Woody
I was glad that Harley and I had our talk, I felt a little better when he told me he was having the same feelings for me that I had for him. I was still concerned that my job would soon be ending, Harley was becoming more independent, and I think he would soon be ready to go back to his job. The last time he had talked to his boss, they had talked about what accommodations he would need to do his job. With all the technology available today, he could easily function as a lawyer. That and the fact that Harley was strong-willed, I was sure he would find a way to continue his career.
Harley asked, “if I didn’t need your help, do you have a place to live?”
I sighed, “not really, I was staying with a friend when Todd hired me. To be honest the only reason I answered that ad was because the job included a place to live.”
He asked, “would you be able to stay with that friend again?”
I said, “probably not, his girlfriend was moving in with him. I was trying to find a job to earn enough money to get my own place. I wasn’t having too much luck with that either. That’s why I talked to Todd, this was the perfect situation for me. I guess I have enough money to get a place now, but if I don’t find a job fast, I wouldn’t be able to keep it.”
Harley asked, “what kind of job are you qualified for?”
I chuckled, “nothing, I didn’t even finish high school.”
He said, “you can get your GED, there are ways for you to get an education.”
I said, “sure, spoken like someone who had never had to worry about such things.”
He said, “I’m sorry, I guess you’re right.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes, Harley said, “you can stay with me as long as you need to. At least until you can find a real job.”
I smiled, “thanks, I know it’s time for me to get my shit together.”
He asked, “so, is there a job that you always wanted when you were growing up?”
I shrugged, “not really, to be honest, I never gave it much thought. I was always worried about where my next meal was coming from. I guess I’m not really good at anything.”
Harley shook his head, “don’t say that, you are a smart guy, you have been dealt a shitty hand in life. You can stay with me, and we will figure something out for you. You deserve a break.”
I felt a tear start to form, no one had ever offered to help me like this, no one ever believed in me. My feelings for Harley only increased. That bitter man that I saw when we first met was nowhere to be found. A kind, caring man that had so many of his own problems was now in his place. He was trying to help solve my problems, he was no longer sitting in self-pity.
I gave him a big hug, I said, “thank you.”
He pulled me in for a kiss and said, “you’re welcome.” We started to kiss again. Before we got too carried away, we heard the radio alert us that our supplies were here.
When I heard the front door opening, I went to help Jack carry the groceries in, just as I had always done. When he stepped inside, I froze in my tracks.
I asked, “Where is Jack?”
Harley asked, “who is it Woody?”
The man said, “no need to worry who I am Harley, I am just here to wrap up some unfinished business.”
I yelled, “I don’t know this guy, Harley.”
Harley said as he got to his feet, “the cops are on the way.”
The man laughed, “I’m afraid that your buddy Harrison is going to be a little late today, he had something come up that he needed to take care of.”
I asked, “Who the hell are you?”
He laughed again, “it doesn’t matter who I am. I just need to finish what Murphy and his incompetent lackies couldn’t handle.”
Harley asked, “we don’t even know you, what did we do to you?”
The man said, “you didn’t do anything, it was that son of a bitch boyfriend of yours.”
Harley paused, “Sam?”
He said, “yes, Sam. That asshole cost me my kids.”
Harley said, “if you lost your kids, that was your own fault, not Sam’s”
The man snarled, “I told him what he needed to do to make my ex-wife look bad, and he wouldn’t do it. I was paying him good money to get my kids back and he refused to listen to me.”
Harley shook his head, “Sam only refused to help people when he knew the kids would be better off with the other parent. You must have shown him that your wife was a better parent.”
The man was now pissed, “you sound just like that motherfucker Sam, who the hell do you think you are saying that bitch is a better parent than me?”
I jumped in, “and you think coming here to finish us off is going to make you look like a better parent? Damn, you just proved Sam right.”
He glared at me, “shut the fuck up you little pissant, what the hell do you know about anything?”
Harley said, “you’re right, Woody is not involved in this at all, let him go. There is no reason to include him in any of this.”
I stepped in, “like hell, I am not leaving you alone with this son of a bitch.”
The man laughed and turned to Harley, “oh this is perfect, not only do I get the satisfaction of knowing that Sam can’t screw over any more dads like me. Now I get to see the look on your face when I beat the hell out of your new boyfriend.”
I said, “and what if I decide to kick the shit out of you?”
The man laughed, “don’t worry, I have a plan b.”
He reached in his pocket and pulled out his gun. I was trying to think of a way to tell Harly that he had a gun. I had also been looking for anything to use as a weapon as we kept him talking.
I decided to poke the bear, I said, “that doesn’t surprise me, you can’t handle me in a fair fight, so you bring a gun.”
I could see Harley tense up when he heard me. The man laughed, “oh this is just a last resort, just in case you get lucky. I know how you ghetto thugs like to cheat and get in cheap shots.”
Harley said, “yeah, and you fine, upstanding citizens always fight fair.”
The man snarled, “I’m getting tired of you two acting all high and mighty, I think it’s time to teach you both a lesson.”
Harley laughed, “oh yeah, you’re a real tough guy, beating up a blind man and a little guy like Woody.”
The man lunged forward, hitting Harley square in the face with the butt of his pistol, sending him flying back onto the couch. I ran and grabbed the fireplace poker that I spotted when I was looking for a weapon as we talked to the man. He turned toward me when he saw me moving across the room, he raised his arm, pointing the gun in my direction. I quickly swung the poker, hitting his arm, sending the gun flying across the room. At least it was going to be a fair fight, well, at least as fair as a fight between me and a man that outweighed me by more than fifty pounds could be.
He growled, “I knew a little bastard like you would take a cheap shot.”
I said, “you mean, like hitting a blind man.”
He rushed to me, swinging wildly as we crashed on top of the kitchen table, breaking it as we hit the ground. I heard Harley yelling, “Woody, are you alright?” The man landed a right across my chin, as he stood over me. I kicked with all my might, hitting him in his gut, causing the air to burst from his lungs as he fell on the floor. We both got to our feet as he again rushed me, tackling me to the floor again. This time knocking the wind out of me. He leaned back and once again landed a punch to my nose. We both saw the fireplace poker lying next to us, we scrambled to be the first to grab it. He was a little quicker than I was, I felt the pain as he swung the poker hitting me in the chest with a loud thump. A replay of that night in that alley was starting to run through my mind. I saw him lining up to take another swing at me with that poker, I grabbed the broken table leg and was able to block his swing. I rolled away and was able to get to my feet. I swung the table leg at the man’s leg, I caught him right at the knee. He fell to the floor and again, the poker went sliding across the floor. I quickly swung the table a few more times, hoping to keep him on the ground. On the last swing, he grabbed the leg and pulled it from my hand. I tried to get to the poker, but he swung the table leg at me, catching me across the back.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harley crawling across the floor. I tried to steer the fight away from him, I didn’t want the man to get in any cheap shots on him. I turned just in time for him to catch me across my gut again with the table leg. I fell to the floor and saw the look of pure evil come across his face.
He glared down at me as he brought the table leg above his head, “any last words before I finish you off? It’s just too bad you won’t get to watch me take care of his boyfriend.” He waved his head in Harley’s direction.
I quickly grabbed the gun that I had fallen next to, I pointed at the man and pulled the trigger.
Harley
My mind raced when I heard Woody say that the man had a gun. I was impressed with Woody and his street smarts. He was telling me about the gun while trying to keep the man talking as he formed a plan. I was doing the same, although I’m not sure how much help I could be. I went flying when I was surprised with a punch to my face. I knew it wasn’t only a fist that hit me, I assumed it was the butt of the gun that the man had. As I tried to regain my bearings, I heard the sounds of fighting. I’m sure the furniture was being broken. I think I heard the sound of the gun falling to the floor. I crawled toward the direction that I thought the gun would have hit the ground. I was running my hands along the floor, trying to locate the gun.
I heard more sounds of fists hitting and hoped that Woody was getting in at least some of those hits. I heard the clank of something else metallic hitting the floor. I felt so helpless, Woody needed me and all I could do was sit there and wait. I kept searching for the gun as I heard the fighting, I called out for Woody a couple of times, not getting an answer. As long as there was movement, Woody was still fighting, I decided I should let him concentrate on that and stop yelling for him.
My heart sank as I heard the man say something about Woody not being able to see him finish me off. I began to panic, what could I do? Should I rush to the sound of the voices and try to fight the man? Should I run to the bedroom and try to hide until the police got here? Shit, were the police even coming? I couldn’t bring myself to leave Woody, I had to stay out here with him. If this asshole killed Woody, I wanted him to kill me too.
I jumped when I heard the gunshot. Oh my God, did he just shoot Woody? I yelled “Woody?” As I heard a thump, the sound of someone falling to the floor.
I screamed, “Woody, are you ok?”
After what seemed like an eternity, I felt someone pulling me to my feet. I was relieved when Woody said, “I’m here.” He pulled me in for a hug.
I asked, “are you alright?”
He sighed, “I shot him Harley.”
I said, “you did what you had to do, you had no other choice.”
I pulled him in for another hug and heard him wince in pain. I said, “I’m sorry, are you hurt?”
Woody said, “maybe a little, I think he cracked my ribs again. It’s not as bad as last time, but…”
I said, “I’m sorry, let’s sit down.”
Jack Harrison
I was getting ready to head to the cabin for my weekly supply delivery. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell Harley and Woody. I was still stalled in my investigation of Phillip Murphy. Just before I left my office, my phone rang.
I answered, “Jack Harrison.”
The voice on the other end said, “Jack, this Ben Carlson.”
I said, “hey Ben, what can I help you with?” Ben was one of the other lead detectives in our department.
He said, “I think I may have some information on the case you are working on regarding Phillip Murphy.”
I asked, “what are you doing working my case.”
Ben replied, “we aren’t working your case, Jack. Joe Baker, one of my guys just got a call from Thomas Mills, he offered him a bribe to tell him where your two witnesses are.”
I sighed, “ok, what did he tell him?””
Ben continued, “Baker told Mills he could give him the location, but not over the phone. He set up a meeting with him. I have guys ready to go, you want to go with us to bring him in?”
I said, “hell yes, I’ll meet you out front in two minutes.”
We were all out in front in less than a minute. We planned to have Baker go meet Mills as they had planned, we would go ahead and set up a perimeter of the parking lot they were meeting at, staying out of sight until Baker gave Mills the information. Ten minutes later we were in position, the meeting was set for 15 minutes after we were set up. We waited, and right on time, Mills pulled into the parking lot. We watched Baker pull into the parking lot a minute later. They both got out of their cars and greeted each other. As soon as we saw Baker give Mills a piece of paper, and Mills handed him an envelope, we moved in. We made a show to arrest Baker for taking a bribe, just so Mills didn’t know Baker had set him up. The whole thing took less than 5 minutes, and we were on our way back to the station. We took Mills to an interrogation room and of course took the cuffs off of Baker. Ben and I went to my office to develop our plan for the interrogation. I still didn’t have Murphy, but maybe Mills would be ready to talk after we laid out the charges for bribery, we had against him.
As we were nearing our second hour of questioning, there was a knock on the door. I stepped out to see my Captain.
He asked, “he give you anything yet?”
I shook my head, “nope, we got him on the bribe, but he not letting anything on Murphy slip out.”
Captain grinned, “that’s fine, I just got a call from the feds.”
I asked, “the feds? What did they want?”
He said, “they just got what they needed on a human trafficking investigation they have been trying to tie to Murphy. The Feds got Murphy himself, on tape, selling 4 girls to a pimp. The pimp just happened to be an undercover agent.”
I smiled, “are you serious?”
He nodded, “yep, they just brought him in. You want to hear more good news?”
I shrugged, “sure.”
Captain said, “the feds are bringing the IRS. The IRS has been working on a tax evasion case on Murphy for the past year. Even if we can’t get the trafficking case to stick, he’s still going to prison for not paying his taxes.”
I chuckled, “it worked on Capone, why wouldn’t it work on Murphy.”
He said, “wrap up your interview and put Mills in a cell. We will let his lawyer break the news that his boss isn’t going to be much help.”
I nodded, “you got it.” I looked at me watch, I said, “oh shit.”
Captain asked, “what’s wrong?”
I said, “I was supposed to take supplies to the cabin over an hour ago. I better call and let Hankins and Bowers know I’m running late. I’ll have them tell Harley and Woody to pack their bags, so I can bring them home.”
He nodded, “yeah, I’m sure they’re ready to come home.”
Hankins answered his phone, “hey Jack, how’d your meeting go?”
I asked, “what meeting?”
He said, “Baker said you had a meeting, that was why you sent him here with the supplies.”
I asked, “Joe Baker?”
He said, “yeah, he got here about an hour ago.”
I said, "I didn’t send Baker, I was just calling to tell you to let Harley and Woody know I was going to be late, and they should pack their bags, I can bring them home.”
Hankins said, “oh shit, we just heard a gunshot.”
I said, “get to that cabin, right now. Don’t let Baker leave, I will be there as soon as can.”
I ended the call, Ben and I gathered some officers for back up and we sped to the cabin. I had no idea how much of a head start that Beker had or why he was even at the cabin. With sirens blaring, we made the trip an hour quicker than normal.
I called and had dispatch put EMTs on the road, I wanted to be prepared in case we needed them. Ben tried calling Hankins and Bowers several times, with no answer. I knew that it was a long shot, cell phone coverage was spotty at the cabin, that’s why we set up our guard station where it was.
I breathed a sigh of relief when we pulled up to the cabin and Bowers was standing out on the front porch.
I jumped out of my SUV and ran up the steps.
Bowers said, “they are fine, Baker, not so much.”
I walked in to see Harley and Woody seated on the couch, holding each other.
Woody swallowed hard, as he pointed to the other side of the room, “he’s over there, I shot him.”
I looked around the cabin, it was a mess. Broken furniture was strewn about the room. Hankins was standing over Baker’s body, he had thrown a blanket over him. Blood was starting to soak through.
I said, “Are you guys alright?”
Harley said, “I’m fine, but Woody is a little banged up.”
I could see the dried blood under Woody’s nose, and he was holding his ribs. He filled me in on his injuries, he was going to be sore for a couple of days but was in much better shape than after his last fight.
I said, “we have Murphy and Mills in custody, you guys pack your bags, I’ll take you home.”
To be Continued…
