Don Bruns - Stuff to die for

Jackie Fuentes walked into the sweltering office, a quirky smile on her face. “Hi, boys.”

James raised his head gingerly. I watched Jackie flinch when she saw the damage done to his face. James wasn’t so cute anymore.

“So you’re in on this too?”

“Not so you’d notice.” Mark Spense followed, the gun out of his holster and pointed at Jackie’s back. He pulled me up with his free hand, then eyed James. There was no way James could stand on his own. “You two,” he motioned to Jackie and me, “pick him up. We’re taking a little stroll across the street to the water.” Agent Spense untied my hands and I worked the circulation back into them. Then he untied James’s hands.

For the first time I saw panic register on Jackie’s pretty face. “They’re really going to kill us, aren’t they?”

“We are, little lady. We are.”

I gently took James under one arm and Jackie lifted the other.

“I don’t care if you have to drag him, we’re going outside.”

I stared hard at Krueger. “Before we go, tell me one thing.”

“Oh, Jesus. This is just like the fucking movies. ‘Please, tell me how all this happened before you kill me.’”

“This isn’t the movies. It’s my last request. I just want to know. Is Victor in charge of this little band of malcontents?”

“No. Now shut the fuck up and move.”

“One more question?”

“Move.”

“Are you and your partner really with the CIA?”

Krueger had pulled out his gun and was waving it at me.

“Yes? No?”

“Yes. Get moving.”

James grunted as we helped him stand, but he was able to put one foot in front of the other.

We entered the main area and I could see the large box truck being loaded with the crates of guns and ammunition. The yellow forklift was working off one of the pallets about half way down the wall. Carlos was driving the lift and Vic and Israel were inside the truck helping load the boxes. Juan, his arm in a cast, stood off to the side. All things considered, I figured he would rather be helping. A handful of workers were busy with other projects, two of them carrying the metal canisters that I’d hid behind the other night.

We were herded to the side door and into the parking lot.

“Chains and blocks are across the street. May as well put them on over there.” Mark Spense nodded to Krueger.

“Keep moving.”

“James, if it comes down to it, know that I loved you like a brother. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

James grunted. We were pretty much dragging him now. He couldn’t move on his own.

“Skip, James, I’m sorry about all of this. I never meant to get anyone else involved. Really.” Jackie’s voice quivered.

Krueger pushed the barrel of his gun into my back. We crossed the street and stood by a crumbling three-foot high cement barrier that ran along the water as far as I could see in the murky shadows.

“Sit him down.” Krueger motioned to James, and I eased him down against the wall.

Jackie stood stock still, looking like a frozen Barbie doll in tight jeans and a simple white T-shirt.

“Put that chain around his ankle.”

I glanced down and saw a chain wrapped through and around a cement block. They were going to toss us into the water and either let us drown or shoot us first. There wasn’t a damned thing I could do to stop it.

“Wrap the chain around his ankle.” Krueger raised his voice. “Mark, do it for her. We’ve got to get this show on the road.”

Mark Spense put his pistol in the shoulder holster, bent down to take the loose end of the chain, and fell flat on his face.

“What the fuck?” Krueger took a step closer, leaned down, and gasped. “Christ, he’s been shot.”

He grabbed Jackie by the shoulder, pulling her in front of him. He gave James and me a hard look, then furtively glanced in all directions.

“Please, don’t hold me so tight, it really hurts.” Jackie was squirming, trying to loosen Krueger’s grip.

“You should be dead by now, so this really isn’t so bad, is it?” His arm reached around her chest, mashing her breasts with a death grip. “Whoever is out there, I’ll shoot this little girl. Swear to God.”

Silence. I could hear the water lapping at the cement wall and across the street I could hear the commotion as the workers loaded the truck behind the overhead door.

“Show yourself or I’ll shoot her, so help me.”

No response. James and I huddled by the seawall. I could smell the rotting seaweed and oil that floated on the surface of the flat black river water. His eyes were closed, but I had the feeling he was not missing any of this.

“One more chance, and I’m going to put a bullet in her head.” Krueger yelled. His voice echoed off the steel building across the street.

I closed my eyes. I had to do something. Jump up, shout, throw myself at him. I flexed my legs, ready to leap.

“Time’s up.”

Krueger’s head swiveled back and forth, trying to find out where the shooter might be. He put his gun to Jackie’s head and I heard the sound. As if someone spit, loudly. The shooter’s bullet hit the cement seawall inches from where I sat, and particles of concrete showered the area. Again, the spitting noise and this time the bullet hit gravel in front of Jackie Fuentes.

“Please, please let me go.”

Krueger took aim somewhere in the darkness and fired. The loud explosion surprised me. He pointed in the same general direction, firing again, and holding Jackie tight to his chest.

“Move!” He shoved Jackie in front of him and moved double time across the street toward the warehouse. I watched him as he reached the building, pushing her inside.

“James?”

There was no answer. I grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and dialed 911.

“911 operator. Do you have an emergency?”

“Man, do I only. There’s a guy trying to kill me and two of my friends. And they’re loading guns and ammunition to take to Key West, and sail over to Cuba for an invasion.”

“Sir, this is an emergency number. It’s against the law to use it for anything else.”

“Lady, this is a fucking emergency. I know you record these calls. Give this to someone. I’m in a warehouse district off North River Road, down by Garcias. You tell somebody things are going to get pretty hairy in a matter of minutes.” I closed the flip phone.

“They’re already pretty hairy, Skip. I just killed a government agent.” Angel stepped out of a shadow and kneeled down next to James. “You’re going to be all right, James. This whole thing is about over.”

We carried James to the Jeep parked in a small grove of pine trees a block from the warehouse. Krueger was protecting his own ass and it was time to protect ours. James was breathing steadier as we stretched him on the backseat.

“We need to get Jackie Fuentes out of there.”

“We need to get James to a hospital.”

We looked at each other, then back at James, breathing regularly.

“Okay, all right. But if 911 gets busy, they’ll have someone here soon. We should just stay out of it.”

“Skip, James will be all right. He was awake and making sense. I doubt if there is a concussion and he’s breathing well right now.”

“How the hell do you know all this stuff?”

He motioned to me and we left the Jeep.

“What do you plan to do? My God, these people have hundreds of guns, ammunition, the CIA-”

“I was wrong.” Angel stayed close to the buildings we passed and I stayed right behind him.

“Wrong? About what?” The moon stayed behind clouds and we were probably hard to spot.

“Your CIA friend. I believe he was from the CIA.”