The Case - Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

It had been thirty-six hours since Jasmine was kidnapped.

They ran before the police came close. They knew they had a lot of questions to answer but time was running out.

Desperate times had called for desperate measures. They had to trust someone.

"I don't believe him", Connor said.

"Why?", asked Jake.

"Why would he tell you who the mole is? It's basic strategy to divide the police department so that more crimes can happen, they can kill the two of you and lock up the DA at once ... it's simple logic"

"Wow... I never thought of that", said Chris.

"You never think of anything you morons. Why would you go on a suicide mission? Do you think this is a movie?"

"We thought we had it under control, but we didn't, so let's stop blaming ourselves and see how we can get my sister back", said Susan abruptly.

She had been crying for quite a while, and her eyes were now hot and red.

"I don't blame myself - I blame ‘Beevis and Butthead’ here. You're lucky the DA doesn't know about this", said Connor.

Chris quickly cut in.

"I don't think we should disclose the issue of having the DA as a suspect"

"Why do you even trust me anyway? How do you know I'm not the mole?"

"Easy, you couldn't get the role in the terminator movie, your acting skills are bad so you can't be a mole", Chris replied.

"You are the dumbest piece of police equipment I have ever seen", Connor replied back.

"Will you help us or not?", Susan asked.

"I will, but you have to lay low for a while, stay close to your house. And don't tell me where you live, so you don't think I'm a bad guy again. How do we keep in touch?"

"Don't worry, we'll call you"

Connor left the eatery and went back to the station.

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1O:OOpm, Day 2

They had run out of food. Susan didn't want to eat anything. Jake was half-dead. Connor hadn't got any information yet. The text of the location had arrived. They were a mess.

Chris volunteered to get some groceries. He took a pistol and picked up his jacket, and off he went, to the store. He walked round the aisles looking for what to buy, but he didn't dare pick cheese. As he was walking, he suddenly noticed someone to his left wearing a hoodie.

He couldn't see his face clearly but he didn't take it seriously. It was the first time he stepped into this store after all, nobody would know him or expect him to be here. But then the man in the hood began to make suspicious movements. Chris began to panic within himself. He tried to walk calmly but his legs were shaky. He walked toward a mirror on the wall and used his side eye to look at the man. His physique looked really familiar. Suddenly the man looked at him, and he averted his gaze.

At that moment, Chris lost it. He made a run for it, got out and raced through the streets with the guy in hot pursuit. He rolled over someone's bonnet and crossed the road, ignoring the curses of the driver.

The man didn't give up. Then Chris managed to mix himself with a crowd of people walking. He hid beside a building and waited for the man to pass. The man was confused and kept going forward. He almost ran past the building when Chris intercepted him with an elbow across the face, he was out cold. People watched and panicked as they saw what happened. Chris removed his badge and told everyone to be calm and clear the way. He removed the hoodie and stood there stunned. The man was Raymond.

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Jake crawled on the floor like a giant lizard, clawing at the door, waiting for Chris to get back with food.

He whined and made animal noises that annoyed Susan.

"Would you stop making puppy noises? I'm trying to think"

"I can't help it, my stomach has a mind of its own"

"Isn't that gluttony? You make me sick"

Suddenly, Chris burst through the door with a man on his shoulder. Jake crawled to Chris' feet and held it tight.

"Please tell me you got something, or you will have to carry me too"

"What's he doing here?", Susan asked alarmed, realizing who he was carrying.

"We're gonna find out soon, and get off me, you giant walrus!", said Chris, kicking Jake.

They tied Raymond up and poured water in his face. He slowly came back to reality. He opened his eyes and saw a figure holding a bat.

"It's show time", said Chris smiling.

"Wait!", He screamed.

"Gimme one reason why I shouldn't whack your head like a baseball"

"I'm the one that called you and told you about the bomb in the car"

Susan and Jake looked at Chris, motioning him to drop the bat.

"Oh common! ...I never get to use the bat" he whined.

They untied him and sat down to hear what he had to say.

"I'm the one that helped you that night, I shot the leader who wanted to kill you", he said to Chris.

"I'm starting to like this guy", said Jake, still on the floor.

"I'm part of the gang ... "

CRACK!

Susan interrupted him with a slap.

"Where is my sister you scoundrel?", she asked, choking him. Chris rushed forward and tore her away from him. Nail marks rested on his neck.

"Calm down! He's no use to us dead."

"They killed my brother a year ago. He died like a dog on the streets. The cops never caught them. I wanted payback myself. They didn't know me, so I joined them. I had to gain their trust somehow, luckily you two came along. I saved your lives and then went back to tell on you"

Susan jumped on him again, and gave him a headbutt. Chris held her again. After a while he continued.

"I'm the mole. I tapped the D.A.'s lines so I could know when and where you would be at any point in time"

"Are you the one that killed my brother?", Chris asked, looking directly in his eyes.

"No ... all I did was secure the location, the boss did it. His name is Al Capone. He wanted you to himself so he killed your brother and planted the bomb so you would be too sad to run and you would die in the explosion."

Chris gave him a punch him straight to the face.

Raymond held his nose and shielded his face incase another one was coming.

"So why where you following Chris, and why did you save us?", Jake asked.

"If you died then I would be worthless to them and they would dispose of me, I needed more time to get to the location of their hideout"

"So you wanna tell me that you don't know where they stay, but you're a mole", Susan said impatiently.

"They always blindfolded me when taking me to their place, I mostly communicate via calls. They don't trust a cop, which brings me to why I want to gain their trust"

"You're just sick, may God forgive you", Susan kept on.

"Jasmine is safe, if you go to the location they sent you, you won't find her there. She's in the main hideout, it's a plot to kill you all, Al Capone will do that himself. He was to stay there and wait for you with an army of thugs. That was the plan."

"So what do you want? Get to the point", Chris said.

"I want you to help me. If you go, you're gonna die. I have a plan that will get you into the main house tomorrow. You're gonna need your Calvary. And someone you trust in the police department."

"Let's hear it"

"You're going to be in different locations, all of you. I'll supply them with info on your whereabouts so you can be brought to the main house where Jasmine is. I'll attach tracking devices to your bodies so that I'll know where the house is. Then the police will arrive and do their job. If you're captured before the schedule you're supposed to arrive, plans will change"

"What if we get killed?", Susan asked.

"It's a risk you will have to take for your sister"

"One more thing", Jake said, getting up.

"What?".

Jake punched him in the face and he passed out. Chris and Susan both looked at Jake.

"What? Everyone was doing it. Plus, he's the reason there's no dinner"

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5:00pm Day 3

They all went along with the plan. Jake told Connor about the plan but not about Raymond. He agreed to help. Susan called the Marines, and they were more than happy to pay their "buddy" Steven a visit. Chris got weapons for them, and they waited for Raymond's signal. Chris was at the gym, Susan was at a jewelry store, and Jake was at a restaurant.

As expected, they got captured - Chris was taken first, Susan second. Each of them was blindfolded.

"Hey let me go I haven't finished my turkey", Jake screamed.

"Move it!"

"Jokes on you guys, I ate cheese and milk earlier, you'll find out soon enough what that means"

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9:00pm Day 3

They were all tied together in a dark room. Their only consolation at that moment being that, at least they had made it this far alive. Jake had a black eye. Apparently the thugs didn't take 'The Stinker' lightly with him. Steven entered the room and turned on the lights. Al Capone entered next with some other thugs. He had a scar on the left side on his face.

"Well, well, well... what do we have here?"

"Let Jasmine go!", Susan screamed.

"Why would I do that?", He smirked. He was wearing biker clothes.

"Aren't you gonna say anything on how I look?"

"You look like giant toilet paper, no wonder you're an ass-wipe", Chris said.

"You're full of crap you know that?", Steven retorted.

"Nope. That's kind of your thing", Jake said.

"Enough. Maybe after this you'll shut up. Honey... come on in"

The three of them widened their eyes like saucers at who they saw next. Jasmine walked in, and pecked Al Capone on the cheek. And Raymond was right behind her.

"I don't understand", Chris said frustrated.

"Lemme spell it out for you. I'm bad" Jasmine said. Susan, shellshocked, stared blankly into space in her direction.

"Suprise!", Raymond smirked.

"I'm sorry boys", a voice said. They shivered at the recognizable voice. Someone had just come in.

It was Connor.

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Hey guys, hope you like. God bless you as you share. Comment on what you think will happen next. Special shout out to ______, it's his birthday. Stay tuned guys. The series is almost over.

(The Case - By Edward Onuoha)