CHAPTER 9: UMMMMMMM CHAPTER 9
Jack felt the hand on his shoulder, and reacted. Grabbing the wrist of the hand and twisting it as he shot out of bed, pinning the person against the wall. The adrenaline rush aiding in masking the pain of his wounds. He was breathing heavily as he kept the man pinned against the wall listening for others.
"Jack it's me." The voice said gruffly the hand in the back of his neck pressing his face into the wall not helping.
Jack released his grip the adrenalin wearing away he felt his legs start to give out, as the pain rushed over him.
The colonel grabbed Jack before he hit the ground. "Shit they did a number on you. I'm sorry I didn't know they knew who you were." Thomas said helping Jack to the bed.
"It's ok." Jack said in a hiss the movement hurt the wound on his side. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to make sure you were ok. I got you into all of this, and than I found out you checked yourself out."
Jack was angry with himself he hadn't even heard Thomas's car pull up, nor did he hear the man enter. If it had been the people from earlier he would be dead by now. "I'm fine."
" You don't look very fine." Thomas said half laughing he had seen Jack in worst condition claiming he was fine before, but this time he felt guilty because Jack was like this because of the mess he got Jack involved in. He should have known better than to pull someone else in, but he needed help.
"I am. I'm sorry they got the file. I had to give it to them they were going to hurt the girl." Jack kept his eyes away from Thomas's he felt bad for letting the Colonel down. He was suppose to help the man and instead he got himself hurt, the file taken, and the chance of actually helping was now out the window. He did more damage than he did help.
"Jack don't be I'm the one who should be sorry I never should have dragged you into the mess. You were looking to start over again, and I brought you a pile of shit."
"You want a beer?" Jack said breaking the conversation up, it was a weird moment between them usually everything was just understood between them.
"Sure." Thomas smiled waiting for Jack who moved slowly at first, but than at full pace as if nothing where wrong. Thomas had always been awed by Jack's ability to deal with the physical pain, and yet the man was horrible when it came to the emotional pain, he treated it like he did the physical pushed it away and kept moving on.
Jack was at the fridge when he saw the man with the mask in the back yard, he didn't have time to react as the door came down and men with shotguns were in the room.
Jack raised his hands hoping Thomas who was in the living room had heard the commotion and would be moving out of the house to safety. Jack's hope was cut short when Thomas was brought through the open doorway into the kitchen from the living room.
The butt of the rifle came crashing into Jack's abdomen where he had been shot. Pain shot through his body, his legs buckling as he screamed out in pain falling to the ground fighting off the pain and the order of his brain to go unconscious. The pain was unbearable that nothing got through from the outside to his mind.
"Get him up and get him restrained." A gruff voice ordered looking down at the man on the ground clearly in his own hell.
"Colonel why couldn't you just let things be. Than your friend here wouldn't be in the condition he is, and we wouldn't have to waste our time with you." The man approached Thomas who stood in a proud manner not showing fear or concern for his friend who was being dragged from behind the counter clearly in pain.
The men let Jack drop to the floor, a groan escaped Jack as the pain was becoming more bearable with every gasp for air. His hands were pulled behind him roughly restrained with plastic ties.
"what do you want done with him sir?" One of the men asked taking Jack's arm to pull him up to his feet.
The leader turned from the Colonel to Jack. "You should have listened and left Jack."
Jack spoke not even attempting to hide the pain he was in, there was no need his face and body showed it loud and clear to all, "I kind of like this shit hole."
The man laughed at Jack's response before smashing the butt of his shotgun into Jack's head sending Jack's head spinning. He finished Jack off with another hit to the bullet wound. The men let Jack's unconscious body drop to the floor.
"Move him out of here. Secure his legs and gag him." The leader said turning back to the Colonel. "Going to make this easy lesson." The man nodded his head at two men who entered from the broken back door. They had baseball bats hanging loosely at their sides.
The two men walked up to the Colonel who was being restrained by two men holding his wrist with vice grips. The first swing of the bat connected with his chest, and the rest just kept coming even as his body fell to the floor and his cries of pain breaking the silence of the room.
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"Liz what do you want to do today?" Lisa asked her daughter looking at her worried.
"Mom you don't have to do this I'm fine." Liz said, though she was happy she didn't have to go to school. She wasn't scared of the men, they didn't want her they wanted to get at Jack, she knew that much. She didn't think she was in any danger, but a day out of school was worth anything.
"Come on we haven't had time together in a long time." Lisa said wondering if she should have a discussion with Liz about what had happened. She didn't think her daughter was in danger, but than she never expected anyone to attack the man she knew as Jack.
"How about we go see a movie later?" Liz said she had been wanting to go see a new movie that was out, but because she wasn't the proper age yet she was not allowed to see R movies unless a parent accompanied her. Her father was suppose to take her to see the movie, but he always had something come up.
"Sure." Lisa said happy that Liz wanted to do something other than sit around the house. "You want some breakfast?"
"Ok." Liz said looking out the window. She found herself staring at Jack's house. She still remembered seeing him taking the beating and doing nothing to protect himself. He had done that for her safety, and she was shocked he had been so willing to do so. She didn't hate the man, but she didn't like the idea of him with her mom either, and the other night showed that there was a potential for more than just friends. She was staring at the house when she saw the black smoke. "MOM!"
"What?" Lisa said almost jumping.
"Jack's place is on fire." Liz said getting up and moving towards the phone.
Lisa walked over and she saw the smoke and the flames, "Call the fire department."
Lisa ran out of the house without shoes on she crossed the street and sprinted to the front door of Jack's house. She tired to open it but the door was locked. She knew she couldn't bust it down, she wasn't strong enough. She rushed around the house screaming Jack's name to try to see if he was inside. When she got no answer and she saw the door lying down on the ground, clearly knocked off its hinges she rushed through into the house. The thick black smoke greeting her the second she got through the door. She dropped to her knees and started to wonder through the house feeling the wall to lead her through, she could feel the heat from the fire, it had spread all over the house, a small path was left. She crawled screaming Jack's name over the loud noise of the fire burning the small house down.
She assumed she was in the hallway when felt, the house was so full of smoke that seeing anything much farther than her nose was impossible. She felt the body, and the blood, she moved so she was over it, she felt and heard a soft moan. "Can you help me move you out of here?" She asked coughing as the black smoke was filling her lungs more and more.
She grabbed the arms of the body and started to move as much as she could now crouched. She tugged and struggled with the body as the exit was rapidly depleting. She was almost out when the first fireman showed up in the back of the house.
"Ma'am are you hurt?" The fireman said seeing the smoke and blood that covered her.
"No it's not mine." She said coughing.
"Ma'am please come with me." The fireman took the unconscious body from her and carried it around to the front of the house where ambulance waited for them.
Liz was in the front of the house looking around wildly for her mother, forcing back tears as she was worried. When she saw Lisa she took off running to her mother. "mom are you ok?"
Lisa shook her head she was coughing from the smoke still. She saw the body she had pulled out and felt her heart drop out, "There is someone else in the house sir." She said frantically.
"We are trying to put the fire out, but we can't get in there right now the fire has consumed the house already. I'm sorry we are trying to put it out so we can get more men in there ma'am you were lucky to get out when you did. They must have used an accelerator of some sort." The fireman said looking at the woman feeling sorry for whatever soul that was still stuck in their because they surely would burn to death.
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