Choosing Corners: Boys With Toys

Running footsteps echoed between the walls in the alley. In the near distance we could hear the screeching of tires as cars raced to intercept our escape. We ran as a group, keeping to the shadows as we zigged between buildings. The flash of headlights in front of us, brought a hesitation to our running as Jack and looked for another way out. My eyes fell up on dumpster and Gina caught the look, moving to the side of the dumpster without waiting for me to say a word.

Hardly missing a step, I rammed my shoulder into the metal garbage can on wheels. Gina followed suit and a moment later, Jack joined us, the dumpster rolling along the uneven pavement, rumbling louder and louder in protest as it picked up speed. A jeep swerved into view directly in front of us and two men jumped out before realizing they were in the path of a half ton of garbage. As the the dumpster slammed into the jeep and sent one of the men sprawling on the ground, Jack took out the other man with a single shot to the head.

Gina kicked the gun away from the man on the ground and I grabbed him by the collar, yanking him back to his feet with my gun pressed against the side of his head. Jack stripped the dead man of his weapon and extra ammunition, it felt cold and cruel, but there was no time to think about it. I took a set of handcuffs from the man in front of me and handed them to Gina for her to lock on his wrists. His hands secured, I stripped him of two knives and three 9mm clips, before tossing him in the back of the jeep. Gina jumped in the back with our captive and Jack settled in behind the wheel with me sitting next to him.

We sped off, heading out of the city without any of us saying a word. Gina found a roll of duct tape and used a piece to place over our captives mouth. She handed his radio up to me and I turned the volume up so we could listen to Olivia ordering her troops around in their frantic search to find us. They were understandably pissed when they discovered we had wheels, especially since it came at the expense of two of their people. Soon after, Olivia came on the channel and told us we would pay for killing her man and then ordered the radio channel changed, leaving us in the dark once more.

The city long behind us and jungle all around, Jack pulled off the main road onto a dirt path and then brought the jeep to a stop. He shut off the ignition and turned around to look at the man in the back. A singled nod to Gina and she ripped the tape of the man's face. He remained impassive, waiting for us to do something. I looked in his eyes and wished I had not. He expected we would kill him and he had already accepted it, as if there was no possibility we would do anything else.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions," Jack said, resting his hands on the back of his seat. "The sooner you answer them, the sooner this can be over with."

The man laughed and spit at Jack. "What makes you think I'm in hurry?" He said.

Jack ignored the spit and the question as if neither were relevant enough to acknowledge. He said, "We'll start with something simple. What's your name?"

"Fuck you," He replied.

Jack said, "Well you see Fuck, can I call you Fuck or do you prefer Mr. You?"

The man remained silent, obviously not amused. I could hardly blame him, we had just killed his partner, possibly his friend and while it was not as if they had given us much choice it really was not a good place to be starting from. Jack's attempt to lighten the situation probably seemed cold, calloused and near evil to the man, but that seemed to be the problem. The bad guys never really think they are bad.

"You see, your boss has kidnapped and probably tortured, a good friend of theirs," Jack said, nodding to Gina and I in turn. "We want to find him and save him from that fate. I'm sure you can understand that."

The man said nothing. His blank stare invited a bullet or at least a slap, but I could tell none of that was going to get through to him. He genuinely believed his side, his cause, was the just one. We were the devils and using violence was only going to convince him all the more. His eyes locked with mine and I nodded, deciding we need to try things a different way.

"Take the cuffs off," I said to Gina.

Jack twisted to me and said, "Whoa! Hang on a second there. What are you thinking?"

Gina looked between the two of us, uncertain whom to side with although her instincts seemed to be more inclined to join Jack than me. I nodded for Gina to wait, relieving her of the difficult choice and then I turned to Jack. "He thinks we're going to kill him," I said.

Jack said, "Maybe he's right."

"Very funny," I said, "We aren't the bad guys here, but he's never going to believe that if you don't give the tough guy shit a break."

"I thought we were going to do this my way," Jack said.

"As long as your way is my way, we don't have a problem," I said.

"If you want Brian back, we're going to have to lean on this guy," Jack said, impatience tugging at his tone. "Trust me, they won't hesitate to do worse to us or him."

"Maybe you're right, but he's not them," I said, gesturing to the man, "He's just a guy caught on the wrong side of the line and threatening him isn't going to change anything."

"Neither is letting him go," Jack said. "He is part of Stratford's team and that means he knows things we need to know if we're going to get your friend back. Personally, I'd just as soon let them keep him and head home."

"I'm not leaving Brian with them," I said, glaring at Jack.

"Then let me do what I need to do," Jack said.

Gina rested her hand on my arm from the backseat and gave me a gentle squeeze. Glancing toward her I caught a supportive smile as she said, "He's right V. You don't have to like it, but they aren't going to just let Brian go and we can't just let this guy go."

I shook my head not agreeing with either of them, but realizing I could not stop them. We were down a road with no way back and the way forward was not a trip I ever wanted to take. Maybe someday, I will look back and see it was all for the best, but in the moment all I could hear was the haunting voice of Joseph Candle in my nightmare. I closed my eyes and made the choice not to make one.

Jack grabbed the man out of the back of the jeep and dragged him to the middle of the dirt road next to the jeep. He pulled his gun from its holster and aimed it casually at the man on his knees. Jack said, "Where's you base of operations?"

The man remained silent and steadfastly stared at Jack. Tears stung at my eyes and I turned away from the scene playing out before me. Gina rested her hand on my shoulder and I could feel her silent strength passing over to me. Jack said, "Where are your people holding Brian Osterman?"

The click of Jack's safety echoed in my head. "I'm not going to ask nicely again," Jack said. In that moment I hated Jack Barker. There had to be another way, a way that did not make us as bad as those we were fighting against. In the end, I could not justify keeping my silence, not for Brian Osterman, not for anyone. I said, "Stop."

My own safety clicked off with an echo in the trees around us. Jack turned toward me, surprise in his eyes. I leveled my aim on him, my finger resting against the trigger. Gina gawked at me like I had lost my mind. I said, "We're not doing it this way."

"We've already been through this," Jack said.

My mind was made up and I said, "Put your gun away, Jack."

"You are seriously threatening me are you?" Jack said.

"You don't want to test me," I said.

Jack said, "You would shoot me rather than harm a hair on this man's head to save your friend?"

"It's not like that unless you make it that way," I said and his gun hand began to waver back toward me. "Put it away," I said.

The glare in his eyes assured me there would come a reckoning for the moment, but his thumb locked the safety back in place. Slowly, he holstered the gun and backed away from the man on his knees. Cautiously, I stepped out of the jeep, trying to keep an eye on everyone. It was impossible and I realized I was going to have to trust someone other than myself.

The man looked up at me and said, "What are you doing with these people?"

"I could ask you the same of the people you chose to keep company," I said.

He said, "If we have your friend, I can promise you he is safe."

I nodded and said, "You work for Olivia Stratford?"

"She commands my unit," He said.

"What does she want with me?" I asked.

"I don't know," He said.

I said, "Did you know she has tried to kill me twice?"

"No, she wouldn't," He said.

I said, "I'm sure you believe that, but I was there."

"She would never kill anyone, unlike your friends," He said, spitting in Jack's direction.

I said, "I don't want anyone to get hurt or killed. I just want to get my friend back."

He nodded at me, "I believe you. I probably shouldn't, but I do."

"If I give you the radio, will you do me the favor of asking her to arrange a meeting?" I asked.

"I will try, but I can't promise she will agree," He said.

I said, "I know, but if she's the person you think she is, she'll be willing to take some small risk to get you back safely." I turned to Gina, still sitting in the jeep looking uncomfortably torn between helping me and trusting her instincts, which sided with Jack. "Bring me the radio," I said.

She looked to Jack and then back to me, before getting up and grabbing the radio from the dash. I kept an eye on Jack as she walked over to me, but he was clearly washing his hands of the whole affair. There would be a conversation about it later, I had no doubt, but even Jack knew this was neither the time nor the place for it. Whatever he thought of it, he was just going to have to accept the fact there are lines I will not cross at any price.

Taking the radio from Gina I said, "Uncuff him."

She hesitated a moment, but this time she did my bidding without protest. Proving my instincts correct, he stayed where he was, massaging his wrists in front of him and remaining as non-threatening as a man can probably ever get. Gina backed away, clearly not trusting the situation. I stepped forward and handed him the radio and then took two steps back. If I was wrong, I wanted to be sure I had time to react before things really got out of control.

He adjusted the frequency and then made the call. Olivia's voice squawked, "Ben!" and I snatched the radio from his hands. "Are you alright?" Olivia's concerned voice asked.

"He's fine," I said.

"Maybe you do have a conscience," She said.

"We didn't want to hurt anyone but your man gave us no choice," I said.

"There are always choices," Olivia said, "You just keep making the wrong ones."

"You said you wanted to talk," I said.

"Yes," She said. "I want my man back as well."

"That can be arranged," I said. "I want Brian."

"Just tell me when and where," Olivia said.

I looked at Jack, he was shaking his head at me. He did not like my way of doing things, but his way was just going to end up with a lot of dead bodies. Keeping my finger off the transmit button, I said, "Will you help me?"

Jack frowned for a long moment, making sure I had no doubts about his displeasure. He said, "What do you need?"

I smiled and resumed my conversation with Olivia. "I'll transmit time and coordinates for a meeting on this channel in one hour," I said checking my watch. "Bring Brian, I'll bring Ben."