Chapter 18
The drugs had taken over Jack's mind and body. His head started to drop and his eyes trying to close. He struggled to keep them open. The battle was well noticed by all, and finally, he lost as his eyes closed and his body relaxed. Kim was worried about her father, she was not sure what pills he had taken, and two might have been too much for him. She stared at his chest and watched it slowly go in and out as he breathed. She continued to watch looking for anything irregular.
Mandy noticed Kim's alert eyes on her father and thought for a minute to say that he would be fine because she knew Kim was worried about the amount of pills he had taken, but then she thought why would she? Let Kim be worried there was no reason to give out that information. Sometimes, Mandy had a soft side left in her. It only showed up every now and then, and it reminded her she was still human. She hated those moments because she was human, but not humane. She had no reason for what she did. She had a relatively normal childhood, and adulthood. She hooked up with the wrong people in college and learned a lot of interesting things from them. She learned she was good at the business and never looked back since.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Chase and Richard got back to Jack's apartment and noticed that Michelle's car was gone.
Richard asked Chase, "Do you think they left?"
"I don't know, why? Let's go check the apartment. Something is not right." Chase said leaving the food in the car and getting out. They walked slowly towards Jack's apartment building looking around for anything other than Michelle's car being gone. When they got inside, Chase pulled his Beretta out from its holster under his coat, as did Richard. They slowly walked up the steps to Jack's apartment. When they reached the door, Chase tried the door handle. It opened and Richard went into the apartment gun ready for whatever he found. After a minute of sweeping the apartment, they found no one there, nor a sign of struggle.
"What the fuck?" Richard asked confused.
"I don't know what's up. Let me try Tony's cell phone." Chase said pulling out his cell phone.
Tony answered his phone on the first ring, "Yeah?"
"Tony where are you guys at? We're back at Jack's apartment and no one is here." Chase said confused.
"Jack wanted to move them somewhere else." Tony said not wanting to tell Chase what happened in case Richard or Chase were dirty. He was almost sure Chase wasn't, but someone had told Mandy and the others that Jack was alive, and at his apartment building. Tony checked to make sure no one was watching Jack's place before he took Jack there.
"Where at? We can drive over to meet you guys." Chase persisted.
"Chase, can you keep this one sided?" Tony asked knowing that Chase would continue to press until Tony told the truth.
"Yeah." Chase said wondering why Tony did not want Richard to know what they were talking about.
"Mandy and some other woman showed up at the apartment when Kim and Michelle came over. They had Michelle and Kim at gunpoint. They have Jack, Kim, and Michelle right now. I'm going to get Darla to trade for Michelle and Kim." Tony said pausing for a second.
"What about Jack? How is he?" Chase asked now knowing what Tony was thinking. Chase put his hand over the phone and told Richard, "I have to use the bathroom real fast. I'll be out in a minute." Chase went to Jack's bathroom and closed the door.
"She's going to keep Jack." Tony answered.
"I don't think it was Richard who gave the information out. I've known Richard most of my life and he would not do something like that. Maybe it's coming from CTU. Michelle could have told someone where she and Kim were going, and when Kim stopped crying or looking sad, as she naturally would have after finding out her father was not dead, someone could have picked up on it and relayed it." Chase deduced.
"Are you sure about Richard?" Tony asked trusting Chase's judgment.
"Yes. I would stake my life on it."
"You just might be. Fine, I got an idea. I'm not sure where the meeting is going down. Get in your car and drive towards CTU. I'll call you with the details of the meeting. You will pick up Jim, Darla's friend at CTU and go to the place the meeting is. Hopefully, we can somehow take over and get Jack, Michelle, and Kim out of this." Tony stated not sure if they could actually do it. It was five people three of which were hurt against God knows how many possibly.
"Okay. I'll leave the line open." Chase said hanging up the phone. He walked out of the bathroom and relayed all the information to Richard as they walked back down to the car.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Amber exited from the highway and drove down an old road leading to an abandoned factory. She pulled behind the factory building and put the van in park. Mandy got out of the van as did Amber. Once outside they discussed what they should do during the exchange, they both agreed they needed more people that what they had. Amber recommended calling their new contact and letting her know that the full deal might be reachable now. Mandy agreed with her and walked away to make the phone call.
The woman answered the phone on the second ring with, "Hello, Mandy."
"Hello. We might be able to reach the full deal and then some. I have Jack in my position now, and am in the process of getting Darla. I need some help though. I'm a little short handed and I don't want to bring my employer in on this because most of those guys are idiots and would screw this up. If you are still interested, all I want from you in return is some people to help out. Are you interested?"
"Yes. Where are you at?"
"The meeting place for the exchange tonight. It was the only place I could figure to use on such short notice." Earlier, they had taken off to exchange the virus when the opportunity came up to get Jack and Mandy backed out at her employers wishes to do the deal later. "Earlier, the reason we backed out was because there was a chance of getting Jack. One of my sources communicated with me that he was in fact alive and moving. I am sorry for the unprofessional act, but I was only following my employer's orders." Mandy explained.
"That is fine. My men and I will be there in ten." The woman answered.
Mandy hung her phone up and called Tony's phone again, "Where are you?" She said before he had a chance to even say hello.
"Right outside CTU. I'm going in now to get her. I'll need a little more time. It took longer than planned because of traffic." Tony said worried that his stalling might create problems.
"Fine. You have ten more minutes. Call me when you are back in your car. If you do not show up by the end of the time allotted, you will find your wife and Kim dead." Mandy announced coldly.
"I'll be there." Tony said hanging up the phone as he walked into the CTU clinic where Darla and Jim sat.
When he reached Darla's room he explained what was going on and she agreed to help him out. He was not sure what he would do if she did not agree, probably take her out at gunpoint. She dressed in the clothes she had on earlier ignoring the bullet holes in them. Jim said he would wait five minutes after they left to walk out of CTU. Tony and Darla exited CTU without anyone noticing, or so Tony thought.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Mandy's phone rang a few minutes after she hung up from Tony, "What?" She answered.
"It's me. Tony just left with Darla." The man's voice said quietly.
"Good. Was he alone?"
"As far as I can tell, yes. No one else is here. Michelle, Kim, and Chase are all out in the field. That leaves only Chappelle."
"Good. No one suspects anything?"
"No. No one knows that Jack is still alive, but Chappelle and a few who caught on from Kim's mood when she returned to Tony's office earlier with Michelle."
"Good. Call me if anything changes." Mandy said hanging the phone up.
The woman and her men pulled into the abandoned factory. Mandy counted at least ten cars full of people when the woman got out of the lead car Mandy felt like asking her if she expected a war, but knew the woman was vague on the side of location.
"Hello. Thanks for coming." Mandy said as a greeting.
"Where is he?" The woman asked referring to Jack.
"In the van." Mandy said pointing at the van.
"Let me see him. Tell my men where you want them or they can figure it out on their own if you wish. When is the deal going down?"
"About twenty minutes from now." Mandy answered leading the woman towards the black van Jack and the others sat in. She opened the back of the van and let the woman look in on Jack.
When the doors opened, both Kim and Michelle looked at who it was opening them. They have not heard anything for the past few minutes and were starting to get worried. They were not sure what was going on. When they saw the woman with Mandy, both of their faces registered shock. Kim thought to herself, it couldn't be. She was dead. She saw her after her father had killed her. She was dead there was no way she had come back to life.
The woman said in a cool voice, "Hello Kim."
"But you 're dead." Kim finally said allowed.
"Am I? That's interesting." The woman answered. She then turned her attention to Mandy, "Let's move him somewhere else. Tony is not a stupid man and he will try something. He always wanted to be like Jack, but never was good enough. He will bring others with him. If we move Jack out of here, then he won't try much of anything in the fear of losing Jack. See, unlike Jack, Tony gives a shit about his co-workers' well being and would think twice before endangering their lives like Jack has in the past."
"Okay. Can you have one of your guys drive him out of here then?" Mandy inquired.
"Yes. One of my men and I will drive him out of here. Why is he unconscious?"
"Easier to keep control of him. It's drug-induced. I don't think he can take much more in the way of physical pain, so I had him take two of these. It's enough to keep him out as long as we need him to be."
"Good. Ethan, come here." The woman ordered.
A man about two times the size of Jack walked up, "Yes ma'am."
"Grab him out of the back. Be careful with his left shoulder. I want you to move him to the car."
"Yes ma'am." Ethan said getting into the back of the van and gently grabbing Jack's right arm and putting it around his neck lifting Jack up so that he could pull him out of the van. When he reached the end of the van he laid Jack down and got out. Again he maneuvered Jack so that he could carry Jack to the car. As he was walking away he called back at the woman, "Do you want me to secure him anyway?"
"No, he should stay asleep long enough for us to move him." She answered back.
Kim looked out at the woman wondering how she was there; she called out to her, "What are you doing with my father?"
The woman looked back at Kim who was worried for her father. She did not answer her, just stood there looking at her. Not sure what she wanted with Jack. She just wanted him for no particular reason at all. She was almost relived earlier when they had said he was dead and they could not deliver because she had no real excuse for wanting him. She had said he had information she wanted, but in truth she already knew everything she needed to know, and he was out of the game so long that any information he might have would be outdated. She said good-bye to Mandy and told her to change the meeting place for tonight. The woman walked to the car Jack was now sitting in the back seat of. Ethan opened the driver side back door for her and she got in next to Jack. She looked at him and noted that he looked peaceful at the moment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Tony's cell phone rang again. "Yeah?"
"Where are you?" Mandy asked.
"We are just out of CTU. Where are we supposed to meet you?"
"Hagerty Steel's abandoned factory. You know where that is at?"
"Yes. I'll be there in ten minutes." Tony answered.
"See you then. And you better be alone." Mandy warned before hanging up the phone.
Tony hung up and waited three minutes before calling Chase. When Chase answered the phone all Tony said was, "It's at the old Hagerty Steel factory." He hung the phone up in case Mandy called back.
"Is Jack okay?" Darla asked knowing that Jack was supposedly dead earlier.
"He's a little messed up, but he was walking and talking fine." Tony did not want to give the full extent of what was wrong with him. He knew Darla already felt bad about earlier and would feel worse once she saw Jack, until then, he needed her mind clear of the guilt and ready for the situation at hand. "When we get there, look for Jack and the others." Tony ordered, "I'll be busy trying to stall long enough for Chase and the others to get here."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Chase was driving well over the speed limit and still scared that he would not make it to the place in time. Richard looked at the speedometer and said, "Damn, are you going fast enough?"
"No. I'm not sure if we will catch them in time."
"We will. We're only about ten miles from the place now. Slow down before you attract attention." Richard said calmly.
"Fine." Chase answered as he took his foot off the gas pedal and felt the car start to slow down. He found the road to exit on and went up about a hundred yards before turning off into the field. He parked the car and the men got out and jogged towards the sight of the trade. When they reached the edge of the field they could see Tony's car pull into the front of the factory. A van came around from the back and a woman got out of it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
Tony put the car in park. He did not want to turn it off in case he had to make a quick escape. He avoided looking behind him or around to see if Chase was there. He prayed they were, and if not, he would try his best. He got out of the car as the person got out of the van. The woman Mandy called Amber yelled over, "Where is Darla?"
"Where are Michelle and Kim?" Tony yelled back unwilling to budge. In reality, Darla was lying in the back seat of the car hiding out of sight, but anyone with a brain would figure she was there.
The woman walked around to the back of the van and got Michelle and Kim out. "There, Where is Darla?"
"Where's Jack? I would at least like to know he is alive, and would stay that way?" Tony yelled back.
As he did so Mandy walked out of the back of the van and said, "Jack is not here at the moment. He is alive though, just ask these two. Right Michelle?"
Michelle shook her head in agreement and said, "They had him take something that put him out. But he was alive when another person came and took him."
Tony was unsure of how to proceed. He could go in guns blazing to save Kim and Michelle without making the trade, and possibly put Jack in a bad situation or he could give in and do as he had agreed upon originally. Before he could make his mind up, Chase and the others came out with guns blazing.
Tony ordered Mandy, "Walk away from them now or they will shoot you. You are outnumbered, give up and I will help you out. All I want is Michelle, Kim, and Jack. That's all. If you give me them, I'll let you walk out of here alive."
"No deal." Mandy said as a large group of men came out of the factory and from behind it. "You are the one that is outnumbered. You have a choice now, I'm going to be nice this once. You have your men put their guns down and give me Darla, and I'll let you have the two women. Otherwise, you will all die."
Tony contemplated their chances of winning and they were slim. He figured there were at least twenty men out there, and that's not counting the once he could not see. He looked down at his chest and noticed three red dots from laser sights. He took his gun and set it on the ground. He yelled back and Chase and them, "Put your guns down."
The others followed his orders. They knew there was no way to walk out of this situation alive if they tried to fight. They were outnumbered. It was always better to retreat so you could fight another day. Darla got out of the back of the car and yelled at Mandy, "Let the women go and I will walk towards you at the same time."
Mandy pushed Kim forward and said to Kim and Michelle, "Walk."
For a second as Darla passed Kim and Michelle, she had the urge to jump on the two and knock them to the ground to allow the gun battle to ensue, but she knew even if she had, there was no way for them to win it so she continued to walk to Mandy. When she finally reached Mandy, she asked, "Where is Jack at?"
Mandy answered her quietly, "You'll see him in a few. Get into the back of the van with my friend here, and be a good girl so we don't have to kill your friends anyway."
Mandy looked at Tony and yelled, "Nice doing business with you. My men here will wait ten minutes after I leave and then let you can leave. Just don't follow us."
The drugs had taken over Jack's mind and body. His head started to drop and his eyes trying to close. He struggled to keep them open. The battle was well noticed by all, and finally, he lost as his eyes closed and his body relaxed. Kim was worried about her father, she was not sure what pills he had taken, and two might have been too much for him. She stared at his chest and watched it slowly go in and out as he breathed. She continued to watch looking for anything irregular.
Mandy noticed Kim's alert eyes on her father and thought for a minute to say that he would be fine because she knew Kim was worried about the amount of pills he had taken, but then she thought why would she? Let Kim be worried there was no reason to give out that information. Sometimes, Mandy had a soft side left in her. It only showed up every now and then, and it reminded her she was still human. She hated those moments because she was human, but not humane. She had no reason for what she did. She had a relatively normal childhood, and adulthood. She hooked up with the wrong people in college and learned a lot of interesting things from them. She learned she was good at the business and never looked back since.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Chase and Richard got back to Jack's apartment and noticed that Michelle's car was gone.
Richard asked Chase, "Do you think they left?"
"I don't know, why? Let's go check the apartment. Something is not right." Chase said leaving the food in the car and getting out. They walked slowly towards Jack's apartment building looking around for anything other than Michelle's car being gone. When they got inside, Chase pulled his Beretta out from its holster under his coat, as did Richard. They slowly walked up the steps to Jack's apartment. When they reached the door, Chase tried the door handle. It opened and Richard went into the apartment gun ready for whatever he found. After a minute of sweeping the apartment, they found no one there, nor a sign of struggle.
"What the fuck?" Richard asked confused.
"I don't know what's up. Let me try Tony's cell phone." Chase said pulling out his cell phone.
Tony answered his phone on the first ring, "Yeah?"
"Tony where are you guys at? We're back at Jack's apartment and no one is here." Chase said confused.
"Jack wanted to move them somewhere else." Tony said not wanting to tell Chase what happened in case Richard or Chase were dirty. He was almost sure Chase wasn't, but someone had told Mandy and the others that Jack was alive, and at his apartment building. Tony checked to make sure no one was watching Jack's place before he took Jack there.
"Where at? We can drive over to meet you guys." Chase persisted.
"Chase, can you keep this one sided?" Tony asked knowing that Chase would continue to press until Tony told the truth.
"Yeah." Chase said wondering why Tony did not want Richard to know what they were talking about.
"Mandy and some other woman showed up at the apartment when Kim and Michelle came over. They had Michelle and Kim at gunpoint. They have Jack, Kim, and Michelle right now. I'm going to get Darla to trade for Michelle and Kim." Tony said pausing for a second.
"What about Jack? How is he?" Chase asked now knowing what Tony was thinking. Chase put his hand over the phone and told Richard, "I have to use the bathroom real fast. I'll be out in a minute." Chase went to Jack's bathroom and closed the door.
"She's going to keep Jack." Tony answered.
"I don't think it was Richard who gave the information out. I've known Richard most of my life and he would not do something like that. Maybe it's coming from CTU. Michelle could have told someone where she and Kim were going, and when Kim stopped crying or looking sad, as she naturally would have after finding out her father was not dead, someone could have picked up on it and relayed it." Chase deduced.
"Are you sure about Richard?" Tony asked trusting Chase's judgment.
"Yes. I would stake my life on it."
"You just might be. Fine, I got an idea. I'm not sure where the meeting is going down. Get in your car and drive towards CTU. I'll call you with the details of the meeting. You will pick up Jim, Darla's friend at CTU and go to the place the meeting is. Hopefully, we can somehow take over and get Jack, Michelle, and Kim out of this." Tony stated not sure if they could actually do it. It was five people three of which were hurt against God knows how many possibly.
"Okay. I'll leave the line open." Chase said hanging up the phone. He walked out of the bathroom and relayed all the information to Richard as they walked back down to the car.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Amber exited from the highway and drove down an old road leading to an abandoned factory. She pulled behind the factory building and put the van in park. Mandy got out of the van as did Amber. Once outside they discussed what they should do during the exchange, they both agreed they needed more people that what they had. Amber recommended calling their new contact and letting her know that the full deal might be reachable now. Mandy agreed with her and walked away to make the phone call.
The woman answered the phone on the second ring with, "Hello, Mandy."
"Hello. We might be able to reach the full deal and then some. I have Jack in my position now, and am in the process of getting Darla. I need some help though. I'm a little short handed and I don't want to bring my employer in on this because most of those guys are idiots and would screw this up. If you are still interested, all I want from you in return is some people to help out. Are you interested?"
"Yes. Where are you at?"
"The meeting place for the exchange tonight. It was the only place I could figure to use on such short notice." Earlier, they had taken off to exchange the virus when the opportunity came up to get Jack and Mandy backed out at her employers wishes to do the deal later. "Earlier, the reason we backed out was because there was a chance of getting Jack. One of my sources communicated with me that he was in fact alive and moving. I am sorry for the unprofessional act, but I was only following my employer's orders." Mandy explained.
"That is fine. My men and I will be there in ten." The woman answered.
Mandy hung her phone up and called Tony's phone again, "Where are you?" She said before he had a chance to even say hello.
"Right outside CTU. I'm going in now to get her. I'll need a little more time. It took longer than planned because of traffic." Tony said worried that his stalling might create problems.
"Fine. You have ten more minutes. Call me when you are back in your car. If you do not show up by the end of the time allotted, you will find your wife and Kim dead." Mandy announced coldly.
"I'll be there." Tony said hanging up the phone as he walked into the CTU clinic where Darla and Jim sat.
When he reached Darla's room he explained what was going on and she agreed to help him out. He was not sure what he would do if she did not agree, probably take her out at gunpoint. She dressed in the clothes she had on earlier ignoring the bullet holes in them. Jim said he would wait five minutes after they left to walk out of CTU. Tony and Darla exited CTU without anyone noticing, or so Tony thought.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Mandy's phone rang a few minutes after she hung up from Tony, "What?" She answered.
"It's me. Tony just left with Darla." The man's voice said quietly.
"Good. Was he alone?"
"As far as I can tell, yes. No one else is here. Michelle, Kim, and Chase are all out in the field. That leaves only Chappelle."
"Good. No one suspects anything?"
"No. No one knows that Jack is still alive, but Chappelle and a few who caught on from Kim's mood when she returned to Tony's office earlier with Michelle."
"Good. Call me if anything changes." Mandy said hanging the phone up.
The woman and her men pulled into the abandoned factory. Mandy counted at least ten cars full of people when the woman got out of the lead car Mandy felt like asking her if she expected a war, but knew the woman was vague on the side of location.
"Hello. Thanks for coming." Mandy said as a greeting.
"Where is he?" The woman asked referring to Jack.
"In the van." Mandy said pointing at the van.
"Let me see him. Tell my men where you want them or they can figure it out on their own if you wish. When is the deal going down?"
"About twenty minutes from now." Mandy answered leading the woman towards the black van Jack and the others sat in. She opened the back of the van and let the woman look in on Jack.
When the doors opened, both Kim and Michelle looked at who it was opening them. They have not heard anything for the past few minutes and were starting to get worried. They were not sure what was going on. When they saw the woman with Mandy, both of their faces registered shock. Kim thought to herself, it couldn't be. She was dead. She saw her after her father had killed her. She was dead there was no way she had come back to life.
The woman said in a cool voice, "Hello Kim."
"But you 're dead." Kim finally said allowed.
"Am I? That's interesting." The woman answered. She then turned her attention to Mandy, "Let's move him somewhere else. Tony is not a stupid man and he will try something. He always wanted to be like Jack, but never was good enough. He will bring others with him. If we move Jack out of here, then he won't try much of anything in the fear of losing Jack. See, unlike Jack, Tony gives a shit about his co-workers' well being and would think twice before endangering their lives like Jack has in the past."
"Okay. Can you have one of your guys drive him out of here then?" Mandy inquired.
"Yes. One of my men and I will drive him out of here. Why is he unconscious?"
"Easier to keep control of him. It's drug-induced. I don't think he can take much more in the way of physical pain, so I had him take two of these. It's enough to keep him out as long as we need him to be."
"Good. Ethan, come here." The woman ordered.
A man about two times the size of Jack walked up, "Yes ma'am."
"Grab him out of the back. Be careful with his left shoulder. I want you to move him to the car."
"Yes ma'am." Ethan said getting into the back of the van and gently grabbing Jack's right arm and putting it around his neck lifting Jack up so that he could pull him out of the van. When he reached the end of the van he laid Jack down and got out. Again he maneuvered Jack so that he could carry Jack to the car. As he was walking away he called back at the woman, "Do you want me to secure him anyway?"
"No, he should stay asleep long enough for us to move him." She answered back.
Kim looked out at the woman wondering how she was there; she called out to her, "What are you doing with my father?"
The woman looked back at Kim who was worried for her father. She did not answer her, just stood there looking at her. Not sure what she wanted with Jack. She just wanted him for no particular reason at all. She was almost relived earlier when they had said he was dead and they could not deliver because she had no real excuse for wanting him. She had said he had information she wanted, but in truth she already knew everything she needed to know, and he was out of the game so long that any information he might have would be outdated. She said good-bye to Mandy and told her to change the meeting place for tonight. The woman walked to the car Jack was now sitting in the back seat of. Ethan opened the driver side back door for her and she got in next to Jack. She looked at him and noted that he looked peaceful at the moment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------
Tony's cell phone rang again. "Yeah?"
"Where are you?" Mandy asked.
"We are just out of CTU. Where are we supposed to meet you?"
"Hagerty Steel's abandoned factory. You know where that is at?"
"Yes. I'll be there in ten minutes." Tony answered.
"See you then. And you better be alone." Mandy warned before hanging up the phone.
Tony hung up and waited three minutes before calling Chase. When Chase answered the phone all Tony said was, "It's at the old Hagerty Steel factory." He hung the phone up in case Mandy called back.
"Is Jack okay?" Darla asked knowing that Jack was supposedly dead earlier.
"He's a little messed up, but he was walking and talking fine." Tony did not want to give the full extent of what was wrong with him. He knew Darla already felt bad about earlier and would feel worse once she saw Jack, until then, he needed her mind clear of the guilt and ready for the situation at hand. "When we get there, look for Jack and the others." Tony ordered, "I'll be busy trying to stall long enough for Chase and the others to get here."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Chase was driving well over the speed limit and still scared that he would not make it to the place in time. Richard looked at the speedometer and said, "Damn, are you going fast enough?"
"No. I'm not sure if we will catch them in time."
"We will. We're only about ten miles from the place now. Slow down before you attract attention." Richard said calmly.
"Fine." Chase answered as he took his foot off the gas pedal and felt the car start to slow down. He found the road to exit on and went up about a hundred yards before turning off into the field. He parked the car and the men got out and jogged towards the sight of the trade. When they reached the edge of the field they could see Tony's car pull into the front of the factory. A van came around from the back and a woman got out of it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
Tony put the car in park. He did not want to turn it off in case he had to make a quick escape. He avoided looking behind him or around to see if Chase was there. He prayed they were, and if not, he would try his best. He got out of the car as the person got out of the van. The woman Mandy called Amber yelled over, "Where is Darla?"
"Where are Michelle and Kim?" Tony yelled back unwilling to budge. In reality, Darla was lying in the back seat of the car hiding out of sight, but anyone with a brain would figure she was there.
The woman walked around to the back of the van and got Michelle and Kim out. "There, Where is Darla?"
"Where's Jack? I would at least like to know he is alive, and would stay that way?" Tony yelled back.
As he did so Mandy walked out of the back of the van and said, "Jack is not here at the moment. He is alive though, just ask these two. Right Michelle?"
Michelle shook her head in agreement and said, "They had him take something that put him out. But he was alive when another person came and took him."
Tony was unsure of how to proceed. He could go in guns blazing to save Kim and Michelle without making the trade, and possibly put Jack in a bad situation or he could give in and do as he had agreed upon originally. Before he could make his mind up, Chase and the others came out with guns blazing.
Tony ordered Mandy, "Walk away from them now or they will shoot you. You are outnumbered, give up and I will help you out. All I want is Michelle, Kim, and Jack. That's all. If you give me them, I'll let you walk out of here alive."
"No deal." Mandy said as a large group of men came out of the factory and from behind it. "You are the one that is outnumbered. You have a choice now, I'm going to be nice this once. You have your men put their guns down and give me Darla, and I'll let you have the two women. Otherwise, you will all die."
Tony contemplated their chances of winning and they were slim. He figured there were at least twenty men out there, and that's not counting the once he could not see. He looked down at his chest and noticed three red dots from laser sights. He took his gun and set it on the ground. He yelled back and Chase and them, "Put your guns down."
The others followed his orders. They knew there was no way to walk out of this situation alive if they tried to fight. They were outnumbered. It was always better to retreat so you could fight another day. Darla got out of the back of the car and yelled at Mandy, "Let the women go and I will walk towards you at the same time."
Mandy pushed Kim forward and said to Kim and Michelle, "Walk."
For a second as Darla passed Kim and Michelle, she had the urge to jump on the two and knock them to the ground to allow the gun battle to ensue, but she knew even if she had, there was no way for them to win it so she continued to walk to Mandy. When she finally reached Mandy, she asked, "Where is Jack at?"
Mandy answered her quietly, "You'll see him in a few. Get into the back of the van with my friend here, and be a good girl so we don't have to kill your friends anyway."
Mandy looked at Tony and yelled, "Nice doing business with you. My men here will wait ten minutes after I leave and then let you can leave. Just don't follow us."