Once more thanks for the reviews. I love reading them.

Jacob's Revenge

Chapter eight

Van drove to the office building across the street from the hotel that the ambassador was in. He got out of his car, grabbed his case, and casually walked into the hotel and ignoring the few people who glanced at him because of his beaten face managed to blend in with the other maintenance men who walked throughout the building. He entered an elevator and got off on the sixth floor. He waited till no one else was in the hallway then knocked on one of the office doors. When no one answered he took out a small tool kit and managed to pick the lock, then entered the room and locked the door behind him. He then walked over to the window and looked out, he had a good view of the front and side of the hotel. This room would be perfect. He put his case on a table, opened it, and began assembling the high powered rifle inside. When he finished he walked back over to the window to wait.

On a road leading to the outskirts of L.A.

Deaq had been shoved in the back seat of a car. One of Jacob's men climbed in beside him while the other drove. Deaq frantically worked on his ropes. He knew if he didn't get free he and his partner were as good as dead. His struggles only seemed to make the rope get tighter. He looked out the window and saw that they were nearing a turn off ramp which would take them into a wooded area, and knew it was now or never. He backed himself against the door and holding onto the handle took a deep breath. He suddenly threw his legs up and kicked the man next to him in the head as hard as he could. He then turned the handle of the door and threw himself out onto the highway. Fortunately the car had slowed as it neared the exit ramp but still he cried out as he hit the ground hard and rolled. Cars in back of him swerved as they tried to avoid hitting him. The car he had been in slowed down, but then seeing all the cars behind him stopping, quickly sped off. Soon people began running over to him.

"You okay?" One man asked as he bent down next to him. But then when he saw his bound hands he backed up.

"It's okay, I'm a cop." Deaq said trying to reassure the man. He knew he was never suppose to break cover but right now all he could think of was finding Van and stopping him.

"You don't look like a cop." The man said suspiciously.

"Look, just untie me, I got to get back to L.A."

The man only hesitated for a second before untying him. Cop or no cop he couldn't let someone lie on the highway with their hands tied. When he was free Deaq slowly stood up. His body ached from the tumble he had taken but as far as he could tell nothing was broken.

"Do you have a cell phone?" Deaq had to call Billie and warn her about the fake bomb threat and about Van.

The man reached in his pocket and pulled out a phone which he handed to Deaq.

"Thanks." Deaq said, but as he went to dial he noticed the battery was dead. "Damn it!" He said handing the phone back. "Can you give me a lift into L.A.?"

"Well…" The man thought was a moment. He had been on his way out of L.A. and the idea of turning around heading back into the heavy traffic didn't make him too happy, but the man looked desperate. "Okay, let's go."

Deaq and the man jumped back in the car and cutting across an opening in the highway headed back to L.A.

L.A.

The man dropped Deaq off near the hotel where the ambassador was staying. He ran toward it hoping to tell the security man on duty that a fake bomb threat was going to be called in. He knew the man would think he was nuts but he had to keep the ambassador in the building. But before he could get inside the building people started storming out of it.

"What's going on?" He grabbed one of the people walking by him.

"Someone said we got a bomb threat." The man said as he continued to hurry away from the building.

"Damn!" Deaq said frantically looking around. His eyes scanned the nearby cars then searched the buildings near the hotel. His face registered the fear he felt when he saw the barrel of a rifle sticking out of one of the buildings. He quickly counted the floors and how far from the side of the building the window was. He knew he couldn't tell a cop or they would shoot to kill and he wasn't about to let his partner die, not if he could help it. He ran toward the building and on his way grabbed a cell phone out of a startled pedestrian's hand. He dialed Billie as he continued into the building.

"Yeah." She answered.

"Billie it's Deaq…"

"Where are you two? I've been trying to reach you."

"Billie it's Jacob, he's back and he had Van…" Deaq quickly explained to Billie what was happening and where Jacob was hiding as he took the elevator to the sixth floor and counted the doors from the side of the building till he was fairly certain he had the right door. He admitted to her that he hadn't told any of the cops on the street what was going on. He needed to get to Van first and didn't want some gun happy cop to shoot him without trying to talk to him first. "I'm right outside his room Billie."

"Deaq…if you have to…" She hated to say it but knew she must. "Take him down…" She winced as she said the words. She knew she was a cop and had to protect innocent lives. But she couldn't believe she had just ordered one of her officers to, if necessary, kill his partner.

"Billie…" Deaq's could feel his stomach twisting at the thought that he might have to kill Van to stop him. He didn't know if he could. He was his partner, his friend. By ending Van's life he might as well end his. There was no way he could live with himself if he was forced to kill Van.

"Deaq, that's an order. Try to stop him but…if you can't …take him down anyway you can, and that includes killing him." Tears welled up in her eyes. She prayed it wouldn't come to that. "I'm on my way in Deaq. I'll try to get hold of the ambassador's men and have them keep him in the building."

"Hurry Billie." Deaq said as he hung up. But as he turned around he saw just what he was hoping he wouldn't, a security guard walking toward him.

"May I help you?" The guard asked, he had never seen Deaq in the building before and was suspicious of him being alone in a hallway.

"I seem to be lost I'm looking for…" Deaq, trying to act calm, approached the guard as he pointed down the hall to draw his attention. When he was next to him he spun around and knocked him down with a blow to his chin. Another blow knocked him unconscious. He hated to do it but he knew he had to get to his partner, and he had to get to him alone. He drug the guard into a nearby closet and removed his gun. He prayed he wouldn't have to use it. He went back to the room he thought Van was in and gently tried to turn the knob. It was locked. He prayed he had the right room as he backed up and kicked the door in. It was a thin door and gave way immediately. He hesitated a few seconds in the hallway expecting to be met by a hail of bullets but there was only silence inside the room. Deaq tossed the phone aside as he kept both hands on the gun as he entered not knowing what he might find. The exploding door didn't even seem to faze his partner who knelt by the window, the rifle resting on the ledge in front of him. He was looking through the site but didn't have his finger on the trigger yet.

"Van…Hey buddy…" Deaq said as he lowered the gun aiming it at the floor. Please God let me talk him out of this.

Van didn't answer but continued looking through the rifle site.

"Hey partner. I need you to put the rifle down."

"I have a job to do Deaq, you better leave." Van said calmly. He didn't act at all like a man who was carrying out an assassination order.

"Can't do that without you partner. You need to put the rifle down so we can talk a little." Deaq edged closer.

"We can talk later, I have to finish this."

"You don't have to finish anything Van. It's been called off. Jacob called off the hit."

"He would have told me. Just get out of here Deaq, I need to finish this."

"I can't let you do it Van. Please, just put down the rifle." Deaq inched closer.

"Stay back Deaq!...Please, I got to finish this! Every one I care about will die if I don't finish this!"

"No one is going to die Van. Jacob filled your mind full of crap. You just have to hand me the rifle."

Deaq could see Van shut his eyes for a few seconds as if trying to listen to what Deaq had said but then he lifted the rifle up a little higher and put his finger on the trigger.

"Please Van don't do it! Please Van for God's sake don't do it!" Deaq was starting to lose it as he raised the gun and pointed it at is partner. He knew he had to protect the ambassador and any one else who might be hit by a stray bullet and if he had to do that by shooting his partner he would. Tears filled Deaq's eyes. "Please Van! Don't make me shoot you! You're my partner Van, you need to listen to me!"

"I've got to kill him Deaq, I don't have a choice."

Deaq could see Van's finger tighten on the trigger.

"Please Van!" He shouted one last time as tears stung his eyes. He aimed the gun at Van's hand and fired trying to knock the rifle out of it but it didn't work. Blood ran down Van's hand but he didn't react at all to the wound, concentrating only on his target. He was just about to shoot when Deaq's bullet tore into his side. Van's mouth fell slightly open and he looked over at his partner in shock as the rifle fell from his grasp and he slowly collapsed to the floor in an ever widening pool of blood.

TBC