On the Streets for Alison

by Paul Matos, Jr

  Chapter Eleven

  As I walked back over to Mac, he was shaking his head at me. Desai was still on the ground. “So, were there any results?”

  “Really, straight to business. You’re not going to give me anything.”

  “Nothing to give just yet, I’ll let you know. What’s going on here?” I asked.

  “I’m giving him a few minutes to catch his breath.” Mac looked down at Desai hard. “Then he is going to make a call for us and get a location.”

  Desai was still breathing heavily from all the pain. I asked him, “You think you could hurry and stop bitching like a baby so you can make that call. Or would you prefer I let him get back to work on the other hand.”

  He took a deep breath in. “Give me my damn phone.”

  Mac handed him the phone, “Please don’t do anything else stupid. Just get the location and be done here. I will get you some help to get those fingers looked at.”

  He took the phone, took another deep breath and nodded. He dialed the number, listened for the other end to pick up. “Where are you guys today?” Mac reached down and pressed the speaker button on the phone. A voice said, “At the storage unit right now.”

  Mac pressed the mute button and quickly said, “Tell them you are on your way and to stay there.” He pressed the mute button again.

  “Alright, stay there. I’m coming to see you,” Desai said.

  “Okay, sir,” the voice said.

  Mac ended the call.

  “So where is the storage unit?” Mac asked.

  “North of here, just off the highway,” Desai said. Mac and I moved to his back and picked him up by his underarms. “Wait, I’m not going. I need a doctor!”

  “Yes, you are, and you better hope she is there or you will need a mortician,” I said as we carted him off. I looked over at James and nodded. Then gave a little grin and wave to Annabel. She sort of grinned and shook her head.

  Mac said, “Geez man, she is not going to call you.”

  “What the hell does that mean? Why wouldn’t she call?” I asked.

  “She walked up on us cutting off this assholes fingers. Someone normal would have ran the other way,” Mac said.

  “I know that’s one of the things I like about her. She didn’t seem creped out one bit once I told her what was going on. Plus, she is pretty hot,” I grinned.

  In the car, Desai said, “Man, you guys are creepier than I am. You have some aspirin or something? You know, this isn’t the best feeling in the world.”

  I said, “Probably not the best idea, it would just thin your blood and keep you bleeding and if you get that crap in Mac’s car, you might have other problems.”

  “So I should just deal with this the rest of the time I am with you? Like I have no value at all?” Desai asked.

  I just closed my eyes. Mac yanked the truck over to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. Mac turned around to look at him. “Do you really think after all the pain you have cause to so many that we care at all about the little pain you are in right now? There is nothing you can say to get us to give you anything for the pain and if you keep bitching about it, you will only feel worse pain than you have right now. In fact, unless you have something to say that will help us, just try not to speak at all. I am reaching my limit of how much I can take from you.” Mac turned back around and got the truck going again. After a minute of silence, Mac looked over at me, “So when are you going to call her?”

  “I thought I would give her at least a couple of hours. Maybe after this next stop,” I said as we pulled into a parking lot for a sketchy looking storage facility. Mac put his truck in park and we both turned around to look at Desai. “What?” he said.

  I shook my head. “You’re such as ass.”

  “What?!” he said again louder.

  As we got out of the truck Mac said, “They're not even climate controlled!” Then to me, “What an ass!” Mac opened his back door and yanked Desai out. “Which unit?”

  “Damn, take it easy please.” He took in a breath. “53. In the back.”

  We walked to the gate. “Get us in.” Desai just stood there. Mac moved so he was right in his face. “What the hell is your problem? Have you not had enough pain?”

  I noticed Desai wasn’t looking at Mac, but more like through him. I looked over Mac’s shoulder and noticed a van creeping toward the gate. I pulled my gun out and put it to his kidney. “Put the code in now.” I nodded to the van at Mac, as he turned to look the van sped up. “Never mind,” I told Desai. Then I shot him in his lower leg so I would break his tibia so he would just lay there screaming but not want to move for a while. By this time, the van was to the gate and Mac was shooting at the tires. The van smashed through the gate of the storage facility. He had shot both front tires, the gate flattened the back tires, and the van stopped right in front of us. By the time everyone inside got their bearings back, Mac and I were on either side of the van with guns pointed at the two men in the front. Mac said, "Please don't make us shoot you through the door. Step out slowly.” We each opened a front door, the person on my side stepped out slowly and I told him to lay on the ground spread eagle, which he did.

  On the other side, Mac wasn’t having the same luck. I heard, “Don’t do it—,“ then a shot. Without taking my eyes off my guy I asked, “You okay?”

  “Yep, but not so much him.” I looked over and he was right, the guy was slumped over the steering wheel and blood was leaking from the top of his head. Then Mac walked around to my side and opened the sliding door. I finally looked up once he got the door opened all the way. In the back of the van Mac pulled out five girls, one at a time in different levels of disheveled. They squinted in the sunlight. You could tell they had not seen daylight in some time, not just the squinting, but they were all pale. All five were white, all about the same age, and they all looked alike. Alison was among them, but she looked the worse. Mac pulled her out last, set her on the ground and sat next to her with his phone in his hand.

  I looked at him and just asked, “Sam?” He nodded. I asked Mac to watch the bonehead I had my gun on while I went to the truck to get some large tie straps so I could clasp his hands and feet together. While I walked back, I called James, “We got a couple guys here that need some medical attention and another that is dead. We also have five girls that we are taking to North Fulton Hospital. I’ve tied the guys up with straps and we are going to the hospital right now.” He started to protest, but I hung up before he could say anything besides, “Wait.”

  I got back and strapped the guys, including Desai who was still bitching about his leg, together. “Don’t worry, I’ve called for some help. They will be here soon.”

  “I’m going to sue the hell out of you guys,” Desai said in between heavy breaths.

  “Good luck with that,” I told him as I walked away to help Mac get the girls in his truck so we could get them some help.