The day started off like any other. I woke up and took a shower. I went down to the office to say hi to my partners. Yes, partners, plural. They think I don't know that they've been sleeping together but I do. It doesn't bother me to much. In truth I bought the house for him in hopes of starting a life together. But that was not the what life had planned for us.
As I went down the last few stairs I heard voices, more voices than there should have been.
It was them.
The two that I wasn't sure if they were cartel or undercover locals.
Either way we were both pinching the same drummer for their contacts.
They, kindly offered me a seat.
"So, wheres the money?"
I was confused . "Um, what money?"
"For the discounts we've been giving you."
I played dumb.
I'm good at that.
They were feeding me high end pot and where lacing it with other things to give it a little extra kick. That stuff was not cheep but they were selling it to me at "ditch weed" prices thinking that I would sling the shit for them. I usually caught the laced stuff before it hit my lips, saying that it was a religious consideration that I would not partake anything but "natural supplements"
Which, yes, the smoking of pot its self is a religious observance but the other stuff was what I was after on the professional side.
"You owe us a lot of money."
"How much?"
They wrote a figure on a slip of paper.
"I don't have this, it'll take me awhile. I might be able to take out a loan."
"You have 24 hours or we come back and we won 't be polite this time."
They left after shoving to many magic mushrooms to be safe down my throat."
My partners sighed, I eyed the drummer sideways.
"How much time before this kicks in?"
"20-30 minutes."
"Alright, you guys have to get out of here, it's not safe for you and if anything happened to either of you I could never forgive myself."
We head up to the kitchen, me explaining that I always knew and that it didn't matter.
"Take my debit card, get as far away as you can and when you're safe go to a local gas station every day around 1 p.m. and use my card. The F.B.I. is monitoring it and I"ll let them know what's up when they get here."
There was stunned silence.
"Do you have any weapons?"
The three scattered while I looked up the local bases number to try and get someone on the horn and see if they had any interest in what was going on.
A few minutes later, after reporting in, they returned with a pistol and a military clay-more.
"What the actual fuck?"
"I got it in a trade." The drummer said sheepishly.
I looked at the pistol.
One bullet.
"Um..."
"I haven't bought a new box since target practice" they said apologetically.
I took the offered items and told them to get the hell out of here.
A bullet whizzed through the back window.
"Go, go, go" I said. "Out the front, hands up in case it's the Bureau, I'll buy you some time. If it is the Bureau warn them that there's a clay-more at the side door, if it's not tell 'em to come downstairs. "
I grabbed a frying pan as we went our separate directions.
It wasn't much but I could hold it in front of my head to avoid being shot in the face.
I dove down the stairs, set the clay more, and then took up position by the dryer.
The side door exploded open.
"Surrender and come out with your hands out now."
I thought I recognized the voice as one of the soldiers I'd been working with the past few months.
I saw a boot start to inch into the doorway, I fired my one bullet, the boot retreated. And then bullets flew through the opening. I dove forward, frying pan in front of my face and slid under the stairs. I heard a ping and a fiery pain in my torso.
I used my voice throwing skills to make it sound like I was still by the dryer.
"Hey ass hole, is that you?" I yelled.
"The fuck..." I heard softly.
"Yeah ass hole it's me, the fuck are you shooting at me for, and don't come in, it's not safe."
Boots sounded on the stairs, there was a click as the clay more tried to detonate. I dove out from under the stairs onto the soldier coming down them. We landed in a tangle of limbs, but there was no explosion, or if there was i didn't hear it after the rifle fire had made my ears ring.
The solder pulled their combat knife and I kicked back off of them.
There was yelling from upstairs, the soldier was stunned but armed just as a phosphorus grenade came sailing through the open door to land at my feet. I batted away...and towards the stunned soldier.
His screams still wake me.
I rolled him on the ground and put out the flames with a blanket then knocked him out with the frying pan to make him stop screaming.
"Ass hole! GEt your ass in here." I yelled.
More gun fire, more burning.
"Motherfucker you man took that fucking grenade to the chest, get your ass down here and get your man some medical attention NOW! I won't fucking shoot!"
There was deliberation.
I grabbed some duct tape and wrapped it around my mid section to keep as much of blood inside as I could then grabbed a button up shirt off the laundry to cover the tape. There was a remote on the table and I had an idea.
I grabbed the remote and held it in my hand like a detonator.
Soldiers streamed into the cramped space.
I recognized every single one of them.
The one who's voice I knew, a friend, came at me hard with his rifle and shoving it in my face. Without thought my hand shot up, grabbed the barrel and yanked, disarming and tripping him at the same time.
Rifles snapping to shoulders got my attention and I went to a Marines Parade Rest immediately.
The fact that they recognized me was the only thing that saved my life.
"Drop the rifle."
"I can't"
"Drop the goddamn rifle."
"I've already lost a lot of blood and I'm dizzy. Get your man to a medic!"
Someone checked his pulse.
"He's still breathing, his heart beat is weak, but it's there...Jesus, what happened?"
I looked at the under slung launcher on the rifle propping me up and let it fall.
"He has phosphorus burns over most of his body and he's...missing his feet below the knees, possible fractured skull, I knocked him out so that the shock wouldn't kill him."
They took him out"
"Dumbass here brought the wrong ordinance to a house raid" I said dropping the rifle.
They saw the tape, saw the remote in my hand.
The rifles snapped back up.
"What do we do sarge."
"Sargent, what are you doing in my home?" I asked my friend
"The fuck did you just say?"
"When we're at the check points who's the supervisor?"
"You are" the Sargent said slight confusion on his face.
"And how many days a week are you there?" the Sargent started to answer but I interrupted him "Three, from 2 to midnight." I started pointing out each of the soldiers and giving details about each of them, their names, personal details, and their schedules."
"How the hell do you know that? I don't even know all of that." The Sargent said.
That's because I'm there for all of the shifts ass hole. You guys get to go home, but by the time you show up for work I've usually already been there for about ten hours.
"Supervising the checkpoints and clearing Air Marshals to fly. Teaching you ass holes how to find bombs." I took a breath and steadied myself as the vertigo set in. "Now can I sit down and tell you what the hell is going on." I tossed the Sargent the remote.
I gave them my side, they gave me theirs.
"I need patched up and I need you to keep an eye on me while I do it. Then I'm going to sit in the shower for awhile while I trip balls and I need you to make sure I don't hurt myself and tell me funny shit so that I don't fall into a bad trip." I said turning to the Sargent, someone I had come to view as a friend over the past few months.
"When I come out of it feed me orange juice and a tall glass of water then put on a pot of coffee to brew and then strap me to a chair. They're supposed to be here around 7, you guys come around 8. I'll do a song and dance until you get here. Just don't shoot me again ass hole."
I remember sitting with the Sarge and bullshitting until the hallucinations came over me. He questioned me about what I was seeing and kept me from going anywhere dark. After I re hydrated and drank a little coffee I went down and let them tape me to the chair.
A little while later, way to early, I heard someone come in the front door....
To be continued.
