Chapter 20

Sam and Chuck hid in an extra bedroom and watched from a slightly cracked door as Tracy came in the house from the garage. Entirely naked and crying, she walked through the house and disappeared in her bedroom. A few minutes later, they heard the shower start. Sam tiptoed to her bedroom door and listened. Even over the streaming water, she could hear Tracy crying.

Tracy stood in the shower until the hot water turned cold and forced her out. Sam backed away from the bedroom door as she came out. Tracy went to a dresser and pulled out a nightshirt. She slipped it over her shoulders and crawled into bed, curling up into a fetal ball. She buried her head in her pillow and even though her sobs were muffled, they were still clearly detectable. At last, she fell into a troubled sleep. Sam backed further away from the door and tiptoed down the hallway to rejoin Chuck.

"She's asleep at last," she whispered to him.

Chuck's phone buzzed. He removed it from its belt case and flipped it open, answering it before the second buzz.

"With pleasure. See you in a few hours babe," he finished. He broke the connection and placed the phone back in its case.

"That was Roxy. They're all safe and are heading home. They have Jack with them. He's in pretty bad shape but he will live. Are you ready to take these fuckers down Sam?" He asked in a whisper.

"Definitely," Sam answered in a single word.

They crept across the hall into the bedroom where they had entered the house. They knelt down and looked out of the corners of the window facing the rear of the house. It was not long before a head peered out from behind one of the evergreens that circled the grounds.

"Did you see that?" Chuck hissed.

"Saw him," Sam answered.

"Next time he pops his head out shoot it off," Chuck said. They both drew their guns and Chuck opened the window. The slight sound of the window opening caused the thug to pop his head out and look. Two holes burned through him, one between the eyes and the other through his throat. Without voicing a word, he slumped to the ground.

They waited for a few more minutes, searching with their eyes for another thug. None was there. Quietly they slipped out of the window and dashed to the cover of the evergreens.

Very sloppy. Only one man to cover the back, Chuck thought and shook his head.

They silently worked their way to the front of the house. They spotted another thug squatting behind one of the evergreens. They took him out quietly. One-by-one, they took out the remaining hired guns. The thugs were all looking at the house and were completely unprepared for attack from the rear. Only the last one was even aware of impending doom when Sam stepped on a twig as they approached.

The sound of the twig snapping was extremely loud in the silence and the thug turned to search for its source behind him. His eyes saw the two people approaching but before his brain could react, two holes burned through his head. He dropped to the ground dead with an expression of surprise forever written on his face.

Sam and Chuck searched the grounds to make sure there were no others and then gathered all the dead bodies in a pile. They left through the front gate and walked to Chuck's car parked a down the street. They drove to his house and Sam jumped out. She climbed into an old van she had purchased during their preparations and followed Chuck back to Tracy's house.

He parked his car and then opened the gate for her to drive thru. They loaded the bodies in back and she followed him to a nearby lake. They parked on a bluff overlooking the lake. Using an anti-theft club she had purchased, Sam pressed the throttle down and braced the club against the seat. The engine roared. She shifted it into drive and jumped back. The van surged forward and arced out over the lake. It came to rest in the water and slowly sank beneath the surface.

Both of them were satisfied that if the van were ever discovered, their fingerprints would have been destroyed by the water. The bodies would be identified as illegal Mexicans and it would be surmised as a drug hit. The case would be quickly closed.

Sam and Chuck climbed into his car and drove back to his house to wait. Tracy would be fine sleeping alone in her house because all threats had been eliminated. Chuck opened his phone and called Roxy. She answered on the third ring.

"Talk to me babe." She said.

"It's done. Tracy's safe. See you in a few hours. Love ya," He finished.

"See you soon," she answered and hung up.

There was a noise of a shifting body from the back seat of Roxy's speeding car.

"Where am I? What's happening?" a weak voice asked.

"You're safe Jack. You're with a friend and we are headed for home," Roxy answered.

"Tracy," his voice said a single word in a much stronger voice. A voice that hinged on panic.

"She's fine Jack. Don't be concerned. Go back to sleep. We'll be home soon."

Blackness closed in on him again and he faded into oblivion. The three cars turned into Roxy's driveway late that night. Amy helped Roxy get Jack out of the car and the three of them went to the front door. It was thrown open by Chuck with Sam standing right behind him. They took Jack to an extra bedroom and laid him on the bed.

Jack struggled into consciousness and was given a glass of water and a sleeping pill. He lapsed back into oblivion in a short time, never opening his eyes. After a quick explanation, Amy, Roxy and Mel knelt by the bed and started running their tongues over Jack's wounds. When they finished they stood back and watched as the wounds closed and started to heal. His right eye had been swollen shut completely and his left had been nearly as bad. The swelling was going down and the bruising was fading.