Chapter 2
Gabriel walked into the dark shop, and the man behind the counter looked up from the object he was studying. "Hey, Mr. Bengstrom," Gabriel greeted the older man. "Thanks for staying open. I appreciate it."
"My doors are always open to an enterprising young man who knows the value of hard work."
Gabriel laughed like it was a joke.
"Your reputation is growing, Mr. Bowman. How can I be of service?"
"Well, recently an engraved item has been offered to me for a very high price. Research indicates that an authentic item of this nature may be worth what they ask." He lied through his teeth. "But, uh, I need to know if it's authentic."
"Mr. Bowman, if you want my opinion, you have to be a little more forthcoming. What kind of item?"
Gabriel hesitated then pulled the bullet out of his pocket and handed it to him. Mr. Bengstrom examined it carefully. "Very high level of craftsmanship. Lot of work went into this."
"Your work?" Gabriel asked.
"No, I wouldn't dare. This appears to be done after manufacturing. Very dangerous. May I ask who the seller is?"
Gabriel laughed. "Yes, you may. But, unfortunately, I won't be able to answer."
"Of course. I understand. Perhaps you'd like to leave it. I could make a few inquiries.
Gabriel remembered Sara's warning to be careful. "No." He took the bullet from the old man. "Listen, um, please don't mention this to anybody. Okay?" At the old man's nod, he added, "Take care."
As soon as the door shut behind Gabriel, Mr. Bengstrom picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Captain Dante."
*******
"I'm taking the twins and Parker's with me to see Dakota," Renee told Gabriel the next morning after breakfast. "Amie said she wanted to stay here with you."
"Meghan's staying at Colleen's tonight, right?"
"Yeah."
"All right. I'll see you later tonight."
Once she left, Gabriel turned to his daughter. "I've got some work to do downstairs."
"Okay." She jumped on his back, and he gave her a piggy-back ride down to the basement. Amie sat on the computer desk while he typed away at the keyboard, figuring out his inventory for the month.
Just as he finished, he heard a knock on the door. 'Wonder who that is?' He thought to himself. He always closed the shop before dinner. "Stay here, he told Amie. "I'll be right back." He opened the door and saw two large men standing there. Instantly he knew they were trouble. He slammed the door and started running across the room. "Amie, get under the desk and keep quiet, he yelled.
Her eyes wide, the three-year old did as she was told. She watched as the younger of the two men tackled Gabriel to the floor, breaking a display case in the process. She would have cried out but remembered Gabriel's warning to keep quiet.
The man who tackled Gabriel hauled him to his feet, restraining him with a half-nelson hold. The older man stood in front of him. "Hey, cupcake. You got a problem with authority?"
Gabriel shrugged. "What do you guys want?"
His captor put pressure on his neck, causing him to grunt in pain.
"Not what, who," the older man told him.
"Uh, I give up," Gabriel said with a slight smirk. His captor applied pressure to his neck again.
Jerry Orlinsky glanced around the shop and walked to one of the shelves. "What the hell are you selling here?" He asked as he picked up an urn from the shelf.
"Uh, that's a pre-Columbian funeral urn with the remains of a thousand-year-old-" He stopped when Orlinsky dropped the urn to the floor. "Mayan princess," he continued in a dejected voice.
"No kidding. People actually buy that crap?"
"Yeah," Gabriel replied, his anger rising.
"Tommy," Orlinsky said to Gabriel's captor as he picked up a pottery bowl from the shelf. "this would look pretty good on my patio, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Tommy Burgess said with a smirk.
"A little flimsy," he commented as Gabriel glared at him. Orlinsky laughed. "I think you'd let us wreck your whole shop, and you wouldn't rat out that bitch."
"Twenty bucks says you're wrong," Burgess wagered.
Orlinsky tossed the bowl to Burgess who let go of Gabriel to catch it. Gabriel, thinking he had a chance to escape, ran for the desk by the back door. Just as he reached the desk, Burgess caught up with him. "Hey!" He exclaimed as he slammed his prisoner's head against the door. Blood trickled down the side of his face.
Burgess brought him back to Orlinsky with one arm across his throat and the other behind his head. "You know, you're probably right," the older cop agreed. "A direct approach is probably quicker." He threw a fist into Gabriel's stomach, doubling him over in pain. "Where is she?"
Gabriel forced a smirking grin. "I don't know."
"Hold him," Orlinsky ordered Burgess. He hit Gabriel in the stomach again, sending him into a coughing fit this time. He reached into the young man's pocket and pulled out the bullet. "Oh, yeah, you do." He addressed Burgess. "Come on."
"Let's go, Sparky," Burgess said, dragging Gabriel to the door.
*******
"Where's Ian?" Renee asked Darvi as they walked inside.
"He always takes Aldrik for a walk in the morning. He'll be back later."
Carina ran to her mother. "Momma! Momma!"
"What is it?" Darvi asked as she lifted her daughter.
"J.J. no let me on wockin' 'orse. It mine."
Darvi saw her sister walking toward them, pulling a reluctant J.J. behind her. When she reached them, Dakota told her son, "Tell your cousin, you're sorry."
He looked at the floor and said, "I sowwy, Ca'ina."
Dakota shook her head as they went off to play in the living room. the adults followed. "Those two sometimes act like brother and sister." She shook her head again then looked at her friend. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I know we've talked about it before. I just wanted to make sure it was still all right with you."
"What is it, Renee?" Dakota was concerned at the seriousness in her friend's voice. She had a feeling she knew what was about to be said.
"If anything happens to me and Gabe, I want you to take care of the kids."
"Renee, nothing's going to happen to either of you. Stop thinking that."
"I can't help it, Kota. Something's on Gabe's mind, and he won't tell me what it is. That means he's in some kind of trouble or going to get into it."
"Don't worry, Renee. He's going to be fine. He always gets out of trouble."
"I just wish he wouldn't get into it in the first place."
*******
Gabriel woke with a throbbing headache. He looked around him, but it was black. He felt a wad of cloth in his mouth and the piece of duct tape that kept him from spitting it out. More duct tape served as handcuffs to keep his arms restrained behind his back. A shaft of light appeared as the trunk lid was opened. He had to blink several times before his eyes adjusted to the difference in lighting.
Burgess ripped the duct tape from his mouth, and Gabriel winced. The cop took the cloth wad out of the young man's mouth. "Get out," he said.
Gabriel just looked up at him. "Why the hell should I do anything you ask?"
"To keep me from doing this." His fist connected with Gabriel's jaw, slamming the young man's head against the bottom of the trunk. Burgess pulled a gun and held it to Gabriel's chest. "Get out now, Boy." He grabbed Gabriel's shirtfront and pulled him out of the trunk.
After closing the lid, they started down the alley. "Listen, man," Gabriel tried to persuade Burgess. "My friend, Pezzeni, she's not gonna-"
"Shut up."
"You think she's gonna let this go? She's gonna tear you up."
"Shut the hell up," Burgess insisted as he pushed Gabriel trough a doorway.
Mr. Bengstrom looked up as they came in. "Yes, Can I-" He realized who it was. "Oh. Hello."
"Mr. Bengstrom is this the young man that bothered you last night?" Burgess questioned the old man.
"Yes, Mr. Bowman. But I don't think that bothered is-" He never got to finish the sentence. Burgess sent two bullets into his chest, and he crashed through one of his displays.
"Why'd you do that?" Gabriel asked, still shocked at the coldblooded killing. "He was just an old man."
"If you could find him, anybody could. On your knees." He pushed Gabriel to the floor, who groans at the pain in his midsection.
"Listen, I've got lots of cake, man." He was still trying to persuade him against what he planned. "and it's all yours. Look, man, don't do this. I have a family. Please don't do this."
Burgess hesitated for a split second, and Gabriel used this to his advantage. He threw himself backwards, knocking Burgess off balance. Then, he lunged to his feet and ran for the door. His captor wasn't far behind though. Just as he turned down the alley, Gabriel slipped on a patch of ice and briefly lost his balance. He kept himself from falling, steadied himself, and stepped off of the ice.
He felt the bullet slice through his side a moment before he heard the shot. Stumbling, he kept moving. He knew his life depended on that. After taking several steps, one leg gave out on him and he fell to his knee. He forced himself to his feet again and ran on, stumbling. He had only taken two steps when he felt something strike him behind his shoulder. He felt himself falling and couldn't stop it this time.
Burgess closed in for the kill. The alley was just as good a place for the kid to die as the old man's shop. He stopped when he saw a man and dog standing over the dog. The man was dressed completely in black. The dog appeared to be a large Rottweiler. the man let go of the leash and said, "Get him, Aldrik."
Burgess knew when it was a good time to run. This was one of those times. Aldrik ran a few steps then sat and watched the man run for his car. Once he was gone, Aldrik trotted back to Ian who was bent over his friend.
"Ian, help me," Gabriel pleaded in a weak voice before he passed out.
Ian pulled his cellphone and called for an ambulance. He removed a handkerchief from underneath his coat and pressed it against the hole in Gabriel's shoulder. Once the paramedics had him in the ambulance and were on the way to the hospital, Ian ran home with Aldrik beside him.
*******
"Get an oxygen mask on him," the head paramedic shouted over the screaming over the sirens. "Someone put pressure on those wounds. We don't want him losing any more blood."
"We're losing him," one of the paramedics shouted.
"Well, save him, damn it!"
Two of the paramedics began to give him C.P.R. One breathed air into his lungs while the other performed the chest compressions. They could hear a few of his ribs cracking from the pressure. "He's breathing," they announced finally.
In a few minutes, they arrived at the hospital. The paramedics rushed him inside. "Two gunshot wounds. Loss of blood. Almost lost his once," the head paramedic told the doctors who met him.
The doctors got him into an operating room. "Who is it?" One of them asked.
"Gabriel Bowman. He's my patient," Dr. Granur said.
"You're his family doctor," one of the surgeons protested.
"I'm also a heart surgeon, and you know it. He's my patient. Get some B-positive blood in here and start a transfusion. We have to get those bullets out."
*******
Renee walked into the house, but no one was there. She went to the basement stairs and called down them. "Gabriel?" When no answer came, she walked down the stairs. "Gabriel, are you here?" Sometimes he would get caught up in his work and not here her. She didn't see anyone down there either. As she was turning around, she heard a soft whimpering coming from under her husband's desk. She approached it cautiously and bent down. "Amie, what are you doing under there?" She gasped in surprise. "Come out here."
Amie didn't move. "Daddy said stay here."
"Where is he?"
Tears rolled down the little girl's cheeks. "Bad men took away."
"Oh no." Renee reached under the desk and grabbed Amie.
When they reached the top of the stairs, the phone rang. Renee set Amie on the floor and answered it. "Hello? Ian, what is it?" She listened while he explained what happened. "What?" She nearly screamed. "Oh, God, no. I'll be at the hospital in a few minutes."
She grabbed the kids' coats and hurried them out to the car. "What wong?" Aidan asked as she drove away from the house.
"Your daddy's hurt. We need to get to the hospital."
Allanah started crying. "Don't be scared, Darling. He'll be fine." Renee just wished she could convince herself of that.