| DAY 5 |
| Jeff awoke on his own, without the aid of undesired disturbances. He felt completely relaxed, at east, at one; all grievances eviscerated from his heart; a swift act of justice for a worthy and deserving man. Light shined through the window, bathing Jeff in a warm aura; birds were chirping outside on the windowsill; providing an overall sense of tranquility. He grabbed the bed covers and flung them partially off his body, and then moved his left leg out and slumbered it over the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Then he moved his right leg over as he sat up and spun himself so that he was sitting on the edge of the mattress. Putting his hands on his back, he stretched, and then he placed the palms of his hands on his knees. He blinked a couple times, his eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight. He stood up, not feeling the least bit groggy, and then proceeded to his shower. ~~~~~ Jeff got dressed; low-rise green khaki shorts, a grey-blue muscle shirt and a plaid flannel over-shirt, buttoned up except the top two buttons and sleeves rolled up just past his elbow, both tucked into his shorts, and yellow socks underneath a black pair of work boots; his extremely casual outfit. He wandered into the living room and noticed his father was nowhere in sight. �Hmmm.... wonder where the ol� bugger went off to,� Jeff spoke out loud to himself. Jeff sat down on the sofa and propped his legs up on the coffee table and put his hands behind his head; relaxing, while closing his eyes and letting memories of Yesterday float through his mind, so he could relive the moment. He recalled most of Bud�s mannerisms; small things that only �he� does; most everybody has something, some kind of gesture, like that. He laughed to himself at all the small, barely noticeable things about him that he could remember; how cute it was. His daydreaming came to a halt with a knock at the door. �Hmmm..... that can�t be him.� Jeff hopped up and went to the door and cracked it open to see who it was. It was Hazel. �Hey! G�day, Hazel,� Jeff exclaimed, surprised to see her. She was dressed in a cute outfit, definitely casual, yet a slight bit provocative; black leather strap sandals, black stretch pants with a bell-bottom look to them, and a lavender pink spaghetti-strap top. �Hey, Jeff. How ya doing?� She said in a very cheery tone. And Jeff opened the door fully. �Oh, I�m just great. How �bout you?� �I�m fantastic! I just won free tickets to see Les Miserables.� �Oh yeah? How�d you manage that?� Jeff asked. �A contest on the radio station I listen to. 7th caller wins. And it was me!� She smiled while telling her exciting tale. �That�s cool. When�s the show?� �Tonight...6 o� clock,� she paused. Jeff stood, with one hand stretched to his side, holding the door open. He had a slight smile over his face, but was curious as to why she was here. �Jeff,..... I was wondering..... would you like to come?� Jeff�s eyes lit up at the offer, totally unsuspecting of this gratuity. It was certainly apparent that she had a crush on him now. Of course he was flattered, and she was cute. �Well, I sorta have plans already for tonight,� Jeff responded, trying to let it down easy. �Oh....� �Yeah. I�m going out with a friend this evening,� Jeff responded. �Anything special planned or just going out?� Hazel asked, hinting at something. �Oh, nothing special. Most likely dinner is all.� �Well, why don�t you ask her to come along. I won 3 tickets actually. She can have the last one,� Hazel suggested, really wanting Jeff�s company. �He....actually,� Jeff replied in response to Hazel�s assumption. Hazel smiled quickly, glad that it was a �he� instead of a �she�; thought maybe her chances might increase, but of course she didn�t know. �Well, you can bring him along then.� �Oh, I wouldn�t want to intrude....� Jeff said, not wanting to be a nuisance and dragging Bud along with it. �It�s no problem. I can�t find anyone else to go and might as well not let free tickets go to waste. And it would be nice if you could go.� She lied through her teeth. She hadn�t even considered who the third person would be. And she rushed to Jeff as soon as she found out, not even thinking about her other friends that she could possibly take. �Are you sure?� You wouldn�t mind Bud and I coming along?� Jeff asked. �Yes. Yes. I want you to go. Come on, it would be fun,� Hazel insisted. �All right, mate. Well, I�ll have to ask him if he wants to go.� �Okay.� �He�s gonna stop by here around 5. I can ask him then.� �Okay.� �Where can I get a hold of you when I find out?� �Oh, I�ll stop back here at the same time,� Hazel answered. �All right, mate. Cya then.� �Bye, Jeff.� Hazel waved and left back down the hallway. Jeff closed the door and went back to the sofa to sit down. He smiled to himself, still flattered at the gesture. But he was worried what Bud might think. They didn�t have much time left, and it was supposed to be a special evening. But then Jeff figured that it would be fun to go to this thing together anyway. Now, he just had to get re-dressed. ~~~~~ He didn�t pack anything real fashionable, for a classy event such as a Broadway play. Placing a couple shirts on the bed next to each other, Jeff glanced back and forth, trying to decide which was better; neither, he felt, were truly suitable, but there was nothing he could do about that. All he could choose from was either a plain navy blue polo or his green button-up shirt that he wore the other day, which would need to be washed. He finally decided; did not want to be repetitive, so he grabbed the polo. And the only decent pants he had was another pair of blue jeans. So he got dressed in the new ensemble and headed back into the living room, to see his father stepping through the door. ~~~~~ He stopped to look at the clock; it was just passed 2 PM. A tremendous amount of paperwork had already been shoved across his desk. Tired from sitting at the desk all day, he wished something big would come up to give him a chance to get out of the office. Also, he wanted something to pass the time. Thoughts of his new friend hovered in his mind. And he was so excited for his date this evening. Tonight was the night; he wanted to step things up a bit and experience, first hand, what he had so long wanted to feel - love. He cared a great deal for Jeff, and even though he knew Jeff had to leave in a couple days, he still wanted to spend all his time with him. No one else had ever made Bud feel the way he did, quite like Jeff. Bud sighed and then continued to push more paperwork across his desk. It drew on passed 2:30. All of a sudden, Detective Exley burst into the office shouting. �You�re not going to believe this, Bud! Let�s go! Hurry!� Shouted Exley, and instantly ran back out of the office. Bud felt his gut instincts churning; a spike in his fascination. Exley�s words cut right through him - something big was going down. Bud flew from his desk and sprang across the office. He grabbed his suit jacket that was hanging on the wall by the door. In the middle of the lobby he waited, and then Exley stepped out of a door, loading a shotgun. �You ready, Bud?� Bud nodded and checked his gun holster that was slung over his shoulders. Both handguns were ready and had extra clips tucked away. He quickly flung his jacket on and followed Exley out of the building. Officer Marsh was waiting on the curb already, car started. Exley took shotgun and Bud hopped into the back. And then Marsh switched his lights on and peeled out. �So what�s this all about?� Bud half-shouted from the back seat up to the front. �You remember Higgins?� Exley asked back. �How could I forget?� �Well, he�s holding his family and himself hostage.� �Oh shit. You gotta be kidding me.� �I kid you not,� Exley responded, �That definitely proves his guilt. If we can get through this, his court trial should be a breeze.� �How many hostages total, any clue?� �Just the wife and child,� replied Exley. Bud mumbled under his breath, �Fuck.� He knew he didn�t want to sit in the office all day, but something like this is an all-day affair; his date this evening might be postponed. ~~~~~ �And where have you been, mate?� Jeff asked his father as he strolled through the door. �Just went for a walk in the park is all,� Harry replied. �Oh, okay.� Jeff looked over at the clock. 2:39. He didn�t realize that he slept in so late. �You eaten yet?� Harry rubbed his belly, �No. And I�m starving.� �Well, why don�t we pop down to Shirley�s Diner.� �Sounds great.� And Harry and Jeff left the hotel. ~~~~~ Road blocks were set up on the street, preventing civilian vehicles from passing through. Two other cop cars were parked on the street; officers crouched behind. Curious neighbors were peeking through window curtains at the interference of the status quo of their quiet neighborhood. Marsh brought the vehicle behind the other cop car. The 3 of them immediately scattered out of the car and took refuge on the driver�s side; Exley had his shotgun in hand, while Bud and Kevin kept their guns holstered for the moemnt. �Situation?� Bud asked one of the other officers who had arrived at the scene first. �Higgins has the family in the living room,� one man said, pointing to the far right window of the house. �Has he asked for any demands?� Exley asked. �No demands, sir. But he has threatened to shoot the family and himself.� �Shit,� exclaimed Exley, �Too bad we couldn�t have kept him in custody.� �And he threatened to shoot someone if a single cop comes too close to the house,� the other officer commented. �How close is too close?� Bud asked. �He didn�t say, sir. But I imagine getting within just a few feet of the house would set him off.� Exley glanced over at Bud, �We�re going to have to sneak in. Hopefully there�s a back door.� Bud nodded in agreement and then looked back at the other officer, �Do you have his number, the house that is?� �Yes, sir.� Bud peeked through the window of Officer Marsh�s vehicle. It was 3:07. And then looked back at the other officers. �I want you to call him at exactly 3:20.� �What�ll I say, sir?� �Anything. Just keep him distracted and on the line. Exley and I will sneak in while you do so,� Bud said, giving the orders. �Okay, sir.� �Let�s roll,� Exley replied. And him and Bud got into the vehicle and drove down the street. ~~~~~ Jeff and Harry sat down in the back booth again. Shirley was working and came over to greet them. �Hey, sugar. Nice to see you again,� she said with sincerity and warmness in her voice, to Jeff. �G�day, Shirley.� �An� who ya got with you today?� �This is my dad, Harry. Dad, this is Shirley, the best hostess in the West.� Jeff winked at Shirley. Shirley swatted her hand in the air towards Jeff, but she also blushed. �Oh, Jeffrey, I�m not that great.� Jeff leaned across the table and whispered to his father, �Don�t let her fool ya, mate. She�s better than she lets on,� trying to follow after Bud�s praises of her. �Jeffrey, Jeffrey, Jeffrey,� she smiled and handed the menus out. �I�ll let you browse a minute you two. Whistle me back when you got an idea what you want. Nice meetin� ya, Harry.� �My pleasure, Miss,� and Harry winked at her. Shirley grinned shyly at Harry and then walked away to clean tables. ~~~~~ Rain began drizzling down very lightly as the car made its way around the neighborhood. Exley parked the car a few houses down the street on the other side of the block, behind the suspect�s house. Bud looked at the clock - 3:14. And he looked over at Exley. �You ready?� Exley nodded, �Yeah. Let�s get him.� The two men exited the vehicle. Exley grasped his shotgun in one hand and checked his pocket watch with the other. Bud reached beneath his jacket and removed one handgun from the holster. He pulled the clip out and examined it; it was full, so he loaded the gun once again. They headed down the street and stopped between two brick houses. Bud glanced through their yards and spotted the suspect�s abode. �There it is,� Bud commented and pointed. �What time you got?� Exley held the watch up so Bud could see, �Three.........eighteen.� �We better hurry and get in position.� They cut through the yard of the house behind Higgins� place. Stepping swiftly and silently, they moved along the side of the house and tried to stay out of view. The rain started falling heavier. Exley mumbled under his breath, �Shit.� Exley wore glasses and definitely needed them. And either losing them or getting them wet during a situation such as this was his worst fear. ~~~~~ The other officers looked nervously at each other. One more minute and someone had to call the suspect to distract him. Neither officer knew what to say and were semi-afraid of having to be the one who got the privilege of making the call. Kevin watched the clock turn 3:20. He grew anxious and worried that the other officers weren�t going to uphold their responsibilities. So with a stern sense of authority, he took out his cell phone. �Quickly, what�s the number?� One of the officers handed Kevin a piece of paper, and so he dialed. �What do you want!?� shouted a voice over the cell phone. ~~~~~ Cautiously they ran across the open yard and then pressed their backs flat against the house. The rain was pouring now; wind picking up, howling like a madman. Distant lightning crackled, sending a shockwave of clatter a few seconds passed. Exley�s glasses were streaked to the point of uselessness, so he took them off, folded them, and placed them into his vest pocket. Bud pointed towards a door on the back of the house. He approached and ever so silently turned the knob; it was unlocked. He pushed the door open slowly and peeked inside. A dark hallway was all that separated them from the monster inside. ~~~~~ �This is Officer Marsh. Come on, why don�t you let the family go. They don�t have anything to do with this.� �Shut up! What the fuck do you know!?� �I know that they don�t deserve this. So why don�t you let them go. Be a man. Do the right thing.� Silence filled the phone line for a moment. And then Higgins shouted back in agitation, �Don�t tell me what to do!� Kevin looked nervously at the other officers. He muted the phone. �I hope Bud and Exley have better luck.� He took mute off. �Why don�t you let the child go then. Your daughter definitely has nothing to do with this.� It went back to silence, yet the phone line was still open; he hadn�t hung up, which was a possible good sign that he was considering the offer. �All right! But I do not want you calling again! I swear I�ll fucking shoot her if you call again!� �Agreed. And thank you.� Kevin�s body was so tense; all his senses heightened and electrified. But knowing one hostage would be safe, he was relieved; for now, anyway. ~~~~~ They entered the house and shut the backdoor behind them, not wanting any light to continually shine through in case Higgins walked by and caught sight of it. They crept down the dark hallway, and it came to a bend at the far end, turning right. Bud peeked around the edge. It was plenty dark that he didn�t really worry about being seen. An open room lay directly ahread, but he couldn�t make out the surroundings too well, but didn�t see anything moving. He could also hear distant voices from somewhere on the other side. ?Bud side-stepped through the hall, his gun in front of himself, firmly grasped by both hands. As he approached the end, he could now tell that the voices came from the left. And the room that was ahead was a kitchen, with an open doorway and wood counter seeing through to the living room. Bud peeked around the hallway to the left. He saw through the kitchen and spotted the family. The mother was sitting on the sofa crying her eyes out. Higgins was standing with his gun, tugging on his daughter�s arm. �Come on!� he shouted at the little girl. The girl was absolutely terrified and tried reaching back to her mother. �Mommy!� she shrieked. Higgins had his back turned towards the kitchen. Bud used the distraction to quietly sneak through the kitchen and hide behind the wooden counter that separated the two rooms. Exley remained in the hallway. Bud got there just in time. Higgins spun around yanking his daughter away. There was a small, open foyer attached to the living room, where the front door was. Bud peeked his head around the counter and saw Higgins disappear from the living room. He stood up and looked around the edge again. The wife saw him and nearly gasped, but she held her hands up to her mouth to suppress it. Bud motioned with his index finger to his lips. Higgins pulled the front door open, his back still turned. Bud used the opportunity to move swiftly into the living room. Luckily, there was soft carpet covering the floor, so his steps were silenced. On the other side of the living room, across from the foyer, was a small bathroom; it�s door open. Bud slipped inside and hid out of view. And just after, Higgins slammed the door shut, leaving his daughter stranded on the front steps. He turned back around; his wife still on the sofa, looking down, giving no sign of the other man who was hiding in the bathroom. ~~~~~ She stood standing on the doorsteps, pounding on the door with her tiny fists. And when she realized that her efforts were futile, she faced forwards and noticed the group of men standing behind the cars across the yard. Officer Marsh walked up to the sidewalk. He called out to the girl, �Come here, sweetie,� and he motioned his arms, gesturing for her to come across the yard. She shook her head in refusal. Kevin looked at one of the officers, �Damn.� And then he called out to the girl again. �Please. We�re police. Just come over, please.� The girl still refused. Higgins peeked his head out the front window at the commotion. Kevin noticed and hoped that what he was about to do would be okay. He took a few steps into the yard and stopped. Higgins grew alert and kept his eyes on the young officer. Kevin reached to his hip and withdrew his gun and raised both hands in the air. He then bend down, slowly and placed the gun on the ground, trying to signal to the suspect that he was going to approach the house, unarmed, to get the girl. And then with a deep breath, Kevin walked across the yard towards her. Higgins� eyes glared at him the entire time, but he kept his cool and allowed the officer to do so. The little girl trembled in fear as the stranger approached. �It�s okay. I�m a policeman,� he said, trying to coax the girl. �What�s your name, sweetheart?� She quivered but managed to slowly mumble, �Sher...yl.� �Well, Sheryl. I�m Kevin. And I�d like to take you across the yard, over to the cop cars.� She didn�t respond, still so very timid and frightened. Kevin bent down, �How would you like to ride in a cop car?� She looked up. That had caught her attention. She remembered parades where cop cars had driven by, flashing their lights and sounding their sirens. �Would you like that?� The little girl nodded. Kevin held his hand out; she took hold of him. �And I�ll buy you some ice cream for being such a good girl.� Her aghast face cheered up in no time at the words �ice cream.� Kevin began walking back towards the cars. She followed. ~~~~~ Higgins left the window and strutted across the living room towards the bathroom. His wife, Laura, grew nervous; her only hope rested through that doorway, and if her husband entered, who knew what would happen. As he loomed nearer, she cried out, �Mike!� He turned back, sharply responding, �What is it, Laura!?� Tears streamed down her pale face. �Why are you doing this?� she begged in desperation. She had already asked a dozen times but never got any response. Mike paced back over to the sofa, away from the bathroom. Laura�s attempt had succeeded. ~~~~~ They didn�t talk much, as they ate their late lunch, sitting across from one another. Normally, Jeff would be ranting, but there was one obsession hogging his train of thought, which pretty much prevented casual conversation even with his own father. His mind drifted through a golden ocean of love. Finally Harry broke his son�s crystallized trance. �Les Miserables, huh?� he said with a heavy, over-exaggerated French accent. Jeff shook his head, throwing away his side-tracked ideas for the moment and then concentrated on what his father was trying to cite to him. �Huh?� He hadn�t comprehended what was said to him. �Oh, nothing. Was just talking about Les Mis,� Harry retold. �Oh, yeah,� Jeff grinned, thinking about how fun it�ll be. �So, you think he�ll want to go?� Harry asked. Recollecting on Bud�s artistic household style, he figured Bud would appreciate the fine arts. �Yeah. I think he�ll love it.� �Well, that�s good then, mate,� his father replied, and smiled warmly at his son. They resumed eating their lunches. ~~~~~ Mike grunted as he lightly banged the handle of his gun against the side of his head in frustration; and he paced back and forth very quickly in front of the sofa, where his wife was sobbing and at the same time feeling hopeful with the officer inside her house to save her. Managing just a stammer, Mike repeated, �W..why? Why?� He stopped directly in front of his wife and glared down at her with vicious eyes. And he raised his voice to a holler. �I can�t go back out there!� And he pointed with his gun out the window. �It�s too late now! There is no way out of this.� Laura cringed at the harshness in his voice. And how unfair it was for him to take her hostage. She had no part in his plan which got him in trouble; she didn�t even know about his drug-smuggling scheme until a week ago. The reason he was at the airport was because he was trying to escape the police. Unfortunately, though, there was not enough evidence against him to hold him. But Mike freaked; he got scared, and so it drove him to hold his own family hostage; his reputation would be shot and in the craziness of it all, he snapped. �Oh, God....,� Mike mumbled and then banged his head again. ~~~~~ Kevin was the ranking officer of the three outside the house. He wanted to stay at the scene in case he was needed, and someone had to escort the young girl away. He turned to Officer Thompson and took his wallet and grabbed a ten dollar bill and then put his wallet back into his rear pocket. �Here, I want you to take young Sheryl here to an ice cream store and then back to the station,� Kevin said, handing the money to Officer Thompson. �Sir?� Thompson asked, curious about the ice cream bit. �You heard me. I promised her ice cream.� �Okay. Will do, sir.� Kevin bent down to Sheryl, �Okay, honey. I gotta stay here, but Jack here is gonna take you for a ride in the cop car and get you some ice cream, okay?� Very shyly she responded, �Okay, Kevin.� Kevin walked Sheryl to the passenger side of Jack�s car and helped her in and buckled her up. �Bye, sweetie.� �Buh-bye.� ~~~~~ Bud wanted to peek around the doorway to see where the suspect was standing to see if he could get an opportunity, but the risk of being seen was too high. He got impatient of waiting and began to look around the room. Directly in the middle of the room, against the wall, was the sink; and a mirror above. He could see into the living room and he saw the suspect and wife. And that meant they could most likely see him. The thought dawned on him suddenly. He slouched quickly and quietly until he could no longer see the couple in the mirror, hoping he was no longer visible too. He kept his ear tuned in to what was happening in the next room. �What were you thinking anyway? Smuggling drugs. You�re a Senator for God sakes......� Laura began, chastising him. Mike returned her comment with a sudden slap in the face that rang through the house. And if there is one thing that really drives Bud mad, it�s a wife beater. He absolutely cannot tolerate seeing a man hit a lady. When he heard the slap, he stood up to look into the mirror; he saw Mike with his back turned and Laura holding her cheeks. Bud gritted his teeth in anger. �Don�t you talk back to me!� he shouted furiously at Laura. �You�re nothing but a gutless lunatic, Mike!� she snapped back, realizing his weakness, for dealing with this situation in this manner. At that, Mike got enraged and hit Laura again in the face, but this time with his fist closed. Bud saw him do it in the mirror and it sent him into a wild frenzy. He stood up, holstered his gun, and walked out of the bathroom. Mike heard some noise coming from behind and just started to turn around; Bud was right in his face with one arm reaching for his hand with the gun and the other swinging directly into his stomach. The force of Bud�s punch sent Mike lurching forward. Bud grabbed his hand and tried to get him to drop the gun; he was successful, and it dropped to the floor. Mike took a step back and swung with his left; Bud stopped it mid-air, but then Mike did a right hook and punched Bud directly in his eye. That only enraged Bud further, and then with all his strength, Bud grabbed the guy by his shoulders and kneed him in the stomach. Mike hunched over at the blow and then Bud gave him a quick uppercut and sent him crashing over into the coffee table, rending him unconscious. And that certainly was the victory blow. Exley ran across the kitchen and stopped at the doorway. He could clearly see that Bud had managed to take the situation under control. �Good job.� Bud waved his hand; it hurt from that last punch. And then he began noticing the pain emanating from his eye. As the seconds passed, it intensified. �Shit.� �What is it?� Exley asked, concerned. �I�m gonna have a black eye.� �Could be worse, Bud. You did a good job. But we better cuff him before he comes to.� �Why don�t you do the honors,� Bud replied. �Fair enough.� Exley cuffed the guy and radioed Kevin and the other officer to come and help. They came in and took him away. Bud stayed behind to talk with Laura to make sure everything was okay. She thanked the officer for the help and Bud led her outside to get ready to take her back to the station. |