THE BOUNTY HUNTERS...
A million-dollar hit calls in the most competitive underground hit men and the crooked badges.
Especially when the hit is on mob snitch and entertainer, Buddy Israel.
Everyone wanted a piece of the pie.
Including the 2 Ex-Detective Vice Shields who NEVER saw the TReMOr Brothers coming.
Jack Dupree (bondman) reserved a "finder's fee" for discovering the very lucrative target and arranging blending access to the penthouse suite.
The Scheduled kill meet to run through the plan should have ran quite smoothly against the backdrop of a panoramic mountain view – the diamond currents of the river sparkling from the early morning sun's rays.
The parking lot was a peaceful quiet isolated spot few knew about and those who did went there seasonally for trout.
Tossing 3 maroon one-piece hotel guard uniforms specifically designed for the Hyperion hotel (where Israel was being federally remanded to until the mob trial) atop the trunk of a withered down super bee, Jack glanced up at the former Vice Badge.
Ruby's deep-set orbs, gorgeous and inquisitive as she leaned against the adjacent side of the Super Bee.
"Where'd you get those?"
Jack stared down at the strikingly fine ex-cop and smiling knowingly.
"Same place the hotel rents to their guards."
Ruby grinned, her razor dark wit not skipping a beat.
"Well then. They'll just have to deal with that little tragedy."
Jack's gaze settles upon her former partner dozing in the backseat.
"Guess your friend don't want to hear this."
Ruby strode over to the backseat and pounded on the window jolting him.
"Hey Hollis! Get that ass out here."
Striding back to her original position, leaning forward against the trunk she gazed encouragingly back at Jack.
Shakes his head at her in disbelief.
"I can't believe you were a fucking cop. You're way too fucking hot for that game."
Hollis throws open the door and saunters slightly dazed out of the super bee.
"Why should you be? Susie Q over here is as sadistically twisted as a seasoned homicide interrogator when he's got nothing but circumstantial evidence."
"And you're as hard up as a first time customer in Thailand."
Steadying himself against his former partner, gripping the sides of Ruby's toned shoulders until he got his bearings – his gaze not blind from missing how damn fine her ass looked in those low rise diesel blue jeans and hastily positioned himself burrowing his crotch in the superbee's Tail light.
Jack caught this move but noticed how unaware Ruby appeared of Hollis' behavior towards her.
Hell, he may not be aware of it himself. They conversed like a married couple who hadn't fucked in years.
Hollis smiled with a relish up at Dupree who definitely stated.
"I see what you mean. (exhales deeply) Now as I was saying we'll slip in at 9am with the morning crew..."
A deafening sound of a punked out charger, blasting metal and other delights drove by drowning out Dupree momentarily but still he chugged on undettered in his speech.
Ruby raised a dubious eyebrow at the car that looked more than suspect than any of them plotting to kill Israel.
Out of her peripheral view, her deep-set orbs widened with a pleasing gleam upon Hollis rather interesting position into his SuperBee.
She had to give it to him – Hollis had a great ass in jeans.
Suddenly the Punked out charger maneuvered back and shot the shit out of Dupree, Ruby and Hollis.
How fucking ironic.
the river swallowed them whole enjoying the stains of their crimson blood upon their arctic chill currents.
2 hours later – the FBI found the bullet buffet corpse of Jack Dupree who had suffered the worse of the Tremor's machine gun drive by upon the rocky ravine a mile or so from the scenic parking lot.
Blood spatter and directionally indicated the bodies of two additional victims who had yet to be recovered or identified.
The icy currents smacked the lanky yet athletic frame of Hollis, who bobbed unconscious and chilled to the bone.
His eyelids fluttered awake, his diamond blues dilated and alert.
Gasping in shock upon his now disfigured left hand (the bullets had sliced through his pinky and forefinger like butter) and he swallowed an unwelcome amount of river down his esophagus.
His teeth chattered insatiably as he glanced frantically around searching for any signs of human life.
His eyesight finally cleared upon a moving darkness that now arose to the top of the river, carried by the current.
The svelte body of his former partner appeared at his side and Hollis' body shuddered with the first welcome relief since the Tremor brothers had thrown them into the river.
Wrapping his right arm around Ruby's shoulders to steady her in the surface, Hollis felt her head dip back against his shoulder – her pretty features quite pale and almost blue.
A bullet had pierced her left shoulder quite viciously (luckily the slug didn't originate from a machine gun).
Her full lips unexpectedly moved and Ruby coughed up the river and blinked her eyes opened.
The terrifying ordeal must of came rushing back quite vividly because she began to thrash painfully against him.
Hollis pressed her into him and whispered something that appeared to soothe her – he would never remember what he said only that it appeared to console her.
Using whatever self-preservation and adrenaline they had awaken to, they paddled together toward land.
As the shallow waters transmuted into deep country, Hollis crawled instinctually over to Ruby who collapsed shoulders back legs arched on the mossy dunes.
Dropping atop of her exhausted and frozen to the core, Hollis felt her pull him tighter between her svelte frame – shuddering completely, their breathing unbelievably choppy and ragged.
Hollis knew they remained this way for a few minutes until they felt the circulation start to swim warm and reassuring throughout their bodies.
It was quite nice actually.
Peeling themselves off each other, they spotted a one-floor residence no more than 20 feet where they lay.
Somehow they made it up the rocky terrain and onto the 3 stone steps that led up into the house, co-dependently pulling each other when the other looked about ready to lay down and die.
Hollis banged voraciously on the storm door only to be answered by a hyper 12-year-old boy self-dressed in a karate kid outfit.
The boy studied Hollis and Ruby lying pleadingly up at him for assistance and raised a threatening fists.
"You betta speak son! Bitch! I'm about to ball this!"
The hyper kid threatened readying for an actual deliberate blow
A friendly faced plump yet sturdy woman in her senior years poked her head out and her brown eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh My! My! My!"
the Grandmother repeated as she dropped a kitchen towel wearing nothing more than an oversize shirt.
Ruby's deep set orbs widened in repulsion and Hollis' mouth widened agape at this lack of modesty - but this thought only barely registered into their psyche as they suddenly felt a simultaneous convulsion take hold of them.
"Give your grandmother a hand, Jason."
the Grandmother wrapped both her arms underneath Hollis' underarms and began to pull with all her strength as she dragged him joyfully inside.
Jason's pre-teen eyes simply boggled upon the svelte toned form of ex-detective Ruby whose charcoal sweater exposed him to a domain he had never laid eyes on before.
"Ooh! Baby! Yes Mam!" Jason gripped Ruby the same way his grandmother had secured Hollis and dragged her with all the strength he could muster.
Dropping hollis onto the couch, The grandmother bit her lip thoughtfully staring at his now sallow complexion – his frame shivering.
"I'm a registered nurse. We'll have to take most of your clothes off and give you a bath young man. (raising a curious eyebrow as she tugged off his shirt and a coy smile alit her features as she drank in his nicely defined pack) well aren't you just full of surprises."
Noticing her grandson pulling awkwardly at Ruby's bra – his gaze stolen in wonder at her breasts still concealed under a nautica bra.
"Jason leave her bra on! I don't want you exposed to that just yet! (throwing Hollis a trip down memory lane look) Believe it or not young man, I use to have a body like your friend's here – they can cause accidents believe me."
Hoisting Hollis back into being half-carried and half-dragged across her hard wood floors towards her bathroom, with Jason in tow trying earnestly to cop a feel upon a half-conscious Ruby.
"I only have just the one tub. You really are lucky I just had my bath. (Hollis distinctly thought he overheard Ruby mutter something wickedly Vile to that unseemly statement) In you go young man."
Dropping Hollis at the east side of the tub, the boiling water penetrated nicely against his skin despite the fact the old woman removed her personal dildo into a private corner.
Jason hoisted Ruby like a rag doll over the side of the tub with the force of which caused her to cry out as it struck her temple.
Using what little strength he had left, Hollis reached out and carefully pulled Ruby inside the scalding waters and laid her out against him.
Ruby shuddered mainly from the hypothermia but also from the gunshot wound still embedded painfully in her left shoulder.
Before leaving, Jason rushed forward and copped a feel of Ruby's left Breast.
The Grandmother smacked his hand away and ushered him out of the room.
"None of that Jason. Out! Out! (turning to Hollis before she exited closing the door) I'll be back in a few minutes."
After the grandmother took her leave, Hollis carefully adjusted Ruby's forehead with his good hand so that she could rest comfortably against his chest.
Ruby suddenly blinked her eyes opened at him and her tone became very serious.
"Damn. (teeth chattering) Hold me CLOSER, Hollis."
"Anything you say Bullet licker." Hollis replied dryly, his boyish tone darkly playfully
Her full lips cracked into a vulgar smile that became her quite nicely, her teeth still chattering.
"Shut up Ass Addict."
Hollis felt a rumble surge in his throat but he was unable to release the giggle all he could do was press her into his partially naked frame even deeper.
He knew had neither been freezing nor half-disoriented they would neither be talking so candidly or openly and he would more than likely be aroused.
A few minutes turned into half an hour before the freakish grandmother returned to find her two guests dozed off in each others' arms quite comfortably.
"You fell asleep!" The Grandmother cried out worriedly
Shaking both awake, she escorted them one at a time and quite carefully out of the tub dressing both.
She escorted Ruby out first, removing all her delightful Nautica undergarments trying earnestly to cover Ruby's gorgeous nude shape from Hollis with her own body.
The beast that lies in all men stole several heated looks.
Then it was Hollis' turn.
The Grandmother pulled off his briefs and from being so disoriented he would never know if Ruby saw his dick or not.
Before he knew it, they were both fed and slumbered for several hours in a spare bedroom down the hall.
Hollis never knew how many hours dragged by only that he awoke to the Grandmother nudging himself out of bed.
The Freaky Grandmother must have awoken Ruby no more than a few minutes earlier than himself.
Stumbling into the kitchen, Hollis noticed a pair of pliers, some gauze, nude thread, a sewing needle and some peroxide situated on the table before Ruby.
Jason was staring fixedly at her as though in awe.
"Damn! This bitch is Kill Bill Hard Core!"
The Grandmother granted him with a scolding look.
"Jason! Don't use that language or I will take away your Tarantino collection!"
Jason immediately silenced under this threat as Hollis situated himself purposefully on the left side of Ruby.
Her deep-set orbs welled in pain as she determinedly gripped the pliers and wrapped it around the but of the slug half-embedded in her left shoulder.
Hollis observed as her hand trembled under the pain and his good hand paused her in her plight.
"Wait a second."
The concern flashing in Hollis' normally disagree with every challenge no matter how small blue eyes was the only reason she allowed him to take over.
Sliding right over to her, Hollis situated one of each of his athletic legs on each side of the bench. Leaning over her left shoulder, his soft lips barely an inch to her lobe whispered.
"Just lean into me. (Ruby opened her mouth to disagree but Hollis quickly intercepted) For once, don't argue."
And for the first time in their partnership, Ruby minded him.
Readjusting her weight, Ruby sat on the end of the bench and allowed Hollis to take over.
Sensing Hollis' presence inch into her back, Ruby suddenly became very aware of only him. The Freaky grandmother and the Hyper wacked 12 year old Boy seemed to fade.
Using his good hand, Hollis crooked his right arm underneath Ruby's and wrapped it comfortingly just above her chest.
"We'll have to cortorize the wound in order for it to heal. Sorry no anesthetic."
The Grandmother directed as Hollis gripped the pair of pliers.
As Hollis brought the pair of pliers within alignment with the shell lodged within her left side arm, Ruby suddenly grabbed him mid thigh – fear burning her deep-set orbs.
"HOLLIS." Ruby said nervously
Hollis stared down at her, the rims of his diamond blue orbs welled with a reassuring confidence and Ruby nodded.
Before reapplying the grip of the pliers, Hollis pressed his lips to her forehead completely taking Ruby off guard – yet she never turned away.
"We'll kill them all." Hollis declared and pulled the slug out with all the strength he could muster.
Ruby writhed painfully against him – screams of agony filled the perimeter of the residence and startled a few critters scurrying along the country terrain.
Tears fell freely down her striking features as Hollis was forced to hold his partner down as the freaky grandmother corterized the wound – her skin sizzling.
Mere contact with the hot poker jolted Ruby and hollis onto the floor – as Hollis was able to restrain her thrashing form that was now overwhelmed with convulsions.
Just before the pain became too much to lucidly bear, Ruby overheard Hollis whispering something quite sweet into her ivory lobes.
The last thought she would recall was of hollis:
She never knew he had this sweetness in him.
As Ruby passed out in his arms, Hollis readjusted her svelte frame and carefully positioned her onto the couch.
Caressing her forehead tenderly, Hollis noticed the peace that seem to wash over her pretty features as she allowed sleep to claim her.
"She likes it when you touch her." The Freaky Grandmother observed carrying a paraphanelia of bandages, peroxide, nude thread and a sewing needle and positioned herself on the side of the sofa.
"Excuse me?" Hollis asked a taken back and stood up
"Its comforting." The Freaky Grandmother stated as she forcibly applied peroxide soaked gauze to the wound before attempting to sew her up.
"Oh." Hollis stated, his tone was laced with something unresolved was not lost on the Freaky Grandmother's ears.
"Why don't you eat? There's a plate of the best of my cooking on the table. This won't take me long." The Freaky grandmother instructed and Hollis allowed himself to be drawn to the plate situated right across from the Hyper 12 year old.
20 minutes later...
The Freaky Grandmother switched on the large toshiba television situated upon a kitchen island while brewing a pot of folgers.
For the next 15 minutes, she followed the breaking news report about a violent hit upon 3 former cops whose bodies had been dumped into the nearby river.
"Body of Jack Dupree – a contract bondman and liasion to the local PD was found just upstream. Sources confirm that two other victims (both Former Vice Detectives) were dropped into the river and have yet to be recovered. For their own safety, their identities have yet to be released."
Noticing the young man's wild blue eyes widen exurbenantly at this newscast, The Freaky Grandmother placed a boiling cup of black coffee in front of him.
"You're one of those cops that was thrown into the river this morning, aren't ya?" The Freaky Grandmother asked, a kindness in her voice as he chewed on a piece of sirloin.
Hollis stared up at her and nodded.
"Yes ma'am. Left for dead."
"Looks like the good Lord is giving you both a second chance." The Grandmother assessed studying Hollis with great interest – he was handsome in a rugged sort of way – his large blue orbs held a resilient fire as he opened a lock box and began to peruse the items inside.
"I don't plan on wasting it." Hollis replied undettered
The Grandmother's gaze intercepted a stolen uninterpretive glance Hollis fixed on the young striking women regenerating upon her sofa.
"How does she figure into the equation?" The Grandmother inquired more as a curiosity than anything else, cocking her head at his partner.
"We were partners." Hollis gaze averted back to the lock box as something gleamed invitingly up at him.
"Well I'll be damned!" The Freaky Grandmother exclaimed a pleased tone "She definitely doesn't look like any female cop I've ever seen."
Recalling Jack Dupree's statement, Hollis sighed.
"She gets that alot."
"How long you two been partners?" The Grandmother quiered
Hollis fluttered his eyelids – a pregnant pause and his boyish voice ambled out.
"Four years."
"Now please don't think I'm trying to overstep my bounds and try to humor an old woman. (Hollis turned his gaze upon the Grandmother wondering where she was going with this)"
Hollis nodded curtly.
"When I said before that she likes when you touch her (Hollis' diamond blues suddenly glistened with something un nameable) – I meant she likes the way you touched her – the way you consoled her like she never known gentleness from another man before and never known what could be. (grinning pleasantly at him) Just a little observation – a woman knows what goes on in the mind of another woman."
Hollis opened his mouth to reply and the grandmother leaned forward with great interest. Instead, Hollis opted for another swig of his coffee before wrapping his grip around the 45 mag stationed at the bottom of the lock box.
Realigning the clip with an expertise, Hollis politely inquired.
"I'm going to need to borrow this."
"That belonged to my late husband. There's another for your friend waiting in my own. You go get your devil, young man."
Ruby's dream...
Ruby hadn't dream with such vivid imagery since she joined vice – maybe even a little before that.
The last memory of any sort of world that existed in REM seemed to have been triggered by the extraneous situation of cheating death and finding herself slumbering with ease against her partner.
Her thoughts wandered till 8 months ago as REM selected a memory rather than a freudian riddle to perplex her even further.
Their Captain came searching for an experienced Detective to perform a full cavity search upon a federal perp they picked up and were holding till the FEDS arrived for a pickup.
He was mainly looking for Hollis because the perp was male and considered to be a dangerous psychopath.
Hollis had went to the front desk to pay for take out and the Captain swallowed hard down at Ruby knowing her reputation.
"Fuck it! Better if its you anyway." Captain commented
"With all due respect – the hell does that mean?" Ruby didn't like the insinuation of making such a harsh indirect commentary upon her partner.
"It means – you get to perform a cavity search upon one of the best hit men in the profession." the captain clarified and they began walking towards interrogation room #1.
Ruby's eyes widened. "You're talking about Soot."
"What other scarred psycho would I be referring to?" The captain quiered.
Shrugs and proceeds inside.
Ruby never knew how it happened because she was considerably careful and had done the job on hundreds of psychos – this one decided he wanted to have a go.
Soot came on to her with a primal impulse she had never experienced.
Hollis had been standing adjacent to the Captain from behind the two way mirror bearing witness to the cavity search.
After Soot had pounced atop of her, Hollis hit the ground running, threw open the investigation door and physically pried Soot off of her and kicked soot repeatedly in his jewels.
5 minutes later...
Hollis took her aside.
"How come you never stopped him? Other perps have tried some fucked up shit with you before (lowering his voice as a homicide detective passed, his wild blue orbs on fire, urgency in his voice) and you unleash hell on their face. Hell, you've even been written up once for forcible assault."
The fact that she never stopped Soot did not bode well with Hollis.
He had a natural way of bringing it up whenever he could.
She could have killed Jack Dupree when he was merely running through the list of hired guns and soot came up.
The bar meeting
"Now this Buddy Israel is a million dollar hit. So obviously that's bringing in some hired heavy weight guns particularly since he pissed off the mafia." Jack Dupree declared situated purposefully on a cushy bar stool between Hollis and Ruby, a wet stogie on his lips.
"A million dollar hit huh?" Ruby asked loving the dollar signs
"WHAT'S THE POINT, HUH?" Hollis cut Ruby off, his gaze intense and almost wild "What's the point if the mafia is going to pour boxes of bullets into some million dollar hit? Huh? What can we possibly do?"
Ruby sighed dramatically with a familiarity as her partner started on a heated disagreement they had earlier this morning.
"Here we go again." Ruby said growing tired of the argument
Hollis leaned over Jack to stare pointedly at Ruby.
"Its fatally dangerous. They're hired mafia Guns! We're ex-cops! I don't want my body to be a bullet buffet."
At the end of the meeting, Jack made the candid observation to Ruby,
"You to go at it like a fucking sex deprived married couple in heat."
The Waldorf Hotel Roof – Parking lot
"You still with me?"
"Not going home until I unload boxes of bullets into their fucking skulls!" Ruby rechecked the mag of the 45 just as the afternoon rays beamed vibrantly upon her pretty determined features.
"Guess that means you're feeling better." Hollis commented dryly, leaning against the side of a pickup truck.
Hollis felt Ruby suddenly studying him with an inquisitive intensity from the opposite side of the pickup.
Despite the pounding of her heart, Ruby strode over to her partner who only was able to make 5 second eye contact.
"What's the what Hollis?" Ruby asked
Despite the normalcy of her slang, Hollis never mistook the softness in her voice.
Clearing his throat, Hollis made to speak but the words couldn't quite leave his lips.
"Today...(Hollis waited expectantly for Ruby to say something and felt an overwhelming frustration claim him and he raised his gaze to the skyline) G-Damn it! Nothing ever changes!"
Striding painfully away from her, Hollis made to inspect the Tremor brother's deserted car no more than a few feet from them.
"YOU SAVED ME HOLLIS."
The seriousness of Ruby's tone made him pause abruptly in his tracks and turn to face her.
"I'm alive because of You." Ruby stated – her voice clear and capturing his attention completely as she slowly strode over to him.
"You not only saved me from death (stopping no more than a foot in front of him and Hollis felt his breath leave him) you saved me from myself. You were right. You were right about the hit but I didn't want to hear it. Sometimes I can't see what's best for me."
Hollis felt a blush streak his cheeks and grinned knowingly down at her.
"Yeah, I've noticed." Hollis noted reflectively and stated as an after thought "So much so you can't see what's right in front of you."
Ruby drew in a sharp intake of breath as she felt herself no longer able to fight the compulsion to reach out for Hollis.
clasping the side of his right cheek, Ruby turned Hollis' lips to meet hers in a hungry satisfying lip caress. Using his good arm, he wrapped his arm around her naked midriff pulling her closer to him as he responded instantly with a tenderness that only served to deepen the kiss even more.
Ruby edged him over to the Tremor's charger and leaned every inch of her into him.
Little sighs of ecstasy escaped from her mouth and Hollis felt his breath go shallow unable to pull themselves (nor wanting to) from each other.