The Combative

by Mike Ryan

  “I’m well aware of your limitations, believe me. And I don’t think it matters what kind of shot you are. It just matters that Ames believes there’s someone out there who’s capable of hitting him.”

  “OK, because I have improved and all somewhat, but—”

  “Eddie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can I go now?”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry. Go ahead.”

  “Remember, just keep that gun pointed right at Ames. Nothing else. I’ll take care of anything else. Don’t get distracted. You’ve got one target. Keep it on him.”

  “Will do, man, will do.”

  Jacobs walked through the parking lot, and onto the grass that led to the graves. He saw the outline of a man standing in front of the graves of his family. He kept his head spinning all around, just in case there was someone lying in the weeds, hoping to sneak up on him. He reached Ames without incident. Ames turned around to face him as he heard Jacobs coming.

  “Glad you were able to make it.”

  “Start talking,” Jacobs said. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

  Ames had his own agenda, though. He looked back at the graves. “Sad, isn’t it? The loss of innocent lives. Tragic.”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s amazing when you think about it, isn’t it? How one life is affected by so many others. We tend to think of ourselves as individuals, but that’s not really true. We’re all affected by so many others.”

  Ames had another of his men waiting in another car in the parking lot. He’d gotten down low in the back seat, making sure he kept out of sight. As Ames and Jacobs were talking, the man snuck out of the car, keeping low to the ground, and went over to Jacobs’ car. He put a tracking device under the back bumper, then slithered away to his own vehicle again.

  Ames’ only true motive was to keep Jacobs there long enough for his man to achieve his goal. “So, I assume we both have guns pointed at each other, correct?”

  “I’d say that’s likely.”

  Ames nodded. “Then I guess we should make this short and sweet then.”

  “That’s how I prefer it.”

  “As I mentioned, I would like to call a truce between us.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s a war I’m not sure either of us can win. Besides, there are bigger things about to come into play.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well, I still have Butch to contend with. And he’s being a pain in my side as well. Then there’s the matter of Mallette.”

  Jacobs tilted his head and made a face upon hearing that name. “What?”

  “Haven’t you heard?”

  “Heard what?”

  “He’s got a new lawyer.”

  “So? He’s had them before.”

  “Yes, but I hear this one might actually have something.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’m not sure. But I’m hearing rumblings that the guy might actually be able to get Mallette out early.”

  Jacobs wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Sad that Mallette wouldn’t be serving all the time he deserved, or happy that he might finally get a crack at him.

  Ames continued. “In any case, if there’s a chance he might get out early, then that means one more person I’ll have to deal with. So you see, I simply want you out of the way as quickly as possible.”

  “Why the sudden change? I’m sure you didn’t just find out all this information in the last two hours.”

  “Maybe seeing my two men in the trunk of a car made me realize that I was fighting a losing battle. You obviously have more help than I realized. Maybe I was too hasty in trying to eliminate you.”

  Ames seemed genuine, but Jacobs still wasn’t sure he was buying it yet. Words didn’t mean a whole lot to him these days. Actions meant more. What he needed to do was see if he could pull any nuggets of information out of him that Jacobs might be able to use later if he wasn’t as genuine as he seemed.

  “If you wanna take on Mallette if he ever gets out, and Butch at the same time, you might wanna add some troops to your arsenal. Because I gotta tell you, the people you’ve hired so far don’t exactly seem like the cream of the crop.”

  “I’ve got fifty or sixty men. I think I’ll be fine.”

  Jacobs shook his head. “If you wanna take on Mallette, take it from experience, you’re gonna need more. Because I guarantee you that while he’s been in prison, he’s already been putting his team together. And he’s gonna hit the street running.”

  Ames grinned. “Thanks for the concern. But I think we’ll be OK.”

  “Suit yourself. But I know the man. And right now, when he gets out, his number one target isn’t gonna be me. It’s gonna be you.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because he views himself as the man in charge of this city. And when he gets out and sees that you’re sitting in his chair, you’re gonna be the first on his hit list. So you better be ready.”

  Ames continued his grin. “Well, thank you for the concern. I’ll be sure to keep my guard up.”

  “Hope wherever you’ve got yourself bunkered in at… hope you’re adequately protected.”

  “I’m not particularly worried about it. But again, thank you for your concern,” Ames said.

  “If you want to give me the addresses of some of your places, I could check them out for you, make sure they’re not easily penetrable for Mallette if he ever tries to make a move on them.”

  Ames knew exactly what Jacobs was doing. It was the same thing he would be doing in reverse. Hell, it was the same thing he was doing now by putting a tracking device under Jacobs’ car. But he was taking the bait.

  “I’ve got my own security team for that.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “So, do we have an agreement?” Ames asked, sticking his hand out to shake.

  Jacobs looked down at Ames’ hand. He had no intention of ever shaking hands with him. Not if they were friends. Not if they were enemies. Jacobs then raised his eyes level and looked at Ames in the eyes. “For now.”

  “For now?” Ames lowered his hand. “Is there something else I have to do?”

  “Yeah. You have to earn my trust. And you haven’t yet.”

  “What do I have to do to earn that?”

  “You’ll know it when you do.”

  Ames nodded. “So, I guess we have a temporary truce then? Until it becomes a permanent one?”

  “We’ll see how it goes.”

  Jacobs had nothing else to say and didn’t think Ames was going to stumble and spill anything worth hanging around for, so he turned and started leaving.

  “Look forward to eventually standing side by side,” Ames said.

  Jacobs heard him, but didn’t want to give a reply, and kept on walking. Within a few minutes, he was back in his car. Before turning the car on, he contacted Franks.

  “How are you doing up there?”

  “Hey, man, ain’t gotta ask me. Question is, how you doing?”

  “Fine. Did you hear all that nonsense?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “What’d you think?”

  “I think that’s a man that’s got something up his sleeve, that’s what I think.”

  “Did you hear that part about Mallette?”

  “Yeah, I heard it. Don’t know if it’s true, though. I haven’t heard anything about it,” Franks said.

  “Just the same, might be something worth looking into.”

  “Yeah, I’ll do some digging on it tomorrow. See what I can turn up.”

  “OK. You didn’t notice anything funny while I was out there, did you?”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Like anything.”

  “Well, you told me to keep my eyes on Ames, so that’s what I did. I wasn’t looking around for anything else.”

  “Fair enough. I’m gonna call Nathan and make sure he doesn’t have company.”

  “Sounds good. I take it I’m able to leave here now?”


  “Yeah, go ahead.”

  “All right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  Jacobs then took out his phone and dialed Thrower, making sure that this wasn’t some type of diversion in order to get an easier path at Tiffany’s parents. Thrower picked up right away.

  “Nate, how you looking there? All good?”

  “Everything’s safe and sound that I can see,” Thrower replied.

  “Good. Glad to see that my fears about this meeting weren’t warranted. Guess he wasn’t trying to pull you away.”

  “Well, there’s still time if he thinks I’m still with you.”

  “Yeah, you’re right about that. Just keep your eyes open, huh?”

  “Always do.”

  Jacobs started his car and drove away. As he drove off, Ames reached his vehicle. The driver opened the back door for him. Once he was inside, the man got behind the wheel.

  “Did you get it done?” Ames asked.

  “All done, sir. It’s on the vehicle.”

  “Excellent. Now, we’ll finally be able to do what we’ve failed at so far.”

  “With respect, sir, why not just put a bomb on the car and take out Jacobs while we’re able?”

  “A few days ago and that would have been the smart play. But now, with this new guy he’s got working with him, he’s obviously enlarging his team. There’s more at play here than just Jacobs. There’s his girlfriend, Franks, this new guy; I want to be able to take them all out. If we just take out Jacobs now, there are still the others.”

  “Understood.”

  “Don’t worry. Jacobs’ turn will come soon enough.”

  11

  Jacobs had just returned to his house, surprised to see Franks greeting him by the door.

  “What are you doing here?” Jacobs asked.

  Tiffany jumped up from the couch and answered for him. “I asked him to come. I was a little nervous waiting here by myself. I mean, I know Gunner was here, but still.”

  Jacobs smiled at her. “It’s fine.”

  “Question is, why am I here before you?” Franks asked. “We both left at around the same time.”

  “I drove over and met with Nate. He said everything was fine when I called him, but I guess I just wanted to see for myself. Make sure Tiff’s parents were OK.”

  Tiffany smiled at him. “Thank you for that. Everything’s OK?”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

  “I’m so glad.”

  “Nothing to worry about tonight.”

  “Eddie told me about the meeting. Seems kind of strange, don’t you think?”

  Franks agreed. “Yeah, the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more I’m inclined to think something’s up.”

  “Such as?” Jacobs asked.

  “I dunno, man. Just seems off.”

  “Could be. But without having specifics, I’m not gonna worry about it tonight. Besides, you got some homework to do in the morning.”

  “I do?”

  “Yeah. About a certain someone.”

  “Mallette?” Tiffany asked.

  Jacobs looked at her, not wanting to confirm it, but not willing to lie about it either. “Yeah.”

  “Is it ever going to end for you?”

  “It will. I just need to sort things out first.”

  “OK. Well, since you’re back, I’m gonna go to bed now.” Tiffany leaned over and kissed him. “Goodnight.” She then retreated to her bedroom.

  Franks pointed to the hallway she just disappeared from. “Hey, are you two gonna…”

  “Would you stop?” Jacobs replied.

  “What? It’s a legitimate question.”

  “We got more important things to think about.”

  “Oh, you mean like what Ames’ real goal was about meeting tonight?”

  “Yeah. Like that.”

  They threw around some ideas, though they couldn’t come up with anything concrete. At this point, Ames could have been up to just about anything. But after thirty minutes of discussing it, Jacobs was about done for the night.

  “Let’s kick it around more tomorrow. I’m tired.”

  “What do you want me to do about the Mallette thing?” Franks asked.

  “Find out if there’s even a one percent chance that maniac might get out early.”

  Franks nodded. “All right, will do. Are you actually gonna get some rest tonight or are you gonna curl up with…”

  “Would you just get out of here?”

  The following morning, Jacobs and Tiffany had just eaten their breakfast when his phone rang. He answered it after seeing it was Franks, assuming he had some news for him, possibly involving Mallette.

  “Hey, you got anything?”

  “Oh, I got something, man,” Franks replied.

  “What?”

  “Word has it that Ames has a meeting going down in like two hours.”

  “Where?”

  “One of his usual hangouts.”

  “Who’s he meeting with?”

  “Word I got is he’s got a big drug shipment that he’s picking up. Could be worth millions.”

  “Millions, huh?” Jacobs thought about it for a second. “Sounds like something that could really hurt him if something happened to that shipment.”

  “Could be. And the rumor is that he’s gonna be at this meeting personally to make sure everything goes according to plan.”

  “How reliable is this information?”

  “I mean, comes from the usual sources, man. I got no reason to doubt it. But just like always, can’t ever guarantee anything. My source is right more times than not, but…”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. Can you double check everything, contact a few other sources to see if they’ve heard anything?”

  “Man, who you think you’re talking to? I already done all that.”

  “And?”

  “I don’t have any other confirmation besides the one source. But you know how it goes. That ain’t unusual when you’re talking about the kinds of people we’re dealing with. They don’t exactly go around advertising it to every chump that walks the street, you know?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I mean, if you think it’s no good, that’s cool. I just wanted to let you know it’s out there.”

  “No, it is what it is.”

  “The source I got it from is good. Now, whether he got it from a reputable source too, I can’t say.”

  “Regardless, it’s something we gotta check out.”

  “That’s why I’m bringing it to you.”

  “All right, thanks. Text me the address to that place so I can check it out.”

  “You got it.”

  Jacobs hung up the phone and immediately felt Tiffany’s stare. He looked over at her.

  “I’m assuming you’re leaving soon?”

  Jacobs nodded. “Could be something… could be something that brings Ames to his knees.”

  Tiffany plastered on a smile, though she was more sad than anything. “I understand.”

  “I’m sorry, it’s just…”

  “You don’t have to apologize for anything. I understand. You’ve done everything you can to keep me safe. I get it.”

  Jacobs opened his mouth to say something, then closed it before any words came out. “If there’s even the slightest chance that this could be something that frees the both of us, I gotta look into it.”

  “I know. I told you… I get it. And I do. I really do. Just… whenever you get there. Be safe.”

  “I will. I’ll leave Gunner here like usual, and…”

  “No.” Tiffany shook her head. “If this is really something that could finally finish this, then I want you to take him with you. You’ll need him more than I do. And he’d help you accomplish that.”

  “But I also want you to be safe.”

  “Brett, I’m fine. Nobody knows we’re here. If you’re gone for a few hours, I’ll be fine. Besides, if Ames and his men are elsewhere, then there’s nothing to worry about here.”

  Ja
cobs still wasn’t sure it was the best idea. It was written all over his face that he was hesitant about leaving her alone.

  “I don’t know. I still…”

  “Brett.” Tiffany put her hand on his. “If this could really end it, you could probably use his help. I’ll be fine. Really. I want you to take him. He’ll help keep you safe, and I’ll worry less about you if he’s with you. Take him. Please.”

  It was still against his better judgment, but he really couldn’t argue against her logic. Things certainly would be easier and better for him if Gunner was at his side. But he still didn’t like the idea of leaving Tiffany alone.

  “I could always have Nate swing by to make sure you’re OK.”

  Tiffany shook her head. “No. Keep him at my parents. They need his protection more than I do.” She then flashed him a more natural smile. “I’ll be fine. OK?”

  Jacobs finally agreed with her position. He looked over at Gunner. “You ready to get back in the swing of things?”

  Gunner barked. He was more than ready. Jacobs took a few more minutes to get ready, then looked at his phone and saw that Franks had texted him the address. Jacobs looked the address up, seeing that it would take him about thirty or forty minutes to get there.

  “I gotta leave soon,” Jacobs said. “I’ll get there about an hour before them, then I can survey everything and pick my spot.”

  Tiffany leaned over and gave him a kiss. “Just make sure it’s a good one.”

  Jacobs and Gunner had been waiting at the meeting spot for the past hour. Jacobs walked around for a bit first to pick out the spot he liked best. And he thought he had a good one. He was on the first floor of a nearby vacant building. Once Ames arrived, he should have had a pretty good shot at him. And if things got too heavy after that, he had an escape path lined up already.

  Everything looked like it would go his way, assuming that Ames was actually there. That turned out to be a big if. The meeting time came and went, with no sign of anyone. Jacobs looked at his watch. It was now twenty minutes past. Gunner let out a bark.

  “Yeah, I know, buddy. I’m beginning to think this was some bad info too.”

  Gunner growled.

  “We’ll give it a little more time.”

  Gunner let out a deeper sounding growl and lay down.