The Combative

by Mike Ryan

  “They were aiming for me.”

  Franks rubbed the top of his head. “And do you happen to know who’s responsible for this little situation?”

  “Sure I do. It was Ames.”

  Franks tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. “Oh, of course it was. Of course it was. Oh, man. What are we gonna do here?”

  “Well, you could give me a lift back home for one.”

  “I don’t mean that! I mean about this.”

  “I’m gonna need a new car.”

  “Obviously.”

  “Nothing’s changed.”

  “Of course it hasn’t,” Tiffany said.

  Jacobs looked at Tiffany. “As long as Ames is out there, I’m a target. You’re a target. The only way that changes is by stopping Ames. For good.”

  “And how long is that going to take?”

  Jacobs walked over to her and looked her in the eyes. “I wish I could be the man you want me to be.”

  “You can be.”

  “I can’t. Not yet.”

  “You can if you want to be.”

  “Maybe eventually I can. But not yet.”

  5

  Jacobs was sitting in the dark at the kitchen table. He was replaying the events of everything in his mind. He was thinking about his family, Mallette, Ames, and all the battles that he had in between. He was thinking of what he could have done differently, if anything. Then his thoughts turned to Tiffany. It wasn’t fair that she was caught up in this now, he thought. He’d give anything to get her out of it.

  Suddenly, the lights came on. He looked up and saw Tiffany walk over to him. She sat down next to him. She didn’t know if she should, but she saw his hand on top of the table and put hers on top of his. Jacobs didn’t pull away.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Jacobs looked at her for a second without answering. She had a caring look about her. He didn’t know what it was, maybe it was the teacher in her, or maybe she was just that way naturally, but she had a way of expressing herself in such a natural way. Nothing she ever said seemed forced.

  “What makes you think something’s wrong?” Jacobs asked.

  “You’ve been quiet.”

  “I’m always quiet.”

  Tiffany smiled. “Not like this. What’s wrong? Is it the cemetery?” She now started rubbing his hand with her thumb.

  As Jacobs stared into her eyes and looked at her face, he couldn’t lie to her. She had a way of drawing it out of him without even trying very hard. “Yes.”

  “You don’t have to keep this up.”

  “I do.” Jacobs looked down at her hand on top of his. It felt good. It felt right. He still didn’t pull away.

  “Why?” she asked in a much different tone than their last discussion about it. They were both talking softly this time.

  Jacobs took a gulp, not really wanting to tell her everything, but knowing that he should. It was the right thing to do. Plus, she deserved to know.

  “When I was talking to Ames, he indicated that you were still a target.” He could immediately see the disappointment on her face.

  “Oh.”

  “That’s why I don’t want you to go. If you leave here, I can’t guarantee I can protect you all the time.”

  Tiffany wiped a tear from her eye. “When is this gonna end?”

  “Soon.” Jacobs then put his other hand on top of hers so that now her hand was between both of his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want for any of this to happen.”

  “Brett, I swear if you’re gonna apologize and blame yourself again for this, then I’m gonna smack you.” She forced a laugh as she got her tears under control.

  “But I—”

  “No. I don’t wanna hear it. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. Stop blaming yourself for other people’s actions. You didn’t make any of this happen to me. It was Ames’ decision, not yours.”

  “But—”

  “No. Stop. When we met, you said it probably wasn’t a good idea to get involved. I heard you and listened to what you said. But I chose to ignore you, because that was my decision. You know why? Because I liked you. I still like you. And I wouldn’t trade knowing you for any of it. Do I wish things were different? Yeah. But I can’t be honest and say I dislike living here with you. I actually love it. I love being close to you.” She smiled. “And Gunner. I love that guy. But when we’re just here, I actually kind of forget all that other stuff out there. It’s like it’s just us and nothing else out there even matters. I feel like we’re in our own little bubble. And I wouldn’t mind staying here forever, if there was a light at the end of the tunnel.”

  “Meaning me giving up everything?”

  “Meaning you finally moving on. I mean, you’ve told me everything that’s happened, and I get it, I do. And I don’t blame you for anything you’ve felt, or done, or anything. It’s completely understandable. And I know some of the things you’ve done are technically against the law, and I’m gonna completely overlook that one for a second, but I get what you’re doing. You wanna take bad people off the streets so other people don’t have to go through what you did. And I get it. I really do. But you can’t do that forever.”

  They continued holding hands while Jacobs deliberated on opening up more to her. He wasn’t sure he should, but opening up to her felt natural.

  “You know, before I met you, and I mean, right before I met you, I wasn’t planning on doing this forever.”

  “So what changed?” Tiffany asked, not understanding his true meaning.

  “I mean… I wasn’t planning on continuing all this. I planned on taking out Ames, and whoever else, and… going down with them.”

  “Oh my god, are you serious?”

  Jacobs nodded. “Yeah. I figured if I couldn’t move on, then I wouldn’t. And I’d finally be with my family again.”

  Tiffany put her free hand on top of his, so their hands were completely touching. She gripped his tighter. “Please tell me that’s not in your thought process anymore.”

  Jacobs looked at her and shook his head. “It’s not. I thought that was what I actually wanted for a while, but then something changed.”

  “What? What happened to change your mind?”

  “You. You walked into my life, and I thought, maybe I could change. Maybe I could go back to that man I used to be.”

  “And you can. You really can.”

  Jacobs’ eyes started filling with tears, though no drops fell as he got them under control. “I knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to keep you close to me, and I knew I should probably push you away, but I guess I didn’t really want to. When I looked at you, I thought there was still a chance for me.”

  “And there is. I promise you there is. But you’ve got to want it. And you’ve got to believe it.”

  “But I also can’t just walk away from this. Not because I love it or I have a death wish or anything. But because, if I walk away, there’s always going to be a piece of me that’s looking over my shoulder, wondering if he’s coming. If we just left now and went somewhere else, I’m always going to wonder about coming home one day and finding you lying on the floor somewhere, because I got complacent. Because I let my guard down. I can’t let that happen again.”

  “But didn’t you say he’d let you out of the city?”

  “Do you really trust and believe anything he says?”

  Tiffany looked away for a second. She honestly couldn’t say that she did. She was already well aware of what Ames was capable of. “There has to be another way.”

  “There is. I finish what I started.”

  “That’s not the way.”

  “It’s the only way. Men like him, Mallette, that’s the only way they understand. They don’t understand reason. They don’t understand anything other than their own greed. Believe me, I’ve been dealing with this stuff for a while now. I know them.”

  Tiffany tightened her grip on his hands. “I don’t want to lose you before I even had you.”

 
“You really think there’s hope for me?”

  “Yes. If you just give yourself a chance, if you give us a chance, you can be the person that you want to be.”

  Jacobs batted his eyes quickly and took a deep breath. “How about I make a deal with you?”

  “What kind of deal?”

  “You let me finish what I started here. I’ll take care of Ames. And you don’t get in my way of that. And you also agree to stay here until that happens.”

  “And if I do?”

  “Then after it’s over, I’ll walk away from all of this.”

  Tiffany’s face lit up. She didn’t really believe he would say it. “You really would?”

  Jacobs nodded. “I really would. I’ll go wherever you wanna go. Whether it’s somewhere else, or stay here, whatever. I’ll do whatever you want. And I’ll give us a chance to work. But I can’t do that if I’m looking over my shoulder, wondering if there’s another shoe that’s going to drop. I need to know you’re completely safe and out of this.”

  Tiffany couldn’t hide her excitement. She removed her hands from his and clapped excitedly. She then leapt off her chair and jumped onto his lap. She put her hands on each side of his face, then leaned in, their faces inches apart. Their lips were close to touching. Jacobs put his arms around her, his hands resting on her back. He didn’t want to pull away anymore.

  Tiffany moved in closer, putting her lips on his. Jacobs reciprocated the emotion. They enjoyed each other’s affection and embrace for a while. They finally pulled their lips away from each other when they heard Gunner barking. They looked down and they both laughed, seeing him sitting there, only a few feet away, watching them.

  “I’m sorry, sweety, am I taking him away from you?”

  “I was going to say the same thing about you,” Jacob said. “You seem to be his new favorite.”

  Gunner barked at them a couple more times, causing Jacobs and Tiffany to laugh some more.

  “Do you think he’s upset with us?” Tiffany asked.

  “Are you kidding? I think he loves you more than me.”

  Gunner then ran out of the room and over to the window in the living room. He continued barking. Jacobs knew something was up. Tiffany got off his lap, and the two of them went over to the window and looked out. They saw Franks approaching.

  “Oh, nobody important,” Jacobs said.

  Tiffany playfully slapped him on the arm. “Hey, be nice. Eddie’s good to you.”

  “You have no idea the things I’ve put up with over the years from him.”

  “I know he’s a little strange at times, but he cares about you.”

  “I know. I just wish he wouldn’t talk so much.” Jacobs went over to the door and opened it as Franks got there.

  “Well, well, well, it’s nice to get this kind of service for once,” Franks said, walking in. “If I were wearing a cape, this would be the part where I turn around for you to take it off me and hang it up.”

  Jacobs wore a confused face, as he often did when talking to his friend, and closed the door. “What?”

  “Never mind, man, never mind. Anyways…”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Oh, well, that’s what I was here to talk to you about.”

  “What?”

  “Why I’m here.”

  “Which is?”

  “I got something to tell you.”

  “I figured that. What?”

  “What what?”

  “Oh my god.” Jacobs ran his hand over his head and looked at Tiffany. “You see? You see what I’ve been dealing with all this time?”

  Tiffany laughed, thinking it was cute. She knew Jacobs wasn’t really mad, he just liked to pretend that he was. It was their own bromance type of thing.

  “So what is it?” Jacobs asked.

  “What’s what?”

  “What you came over here for?”

  Franks looked at the wall as if he were trying to remember. Jacobs put his head down and sighed. He shook his head, then walked over to the couch and sat down.

  “Oh!” Franks shouted.

  “What?”

  “I remembered.”

  Jacobs looked up at the ceiling and grinned. He really had no other words. “Great. Would you mind telling the rest of us?”

  “Oh, yeah. Of course I will. Don’t be impatient.”

  Jacobs put his hand on his forehead, trying to remain calm. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “So I got you a new car.”

  “What?”

  Franks slapped both his legs. “Do I stutter, man? I said I got you a new car.”

  “That was fast.”

  Franks had a pleased look on his face, and he rubbed his fingernails on his shirt as if he were polishing them. “Yeah, well, they don’t call me the best for nothing.”

  Jacobs went over to the window and looked out. “Which one is it?”

  Franks reached into his pocket and removed some keys. He then pushed a button to unlock and lock the car, the lights quickly shining on and off. “That one.”

  “Looks black.”

  “Got a problem with that?”

  Jacobs smiled. “Nope.”

  “Good. It’s pretty much the same as your last one. This one’s a little newer.”

  “I thought you said it was new?”

  “Well, it is. New to you. Not new to the world. It’s been hanging around for a few years now, but it’s only got about forty thousand miles on it, so it’s in good condition. Plates and registration have been changed and all, so you’re good to go with it.”

  Jacobs took the keys. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “Anything for you, my man.”

  Jacobs went into the kitchen and put the keys in a drawer. As he left the room, Franks quickly rushed over to Tiffany and stood next to her.

  “How’s it been going? You been working him?”

  Tiffany smiled. “Yeah. I’ve been doing my best.”

  “Any progress?”

  “Yeah. I feel we’re making some.”

  “Good, good. Keep at it. We’ll break him down yet.”

  Jacobs walked back into the room. “What are you guys talking about?”

  “Huh?” Franks said. “Oh, nothing, nothing. Just seeing how she was doing. Making sure you weren’t boring her to death or anything.”

  “Really?” Jacobs walked back over to the couch and sat down.

  Tiffany walked over to the couch too and sat down next to him. Jacobs suddenly put his arm around her and brought her in close to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Franks’ eyes almost popped out of his head. He couldn’t believe it. He took a few steps back, then started looking around.

  “Uh, uh… am I in the right place?” Franks continued looking around. “I feel like I stepped into an alternate universe or something.”

  Tiffany laughed.

  “Why?” Jacobs asked.

  Franks turned his head to the side slightly, though still looking at the two of them. He pointed at them, brought his finger back in front of his face, then tucked it back into his fist. “No, I must be seeing things or something. This can’t be happening. What I think is happening can’t be happening.” He turned away for a second, then looked back at them. “Is it?”

  “Is what?”

  “Is it you and… her, I mean, the two of you… are you… you know… I mean… together?”

  Tiffany sat up straight, Jacobs taking his arm off her, though she put her hand on his knee. “Brett said that after Ames is done, then so is he.”

  A half-smile on Franks’ face slowly turned into a big one. “He said what now?”

  Jacobs took a deep breath. “After I take out Ames, then I’m walking away.”

  “You’re serious?”

  Jacobs nodded, then looked at Tiffany. “She sees something in me that I’m not sure is there. But I’m willing to give it a shot and hope that she’s right.”

  “I am,” Tiffany replied.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Franks said.
“I was beginning to think I’d never see the day. So what are you gonna do after Ames is gone?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s not jump the bucket and overlook him too fast though, huh? I mean, he’s not exactly a slouch.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, you’re right. But, uh, what does that mean for you?” Franks pointed at Tiffany. “Am I still looking for another place for you or what?”

  Tiffany looked at Jacobs. “You already know my feelings,” he said.

  Tiffany smiled. “I’ll stay here. As long as you promise you’re done after this.”

  Jacobs nodded. “I am.”

  Tiffany looked back at Franks. “Then you can stop looking. I’m where I want to be.”

  Franks smiled and let out a little laugh. “Good. Gotta be honest, I wasn’t really looking.” He saw Tiffany shoot him a look. “I mean, I was going to and all, I mean, I was planning on getting you this real nice place, but now, guess I don’t need to proceed with that. There was a chance it might fall through anyway.”

  Tiffany laughed as well, knowing he was talking nonsense. She didn’t mind as much as Jacobs did, though. Franks, getting the sense the two of them were growing closer, and maybe wanted some time alone, started heading for the door.

  “Leaving already?” Tiffany asked.

  “Uh, yeah, well, I got some things to do, and I don’t wanna be in the way of you two getting your spurs on and all, so I think I’m just gonna head out now. You two get on that horse now, hear?”

  Tiffany looked confused as Franks led himself out the door. Once the door closed, she turned to Jacobs.

  “What did all of that even mean?”

  Jacobs put his hand up. “Don’t even. Don’t even try to comprehend anything he just said. It makes sense to him in some twisted sort of way, so just let it be and don’t even try. If you try, you’ll only make your head hurt.”

  “Oh. OK.”

  “You know, I don’t think you ever gave me a response to my deal.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “No, you just leapt out of your chair. You never said you agreed.”

  Tiffany laughed. “Well, that was my response.”

  “So is that a yes?”

  She moved in closer, her lips right against his. “This is the only answer you need.”