chapter thirty one

word count: 515

a list of contingencies,, was rattled off by the muffled voice on the phone... they were to be followed down to the letter,, and would result in a return call ONLY after all heat had been verifiable called off...

it was then that bud would be given the location at which he would find his most cherished janey, unharmed... one misstep,, one deviation,, and janey would buy it.. plain and simple...

bud gave his solemn word to follow all the instructions and await the return call.. what else could he do?? the life of his beloved janey swung in the balance...

as satisfied as any man in his position could be,, that a deal had been struck,, stan snapped closed his cell phone and looked in the rear view mirror at janey harnessed into the rear seat of the navigator.. eyes wide with fear,, mouth gagged,, and limbs bound...

"how the fuck did it go this far??" stan could not help but ask himself.. the reality that he had kidnapped an innocent invalid in a last ditch effort to save his own skin,, becoming ever so real to him as he watched a single tear escape janey's eye and trickle slowly down her porcelain white cheek...

like fireworks,, boom!! boom!! boom!! boom!! four shots rang out.. one by one the tires of the navigator where hit and conceded to the deadly blasts.. stan head flew about on his neck,, doing a 180 this way and that... "what the fuck??"

it was then that the three masked gunmen,, dressed head to toe in black,, each pointing a high powered automatic weapon at his head became visible in the darkness.. he could see glow of the red laser pinpoints on his reflection in the otherwise darkened rear view mirror...

janey let out a gurgling scream,, squelched by the gag secured tightly in her mouth.. she did her best to slump down in the seat,, but was held fast by the seat belts designed to secure her safety...

"get out of the fucking truck!!" boomed three voices almost simultaneously.. shots rang out... boop-boop-boop-boop-boop they navigator was being riddled with bullets.. it was only a matter of time till one of them nailed the gas tank. boop-boop-boop.. still more shots rang out.. they were coming from all directions..

stans survival instinct kicked in.. he threw the truck in reverse and stomped on the gas.. sparks shot from the rims as the forced them to grate mercilessly on the pavement...

his last ditch effort was abruptly cut short as he slammed full speed into an unlit,, but securely anchored light pole.. it sliced threw the back door of the navigator,, stopping just short of janey,, and catapulting stan headlong onto the windshield...

before he could regain his senses the three gunmen were upon him... they shot out the lock on the passengers side door.. they were in the truck.. he was being dragged out onto the pavement.. stan tried to scream,, but as if he was living a dream sequence,, no sound would escape...

he felt a swift jab in his thigh.. then everything went black...