The Combative

by Mike Ryan

  “I know quite a few gentlemen with teeth marks in their arms who may not agree with you on that one.”

  “Well, they just don’t know him like I do.”

  “I’m thankful for that.”

  Thrower pulled onto the Vogel’s street, parking several houses down from theirs. The Vogels lived in a nice development, each house having about a quarter of an acre of property. And all the houses were two floors and around two thousand square feet. Thrower’s position gave him a clear view of the house.

  For most people, sitting there for long periods of time with nothing to do but stare and wait would have been boring. And to some degree it was. But for Thrower, he always kept alert. He felt that the moment he let his guard down, the second he looked away, the five minutes he closed his eyes, that’s when something bad would happen to the people he was trying to protect. And that was how he was always able to keep focus. If he slacked off, someone might get killed. And he wasn’t having that. Not on his watch.

  Thrower sat there, watching the Vogels get out of the car and walk into their house. As boring as it was just sitting there, he didn’t yearn for any action either. If there was action, that meant someone was getting hurt. Probably somebody else, but still, he didn’t enjoy beating people up, or the occasional jobs where he had to do worse bodily harm to someone. He was good at it, but he preferred the downtime.

  Unfortunately, this was not going to be one of those boring nights. Almost immediately after the Vogels stepped inside their home, another car slowly rolled onto the street. Thrower’s eyes immediately went to the car. It was only going ten miles per hour. Thrower had a bad feeling about it. Being at this job for a couple years now, he had a sense about when things were about to go bad. And he was getting that sense now.

  The car finally came to a stop in front of the Vogels’ neighbor’s house. From his vantage point, Thrower could see two men in the car, both in the front seats. He didn’t take his eyes off the car. But he made sure he was ready to move at a moment’s notice.

  The men stayed in the car for a good five minutes. Thrower wasn’t sure what they were waiting for. Maybe it was just to make sure the Vogels were home. Thrower’s eyes glanced at the house, seeing a few lights turn on and off. There was no question if the men were there for the Vogels; they knew they were now home.

  Then Thrower noticed the driver’s side door open. As the driver got it, then the passenger door opened. Both men stood near their doors and looked around. Thrower had seen that look before. They were checking to see if they were being watched by any neighbors. If they were, they’d probably stall or get back in their car, or walk around, something to make it seem like they were doing anything but what they were there for. Thrower opened his door slightly, ready to jump out depending on what the men did.

  The two men approached the Vogels’ house, though they veered off to the side. They were walking to the side gate that led into the backyard. The Vogels had one of those white vinyl fences surrounding their yard, and there were a good deal of trees on the perimeter, so the men were liking that they’d probably be concealed for the most part.

  Thrower waited until the men were out of sight, allowing him to approach without them seeing him. He ran over to the house, stopping at the corner and peeking around. The side gate was closed now. Thrower took a few steps and slowly undid the lever, pulling the gate open. He was ready for a fight, but there was no one there. The men must’ve already been at the back door.

  Thrower quickly rushed to the corner of the house and peeked around. There they were. It looked like they were just about ready to break through the door. Thrower walked out from the corner of the house, making himself plainly visible. He loudly cleared his throat to make himself known.

  “Do you guys really think you should be doing that?”

  The two men jumped back. “Who the hell are you?” one of them said.

  “Oh, I just happened to be walking by, saw you two come back here.”

  “Well, we live here, OK?”

  “Uh, pretty sure you don’t. See, I know the people who live here, and you two don’t look anything like them.”

  “Listen, guy, beat it before something bad happens to you.”

  “Look, people make mistakes, I get it. But if you wanna correct this one before you both wind up unconscious, I’d suggest taking a hike right now.”

  “Is he messing with us?” the man said to his partner. He then laughed. “Does he really think he could take on the both of us?” the man turned his attention back to Thrower. “Is that what you’re implying? You think you could take both of us out at the same time?”

  Thrower shrugged. He didn’t look concerned. “If you really wanna find out.”

  The man laughed again, glancing at his partner. “You know, it never fails. You run into these cocky pricks all the time. Think they’re big and tough and bad, and they talk a good game, then they get into a real fight, and they fold like Jell-O.”

  “Listen, guys, why don’t you do yourselves a favor and get out of here, huh?”

  “No. I don’t think we will.”

  “You wanna do it the hard way, huh?”

  The two men walked over to Thrower, standing only inches away from him. Thrower wasn’t the least bit intimidated, even though he was outnumbered. He was quite confident in his abilities, even against two men. Thrower glanced at each of them, waiting for one of them to make the first move, and he knew it was coming.

  Then, the talker of the pair threw a left hook at Thrower’s face. Thrower quickly dodged it by ducking, then threw a left hand of his own at the man, which connected. Thrower instantly got hit with a punch from the other man, making him shuffle his feet, but he quickly returned the shot with one of his own. The other man got back in the fight, giving Thrower quite a workout trying to fend off two men.

  Luckily for Thrower, they weren’t the most skilled combatants he’d ever come up against. They were decent, but they were hardly anyone’s definition of people to be scared of. The three continued fighting in the backyard over the next several minutes, all the men getting in their fair share of punches. At no point in time did Thrower ever feel like he was losing the battle, though.

  The only thing the other men had going for them was the fact that there were two of them. If it was a one-on-one fight, Thrower would have dispatched both of them quite easily by now. But the two of them together were giving him a bit of a workout. But he never felt overmatched. It just would take a little longer to get rid of the both of them.

  Finally, after a few more minutes, Thrower started wearing them down. He was able to get a little space between them, and started using some of his jiu-jitsu moves. A few kicks to the legs, a few kicks to the stomach, and then, finally, a few kicks to the head, and both men wound up down for the count for good.

  As Thrower stood over the two men, he heard a noise by the house. It was the back door opening. Mr. Vogel stood there, looking shocked at what was going on.

  “What are you guys doing on my property?”

  Thrower took a few deep breaths and put his hand up. “Don’t worry, sir. I’ve got it under control.”

  “Who are you guys? What are you doing here?”

  “I’m an undercover detective, sir. Happened to be driving by and saw these guys poking around your fence here. So I came over to investigate.”

  “You’re a cop?”

  Thrower nodded. “That’s right. Don’t worry. It’s all over now. You can go back inside now if you will, so I can escort these two back to jail.”

  “Oh. Will you need me for anything?” Mr. Vogel asked.

  “No. Nothing to worry about on your end. Since I witnessed everything, you’re not needed. It’s all good. Thank you.”

  “Uh, well, thank you.”

  “My pleasure, sir. Have a good night.”

  Mr. Vogel went back inside, though he went over to a window so he could still see what was happening. Thrower looked down at the two men, who were both clearly stil
l out of the fight. They weren’t knocked out, but they weren’t going to be any more of a problem. Thrower needed a few more seconds before he got his breathing normal again after the exertion. Now he had to figure out what he was going to do with the pair.

  Thrower looked out the side gate and did the only thing he could think of. He’d have to neutralize the pair permanently. He picked the one man up, then to make sure he truly wasn’t going to give him more of a problem, he reared back and delivered a powerful shot right to the man’s nose.

  The man instantly cried out and held his nose. “Ow, man, I think you broke it.”

  Thrower hoisted the man over his shoulder and then carried him out of the yard. He went through the gate and walked back to the car the men arrived in. He then released his grip of the man once he got next to the car, letting him fall hard on his shoulder in the grass.

  “Ow! What are you trying to do?”

  “Shut up or I’ll break every bone in your body,” Thrower said.

  He opened the driver’s side door and then pulled the lever by the seat to release the trunk. Once it opened, Thrower picked the man up again and shoved him into the trunk. He closed it and walked back into the yard.

  Once he got there, he saw the man slowly getting back to his feet. Seeing Thrower approach, the man tried his luck one more time. He tried throwing a punch, which Thrower easily ducked.

  “Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time?” Thrower asked.

  He then countered the man’s punch by delivering a spinning kick to the man’s midsection. With the man hunched over, Thrower lifted his leg up high, then let it come down hard on the back of the man’s neck and head, sending him straight down to the ground. Thrower then grabbed the man from behind and started dragging him out of the yard. He dragged him all the way beside the car. He let go of him so he could open the trunk again.

  As Thrower turned around, the man quickly got to his feet again and tried his luck for a third time. He tried throwing a punch that Thrower blocked.

  “Some people just don’t get it, do they?”

  Thrower then delivered a short, left jab to the man’s face, stunning him for a moment. Thrower then grabbed him by the back of the head and rammed his face into the side of the car. The man dropped to the ground, screaming in agony and holding his head. Thrower picked him up and shoved him in the trunk with his partner.

  Not wanting to stand there for too long with a couple of people in the trunk, Thrower looked around. He didn’t see anyone watching, but he was still uncomfortable. He got in the car, seeing that the keys were left in the ignition. He then drove off the street, but stayed in the same development, parking on the next street over. He got out of the car and walked back to the trunk. He tapped on it a few times.

  “Hey, you guys stay nice and still back there, and I’ll let you out soon.”

  He really had no intention of letting them out anytime soon, but he just wanted to make sure they didn’t make a lot of noise and bring attention to the car. If they did, Thrower would just move it again. But now that the imminent danger was over, Thrower had to get rid of his cargo. He pulled out his phone and called Jacobs.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” Jacobs asked. “Everything all right?”

  “Well, had a little bit of a problem here.”

  “What happened? They try something?”

  “Tried, yeah. Don’t worry. I got it all under control.”

  “What happened?”

  “As soon as the Vogels got home, another car pulled up. Two men got out, went into the back and were about to break in through the back door.”

  “You stopped them?”

  “Yeah, they’re neutralized,” Thrower replied.

  “What’d you do with them?”

  “Well, right now they’re in the trunk of their car. I got it on the next street over.”

  “They dead?”

  Thrower laughed. “No, but I doubt they’ll be fighting anyone else for a while. I gave it to them pretty good. I don’t know what you want me to do with them, though. Want me to take them somewhere? Leave them? What?”

  “No, I’d rather you sit on the house. Probably won’t have any other action tonight, but just to be sure.”

  “I agree.”

  “Leaving them there probably isn’t the best bet, either.”

  “What, then?”

  Jacobs thought of what he could do with them. And he had a plan. “Just sit tight. I’ll come and get them.”

  “What are you gonna do with them?”

  “Send a message.”

  8

  Jacobs immediately called Franks to come give him a lift to Thrower’s position. He left Tiffany and Gunner at home. Once they pulled up to the car, they saw Thrower leaning up against the hood. Jacobs went over to him, and they shook hands.

  “Hey, thanks. Appreciate you doing a good job.”

  Thrower shrugged. Though he didn’t need compliments to do a good job, it was still nice to hear. “That’s what I get paid for, right?”

  “In the trunk still?”

  “Yep.” Thrower smiled. “All nice and quiet.”

  “Good.” Jacobs then got in the front seat of the car. “Eddie, you follow me.”

  “Right behind you, man,” Franks replied.

  “Where you taking them?” Thrower asked.

  “I’m gonna drop them right on Ames’ lap,” Jacobs answered. “You need me to take you back to your car?”

  Thrower shook his head. “No, it’s cool. It’s just the next street over. I can walk.”

  “All right. I’m sure the rest of your night will be uneventful, but if it’s not, you got my number.”

  Thrower nodded. “You got it, man.”

  Thrower stepped away from the car and started walking away. Jacobs put the car in drive with Franks following right behind him. They drove for about twenty minutes, and though even Franks didn’t know where they were going, he was sure Jacobs had something big in mind.

  They arrived on the outskirts of a building, probably a warehouse or a storage building. Jacobs had been there before. He’d seen Ames’ men operating out of here. There was a metal gate that was closed, but there was only a padlock and chain keeping it that way. That wasn’t going to deter Jacobs. He put the car in drive and raced for the gate, busting it completely open. Franks followed him through it, stopping once they got to the main building, which wasn’t far away from the gate. Both men got out of their respective cars at the same time.

  “Man, that was something,” Franks said. “You do that often?”

  “No. I wasn’t even sure it would work.”

  “Well, it looked pretty cool from where I was sitting.”

  “Now we go to the plan.”

  “Before we get to all that, man, I’d like an apology from you.”

  Jacobs looked confused. “For what?”

  “For doubting me.”

  “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  “Thrower. Admit it, you had some doubts about me finding someone capable, didn’t you?”

  Jacobs rolled his eyes. “Are we really gonna do this now?”

  “Why not? There’s nobody else here but us chickens. Admit it, you didn’t think I could pull it off, did you?”

  “OK, I admit. At first, I questioned whether you could find someone good enough for the job. OK? Is that what you wanna hear?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Can we move on now?”

  “Yeah, he’s pretty good, isn’t he? I mean, he took on them two dudes by himself. That’s no small feat, you know,” Franks said.

  “I’m aware. Can we move on?”

  “I mean, one’s pretty good, but two’s even better.”

  “So you’ve mentioned. Can we…”

  “I wish I was there to see it. To see how he took down them two guys…”

  “Eddie… focus.”

  “I am focusing.”

  “I mean on what we’re doing here. Now.”

  “Oh. G
uess I got a little carried away there, huh?”

  “No more than usual.”

  “Speaking of that, what do you got cooking up your sleeve here? You never did tell me what you were planning.”

  “I’m gonna call the number that was left for me back at the cemetery,” Jacobs said.

  “And do what?”

  “I’m gonna tell him I’ve got a present for him here.”

  “What if he don’t pick up? What if this number is out of service? What if it was only a one time thing? What if…”

  “Eddie, just let me call and find out.”

  “Oh. Yeah, all right, man. Go ahead.”

  Jacobs pulled out his phone and scrolled to the number he knew belonged to Ames. He didn’t have expectations one way or another. He hoped someone would answer, but if not, he’d gift wrap the men inside the car in some other way. As soon as he dialed, he heard it ringing. He looked at Franks and nodded, letting him know it still seemed to be good.

  Finally, a man answered. It wasn’t Ames, though. “Yeah?”

  “I wanna talk to Ames.”

  “Who’s this?”

  “Brett Jacobs.”

  “You wanna leave a message?”

  “No. What I got to say I wanna say directly to him.”

  “Well, he’s busy at the moment.”

  “Un-busy him or else he’s gonna be short a few more men.”

  The man didn’t reply at first. It took him a few seconds to think about it. “Hold on.”

  Jacobs leaned up against the car as he patiently waited for Ames to get on the line. It took about two minutes, but eventually the boss got on the phone.

  “I can’t say this was entirely expected,” Ames said.

  “Yeah, well, I guess I can be full of surprises too, huh?”

  “So what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice again?”

  “Tiffany’s parents are off limits.”

  Ames decided to take the play-stupid approach. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh yes, you do. Two men were sent to the Vogel’s house tonight.”

  “News to me.”

  “No, it’s not. They’re your men. You’re the one who sent them.”