Page 26 of Fight for Me

“Not really,” I respond, not really paying attention to the conversation.

“I think you could’ve mentioned it before you dragged me here in the middle of nowhere to have a front-seat view of a gun trafficking gang dealing with our crazy ass sheriff, you asshole! This is way more serious than I thought.”

“Calm down, Diaz. This doesn’t change anything,” I reason with him, but it’s half-hearted, as I’m already thinking of the best way to get into the warehouse. I don’t think there’s anyone here, but better to be safe than sorry.

“The fuck it doesn’t,” my colleague mutters, but drops to a better position to watch me as I start creeping closer to the abandoned building.

I move slowly, checking my surroundings the whole time, the gravel crunching silently under my boots, but still not a peep from anywhere. It’s when I come closer to the back wall that I hear muffled voices coming from the inside. How did they get here? Or have they been here all this time?

Moving closer to one of the small windows, I sneak a peek, but only make out two silhouettes in the dark room standing over a crate filled with something. From here, I can’t make out what they’re saying or what’s inside so I turn around the corner to get a better look from some other angle. That’s when a sharp pain registers at the back of my head, right before everything turns dark.

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I WAKE UP DISORIENTED, sporting a splitting headache, and try to lift my hand to check out the source of the agonizing pain, but blink my eyes wide open when I realize both of my arms are restrained. When I look down, I see that I’m strapped into a chair in the middle of the warehouse. My legs are tied to the chair as well.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. I was worried a bit that you were hit too hard and wouldn’t make it before we had a chance to talk.”

I squint my eyes in the darkened room and ask, “Wallace?” I can feel blood oozing from the back of my head. Motherfucker, but that hurts.

A slow villain-like clapping resonates through the room and the sheriff himself steps into my line of sight.

“Hi there, nice for you to join me. I’m glad that good-for-nothing scum did his job. Wasn’t sure about his ability to do the right thing, what’s with him fucking that useless little whore that I’ve been calling my daughter, but surprisingly, he delivered. Good.”

“You know who I am, right?” I ask with a sneer.

Wallace snorts contemptuously before spitting on the floor. “Fucking FBI. Sending undercover idiots onto my fucking turf. This is my fucking town. My rules!”

It’s my turn to snort, but I soon regret the motion when a pulsating pain spreads through my head and I grimace.

“Anyway, I would probably never suspect a thing. I admit, I didn’t think anyone would be ballsy enough to come and spy on me. Maybe, I would’ve even clued you in on the side business, and then I would be done.” He laughs maniacally before continuing. “But you made a mistake. Oh, man, did you make one. You crossed me on the first day. You got interested in my family. Furthermore, you got interested in that little brat. So in return, I got interested in you.”

The sheriff comes to crouch in front of the chair, and I start to struggle, yearning to wrap my hands around his throat.

“It was so fun watching you underestimate the power I have over my town. I’ve had people watching you constantly, reporting to me about your whereabouts and your secret meetings with Jennifer. I enjoyed watching you chase your tail for almost two years. But all good times must come to an end.”

“Why the fuck are you still talking? If you want me dead, then fucking kill me before you annoy me to death with your self-praise,” I spit through gritted teeth.

That makes Wallace cackle, and at this moment I can see that there’s not a shred of reason in this guy’s mind. He fucking lost it completely.

“Oh, I will kill you, but my boys still need to arrange a few things. You see, killing an FBI agent isn’t something I want to go down for. So, we have to be a little creative here. Good thing, our business partner, so to speak, told us about troubles they had with their rivals. We'll kill two birds with one stone. Get rid of you and blame it on the enemy. A perfect solution.”

“How do you know that I didn’t already notify the FBI that I’m here?”

The maniac replies with a toothy smile. “Told you. I have eyes and ears everywhere. You did everything like you were supposed to. So predictable. Although, we are still looking for Diaz. We know he left the station with you.”

“So you got that kid Marcus working for you?” I ask, changing the subject. If Diaz got out, then good for him. I’d rather talk to Dr. Evil here about his sinister scheme than have that man on my conscience.

“Not exactly. The information he fed you was mostly true. The boy did eavesdrop on a personal conversation. What he probably failed to mention, though, is the fact that he got caught. You see, I’m still the sheriff. And the kid was breaking the law and selling drugs. So, I only had to use a little persuasion to get him to do my dirty work.”

“Persuasion? More like threatening,” I grouse, my head lolling to the side involuntarily. Black spots appear in front of my eyes, and I blink them away before focusing on the man keeping me hostage.

“Yeah, I see you’re getting weaker, I hope you will survive to witness the big finale. I want to see the look on your face.” I frown and look up as he jumps up with glee. “Oh! Just in time.”

Wallace swings my phone in front of my face and I can see that my aunt Ruth is calling. What is he playing at?

“This is going to be good.” The sheriff waits for the call to switch to voicemail and then when the screen lights up to indicate the awaiting message, he clicks on it and plays it for me to hear.

“Damon,” Ruth’s distraught voice echoes in the building. “Why aren't you picking up, boy? I don’t know what’s going on, but the police came to take Jenny. They couldn’t find her here, so I think she escaped, but I don’t know if she managed to get away. Did you hear from her? Please, call me when you get this.”

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