The Deadly Intercept - Revised 8/1/2015

The assignment was considered an easy one. Knock off the transporter and acquire the package. My trusty knife and a kind face were the tools needed to pull it off. It’s gotten me out of some pretty tight spots. My backup was a silenced .45 pistol.

A man came around the corner with an arm load of groceries. He attempted to get keys out of his pocket, without much success.
Tension ran deep in my veins. I stepped toward the man. “Hello. Here, let me help you with that?”
He smiled and nodded. “Thank you. I’m not very organized today.”
Almost there, wait for the right moment. I smiled. “I have days like that. No matter what you do, everything’s inside out.”
He got his keys out and unlocked the door. “Hey, Thanks again.”
I handed him the groceries and produced another fake smile. “No problem. Can I help you with anything else?”
He sighed. “No. I appreciate the offer though.” He turned and entered his apartment.
Before he could close the door, I shoved him away and charged inside. I slid my knife up inside his ribcage and twisted it about, as though I was trying to grab his heart with the end of the blade. The door behind me closed as I pulled the knife from his chest. He gazed at me in shock. After a few seconds, his mouth opened and gasped for a breath of air. Without warning, his body rocked back, and plunged to the floor. The man lay there helpless. My muscles were taut, and my heart pounded in my throat. The adrenaline rush gave me great satisfaction and power.

The backpack sat on the living room floor next to the sofa. The package took up most of the space inside the pack. My assignment was at the halfway mark. Now, it needed to be delivered.

I passed by a coffee table littered with kid’s colored drawings. I picked up one of a dog sitting next to a doghouse. This picture brought back memories of a past, I tried to forget.

On my way out, I retrieved the wallet of the dead man, and stuffed it along with the picture into the backpack. The wallet might be useful later.

The elevator took me down to my floor. After I reached the door to my apartment, a noise came from behind. I spun around. “Hello baby.”
Carrie had been my low maintenance squeeze, and a reliable person.
She gave me a sweet smile. “Hey. Where have you been?” She put her arm around me and ran her hand along my shoulder, in an attempt to be sexy.
I had to come up with a story, or she would know more than necessary. “I’ve been out shopping for a few items.”
She asked, “What’s in the pack?” She grabbed at it, but I kept it out of her reach.
I shook my head. “It’s not for you, so don’t worry about it.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I thought it was a present for me.”
I handed Carrie my key so she could unlock the door. When she gave the key back, she asked, “Are you busy tonight? I can make you a nice dinner.”
Dinner sounded good. “Alright.”
She had a way of being with me at the right time.

The clock seemed to slow down midway through every assignment. Wasn’t the phone ever going to ring? About then it did. I answered the phone after the third ring finished. “Hello?”
The caller had a deep voice. “Has the package arrived?”
I replied, “Yes. Do you have the funds?”
The caller stated, “You’ll get your money after we inspect the seal. If it has been tampered with, the deal’s off.”
I asked, “Where do you want to meet?”
The caller replied, “I’ll call you once more with the details.” then hung up.
I opened the backpack, and saw a box riddled with intricate markings. The box’s seal remained intact.

The kid’s picture captivated me. The name printed at the bottom spelled, Annie. A photo from the wallet showed a little girl, and her mother. The names on the back read, Marcia, and Little Annie.

Carrie brought me a wonderful dinner at around 6:30pm, followed by a thorough massage. She didn’t ask too many questions, or root in my things. But, she had a way of being available when deals went down. Just like tonight.

The caller left a message to meet them at the dock on 125th Street at midnight. I needed to pick up a few items before going to the dock.

The junkyard on the other side of town had an old 1952 ford with a locked trunk. I didn’t like to keep my tools of the trade in lockers, or in bank safety deposit boxes. Such places had too many cameras.
A few bags sat inside the trunk. One had passports, money, and other useful items including ammo. I grabbed two extra clips for my pistol. Then I proceeded to the dock.

I parked my car behind a building not far from the dock. A short walk gave me a good view of the scheduled meeting place, which was an old freighter. Three black SUV’s were parked nearby, and displayed government tags.

The ramp seemed to grow longer with each step. Finally, I reached the top where a big man stood with his pistol drawn and slightly behind him.
I asked, “Planning on using that?”
The man glanced down and replied, “Maybe. What do you want?”
“I want to see your boss.”
He smiled. “That way.” He pointed toward the main cabin.
I took a step, and a flash caught my eye. I looked back at the man, and saw him pulling the gun up to shoot me in the back. I jumped to one side, and sliced his throat open with my knife. He dropped the gun and stammered partway down the ramp, then fell and rolled the rest of the way.
I went half way to the main cabin, and paused when I heard extra footsteps. I drew my pistol, and waited. When the man came into view, I stepped out into his path and pointed it in his face. In shock, he dropped his gun and took a step back.
I said, “Enough of this garbage. Where’s your boss?”
He looked toward the main cabin, and then back at me. “The boss is inside.”
I replied, “Let’s go. I want to talk to him.”
The man rushed me, and reached for my gun.
I squeezed the trigger. The bullet nailed its’ target, and the man fell to the deck in a heap.
I made it to the main cabin without further incident.
One cabin window had crates stacked close to it. The crates provided adequate cover and I could see inside. Two men were looking out a window on the other side of the cabin.
The third man wore an expensive suit compared to the rest. He sat in a settee which had more protection against enemy fire.
The boss shouted. “What the hell is going on out there?”
Suit number one replied, “There are five men outside. They will finish him.”
The boss retorted. “I didn’t ask how many. We need that package.”
Suit number one glanced toward the boss. “Bull said Neil didn’t have it with him. He could have stashed it nearby, or Carrie might have it with her.”
The boss looked at his watch. “Where is she? Has she checked in tonight?”
Suit number one shook his head. “No sir.”
The boss asked, “Have they found him yet?”
Suit number one, “No sir. They’re still looking.”
The boss said, “I’m not paying him. I need this money for another job.”
Suit number one, “I’ll take care of this myself.” He went out the door and disappeared into the night.

Angered at the deception, I started to go around to the door of the cabin. One of the other guards shot at me and missed. I ducked out of site and made my way to the side of the ship. I grabbed one of the dock lines, and lowered myself over the side. The freighter’s shadow provided adequate cover for me on the dock.

I made my way back to the car with ease, since everyone’s attention was still on the freighter. When I located a safe place to park, I tried to relax by lowering the back of the seat into a reclining position. It had been several hours since I had gotten any sleep, and would be dawn soon.
I woke up to my phone alarm at 10:00am. Annie’s drawing lay in the passenger seat. She reminded me of my little girl. My wife and daughter had been taken from this world and it wasn’t fair. Killing hasn’t brought them back. My stomach had churned itself into knots.

My phone rang. I answered, “Hello.”
The man asked, “Do you have my package?”
My curiosity piqued, “Who are you?”
The man said, “Mr. Silver, and the person you saw on the freighter was not working for me at that time. Someone’s been tampering with the organization. This has been happening for quite some time. You helped me find my problem.”
I said, “Really.”
Mr. Silver, “Your girl friend Carrie has been keeping tabs on you, sort of watching out for you.”
I replied, “I heard she’s working for the people on the freighter.”
Mr. Silver, “She pretended to be on their team so she could get close to you. No one would suspect. Now, bring me my box.”
I asked, “Where?”
Mr. Silver, “Find Carrie and she will bring you to me.”
The call ended.

A little restaurant sat on the corner down from my apartment. Upon arrival, I looked around outside for signs of trouble. Not seeing any, I went inside. There she was, sitting at our old table. She seemed nervous.
Her eyes were wide and her hands were clutched together. “What’s up? I didn’t expect you just now.”
I answered, “Expecting someone else, baby? I want to meet him. Now!”
Carrie looked surprised for an instant. “Meet who? I’m not seeing anyone else Neil.”
“I’m talking about Mr. Silver. We spoke earlier. He told me, you’re working for him.”
Carrie raised her hands in surrender fashion. “Okay. What, exactly did he say?”
I pulled out a chair and sat down. “He said you would take me to see him.”
She tilted her head. “Is that all?”
“Carrie, he said something about you being a plant.”
She relaxed. “I do work for Mr. Silver.”
I said, “Well, let’s go find him, so I can get paid. Then, you and I can work out our problems.”
She asked, “Problems?”
I said, “Yeah, let’s go.”

We went to my car and drove down the road to a park, and pulled over.
I turned to her and asked, “Where is Mr. Silver?”
She checked her watch. “It’s too early to see him. Come on. Let’s sit over there.”

We headed for some benches in the shade and sat down. The flowers were in bloom near a large water fountain. Their perfume drifted past us on a gentle breeze. Carrie smiled as she watched kids play across the park. That’s what I found irresistible about her.
I asked, “So what do we do now?”
She said, “We have to wait because it’s too early. I told you.”
I said, “No. I mean you and me.”
She replied, “Oh. I hoped we could still be friends, maybe even partners. I am pretty good at my job.”
“Well, you had me fooled.”
She looked at me and took my hand in hers. “Neil, you’re not an assignment any more. You’re my love.”
I said, “Let’s finish this job before something else happens.”
She looked over toward a man who had just sat down at another bench not far from where we were. “Mr. Silver is here.”
Carrie wrapped her arm around mine and we walked over to the man. He stood up and reached his hand out to shake mine. “Hello Mr. Gourley. It’s good to finally meet you.”
I shook his hand. “Same here.”
He said, “Mr. Silver at your service.” A well dressed man with streaks of gray in his hair, even though his face was of a younger man.
I said, “I have the package available.”
Mr. Silver smiled, and then dialed a number on his cell phone. He pressed a few numbers and listened to the voice. When he ended the call, “It’s done. You should check your account balance now.”
I did and retrieved the backpack out of my trunk for him. Mr. Silver unzipped the pack far enough to see the package inside, and then zipped it closed again.
He smiled and nodded, “Thank you sir. It’s been interesting.”
I said, “Maybe, I could do something for you in the future.”
Mr. Silver replied, “As a matter of fact, I will be calling on you in a couple of months. I need to clean out my organization.”


Carrie and I stood there as the little man ambled off to his car and drove away.
She looked at me, and asked, “How do you feel about dining out tonight, on you of course.”
I couldn’t help but snicker. “Well. I don’t know.”
She took my hand in that kind way. “But, I thought we had something together. A mutual bond.”
I asked, “How much did you get paid?”
She smiled. “One million.”
I replied, “Then, dinners on you. I owe someone the money from this job.”
She asked, “Who? You never mentioned debts.”
I pulled out the pictures and unfolded them. It was a photo and Annie’s drawing.
Carrie took them from my hand and read the back of the photo. “I don’t understand.”
I said, “The little girl reminds me of my little one. She’s gone now, along with her mother. When I went home, they were dead and the house had been turned inside out.”
“Do you think someone was after something specific?”
“The cops said it was gang related.”
“I’m sorry. What can I do?”
“I want to give this money Annie and her mother. Maybe you could set up an account for them.”
“Okay. No problem.”
“You know, being a partner of mine can be dangerous.”
“Why don’t we let people think the same thing they always thought? I’m just your working girl. That way, I would be no threat to anyone, which would allow me to do my job easier.”