by Connor Mccoy
“Diablo. That’s the other guy in the front room,” Domino said.
“Yeah, and he’s nobody you want to cross. He’s a killer. A friggin’ psycho. Me and my cousin wouldn’t have given two shits about this place if he hadn’t shown up.”
Maybe I have an opening here. “Alright, then how about this? We team up and take him down, and then you get the hell out of Dodge. I don’t see your face again. That would be just fine with me.” Domino extended her gun a few inches. “If it’s okay with you.”
Evander hesitated. He seriously was thinking over her offer. “You…you’d let me go? Let me and Zell get the hell out of here?”
“Yes, but I’m losing patience. Are you in or out?”
Evander bit his lip. He was not biting on this very easily. If Diablo had spooked him, Domino did not blame him.
Then he turned toward her. “Alright,” he said. “You--you promise. But you got to take him down. I’m backup, you hear? I don’t want to be anywhere near—”
Evander’s sentence was cut short, his body suddenly riddled with gunfire. He jolted and quaked as blood spilled out of new holes in his chest. He flopped to the ground quickly and did not move again.
“Holy shit!” Domino turned around—only to find Diablo, in the doorway, pointing his gun at her.
“I might have figured that shithead would turn on me. Not that I cared. I really didn’t want to be around him any longer.” Diablo took a step into the kitchen. “The gun. Put it on the table or you’re dead.”
Domino couldn’t believe she let this guy get the drop on her. Although every instinct in her told her to keep fighting, to not give into this monster, all of that was overruled by the fear that she would die without seeing her kids again.
So she did as she was told.
Diablo seized the gun with a claw-like grip. He tucked away the other gun on his belt while still holding Domino’s firearm. “Not bad.” Then he aimed the gun at her. “Now, let’s chat. You look like you’ve got far more brain cells than this idiot here, so I’m guessing you want to live badly enough to do what I say. Now, I was told that your doctor friend, the one who flashed that damned light at me, has some stuff stashed away here in a bunker. I’m betting you know where it is.”
Diablo crossed the gap between them so he was two steps from her face. “You want to live? You show it to me. Show it to me so I can make this raid worth my while. Because if it’s not, you’re dead.”
“Slowly. You move a little fast for my tastes,” Diablo said with a grumble.
Domino willed her hand to proceed with caution as she reached for the bunker’s light switch. Inherently, she resisted taking orders from a captor. It was perhaps a miracle that she had restrained herself thus far as she led Diablo through the garage and down the stairwell to the bunker. The burning desire to see her babies and Jacob alive again kept her from doing anything stupid.
She flipped the switch, flooding the bunker’s main room with light. “Here it is,” she said.
“Alright. Start walking toward those doors,” Diablo said.
The bunker’s central room was outfitted for a long stay. It included a bed, shelves filled with books, a small wooden table that could be used for dining or work, and three closets on the back wall. One housed a restroom. The other two contained storage closets, filled with provisions to sustain multiple people for months if need be.
As Domino walked, she wondered if she could take this man by surprise. Unfortunately, without a gun, the odds were too much in Diablo’s favor. Even without a gun, his strength dwarfed hers, even if he walked a little unsteadily. He might be suffering from the effects of that loud bang she had heard in the living room earlier, but not enough to even the odds for her.
Domino approached the closet that held the food and water. She knew there was another closet, a weapons armory, but it was hidden in the wall. Doc Sam did not want to take any chances that a malicious party might make it down here and ransack the place. So, he took great care to conceal the armory unless someone searched very hard for it.
After she opened up the closet, Diablo took a gander inside it. “Very nice,” he said with almost awe in his voice. “Your doctor friend stocked this place good. The potentate’s going to be happy with me when I bring him this sweet haul.”
Potentate? Isn’t that like a ruler of a country or something? Domino kept her questions to herself.
“But I can’t unload this beauty alone.” Diablo spun around, his gun barrel pointed at Domino. “You’re staying here. I’m going to round up some more workers. If you behave yourself, I just might turn you loose.”
Domino’s eyes widened. He was going back out. What if he discovered Brandon and Jubilee?
Chapter Fourteen
“Jacob! Jacob!”
“What?” Jacob spun his head from side to side. “Doctor?”
“You’re leaning. Steady up or you’ll fall over.”
Jacob clenched his handlebars. Doctor Nguyen was right. He steadied himself and with a turn, kept himself from riding off the road.
Exhaustion was overtaking him. He was sure he was approaching the turnoff to the road that led into Trapp, but it was hard to focus. The night around him drained his eyes. The lack of sharp detail in his surroundings, in addition to the fatigue from riding for so long, was threatening to make him tip over.
“The turnoff?” Jacob coughed. “Did we…”
“I see the sign!” Nguyen sped up. “Hurry, make the turn!”
Jacob blinked his eyes. Yes, he could see it. He turned left before he passed the turnoff. Nguyen followed, speaking so Jacob would know the doctor was trailing closely.
“Almost there.” Jacob repeated it several times, making it his mantra to keep going. A short ride down this road was all he required. Trapp was near. Jubilee was near. Brandon was near. Domino…
Doms…oh I want to see you, right now. I want to see all of you.
But his vision was fading. “Doctor!” he cried out. “Come up here!”
Doctor Nguyen pedaled alongside him. Jacob said, “Keep an eye out. Look for buildings, houses, anything. Don’t let me miss Trapp. God, don’t let me miss it.”
Nguyen huffed as he accelerated past Jacob. “I, I will give it my all.”
Please, let him see Trapp. Let him see it if I don’t.
A few minutes passed. Jacob feared the worst. Should they be riding for this long before bumping into Trapp?
“I see it!” Doctor Nguyen’s sudden cries jolted Jacob. “I see it!”
“Where?” Jacob weaved his head back and forth. He spotted shapes on both sides of the road, but they were so indistinct that he didn’t know if they were houses or hills.
“To the left! I see a road turning off!” Nguyen started to swerve left. “Follow me!”
Jacob locked his gaze on Nguyen. Sure enough, he recognized a dinged-up speed limit sign approaching. This was definitely Trapp. That realization actually helped focus his vision and flood his limbs with new strength.
“Doc Sam’s home!” Jacob now pedaled even with Doctor Nguyen. “It’s close. I can take us there.”
Nguyen fell back a little and allowed Jacob to take the lead. Jacob kept an eye out for the street that ran past Doc Sam’s home. It wasn’t long before he found it and made the turn onto the road.
Doc Sam’s house loomed in the distance. As it got closer, Jacob’s strength ebbed. Now that he actually saw the house, his body cried out for a rest. Jacob didn’t want to give in, but he approached the abode, Jacob finally couldn’t take it any longer. Just short of the house’s property line, he skidded the bike to a stop. He didn’t even bother to put out the kickstand. He let the bicycle drop onto the sandy yard just beyond the curb.
Jacob collapsed onto the ground. He wheezed. His legs burned. Now that he had dismounted from that long ride, he doubted he could ride anywhere for a long while. It would be all he could do to walk the rest of the way to Doc Sam’s house.
Doctor Nguyen disembarked his
bike and parked it. Kneeling down next to Jacob, he asked, “I can help you the rest of the way, unless you want to rest first. I can go in, have them come out and carry you inside.”
“No.” Jacob wiped sweat off his face. “I want to go in. I don’t want to wait. Just help me to stand up.”
Nguyen fished his arm under Jacob’s elbow and lifted. Jacob contributed his remaining strength to help himself to his feet. From there, the pair hobbled all the way to the front door of Doc Sam’s house.
The first thing Jacob noticed was that the door lay open. That should not happen, and certainly not in the evening. Doc Sam never would have allowed it.
“Something’s wrong.” Jacob’s heart quickened. He slipped loose from Nguyen’s grasp to hurry through the doorway.
The stench of smoke permeated the air, and it wasn’t hard to find out why. Bullet holes littered the walls. Another smell, blood, mixed in with the arid stench. The living room sofa was shifted almost all the way near the door to the guest room where he and Domino had slept.
A gunfight. Oh God, what happened here!
“Domino! Doms!” A bout of coughing cut Jacob short. His dry throat was a real bitch. “Brandon! Jubilee!”
However, the first person he spotted wasn’t a member of his family. Doc Sam was lying on the floor, close to the door to his treatment room. He was sitting up, propped into that position by the door.
“Sam!” Doctor Nguyen cried out. He just had entered through the front door.
“Doc!” Jacob knelt down next to him. With his pale, almost white skin, closed eyes and almost inaudible breathing, Sam appeared to be at death’s door.
“Doctor!” Jacob cried, “What happened?” Turning to Nguyen, Jacob pleaded, “We have to get him up, get him some help.”
Doctor Nguyen checked Sam’s pulse. “I…” He checked out his wounds, then listened to his chest. “I don’t know. He’s really bad off.”
A soft rumble escaped Sam’s lips. “Hien…”
“Yes! Yes! I’m here, Sam!” Nguyen leaned closer.
“Doc!” Jacob scooted to the other side of Sam. “What happened? My wife, my kids, where are they?”
“I made sure they…got away.” Sam’s voice strengthened a little. “Jacob, I see you brought back…a dinner guest.”
Nguyen laughed amid a sob. “Damn you. You would make light of this. What did you do? Who did you pick a fight with?”
“A vicious psycho named Diablo,” Sam replied.
“The devil?” Jacob asked, sounding incredulous.
“Yep. That’s what he called himself. Attacked me with two shitheads. Went after Domino and the kids. I covered them, then gave Diablo a nice surprise.”
Jacob shook his head. “Diablo?” He asked Doctor Nguyen, “Is he making any sense?”
Nguyen shrank back a little. “One of Middleburg’s reapers is named Diablo.” He reached for Sam’s arm. “But we can talk about that later. We need to help you.”
“Too late.” Sam’s head tilted to the side. “This is it for me. I can’t feel a damn thing…below my waist.”
“Dad! Dad!”
Jacob sprang to his feet. Those calls came from his children! “Brandon! Jubilee!”
His children were running to him from the hall leading from the kitchen. Jacob wanted to dash to meet them but his body was too exhausted. Instead, he waited for them to mob him and hug him.
“Oh thank God. Thank God.” Jacob held them tightly. “And your mom?”
“We don’t know,” Jubilee said with a sob. “We were trapped in the workshop with these horrible people shooting at us!”
“We were hiding in the closet when we ran out of ammo,” Brandon quickly added. “We stopped hearing gunshots and then there was no one talking at all. Then we heard you.”
“Doms,” Jacob whispered.
“Mom’s not in the kitchen. She’s not in Doctor Sam’s bedroom.” Jubilee’s fingers dug into Jacob’s flesh. “We don’t know where she is!”
So she’s not dead. That’s good. But where could she be? Did she go for help? Jacob’s mind raced with possibilities.
Jacob parted from them. “I’m very proud of you both. You kept your heads together. Now it’s time for me to go find your mom.”
“I hate to prevail upon your children for help, but Sam…” Nguyen looked at Doc Sam. “Sam?” The man was not speaking. “Sam!”
“Uh?” Sam’s voice was barely audible.
Nguyen bowed his head. “Dammit. There’s so much we haven’t caught up on. I…” Nguyen sobbed.
“I’m sorry for all this. This is my fault. I gave my brother bad advice. I taught him how to organize our town, but I taught him some of the techniques of those men from Cambodia, the ones who cut off the heads of those poor people. My brother organized killers like Diablo to thin our people, to reduce the population so we would have food, resources...” He held his head in his hands. “I’m so ashamed.”
Sam responded, slowly, “Boy, were you stupid.” His lips briefly curled in a smile. “You always one up me.”
Nguyen raised his head, his wet eyes wide. “Sam!”
“Forget it, Hien. I know I pushed you a little too hard in going…going with me over to Asia. You didn’t have the stomach for it and I knew it. You’re too gentle a soul to handle such carnage. I just missed having you around.”
Doctor Nguyen nodded. “We had a lot of good times.”
Sam smiled again. “Thanks…for making it over once last time.”
Nguyen nodded. “No problem, Sam.”
Sam chuckled once.
Jacob waited for something to happen. Nothing did. Doctor Nguyen just sat there, looking at Sam, whose smile remained in place. But Jacob heard nothing more from him. Nguyen didn’t move from his spot.
“Dad?” Brandon asked in a near whisper.
Jacob wondered if his kids suspected what just had happened.
“Hey.” Jacob sat up, helping his two children to stand with him. “How about we leave these two alone for just a second.”
Jubilee’s throat caught. “Daddy.” She rarely had called him “Daddy” in the past couple of years, except when something was really wrong.
Jacob waited until he had led his son and daughter into the guest room in which they stayed to explain to them why Doc Sam would not be able to talk with them again…at least not in this life.
A few minutes later, Jacob had reunited with Doctor Nguyen in the living room. Jacob could not spare any more time finding out what had happened to Domino. His children spilled out everything they knew, but neither of them had witnessed where their mother had gone.
“From the sound of it, there’s three men involved. One’s dead. We don’t know where the other two men are. God knows if they ran off or if they’re dead or…” Jacob clenched his fist as he interrupted his sentence. “Damn them if they’ve done anything to her. She’s got to be somewhere. If she was just outside, she’d have seen me coming.”
“The bunker in the garage!” Brandon said, “Mom might be there.”
“I don’t think she would have gone in there to hide, not without taking you two. But it’s a good idea. She might have had to duck in there to get away from this Diablo guy, or whoever else you were dealing with.”
“Then we must hurry,” Doctor Nguyen said.
“Yeah!” Brandon added.
Jacob turned his head. “There’s no “we” here. I’m going.” Kneeling close to Brandon, Jacob said, “You and Jubilee stay here with Doctor Nguyen. He’s going to watch you. I’m going in after your mother.”
“But Dad—” Brandon began.
“You will need backup, I’m sure!” Nguyen stepped between Brandon and Jacob. “If Diablo or Evander are out there, they will kill you.”
“And what are you going to do? We’re out of ammo. My kids emptied their shots fending off the Lutz cousins in the kitchen and the workshop. You would be just another target.” Jacob took hold of Nguyen by the shoulders.
“There’s
a chance I can take this bastard by surprise. I sneak in, keep low in the dark, and if he’s there, I’ll take my chance.” Releasing Nguyen, he patted the knife on his belt. “That ought to be enough.”
“Jacob, there still could be two men out there. Without a gun, I don’t like those odds,” Nguyen said.
“I know, but I can’t wait another second. Doms needs me. So I’m going in.”
However, Jacob couldn’t leave without quickly hugging his son and daughter. “I’m so proud of you two. Stay safe for me. I’ll be back with Mom. Now, Brandon, tell me everything you know about this bunker.”
The garage loomed ahead, appearing as an ugly block on the ground, without the sunlight to illuminate its cracked siding. As Jacob approached the structure, its features became more visible. He was looking out for whatever door already was open. If Domino had fled inside, the door might be unlocked. However, if she had barricaded herself inside, the door might be shut. So, if he found the door locked, it could be a good thing.
The front door was, indeed, locked. So far, so good. He fled around the side to the back. However, the back door was slightly ajar. Domino likely was inside the garage after all.
He pulled on the door gently, not wanting to make any noise. Thankfully, the hinges seemed well oiled. They did not squeak as Jacob pulled open the door enough for him to slip inside.
The first thing he noticed was the small lantern lit on one of the workbenches. Jacob’s heart pounded. Someone had to have lit it and left it here recently. He doubted Doc Sam would do such a thing. Jacob did not know the man to be that careless.
So, if it’s not Doc Sam, then who could it be? Domino? If she had to hide, she would have taken off for the bunker.
Speaking of which…
Knife in hand, Jacob crept along Doc Sam’s truck on the other side from the bunker. If either Diablo or Evander were lurking there, he wanted to get the drop on them.
