Got Your Six

Chapter 36

Calvin

I slip out of my truck and manually lock the door before it can beep and draw any unwanted attention my way. It's just past nightfall, and with the darkness on my side, no one will be able to see me walking down the side of the road. If anyone were to drive by they would probably think I'm just some hitch hiker. As soon as I'm even with the tree line, I dart across the road and keep walking on the edge of the field. There's no point walking in the trees, being on the edge of them will disguise my figure good enough while still giving me a clear view of the house.
My heart is racing as I get closer with every step. I remove the pistol from my waistline and hold it tightly in my right hand. If anyone decided to jump out of the trees right now, I'd be ready for them, not that I think that's going to happen. My eyes dart to the road with every passing car on the highway, fearing that one of them will spot me even though I know that from that distance, I blend right into the trees behind me.
As soon as I make it to the end of the field, I stop and crouch down to the ground, watching the house. From here, I can see there are a few lights on in the house. There must be blinds on the windows because the light doesn't shine through very much. After a moment of watching and not seeing any shadows pass over the windows, I decide it's safe enough to move closer.
I doubt Gavin will be alone in there, I just have to hope they're not all waiting for me together. If they split up from each other, it'll make it easier for me to get the jump on them. It would also help if I knew how many people were in the house.
First thing's first, I have to make sure Gavin has no way of getting away. I slowly creep over to the vehicles parked beside the house and hide myself behind the SUV. My heart feels like it's about to burst out of my chest. I take a seat on the ground, leaning against the SUV, and force myself to take a few deep breaths to calm down. Sure, I've done a lot of police work and house raids, but for that stuff, I was always wearing protective vests and I had backup. For this, I'm all on my own without any protective equipment. That's the part that's really scaring me. But I'm already here. I can't back out now.
I pull my pocket knife out of my pants and flick it open. With one big thrust, I jam it into the tire next to me, listening to the air flow out of it. Then I do the same thing to the tire on my other side. No need to get them all, two tires will be enough to keep it from moving. I sprint the short distance to Gavin's beat up car and duck down behind it. As I'm about to jam my knife into the first tire, I notice the bullet holes on the frame of the vehicle. My mind begins to have flashbacks of watching Cameron get shot, watching him fall to the ground and die. All because of Gavin. I have to do this for Cameron, I have to stay focused. I shake the thoughts out of my head and slash both of the tires on the passenger side of the car.
The car slowly lowers to the ground and I slip the knife back into my pocket as I poke my head up to look over the hood. There's still no movement inside or outside of the house. If I want to have the advantage, I'm going to have to change that. It'll be easier for me if I know where they are.
I bolt out from behind the car and pin my body up against the side of the house. While taking a second to catch my breath, I peek around to the back side of the house and spot a door. There's a light above the door without a bulb in it. At least they won't be able to see me coming. Quietly moving around the corner, I grab the screen door with my free hand and pull it out as far as it will go. Then I let it go and bolt around to the other side of the house, opposite the cars. The screen door slams shut with a high pitched Bang and my heart begins to race again. So much for catching my breath.
"Who's there?" I hear someone call out from inside the house.
I can't tell who it is. The voice is too muffled through the wall. I hear the main door squeak open and then the screen door. Just a second later, the screen door slams shut again.
"Who's out here?" The man yells again.
The voice doesn't belong to Gavin. Too bad, I could've put an end to this quickly but I guess I'll have to do it the hard way after all.
"You better come out before you get shot!" The man warns.
The way his voice sounds, I can tell he's not facing my direction. I flip the pistol around in my hand and hold it by the barrel. There's no point for more people to die than necessary. After taking a deep breath, I bolt around the corner and run up behind the man, hitting him as hard as I can with the handle of my pistol. It connects with the back of his head and he falls to the ground with a quiet thud, dropping his own gun on the ground beside him.
I begin frantically looking around the yard for somewhere to hide the man and then spot a shed tucked away behind a few trees. If someone else were to come out and see him lying here, they'd know someone's here looking for them. I slip my pistol into my waistband and drag the man over to the shed, periodically looking back at the house to ensure no one else has come outside. After making sure I'm in the clear, I open the shed and shove the man inside. I look around and grab a two by four off the ground and then shut the man inside, securing the door closed by with the long piece of wood in case he wakes up before this is all over.
Holding my pistol in my hand once again, I make my way back over to the house. As I listen for any voices coming from inside the house, I spot the unconscious man's pistol lying on the ground and secure it in the back of my waistband. He must not have shut the main door when he came out looking for me because I can see right into the house through the screen door.
On the other side of the door is a long hallway that looks like it opens up into the kitchen. There's another opening to the left of the kitchen but there's no lights on to see what might be in that room. I spot a shadow poking out from the kitchen and fling my body to the side of the door, out of view from anyone inside.
"Franky! You good out there?" I hear a woman's voice yell. The voice sounds familiar but I can't quite put a name to it.
After an extended silence, I gain the courage to look through the screen door again. The woman's shadow is gone. I give it another few seconds, just to make sure she doesn't return, and then quietly open the screen door and slip inside.
The air smells like old rotting wood. There's dust and cobwebs everywhere. The floor creaks with every step, making my body freeze with panic. My pistol remains pointed straight forward, ready for anyone to pop out at any second. No one pops out. I make it to the room to the left of the kitchen which turns out to be the dining room. The floor is carpeted, which is better to hide my footsteps. There's an ancient wooden table surrounded by dusty chairs with a little chandelier hanging above it. The whole thing looks like it would collapse if you simply blew on it.
I check my entire surroundings, finding a broken door behind me that leads into a dark bedroom and another entryway in front of me that leads into what I assume is the living room. A shadow begins making its way into the kitchen from the other side, causing me to move further into the dining room to get out of view. The whole house must be set up like some sort of circle. Meaning you can enter the living room from both the dining room and the kitchen.
The light is on in the living room as well, allowing me to get a peek inside the room. There's an old wooden entertainment center on the left wall with a staircase behind it, leading up to the second floor. Across from it are a few old looking couches with a matching end table for each one. There's no coffee table which leaves the middle of the room completely open. I move around in the darkness of the dining room to get a better view into the living room only to find that the room is vacant.
As my heart tries to beat out of my chest, I creep into the living room, aiming my pistol towards the entryway of the kitchen. Taking a quick glance up the stairs, I spot light coming from up there as well. I'm sure that's where Gavin is hiding, but I have to focus on one person at a time. I have to make sure no one is going to get in my way.
I duck back into the dining room, using the darkness to my advantage as I crouch down next to the old table. I've got a clear view into the living room. All I have to do now is wait for the woman to return from the kitchen and take her down with the element of surprise. I can hear her light footsteps moving around on the other side of the wall and then they dissipate as she steps onto the carpeted floor of the living room. Her shadow comes into view first, and then she walks further into the room.
Her voice sounded familiar earlier for a reason. I've seen her before, not too long ago. It's Manny's girlfriend, or was Manny's girlfriend before Gavin got rid of him. I search my brain for her name but I just can't remember it at the moment. I've got too much on my mind already. What I do remember is when she knocked me on the back of the head just a week ago. Now it's time I return the favor. On a normal day, I would never think of hitting a woman, but I can't risk her getting in my way. I need Gavin gone, and right now, she's an obstacle in the way of that.
I bolt out of the darkness in her direction, holding my pistol backwards again. Her eyes grow wide as she spots me coming towards her. It's when I see the fear in her eyes that her name finally comes to mind, it's Olivia.
"Shit," I hear her mumble as she turns to run towards the stairs.
I grab her by the waist and yank her around, tearing her arms away from the banister. She flails her arms around, trying to break away from my grasp. We both fall to the ground and she begins kicking at me, landing a shot on the side of my ribcage. I'm sure I'll feel that later but right now, my adrenaline is too high to feel anything.
"Help!" Olivia screams as her whole body wiggles around on the floor.
I manage to climb on top of her and pin her arms down. Then I raise the pistol above my head, preparing to knock her out just like her partner.
"Gavin!" She yells with desperation.
My hand comes flying down, connecting the butt end of the pistol to her left temple. Her eyes roll to the back of her head as she begins muttering incoherent words. She may not be completely knocked out but I don't see her being a problem from here on out. I stand up and look down at her weak body, trying to decide whether I should leave her here or hide her somewhere. I'm sure all the screaming she did already alerted someone by now. She did call for Gavin after all, which lets me know he's in the house somewhere, more than likely upstairs.
I turn to head up the stairs and but instead come face to face with the man that killed my brother. Before I have any chance to react, he swings his arm, connecting his forearm into my jaw. I stumble backwards, tripping over Olivia on the floor, and land on the couch. Olivia groans from the floor as I hold my pistol up in Gavin's direction, who's now rushing towards me. I take a shot right as he ducks to the side. The bullet makes a small hole on the wall behind him and he keeps advancing towards me. My foot raises to protect myself and connects with his chest, stopping him in his tracks.
Getting back to my feet, I grab the collar of his shirt and push him backwards until his back forcefully connects with the banister. He shoves a knee up into my gut and hits at my arm, knocking the gun out of my hand. I give him one solid punch to the jaw and then reach for my pistol that is lying at the base of the staircase.
Before I can even get close to the gun, Gavin grabs me from behind, wrapping an arm around my neck. Olivia is now across the room, using the couch to help her to her feet after the nasty hit I gave her moments ago. I jam my elbow into Gavin's rib cage several times until his grip finally loosens enough for me to break free and fling my body forward. As I fall to my hands and knees, I feel something slip out of my waistband. I quickly stand back up and turn around to find Gavin pointing a gun at me.
It's the gun I had taken from his supposed bodyguard outside the house. Suddenly, I'm thinking it would've been a better idea to have left it outside. My body is frozen, staring down the barrel of the gun. His arm is fully extended and the pistol is only an arms distance away from me. I might be able to reach out and take it from him but I fear he would pull the trigger before I'd be able to.
Gavin smiles at me, rubbing his jaw with his free hand. "You've got a nice punch," he says with a single laugh.
I don't give him the satisfaction of responding. Instead, I just continue to stare at him. The rage is boiling inside me. I want nothing more than to jump on him as tear him limb from limb.
"I can't believe it was so easy to bait you into coming here," he says, continuing to display his sickening smile.
"Fuck you," I mutter under my breath.
"What's that?" Gavin asks. "I couldn't quite hear you."
"I'm gonna fucking kill you," I say through gritted teeth.
Gavin laughs, shaking the weapon in my face. "You see who's holding the gun, right?"
I stare him dead in the eye as he continues smiling at me, taunting me.
"I should've gotten rid of you a long time ago," Gavin says, his voice taking a more serious tone now.
My fight or flight kicks in as his finger prepares to pull the trigger. I lunge forward, grabbing his wrist and ducking my head at the same time. The gun fires, sending a ringing tone straight into my ears.
"Oh shit," I hear Gavin say, his voice sounding muffled through the ringing in my ears.
I knock the gun out of his hand and send it flying to the ground behind me. As I turn to pick it up, I see where the bullet must have landed. Olivia is lying on the floor in a growing pool of blood. The sight brings back memories of seeing Cameron lying bloodied on the ground.
Gavin wraps his arms around me from behind, pulling me down to the ground with him. I fling my head back and feel the sharp pain of connecting with his chin. His arms flail out, allowing me to slip out of his grasp. Instead of going for the gun, I flip over and send a powerful fist towards his face. Then I climb on top of him and let my rage take over.
"This is for my brother!" I scream, sending my fists flying into his cheekbones. "For Cameron!"
The blood from my knuckles begins to mix with the blood from his face as I continue to pummel him with my fists.
"I didn't," Gavin mumbles through the blood in his mouth in-between two of my punches.
My hands begin to ache but I continue to push through the pain until he finally stops struggling underneath me. I stand over him, looking at the mess I've made out of him. Gavin rolls over and begins coughing out blood onto the carpet. I watch him for a moment as he groans in pain, not feeling the slightest bit bad for him. All I've wanted is to make him suffer the way I've had to suffer over the past couple weeks. Looking at him now, bloodied on the floor, I want to finally put an end to him.
I look around on the floor until my eyes lock on the gun he was just pointing at me a moment ago. I pick it up, gripping it tightly in my hand and turning back towards Gavin who's now on his hands and knees, spitting blood out onto the floor. Grabbing him by the back of his shirt, I pull him up until he's sitting on his shins and then take a step back, pointing the gun directly at his head.
"This is for Cameron," I tell him and then place my finger over the trigger.
"I didn't," Gavin whispers.
On the other side of him, I spot a figure, beginning to make their way down the stairs. Gavin continues to try to get the words out as the mysterious person makes their way further down the stairs. My heart nearly stops when the figure makes it to the bottom of the stairs, stepping into full view.
"I didn't kill him," Gavin manages to say through the blood dripping out of his mouth.