by Jon Mills
“Special Agent Baker. You are a long way from home. Now why do you want Jack Winchester?”
“You are in a whole heap of trouble.”
“Is that so?”
“This place is going to be swarming with feds shortly.”
He snorted. “No. I don’t think so, but let me tell you something, Special Agent Baker. If they do come, they will wish they hadn’t. There is no government that can ever overthrow what we are establishing.” He took her badge and tossed it out into the jungle, then reached down and took a hold of her by her hair and yanked her to her feet.
“Jack! Hey Jack! I have someone here that you know.”
The man yanked on her hair and Isabel screamed in pain.
“Does Special Agent Baker ring a bell?” he yelled into the jungle.
Chapter Thirty
Jack cast a glance over his shoulder thinking that he was playing games. But when he heard her voice call out it was unmistakable.
Shit!
He moved back through the jungle to get a better view, then noticed some of Castillo’s men in the distance fanning out. He was still carrying the Glock he’d taken from one of the men. He pulled the magazine and tried to see how many bullets he had left but it was hard to tell. The only other form of protection he had was the bowie knife.
“Come on, Jack,” Castillo yelled his name, then several times more. “I’m growing impatient. Don’t make me slit her throat or do what we did to Jose.”
One of the men was coming his way.
Jack pressed himself against a thick-knotted kapok tree that was a hundred and fifty feet high and ten feet in diameter. With his entire body smothered in a thick layer of mud from head to toe, he blended in against the knotted vines and creeping aroids. He slowed his breathing and closed his eyes, listening for the sound of footsteps. As he heard the soil and dead branches crunch to the left of him, he opened his eyes, pulled out the knife and waited until he was within a few feet before he launched himself at the man. Landing on him, the man’s gun went off but there was no way he could have stopped the assault from behind. Jack plunged the knife deep into the man’s neck, twice. Not wasting even a second, he was up on his feet, scooped up the assault rifle and dashed from that point to another tree.
Two more men came running over calling the dead man’s name.
“Michael!”
The moment they looked down upon his corpse, Jack dropped them with two bullets. He pulled back behind a tree as the snap of gunfire came from others nearby.
Jack bent at the waist and shuffled fast into another location while keeping his eyes fixed on the remaining men. There were at least five that had fanned out. When he took another one out, the other four hightailed it back to the camp. He knew he wasn’t up against trained men. These were ordinary folk driven by the crazy ideas of a madman. They were doing his beckoning so that he didn’t have to face any threat.
Once he was sure they hadn’t just retreated to a point of safety, he moved closer to the camp. That’s when he saw they were crouched in various places by the huts. They were creating a perimeter by hiding behind anything that would offer protection but allow them to return fire.
“Castillo.”
Castillo’s head turned sharp in the direction of the area of jungle Jack was in. He motioned with two fingers for his men to move into position. All the while he used Isabel’s body to block any attempt that Jack might make on his life.
“It’s over. Once Danielle gets out she will alert the authorities. No doubt the agent has already done that. Don’t make this any harder than it already is.”
“It’s not over.” With one hand clasping Isabel’s hair he fired rounds into the jungle in multiple directions, his men followed suit. When the silence returned Jack continued.
“I know that not all of you believe this man’s words.” Jack paused. “I know not all of you want to die. That’s why I’m going to give you an option. Leave the camp now. Anyone who remains will regret it.”
Castillo began to laugh finding his words amusing. He turned to the women, children and the men who were not armed and made a few things clear.
“What does he know of the kingdom to come? What does he know of the light that we have experienced? Don’t listen to him. He’s just one man.”
“I will only say this one more time. If you wish to live, leave the camp.”
Jack could see the group was divided. They might have had issues in their lives and bought into what Castillo had sold them, but he’d seen the look in the woman’s eyes as she covered her child’s view of Jose’s death. Not all of them believed.
A few of them began to shuffle and before they could leave, Castillo turned and shot them. One of them was only a child. Screams filled the camp as the others realized that this had gone too far. And yet still they were divided. Those who were armed remained poised and ready to die for what they believed. Those who doubted ran inside the huts.
“Cowards. You will not inherit the kingdom if you show fear now.”
He turned back to the jungle. Jack was up against at least twenty men. Castillo kicked the back of Isabel’s legs to make her drop to her knees, he then placed the gun at the back of her head.
“You come in now and pay for what you have done, or I will take her life and then take yours,” Castillo said. He gazed out unable to see Jack raise his gun. He wasn’t sure if he could hit Castillo from where he stood. If he missed, it would mean her life.
He squinted with one eye as the other tried to focus in on Castillo. He had him in his sights but whether or not the round would hit him was —
Before he could take the shot, Isabel spun around and took him down. The gun went off and she began to bolt. Jack began firing to provide cover as Castillo’s men turned to unleash round after round at her. She didn’t get very far as she hit the ground, rolling down towards the water’s edge.
When Jack saw that she wasn’t moving he felt a surge of rage go through him. Moving with precision, he began opening fire and strafing to his left. The eruption of gunfire cut through the jungle as both sides fired. Castillo’s men fired wildly with no thought to preserving ammo, whereas Jack took single shots focusing in on either the chest or head areas. Bullets sprayed and peppered the trees around him. The beauty of the jungle was its natural ability to cloak him. It would have been hard to see him anyway due to all the mud and darkness but being surrounded by thick-knotted trees was an added bonus.
These men were amateurs. They were dropping like flies. He would shoot, move position, fire again and repeat the process. Each time he was reducing the number of men and causing even more panic among them. They weren’t ready for a firefight. He figured they had never known what it was like to be fired upon unless of course some had military experience. But going by the way they were firing wildly and retreating, he knew he wasn’t up against anything more than pure numbers. He used their lack of experience to pick them off one by one.
When he saw a few of them drop their weapons and flee inside the huts, he moved in closer.
“Get back here,” Castillo shouted to them but they didn’t listen. Fear had overwhelmed their senses as they looked upon the bodies of the dead that had only minutes ago been beside them alive. Not even Castillo could keep his men in check. Some however remained in position.
Losing his hold, Castillo grabbed a few of them and pushed them out into the jungle.
“If you don’t get out there and kill him, I will kill you.”
They moved out, first it was three, then six, then eleven of them. Jack used the assault rifle until he was out of ammo and managed to dwindle the group down to eight. He drew back beneath the thickness of the leafy canopy and waited. One hand on a handgun and the other holding the bowie.
As he repeated what he had done to the others by pressing himself back into the knotted trees and waiting until they came past, he was reminded of a transaction that had gone wrong in Jersey. A shipment of assault rifles had come in and Jack and a couple of
others were meant to ensure that things went smoothly. It didn’t and he found himself surrounded by steel shipping containers, and being hunted by five Russians. There was no time for hand-to-hand combat. You used the most effective means of annihilating the threat. He had to attack with laser precision, and fast, and then move before the others located him. It was the same now.
Jack clasped the handle of the bowie knife in his right hand and readied himself as the barrel of the man’s gun poked around the corner. Jack was slightly crouched in order to catch the man off guard and avoid being shot. Three. Two. One. In one smooth motion he came up with the knife and drove it up under the man’s chin and into his skull. Not even a gasp escaped his lips. Jack pulled him down fast and yanked the blade free.
He didn’t think twice about whether these men deserved to die or not. In his mind he had given them a chance. One by one he slit their jugulars, and snapped their necks while ensuring they didn’t make a sound.
When he was down to the last three, he was covered in warm blood.
Under the darkness of night, he used the handgun to put an end to the final threats and become the last man standing. Without even a moment of hesitation, he dropped his gun, and took up one of the men’s before pressing on back to the camp.
As Jack came out into a clearing, Castillo was holding a machete to the neck of a teenage girl. He’d pressed it so tight against her skin it was seeping blood.
“Put it down,” he commanded Jack.
Jack was shouldering an assault rifle. Like a coward Castillo kept himself partially hidden behind the girl. Jack stared back just looking for an opening.
“I said put it down.” He shifted the machete just a little and the girl’s sobs turned into louder cries.
“It’s over, Castillo.”
He shook his head in complete denial.
“You don’t get to say when it’s over.”
“Look around you. There has been enough bloodshed.”
Castillo removed the blade but kept a firm grip on the girl. He pointed the machete at Jack and shook it in anger.
“Who are you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“But it does to me.”
“I’m no one. Now let the girl go.”
He shook his head while continuing to peek out from behind her.
“Don’t you see what you have done to these people?” Jack said motioning to the faces of those who had used common sense and remained in the huts. They were peering out from the doorways. Castillo cast a glance their way for a brief moment before fixing his gaze on Jack.
“I will slit her throat. Put it down.”
Jack began slowly crouching to lower the weapon. As he did, he noticed Isabel was moving. She glanced up and her eyes darted between them. Jack tried to keep Castillo’s attention on him.
“You think these people want to follow you?”
“You don’t get to say what they want.”
“Their actions speak louder than words,” Jack said motioning to them.
All the while Isabel had managed to get to her feet and she moved towards a dead man lying on the ground.
“Do you really believe that any deity, or higher being would want you to do this?”
“Don’t patronize me,” Castillo yelled dangling the machete out in front. Jack’s eyes darted to Isabel but Castillo must have seen it. He turned his head just as Isabel was leveling the handgun at him.
When the round fired and struck him in the right leg, he collapsed but didn’t release the girl. Jack still had a hold of his own gun, even though he had nearly placed it on the ground. As Castillo brought up the machete, both Jack and Isabel fired at him. Jack’s round struck him in the right shoulder causing his arm to swing back and release the blade. Isabel’s must have struck him in the side as he cried out in agony. The young girl raced back to her mother who was already rushing towards her from one of the huts.
Jack moved in on Castillo just as he was going for his sidearm. Isabel fired another round striking him in the arm. When Jack reached him, gone was the false bravado and fearless leader.
“Just kill me.”
“You’ll die soon enough,” Jack said looming over him before he smacked him in the face with the butt of the gun. Once he saw he was out cold, Jack glanced over to Isabel who was making her way up the steep incline.
“You okay?” he asked.
She pulled her shirt open to reveal a bulletproof vest. She had a nasty cut on the side of her head. Obviously when she had been hit, she had landed hard and was knocked unconscious. Jack backed off slightly as she reached them and took out a pair of cuffs. He assumed she was going to place them on Castillo, but instead she slapped one end on his wrist, and one on hers, then tossed the key into the water and began to read him his Miranda rights.
“Are you kidding me?” Jack said.
“You know the shit you have put me through to get here?”
“You’re going to bring me in after I just saved your ass for a second time?”
“Saved me? The reason I nearly died here today was because of you.”
He hesitated before he spoke. “Hey, what can I say, you chose to stalk me.”
“Oh, that’s what you call it is it?” she muttered.
“You know I could shoot you and walk away.”
“First,” she pressed her sidearm into his side. “And second, put the gun down. If you wanted to kill me, you would have done it already.”
He shook his head and tossed the assault rifle in his hand to one side.
“I’m not going back to jail.”
“For killing innocent people, yes you are.”
“Innocent? You call these people innocent?”
She pulled at him and guided him over to the other guy she had cuffed. Bending down she released the cuffs that held him but not before having those who had chosen to stay out of the fight come over and ensure that he didn’t try anything. She then proceeded to cuff Castillo. All the while Jack continued to gripe about how this really was an injustice.
“Would you quit your griping. You’re coming back with me, end of story.”
“Didn’t anything that Detective Banfield say to you stick?”
She kept walking. “Banfield is dead.”
Jack stopped and the cuff pulled on his wrist. She turned back and stared at him. “You didn’t know that?” She squinted and stepped a little closer. “That’s right, Jack. He’s dead because of you. You left one hell of a wake when you decided to walk away from the mob. Now it’s my job to bring you back in.”
He didn’t reply to her. His mind was in turmoil over losing a close friend. Sure, it had been many years since they had rubbed shoulders but they always understood one another. He knew where he stood with Banfield and likewise.
That evening as they headed out of the camp with the remaining survivors, Jack started to believe that maybe Isabel was right. Perhaps he didn’t deserve freedom. So many had suffered since his release from prison. So many had died. It didn’t matter how hard he tried to put his past behind him, he couldn’t because his past was him.
As they trudged out of the jungle back to a collection of boats that would take them back to civilization, Jack no longer resisted. He never spoke another word in those hours as they journeyed out. Isabel asked questions and even tried small talk but he said nothing. After what he had experienced in that jungle, after what he had done, and after what he knew now, how could he ever be the same?
Chapter Thirty-One
Several days later as Cooper opened the door to the office for her, the whole room erupted in claps and cheers. Several agents on their feet pointed at her and she felt the swell of pride of having accomplished what she had set out to do.
Cooper guided her over to her desk like a lost puppy as the noise died down. On her desk were several cards congratulating her on a job well done. Attached to back of her chair were several balloons. As she looked to see what they had imprinted on them, she found herself staring
at a mug shot of Jack Winchester.
Cooper chuckled. “That was my idea.”
“Kind of figured.”
“What is it?” Cooper asked perching on the side of her desk. “You look as if you have lost the winning lottery ticket.”
She took a seat at her desk and stared at the cards. “I should feel good about this, right?”
“Well, shit, yeah! Hell, you are going to be riding this wave for some time. This isn’t just about bringing in a mobster. It’s about bringing down an organization. He’s just one of several dominos that are about to fall.”
“Then why do I feel like shit?” She turned to Cooper. He got this blank look on his face as if he couldn’t fathom what she was going on about.
“Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft on me, Baker?”
“You didn’t see what happened in that jungle.”
“No, but I heard it was fucked up.”
She swiveled ever so slightly in her chair and tapped her computer screen on. In front of her was a newspaper with an article on Danielle Lefkofsky being rescued by the FBI. The article was slanted in favor of the FBI because she had been there.
“What the hell is this?”
“Oh yeah, well, I mean if it wasn’t for you going down there—”
Isabel cut him off. “We didn’t get her out. Jack did.”
“Jack. You. The FBI. Who cares?”
She looked up at the screen. Someone had changed her desktop image to Winchester’s mug shot. Her brow knit together. She shook her head, shut the computer down, grabbed up her bag and got up to walk out.
“Hey, Baker. Where are you going?”
“Home.”
He thumbed over his shoulder. “But you just got here. A few of us were going to go for drinks. You know, celebrate. These things don’t come along very often. We need to enjoy this. This makes all of us look good.”
“Exactly,” she said as she brushed past a few more agents who patted her on the back. As she rode the elevator down, she gazed up at the numbers illuminated and counting down. Her mind drifted back to what Detective Banfield had said.
