Gary Ponzo - A Touch of Revenge

Julie’s mouth dried up and her knees seemed unable to hold her up. “But, I don’t underst-”

“Yeah,” Buck said, standing there wearing a communication headset and seeming to understand what she wanted to ask. “I get that all the time. Aren’t I too old to be playing soldier?”

Julie’s breathing became erratic and she needed to sit. He must’ve noticed her struggling because he stepped aside and gestured to the bed.

“Go ahead, Mrs. Bracco,” the man said. “Sit down.”

Buck moved just enough to allow Julie to squeeze out of the closet. He gently pressed his pelvis into her tiny frame as she passed through.

Julie sat on the edge of the bed and held her stomach. Nick had trained her to be aggressive in these situations. The quicker, the better. Before the assailant could decide whether he was prepared to kill. She was ready to attack, kick him hard in the nuts and grab the gun. If she was alone she wouldn’t have hesitated, but she wasn’t alone. She was carrying her baby now and it made her wait. She turned into pure protective mode.

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Julie said, the words vibrating out of her mouth.

“I’ll bet you would,” he said, looking her over like a fine piece of steak. “And I could show you a thing or two around the bedroom.” He grabbed his crotch with his free hand. The gun was still pointed directly at her.

Julie’s stomach lurched at the man’s lascivious expression. She crossed her legs and wondered about Tommy. Was he dead?

“Here’s what we do,” Buck said, suddenly looking businesslike. “I’m going to give you the phone and you’re going to call your husband. You’re going to tell him you’re not feeling too well. You feel sick. See if he volunteers to come home. If he doesn’t, you ask him to come home.”

Julie listened, trying to remember certain phrases she could say that would tip Nick off. She was light-headed and not thinking right. It was all happening too fast. Her baby. She felt grateful she was too early in the pregnancy to begin showing.

Buck pulled a small sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to Julie. “Here are the exact words you are to say. Should you throw in even one extra syllable, I’ll shoot you.”

Julie looked at the words on the sheet. They were hard to see. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were blurry from tears. She wiped her cheeks, took a breath and gathered herself. She knew she had to attack him. Every second she waited worked against her.

Buck looked around the room. “There’s no phone in here.”

“No,” Julie said, irrationally hoping that caused a severe delay in his plans.

He pressed the remote device on his collar and spoke into his headset. “Travis,” he barked, bring me a house phone in here.”

Buck stood there with a sly grin and gestured his gun upward. “Let’s have a little peek,” he said staring at her chest.

Julie pulled down her shirt, ready to go, wanting to go. Now.

Buck seemed to sense her attitude. He held the gun to her head and said, “You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you? Because I’m getting paid a hundred thousand dollars to kill you, so if you get hasty-I collect sooner.”

Julie tried to focus. With every move he made, she considered her assault. If she raised her shirt, maybe he’d get careless and drop his guard. He might reach for her breast and that could give her an opening. She uncrossed her legs and prepared herself.

Buck stepped back for a moment and pushed the button on his collar. “Travis, where’s that phone?”

Then to Julie he added, “But I get another two hundred thousand for your husband. And that’s some real incentive. So let’s do this the right way and I’ll make it quick.”

He looked at the closed bedroom door and his face turned harsh. Into his headset, he barked, “Travis? Marshall? Will?”

His somber face told her he wasn’t getting any response. Julie wondered now about Tommy. Buck never mentioned him and it gave her hope. He took a step toward the door, then thought about it. Julie didn’t remember closing the door. He glanced outside through the open shades. The windows faced the front of the house. Julie couldn’t see any other cars. The sun was beginning to set, throwing streaks of light through the bare fall trees. The nearest house was almost a mile away, so screaming was worthless.

Then Julie heard a sound which made her heart soar.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said Tommy Bracco from outside the door.

Buck grabbed a handful of Julie’s hair and yanked her to her feet. He shoved her in front of him for protection and clutched her tight around the waist.

“Go ahead,” Buck yelled, jamming his pistol into her neck. “Just try it and she’s dead.”

Buck dragged Julie to the side of the bed, all the while keeping her between him and the door. “Now listen,” he said. “Crack open the door and slide your weapon toward me. If you do anything slightly wrong, I’ll kill her first.”

There were a few seconds of silence on the other side of the door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tommy repeated, seemingly mocking him. Buck fired his gun twice into the middle of the door. The noise rattled the bedroom and caused Julie to cower. When she didn’t hear anything on the other side of the door, she worried.

Buck was jittery though. Julie could feel his indecision through his tight grip, which was leaving her with little oxygen. He was pulling tighter and tighter. This couldn’t last much longer or she would collapse. She had to try something.

“Shoot him, Tommy,” she yelled, hoping her voice might give him the position he needed.

“I’m not counting to three, jerkoff,” Buck snapped. “I’m killing her right now. Then you.”

Tommy just said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Only this time it sounded exactly like the first two times and it clearly baffled Buck. Julie was confused as well.

Until she heard the high-pitched clink of her bedroom window cracking and felt Buck’s arms loosen their grip around her waist. Then his body slumped onto the floor behind her. His mouth was open in shock. On the side of his head was a round bullet hole with red and white liquid oozing down the side of his face and onto her beige carpet. She finally sucked in a full breathe and put her hands on her knees. She looked up to see Tommy opening her bedroom window and scrambling up into her room with a silenced gun. He dropped his gun onto the bed and pulled her into his arms.

“You okay?” he said, holding her gently, like cradling a newborn.

“Yeah,” she said, gathering herself. She held her belly while huffing. “Oh, Tommy, I wasn’t sure there for a minute.”

Tommy backed up and held her chin in his hand. “You wanted to go after him didn’t you?” He grinned. “I saw your face. You wanted a piece of him.”

Julie grinned. Mostly out of relief. They both look down at the dead man.

“Who are these guys?” Julie asked.

“They’re mercenaries. Soldiers for hire,” Tommy said. “I guess they’ll work for just about anyone as long as you pay them enough. Even a terrorist.”

“You saw them coming?”

Tommy kicked the headset from the soldier’s head. His lips curled into a disgusting scowl. “These assholes are so arrogant they can’t even imagine someone could be smarter than them.”

“But … how …” she said not quite understanding what happened.

“My new phone,” Tommy said. “I can hear wireless transmissions within a hundred yard radius. I knew exactly where they were.”

Julie wanted to laugh. She nearly cried.

Once again Tommy’s recorded voice came from the other side of the door. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”