The Trap
By R.C. Stankewitz
Copyright© 2007 All Rights Reserved
No reposting without permission


The Trap

Chapter 13

“The Line Of Scrimmage”

Brian was in his room, checking each of the firearms in his possession. They were checked, cycled and loaded, making sure that there was ammunition for each one. He was setting the sub-nosed Smith & Wesson revolver back in the cabinet as he watched one of Castle's goons walk by the window.

“You'll get yours this evening” he said quietly as he closed up the gun cabinet and removed the key. He knew that this was the only key to the case as he had changed the lock when he started working for Mr. Castle. He then knelt down by his bed and said a quiet prayer.

“Dear Lord, I pray that you will give me the strength and wisdom to get these innocent people out of this mess and to safety without loss of their lives.

I know that I haven't been a perfect person. I have done many bad things in my life both as a military man and as a civilian. I do not see myself as being perfect or worthy of heaven by any means. I have never went to church as an adult or actively prayed to you. I haven't even read my bible since I was a teen.

I only ask, my Lord, that you let me get these good people to safety. I am ready to sacrifice my life to help these people get out of this hell-hole of a mess. If I should get killed today doing this duty, do as you see fit with my soul. Amen.”

He then stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes.

###

“What do you mean, You can't do anything about it?” Lisa blurted out, not sure she really heard what the man behind the desk had said. “I told you Ross Monroe was one of the kidnappers that kidnapped my cousin!”

The ebony-skinned man in the uniform behind the desk just smiled and shook his head. “You will have to take that up with the Coast Guard but I cannot tell you more. He is a suspected drug smuggler as I have been told. It is out of my hands.”

“OK, so who can tell me something or just listen to me?” the female hybrid asked tersely, getting furious by now. “I'm not leaving until you give me a name.”

“Please understand my position” the official said, giving her his version of Peter's cheesy smile. “I can only tell you that International authorities have him in custody now. We turned him over about an hour ago. That is all I can tell you.”

“Oh Great!” Sam said, trying to keep her cool. “Lisa, why don't we call the Coast Guard again. Maybe that Cox guy can help us out.” She was making sure that Lisa had heard her as her hybrid friend was fit to be tied by now.

“Yeah, OK. Let's do that” Lisa said tiredly. “I need to get back to the boat anyway. I have a bad headache and I need some aspirins.” The trio left the building and made their way back to the marina.

###

William was lying in his bed, trying to get some more rest. He had worked out most of the stiffness in his body but the pain was still ever-present in his mind. He knew that Kenji was going to be in a world of hurt to match in a little while.

“You all right?” Brian asked as he brought in William's dinner a little early. “I asked for our dinners to be done now so we will have eaten when the goons are sitting down to their meal” he said, putting the tray on the table. “Fresh tuna steak, William. This stuff's good eatin'.” He saw the big hybrid smile.

“That sounds good, buddy” he replied, getting up to eat. “I'm not stiff but the pain's still there” he told him as he sat down. The aroma from his meal was just out of this world.

How's the plans going?” he asked as he lifted up the lids over the plates. As he smelled the food he said, “I'll miss this good cooking, Brian. Too bad the cook can't go with us.”

“Who said she wasn't?” was his reply. “This lady is ex-Sudanese army, William. She'll rip their heads off by herself! You should see her wield a meat cleaver...” Brian was smiling widely by now. “I can't pronounce her first name so we call her Nana Déby.”

“OK, the more fighters we have, the better our chances” the equine hybrid commented, tasting the meal. “This is unbelievable...”

“As far as the plans, I'll find out where everyone is in the house and get ready for us to move” the bear said, tossing William a key to the chain. “Enjoy your meal.”

As Brian shut the door to his room, William used the key to unlock the chain from his wrist. “Castle, you're doomed...”

###

Lisa was standing there, looking at the phone with disgust. “He told me that they had a handle on it and for us to stay out of it!” Lisa exclaimed, still looking at the phone in her hand. “This is ridiculous! Since when do we have to stand by and be idle observers to a train wreck?!?” She looked over a Sam to see that her friend was just as shocked.

“This is ridiculous if you ask me” John piped up. “Let's take Pete's boat, fuel it up and cruise around a bit. Maybe we could see something. They can't stop us from sight-seeing.”

Lisa looked over at her ex-husband. “OK, let's do that. My credit card isn't shot yet.” She smiled a little smile as she said “Let's go.”

###

Brian was standing outside Tom's room, making sure the coast was clear. He had done his intel and found everyone was on the main floor of the house. He opened the door and backed through.

“Tom, here's some firepower” he said, handing the smallish man the XM177E2 carbine rifle and 3 spare 30 round clips in a pouch. As Tom took the rifle, Brian pulled out his keyring. “Let me unlock that for ya, man” he said, removing the lock from the chain and putting it in his pocket. Looking at Tom, he said, “You never know when you might need one.” The smallish man just nodded as he checked the ready state of the weapon and pushed the selector to 'Fire'.

“If you see a big Sudanese lady or a female equine hybrid, they're friendly” the bear told him. “Anybody else, it's shoot to kill.” He saw the smallish man nod at him. “Go down the hall, past the stairs. William's room is the last one on the right. Now go quietly.” Brian looked out in the hallway and motioned him out.

Tom slowly made his way down the hall, stopping to check the status before quickly skirting the stairs. He made his way down the hall to the last room on the right. He knocked and said “William?”

“Tom!” the big hybrid replied quietly. “Get in here!” William looked up to see his partner back into his room and close the door. “About time you got here” he said, getting up off the bed and giving him a big hug. “I thought I'd never see you again, buddy.”

“Well, I missed you too” Tom replied, looking around at his room. “Nice digs, man. Better than some places we've been” he said with a hint of sarcasm. As they stood there, a knock came on the door, followed by two fast knocks. The door opened and in came Brian, Patricia and Nana.

“OK, phase 1 complete. Let me go lure Kenji down here” the bear hybrid said, checking his rifle once more. “William, you know what to do.” The big hybrid nodded as Brian left the room.

###

Lisa was standing there at the fuel pumps, looking at the prices that were posted. “$4.48 per gallon?!?” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “Shit! This is piracy, if you ask me!” It was clear that she was really upset.

“Lisa, I'll put $500 on my credit card” John offered, walking over to her. “I'm sorry about this” he commented, reaching out and pulling her to him. Lisa was trying her best not to cry at this moment as the pressures were building up on her.

“I hope we find your cousin” he added as he hugged her to him and stroked her mane gently. She slowly put her arms around him as she began to cry in earnest on his shoulder. What she couldn't see was that John was crying too as he said “I hope everything works out OK.”

###

William could hear footsteps coming down the stairs as he stood there, the 'bait' in the next phase. Tom was hiding behind the door, weapon ready. He had that 'Let me kill something' look on his face as he lay in wait for the target.

“I am telling you, it's too early to resume but if Mr. Castle has decided, I will continue” Kenji was telling Brian as they walked into the room. William was waiting, holding the ends of the cables out of sight with his little fingers.

“Mr. Delaney, you will tell m...” That was all the tormentor got to say as a huge fist smashed him to the floor.

“There! How do you like me now, ya little shit!” William spat out, giving Brian a smile. “OK Tom, you can come out now and give me a hand with this joker” he said, letting go of the other cable. “Brian, time for phase three.” The bear hybrid nodded as he left the room to head back upstairs.

###

They had finished fueling Peter's vessel and they were going up the coast now, using binoculars to study the shoreline. “Are you OK?” John asked his ex-wife as they stood on the foredeck of Peter's craft. He was concerned because she had cried for some time before she finally settled down.

“Yeah, I'm OK” she said, still sniffing a bit. “Thanks for...well, thanks, John” she replied, still wiping at her eyes. “I”m sorry for that outburst back there. I'm really upset about all of this” she stated, getting out another tissue. “I'll pay you back for that fuel when we get back to the hotel” she added as she looked around for a minute with her binoculars.

“I think things will work out in the end” He stated, putting his arm around her shoulder. “Peter and I will help you find William and his partner, you can bank on that.” Lisa leaned her head over onto his shoulder as she said “Thank you” in a small voice. She slowly reached out and put her arm around his waist, pulling him closer to her.

###

Bernard was walking through the house, headed down to the basement to check on some sounds that he had heard down there. He casually went down the stairs two treads at a time and turned the corner to see William disappear into his room, helping to carry somebody.

“What the hell?!?” he thought, getting ready to finish that sorry equine hybrid off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe, taking the cover off of it and holding it like a dagger. He was going to give that sorry turd what he hoped would be a lethal dose of animal tranquilizer.

He had his thumb on the plunger as he crept over to the door. He slipped up to the opening, his back to the wall. Bernard took a quick look to see where William was and pulled back into the hall. He suddenly felt the barrel of a firearm press into his left temple.

“Make a move and I'll splatter your brains all over this hallway” Patricia said in a very dark tone, reaching out and taking the syringe away from him. Bernard was beginning to sweat by now, especially when she raked the hammer back on that snub-nosed Smith & Wesson 44 magnum. She knew it was cliché but she said it to him anyway in a breathy voice; “Go ahead, punk. Make my day!” She waited a second or two before she said “Hand me that pea-shooter of yours while you're at it.”

Bernard relinquished his firearm to her and she marched him into the room. “Look what I found!” she said, making him hold up his hands. “We got the needle man himself!” She threw a roll of wide white medical tape to the huge hybrid. “That stuff's better than duck tape.” William took it and smiled at her as he nodded.

“The needle man. Bernard, how good of you to visit me” the huge hybrid said as a murderous grin crossed his muzzle. “Good thing you went back for this tape, Pat.”

###

The reluctant search group had been looking for a dock so they could ask where they were in relation to the streets. Peter's GPS navigation unit was throwing a fit, telling them they were in Point Barrow, Alaska. Or somewhere in the Chilean mountains. Or anywhere but where they were right now. “Cheap American GPS unit! I should have brought sturdy Russian GPS with me” Peter said, hitting the device on the top again.

“Look, I think it's working again” Sam said, only to get a disappointing look on her face. “Now we're in downtown Columbus, Ohio...” She took her turn at adjusting the device with the palm of her hand. “Here's the problem” she stated, holding up the antenna lead. Reaching up under it to reattach the lead, the device quickly stabilized as soon as the antenna was attached correctly. “Now we're in Nibe, Denmark...” She looked back at the group with a crooked grin. “I tried...”

“Turn it off” Lisa said, shaking her head. “I have another one on the Hatteras that's a portable unit. Peter, head back to Port Lucaya.” She was still shaking her head at the whole deal. “How did I ever get involved in this...William, I'll kick your butt when I see you again!” she muttered as they headed back to her vessel.

###

Brian walked through the main portion of the house, looking for that God-Damned feline hybrid. He kept thinking that he had to stay alert, stay on his toes for everyones sake. As he drew closer, he heard the feline in his study.

“Brian, what brings you here?” the hybrid said, setting his gin and tonic down. “I don't recall asking for you to come and see me” he stated, putting his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers. His eyes suddenly grew wide as Brian leveled his rifle at him and motioned for him to stand up.

“Get up, you piece of shit!" He spat out, putting his finger on the trigger. Daniel's eyes got wider as he saw this happen. He quickly stood up and put his hands out where Brian could see them. He could see that his former guard had a murderous look on his face

Now see here, my good assistant” Mr. Castle said, trying to remain calm on the outside. Inside he was already running down the street in terror, afraid of being killed by this person with the weapon in his hands.

“Shut Up!” the bear hybrid said tersely, motioning for him to move to one side. “I need to check this desk out” he said, making the feline kneel down and cross his ankles, hands on top of his head. “Move and I'll kill ya, ya smelly, steaming turd!”

“I'm not moving!” the feline said, obviously terrified by now. “Don't shoot me” he begged the bear hybrid, trying to be as still as possible.

Brian rifled through the desk until he found a large manila envelope that said 'William and Tom' on it. Looking to see that the feline was behaving, he checked the contents. Among other things, it held a square drive screwdriver.

“Bingo!” was all he said as a smile crossed his muzzle.