“I thought that they were DEA, but the DEA doesn’t have the balls for this. I would have thought that no one had the balls for this.”
Mr. Brown pointed at the wall.
“They want Szabo, what are you going to do?”
“Hire muscle, tons of muscle, and place them at the other distribution centers. If they try this shit again I want them dead.”
“We’ll do that, but they cost us big time, maybe it would be the smart thing to just hand over Szabo.”
Darnell stepped closer to Brown.
“Did you just use the word, ‘Us?”
“I meant it figuratively, I’ve been doing this since Tyrese was still alive, and I take this shit personally.”
Darnell relaxed and stepped back.
“I want these two, Mr. Brown; bring them to me like you did with Szabo.”
“And do you need them alive?”
Darnell spit at the melted money.
“Hell no, waste them!”
***
They spent the day resting, while waiting for word that Szabo had been released. No word came.
At dusk, they were back in Grosse Pointe, making their way through the woods that bordered the gated community where Darnell lived, and to the house they had freed Linda from.
They evaded the security patrol and made it to the patch of woods that sat opposite Darnell’s house, then, they lay in the grass and studied it through binoculars.
“I see that the security has been notched up quite a bit,” Tyler said.
“That’s an understatement,”
There were four armed guards visible at the front of the house, two stood watch on the porch, as another two made circuits around the home itself, a monotonous task, given that the home sat on only a half-acre of land.
“Look at the homes on either side, they’re dark. It looks like the neighbors fled.”
“No, take a closer look at that picture window on the house on the left.”
Tyler zoomed in on the picture window with the night vision binoculars, and this time he noticed the figures inside moving about in darkness.
“Whoa, more men, probably in both houses, it looks like we were expected.”
“Grrrrrrrrrrrr,”
The growl was loud, in stereo, and very near. They both swiveled their heads around and saw the silhouettes of two men and two dogs coming by the very path they had just used to get there. The dogs were following their scents.
The men were armed and the dogs were German shepherds that looked to weigh about eighty pounds each. Their body armor would protect them from the teeth, but not if they were first knocked to the ground by the force of the animal’s charge.
“They’ll see us at any second,” Tyler whispered.
“You handle the dogs, I’ll handle the house and then we go.”
“Shock and awe?”
“Shock and awe and a hasty retreat, now go!”
They stood; he faced the house as Tyler faced the men with the dogs. At the houses across the street, the guards became alerted to him and raised their guns to fire. As he flung a pair of grenades at the house, he both heard and felt a tremendous THUMP! behind him, as the night momentarily turned to day, then the whimper of dogs and the cries of men were extinguished by the BOOM! BOOM! of his grenades.
He took but a moment to view the results and saw a section of the porch roof cave in, then the men in the houses began firing and he turned and ran.
Four bullets slammed into his back and drove him to the ground, then, he felt Tyler grab him beneath the arm and help him to his feet, even as more bullets were flying past.
They passed the men who had been handling the dogs; they were just recovering from the flash grenade that Tyler had used against them. He shot the first man as he reached for a gun, as Tyler blasted the second, then another bullet slammed into his back and that’s when he saw the dog.
The beast hit him in the chest, and the impact was worse than the bullets had been. He toppled backwards, helmet cracking against the ground, as the dog sought the flesh at his neck. He tried to push the animal back, but the dog was a thing of fury.
He freed his knife and prepared to stab, but then the dog yelped and tumbled away. It had been wounded by one of its comrades’ bullets, and the barrage continued still.
He laid flat, wondered about Tyler, and then watched him crawl towards him.
“We need to slow them down or we’ll never have a chance to get back over the wall. We’ll use the grenades again.”
“Save one, we’ll need it,” he said.
“On three, one, two, three—BOOM!... BOOM!... BOOM!
They rose up amid the screams of their pursuers and sprinted towards the wall. The rope they used to climb over was still hanging where they had left it, but he sensed danger on the other side and bid Tyler to use the last grenade.
BOOM!
The wall crumbled, and shouts of shock rose from the other side, where three men in the back of a pickup truck had been waiting for them to climb over. They peppered the truck with gunfire, killing the three stunned men, and then he again sprayed their message.
SZABO!
***
Darnell paced in front of his damaged home while waiting for news.
When Mr. Brown returned, Darnell ran up to him as he got out of the car, but then stopped short as he saw the look on Brown’s face.
“How the hell did they get away?”
“These dudes are using grenades against us. We need more firepower.”
Darnell sent him a look of disgust, and then began pacing again, when he stopped, there was a smile on his face.
“The other distribution centers, they’ve got to be their next targets, I want you to put a damn army outside those places. I mean snipers on rooftops, roving patrols, and Brown, get some damn explosives, steal dynamite from construction sites if you have to, but I want these bastards dead.”
“I’ll do it, but it’s going to cost big. These guys are hell on the business. Why don’t you just hand over Szabo now, and then we can hunt them down on our terms.”
Darnell stared at Mr. Brown as his breathing became rapid.
“Hakeem!”
“Yes?”
“Give me your gun!”
The man to his left immediately handed over his weapon, a Sig Sauer P226 with a laser sight. Darnell aimed the gun at Mr. Brown and the red dot rested between the man’s eyes.
“You tell me to give them Szabo one more time and I will blow your head off, do you understand me?”
Brown didn’t even blink, but simply stared back at his boss.
“I get it, Darnell, and I won’t mention it again.”
The laser shut off, and Darnell handed the gun back.
“Find these sons of bitches and kill them.”
As Darnell walked away, Mr. Brown watched him, and knew the time was coming to make his move.
***
Jessica looked distressed as she touched the bruises on his back.
“Thank God you were wearing that suit.”
“That suit is the reason those bruises are there. I take risks while wearing it that I wouldn’t normally take.”
“So what are you saying, you don’t like it?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just that I’m aware of its lure, of the sense of invulnerability it gives you, and to do what we’re doing, the way we’re doing it, it’s necessary.”
“Why don’t you take Jace with you? I can defend this house if I have to.”
He shook his head.
“I know how capable you are, but I feel much better with him here.”
“Alright, I understand, and by the way, Amanda called.”
“How is she?”
“Everything is fine; she just wondered how we were doing.”
“It’s odd, isn’t it? I mean I have a mother at home. The women who gave birth to me,”
“It’s odd, but good, I like having her around.”
“So do I,”
He stood and began putting the armor back on.
“You’re going back out?”
“Yes, and we probably won’t be back until morning.”
“Please be careful.”
“I will, but I doubt we’ll even be shot at.”
“Why is that?”
He smiled.
“Because no one will be home.”
***
8:43 a.m.
Mr. Brown parked in his driveway, and then sat there a moment to think.
The last few days had been horrible, but last night was the worst, and it was because nothing happened. After the attack on Darnell’s home, they had readied themselves for another fight. The distribution centers were natural targets, and at last, they were prepared. But, as the hours ticked on, he realized that the men weren’t coming and that business would continue to suffer for yet another day.
He left the car and entered the house to receive a shock. Everything either laid in tatters, or had been fouled by paint. He rushed up to the bedroom and stepped past what remained of his bed, to drop to his knees in the closet and open the safe in the floor.
It was still there.
He could still make his play.
He got up from the floor looking for a place to sit and found that none existed. The chairs had been broken as thoroughly as the bed, and so he walked out of the room and sat on the steps.
His call was answered on the third ring.
“Yeah?”
“I had a visitor last night, maybe two, both tall,”
“Same shit happened to me, and Tony too. Damn man, now these dudes is getting personal.”
“Yeah, Kaleef, it’s time to make our move. Are you and your boys up to it?”
“Damn straight, you should see my place, and on the wall they—”
“Tonight Kaleef, he’ll be at his office downtown, we’ll do it then, at five o’clock,”
“We’ll be ready; Darnell’s time is over.”
Mr. Brown ended the call and walked downstairs. He went to the bar in the corner of the living room and stepped over the shattered mirror to search for an unbroken bottle, and to his surprise, he found an intact bottle of Hennessy, he then opened it and took a gulp. He walked over to the wall where the 60" flat screen hung, and gazed at the word written upon its shattered surface, SZABO!
Mr. Brown drank until he was feeling good and buzzed.
***
Darnell rushed out from behind his desk to meet Mr. Brown at his office door. He was smiling, certain that Brown’s presence could only mean one thing.
“You got them?”
“No, I’m here to discuss something else.”
“Something else? Goddamn it, there is nothing else, now get the hell out of here and don’t come back until you’ve killed those bitches.”
Brown ignored him and took out his phone.
“I need to show you something.”
Darnell huffed but looked down at the screen on the phone.
“It’s a laptop, so what?”
“That’s Kent Rawlings’ laptop.”
“Bullshit, I destroyed that.”
“You destroyed his new one, this is his old one. The dumb motherfucker kept it on a shelf in his closet. It’s almost current, he only stopped using it three months ago.”
Darnell cursed the dead Rawlings for his stupidity, but then praised Brown.
“Good work, but where is it now?”
“You don’t get it, Darnell. I’m keeping it. I’m keeping it and I’ll send it to the DEA if you don’t leave the business.”
“You’re trying to blackmail me?”
Brown brought out his gun.
“I could kill your ass right now, but I want to make a deal.”
“What deal?” Darnell said, and the words came out as ice.
“Keep your damn investment firm. I don’t give a shit about that. I just want this business. It would have been mine if you hadn’t married Naomi, shit, if you hadn’t come along, Naomi would have been mine too.”
“What if I tell you to go fuck yourself?”
“Then, the DEA comes after your ass, and I bet the IRS and the SEC would want a piece of you too.”
“You’re a fucking snake!”
“No Darnell, I’m the man now, and I own your ass.”
“Hakeem!”
“Hakeem is dead, along with all your guards, you’re alone, take the deal.”
Darnell stared him up and down.
“Why not just kill me?”
Brown grinned.
“Because this is so much more fun, but there’s another reason. Things are bad enough without a civil war and the last thing I need is to reinvent the damn wheel. You phone that lawyer, Gary, and all the other key men and tell them that I’m in charge now, and when I hear back from all of them, then you’ll get the laptop, you’ll get to keep your investment firm, and everybody wins.”
Darnell walked back to the desk and sat down.
“I want that laptop.”
“You’ll get it. Once I’ve heard back from everyone. I’ve rented a room for you at the Regency. The laptop will be delivered when I think it’s safe to do so.”
“Why would I stay at the Regency?”
“Your house is mine now. It’s part of the business, remember.”
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Since Tyrese died of that stroke, and now with the laptop, I can finally do it.”
Darnell took a deep breath, pushing the rage down.
“We have a deal, and you know what? Fuck it, I was going to go fully legit sooner or later, you just made it sooner.”
Brown smiled. “I’m so happy for you.”
Darnell headed for the door, after opening it, he turned and stared at Brown.
“Go back on this deal, try to fuck me, and I’ll bring Armageddon on your ass.”
“Goodbye Darnell, have a nice stay at the Regency.”
***
Later that night, Darnell lay on the bed inside his suite at the Regency, pondering the turns his life had recently taken. He missed Naomi more than he would have thought possible, and now he’d lost his business.
Mr. Brown had booked him into Suite A, and so he took a room in Suite B, where he could see who came to call, there was always the chance that Brown still might try to kill him.
He sat up on the bed, wearing only a pair of boxers, and turned the TV on. When his own face looked back at him, he knew what Brown had done.
“Darnell Hopkins of Hopkins Investment Corporation is a wanted man tonight, as evidence has come to light accusing him of—”
He cut off the TV, grabbed his clothes, went into the hallway, and headed for the steps. As he opened the stairway door, the elevator pinged. He stepped on the landing, but kept the door open a crack.
Three men in suits walked off the elevator accompanied by two uniformed officers.
He hadn’t left the room a moment too soon. After dressing, he hurried down the stairs with his life in ruins, while making a vow to wreak vengeance, for after all, what else did he have left to live for.
***
They had done reconnaissance for nearly an hour and had come to believe that the place was deserted.
The property was discovered on a search of Rawlings’ old laptop and its use was listed as R & D, research and development, and so, they expected to find a drug lab.
They entered from a back door, paused, and looked at each other. The odor inside the building reminded them of a morgue.
They found him, or rather, it, lying on a table, with a multitude of tubes, fluids, and machines, keeping it technically alive.
The thing that was once his friend, Steve Szabo,
The fingers of his right hand, which had been severed days before, had now been followed by his other extremities, his hands, his feet, his arms and legs, had all been amputated, and judging by the way the soiled sheet covering him settled, even his manhood had not been immune to the knife.
&n
bsp; Someone had turned him into a torso. Someone had made him into a thing.
He no longer had eyelids, or a nose, or lips, and his ears were two dark holes.
As he and Tyler fought to control their emotions, the Szabo-thing stirred.
It saw him, he believed that it saw him, and then it parted its lipless mouth to speak, but even that bit of humanity was denied it, for it no longer had a tongue.
He lowered his head until his forehead was touching its, and its skin felt as cold as a grave.
Then, eyes locked with eyes, while unspoken words passed, and he knew what must be done.
He straightened, took a pistol from a holster, placed it beneath the chin, pulled the trigger, and ended the pain.
Tyler jumped at the sound of the shot, as a moan escaped his lips, but then he nodded in understanding, and they headed for the door.
When they were still ten feet away, the door opened and in stepped Dr. Soong, carrying a box of take-out chicken. He was dressed in an overcoat, but he had just unbuttoned it, and beneath it they saw a bloodstained surgical gown.
“Who are you?” Soong asked.
They answered him with lead, and when they had finished, he lay perforated on the floor with over two dozen wounds, a blood-splattered box of chicken at his side.
They stepped past his corpse and went outside, leaving the door open behind them.
He took out his phone, dialed, and heard him answer on the third ring.
“Lawson,”
“We found Szabo.”
“Who is this?”
“It’s me, the man you call John White.”
“You don’t sound like yourself.”
“Szabo’s dead, they tortured him, mutilated him... for days,”
“Oh Christ, I’m sorry, White, I know he was a friend,”
“Yes.”
“I’ll send a team, a clean-up team,”
“There’s no getting clean from this, goodbye Lawson.”
Once in the car they stripped off the face shields. Two blocks later, as they were sitting at a red light, an old woman crossed the street in front of them. When she glanced into the car, she froze and stared.
She had never before seen men cry such tears.
CHAPTER 10
Lionel Reese was wary.
He, like everyone else in the organization knew about the two tall men running around killing whoever they pleased, taking whatever they wanted, and when they felt like it, doing it all again.
The TAKEN! Series - Books 9-12 (Taken! Box Set Book 3) Page 14
