I Love NYC

Written by: Nick Kish

2009-04-09

Just so everyone's on the same page, its twelve feet from a standing position at the window to the front door.
Then twenty three feet down the hall to the stairs.
Then four floors down to the first floor.
Then fifteen feet to the front door of the building.
Then half a block to the jeep.
Then six minutes to change clothes.
Then eight blocks up and two over to the restaurant.
Then seventeen feet to the table where a woman named Jill Gales is waiting for her boyfriend David Bryce.  But David is in work mode now, so he is Wolf.

Now, if only this guy would only finish screwing his secretary.  Oh, wait, she isn't his secretary.  Mr. Cove's secretary is an old woman who looks to be in her late 70's.  This secretary workes for a colleague of Mr. Cove.  And her name is Vanessa.

Its 8:54 PM on a very warm Monday night in mid-August and Wolf has been waiting just under an hour for Mr. Cove to finish having sex.  Wolf is across the street and two floors up from Mr. Cove's office.  Wolf guesses there are worse things to be watching for over an hour.  And worse things to be doing right before you're killed from a bullet to the brain.

So why is Wolf waiting on Mr. Cove to finish with his colleague's secretary?  Wolf has been working as a freelance assassin since moving here to New York City two years ago.  He mostly works out of town but on a rare occasion, like tonight, he takes a job in town.  How could he resist for so much money?

Now, this brings up another question.  Why is Wolf killing Mr. Cove in the first place; what did he do?  Aside from that what he's now doing to Vanessa is illegal in twelve states?  Fortunately not this one but still.  And aside from the fact Mr. Cove is married?  Yes, there is a Mrs. Cove out there somewhere and she has forgiven him for such behavior in the past and he promised he would never do it again... blah, blah, blah.  Just shows you can never trust a cheater.  No, those are immoral but certainly not illegal; much less disserve being killed for.  Perhaps Mrs. Cove would disagree.  The reason Wolf knows these things about Mr. Cove and the reason he is being put to death via a 45mm bullet from the rifle Wolf has killed many before with and will remember less than most of them is political.  The company that Mr. Cove works for is an arms manufacturer and he decided that the salary wasn't enough so he started selling information to those O.W.O. terrorists.  Wolf was contacted through his company, HTS, by an 'interested 3rd party' to rectify the situation.  So here he is.

A beep in Wolf's ear meant he was getting a call and he wanders who it could be.  It's certainly not Jim, not in the middle of a job.  It might be Jill asking where he is or saying that she isn't waiting anymore.  That might be important.  He presses one of the four tiny buttons on his headset to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Wolf!  What's up?" a woman's voice said.  This was not Jill.  The voice was a little deeper than Jill's.  It took a second, but then David recognized the voice.

"Hey Elle.  Not much, just waiting... and I'm late."  This meant he was working, he was waiting for his mark to get clear, and he had other plans.  Elle knew this because Wolf knew this.

"Sorry to hear it." Elle said.  "Hope things clear up soon."  That meant that she hoped the mark would be clear soon so he could get out and on with his plans.

Wolf and Elle are in the same line of work: contract killings.  Unlike Wolf who learned his skills in the U.S. Marines, Elle learned her skills from another assassin in her home country of Russia.

Elle was orphaned by a gang hit on her family when she was seventeen and only survived because her father had saw what was happening earlier enough and hid her in the bathroom closet.  She was found a little later by a young assassin, named Ivan Belmont.  Ivan had no idea what had happened and was passing by when he saw the gang members run out.  He stayed clear as they left but, for some unknown reason, felt compelled to check out the carnage so he let himself in.  Ivan heard crying inside and, after looking around, found Michelle in a closet.  The two got out just before the police showed up.

Ivan took young Michelle under his wing as she was bent on revenge.  Eager to learn, she picked up the skills quickly and only a year later, with some help from Ivan, she hunted down and killed every single one of the gangsters who killed her family.  The two got into some major trouble from the gang for what they had done but managed to escape to Europe.  Shortly thereafter, Ivan started a company like Wolf's and hired Michelle giving her the codename Elle.

Wolf met her a few years later in Southern Africa while they were both on assignment.  Having different targets, they didn't interfere with each other but they instantly recognized each other for what they were; they got along well and even helped each other on their respective hits.  They've been friends ever since.  She even wrote him when he was in prison for that bank robbery in Ohio.

"What can I do for you?" asked Wolf.

"I just wanted to know if you had any work later this week.  I've got something I might need a backup on."

"Well, I have something Saturday night.  What's your timeframe?"

"I could do it Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.  But Friday looks the best."

"Unfortunately, I have a date on Friday, is Thursday possible?"

"Yeah, I think so, let me double check the schedule and I'll let you know." Elle said.  "So a date!  Do you have someone new or are you still dating the clueless secretary?"

"Jill is a Legal Secretary." Wolf said sharply.  "There is a big difference and you know it!" he added.  Wolf knew she was joking with him; he was just playing along.  "And no, I haven't told her what I do for a living.  You know how it is for people in our line of work.  Besides, I really havent found the right time.

"Yeah, okay." Elle said in a tone of slight disbelief.  "Well, I'll let you get back to it.  I'll call you tomorrow about Thursday."

"Thanks.  Later."

"Bye."  And she hung up, leaving him to Mr. Cove and Vanessa.

He checks his watch again and he is now thirty-seven minutes late for dinner with his girlfriend, Jill.  He called her around 8:45 PM to tell her he was running late.  He told her he would be there as soon as possible.  She didn't admit it but she sounded disappointed.  'Come on, come on!' Wolf silently persuades Mr. Cove in his mind.

Mr. Cove, on the other hand, is obviously in no hurry what so ever.  He's been at it for about an hour and ten minutes.  David learned that one about six months ago; how to have sex that long.  It isn't that hard and he's surprised more guys aren't doing it.  (At least not that David knew about.)  It's like running a marathon; it takes practice and endurance.  And for completely selfish reasons, he didn't want to explain it to everyone, so it'll make him look better.  He knew how to but if every guy could, how special would he be?

Mr. Cove now has Vanessa, a busty blonde who looks like she could be in adult film, bent over in front of him while she grabs the edge of his desk for support.  For a few seconds, David envies his target as he wishes he could do that position with Jill, but she's just too short for him, unfortunately.

Since he'd been up here for a little just over three hours now, first waiting for Mr. Cove to be alone then finish with his secretary, Wolf had begun watching the people and cars below.  He was surprised to see that every car parked on the street below was different from what he could see.  The same make and model were not duplicated at all.  Of course he helped with his black Jeep Wrangler from the early 1990's.  And every car color imaginable was represented; from black to white and even some customs.

Most of the vehicles on the street below had changed out once or twice since Wolf had been waiting for Mr. Cove except for Wolf's Jeep, of course.  But also, now that he thought about it, there were two other vehicles that hadn't been touched.  There was an Eclipse, which Wolf guessed it wasn't being moved due to the great spot it was in.  In fact Wolf had seen the owner come down a few times to get something out of it and then just to check on it.  But the other was a conventional delivery van which didn't have any windows in the back on the sides.  It had arrived shortly after him and, oddly, there wasn't any activity in or around the van except he saw it shift slightly about an hour ago and he guessed someone was inside.  From his angle, Wolf couldn't read the company of the van, but could see the logo of some type of family crest filled in green and a fox under a checkered flag above the text on the side and on one of the back doors.

Then Wolf catches himself staring at the van and looks back into Mr. Cove's office.

The clock on the office wall reads 9:12 PM and Mr. Cove looks like he has finally decided to finish things up.  After an hour and sixteen minutes, Mr. Cove finishes and they both sit on the floor a few minutes talking or something.  The couple gathers their clothes and begins to dress enough for the trip home.  After getting dressed, Vanessa leaves Mr. Cove's office with a coy little smile and wave, leaving him alone.

Finally.

Wolf readies himself for his shot, slightly adjusting his position and seeing the digital clock on Mr. Cove's desk display the date; August 21, 2034.  And in the few seconds before he squeezes the trigger of his .45 assault rifle with a silencer and scope, some obscure things pop in Wolf's mind as he tries to clear it to concentrate on what is to happen.

David had been in the Sniper division of the Marines, which is where he got his nickname, Wolf, when a wolf attacked him during his final sniper test and he killed it.  He had twenty-one confirmed kills during his service and his longest confirmed shot was 1,025 meters although some of the longer shots were in places that couldn't be confirmed.

After his time in the Marines, he joined up with his friends (Kurt Naurl, Tony Carnine, and John Donner) to execute his plan of a bank robbery.  He would have gotten away with it if he hadn't got a little greedy and cut some of his partner's shares short.  It was his, David’s, plan after all, so why not?  Tony and John anonymously turned him in and he served four years in jail.  After which, he enlisted his friend Kurt and they went after the other two.  In the fight that ensued, David had killed Tony after Kurt killed John.  Then Wolf moved to New York City and has been working freelance ever since.

David knew he was considered a disgrace to the Marines, which taught him so much.  He was proud to have been part of their ranks, even if they aren't proud that he was.  But David had given up on that life long ago.  He knew things about the Marines, which he would rather not go into, which became the seed of his animosity.  Besides, we can't all be bright shinny snowflakes of the world.

Since the Marines, Wolf has killed forty people, including Tony and thirty nine others as part of his job.  Making Mr. Cove number sixty-two.

So many lives; gone.  As fleeting as life itself; going, going, gone.

At these thoughts, Wolf's mind clears and he reviews the factors that come into play.  He is shooting through an open window, but the office window will affect the trajectory of the bullet a little.  Not as much, though, if Mr. Cove was right next to the window.  It's also quite humid but that shouldn't come into account too much at this short of a distance, which is why Wolf is not using his sniper rifle.  So, Wolf waits for Mr. Cove to cross in between his desk and the window, creating a shot straight though the window for Wolf and removing the window factor.  David is also carful that the barrel of his gun is not protruding out the window.  It'd be just his luck if some random passer-by looked up at the wrong time and saw a shot from the window.

Mr. Cove packs a few things in his briefcase and passes by the window, looking down to the street below.  There it is!  Years of training let Wolf switch to autopilot; his sub-conscience taking over, letting his mind clear of thought and emotion.  He almost removes himself from the situation entirely, yet remaining in complete control; enough to focus entirely on his objective and let the rest of the world fade away.  Wolf's finger slowly squeezes the trigger causing a muffled shot, hardly heard by the noisy street below, and creating a hole in the glass, cracked like a spider web.  Mr. Cove's head is knocked back and he drops his briefcase as he falls to the desk and rolls to the floor, face down knocking away one of the chairs for visitors.  And with a rush Wolf comes back from his sub-conscience like awaking from a vivid dream and he is aware of the world again.

Time of death: 9:18 PM.

The coroner will probably guess between 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM.  But that won't be until early in the morning when the cleaning crew comes along and David will be long gone by then.

Wolf stands at the window, still looking through the scope on his rifle, watching the body of Mr. Cove.  Sometimes, even a head shot isn't enough to kill someone.  He had to make sure.

Wolf sits silent and unmoving, waiting for any sign of life from Mr. Cove.  Others in his line of work wait varying lengths of time but Wolf waits between five and seven depending on the situation and his urgency in leaving.  Most of the time, his waits like a mindless concentration on his subject.  But thinking of his total kills earlier, other questions form in his head.

What does he feel about killing those sixty-two people?  Can he feel anything at all?  Do his victims haunt him?

All very valid and pertinent questions.  And questions Wolf had been thinking about for the past month or so when thinking that he was going to have to tell Jill at some point what he does for a living and what that conversation would be like.  What better time to internally review this part of the conversation?

To answer the first two, Wolf does have feelings and he feels emotion like other people.  But he also feels a certain disconnection (the best word he came up with to describe it) with his feelings though.  This disconnection with his emotions and towards others is what allows David, and more so Wolf, to kill that many people and not turn into a raging psychopath.  David slips into Wolf mode when he kills and this allows him to separate Wolf the killer and David the normal person.  Perhaps it was his parents dying early on life or about the time he would normally be developing certain emotions but it never happened.  More accurately, it didn't happen very quickly.  It just seemed there was always something interrupting this part of his development.

Sure, there was his relationship with Kim but that’s a little different.  High school relationships can be a bit simplistic compared to the relationships mature adults.  But then David joined the Marines and served a couple tours.  And Kim even waited for him as she said she would.  But over the years, they grew apart and David left her soon after getting back and it was apparent they didn't have a future due to various differences in views of the world.  Kim and her stupid fucking ultimatum!  Shortly thereafter he pulled off his big bank heist plan with his friends and he ended up in prison for four years.  He then moved to the city shortly after killing two of his partners in the heist and met Jill just over a year later.

David had good friendships, like Kurt, and relationships, primarily with Jill and his grandparents, so he was not without emotion completely.  His grandparents, who had raised him after his parent’s death, only died a few months ago and he definitely felt a huge loss when they passed.  He missed them so much but he is better than the distraught mess he was after the funeral.  He was grateful for Jill being there to help him through that and his feeling towards her grew a lot during that time.

Back to an empty room across from Mr. Cove's office and after the initial couple minutes, Wolf is satisfied he did his job.  He puts the rifle in the open soft case sitting on the table he pulled over to the window.  Wolf then gets out his phone and to send a text message to Jim really quick.  'JOB DONE... DO YOUR THING.' he sent.

As for the other question, Wolf's victims do not haunt him.  He is not haunted in his sleep, awaking in a cold sweat from nightmares; nor does he see their faces on pedestrians as he walks about this city; he is just not haunted in anyway.  The best he could come up with, it was his disconnection and segmentation that saved him that mess.  Wolf did all the killing so David was safe.  And Wolf was too much of a cold-hearted killing beast out for his blood and his own survival to really care what the consequences were.  That might seem like he had some psychological or emotional problems but David was a model citizen in every way and he merely looked at like two sides to the same coin.  Like the way a person acts differently at work in the office then they do at home with the wife and still a little different at the bar, drinking, with some friends after catching a hockey game or some other sporting event.

After the next few minutes waiting and watching Mr. Cove and making sure Jim has enough time, it was time to leave.  Jim was tasked with making sure Wolf isn't seen by the four cameras that would catch him leaving the building and driving away around the time Mr. Cove across the street was shot.  Wolf isn't exactly sure how Jim is going to do it but that's why he was glad he had hired a technical person like Jim to take of it for him.  Otherwise, he would be too concerned with how he was going to get out safely that he couldn't perform his job as well as he needed to.

Wolf zips up the soft case around the rifle and heads out the door quietly.  He takes the stairs down and out into the downstairs hallway.  He looks at the security cameras in the stairs and the entryway and sees them off.  He quickly exits the building on his predetermined route and heads to his Jeep.  Not wanting to be obvious, he resists the urge to check the cameras on the building across the street and on the corner that would have saw him too.

Getting to the Jeep, he opens the back and packs the rifle in a hidden compartment he had installed.  He removes his camo pants revealing some nice slacks that were underneath.  His curiosity getting the better of him, he glances toward the white van while changing but couldn't see anyone inside or couldn't make out the writing on the side.  Wolf then changes his t-shirt and puts on a button-down dress shirt and puts on a tie, which had already been tied, and jumps in the driver seat.  And with the change of clothes and packing his rifle away, Wolf starts to disappear into the background and David comes back.

Now all he had to do was get through lower Manhattan traffic.  He had certainly come a long way driving in the traffic since he moved here a few years ago but it was still a far cry from the laid back traffic he was used to in his hometown in Minnesota.

David jumps into traffic and immediately starts swerving in and out of cars and making his way along the one-way, three lane street.  He progresses as quickly as possible and even runs a few red lights just as they turn from yellow.  He finally makes it to the street of the restaurant and makes a hard right turn.  Still pushing as fast as he can, he begins looking for a parking spot.  Luckily, David finds a spot across the street from the restaurant and pulls in.

Before getting out of the Jeep, David checks himself in the visor mirror and straitens his short hair a bit.  Just before he gets out of the Jeep, he sees a white van with the logo of a fox under a flag zoom by.  He missed the name of the business again so he decides to check into it. Not that seeing the same van (or was there just more than one?) was that big of a deal in New York City, he was just curious at this point.  He gets out quickly avoiding oncoming cars and calls Jim to check up on it for him while he's with Jill.

He starts heading across the street as Jim answers. "Hello, David.  Aren't you supposed to be on a date with your woman?" he asks.  David could tell Jim was on speaker; probably using his computer to take the call.

"Hey Jim.  I'm running a little late cause some one decided to have a late night conference with their secretary and I had to wait on them!" David says, slightly annoyed by the situation.  "Don't you worry, I'm heading in now.  But I need you to check something for me."  David finally makes it across the street and heads to the restaurant, a few doors down.

"What do you need?"

"I've seen a white delivery van with a logo like a family crest filled in green and with a fox under a flag a couple times tonight.  But both times I missed the company.  Find out what you can about it and text me."

Jim sighs.  "Do I have to?  I've got a friend over and we were going to get drunk and play some computer games."

"Now, what do I pay you for?!" asks David.  David pauses, waiting for Jim to answer but doesn't after a few seconds.  "Need I remind you of...?"

"Ok, ok!" Jim interrupts.  "I'll let you know, alright?!  No need to bring that up!"  Jim says quickly.

"Besides, computer games are bad for you anyway!" David says, half joking.

"Computer games are good for hand-eye coordination, reaction time, problem solving...!" Jim starts.

"Yeah, okay, I got it!" David interrupts what he figured would have been a well thought-out, well rehearsed speech on the merits of computer games.  "Thanks for checking on that for me." David replies.  "Talk to you later."

Standing in front of Antonio's Italian Restaurant, David peers in the window, looking for Jill.  He finally finds her sitting at a table for two along the side wall.  There is a bottle of wine in a bucket next to the table and it looked she had already started drinking the wine.

Antonio's is like many restaurants in the city: small and narrow.  It had seating for about twenty, maybe twenty-five, and a small, but well stocked, kitchen in the back.  David had been coming here every two to three weeks, if not more often, since he moved to the city two years ago and had become good friends with the owners.  They had access to the majority of the basement they used for storage.  The walls of the restaurant were decorated with old pictures of Italy and various other trinkets.  Although you couldn't even see the walls behind all the decorations, David never considered the decorations gaudy or tactless or even crowded.  It all just seemed to fit together.

Still looking in the window, David realizes Jill is sitting at their table where they had their first date and a fair number following, and he feels a sharp pang of emotion toward her as he pauses for a second to watch her and admire what a wonderful thing he had with her.

David didn't really know what love was; not deep down inside his heart.  Does anyone really?  But what he was feeling now was certainly strong.  Perhaps it was love but he didn't know for sure.  David considered love a very strong feeling and it was a word he didn't throw around to just any girl after a few dates.  No, it was the epitome of emotions and he just quite hadn't gotten a grip on it yet.  He knew how to show he deeply cared, even if he didn't always feel it.  Now was not one of those times.

As late as he is, David knew he had to do something exciting to make light of the situation, so he looks up and down the street and finds an alley that he knew went to the back entrance.  That was it.  And he makes his way down the alley to the back entrance of the restaurant, letting himself into the kitchen, saying 'hi' a couple of the chefs, and into the dining room where Jill looks like she's getting impatient.  David smirks in excitement as he grabs an order pad from the back counter.

"May I take your order?" he asks Jill, trying to deepen his voice a little and standing slightly behind her.

"I told you, I'm waiting for someone, who has apparently forgotten our dinner!" Jill exclaims without even looking at him.

"Then, may I interest you in a kiss to make it up to you?" David asks.

This was certainly not the reply Jill was expecting and she looks around at him to see him smiling.  Her face instantly lights up as he bends over and kisses her.

"Sorry, I'm late."

"You could have called."

"I did." David says as he sits down across the small table from her.

"Yeah, like 40 minutes ago.  I thought you were just going to be another 10 minutes or something."

"I know; your right.  I got so focused on just getting here, since I was late, it just didn't occur to me." he says as he pours himself a glass of wine.

"How was your day?" David asks.

"Well, it started out pretty good, but then something really weird happened."

"What happened?"

But Jill didn't get a chance to answer just yet as the waiter had just arrived.  David recognized him from his own frequent visits and knew his name was Nicholas.  "Are we ready?" Nicholas said with a smile.  David knew what he was ordering and he looked at Jill, giving her a nod that he was ready.

"I'll have the cheese ravioli please." Jill said.

"And the dressing for your salad?"

"Italian would be nice, thanks."

"Excellent choice, ma’am, the Ravioli is wonderful tonight; and for you, sir?"

"I'll have the Spaghetti Dell'Uomo... with Italian dressing on the salad please... and could I get a water as well please?"

Literally translated, Spaghetti Dell'Uomo means spaghetti of the man but basically means a man's spaghetti as it comes with a few meatballs and a piece of sausage.  "Thanks Nicholas."

"Very good sir." said Nicholas and he turned back to the kitchen.

"So, what was that weird thing that happened?" David asks Jill.

"Oh yeah, it was kind of disturbing too."

"What is it?" David asks now more intrigued than ever.

"Well, I decided to go to the Sunshine Deli for lunch so I was walking through Central Park.  There was the normal chirping of birds around in the park but then I heard some weird chirping.  It was like a couple were singing the wrong tone and it was just off.  So I slowed down to look around and I saw why these two birds' chirping was off.  They were fighting and it was pretty fierce.  I couldn't believe it.  And these weren't like hawks or eagles or some bird of prey; they're just normal birds.  I didn't think they could do anything like that but they were fighting to the death.  One of them forced the other down to the ground and had its leg in its beak and the one that was down was screaming in pain.  But it was still a type of chirping sound so it was really disturbing.  Well, I was a bit disgusted by the whole thing so I continued on to get lunch.  When I was walking through back on the way to the office, I was anxious of what I'd see but there wasn't any sign any of what had happened.  If I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I never would have believed it."

"Wow, that is crazy!" exclaims David, who had been listening intently.  "I've seen a large number of animals fighting each other but I've never seen birds like that fight each other.  It was probably territorial.  That's still amazing to imagine though."

"Yeah, I'm still a little freaked out about it." Jill said.

David took her hand across the table and looked her directly in the eyes.  "Don't worry about it.  It's over now.  You'll get over it.  You'll be okay."  He was trying to reassure her so she wouldn't be freaked out anymore but didn't know if he saying the right thing or not.

"Yeah, you're right." she said.

David hoped she was better.  To be sure, he held on to her hand and they just sat silently eyeing each other like there wasn't a care in the world.  Fortunately, David didn't have to go much into his day after Jill's story as dinner arrived a few minutes later.

Dinner was as good as it ever was.  Antonio, the head chef, had certainly made something special for them and David could taste it.  Even after eating, they just sat and talked and drank for a little longer.  David was glad the restaurant never got so crowded that they had to leave because the place just felt so much like home and Antonio and his family felt a lot like family.  David didn't realize how much time had passed until he caught a glimpse of Jill's watch and saw it was going on 11:00.  He looked around and saw the staff cleaning up and they were a few of the last bit customers.

"Wow, it's getting late." he said pointing to her watch.  "What else do you want to do?"

"I don't know..." said Jill in a way that David guessed she had a few ideas but hadn't settled on anything just yet.  "I'll let you know when I get back from the restroom." she continued as she got up and left for the back.  David could see her wobble slightly as she walked and held on to a few chairs or tables and could tell she's a little drunk.

"Ok, I'll take care of the check." David calls back after her.  He gets up and realizes that he has had a bit more wine than he thought.  Maybe they shouldn't have finished off the bottle.  He picks up a glass of water from the table and downs the entire thing quickly.  David wasn't too drunk but he certainly had a nice buzz.

As he walks to the front, he checks his phone to see he missed the text message from Jim.  It read 'Nirvana Italian Eatery and Catering' and had a link to a web site.  He clicked to go to the link and paid the check as the page loaded.  The web site for Nirvana looked pretty standard for a site belonging to a restaurant.  David texts back to Jim, 'Thanks, let me know if anything else comes up.'

He sits on a chair in the waiting area and thinks of Jill.  Of where they met followed by a rush of memories of everything that followed.

David and Jill had met in Central Park while running.  He had been checking her out and, after stepping on a branch funny, he stumbled into her.  She caught him and David had persuaded her to let him buy her dinner after some talking.  Over the course of the date, David learned she was everything he liked in a woman; she was smart, funny, beautiful, outgoing and a lot more.  She enjoyed dancing, exercising, reading, and was a nurse at a local hospital.

They have been dating for eight months and the time just seemed to have flown by.  They've explored the city (Jill moved to New York City only a few months after David) going to museums, festivals, concerts, comedians, and television show recordings.  They've even gone on a few trips out of town.  Nothing big, just a few weekend trips, but David enjoyed them the most as you basically lived with this person for a few days and go to see them in a new light.  You're with this person for forty-eight hours straight and you see them in all kinds of situations, like after a long day of hiking and first thing in the morning.

But through all they've done and all they shared with each other, Jill still didn't know what David did for a living.  His only secret, he told he worked for a computer company which sometimes required his time beyond normal business hours, explaining his odd work hours.  This fact always hung over his head and usually caused him guilt.  Not really what he did for a living but that he felt he had to lie about it with her.  Jill meant a lot to him and he couldn't imagine life without her but for all her caring and understanding of about every other part of his life, he just didn't think she'd understand that one thing.

"You ready?" asks Jill, taking David a little off guard, since he had drifted off.

"Yeah," answered David, coming back.  "Where to?"

"I think I'd like to go check out that new dance club, Cuore Blu.  I think the name is Italian for something but I don't know what."

"Dancing it is then." said David as he takes her hand and leads her out the door.  The fresh air hits him and he instantly feels a little more alive.

"Where is your jeep?" asks Jill.  "Oh, there it is." she answers herself as she catches it across the street.

She heads for the edge of the sidewalk, but David had stopped walking.  He had another thought and pulled her back close to him.  David gives her a smirk and she asks, "What?"  David pulled her in closer and kisses her deeply.  She soon starts kissing back, running her fingers through his hair, and for a second, the noise and lights of the great city of New York simply vanished.

A few minutes later, they were in the Jeep trying to pull out of the parking spot amidst the traffic.  After pulling out, David notices a white Nirvana delivery van with the crest of a fox under a flag, which had parked a few spots in front of him.  David wondered how many of those vans were in the city.

Then Jill, who had begun looking up info on Cuore Blu using the Internet on David's cell phone, begins telling David where the club is located and how to get there.

"Also, Cuore Blu is Italian for Blue Heart.  Sounds interesting." said Jill, still reading about the club on David's cell phone.  And after a quick twenty minute drive they arrive and David looks for a parking spot.  He finds one a little over a block away and they walk back to the club.

Cuore Blu was a larger than average club and was decorated in deep blue and black.  Entering from street level, David and Jill walk through a lobby area where they pay the cover fee.  Through another set of double doors, they find themselves on a landing above the dance floor.  The landing circles the parameter of the room with tables of people, mostly in dark.  They walk down the stairs in front of them, trying to take it all in.  The bar, which runs all the way along one side, has a tempered glass look and is lit from underneath so it looks like a light blue ice.  It was even cut unevenly along the side to add to the effect.  Then, like many other clubs, there are tables near the bar and around the edge of the room surrounding the large dance floor.  At the far end of the room is a DJ on a raised platform.  Behind the DJ is a smaller stair case which leads back up to the landing in the back of the club.  At the top of the stairs on the landing in the back is a door which people are using to smoke or talk on cell phones.

David and Jill head to the bar and grab a few drinks.  David likes to have a few drinks to loosen up before attempting to dance.  Not that David is too bad.  He has progressed very well over the past eight months since he started dating Jill.

They continue to dance for the next few hours, taking breaks here and there, until a buzz on David's right leg told him he had a text message.  Still trying to maintain his dance with Jill, he pulls out his phone and checks it.  The message was from Jim and it read 'CALL ME ASAP!'

A buzz on David's right leg told him he had another text message.  Still trying to maintain his dance with Jill, he pulls out his phone and checks it.  The message was from Jim and it read 'CALL ME ASAP!'

David stopped dancing and it was a few moments before Jill noticed.  The message sounded serious but it wasn't life threatening so he had a little time.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I have to make a call really quick." David replies flatly still thinking of what the message could mean.  But he soon remembers who he was talking to and continues, "Could you get me some water, please?"  He leans in and kisses her, keeping eye contact until she answered.

"Sure."  Jill seemed a little reluctant, but continues anyway.

At that, David heads for the back door while Jill heads to the bar.  As he walks, David looks around, keeping an eye on Jill and trying to get a better glance at everyone inside.  He makes it to the door and goes outside so he can actually hear his conversation over the loud music of the DJ.

"Hey, what is it?" David asks, much more serious now despite the alcohol in his system.

"Does the name Carnine mean anything to you?"

David just stands there in silence as a number of thoughts come to his mind suddenly.  David remembers that Tony Carnine, his partner in the bank robbery, had been from NYC and him saying he had mob connections.  They used those connections to get the vehicles and equipment for the robbery.  Tony and John turning in David for the robbery and David serving four years in prison for it.  After getting out, he and Kurt killing Tony and John for turning him in.

David's mind raced with questions along with the flashes of his memories of Tony.  But most prominent was why now?  Why was the mob going after him for someone he killed two years ago?  Why was it so important now?

"Yeah, you know I worked with a Tony Carnine a while back.  Why?"

"Well, do you also know of the Carnine family here in New York?"

"Yeah, they're one of the biggest mob families in the city and the northern coast of the Atlantic.  I figured Tony was part of the family but after his death, nothing really happened, so I didn't think he was that important." David said.

"Well, something may be happening now.  The white van with the crest belongs to a company called Nirvana Catering.  And I just found out that the Carnines own Nirvana and they only have one van; so it might be following you.  Also, Tony was a member of the family, although I'm not sure what relation he has to Michael Carnine.  The Father."  Jim paused to let the name sink in.  David knew The Father was Michael Carnine's nickname as boss of the Carnine family.  "We've seen this type of stuff before and I think they may be following you.  You may want to leave quickly and get somewhere safe."

"I agree." replied David.  "Try to find out what relation Tony had with the Father.  I'm going to take Jill back to my place.  She might be involved as well and she'll be safer there."

"Got it.  I'll be in contact."

David heads back into the club and stands at the door on the landing to look at everyone or for anything suspicious.  Then he spots two large, muscular, guys watching him from the opposite side.  He thinks he had seen them earlier.  But being spotted, they quickly turn away.  David isn't immediately threatened; it could have been a coincidence.  Although, based on Jim's warning, he is getting Jill out of here anyway.  He spots her waiting at the end of the bar and heads down.

"How you doing?" David asks grabbing the water and having a drink.  He puts an arm around Jill and pulls her in close.  He is half-way between work mode and dating mode.  He wanted to rough up those guys upstairs to see why they were watching him and get to the bottom of this Carnine thing.  He also wanted to protect Jill and get her to a safe place.

"I'm kind of tired, David.  Let's go home." Jill said.

"You sure?" David asks, getting his phone out of his pocket to check the time.  It was just after 1:00 AM.  He was certainly hoping she would want to leave, and figured she did, but didn't want to lead on that he was in any hurry.

A few minutes later they are outside.  David glances up and down the street looking for the van but doesn't risk much more so as to not wanting to worry Jill.  He leads her down the street to a crosswalk heading towards his Jeep.  David continues to slyly look around for the van but doesn't see it.

David knows he won't be able to relax, even a little, until Jill is safely back at his place where he has set up a number defensive measures; all of which he installed under the guise of helping his landlord with a few projects.  He thinks of the motion sensor in the hall, the many cameras surveying the perimeter of the building, the strategically placed guns and other weapons in the apartment, the makeshift panic room he made in a niche in between the apartments, among other things.

Just a half a block from his Jeep, David is glad to see it but immediately notices that something is wrong.  Getting closer, he sees that he has a flat tire.

"Damn it!" David expclaims at the site of the tire.

Then Jill saw it.  "Don't worry about it, don't you have a spare?" she asks.

"Yeah, but it's already been a long day and I just wanted to get home." David tells her.  But David is really thinking about the mob goons coming after him and how they were quite exposed on the street.

Then, upon closer inspection, he realizes both of the rear tires had been slashed.  It must have been a pretty good knife because he had reinforced tires.

"Now look at this!" David yells, his temper flaring, pointing out the two flat tires to Jill.

"Well, getting angry isn't going to fix anything!" Jill says, her voice rising a bit as well.

With everything on his mind and everything he isn't telling Jill, David's temper gets the better of him and he hits the back of the Jeep.  "Two tires slashed!  I love this city!" David yells sarcastically.

Jill simply takes a few steps towards him and lightly placing a hand on his shoulder.  David immediately catches himself and he looks at her and notices the slight look of fear on her face.  David doesn't lose his temper very often and he just lost it.

"Don't worry about it.  It's done now and we can't change that, can we?" she says soothingly, and David begins to feel better.  "Just call a tow truck and we'll be okay."

David is surprised how her voice calms him and he regains his thoughts.  He takes a breath, considering the situation.

"You know, that will take at least an hour, especially at this time at night." David says, checking his phone for the time again.  "Let's just take the subway and I'll deal with the Jeep tomorrow." He smiles, looking directly into her eyes, trying to show some confidence after his little outburst.  The fact of the matter is that, through his job and contacts, he could have the tires replaced in fifteen minutes.  But that would draw closer the two worlds of David's life he insisted on separating.  But David couldn't help thinking maybe The Father had other plans for him tonight.

"Okay." said Jill, apparently reassured.

David takes her hand and they walk past the Jeep, down the street to the entrance to the subway.  While walking though, David can't help but feel a certain fox is to blame.  The entrance to the subway is only three blocks down.  'If they could just get back to his place...' David keeps thinking.

"What's wrong?" asks Jill.  "You exploded a bit back there."

They were halfway through the first block; David really didn't need this now with their lives at risk but he had to play like everything was ok... for now at least.  "I just have a lot on my mind." David answered, trying to avoid the real issue and continue walking.

"It seems you're holding out on me... like always." Jill presses.

David delays his reply as they cross the street to think of what to say.  "I just had a stressful day at work and didn't think you'd want to hear about it." David says as they continue walking.

"But I do want to hear about it." Jill proclaimed.  And she stopped walking.  Exactly what David did not want but he turned to face her.  "Look, what's your hurry?  I'm here right now."  She was looking right into his eyes and David felt like she was looking right through him.  "Tell me about your day; about what's gotten to you."  Jill took his other hand and they stepped in close to each other.

David had half a mind to tell her everything right there.  That a gangster had decided tonight was a good night to take revenge for a member of his family he killed two years ago and he's been working as a free lance assassin since then.  The half raised the question of how much time they had in an effort to keep his mouth shut.  Shut about everything that threw his life into chaos by allowing his two worlds to come together.  That comfort in his compartmentalization of the situation.

David chooses to keep Jill calm by withholding select information and by slightly skewing the subject.  He's surprised at how well this coming to him.

"I was just trying to keep on top of things today so I wouldn't be late.  I was looking forward to tonight so much; its our eight month anniversary and I wanted it to be special."

"What's so special about eight months?" Jill asked.

"Well, you know eight is one of my lucky numbers.  And it's August, the eighth month.  Sometimes, big things happen to me around the eights."

Jill continues looking directly into his eyes and says with much sincerity "That's sweet.  Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I thought you knew about my number..." David says and Jill nods that she did.  "...and I didn't want to ruin it by talking about it.  I've had this feeling that tonight would be special and I was trying hard to make sure it was.  I guess I put too much pressure on myself sometimes."  David pauses, thinking of the day.  "So, I'm trying to make sure tonight is special but at the end of the day at work, this guy from another team comes in and starts talking about some project and I just couldn't get out of there.  I was really stressing about being late and I tried to drop a few hints about being late.  He obviously didn't catch them and pressed on..." David pretty much let out his frustrations about Mr. Cove and his secretary.

"You haven't done anything wrong tonight." Jill reassures him.  "I've had a wonderful time"

"Yeah, I have too and I thought it was behind me when we had dinner and went dancing but it all just came rushing back when I saw the two flat tires... it just felt like some higher power were conspiring against me." David smirks and lets out a chuckle at the thought; how silly it sounded when he said it out loud.  Jill smiles a little as well.

"See that wasn't hard, was it?" Jill asks, still smiling.  "I just wish you'd be more open with this stuff more often."

"I'm trying to but it's hard sometimes.  I don't always know how I feel."

"I know you had some troubles before; with your parents and the military.  But you're a great person and I'm happy to be with you."  David's emotions are peaking and he almost loses it again; in a good way this time, though.  Then Jill's tone changes slightly.  "I just feel that you holding things in really hurts us.  Like we can't move ahead without tearing down some of those walls you've built up for yourself."

"I know.  I feel like that sometimes too.  I'm so happy that you’re in my life; it's just that there are times I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I'll let you in on a little secret; most people don't.  So, don't worry about it." Jill says which makes David certainly feel a little better.  "It's okay to say you don't know and we can work it out together."

"Thanks." is about all David can must and he hugs her firmly.  He was feeling so appreciative she was in his life now, everything melted away for a few seconds and they just stood there.

Then the danger rushed back and he knew he had to get her back to his place.  He had to protect what he had.  After all, they only had about a block to go.  Feeling much more confident, David says "I feel a lot better.  How about we stop blocking the sidewalk and move on?"  So, they set back out and, with only a block to go, David was sure they'd made it.

As they began to cross the street to the subway entrance, a white van with the Nirvana logo on the side pulled right in front of them, cutting them off.  David remained silent as he held Jill back.  The next few seconds seemed to draw out into a decade as David waited for the shit to hit the fan.

The large side and rear doors of the van opened at once as six men jumped out.  They were dressed in black suits, with white shirts and slick hair.  David backed up away from them, pushing Jill behind him as he did.  The driver remained in the van with the engine running as the other six advanced on David and Jill.

"Hey guys, what can I help you with?" David asked, trying to make light of the situation.  This was obviously no ordinary mugging and he could tell Jill was thinking the same thing because he could feel her trembling behind him.

The one man out front just smirked at him.  "I think you know what we want." he said.  David figured he was the leader and quickly looked at the other five and remembered two as the big muscular guys from the club.  He could also see two others were eyeing Jill.  But the two big guys would need to be taken care of first.

David had fewer and fewer options as the seconds passed; still trying to think of what to do.  Then, as he was about to shove Jill away and tell her to run, his mind was made up for him.  The one, who had just spoken, punched David in the chest.  He doubled over as the others gathered around.  From the punches and kicks coming in from all sides, David guessed there were probably four on him.  And from the sound of Jill's screams, the other two on her hadn't harmed her, just grabbed her.

David fought as hard as he could; throwing punches where he could and even landing a few.  He could barely see anything beyond the four men beating him to a pulp.  He hears Jill yell for help and calling his name.  He pushed through two men just in time to see them dragging her into the van.  He tried to run for her, but was quickly pulled back and he fell to the hard sidewalk.

David heard the van doors closing and the men calling for a retreat.  Since Jill was out of sight, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a hand pistol with a silencer.  Pop!  Pop!  Then the two big guys thumped to the ground, dead and bleeding from the chest.  In the space they left, David sits up and sees the van pulling away and he quickly loses it in the rest of the New York City traffic.

Jill had been kidnapped.

It was David's fault.

David just sits there on the sidewalk, staring after the van driving away with Jill inside, as if longing after it would bring it back.  The two worlds David had tried so hard to keep separate for the past eight months had just collided.

In those few seconds, David's mind races with thousands of thoughts of Jill.  As the van turns around a corner, and is now completely out of sight, a deep pain rushes his emotions and he realizes something for the first time.  David would do anything to get her back to safety.  Anything. No matter the cost, or the pain he incurred, or how many people had to die.  He would get her back.  Tonight.  Then, in the extremes David suddenly realized he was willing to go, he realized something else.  That he really loved Jill.  That he would sacrifice all the comfort he had in his life to be truly open and honest with her and allow their relationship to grow.  And in those few seconds, David wasn't afraid of his colliding worlds any longer.  He accepted that they would have at some point and knew that this was that time.  Lastly, David knew he would have to unleash a power in him he had not felt in a long time.  And he knew Michael Carnine, sitting in his tower and surrounded by guards, was going to regret deciding to come after him tonight.  Tonight, The Father would truly feel his retribution.

David is jolted back to the two mob goons still around as one of them punches him in the face.  David makes to raise his gun to the one who punched him but the other one, who might be the leader, kicks the gun from his hands.  David punches the goon back and jumps to his feet to punch the leader.  The leader punches David before he can get a hit off but David retaliates in turn.  After exchanging a few punches, the other goon hits David on the side of the head with a board of some kind.  David realizes he should have kept up with that one as he falls to the ground.

David hits the ground hard and the two start to kick him.  David curls up, trying to protect himself.  His entire body is screaming with pain.  He tries to clear his mind to help him focus and regain his strength.  But as he begins to clear his mind, the thought of Jill, trapped in the van, pops in his head and his adrenaline surges.

David throws his legs out and trips one of the two beating him up.  The leader stops in surprise and David takes advantage of the momentary pause to get to his feet.  He gets to his feet and with his new found resolve, holds up his fists, staring directly in the leader's eyes.

The leader looks down at the other goon who hasn't gotten up yet and back at David.  Then, he turns on his heels and runs in a full sprint.  Not expecting to be running, David was caught off guard but starts to chase him.  The other goon, left rolling around in pain on the sidewalk.

The leader heads straight down the sidewalk and lucks out by getting the WALK at the crosswalk and David continues to chase him.  With Jill at the forefront of his mind, he has no intention of giving up this chase.  They run right by David's Jeep, the tires as flat as ever, and across another street.  Just when David was beginning to think this wasn't really going anywhere, the leader turns down an alley.  Now the real chase has begun.

David cuts into the alley to see the leader, still thirty feet ahead, cut around a corner of the alley.  When David gets there, the leader is exiting the alley and directly crossing the street.  They both struggle through traffic to the sidewalk, where the leader runs to the end of the block and around the building.

David can catch up a little on the straight sections, but when the leader starts cutting corners, he loses ground.

The leader runs into another alley and David loses sight of him.  Just as David makes the corner, he sees the leader duck into the back of some business.  When David gets there, he finds that it is an old Irish pub.  David makes his way quickly through the crowd, some of whom give him angry looks or glares as he punches his way through, to get to the front.  Out front, he catches the leader heading across the street.  David jumps into traffic again as the leader enters a restaurant.  The smell of the Mexican food hits David as he makes it in and runs to the back.  Out the back door, with angry chefs swearing at him in Spanish, and into another alley.

David pauses to listen for the leader.  The city roars all around him; people talking, car horns honking, a slight wind in the air.  Then he heard it; car tires screeching like someone trying to cross the street where he shouldn't.  Like someone being chased.  David sprints to that end of the alley and emerges to the street in time to see the leader on the other side of the street sticking to the sidewalk.  David pushes back into a sprint, yelling at the crowd in front of him to clear his path.  He will try to catch up to the leader before crossing the street.  David sees up ahead the crosswalk is about to switch in his favor to allow him to close the gap and he pushes harder.  Jill was counting on him, he knew it.

As David crossed the street at the crosswalk, the leader rounded the corner in front of him.  David had closed the gap!  Then to his surprise, the leader got out his cell phone and began to make a call.  David wondered briefly why he was making a call.  He couldn't hear the conversation over the sounds of the city and his own panting.  Well, it certainly isn't for a pizza; it had to be for help, David reasoned.  He had to catch up to him before the help arrived.

The leader turns to cross the street at the next crosswalk, David right on his tail, and puts his phone away.  David sees him looking around at street signs now.  He had called for help and had arranged a rendezvous point.  David pushed harder as the leader cuts down another alley and through another bar.  The continue running through the city; back on the street, over a taxi cab screeching to a halt, into another bar to another alley.

The leader cuts to the right on the sidewalk and David follows but his something big and he falls to the ground, back into the alley.  Looking up, he sees a large muscular man, wearing a suit, had jumped in front of him.

The leader comes up behind the muscular guy, panting.  "That was pretty fun.  But I grew tired of you so I had to call in someone to act as the finish to our little romp!" says the leader, taking a breath every few words.  Another big guy steps next to the first.

David gets up but the two big guys block him from the leader.

"I'm getting her back!" David yells through gritted teeth, staring right at the leader.  "Tonight!  I'm coming for you! I'm going to take my girlfriend back!  And I'm going to kill all of you!"

"Maybe... I doubt it though." the leader sighs.  "We'll see what happens later.  For now, though, you're finished!"

A thud on the side of his head and David was out.  Almost as through a dream, he saw the two big guys walk with the leader back to the white van... the white Nirvana delivery truck... she was so close and he lost her again!... the van pulls out into traffic and disappears from sight... then blackness.

David walks through a doorway and out into the city street.  He shifts a little to the left, accidentally.
Perhaps he is drunk.  Everything is a blur and he's having trouble walking straight.
Continuing down the street, he finally comes upon an alley and casually veers in to take a piss.
David feels better as he heads back to the sidewalk and continues walking but there is something else bothering him.
Jill.  Damn, how that happens.  How could he have let this happen?!
He shifts again; to the right this time.  David is pretty sure he is drunk.  Quite drunk.
Blurry figures of people avoid him.  What does he care?  The only thing that mattered was finding Jill.
His feet felt numb and he felt distant, yet quite aware of everything.  Aware in a different way then before.
His head rolls on his neck and it fees nice.  Not quite like adrenaline, morphine, or alcohol but like playing in the woods as a kid or running into the street to meet the ice cream truck.
David is definitely sure he is now drunk.  When did that happen?
And, now all of a sudden, horny.  If only there were hookers in New York City.  Or was he still in Columbus?  Las Vegas had them, but not in the city limits.
Jill was quite a looker.
Jill!  That had to be the focus now!  Getting Jill back.
Everything was so blurry; he couldn't tell where he was.  He could tell he was walking on the sidewalk of a city.  There were lights and cars and people all around.  But he couldn't think of where he was.
And where had he been?  Before the blur.
Perhaps a look around to get his bearings.
The building across the park to his right looked like the capital building in Columbus Ohio.  But then that was the Empire State Building to his left.  Just to make sure, David looked behind him and saw the Luxor Hotel and Casino.
Fucking bearings; what good were they?!
Now he was lost and drunk.
Perhaps Jim would know where he was.  Jim could help.  But which way to go?
He didn't know how to find Jim.  He needed help.  Guidance.
Then, as if answering his wish, an animal came out of nowhere.  But unlike everything else, it was as clear as day.  The animal ran closer and closer until stopping directly in front of him.
David thought, obviously, it's a wolf.  Perhaps he could help.
As if answering this question, the wolf gave him a slight nod and turned to face the direction David was already facing.  It took a few steps and then looked back at him as if to invite him along.
Forward seemed like a good idea.  So David set out with the wolf.
Before David got too far, he heard a small feint ringing sound and he found himself in the dark.
The wolf was gone with everything else.
It was as if the ringing sound scared everything away...

As David climbed the stairs to the fourth floor he thinks of what was to come and he began to think about a plan of action.  But he needed information first.  He needed to know who was doing this to him.  Sure, he's guessing The Father, but he needed to know for sure.  And if it was The Father, he needed to know more about him and where he could be found.  He also want to know why this happening.  In the fourth floor hallway, David pulls out his keys and shuffles them around until he finds the key he needs.  He gets to apartment 431, unlocks the door, and enters the two bedroom apartment.

Down the short hallway, in the living room, David sees Jim Lucas at his computer.  Jim looks up and nods, saying "Hey." at David before returning to whatever he's working on at his computer.  David cuts off the hallway into the kitchen to grab a beer from the refrigerator before heading to the living room to see Jim.

The place was in a general state of mess.  As if a tornado had blown through and threw the contents all over the place.  It wasn't really that dirty, there was just a lot of clutter scattered about.  There were some framed pictures on the wall of various movie posters and even a few photographs and paintings Jim had purchased at an art show.  The wall adjacent to the computer had the window and a futon across the room.  Then on the wall opposite the computer was a recliner and a book shelf.  The recliner and futon kind of matched but were obviously not part of the same set.  There were small tables in the corners for drinks and lamps.  Between the kitchen and living room was a hallway leading to a bathroom, behind the kitchen, and the two bedrooms.

This was not David's apartment.  In contrast, David's apartment was neat and tidy with furniture and decoration sparse.  Officially, it belongs to Jim but is also the mailing address of David's company, Hollyfeld Tech Solutions (or HTS), to organize his jobs.  David lived elsewhere and anyone that knew him would know that this place was defiantly not his.  But since this apartment serves as a sort of base of operations, David does contribute a portion of the rent and occupies the smaller bedroom to store equipment and various munitions.

As for the name Hollyfeld, David didn't want to use his own name for the company that preformed contract killings.  For that honor, David used a name from his past and one he thought quite fondly of.  Jon Hollyfeld was the Sergeant in the Marines who got David into the Scout/Sniper division of the Marines and was David's instructor.

Back to the here and now, in Jim's apartment, something was amiss.  Jim had company.  He rarely had company.

"Hi, there, I'm David." David said to the man sitting on Jim's futon and anxiously watching Jim work on something.  David stuck out his hand for a hand shake.

Shaking hands, he replied, "Hey, I'm Andy."  David continued to look at him.  "Andy Koal." he continued.  Andy looked a few years younger than him and probably a few years older than Jim.  Andy was wearing jeans and a t-shirt referencing something David couldn't place.  Regardless, he had more pressing matters and he turned back to Jim.

"Hey, Jim, could you run the last number to call my phone." he said as he pulled out his phone and handed it to Jim.

Jim took the phone but stopped, frozen, staring at David.  Jim had a look on his face like David called him something really offensive.  Even Andy looked a little offended or at least off put by something.  After a few seconds, it occurred to David what the issue was.

"Oh, sorry." said David.  "Outright."  Jim glared at him.  "Okay, 0utR1ght with the 'O' and 'I' replaced with a 0 and 1.  Happy?"

"Yes." replied 0utR1ght quietly and with a look of satisfaction on his face.  And as 0utR1ght plugs the phone into his computer and start extracting the data, David sits on the recliner to talk to Andy.  The name had just rang a bell.

"So, Andy, what are up to?  Where are you from?"

"Not much.  I had a problem with some work I was doing and asked 0utR1ght to help out."

"Well, knowing 0utR1ght here, it can't be anything reputable so I won't ask for any details." David said with a smirk.  "Where are you from?"

"Originally from Clearwater, Florida.  Now I'm living here in the city with my two brothers."

And then it all finally clicked.

"Do you know a Joe Koal?  He was in the Marines a few years back."

"Yeah, that's my older brother."

"Cool, we were in the Marines together.  I remember now... so if you're Andy, then your younger brother is Daryl?

"Yeah." replied Andy, looking a little uncomfortable the David knew this about him.

What's Joe up to now, anyway?" asked David.

"Joe's running a gun shop and range over in Jersey." replied Andy.  He thought for a sec.  "You know, Joe used to talk about you.  Your tag was Wolf right?" And David nodded yes.  "Joe always you were one crazy mofo... but in a good way!" he quickly added.

"Well, I am a crazy mofo. Just ask 0utR1ght!" David said with a smirk and a nod to Jim.  "What about Daryl, what does he do?"

"He owns a towing company here in the city. 3K Towing."

"3K?"

"For Three Koal Brothers.  We all kind of own all the companies... 3K Towing, 3K Gun Range, and 3K Tech Services."

"That's cool.  My Dad always said his parents liked when he did things with his brother."

But then something else clicked.  David would eventually need his Jeep.  And the sooner the better, based on the way the night was going.  And possibly they could fix his Jeep while he did some recon on where Jill was being held.  David got a bit more excited.  He could sense it, his army was mobilizing, and the battle was approaching.

"Okay, I got it.  The number and caller and you're not going to believe it!" said 0utR1ght.

"Just a sec, 0utR1ght." said David, much to the surprise of both of the guys.  David sat up and looked right at Andy.  "Andy could you do me a huge favor?" asked David in a much more serious tone than the conversation had been in.

"Sure." Andy replied with a slightly confused look on his face.

"My Jeep is on Sullivan just north of Bleeker over by NYU.  It has two flat tires, could you get over there and fix those?  Like ASAP?  And bring it to me down in Queens?" asked David, still looking seriously at Andy.

"What happened to your Jeep?" asked 0utR1ght but David ignored him.

"But you're here in SoHo, why Queens?" asked Andy.

"I'm going to be going down there shortly and I'll need my Jeep when I'm done."

"Well, 0utR1ght has told me a bit about you, so I won't ask about any details." Andy said with a smirk.

David kept his focus on Andy. "Well?"

Andy sat up and thought for a few seconds.  "I don't think that'd be a big deal... but let me check."  He went in the kitchen to call his brother.

"What's in Queens?" asked 0utR1ght.

David just glared at him.  "What's the address of the caller on my phone?" David asked.

"Queens." said 0utR1ght.  David just raised his eyebrows at 0utR1ght to indicate that was why he was going down there.  Then 0utR1ght gets it.  "Oh..." he exclaimed like he was piecing some puzzle together.  "So you're going to head down and get these guys?"  David nodded a yes.  "But I found something else about the address.  The owner is..."

David cut him off as he saw Andy coming back in.  "What's the word?" David asked.

"We can do it." Andy said.  "But it's going to cost a little extra since you want it done right away."

"Not a problem." David said and he pulled out his keys and gave Andy a spare.  "Here's the key.  And, I don't have the address in Queens right now; can I have 0utR1ght call you with it later?"

"Yeah, I guess.  Well, I'm out then... see you later."

"Later." said David.

"Later, Andy.  I'll call you later with the address." said 0utR1ght.  And with that, Andy was gone and 0utR1ght turned on David.  "What was that about?  Why didn't you want him to know?  You can trust him!"

"I just met the guy!  What do you want?!  Besides, the less people that know what I'm thinking is going to happen tonight, the better!"

"Fair enough.  So, what is actually happening then?" asked 0utR1ght.

"Yeah, remember that van I thought was following me?"

"Yeah, from Nirvana Catering."

"After I talked to you, I asked Jill if she wanted to leave, saying I was tired.  When we left, I found the rear tires on the Jeep had been slashed.  Deciding not to deal with that right then, we made our way to the subway, but the van showed up and six guys jumped out.  Four jumped me, while the other two grabbed Jill and threw her into the van and it took off.  I shot two of the guys, one ran and I chased another before getting knocked out in some alley.  I was awoken with that call you traced and I came here."

For a second, 0utR1ght just sat there, taking in everything.  "What was the call about?"

"They want $200 grand for the ransom and a lot of the usual crap from these types of guys.  We know who you are, no funny stuff, blah, blah, blah..."

"Oh, $200 grand, is that all?!" ask 0utR1ght sarcastically.  He then sat back in his chair.  "I don't believe this!" he exclaimed.  "So what now?"

"Well, I'm thinking that I might be going to war with The Father tonight." said David more calmly than he thought he was going to.  The thought had been in the back of his mind ever since the Nirvana van showed up and took Jill away.

0utR1ght looked shocked.  "What?!"

"The call came from Queens, right?"  0utR1ght nodded yes.  "And it came from a building owned by Michael Carnine, or at least one of his companies, right?"  0utR1ght nodded yes again.  "And the guys who kidnapped Jill were in a van advertising another company owned by Michael Carnine."  David paused to see if 0utR1ght would say it but didn't; he just sat there.  "So, it seems that Michael Carnine, The Father, is behind all this.  The most powerful mob boss east of the Mississippi has a beef with me and tonight, I'm going to resolve it.  One way or another!"  David found he was standing now and his right hand was in a fist.

"War?  With The Father?" 0utR1ght repeated.  "You mean you're not paying the ransom?  Wouldn't that just be easier... and safer?!"

"Yes.  A war with The Father and how ever many men he has in town for this!  I know, not one of my better decisions." and before 0utR1ght had time to respond, he continued.  "And no, I'm paying the ransom!"

"I thought you really like her?"

"I do... and I thought you were smart!  Don't you know me?  What I'm capable of?  No, they don't deserve money for what they've done!  They deserve a lot worse!"

"So what's the plan?!" exclaimed 0utR1ght, now getting caught up in the excitement.

David looked at him and, at the thought of his plan, he lost some of his gusto.  "Well, I don't quite have it all worked out just yet." and he sat back down in the recliner.  0utR1ght certainly looked disappointed and slumped back in his chair.  "Well, basically the usual then: get armed to teeth, jump into the fray and wing it!  And I wouldn't have it any other way!" David said with a smirk.  "I just need to do a little recon really quick to get a few more facts.  Why don't you pull up the blueprints on Sollozzo's, in the Bronx while I go change?  That's where I'm supposed to make the exchange.  And then I'm going to head down there and check it out."  David had gained a little excitement in just getting that much of a plan together.  "Sounds like a plan to me!"

"Alright." 0utR1ght said.

David knew he didn't like the usual plan of 'winging it' but also knew that David seemed to do okay and usually came of shit mostly in one piece so he was content with it... for now.  0utR1ght set to work and David got up and went to his room in the back.  Still in his nice cloths he wore to dinner, he first needed to change.  Then he needed to gather some supplies.  Oddly enough, David did have the two hundred thousand dollars in his safe here at Jim's place.  Actually it was more but the ransom would certainly be a large chunk.  Perhaps he would bring it anyway... just in case.  Then he needed guns.

He thought of the coming battle and was really looking forward to it.  He knew he had to be ready as he didn't know when it would call him from the sidelines to join in the fray and what he'd be called in to do.  That's what he like about though; the uncertainty of it.  He was now ready.

One thing at a time, though.  David changed from his dress clothes and hung them in the near empty closet into a set of black camo pants and a black t-shirt.  He then grabbed a duffle bag and laid it next to a large trunk on the floor.  He opened the top to reveal a number of guns and ammunition for all of them.  He packed an assault rifle, two handguns, a large knife, and plenty of ammo.  From his safe, he packed the ransom money.  And just in case, he packed duct tape, a jacket, holsters for the guns, and 50 feet of rope.

You just never know what the heat of battle will bring.

David double checks his bag and looks around the room to make sure he has everything he thinks he's going to need.  He then sits on the floor, setting the bag next to him, to get ready.  He ponders the evening's events.  He thinks of the road ahead and the obstacles that lay upon it.  He would need to become more than his normal self to survive and succeed.  As he runs through his mental preparation, he becomes aware the inner force is rising and his mental state is changing for what is to come.  It is slow at first and then washes over him like a wave of cool water on a hot day. For the second time tonight, David is now Wolf.

Wolf heads back to the living room to find 0utR1ght there waiting on him.  "Just a sec." Wolf said to him as he grabs a new headset from shelf above one of the computer monitors.  "Could you sync this for me?  I left the other in the jeep."  0utR1ght takes the headset and connects it to his computer and starts syncing it with Wolf's phone.  "Okay, what do we have?" he asked.

0utR1ght switches screens and pulls up a few files.  "Well, what we have is... curious." said 0utR1ght.  "A van from Nirvana Catering transported the men that kidnapped Jill.  Then you get a call saying to pay the ransom at Sollozzo's.  The curious thing is that the call actually came from Sollozzo's."

David nods in agreement, thinking he knew where 0utR1ght was going with this.  "Yeah, it doesn't make sense that they would call from where the drop is."

"That's what I was thinking." said 0utR1ght.  "And certainly they're not going to be keeping Jill there for the next two hours.  Usually, in the case of kidnappings, the money drop point is in another location.  Then after you make the drop, you get the person back."

"Right, it doesn't make a lot of sense." Wolf said.  "What about Carnine? Any more on him?"

"Well, he doesn't own Sollozzo's directly but with a lot of mob families, they own a number of cover businesses they work through.  So, it didn't take too long to run a list of small business owners against a list of people in the family, related or not.  I found that Sollozzo's isn't owned by anyone in the family so I figured that it's a place they just do a lot of business.  And no one talks because they either know what's really happening or anyone that actually goes there is involved.  Probably some of both; like the family is working out of a back room or the basement or something."

"Interesting." said Wolf, thinking about the information.  "Well, I think I'll head down there and check it out. See if I can find anything."

0utR1ght sees the headset is done syncing and hands it too Wolf.  "Oh, and Wolf?" asked 0utR1ght.

"Yeah?"

0utR1ght was hesitating; obviously not want to say what he was going to.  But finally generated the strength and just spat it out.  "While you were in the back, I was thinking.  A war with The Father is pretty big."

"Yeah, but I've been up against worse." Wolf said, shrugging off the slight notion that this might actually be beyond his capacity.

"Have you?  Really?" asked 0utR1ght.  "I don't think you have.  And certainly not alone.  I know I'm helping you, but my extensive skill set and vast knowledge pretty much stops at the door there." he says, pointing to the front door of his apartment.  "Out there, though, you're kind of on your own.  Maybe you should call in some help."

"You know, I've been thinking that a little myself." said Wolf.  "I'm just not sure who I would ask."  Sure there were people he thought of who he could call but there wasn't very many close enough to be of much use any time soon.

"Anyone come to mind?"

So, who does a wolf call when it's in need of help?  Other wolves.

Who lives in the city and has the capacity to handle the battle to come?  A few names came to mind.  First if all is Shade.  He lives north of the city in Scarsdale and is basically an urban ninja.  No weapon skills but a really good fighter.  He's certainly given Wolf a head's up a few times.  And he was a good help on that one job they teamed up on.  Then there's Rapid Fire.  Now living in Harlem after a few tours with the army, his weapon of choice is a heavy machine gun.  While Wolf prefers to line up that one perfect shot for a kill, Rapid Fire throws out a hail of bullets and hopes to get his kill.  Last but not least is Pyro.  She lives across the river in Jersey and works with demolitions but is a decent shot as well.  Demolitions are usually very counter to what Wolf does but could be used to provide a good distraction.  Maybe she could be called on... if it really comes to that.  Wolf was also thinking there was someone else that he's forgetting right now.  Someone right at the tip of his brain but he can't grab the name.  Oh well, he had his list to chose from.

"You know... call Shade.  He'll probably be best for what I have in mind."

"And what is that?"

"For now, keeping a low profile."

"What should I tell him?" asked 0utR1ght as he turns to his computer and starts to pull the file.

Wolf hadn't quite gotten that far as he hadn't put a lot of thought into asking for help.  It had really just been a nagging thought up until now.  Well, as is the usual in this business, the less others know of your actions the better, so he decided not to divulge too much to Shade.  Not now at least.

"Just tell him I need some recon tonight.  Do you have The Father's address?"

"I think I can find it."

"Actually, find out where he likely is, and send Shade there to see what's going on."

"Why there?"

"I'm thinking that once I get Jill back and safe, I'll pay The Father a visit and see if we can't deal with this like men."

"And by that you mean go over and shoot everyone up and when the last person is an ounce away from death, decide to ask him some questions?" asked 0utR1ght with a slight smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?  When did that ever happen?!" asked Wolf, slightly offended at how 0utR1ght was portraying what does.  Wolf was so much better than that.  He was a sniper!  Unless 0utR1ght was referring to...

"Ok.  The Mall Job.  Columbus, Ohio." stated 0utR1ght.

"I cannot believe you brought that up!"  0utR1ght just nodded in a way that showed he was simply proving a point.  "Fine, but you know I was having a bad day and, besides, I can't help that the situation escalated to that level."

"Say what you will.  I'm just saying... you probably could have handled it a little better."

Wolf hated to admit it but 0utR1ght was right.  "Yeah, you're right.  But this isn't anything like that job!"

0utR1ght simply glared at him and all the details of that job came back to him.  Then, like dominos toppling over on each other, the similarities stated piling up as well.  Then it hit him.  This was exactly like The Mall Job in Columbus!

"Shit!" exclaimed Wolf, now a little pissed off.  "Well, we'll just have to try extra hard not to let that happen this time!"

"What do you mean we?"

"Okay, fine.  Me!"

And with that settled, Wolf left for the door.  "Keep me updated." Wolf said as he leaves the apartment and he heard 0utR1ght reply "Will do.  Later."

Wolf walks down the streets of the city, heading towards the subway, in a surprisingly good mood.  He always liked walking along the busy streets carrying weapons he knew no one knew about.  The big secret he kept from everyone else.  The large bag on his back filled with weapons, ammunition, the two hundred thousand dollars, and a few odds and ends in case they were needed.  All of it packed neatly and tightly so it won't rattle and something won't accidentally trigger one of the guns and it goes off at a very inconvenient time.

Wolf gets out his MTA pass out and swipes it to enter the grand NYC subway system.  A few minutes later, he was on the R train heading south for the Bronx.  About twenty minutes later, Wolf is almost at his stop when his phone vibrates signifying he has a call.  He gets out his phone and checks the caller ID.  It was 0utR1ght.

"Hey.  What's up?" asks Wolf.

"Sorry boss, bad news."

"What?"

"Shade is unavailable tonight.  I talked with his handler and, as cute as she sounded, she said he was on a job tonight."

"Well, shit!" Wolf said too loudly for the fellow passengers on the subway.  He mouthed 'sorry' to them and turned away from the people who suddenly looked uncomfortable being in the same car as him.  Oh well, he had more pressing issues.  "What now?"

"I'm not sure.  Isn't there anyone else?" 0utR1ght asked.  "Your years in the military and your years in business for yourself; you don't know anyone in the city you trust enough to provide some backup?"  And there it was.  The word 'backup' that 0utR1ght used brought to mind the perfect person for the job.  And she was in town, apparently, and he knew she wasn't working tonight.  Wolf figured the reason he hadn't thought of her earlier was that she lives across the pond in London.

"Give Elle a call." Wolf said.  "Have her get ready."

"Is she in town?!" 0utR1ght's reaction was a combination of fear, shock, and hatred.  Whatever 0utR1ght thought Wolf was going to say, Elle was certainly the last thing he expected.  To say that 0utR1ght didn't like Elle would be a huge understatement.

"Yeah, she called me earlier tonight."

"I don't want to call her, she's a bitch!"

"That's beside the point!"  0utR1ght just sat on the other end, silent.  "Don't make me pull rank because I will."

0utR1ght was defeated at that.  "Fine.  What should I tell her to be ready for?"

Same question as before but Wolf knew Elle better than Shade.  Shade was like a colleague at work you see in the halls and may have even been on the same project team once or twice but you really didn't know outside the job.  Elle was like a younger sister; you've known her a long time and she's helped you on the job a few times.

Elle certainly had the capacity to deal with what was going on or at least what Wolf needed her for.  Which was, as 0utR1ght put it, just backup.  But he also didn't want her to overreact to the situation.  Not too soon anyway.  Wolf found himself circling back to his usual bit of logic that the less people that know what you're up to, the better.  So he was a little hesitant to say too much.  And he could certainly get away with saying 'help me break into this building' because she knew how things were.  On the other hand, if she knew the whole story, she could prepare better.  Not to mention her tactics would be different if she knew the building they were storming was guarded by ten guards or fifty.  So he decided to tell her the whole story.

But what was the whole story?  Did he even know it all himself?

Well, regardless of who owns or controls the various companies involved, Jill had been kidnapped.  And the most likely suspect was Michael Carnine, The Father, the most powerful mob boss on the East coast.  Wolf knew he would certainly have to pay The Father a visit before this was all settled.  And what better time than right after getting Jill out and into safety?  The Father's base of operations would certainly be heavily guarded.  Elle would need time to get ready anyway, so he'll need her at The Father's base, initially to watch and see what's going on, then to possibly help him get in.

Finally Wolf had a plan.  He felt better and more confident now.

"Have you found The Father's base of operations yet?" asked Wolf.  Times like this rarely left the time to be polite and not answer a question with a question.

0utR1ght paused a second to run the quick search.  "Yeah, it looks like he operates out of an office, located in a warehouse, for Premiere Shipping in Queens."

"Okay, have Elle go there as soon as possible after she gets geared up.  Initially, I'd just like some recon on what's happening over there.  Then I'll probably need some help getting in to see The Father.  Go ahead and tell her what's happening with Jill and Carnine. She'll be better prepared."

"Should I tell her anything specific to bring?"

"No, she'll know what to bring.  And let her know what frequency we're running on tonight so she can brought up to speed quicker.  Later."  Wolf hung up the phone and put it away.

A few minutes later Wolf's stop, Bay Ridge Ave, came up and he was shortly on the street again.  Being much more residential, this area was a lot quieter than Lower Manhattan at this hour.  But this also gave Wolf a lot more shadows to walk through unseen, which the wolf in him appreciates.  He put on his headset and began the walk to the park.

Wolf approached the Owl's Head Park via 68th Street, which ran parallel to 71st a block to the south.  He crossed Colonial Road for better cover in the deep shadows of the large trees bordering the park and walked north a block to 71st Street, or Senator Street, depending on where you grew up.  The building of the restaurant faced the park and ran along 71st.  At what looked to be a back door to the restaurant leading into the kitchen and some stairs going down to a basement, were three big guys talking quietly while one of them was smoking.  Many years experience told Wolf that they were keeping watch and while none of them made eye contact, or even looked directly at him, he thought he noticed that one of them had seen him.

Wolf's mind races to think what the smoker could have possible seen on him as everything he was wearing was designed to keep him well hidden in the shadows and has done on many an occasion before now.  While normally the lack of general people on the street at night was a good thing in that there were fewer witnesses, it was also a bad thing in that if you were noticed, you were screwed.  Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it now.

Wolf remains still, silent, and hopefully invisible; watching the restaurant like it was bracing to run off.  After a few minutes, the smoker said something to his buddies and disappeared inside the building.  Damn it!  He was made and he needed to get out of here.  He looked around and spotted some bushes in the park behind him and to his left about 20 feet.  He quietly turnes to get behind the better cover.

So, what now?  In the few minutes he had been there, Wolf hadn't seen anything.  Then something 0utR1ght said earlier came to mind.  Usually you don't keep the hostage at the same place as the drop.  Going a step further, Wolf thought that while the hostage is kept somewhere else, it's usually really close.  Perhaps Jill was nearby and he could just go get her.  Wolf looked up and down Colonial Road as if there would be a sign saying 'Jill is here.'  A pointless venture as there was, obviously, no sign and nothing stood out like it would be the location.

Wolf had to call 0utR1ght and see if he could find any other likely locations nearby.  He reached up and pressed the last of the four tiny buttons on his headset which called 0utR1ght directly.

"Hey Wolf, what's up?" 0utR1ght answered.

"Solluzzo's is a bit too quiet and I think I might have been made." Wolf said.

"So, what do you need?"v
"Run the business lists again.  See if there is any company that has a building near here in the Bronx.  They're not keeping Jill here but I'm thinking she'll probably be nearby."

"Okay, I'll start checking..." 0utR1ght said.

"It would have to be a building that they owned because I don't think they could hold a hostage at a location that they didn't have complete control over.  It'd be too risky."

"Yeah, I see what you're saying."

Wolf waits there, hidden in the bushes for 0utR1ght to run the searches.  The guy that was smoking comes back out of the restaurant to join the other two guys.  They watch him come out and he tells them something.  Wolf watches him closely and he sees the smoker throw a quick, barely noticeable, glance where he used to be.  Now he definitely knew that the smoker had noticed him and had probably reported it to someone.

"Wolf, still there?"

"What do you have?"

"Unlike everything else tonight, actually, some good news." 0utR1ght said.  "Remember that The Father works out of a warehouse owned by Premiere Shipping?"

"Yeah."

"They're renting another warehouse in the Bronx and it's just North East of your position.  Looks like that might be it."

"How close?"

"About half a klick, maybe.  Let me show you."

Wolf pulls out his phone to view the images 0utR1ght is uploading.  A map of the area appears first and a dot travels along a route as 0utR1ght continues speaking.  "Head up 2nd Ave to 63rd St, turn left, and it's the second building you'll come to."  The building is marked for a few seconds and then an image of the blueprints shows on the screen.  "Looking at the blueprints of the building, it is divided and rented by different companies.  Premiere rents the unit on the southern end."  The screen zooms in on the southern end of the building to provide a general layout of the warehouse.

A very simple layout showed a large open storage area, a small office in the northwest corner, garage doors of varying sizes on the west wall for different sizes of trucks, regular sized doors on the west side by the office and on the east side, and dirty, opaque windows running the length of the south wall about twenty feet up just under the roof.  Wolf would consider his options when he got a better idea of what he was dealing, if he even needed to go in at all.

"That is good news.  Were there any locations elsewhere that meet our criteria?" asked Wolf.

"None that are as close as that one.  Why not check that one out and if that's not it, then let me know."

"Makes sense.  Thanks."  And Wolf pressed the button again and hung up.

Wolf checks the guards at the restaurant again and they're still outside.  Well, no taking the sidewalk.  Fortunately, there was a path behind him that looked like it would run to the north end of the park.  He was shortly out of sight of the guards and walking along the Belt Parkway to 2nd Ave where he could cross under.

Using the map 0utR1ght had sent, Wolf decided to cut off a bit of the route and not go all the way to 63rd.  He saw some trees that would provide better cover than a parking lot and cut in.  After the trees cleared, this route also provided some shipping containers and semi trucks to provide cover until he was closer to the building; in a parking lot across the street from the second warehouse building down 63rd.  Generally, parking lots are pretty sparse at this time of night but this one surprisingly had a few cars to hide behind and by the street were a few trees as well.  Wolf had moved a long distance in a short time and he needed to pause for a second here in the shadows to slow things down a bit and gets a better idea of what was here.

Under the cover of the large tree across the street from the warehouse, Wolf checks out the warehouse for anything out of the ordinary.  Unfortunately, it was a pretty big warehouse, so all he could see was the south wall.  He would have to move to see the rest of it.  But he did see a camera on each end of the south wall, watching the corners.  Trying to remain as hidden as possible, Wolf heads to the east side.  Along the east wall, he saw the door he had seen on the blueprints but no way to get up to the windows to see inside.  So, he went back along the trees and behind some cars to the west wall.  As Wolf had thought, or hoped for that matter, there were a few trucks at the dock.  On the other side of the trucks, Wolf saw the door which would lead to the office if he remembered correctly.

Wolf checked out the camera again to see if it was stationary or rotating.  After a few minutes, he saw it move and circle around to the parking lot where he was hiding.  A few minutes later, the camera circled back around to the dock.  Wolf figured it wasn't manually operated, it probably just moved back and forth really slowly.  That was easy enough to get around.

Wolf checked the east camera and saw it too pointing the other direction and thought he'd have to mention that flaw to The Father when he saw him later tonight as he darted out to the corner of the building at the south end of the west wall.  He then slowly inched along the wall, watching the camera above him slowly turn back to the parking lot.  He didn't think it could see him underneath and he didn't hear anything from inside so he must be clear.  He hid behind one of the trucks and waited for it to cycle back to parking lot to give him more time to get to a window to see what was going on inside.

The camera cycled back to the trucks and Wolf waited for his chance.  Now that the camera started cycling back to the parking lot across the street, Wolf climbed the side of the truck around the front wheel and on top of the cab to the top of the storage area to the building where he could easily see in the windows.  He tried to walk soft and quiet and quick but those things rarely mix well enough to allow such things and he winced a little at the clangs as the metal reformed its shape as he stepped off it to the back.  When he reached the building he paused for second in silence to listen and heard nothing.

Hugging the wall for balance, Wolf suddenly thought of the camera and looked up in time to see it pointing right at him.  Damn!  He hoped nobody was watching at that moment.  Maybe the security guard took a sip of coffee or the phone rang and he looked over at it to pick it up.  The pressure amassing, Wolf resolves to do what he came here for and looked inside the warehouse.

There was the office to his left and he could see the glow of a few monitors on one of the walls and it didn't look like anyone was inside at the moment.  There was one guard at the outside of the office door, yelling something to someone near the south west corner.  Wolf followed the direction he was looking and saw another guard.  On the south wall were two large shelves for storing pallets of smaller boxes.  Then in the large open area of the warehouse, there were several rows of large boxes, wooden crates, and pallets of small boxes wrapped in plastic.  The rows stood between 5 to 10 feet high.  At the top of the warehouse were a few catwalks here and there and Wolf had a fleeting thought of the last warehouse he charged in to kill Tony and John and he smirked.  But the half smile quickly faded as the followed a ladder down at the far end of the warehouse to see Jill tied up to a chair with two guards guarding her.

Rage swept up in him and the wolf in him roared in anger.  But he needed to be cool and collect.  There were four guards that he had seen so far.  He could handle that.  Besides, if he took them by surprise, he wouldn't need to deal with them all at once.  It looked like Jill and her two guards were about twenty-five to thirty feet from the door on the east wall in a clearing with no obstructions from the east door.  That was his entrance.  Then he noticed the guard from the office had stopped yelling and was returning to the office.  He jumped off the side as best he could to hide behind the truck from the camera.  Wolf peered around the truck and saw the camera looking in his direction so he waited.

Once he was clear, Wolf made his way along the wall to the corner of the building.  Allowing the camera to rotate back to the trucks, he then sprinted to the south east corner.  Waiting for that camera to start rotating back to the parking lot, he checked around the corner for any cover and saw a semi truck trailer sitting against the wall beyond the door.  It would have to do and he quickly and quietly ran along the wall and into the shadows under the trailer for the camera to cycle back again.

In the few minutes he had, he took the bag off his back to get ready.  He didn't need the whole bag and all it contained for the fight that was coming; it would only slow him down.  So, he pulled out his two handguns, some lock-picking tools, a roll of duct tape, and thought about his plan of attack.  After realizing that he would be forced to hold is hands up in surrender as soon as he entered, he knew he had to put the guns somewhere closer to his hands than his waist.  Using two pieces of duct tape, he taped the guns to the top of his back.  An old trick he learned from Sergeant Hollyfeld.  He then pushed the bag further back into the shadows of the trailer for safe keeping.

Now he was ready for battle.

Watching the camera make sure he was clear, he quickly went to the door and picked the lock.  Wolf let himself in and closed the door behind him casually like he had stumbled on this place by accident.  He had a hard time holding back a smirk as the look of complete surprise on the guards' faces was priceless.  They pretty much looked like deer caught in the head lights of an on-coming vehicle.

Using their shock, Wolf quickly glanced around and, again, saw only the four guards and Jill.  Not surprising, Jill was completely surprised to see him there as well.  Apparently she just expected him to pay the ransom and they could get on with their lives.

"What are you doing here?!" one of the guards by Jill asked.  "Get your hands up!"  All the guards pointed their guns at him as he raised his hands.  The guard from the office stood in the doorway and was half watching the monitors and the guard in the back started heading toward Wolf, his gun ready.  He didn't have too long.

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked, playing stupid.

"You're supposed to be at Solluzzo's in just under an hour!  And how did you even know about this place?!"

He looked at Jill and she still looked shocked but fear was slowly creeping in and Wolf knew this was it.  This was the moment he'd been dreading for eight months.  But, now that he thought about it, this was a much better way of letter her know than an awkward conversation.  He tried to show a reassuring look and received only a look of slight confusion in return.

"Perhaps this might clear some things up." Wolf said, his gaze moving up to one of the guards standing by Jill.

Wolf then brought his hands down behind his head to grab the guns from his back.  He quickly pulled them out and shot the guard who had been asking the questions with each of the guns.  One shot, from his dominant right hand, hit the guard in the jaw and the other hit center chest, missing the heart but Wolf knew he was dead before he hit the cement floor.  Jill watched the guard fall to the ground and she starts screaming.

Immediately Wolf strafes left and unloads the remainder of the bullets into the other guard standing by Jill, dropping him dead as well.  She continues screaming as all hell breaks loose in a flurry of bullets from Wolf and the two remaining guards.  Wolf continues strafing and ducks behind the crates he planned on using for cover.  Behind the crates, he quickly drops the gun in his left hand and reloads the gun in his right.

Well, that was pretty much all of Wolf's plan.  Now he just had to wing it and act according to how the guards did.  Wolf sat silent to listen for the other two guards but they were hiding quietly as well and all he heard was Jill's heavy breathing.  She was obviously a bit scared at the moment.  This was now a silent battle of wits.  Wolf had played this game before and he was confident he knew more moves than his two opponents.

The last he remembered, Wolf thought he had seen the guard from the office moving up along the north wall and the guard from the south east corner moving along a few rows from the south wall, which was the aisle Wolf was sitting at the end of.  So he peered around the crates down opposite aisle to see if it was clear.  He could make his way down the other aisle and shoot the guard through the gaps between the boxes.

But as he rolls over and sticks his leg out to start down the aisle, Wolf is shot in the leg.  He looks up to see a guard in the scaffolding he had missed earlier as he ducks back behind the crate.  Okay, change of plans.  Apparently, there were a few more guards he hadn't seen.  Knowing he was pinned on that aisle, he jumps four feet out into the other aisle the other guard was coming down and rolled into an upright position to shoot.  That guard shot at Wolf while he did this but missed.  Wolf's single shot did not miss the guard's chest and he fell to the ground.

Wolf had to through the remaining two guards (hopefully there was only two!) out of balance.  So he got up and sprinted across towards the west wall best he could with a limp.  A quick glance at Jill showed she was still frightened and a bit confused as their eyes met.  Wolf couldn't help a smirk of arrogance at her as he entered the aisle, losing sight of her, and a thought crossed his mind.  Perhaps the frightened look he saw was not merely at the guards that were watching over her or the guns blazing all around.  He knew he would have to reassure her he was still the same person she had been dating for the past eight months but he more pressing matters at the moment.

Near the west wall, Wolf veers toward the office and jumps across the last aisle in case that guard had heard him.  Peering out from the office, Wolf sees the guard originally from the office back by the east wall, looking around and listening for him.  Wolf calms his breathing and lines up a shot.  With that, Wolf hoped it was just him and the guard in the catwalk over head.  He looked up into the catwalk and doesn't see the guard he had missed before but his view was obstructed by some tall shelves.

Wolf leaves the office and towards the south wall, keeping his eyes on the ceiling and trying to hear anything.  He soon comes under fire from the guard in the catwalks above and limply sprints to the south wall, directly beneath the guard.  Wolf shoots up through the metal grating of the catwalk, emptying his clip into the guard.  The guard falls over the edge and lands right next to him.

Then Jill screamed.  Damn!

Wolf reloads as he quickly shuffles down the aisle to the clearing at the east side of the warehouse.  His leg was hurting quite a bit now.  Coming out from behind the boxes and crates, Wolf sees another guard, holding Jill with a gun to her head.

"Are you the last one, because this is really dragging on a bit?!" Wolf said holding his hand up in surrender but not dropping the gun.

The guard merely looked at him with a curious look.  "Yeah, but I'm going to be leaving now.  And your girl here is my way out.  Why don't you drop your gun and kick it over here?"

"Ok, just a sec." Wolf said.  Wolf took a deep breath.  Blood was pumping in his head and he needed to calm down.

And it suddenly hit him; this was The Mall Job all over again.  This is where he screwed up so badly before.  As quickly as that occurred to him, he realized what he had to do differently.

"I'm bleeding and I've been running up down this warehouse." Wolf continued, mostly to stall the guard this time.

"Now, you idiot!  We're not here for your convenience!" yelled the guard.  He attempted to shuffle Jill a bit so he could make his way to the door.

This was the only gap Wolf needed.  His mind cleared and focused and the world faded away.  He lets his sub-conscience take over and he brought his arm down, extended and ready to strike.  He squeezes the trigger and sees Jill’s hair blow up in the air as the bullet travels a few inches from her head into the eye of the last guard.  And as quickly as it came on, Wolf comes back and is aware of everything again.

The guard's hold on Jill slackens as he falls back, blood squirting out the back of his head.  Wolf runs up and grabs Jill in his free hand and holds the gun on the guard on the floor, making sure he is dead.  Jill remains silent, still in shock, staring at Wolf, whose gaze remains on the guard.  After a minute or two, Wolf looked up into Jill's eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, holstering his gun and holding her close in both arms.  As he did this, his physical pain subsided and all he wanted was for her to be safe.

She said nothing.  Her mouth opened and closed a few times but not a sound came out.

"First time around dead bodies?"

After a few seconds she took a long deep breath.  Perhaps she was back... somewhat anyway.  "No." she said simply.  "I was in the room when my grandmother died."

Wolf said nothing but still held her close in his arms resting her head on his shoulder like it was over and nothing would happen to her ever again.

After another minute, she drew herself up again and continued.  "I've just never seen anyone murdered before.  Let alone, right in front of me."  She lifted her head and look directly at him.  "How did you do that?  You don't have a scratch on you?"

And suddenly the pain in his leg came rushing back.  "I did get shot in the leg." he said.  "Which I probably need to address soon or I'll lose too much blood to get you out of here!"  They released and Wolf stumbled to the ground.  He pulled off his black t-shirt, ripped it into strips, and tied them around his leg as a type of bandage.  While he did this, he glanced up at Jill to see her eyeing him intently.

"Could you grab my other gun over there?" he asked, motioning to the gun he left at the end of the aisle.  Years of practice allowed him to finish his bandage in a few minutes; around the time Jill got back with his secondary gun.  He put it in his left holster and looked around at the carnage.  One versus six was hardly the odds he would normally deal with on his own but it had worked out; for now.

Then Wolf thought of potential alarms and possible reinforcements for the guards and knew they had to leave quickly.

"Jill, we need to get out of her as quickly as possible." he said, struggling to stand up.

"Okay," she murmured and started heading for the door but Wolf grabbed her.

"Not yet, I need to take care of a few things first.  Okay?" he said and she nodded.  "Stay right here and I'll be back in a few minutes."

Wolf retraced his steps throughout the warehouse and picked up the three gun clips he had dropped during the fight.  In the office, he checked out the monitors and, as he guessed, they had recorded the whole thing.  He shut them down, pulled the discs out, and put them in one of his pants pockets.  When he got back to Jill, she was in the exact location he had left her.

"Okay, now we can leave." he said, taking her hand and leading her to the east wall door.

"How did you get here?  Did you get your Jeep fixed?" Jill asks as they made their way to the door of the warehouse.

"I took the subway," he replies as they exit the building.  The look on Jill's face was like she had second thoughts about the effectiveness of his rescue operation.  Seeing this, he continues, "Don't worry, I took care of it!  I just needed to get here as soon as possible."