Jordan was finally healed enough to come home. She only had a week left in the cast and she was looking forward to getting it off. When she and Davina came home from the hospital, she hobbled in on her crutches, paying no attention to the fact that her children didn’t rush to greet her. She was focused on one man, the hooded figure standing in her brother’s kitchen. “Morbus, can we talk?”
“Yeah Jordan, give me about fifteen minutes. I’ll be with you after that. I have to get new orders to my boys and the new guy.”
“Who is that new guy?” Jake asked.
“He was the only one of the jokers that caused the damage I’ve been healing from that didn’t see like he wanted to do it. He didn’t even seem like he wanted to be there. He apologized on several occasions and told me that Grissom had threatened his family and that was the only reason he was doing what he was doing. He was protecting his wife and kids. I couldn’t hate him, you know. Still can’t”, Jordan said with a sigh.
“And his name is?”
“Carter, Thomas Carter.”
“And this guy was one of Grissom’s goons?”
“Yeah, past tense. He offered his assistance in bringing the bastard to his knees.”
Jake nodded. “I’m glad he’s seen the error in his ways. Grissom is a sick mother fucker.”
“And from what I’ve been learning from Carter the past few days, we have no idea to what extent”, Morbus said. “I’ll update everyone later. For now, I have to get orders to Carter and my sons. I’ll return shortly.”
Morbus was out the door in a flash. It was as though Jordan and Jacob blinked and he was gone. Morbus was the wind. Jake shook his head. “Here on minute, gone the next. Freaky shit, sis.”
“No kidding. And to think we grew up with it. We should be used to it by now.”
Jake nodded. “I know, right?” He sighed. “So, how much longer you have to have that cast on?”
“One more week. Then, I’m going to start a fitness and PT regimen that will make what Mom and Dad used to do look like child’s play.”
“Not possible. I’ve been trying for years, Jord.”
“I’m going to have Morbus to help me.”
“Mom had Uncle Matt for the first part of her life. She was also a personal trainer and a nutritionist before being a massage therapist. She’s much better versed in how muscles work that you are, Jordan. Now, I’m not saying that you can’t do it. I just caution you not to write a check your ass can’t cash.”
She laughed. “Mom’s words from your mouth. It’s freaky, just so you know.”
“Like Dad’s words from your mouth are any better.”
“I’m supposed to sound like Dad. I followed him into music. It’s part of the job description.”
“And it’s part of my job description to sound like Mom because I followed her into medicine.”
Jordan chuckled. “I’ll give you that.” She looked at her brother seriously. “I can do this, Jake. I have to. I can’t explain it. This just feels like something I have to do.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me, Jordan. I understand.”
“No Jake, you don’t.”
“Yes Jordan, I do. I’ve been in a position like this. You remember the day Miri was born?”
“Yeah. You were a fucking mess. When you weren’t running back and forth between the N- ICU and Delilah’s room you were either breaking down or flying into fits of rage.”
“I’ve only told one other soul what I’m about to tell you and it other people find out I’ll know who opened their mouth. You know how committed I am to the oath I took. I refuse to do harm to any living soul unless I absolutely must. Well, after I took the Chief of Medicine job at CSMC I was in the ER one night when a nasty wreck car came in. One of the men involved, I’d seen his face before in that same ER the day that Miri was born. It was the jack ass that totaled my Volvo and hit Delilah. He was in pain, but he would have lived. But, I overheard the police saying that they wished the courts would strip this douche of his driver’s license. I was the physician in charge of his care and I knew that something had to be done. Well to make a long story short, I gave him double the lethal dose of morphine IV push. Once I disposed of the needle, I gave the nurses orders to leave him the hell alone so that he could recover and went to my office to call Morbus. I told him what happened, he gave me an hour to declare the mother fucker dead and get him into a body bag so that he could dispose of the body for me. I had to kill him. I can’t explain it now nor could I do it then. All I know is that it had to happen or he was going to keep ruining people’s lives. The woman he hit that night wasn’t as lucky as Delilah. She was DOA.”
“I’ve heard you say that before, but I need you to refresh my memory.”
“Dead on arrival.”
“Yeah, that’s right. But, apparently you can relate. He hurt someone near and dear to you so you killed him. Jake, Grissom threatened our family as a whole. Everyone that shares genetic traits with Mom and Dad. He made sure that I wouldn’t walk away from that warehouse. I have to put an end to him. I wish I knew why, but I have to. In order to do this, I have to get into peak physical condition; better shape than I’ve ever been in before. It’s going to hurt to push myself like this, but I have to.”
“Jordan, I’m here for you. If you need a kick in the ass, I’ll give it to you. If you need an ear to vent to, I’m here to listen. I want him dead as much as you do. Seeing you in the condition you were in sparked something in me that I’ve only ever felt a few times in life. No one hurts my family like that and gets away with it. If I had my way about it, I’d kill the mother fucker myself. Just empty a nine millimeter clip into his face.”
“I never took you for the artistic type, Jake, but that’s a rather artful stroke. I might have to keep that one in mind.”
----------------
Levi followed his Grampa out into the garage of the house in Jerusalem, Israel. He looked at the black car that sat there. It was the epitome of the definition of “American Muscle” when it came to American machinery. “Wow, Grampa, what is that?” he asked.
“What? This beauty?” David asked.
“Yeah.”
“You weren’t listening to a word I said, were you Levi?”
“Sorry, Grampa, but no. I was staring at the car.”
“What was the last thing you heard me say?”
“That we were running into town to go to the market for Gramma real quick, then I saw the car.”
David nodded. “Did you hear any of what I said about that dive you’ve been begging for over the last month?”
“Not a thing.”
David nodded. “Fair enough. You asked what this black beauty is. You still wanna know?”
“Yeah.”
“This, grandson, is a 1969 Mustang GT 428 Cobra Jet. Midnight black. We have a V8 that runs 335 horses and 440 foot- pounds of torque. Now, do you understand a word I just said?”
Levi nodded slowly, then shook his head. “No. You lost me at Mustang GT 428 Cobra Jet.”
“Did you catch the year?”
“1969? That’s old as hell, Grampa.”
“A couple of things real quick, Levi. First, you don’t speak like that. I don’t know what your parents let you get away with at home but as long as you’re with me and Gramma you will watch your language. And two, yes, it’s old, but it runs better than most of the cars in the country. Now, are you ready to go or do you want to continue to gawk at the car that you might never see again?”
“What do you mean, I might never see this car again?”
“Uncle ‘Miah gets this car when I die. Uncle ‘Chai gets the Chevy. Uncle Jay gets my Harley. Uncle Jake gets the land in the US.”
“So what do the grandkids get?”
“You’ll find out after I’m dead, won’t you? Now, get in the car and pay attention to what I have to say about your dive or you don’t go. Understood?”
Levi got in the car as quickly as he could get the door opened and buckled his seatbelt. “Ok, so what’s going on with the dive?” he asked and looked at his grandfather attentively.
David smiled as he drove toward town. “Your grandmother, sister, you, and myself are flying into Tel Aviv tomorrow afternoon. You’ll be taking a class that day and we’ll do down the next morning. How does that sound?”
“Where are we going to stay?”
“Hotel rooms are always nice, especially when you’re on a mini vacation.”
“What are Gramma and Jazz going to do?”
“Gramma is going to take Jazz shopping.”
“Oh. That’s cool. I hope everything back home is ok.”
“I’m sure everything’s fine, grandson. You don’t need to worry.”
“But I am worried. I’m worried about Mom.”
“Your Mom is fine, Joseph. Let Mama Davi worry about your Mom. That’s why you’re here.”
Levi nodded. “Yes, sir, Grampa.” Levi stared out the window as his grandfather drove and tried not to think about his mother. Instead, he sat and thought about the trip they’d be taking the next day. He was excited to get to dive the Mediterranean Sea. He couldn’t wait to see the wild life below the surface of the water. He wondered if he’d see a shark. What would his Grampa tell him to do? Would he tell him to swim away? “Grampa, what do you do when you see a shark?”
“Hold still and just watch.”
“Where you scared the first time you saw one?”
“I intentionally went diving with them and I’ll admit. I was a little scared. Now I look for them.”
“That’s pretty cool.”
“Are you worried about the dive?”
“No, I was just thinking about it.”
“They’ll tell you the same thing when you take your class.”
“Cool. I can’t wait. This is going to be so cool!”
David chuckled and reached over to ruffle the boy’s hair. “You won’t know how cool until you’re actually down there.”
---------------
Jake was doing his crunches with his legs hooked over the pull up bar on the obstacle course. It was nearing time for the kids to start tutoring again, so Morbus was easing up on the training. Jake seized every opportunity to work out and keep fit. He had his iPod blasting heavy metal in his ears. Currently he was listening to Reckless Disregard’s newest effort. Soon, the music in his ears would transition to Godsmack, or Suicide Silence. Maybe even Straight Line Stitch or Trivium. The only reason he really listened to “modern heavy metal” was because his brother, sister, and cousin played it and they were one of the only bands left that kept true to the old ways. He was more one for “Classic Metal”.
He had a feeling that someone was approaching. He opened his eyes and pulled the pistol he had in a holster hanging from the bar next to him. When he relaxed from his crunch he saw who he’d just drawn down on. He ripped his ear buds out of his ears. “Goddamnit, James Matthew. Do you have a fucking death wish?” he yelled.
“Sorry Jake. I didn’t realize you were going to pull a gun on me. I know you’re in your zone and I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
Jake hit the pause button on his iPod where it rested in its band in his left arm. “Well you’ve managed to interrupt me, what can I help you with?” He put the pistol back in holster and flipped off of the bar he was hanging from.
James was shaken visibly. None of his siblings had ever pulled weapon on him. “Delilah and Maddie wanted to know what you wanted to do about dinner tonight. Is everyone making different meals or are you having a big family dinner?”
“Tell them to make that call. I don’t really care. I’m sorry for pulling a gun on you, Jay, but you really shouldn’t scare a guy like that.”
“I’m sorry man. I really am. I should really know better shit than to sneak up on you when you have gun hanging next to you.”
“Is that all you needed?”
“Yeah, actually.”
“Whose idea was it for you to come out here and interrupt me while I’m working out?”
“Mine actually. Delilah cautioned me not to.”
“Then you should have listened. You sister in law knows me well enough to know that I’m not going to react very well to being snuck up on when I’m in a heightened state of awareness. It could be hazardous to your health.”
“I see that. Are you waiting on Jeremiah and Skyler out here?”
“Yeah, they went for a run out to the cottage and back. We’re going to do some target practice with the different weapons, some hand to hand stuff in the circle that Morbus set up; just general stuff.”
“You guys really think something bad is going to go down?”
“You never know so you need to be prepared. But, if you and the other guys don’t want to that’s on you. When shit hits the fan you’ll be the ones that are sorry.”
“You’re not going to tell us that we have to be out here for the extra practice?”
“Fuck no, not unless it’s orders from headquarters. Headquarters being Mom and Dad. If you don’t want to be out here then you don’t have to be.”
He nodded. “Ok. I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t going to go all militant on us.”
“No, I’m not going to run this place like Saddam Hussein or some other maniac like that.”
“No Napoleon complex?”
“None whatsoever. Now, little brother, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to find ‘Crying Like A Bitch’ on my iPod and go back to my workout. I still have a few sets of abdominal exercises to do before Skyler and Jeremiah get back and I’m trying to push myself to the point where I’m sore. Go back to the house and deliver my message to my wife and our sister and go about your day. Enjoy a little time with your pregnant wife. She’s expecting your son around November, right? Go enjoy her while she grows and expands and curses your name every time she looks in the mirror. It doesn’t get any better, James.” He put his ear buds back in his ears, grabbed his iPod off of his arm to find the song in question and went back to his work out as James walked away.
Once Jake was back up on the bar he restarted the set he was working on. He knew that no one was going to recognize him when he finally went back to work as the words of his father’s long time friend, Sully Erna, blasted in his ears. He was going to be more ripped than he’d been to begin with. Not that his wife was complaining. The nurses were going to be jealous, he was sure.
There wasn’t time for him to think about life after this nonsense was over. He needed to focus on the task at hand- preparing for the possibility of battle. If it came, he had to be ready to protect his wife and children, as well as the rest of his family. Hopefully, it would never come.
---------------
Jordan was counting down the hours until she went to the doctor and had the cast on her leg removed and the incision in her calf was checked. She was sure that she was going to be fine and receive a clean bill of health.
She’d been so high while she was at the hospital because they didn’t want her to feel her pain while she was there. They kept her medicated so that she didn’t scream. And they had her one the good shit too. Vicodine was the best ever, no matter how old the drug itself was.
But now, she needed her pain. She needed to feel it so that she had a reason to keep pushing herself to get stronger and better. She needed to be at the top of her physical condition so that she could take out the bastard that caused the injuries that she has been high from for the last five weeks.
Five weeks. Her children had been with her parents for five weeks. She had been rescued from that shit hole warehouse five weeks before. Her newest niece, little Rina Brielle, was now five weeks old. A lot can happen in five weeks, Jordan was realizing. Soon, her parents would be finding a tutor for her children, or putting them in a Yeshiva for classes. At least Levi would be able to learn how to read and speak Hebrew, she thought to herself.
Just a few more days and this annoying ass cast will come off and I’ll be able to get out on the course so that Morbus can whip my ass into shape. I’m turning my body into a weapon and end that miserable bastard. He won’t be able to regret having fucked with me. I will obliterate that mother fucker if it’s the last thing I do.
No comments:
Post a Comment