Jones was nervously sitting at his desk, waiting for the moment that he knew was coming. Thrower was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, also waiting for that moment, though he was much more relaxed. Then, Jones’ phone rang, startling him. He glared at it for a second, then picked it up. There was nothing but a number on the ID. He knew this was it.
“Yes?”
“David. That’s what you go by these days, right?”
“Yes,” Jones answered.
“Not what I know you by from back in the day, but that’s irrelevant at this point, right?”
“If you say so.”
“So here’s what we’re gonna do. Your friends are all in a place that’s going to explode if you don’t follow my instructions to the letter.”
“Please don’t hurt them,” Jones said.
“Don’t worry. As long as you do what I tell you, they will be fine.”
“What is it that you want?”
“I want you to meet me.”
“Why don’t you just come here?” Jones replied. “You obviously know where I am.”
The man laughed. “Oh no. No, that won’t work. You see, I know you built that place specifically to hide, so I know you also probably have contingencies in place in case someone ever breaks in. We’ll meet at a much more neutral place.”
“Neutral for who? I’m sure it won’t be for you.”
“Well, it may have some advantages for me. But that’s what we’re dealing with right now, right? I’m in charge.”
“You plan to kill me?” Jones asked.
“Well, that’s been the goal, but who knows? Maybe you can somehow change my mind. Maybe you can right some of your wrongs.”
“What exactly have I done to you?”
“It’s not necessary to explain right now. And we really should be speeding things along. I have other things to do later.”
“Where do you wish me to go?”
“I’m going to text you specific instructions. I’m not telling you the place just yet, just in case you decide to bring other people into this and have them waiting to help you.”
“There is no one else I would bring into this,” Jones said.
“Well I’m glad to hear it. Just get to your car. You’ll hear from me.”
Jones hung up, then looked at Thrower.
“We have to assume he’s watching,” Jones said.
Thrower agreed. “How about I go back down through the laundromat? I’ll leave first. He won’t see anyone following if he’s watching.”
Jones nodded. “I don’t know where I’m going yet. He’ll send me instructions once I get to the car.”
“He’s got eyes here. He’s gonna see if anyone follows you. Could mean he follows you the entire way, too. I’m gonna have to keep a loose tail.”
“Do you think this is feasible?”
“Yes,” Thrower replied. “Do you think your car is safe to talk? Like, no bugs or anything?”
“Yes, I’ve got cameras and safety devices on it. Nobody’s gone near it.”
“I’ll stay back, and even go on different streets at times. When you get directions, you tell me. We can keep our phones on speaker. I’ll know where you’re going without getting close.”
“OK. It sounds like he’s got everything in place.”
“One thing’s for sure, he’s not gonna tell you the name of where you’re going until you’re right on top of it. That way, when you get there, you won’t have enough time to alert anyone and bring in the cavalry.”
“We can also assume that wherever I go, he’ll have cameras watching there, as well. He’ll know if you show up.”
“I figured as much,” Thrower said. “I’ll just have to figure out a way around that when I get there. Whatever the case, when you get to your destination, keep this guy distracted and talking long enough for me to bypass any obstacles and to reach you in time.”
“I’ll do my best.”
With their plan as ready as they could make it, Thrower left the office, going down through the secret passage, and leaving through the laundromat. He went to his car and left the parking lot, several minutes before Jones did.
Once Jones reached his car and got in, he immediately got a message telling him where to go. He started driving, and every few minutes, got directions on where to turn. He relayed those directions to Thrower, who was always nearby, though not directly behind him.
Jones wound up driving for thirty minutes, as the man behind all this was making sure Jones didn’t bring any other friends to the party. Finally, Jones was directed to drive into what used to be a small snack manufacturing facility.
“I think this is it,” Jones said, pulling up to the main building and parking in front of it.
Jones then got a message telling him to walk inside. Thrower was driving around the building, looking for a place to park without any eyes on him. He found a used car lot a couple of buildings over from it. He’d have to walk from there.
Once Jones got inside the main building, he stood there, looking around. There was no one there. It was a creepy feeling knowing nobody else was there, except for a man who wanted to kill him. It didn’t take long for that man to show himself, though. He came walking through a side door and stopped, with him and Jones staring at each other. Jones studied him carefully. The man appeared to be in his fifties, bald, about five-eight, and thin. He had a gun in his hand. Jones didn’t recognize him.
“You remember me?”
Jones wasn’t sure if it was better to lie or tell the truth. In the end, he kind of bluffed his way through without saying either.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you,” Jones said.
“You’re sorry? Do you even remember what you did?”
“Maybe you should help to jog my memory.”
“You always thought you were better than me, didn’t you?”
“No,” Jones replied. “Never.”
As they continued talking, the man’s speech was interrupted by his phone beeping. He took it out of his pocket. He suddenly looked agitated.
“Someone’s here.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Jones said.
The man charged over to Jones, looking angry. “You brought someone!”
“I didn’t.”
“They just tripped one of my alarms!”
The man slugged Jones in the face, dropping him instantly. He dragged Jones back to his feet.
“Just for that, we’re gonna go blow up your friends. And you’re gonna push the button.”
“No,” Jones said. “I won’t.”
“Oh yes, you will.”
The man put his gun into the small of Jones’ back, pushing him forward. They went over to some nearby steps to go up to the second floor. Once there, the man continued pushing Jones forward until they reached an office. There was an elaborate computer setup going on.
“Is this where you’ve been working from?” Jones asked.
“Ingenious, isn’t it?”
“What are your plans after you’re done with me?”
“I’m still thinking about that. But for now, see those buttons over there. That’s for your friends. You’re gonna kill them. And then I’ll kill you.”
There were numerous monitors around, both on the desk and on the wall. He saw Recker, Haley, and everyone else at the apartment. He then looked over at another monitor, and saw Thrower getting into the building, though he was on the other side of it.
“Who’s that guy?”
Jones shook his head. “I’ve never seen him before.”
“And he just happens to break in at the same time you get here?”
“Coincidence.”
“I’ll deal with him when he gets here.”
The man went over to the door and appeared to be waiting for Thrower, whenever he got there. Jones worried about Thrower being ambushed. Jones instantly looked around, hoping to find a weapon he could use. The man wasn’t so careless as to leave something lying about, though. Jones had to figure something out. He looked at the cameras, seeing Thrower move through the building. He was getting closer.
Jones then looked to his right and saw a guitar standing in the corner. It must have been how the man passed some time. Jones quietly slid his chair towards it, only an inch or so at a time. He didn’t want to give the man any idea as to what he was doing. The man was facing him, but he kept looking out the open door, waiting for Thrower to arrive so he could put a few rounds of lead into him.
A few more minutes went by. The man kept looking at the monitors to gauge how close Thrower was. He looked at Jones.
“You make one sound and I’ll kill you first before I kill him.”
Jones only slightly moved his hands up to let the man know he would comply. The gunman kept looking at the monitor, seeing that Thrower was almost there. He had just opened a door that led to the hallway.
Jones kept glancing at the guitar, nervous about making his move. He figured it was only a fifty-fifty chance that he could get to the instrument and use it. If the gunman acted quickly, he could kill Jones long before he was able to do anything with it. Jones’ only hope was that the man would be so consumed with Thrower that he’d lose focus on him for a few seconds. And a few seconds was all that Jones needed.
Jones glared at the man, waiting for the right moment. The man gripped his gun a little tighter. Jones looked at the monitor and saw that Thrower was walking down the hallway. He’d be there in a few seconds. Jones shifted his chair around so he was facing the guitar. The man moved his head forward a little as he peeked out into the hallway, though he didn’t stick his head out all the way to alert Thrower he was there. Still, it was enough of a movement to spur Jones into action.
Jones leaped forward and grabbed the neck of the guitar. He swung the instrument over his head to attack the man at the door. The man was so focused on Thrower approaching that he didn’t see Jones until he was almost on top of him. The man put his arms over his head to try and soften the blow. Jones struck the man repeatedly on top of the head with the guitar, sending the man sprawling to the ground.
As the man went down, he pulled the trigger on his gun in Jones’ direction. Luckily, he was firing wildly, and the bullets went into the wall. The man started kicking at Jones’ legs, and eventually knocked Jones to the ground. Now, they were both lying there for a moment, but both quickly sat up. The man pointed his gun at Jones’ chest.
Thrower quickly ran into the room, and fired immediately upon seeing the gun in the other man’s hand. The man was knocked onto his back from the impact of the bullet. The gun flew out of his hand. Thrower jumped over the man’s body to pick up the weapon.
“Is he it?” Thrower asked.
“As far as I know,” Jones replied.
Thrower helped Jones back to his feet. They both stood there, standing over Jones’ rival, looking at him as he bled to death. From the distance that Thrower fired, there was no doubt the bullet would be anything but fatal. The man’s eyes were fluttering as he tried to remain conscious.
The man looked up at Jones and whispered. “I hate you. I hate you.”
Jones had no expression as the man took his last few breaths.
“So what was this all about?” Thrower asked.
Jones could only shake his head as he stared at the dead man. “I have no idea.”
“What? He didn’t say?”
“Nothing specifically.” He then looked at Thrower. “I don’t even remember him. His face isn’t familiar.” Jones rubbed his face. “The sad part about all of this… is I have no idea what this was all about. I have no idea why he hated me so much.”
“You don’t think this was mistaken identity on his part, do you?”
“We’ll never know,” Jones replied. “It’s quite sad. This man hated me so much, thinking that I wronged him somehow, and I don’t remember a thing about him.”
Thrower put his hand on Jones’ back. “Don’t feel bad. We can’t rule out the man is just plain crazy.”
“Perhaps.” Jones then looked at the monitors, seeing Recker, Haley, and Malloy pace around in the apartment.
He then called Recker to let him know the crisis was over.
“I take it we’re clear?” Recker asked.
“Yes,” Jones answered. “We’re good. For now.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I don’t know. I apparently did something to offend this man. Who knows if there are more?”
“David, don’t think like that. This was a one-time kind of thing.”
“Maybe. I guess we’ll see. We’ll never…”
Recker could tell that either something came up, or his friend thought of something. “What is it?”
Jones sat back and looked at the monitors. There was a lot of computer equipment in the room. “There could be a treasure trove of information here. If I can get into his computers, I can see what he knows, what he’s done, anyone else he may be targeting, everything.”
“You think you can?” Recker asked.
“I don’t know. I can try.”
“All right. Well, I guess you do that, and I’ll meet you back at the office.”
Three days passed, and everything with the team had returned to normal. Thrower had even stuck around, just in case something crazy happened. They were all in the office.
“Nate, I know we’ve broached this topic before,” Jones said. “But there is a spot here on the team if you’d like one.”
Thrower smiled. “I appreciate the offer. Maybe one day I might accept.”
“But not today?”
“Not today. There’s still people out there that need a good bodyguard.”
“You could do that here,” Recker said.
“I know. But I’m still making my way towards that beach house. I have a feeling if I stayed here full time, that goal’s only going to seem farther and farther away as time goes on.”
“I hear you.”
“Needless to say, the offer will remain open,” Jones said. “Anytime you change your mind, you know where we are.”
Thrower nodded. “And look, if you ever need me, I’m a phone call away. I’ll be here.”
Recker’s phone rang, and he saw that it was Maggie. He had almost forgotten that they were still working on it.
“Hey, looks like we’ve got it narrowed down to three suspects,” she said. “Sorry we didn’t have it sooner, but this was the best we could do.”
Recker didn’t yet say that the matter was resolved. He wanted to hear the names she came up with first. If the names she mentioned weren’t of the man they killed, they might have a bigger problem.
“So who are the three?” Recker asked.
Maggie said the three names, and Recker breathed a sigh of relief. The man they killed was one of them.
“Well, we don’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s dead.”
“What?”
“He was killed the other day,” Recker said. “Maybe you can confirm something for us, though, as we haven’t been able to figure it out.”
“Sure. If I can.”
“What was this guy’s beef? We still don’t understand.”
“The funny part is, we don’t know either,” Maggie replied. “We’ve only uncovered one instance in which they worked together, and it was at the very beginning of both of their tenures. Looked like a group project that twenty other people worked on too. No obvious conflicts that we can tell.”
“You might wanna check on those other twenty names, just to make sure they weren’t targeted already.”
Once Recker got done with the conversation, he let Jones know the news.
“One time?” Jones asked. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” Recker said. “I think you can finally rest easy knowing that whatever this guy thinks you did, it was probably just in his mind.”
“You sure there was nothing in his computers?” Haley asked.
“Nothing of interest,” Jones replied. “Everything was related to us. And I scrubbed it all to make sure nothing is operable anymore. Nobody else will see what he knew about us.”
“How’d he know to begin with?”
“That is something I have not yet been able to ascertain.”
“And he didn’t tell anyone else?” Recker asked.
Jones shook his head. “No. I made sure of that. He did have a few cameras planted on the outskirts of here, and I’ve had them removed.”
“Maybe it’s time we start looking for a new office.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary at this time,” Jones said.
“David, we’ve been compromised here.”
“By one person who didn’t share that information with anyone else. I will keep monitoring it, though.”
He could tell by Recker’s reactions that his partner wasn’t totally on board with the idea.
“If something else comes up, then we’ll discuss it further.”
Recker sighed, but was willing to let it go for now. Right now, he was just glad it was all over.