Was it possible that he started the fire in the Med Center? After all, h
e’
d picked the location w
e’
d be heading to for the meds. The timing could
n’
t possibly have been a coincidence. For a moment, I wondered what else h
e’
d done that I did
n’
t know about. Could he have been the one feeding Gordon info from inside the walls of Avalon? My mind was racing at all the questions. However, amongst it all, I knew one thing with absolute conviction. If he was the reason, my son was just hours from death, then
I’
d be making damn sure that the other side of that ledger would be settled for good.
“
Hello, friends, miss me
?”
I heard Gordo
n’
s voice boom through the speaker.
I wanted to disappear into the cockpit seat.
“
Well done, Rodgers. I was wondering when yo
u’
d call. I trust yo
u’
re doing well. Ca
n’
t wait to get my best, and most trusted friend back here into the mix
.
”
In the world of prostitution, there are pimps and there are hookers. The pimp usuall
y“
watche
s”
after a number of hookers. That is his job. The pimp, usually, has his favorite hooker. Sh
e’
s been there the longest and has the highest status. This woman is referred to as hi
s“
bottom bitch
.
”
I had the sudden realization that one of our most trusted friends had just turned out to be th
e“
bottom bitc
h”
to the Antichrist.
“
Well, men,
I’
ll look forward to seeing the lot of you upon your return. Good o
l’
Rodgers there will be sure to explain how he infiltrated your camp, befriended you, and lured you out into the open when we signaled him yesterday
.
”
Patience wins wars. It ran through my head.
“
I was afraid you did
n’
t get the message sent by the Jeep, Rodgers. Unneeded worry, I can see. I almost pulled you from our captors when we had all of you tied up, but something told me that keeping you as one of them would pay off
.
”
“
You were right, Gordon. You should see the looks on their faces. This
was
worth it
.
”
“
I ca
n’
t wait to see it, Rodgers. W
e’
ll catch up shortly. Over and out
.
”
Glancing at Kyle, I noticed he had turned beet-red from the neck up, the anger stewing in his bloodshot eyes. Kyle was
n’
t one to sit on his hands when his temper was flaring. Deep in my gut, I felt certain about one thing. There was no way in hell that we were heading back to see Gordon.
Chapter 14
“
Turn us around, Kyle
,”
Rodgers said, pointing the gun at Kyl
e’
s head.
“
What are you going to do? Shoot me
?”
Kyle challenged in a very low, murderous tone.
“
I just might. Ther
e’
s a shit-ton you do
n’
t know about me. Now turn this fucking bird around
.
”
“
No, go ahead and shoot me
,”
Kyle replied. I think he was bluffing, but
I’
ll never know.
“
I
t’
s not you
I’
m going to shoot. I
t’
s your good buddy, John here that gets the first bullet
.
”
Not the best news I had heard all da
y
…
Kyl
e’
s eyes locked on to mine. He was stuck, and I certainly wasn't going to scream, pull the trigger.
“
Yo
u’
re outta time, Kyle. Turn us around
now
, or your butt buddy bestie here is
n’
t gonna last another minute
!
”
Kyl
e’
s knuckles turned white against the yoke. Jarvis started to speak, but Rodgersstopped him
.“
I do
n’
t want to hear from you, old man
.
”
Flinching, I heard the firearm cock into place, something deep down I knew just to be for dramatic effect. It was working like a charm. My breathing stopped, and I waited for the bullet. For a moment, I found myself wondering which would come first: hearing the gunfire or feeling the bullet pierce my body.
In my mind, I could practically hear the second hand of Kyl
e’
s wristwatch tick slowly around the dial before what was left of the fading sun piercing through the portholes abruptly began to shift around the cabin. As Kyle turned the helicopter the full one hundred and eighty degrees back toward Gordo
n’
s base, I felt the air slowly begin to enter my lungs. However, I found myself unable to ease the iron grip around the seat cushion that
I’
d unwittingly clasped below.
“
Tha
t’
s a good boy, Kyle. I like the obedience. Now I get to bark out the orders
.
”
Kyle didn't respond until he had us completely pointed back toward the direction from which w
e’
d come
.“
Why, Rodgers? Why the hell would you work with that madman
?
”
“
Why
?”
Rodgers paused for a moment, looking up ever so slightly at the roof of the helicopter as if trying to compose himself
.“
Do
n’
t get me wrong. I know w
e’
ve been through some shit.
I’
ll even admit that there were a few days here and there where I actually thought I might be playing for the wrong team
.”
He spoke with a distant look in his eyes. Almost as if he felt some semblance of remorse for what he was now doing.
“
It is
n’
t too late, Rodgers. We can still put this behind us and head back to Avalon together. We can survive against Gordon
,”
Jarvis replied, slightly holding up his hands.
“
Tha
t’
s funny coming from you, Jarvis. You think yo
u’
re the good guys
,”
Rodgers said with a laugh.
“
Well, what have we done, Rodgers? What have we done that makes us so evil
?
”
“
What have you done? Well, le
t’
s add it up. First, you stole Avalon from a man that trusted you like a brother. If that was
n’
t enough, you did it before my men and I had a chance to make it there. Tha
t’
s right, I had a small force of ex-military friends and family that I was responsible for. W
e’
d all made plans to meet up with Gordon as part of his utopia. We would have been there to protect it from people like you. It should have been our home. The home of my friends. My brothers. My family
.
”
He stopped speaking for a moment, glaring at Jarvis with that all-to-familiar crazed look in his eyes.
“
We were a hundred miles away, pushing through hordes of the dea
d…
all with the hope of finding refuge in our sanctuary. Instead, we were met with the nightmare of living off the land. There were over one hundred and fifty of us. Less than half were still alive by the time we finally emerged from the madness of those first months. Soaked in blood, and wrung out by Deat
h…
w
e’
d been broken down to nothing by the time we met up with Gordon
.
”
Ohh shit, I thought to myself.
Pointing toward the Hulk, Rodgers sneered
,“
This big bastard lost his sister. Many of my men,
good
men, died. All because you did
n’
t like the ways things were being run by Gordon
.
”
He had a venom in his voice that I had never heard from him before.
“
Do you, the good guys, have any idea how many people you killed because you decided to take over Avalon?
Do you
?”
he screamed at the top of his lungs, giving me enough reason to wince back.
Not one of us knew how the hell to respond. All that could be heard was the roar of the twin engines. The smell of piss, still lingering in the cockpit, served as the single distraction from the mounting tension.
Jarvis broke the silence
.“
H
e’
s a lunatic. You have to know that his plan for this so called utopia was never going to work. Gordon is wired all wrong! He does nothing, other than manipulate and try to control people. H
e’
s probably using you too, Rodgers. It is
n’
t too late to make things right. You have a choice here. We can do it together
.
”
“
Ha! I think yo
u’
re confused, Jarvis. Yo
u’
re the one wh
o’
s trying to manipulate people. You have everybody convinced that we can still follow the old worl
d’
s rules. We can be decent. We can be good. Everybody is equal. That is bullshit! In the end, you actually believe yo
u’
re right and the rest of the world is wrong. Well,
I’
ve got news for you! There is no more good. All the good people died in the beginning. Ther
e’
s not a single person alive who is still innocent
.
”
Jarvis fought to stay composed through the screaming. However, for the briefest of moments, I saw him glance dow
n…
taking it all in. I hoped he was
n’
t second-guessing his actions.
“
This makes you weak.
I’
ve watched as your numbers have dwindled. Yo
u’
re too afraid to do what you need to in order to survive. Yo
u’
ll be picked apart one by one. If it is
n’
t Gordon, it will be someone else who tears Avalon from your grasp. Hell, I volunteered for this job. After Gordon had told me all about you, I knew there was
no
chance to fail
.
”
“
So yo
u’
re just playing for what you think is the winning team
?”
I heard Kyle ask with an intentional note of sarcasm in his voice.
Just as Rodgers was getting ready to respond, I felt my stomach move into my chest. The whole helicopter dropped, and then pulled back up. Throwing my hands across the dashboard to steady myself, I looked over to see Kyle throwing the yoke back and forth. I do
n’
t know if he did it on purpose or if we hit another air pocket, but at that moment, everybody in the rear cabin was being thrown around like rag dolls.
Rodgers fell back into the Hulk, and they were both pressed against the wall on the right. Jarvis was floating mid-air for a moment. It looked like he was weightless before he came crashing down to the ground.
Just as the helicopter steadied, I heard Kyle scream out
,“
Go! You gotta get that gun
!
”
My hands were shaking as I tore off the harness and leapt out of my seat. Jumping over Jarvis, who was still trying to pull himself up, I darted toward Rodgers, who was stunned. I could see the panic in his eyes as he fought to free himself from beneath the leg of the giant pinning him to the floor. As I came within striking distance, I realized his hand was no longer holding the gun.
Frantically, I searched around the cabin for the weapon.
“
Over there
!”
I heard Jarvis yell out. Following his pointing hand, I found the small firearm sitting in plain sight just feet from where I stood. My final thought before diving was that Rodgers appeared a hell of a lot closer to it than I was.
My head drove into his chest as we both wrapped our hands around its black metal frame. He had the better grip, so I instinctively arched my back in an effort to force his arm up, pointing the gun at the roof of the helicopter. Jarvis jumped into the mix, trying to wrap his bicep around Rodger
s’
s neck. Tag teaming the bastard, we had him pinned under our combined weight when Jarvis found a way to slip his fingers through the trigger guard, gaining a solid upper hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched helplessly as the Hulk found his footing and stood up. He was coming right at u
s…
right at me.
Two large hands wrapped around my waist, squeezing my stomach hard enough to make me choke. I was yanked out of the wrestling match now happening on the floor, and thrown against a set of green metal benches. The stabbing sensation of getting the wind knocked out my lungs shot through my body, yet I still managed to get to my feet in time to see the giant stomping directly toward me.
He had my hammer drawn and held it above his head. Crouching down toward the seat to try to avoid the strike, I watched as the Hul
k’
s sweat-stained shirt squeezed tightly around an enormous set of arms that had already started to swing downward.
An ear-piecing clang rang out through the cabin as the hammer caught against the railing hanging above his head. He was stunned for a moment, then tried to unhook the hammer. Taking the opportunity, I spun past his legs while swiping one arm out to snag a handful of the yellow wrist ties hanging from his cargo pants pocket.
“
Get over here and grab this gun
!”
I heard Rodgers cry out.
Ignoring me, the beast stepped toward Jarvis, who was pinned with his back up against the wall, managing to keep Rodgers from gaining full control of the weapon.
I did
n’
t think about what came next. I just acted. I
t’
s the kind of thing that happens in the blink of an eye. A final desperate action that winds up working out only half the tim
e…
if yo
u’
re lucky.
Pulling one of the yellow ties open, I jumped forward as the Hulk leaned down and grabbed the gun. Slipping the oversized tie over the gian
t’
s head, it fell loose around his neck before I yanked with all my strength and jumped back. With the plastic digging into his flesh, the Hulk lifted his hands to his throat, trying to slip his fingers between the tie and his reddening skin. Dropping the gun and hammer, he stumbled around the cabin, knocking into each wall. What sounded like a dry cough kept coming out of his mouth as he fell to his knees. He made eye contact with me as he finally fell to his side with a thud that shook the very core of the helicopter.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall, rang in my mind.
Inadvertently pulling a deep mouthful of air into my chest, trying to reassure myself that I could still breathe, I watched in awe while the Hul
k’
s lungs fought to keep moving. As his hands fell lifelessly to the ground, my attention turned to Jarvis, who was struggling to hold Rodgers down.