told her.
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Parker hung up and turned her attention back to Cole. “Just hang on. An ambulance is on the way,” she told her unresponsive partner.
“Why’s he seem so bad?” Turner asked.
“What?”
“Well it looks like he got shot in the shoulder right? I didn’t think shoulder wounds were that bad. At least as far as getting shot goes.”
“Ryan, this isn’t the movies. A shoulder can be one of the worst places to be shot. There are so many muscles, and tissues, and organs that once the bullet penetrates it can ricochet and hit any other number of things. It can also be very painful. As you can see by him passing out,” Parker explained. “In some cases you can be shot and keep on going. But in reality, most times getting shot is not a pretty sight.”
The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and Parker and Turner took a step back to let the paramedics tend to Cole. Parker turned around and kept staring at the warehouse.
“What’s wrong?” Turner wondered.
“It never blew up,” she answered.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“His intention all along was to separate us. He knew I’d come after you.”
“What now?”
“Right now I go with Cole to the hospital,” Parker told him. “You go home.”
“What?”
“You have a job, friends, and a girlfriend to worry about. You should be there for them,” she said as she got into the ambulance.
Turner sighed as he watched the ambulance pull away, wishing there was more he could do to help.
Chapter 12
Parker was in the kitchen area pouring herself a cup of coffee. It was the only thing keeping her awake at two o’clock in the morning. She sat down and reflected on everything that happened, not only that night, but since she’d been in Los Angeles. Her concentration was broken a minute later when she noticed Turner walk in. She stood up as he got closer to her.
“What are you doing here?” she wondered.
“I’m sorry. I know you told me to stay home but I just couldn’t. I couldn’t sleep knowing that Cole was here, you were here. I tried calling you to see what was going on but you didn’t answer.”
