| |
“WE NEED TO GO,” I SAID to Tank. “We need to stop them.”
“You need to stay here,” he said. “I’ll go.”
“If you think I’m not going to help my husband, you’re wrong.”
“And how do you plan on helping him?”
“I have a gun, don’t I? So do you. I’ll use it if I have to.”
“You have guns?” the clerk asked.
“We were given hand guns to protect ourselves when we were brought here,” Tank said. “I’m a former SEAL, ma’am. There’s no need to worry.”
“I believe there is,” she said with a trace of fear in her voice. “I believe I see where this is headed, and I want no part of it.”
A moment ago, she was looking at us with concern. Now, she was looking at us as if we might cause her harm.
“I don’t do guns,” she said. “And because I don’t, I’ll need to ask each of you to leave now. I let you use our phone. I told you where the bank is. Now, I’m asking you to go. I don’t want any trouble here.”
“We didn’t mean to upset you,” I said. “In fact, I want to thank you for helping us.”
“I’m closing the shop,” the woman said, motioning for us to move out of the office and into the retail space. When we entered it, I saw two women sifting through the racks of clothes. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, but none of this is going to end well. Not with guns, it won’t. It never does. The door is ahead of you—use it. Good luck to you, but don’t come back.”
As we moved toward the door, the woman’s voice lingered behind us: “Ladies, I’m afraid I have to close shop,” she said. “There’s been an emergency, and I need to get to the hospital. I apologize. If you come back tomorrow, we’d be happy to take twenty percent off your purchase for the inconvenience.”
The door was just swinging shut behind us when I heard one of the customers say, “If you’re going to chase us out of here, I’d be happier with twenty-five percent.”
* * *
“I NEED YOU TO GO BACK to the lagoon,” Tank said. “Steven might be waiting for you. I need you to listen to me on this. My job isn’t just to protect Alex—it’s also to protect you.”
“Everything I have in this world is in that bank,” I said. “Do you understand that? Do you have any idea what that man means to me? There’s a chance that I might have lost our child, but I’m sure as hell not going to lose my husband. I plan to fight for him, just as you would fight for Lisa if you were in my shoes. We’re ending this together. So, I suggest we figure out a plan and move on it.”
“You don’t have my training.”
“Few do, Tank, but I’m hardly useless. And the more time we stand here arguing about this on the sidewalk, the more time those men have to take Alex away from me. We’re wasting time. I’m not going anywhere. If I have the chance, I plan to kill that motherfucker Wes on my own for all that he’s put us through. He deserves to die.”
“And you need to think rationally.”
“Who says that I’m not?”
“Unless your life is at risk, you're not going to fire that gun, Jennifer,” he said.
But when I started to move toward the bank, I didn’t say that I wouldn’t.
* * *
“LISTEN TO ME,” TANK said as he stepped beside me. “I need you to calm down. I need you to think clearly.”
“Who says that I’m not?”
“I do. You’re hot. And in these situations, you can’t go in hot. Everything needs to be calculated.”
“Then add it up for me.”
“The bank is there,” he said, pointing ahead of us. “Do you see it? Right on the corner. I don’t see any signs of them on the street, so they’re likely still inside. Our best option is surprise. They won’t kill Alex in the bank. They won’t try anything there because they want to leave with their money intact. Our best recourse is to find a place to conceal ourselves so that we can see them when they leave the bank without them seeing us. Then we’ll act.”
“And how do you propose that we act?”
“I’ll jump them. When they leave the bank, they won’t have their guns drawn. Never underestimate the power of an ambush. All I need to do is shoot one of them in the leg, point my gun straight at Wes, and order the rest of his sons to drop face-first on the ground, or their father will die. If they don’t, I’ll shoot another one of them. If anyone else tries to go for their gun, I’ll just shoot them all, and I’ll shoot to kill to make certain that Alex is safe.”
“If you shoot someone in the leg, what’s to prevent them from reaching for their gun and shooting at you? Do you even know how many rounds of ammunition you have in the gun they gave you?”
“They gave us each a Glock 23.”
“How do you know that?”
Instead of replying, all he did was give me a look.
“Fine. How many rounds?”
“Nine.”
“That’s cutting it close.”
“I never miss, Jennifer.”
“We’re surrounded by civilians. There are women and children here. What if somebody gets in your way?”
“Then I’ll deal with it.”
“I’m sorry, Tank. I’ve got way too much on the line here. I trust you, but I also trust myself. You need my help.”
“I’m telling you that I don’t.”
“And I’m telling you that you might. At the very least, I can have your back. I might not be as well trained as you, but I do know how to handle a gun. I’ve had plenty of experience shooting one.”
“Not in this kind of situation, you haven’t.”
Alex was my main concern. Arguing with Tank was getting us nowhere, so I decided that I would do what I wanted to do when and if the moment presented itself to me. I looked around us. “Where are the police? Why aren’t they here yet?”
“I asked them to come in plainclothes. Given the situation, they know that was the right call. If they were suited up—which they probably were—they had to go back to wherever their station is, and change into their own clothes. This is a small island with a limited police force—it’s not Manhattan. Getting them here in plainclothes is going to take time.”
“Time we don’t have.”
“You’re probably right. But they’re not here yet. I’d know a cop in a second if I saw one. And I don’t see one yet.”
“That van ahead of us—it’s tall and wide. What if we stood just behind it? It’s close to the bank. We can conceal ourselves while keeping watch on who leaves the bank—and who enters it.”
“Good idea. Let’s go.”
But just at the moment when we started to move toward the van, Alex came out of the bank followed by Wes and his three sons.
