Keep The Car Running - Part 9
Part 8
“Bizarre happenings at Georgia State University today,” the news reporter on TV said in a voice over. “When an anonymous tip was sent into the Georgia State police, they expected to find either a domestic disturbance or a possible drug deal. Instead, they found half a million dollars, all in cash, and two young men who are not registered GSU students knocked out on the floor...”
“It was actually a million,” Gabe said as he leaned back on the couch, his arm around Greta’s shoulder. “The rest is in the trunk of Greta’s car.”
They were all sitting in the living room of the house, watching the seven o’clock Breaking News report about the money mysteriously being kept in a room at the Georgia State University Commons. Gabe sat casually with Greta and Butch while Fran, Chris, and Darren listened to Gabe with rapt attention, wanting to know more details of what happened. “What are you going to do with it,” Darren asked as he took a drink of his beer.
“We’re going to hold onto it for a couple of days, then drop it by the police station so they can take in the rest as evidence against Pete.”
“Well, not before taking a bit...”
Gabe cast a look at Greta. “Seriously? I thought we weren’t going to do that.”
She shrugged. “Well, you don’t have to, but I’m only going to take a stack or two. This lifestyle isn’t cheap, you know.”
The report had barely finished and the debate on taking Pete’s money had barely started when Gabe’s phone rang. It was Pete. Composing himself and silencing the others in the living room, Gabe put on his best cool expression before flipping open the phone. “Pete! I haven’t heard from you. How’s it been?”
“Have you not seen the news,” Pete asked, his voice seething. “Somebody sold out my men! A good portion of my money is missing! The rest is being obtained by the police!”
Gabe turned his voice down. “Oh man, I’m so sorry. Do you know who did it?”
“No, I don’t know who did it! For all I know, it could have been you, Alexander!”
Gabe tried his best not to laugh. Pete didn’t know how true that was. “No way, man. I had no idea where you were keeping your money. I had just learned those guys' names! Though... no... it couldn’t be...”
“Couldn’t be what?”
“Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but Patrick’s been acting a bit weird lately. Maybe he had something to do with it?”
There was a very long pause on the line before Pete calmly cleared his throat and said, “I’m texting you an address in an hour. I need you to be there two hours after that. You are helping me move the girls out tonight, then we are going to take care of the Patrick issue.”
Gabe felt his heart stop at everything Pete had said. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me, Alexander. If you really want to be a part of my business, you do everything I just said or Patrick won’t be the only one getting familiar with dirt tonight.”
Before Gabe could say anything else, Pete hung up and left Gabe hanging on the line speechless. Greta looked over at him, worried. “Gabe, what’s wrong?”
“Pete wants to move the girls in three hours instead of tomorrow,” he said, looking at all of them worried. “Then he wants me to help him ‘take care’ of Patrick.”
Butch’s eyes widened. “Oh god, what the fuck do we do now?”
If you want to make it as a spy, you have to expect things to rarely ever go according to plan. You have to be ready to come up with new plans quickly, even if you barely have time to recover from being blindsided by the sudden upset in your original plans.
Gabe hopped up from the couch and faced all of them. “Butch, Greta, get anything you might possibly have that can help stage a break in. Fran, Chris, Darren, I really hate to drag you into this, but I need you to try and find a black Crown Victoria cruising around this area. Tell the two inside to get to the address on the flash drive immediately.”
They all nodded and quickly dispersed. Chris and Darren were out the door, Greta was up the stairs and Butch and Fran were heading to the basement. Gabe began to ascend the stairs after Greta to find his tools.
If Pete wanted to move the girls in three hours, Gabe was determined to break them out and end this in two.
-------------------
Greta was speeding down the roads. Several people were honking at her and she had almost been hit twice, but it didn't slow her down. They had already lost almost an hour prepping and she wasn't going to take the blame if Pete beat them to where the girls were being held. "Butch, hand me another tear gas canister."
"You already have two," Butch said as he reluctantly handed her something from the backseat. "Take the flash grenade. That and tear gas we have should be enough to take out four guards."
"Four or five," Gabe said as he reached over into the backseat for a gas mask. "I didn't get the exact number, but I think we have more than enough to take them out. Right now, I'm more worried about why Butch has riot gear in his basement."
"It's Fran's," Butch said flatly. "Though I'm probably going to have to pay more in rent next month for using the tear gas."
He tightened a strap on his bulletproof vest and Gabe shook his head. "Someday, you're going to have to fill me in on all the shit I missed for three years."
Butch gave him a sad smirk as he pulled out his own gas mask. "How close are we?"
"Very," Greta said as she veered into another lane. "Toss me a mask, Butch."
Butch placed the mask in Greta's lap as they turned down a narrow street, the apartment complex in sight at the end. Greta made a sharp turn into the parking lot and slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a lurching halt. "Should we shoot at them first," Greta asked as she slipped on her mask.
Before Gabe could answer, a bullet ricocheted off the car hood, making them all freeze. "Does that answer your question, Greta?"
In situations like this, being covert isn't exactly the name of the game. You want someone to notice that you've been there and have purposely tried to uproot their entire operation. Making a big entrance and getting enough attention that someone might call the police is fine, but you have to follow it up quickly because there's only so much a bulletproof vest can protect.
Greta flung open the drivers side door, pulling her gun out from under her seat. "Gabe," she said loudly through her mask, "Toss the flash bang!"
Gabe nodded as she began shooting at the guards. He grabbed a hold of the flash grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it as far as he could. He was satisfied when he heard it clang on the second floor. He then ducked behind the car door as it went off, listening to the shouts of the bodyguards as it did.
A flash bang is a good primary distraction if you throw it far enough that it doesn't affect you. It temporarily blinds anyone in the nearby area, giving you good time to follow up with your next plan of attack.
"Butch, gas them out!"
Butch nodded as he crawled out of the backseat, his left hand wrapped around two tear gas grenades. He slunk low to the ground, keeping his eyes towards the top level as the guards shot at Greta. He then jumped up, rushing towards the stairs. He launched the grenades towards the top level in short succession before running up the stairs. Gabe watched as they went off, listening as the guards stopped shooting and started coughing loudly. Butch signaled to the other two to follow him as he rushed up the stairs. Greta rushed away from the car door, her gun at her side and Gabe grabbed his tools, following after her.
In situations like this, it's better to send in the person who is best with hand to hand first. Unless you're trying to not leave survivors, going in guns blazing is a fast way to get your team killed.
Through the haze, one of the guards charged at Butch, but he quickly thrust his knee into his abdomen, grabbed him by the arm and tossed him onto the ground. The guard tried to sit up, but Butch put his foot on his chest and pushed down. "Stay."
As the guard took a sharp exhale, Butch looked up at Greta and Gabe. "Start getting the girls out. I'll take care of the guards."
The two nodded and Butch rushed down the hall to take care of the other guards. Gabe zipped open his bag of tools. "What do you want to take?"
"Give me a screwdriver and a hammer," Greta said, fishing through the bag. "These locks shouldn't take too long to take down."
"Okay," Gabe said, grabbing a small crowbar for himself. "You take the left, I'll take the right."
Sometimes, in desperate situations where time is of the essence, the best kind of lock pick is just pure force and anything that can be used to pry crappy locks off of doors.
Gabe could hear a girl crying from behind the door as he began attacking the lock with a crowbar. He then lifted up the mouthpiece of the mask up slightly. "Don't worry, I'm here to help! Just back away from the door!"
He struck the lock one more time with as much force he could muster and it went tumbling to the ground. He then kicked open the door, looking inside. In the corner, a tiny brunette girl was looking up at him with teary eyes. Gabe stepped into the room and held his hand out to her. "C'mon..."
She reluctantly took his hand and Gabe gently pulled her onto her feet. "Run down the stairs to the parking lot, but don't run away. The police should be here soon to take care of everything. Keep your nose covered. Go! Go!"
The brunette nodded furiously and ran off. Gabe looked out the door to see that Greta had two doors open already and was pushing one of the girls towards the stairs. Gabe ducked over to the next set of doors, repeating the process for the next three doors. Strike, rip, kick, get the girl out. As he reached the last door, he looked into the parking lot to see that Butch was keeping the girls together and keeping them as calm as possible. Victoria still wasn't among them, but him and Greta weren't done yet.
Quickly, he knocked off the lock of the last door with the crowbar and kicked the door open. Gabe froze when he saw who was sitting on the bed. "Victoria?"
The girl jumped a little as she looked up at Gabe. She definitely matched the pictures Nate had given them. "Y-yeah... that's me. How did you know my name though?"
Gabe ripped his mask off and stepped into the threshold. "My name is Gabe. I'm a friend of Nate's. We're here to help."
"We?"
"Me and my friends," Gabe said, holding his hand out to her. "We came to find you, but we're busting everyone out. Now c'mon..."
Victoria sat reluctantly on the bed, a look of uncertainty on her face. "Why should I believe you?"
Gabe sighed and opened up his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the distant sound of police sirens. "Well, I guess you're going to find out now."
Before she could say anything else, Gabe reached into the room and grabbed her by the hand. She struggled against him, but he quickly dragged her out of the room, over the bodies of the guards, past Greta working over the doors, and down the stairs. "We got company!"
Greta stopped working and listened to the police sirens. Cursing under her breath, she quickly knocked off the lock, pushed the door open and ducked in to pull the last girl out. Gabe could hear them storming down the stairs as he reached the bottom. Victoria was still struggling in his grip, but Gabe wasn't letting go. "You guys remember what we said? Don't run off! Tell the police that there's more of you that need to be let out!"
As Greta reached the bottom of the stairs, Gabe could hear the sirens getting closer. "Greta, get the car started! We need to get out of here."
Greta said nothing as she let go of the blonde girl she had just freed and rushed off towards her car. Butch dashed off behind her and Gabe struggled to drag Victoria towards the car. "C'mon! You have to leave with us!"
"No! No! Stop it!"
Gabe groaned as he pulled harder at her arm. Greta was starting up the car as he shoved her into the backseat with Butch. He then jumped in the front seat and had barely slammed the door close when Greta began to speed off down the street. Gabe could see the red and blue lights pull into the drive as they did. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but was quickly interrupted by Victoria banging on the back of his seat. "You asshole! This isn't a rescue, it's a kidnapping! Why are you kidnapping me again?!"
She kept beating on the back of his seat for a few seconds until Butch grabbed a hold of her hands and restrained her. "Chill out! We're not kidnappers!"
Victoria struggled against Butch's grip. "Prove it!"
Greta pulled off into an abandoned parking lot, bringing the car to a slow stop. She removed her mask and looked into the backseat with the calmest expression Gabe had ever seen on her. "Butch, you have Nate's number, right?"
"Of course," he said, still struggling with Victoria.
"Call him and put him on speakerphone."
Butch nodded and let go of Victoria. He pulled his own mask off in the process as he reached into his pocket for his phone. He dialed a number and pressed a button, suddenly making the dial-tone audible. The tone went on for a few seconds before a voice finally answered. "Hello," Nate said in a voice that sounded sleepy and worried all at once. "Is everything okay?"
Victoria sat in stunned silence as Butch lifted the phone to his mouth. "Yeah, everything is fine. We actually wanted to share something with you."
"What? Did you get anything else about where Victoria is?"
Butch handed the phone over to Victoria and quietly said, "You tell him."
"Tell me what?"
Victoria sniffed and wiped at her eyes as she took the phone. "Hi Nate."
There was a long pause on the other side of the phone before Nate finally responded. "V-Victoria? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," she said with a smile. "I'm okay."
Gabe smiled and breathed a final sigh of relief, leaning his head against the headrest. He then looked over at Greta, who was looking as equally relieved as she watched Victoria talk to Nate on the phone. Gabe then reached over and took Greta's hand, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Thanks for all your help," he whispered.
"Anytime," she whispered back. "I could get used to doing stuff like this..."
Gabe smiled a tiny bit at that. Maybe he could too.
Part 10
“Bizarre happenings at Georgia State University today,” the news reporter on TV said in a voice over. “When an anonymous tip was sent into the Georgia State police, they expected to find either a domestic disturbance or a possible drug deal. Instead, they found half a million dollars, all in cash, and two young men who are not registered GSU students knocked out on the floor...”
“It was actually a million,” Gabe said as he leaned back on the couch, his arm around Greta’s shoulder. “The rest is in the trunk of Greta’s car.”
They were all sitting in the living room of the house, watching the seven o’clock Breaking News report about the money mysteriously being kept in a room at the Georgia State University Commons. Gabe sat casually with Greta and Butch while Fran, Chris, and Darren listened to Gabe with rapt attention, wanting to know more details of what happened. “What are you going to do with it,” Darren asked as he took a drink of his beer.
“We’re going to hold onto it for a couple of days, then drop it by the police station so they can take in the rest as evidence against Pete.”
“Well, not before taking a bit...”
Gabe cast a look at Greta. “Seriously? I thought we weren’t going to do that.”
She shrugged. “Well, you don’t have to, but I’m only going to take a stack or two. This lifestyle isn’t cheap, you know.”
The report had barely finished and the debate on taking Pete’s money had barely started when Gabe’s phone rang. It was Pete. Composing himself and silencing the others in the living room, Gabe put on his best cool expression before flipping open the phone. “Pete! I haven’t heard from you. How’s it been?”
“Have you not seen the news,” Pete asked, his voice seething. “Somebody sold out my men! A good portion of my money is missing! The rest is being obtained by the police!”
Gabe turned his voice down. “Oh man, I’m so sorry. Do you know who did it?”
“No, I don’t know who did it! For all I know, it could have been you, Alexander!”
Gabe tried his best not to laugh. Pete didn’t know how true that was. “No way, man. I had no idea where you were keeping your money. I had just learned those guys' names! Though... no... it couldn’t be...”
“Couldn’t be what?”
“Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but Patrick’s been acting a bit weird lately. Maybe he had something to do with it?”
There was a very long pause on the line before Pete calmly cleared his throat and said, “I’m texting you an address in an hour. I need you to be there two hours after that. You are helping me move the girls out tonight, then we are going to take care of the Patrick issue.”
Gabe felt his heart stop at everything Pete had said. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me, Alexander. If you really want to be a part of my business, you do everything I just said or Patrick won’t be the only one getting familiar with dirt tonight.”
Before Gabe could say anything else, Pete hung up and left Gabe hanging on the line speechless. Greta looked over at him, worried. “Gabe, what’s wrong?”
“Pete wants to move the girls in three hours instead of tomorrow,” he said, looking at all of them worried. “Then he wants me to help him ‘take care’ of Patrick.”
Butch’s eyes widened. “Oh god, what the fuck do we do now?”
If you want to make it as a spy, you have to expect things to rarely ever go according to plan. You have to be ready to come up with new plans quickly, even if you barely have time to recover from being blindsided by the sudden upset in your original plans.
Gabe hopped up from the couch and faced all of them. “Butch, Greta, get anything you might possibly have that can help stage a break in. Fran, Chris, Darren, I really hate to drag you into this, but I need you to try and find a black Crown Victoria cruising around this area. Tell the two inside to get to the address on the flash drive immediately.”
They all nodded and quickly dispersed. Chris and Darren were out the door, Greta was up the stairs and Butch and Fran were heading to the basement. Gabe began to ascend the stairs after Greta to find his tools.
If Pete wanted to move the girls in three hours, Gabe was determined to break them out and end this in two.
-------------------
Greta was speeding down the roads. Several people were honking at her and she had almost been hit twice, but it didn't slow her down. They had already lost almost an hour prepping and she wasn't going to take the blame if Pete beat them to where the girls were being held. "Butch, hand me another tear gas canister."
"You already have two," Butch said as he reluctantly handed her something from the backseat. "Take the flash grenade. That and tear gas we have should be enough to take out four guards."
"Four or five," Gabe said as he reached over into the backseat for a gas mask. "I didn't get the exact number, but I think we have more than enough to take them out. Right now, I'm more worried about why Butch has riot gear in his basement."
"It's Fran's," Butch said flatly. "Though I'm probably going to have to pay more in rent next month for using the tear gas."
He tightened a strap on his bulletproof vest and Gabe shook his head. "Someday, you're going to have to fill me in on all the shit I missed for three years."
Butch gave him a sad smirk as he pulled out his own gas mask. "How close are we?"
"Very," Greta said as she veered into another lane. "Toss me a mask, Butch."
Butch placed the mask in Greta's lap as they turned down a narrow street, the apartment complex in sight at the end. Greta made a sharp turn into the parking lot and slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a lurching halt. "Should we shoot at them first," Greta asked as she slipped on her mask.
Before Gabe could answer, a bullet ricocheted off the car hood, making them all freeze. "Does that answer your question, Greta?"
In situations like this, being covert isn't exactly the name of the game. You want someone to notice that you've been there and have purposely tried to uproot their entire operation. Making a big entrance and getting enough attention that someone might call the police is fine, but you have to follow it up quickly because there's only so much a bulletproof vest can protect.
Greta flung open the drivers side door, pulling her gun out from under her seat. "Gabe," she said loudly through her mask, "Toss the flash bang!"
Gabe nodded as she began shooting at the guards. He grabbed a hold of the flash grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it as far as he could. He was satisfied when he heard it clang on the second floor. He then ducked behind the car door as it went off, listening to the shouts of the bodyguards as it did.
A flash bang is a good primary distraction if you throw it far enough that it doesn't affect you. It temporarily blinds anyone in the nearby area, giving you good time to follow up with your next plan of attack.
"Butch, gas them out!"
Butch nodded as he crawled out of the backseat, his left hand wrapped around two tear gas grenades. He slunk low to the ground, keeping his eyes towards the top level as the guards shot at Greta. He then jumped up, rushing towards the stairs. He launched the grenades towards the top level in short succession before running up the stairs. Gabe watched as they went off, listening as the guards stopped shooting and started coughing loudly. Butch signaled to the other two to follow him as he rushed up the stairs. Greta rushed away from the car door, her gun at her side and Gabe grabbed his tools, following after her.
In situations like this, it's better to send in the person who is best with hand to hand first. Unless you're trying to not leave survivors, going in guns blazing is a fast way to get your team killed.
Through the haze, one of the guards charged at Butch, but he quickly thrust his knee into his abdomen, grabbed him by the arm and tossed him onto the ground. The guard tried to sit up, but Butch put his foot on his chest and pushed down. "Stay."
As the guard took a sharp exhale, Butch looked up at Greta and Gabe. "Start getting the girls out. I'll take care of the guards."
The two nodded and Butch rushed down the hall to take care of the other guards. Gabe zipped open his bag of tools. "What do you want to take?"
"Give me a screwdriver and a hammer," Greta said, fishing through the bag. "These locks shouldn't take too long to take down."
"Okay," Gabe said, grabbing a small crowbar for himself. "You take the left, I'll take the right."
Sometimes, in desperate situations where time is of the essence, the best kind of lock pick is just pure force and anything that can be used to pry crappy locks off of doors.
Gabe could hear a girl crying from behind the door as he began attacking the lock with a crowbar. He then lifted up the mouthpiece of the mask up slightly. "Don't worry, I'm here to help! Just back away from the door!"
He struck the lock one more time with as much force he could muster and it went tumbling to the ground. He then kicked open the door, looking inside. In the corner, a tiny brunette girl was looking up at him with teary eyes. Gabe stepped into the room and held his hand out to her. "C'mon..."
She reluctantly took his hand and Gabe gently pulled her onto her feet. "Run down the stairs to the parking lot, but don't run away. The police should be here soon to take care of everything. Keep your nose covered. Go! Go!"
The brunette nodded furiously and ran off. Gabe looked out the door to see that Greta had two doors open already and was pushing one of the girls towards the stairs. Gabe ducked over to the next set of doors, repeating the process for the next three doors. Strike, rip, kick, get the girl out. As he reached the last door, he looked into the parking lot to see that Butch was keeping the girls together and keeping them as calm as possible. Victoria still wasn't among them, but him and Greta weren't done yet.
Quickly, he knocked off the lock of the last door with the crowbar and kicked the door open. Gabe froze when he saw who was sitting on the bed. "Victoria?"
The girl jumped a little as she looked up at Gabe. She definitely matched the pictures Nate had given them. "Y-yeah... that's me. How did you know my name though?"
Gabe ripped his mask off and stepped into the threshold. "My name is Gabe. I'm a friend of Nate's. We're here to help."
"We?"
"Me and my friends," Gabe said, holding his hand out to her. "We came to find you, but we're busting everyone out. Now c'mon..."
Victoria sat reluctantly on the bed, a look of uncertainty on her face. "Why should I believe you?"
Gabe sighed and opened up his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the distant sound of police sirens. "Well, I guess you're going to find out now."
Before she could say anything else, Gabe reached into the room and grabbed her by the hand. She struggled against him, but he quickly dragged her out of the room, over the bodies of the guards, past Greta working over the doors, and down the stairs. "We got company!"
Greta stopped working and listened to the police sirens. Cursing under her breath, she quickly knocked off the lock, pushed the door open and ducked in to pull the last girl out. Gabe could hear them storming down the stairs as he reached the bottom. Victoria was still struggling in his grip, but Gabe wasn't letting go. "You guys remember what we said? Don't run off! Tell the police that there's more of you that need to be let out!"
As Greta reached the bottom of the stairs, Gabe could hear the sirens getting closer. "Greta, get the car started! We need to get out of here."
Greta said nothing as she let go of the blonde girl she had just freed and rushed off towards her car. Butch dashed off behind her and Gabe struggled to drag Victoria towards the car. "C'mon! You have to leave with us!"
"No! No! Stop it!"
Gabe groaned as he pulled harder at her arm. Greta was starting up the car as he shoved her into the backseat with Butch. He then jumped in the front seat and had barely slammed the door close when Greta began to speed off down the street. Gabe could see the red and blue lights pull into the drive as they did. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but was quickly interrupted by Victoria banging on the back of his seat. "You asshole! This isn't a rescue, it's a kidnapping! Why are you kidnapping me again?!"
She kept beating on the back of his seat for a few seconds until Butch grabbed a hold of her hands and restrained her. "Chill out! We're not kidnappers!"
Victoria struggled against Butch's grip. "Prove it!"
Greta pulled off into an abandoned parking lot, bringing the car to a slow stop. She removed her mask and looked into the backseat with the calmest expression Gabe had ever seen on her. "Butch, you have Nate's number, right?"
"Of course," he said, still struggling with Victoria.
"Call him and put him on speakerphone."
Butch nodded and let go of Victoria. He pulled his own mask off in the process as he reached into his pocket for his phone. He dialed a number and pressed a button, suddenly making the dial-tone audible. The tone went on for a few seconds before a voice finally answered. "Hello," Nate said in a voice that sounded sleepy and worried all at once. "Is everything okay?"
Victoria sat in stunned silence as Butch lifted the phone to his mouth. "Yeah, everything is fine. We actually wanted to share something with you."
"What? Did you get anything else about where Victoria is?"
Butch handed the phone over to Victoria and quietly said, "You tell him."
"Tell me what?"
Victoria sniffed and wiped at her eyes as she took the phone. "Hi Nate."
There was a long pause on the other side of the phone before Nate finally responded. "V-Victoria? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," she said with a smile. "I'm okay."
Gabe smiled and breathed a final sigh of relief, leaning his head against the headrest. He then looked over at Greta, who was looking as equally relieved as she watched Victoria talk to Nate on the phone. Gabe then reached over and took Greta's hand, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Thanks for all your help," he whispered.
"Anytime," she whispered back. "I could get used to doing stuff like this..."
Gabe smiled a tiny bit at that. Maybe he could too.
Part 10