ASCENSION: THE SYSTEMIC SERIES (24 page)

For some reason, I hadn’t sprung from my box as planned.  Instead, I had remained sheltered inside.  It wasn’t that I was afraid, but something inside me just didn’t feel right.  Maybe it was just the planner in me, but I didn’t think showing our cards all at once was the best move.  

Mad Dog addressed the two remaining generals.  “Rambo and his men have joined with Ava,” he said to Fallback and Switchblade.  “Now it’s time for you to make your decision.”

Fallback nodded slowly, “I thought I saw this coming,” he said.  “Just didn’t expect it quite so soon.  But I’m with you.  I think Ava’s on the right track.  You can count on my support.”

Mad Dog looked at Switchblade. 

Switchblade glanced side to side and then looked nervously around the room.  Seeing weapons trained on his bodyguards, he said, “Yeah sure.  I don’t really care who’s running the show as long as I get to handle my neighborhoods the way I want,” he shrugged.

“We want more than that,” Mad Dog said.  “You need to run your neighborhoods the way
Ava
wants.”

Switchblade glared at him.  “Okay,” he finally nodded. “I can do that.”  But the way he said it didn’t inspire great confidence.

But I guess it was enough for Mad Dog.  He lowered his guns.  “Good,” he said.  “Then this meeting is adjourned.  Ava will be in touch shortly and we’ll meet at her new home tomorrow to discuss how things will proceed from here.”

I watched from my crate while the men stood and guns were lowered around the room as the meeting quietly began to break up. 

Mad Dog’s men worked busily to clear the warehouse of dead bodies while Mad Dog stood at the table, reloading his guns.  Meanwhile, I could see Bushy lighting up a cigarette, and Will – having excited his crate – walk up beside him.  Bushy offered him a cigarette which he took.  As he lit the smoke, I saw him look in my direction, probably wondering why the heck I hadn’t followed the plan and whether I’d fallen asleep in my crate. 

Fallback and his men made a quick exit, but Switchblade lingered, mumbling something to his bodyguards, lighting a cigarette, and then walking slowly over to stand behind Mad Dog.  I watched his two guards move over towards where Bushy and Will were now smoking their cigarettes and I instantly knew what was happening.

In the darkness, I touched the safety of my assault rifle – the same one Gordon had given me as a gift back in north Florida – just to ensure it was off.  I kept my eyes trained on Switchblade, watching as he walked up behind Mad Dog who was still fiddling intently with his guns. 

The moment I saw the glint of a knife blade in Switchblade’s hand, I acted.

I burst from my container.  “
Mad Dog!
” I yelled.

Mad Dog dropped his gun, turning just as Switchblade made a thrust from behind.  Mad Dog’s hands when out in front of him to block Switchblade’s thrust and I watched as the knife’s blade slipped silently through the center of one of Mad Dog’s hand.

I didn’t have time to watch the rest.  Instead, I took aim at Switchblade’s two bodyguards who had their guns aimed at the unsuspecting Bushy and Will and squeezed the trigger. 

Rounds tore into the guards just as they began to fire.  One of their bullets struck Bushy and he went down.  Will dove for cover behind the nearest pallet, bullets ripping into the containers atop it and sending a spray of toothpaste everywhere. 

As I dropped the two men, I looked back to Mad Dog.  He stood over Switchblade who lay on the floor in a pool of blood.  What I had missed was an incredibly badass move by Mad Dog.  With his guns inoperable and one of his hands incapacitated and unable to throw a punch due to Switchblade’s knife having been rammed through it, Mad Dog had acted instinctually.  It was something only a man born to fight and pre-set to self-preservation would have thought of.  Turning his own injured hand into a weapon, Mad Dog had grabbed Switchblade by the shirt, holding him close with his good hand while whipping a lightening quick backhand – knife blade still protruding from it – up into Switchblade’s neck – repeating the move several times simply from of adrenaline-fueled rage – until the weight of Switchblade’s lifeless corpse pulled him down and out of Mad Dog’s vicious grip and down onto the floor.  Then, almost as an afterthought, Mad Dog gripped the knife by its handle and ripped it from his hand.       

* * *

“
Surprise!
” Ava met Jake in the driveway as he stepped out of the SUV after his driver had opened the door for him.  Several still bullet-ridden armored SUVs bearing Jake’s personal bodyguards pulled up in the horseshoe-shaped drive behind them.

The Mediterranean-style mansion in front of which they parked housed seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a media room, a wine cellar, a library, a video arcade, and even a bowling alley.  The estate itself comprised nearly five acres and included a boat house with several boat slips, and nearly a quarter mile of sandy beachfront.  The entrance to the private drive was gated, and had a gatehouse for guards, and there was a five-car garage with separate guest quarters above it that would be perfect in which to house additional on-property bodyguards.  

The grounds, as well as the main structure itself, were in need of some cleaning up as there had been some deferred post-flu maintenance to the property.  The lawn needed tending, the hedges and shrubberies trimmed, the driveway had weeds growing up through cracks in the bricks, several portions of the mansion needed painting, there were some loose and missing terra-cotta roof tiles, and portions of the exterior stucco needed to be patched; but otherwise, the place was in pretty decent shape in Ava’s opinion.  It wasn’t anything a few weeks of maintenance wouldn’t handle; and she certainly had the financial resources and manpower now for just such an undertaking.

“Come on!” Ava said excitedly as if she hadn’t a care in the world.  “Come see it!” she took Jake by the hand and led him up the entry steps to the front door. 

Ava had planted the seed of her unhappiness with their current condo situation weeks ago and had been tending it ever since.  She would mention little things she was displeased with.  “I hate that we don’t have a pool here.”  Or “I’m so sick of having these guys in and out of our private residence at all hours of the day and night.  We have no privacy,
and
they
stink!
”  Or “What’s the point of living in Miami if you can’t walk on the beach whenever you want!”

They were just tiny digs, and Jake would often remain silent through her complaints, but Ava knew he was listening and hearing her displeasure.

So when Ava told him that she was going to start house hunting for “something better,” Jake hadn’t put up much of a fight.  It wouldn’t cost him anything since they could just take any home they wanted, so it really wasn’t any skin off his teeth.  And Ava hoped that when the time finally came – as it had now – and she invited Jake to come see their “dream home,” that the seed would have grown enough to flower into a request that didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary.  To Jake, she hoped that it would just be yet another time-consuming project in which he must indulge her to get what he wanted – sex.

“Hold it,” Jake pulled back as they reached the home’s front door.  “Just hold on a minute.”

Ava frowned and pouted, playing the displeased princess while having to temper the excitement of showing off her palace while several of Jake’s bodyguards ambled up to the front door and entered the home.  He’d brought along eight guards in two trailing SUVs in addition to his personal chauffer.  He’d learned from the attempt on his life just how valuable a little caution could be at times.

“Let them do their thing,” he nodded as the guards walked inside to case the joint.  “It’s what we pay them for,” Jake said.  “Let them earn their fucking keep.”

Ava shook her head, rolling her eyes.  “You’re getting paranoid in your old age,” she said somewhat playfully.

Jake huffed, “You’d be fucking paranoid too if somebody tried to off you while you were at…” he paused, catching himself, “…while you were working,” he played it cool.

“You think I’d bring you to see a house where someone was waiting to kill you?” Ava said, nonchalantly.  “That wouldn’t say much for my choice of homes now, would it?”

“Nah,” Jake said. “You wouldn’t be that stupid.  You wouldn’t want to kill the golden goose…your meal ticket.”

Ava bit her tongue at the insult, but she stayed quiet, her jovial demeanor caked on her face.

“But you never know,” Jake continued.  “One of these other jokers might…Mad Dog or Rambo or Fallback, or somebody.  They all seem pretty loyal, but you never know.”

“That’s true,” Ava nodded, coming close to him.  “I’m proud of you,” she nestled up close.  “You’re starting to plan and think like a true leader,” she smiled, kissing him.

A minute later, Jake’s men were back outside.

“All clear, boss,” one of them called to him.

“Alright, let’s go inside,” Ava said excitedly, taking Jake by the hand again and pulling him along behind her.  He followed somewhat begrudgingly. House hunting was definitely
not
his thing.

Jake wasn’t a “house” kind of guy anyway.  A house tied a man to something, and other than Ava, Jake didn’t like being tied to much of anything.

Inside the grand foyer of the home, Ava let go of Jake and spun in sweeping circles, arms held wide out at her sides.  “Isn’t it wonderful?” she breathed, gazing around her.  “This could be our home.”

Jake just grunted.

Ava stopped her twirling and led the way through the foyer and into a huge glass-roofed octagonal-shaped atrium in the center of the home.  Open limestone archways led from every side of the space, the center of which held a massive marble – and currently non-functioning – fountain of a naked cherub boy riding a large fish, the mouth of which appeared to have spouted water when it was working.  The rest of the atrium surrounding the fountain was decorated with an array of dead and wilted potted plants. 

The sunlight here shown down through the glass-ceiling and onto Ava, giving her a radiant look.  Jake watched her.  She looked beautiful wearing black leather knee-high boots and skin-tight black yoga pants that hugged every curve and sank magically into every crevasse.  An equally becoming form-fitted tank top, accessorized with her lucky guns that she was never without and that were strapped across her chest, completed her ensemble. 

For once – actually, maybe for the first time ever – Jake now saw Ava not just as a sex object but as a woman and as a partner.              

Jake followed Ava as she exited the atrium and walked over to the huge sliding pocket doors that led from a hallway off the atrium and into a library that was crammed floor to ceiling with rare and collectible books.

“My gift,” said Ava, spreading her arms wide as she swept around the room, absorbing its elegance.

“We’ll this is a waste of space,” Jake grumbled as he stopped just behind Ava and looked around him.  “But overall, it’s a nice place,” he nodded.  “It’s not really my style, but it’s the most beautiful gift anyone’s ever given me,” he agreed, looking around him at the majestic architecture, the stunning artistry, and the finely-crafted features of the room and the mansion as a whole.

It actually seemed like he was being genuine, and it almost made Ava regret what was coming next; but it was too little too late. 

“But this gift isn’t for
you
…it’s for me,” she turned to look at him, and in the process, leveled her two 9 millimeter lucky handguns at Jake’s chest.

Jake gave a confused half smile. “What?” he said, frowning, not understanding.

Ava shook her head sadly, “Clueless to the end.”

“What do you mean?” Jake frowned.

“I’m setting up shop here…without you,” Ava said. “This is
my
town…
my
people.”

“What do you mean
your
town?”

“I’m
from
here, you idiot,” she shook her head, incredulous at Jake’s apparent inability to connect even the simplest of dots.

“You’re
from
here?” Jake grasped mightily at the concept.

Ava had mapped out this final split months ago, and to this point, had managed the process of getting here magnificently.  And now it was hers for the taking. This was the final phase in moving their organization from joint venture to sole proprietorship.             

“I…I…” Jake fumbled, watching as Ava fingered the triggers of her lucky guns.  “I didn’t know you were from here,” he said as though he was making small talk, giving her a sly, charming little smirk that used to work. 

This time, it didn’t.

“You didn’t know, because you never asked,” Ava said coldly, her eyes cool and calculating as she kept her guns trained on Jake.  “Just like you never asked about the time I spent in Chicago before I met you.  I was going to college and studying operations and business management by the way…just in case you were curious.  Or why I
really
left Little Havana alone, or why the Polaroid pictures were gone from your Stryker or why I took those pictures in the first place, or why I wanted to leave Atlanta and come here, or why I sucked up being with a small-time piece of trash like you for so long.”