Chapter 19: Take Him Down - Still a Nightmare - TDpt3

The house began to come to life about noon, and as each "pair" wandered into the kitchen the conversations picked up where they left off earlier in the day.

Tara was on the phone talking to her daughter. It sounded as though things were a bit mellower, but you could sense the strain in Tara. Marie made eye contact with Tom and smiled nodding her head.

Lisa walked up behind Marie, put her arms around her lover, gave her a kiss on the neck to which Marie bent her head aside giving Lisa more access, and hummed with a smile.

Drawing on some of the training that he'd gone through, Tom was trying to come up with a way to lure Tara's abuser into a "trap" so that he could be jailed. Then it would be a matter of convincing Tara to participate. The whole object would be to draw him out into the open so that he could be neutralized.

He had an idea, but it would take her cooperation, although if he could get someone to dress in her clothes and play the roll it could possibly work just as well. He'd have to make a couple phone calls, but he thought he'd run it by the "family" first.

Softly he began by addressing Tara, "Tara honey," he said getting everyone's attention. "I have an idea how to bring this whole waiting game to an end, but it will take your participation or I'll have to find a 'look-alike' to play the part."

"What are you talking about," asked Marie?

"Well the guy has to be neutralized so he can be arrested, at which point the law can take its course. I'd like to draw him out so I can have the opportunity to let him know that what he's done is, shall we say, unacceptable in a civilized society," he said with a growing grin.

"So what you're saying is you want to go looking for trouble?" commented Lisa.

"In a way, yes. It wouldn't be without the knowledge of law enforcement and I know they don't like 'civilians' doing some of their work for them, but I would hope I could convince them otherwise in this case," he said seriously. "Once I take the bastard down I don't want to have to wait all that long to have him taken into custody. I don't trust myself not to kill the son of a bitch."

Tara looked at Tom skeptically and asked, "Do you really think you can take him down? He's six foot six and weighs at least two hundred and eighty pounds. He's also very strong."

"I have no doubt I can take him down Tara. Something we were taught is that the bigger they are the easier they are to bring down because 'power comes off the floor'. That means I have the leverage advantage by being slightly shorter."

Then looking at them all said with a grin, "I don't believe in fair fights guys. You fight to win so you do anything and everything to affect that final outcome. I'm going to give the sheriff a call and see if there's any status then I'll talk to the 'chief'."

So Tom went off to make the phone calls he needed to do and left the women to chat in the kitchen.

Tara looked at Lisa and Marie, "Is he as crazy as he sounds?"

Marie chuckled and shook her head. "Sweetie, he's not crazy at all. He knows his capabilities and how to use them to his advantage. You have to remember Tara; Tom was a highly trained 'commando' in his service times. I'm sure the idea he's got is simple, effective and has a 99.99% chance of success. I've never known Tom to go off half-cocked. Ever!"

"It just scares me that he might get hurt because of that monster."

"Tara, I would be more worried about the monster. If Tom gets to him before the police, he'll wish he'd given himself up to the police." Then with a chuckle, "I'd bet the monster would fall down a few flights of stairs at minimum."

"I don't know," Tara was visibly nervous.

"Let's just see what he's come up with and what the police say about it," Marie said. "Tom can be very persuasive."

He returned to the room about 30 minutes later with a smile on his face so apparently, whatever it was, worked out.

"The plan is ready," Tom said in a matter of fact tone. "The police weren't too keen on it until I explained my background and the fact I don't want anyone to get involved that doesn't need to, and I don't want anyone getting hurt except the perpetrator."

"So when are you going to do this thing and what is it you're going to do?" asked Marie cautiously.

"Well," looking at Tara, "That depends. Tara, how would you feel about being the 'bait'?"

"Bait?" a startled Tara asked.

"Briefly what I want to do is take you to your house and wait. I figure he's going to be watching the place because he knows you'll come back sooner or later, and he'll see you with another man which will hopefully set him off even more than he already is."

"Then what?" asked Lisa.

"If he takes the bait he'll probably storm into the house full of piss and vinegar, raging about how he's going to do something to everyone."

Then seriously but with a wry chuckle, "You have to understand the psychology. When someone is that 'angry' the rational mind takes a back seat, if it remains at all, someone that's irrational at that level is fairly easy to neutralize. There will be unmarked police vehicles and persons right there, and I'm going to stop off and pick up a 'panic button' which when pushed will bring all of them into the house immediately."

Then looking at Tara again, "Tara, I know that it sounds like a scary idea to you knowing that he'll be that close, however once we enter the house you will hide in a spot you feel would be the last place he'd even try to look. I'm the only one that's going to be there to face him once he decides to be stupid. I want you to think about it, because I don't want you doing it if you think you're going to panic or somehow show something other than you're bringing another man home to have some fun."

She looked at him nervously but said, "I'll do it. I want him put away and if I can help catch him..."

"You're sure?" Tom said looking at her seriously.

She nodded her head then asked for a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Marie went to a drawer in the kitchen and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, handing both to Tara, while Tom made a quick phone call.

Tara began to write on the paper, and as she did so started crying openly. Everyone let her get it out; they knew pretty much what she was doing.

When she was done, she looked up and noticed concern on everyone's face. She smiled at them and said hesitantly, "If anything happens to me in this mess, please give this to Dee. The name of the people, their address and their phone number is at the top so you'll know how to reach them."

"I know it may be unnecessary, but in these kinds of things one can't be sure of the outcome until it's done." Then starting to cry again, "I want Dee to know how much I love her and hope that she'll always remember me as a good mother."

Now everyone in the room was shedding tears, including Tom. "I don't think that will be needed Tara, but these ladies will take care of things if it is."

Looking at Tara, Tom asked, "Do you know if he's armed in any way sweetie?"

Tara shook her head, "Unless he's picked up something in the last few days, no. He doesn't own any guns. He may have a knife of some kind, but no gun."

"Ok. That makes me feel a little better, though if he has a gun, he'll have a bullet between his eyes before he can get it out of his pocket," patting the 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol he had holstered in a way it wasn't noticeable.

They all got wide eyes and Tom heard loud gasps from around the room as he looked into shocked faces. Then looking around the room again, he stopped at Tara, "You ready to rock and roll sweetie? No time like the present to give the shithead some of what he deserves."

Tara looked at him, and nodded picking up her purse and looking right at Tom, "Let's do it."

Everyone in the house hugged her tightly and whispered something into her ear that was personal, and then kissed her. They did the same with Tom.

"I'd expect both of us to be back here before dark, but if not don't panic. It'll only mean he hasn't shown up yet. It'll probably take less than a minute to take him down, so once it's done, he's in custody, and the cops are done with us, we'll be here." Then looking around the room at frightened faces, "Do you want me to pick up a couple pizzas on the way back? Should I call first?"

Tom didn't pound his chest as many might expect from someone with his background, but one thing everyone noticed was a quiet confidence that everything was going to be just fine. This was only an exercise in bringing someone in for justice, nothing more, nothing less.

Hand in hand Tom and Tara left to see about taking down an abuser.

On the way Tom gave her a brief rundown on what the plan was in more detail than he gave everyone else. They didn't have a need to know, so he just gave them enough to chew on. But Tara was getting the fine details.

"Ok sweetie, here's the deal. We're going to slowly walk up the street very conspicuously. You're going to hang all over me, like you're ready to get royally fucked, so lay it on heavy. He has to believe that you're already fucking another guy."

Tara nodded her head with a smile. She thought to herself, "That may not be a bad option. I could use a tender love session with a caring man, god knows I haven't had one of those in a lot of years."

"So you know, I am armed just in case," he reiterated reminding her he was carrying a gun. "Don't worry though, I said if he tried to pull a gun, he'd have a bullet between his eyes before he can get it out of his pocket. I meant that, and between you and me, I'm also capable of carrying it out."

She gave him a shocked look, "The police know you have a gun?"

"Yes, but they also know that I know how to use it, and do it safely so that nobody else gets hurt."

"Tom, I don't want to hide. I want him to see me and know that I am the one. What scares me more than anything, really, is after everything is said and done, if he gets out of prison, he'll want to take his revenge and I'm scared to death for my daughter. Me? I'm not worried about, but Dee is totally innocent in this whole thing and does not deserve what she's already seen, heard and had done to her."

"Has he molested her?" Tom asked quickly.

"No. I don't believe so, but he has beaten her badly a couple times. It was really this last time, when she was trying to save me, that he started going off on her and I said it was enough and called 911. That set him off even more, but somehow he knew the police were on their way. After beating me, calling me all kinds of names, smashing things up, he ran out the back door."

"Well knowing he beat a child like that takes him down one more notch in my book. He's going to wish the police got him first."

"I'm so scared Tom. He's such a big and powerful man, I truly fear for your safety."

Tom looked at her with a wry smile and told her, "Don't you worry about me sweetie. I've taken out worse than he could even dream up. Quite honestly, this isn't even much of a challenge."

"God, I hope you're right. I still don't sense any nervousness or fear in you and that's kind of scary too."

"Tara, I was trained very well for just this kind of situation. I could do what I'm going to do in my sleep. You just have to trust me."

"I trust you Tom, but I still worry."

He parked his Jeep a few blocks away so that it would look like they were both on foot when they arrived. Tara noticed a marked change in Tom's demeanor immediately when they got out of the Jeep. He was hyper sensitive to anything and everything around them. His eyes never stopped moving, and you could tell that he was making a mental picture of everything for future reference.

Tom left nothing to chance. It had kept him alive on many occasions in the past.

They walked hand in hand through the neighborhood while he surveyed the entire area. She was looking around also, wondering when he was going to strike. She knew he would, it was a matter of time.

As they approached the house Tom was catlike in his observations. He whispered to her, "Nine cops in plain clothes, and four unmarked cars. They're giving me exactly the support I asked for."

"What do you mean? I didn't see anything and I was watching too," she looked up at him mysteriously.