In Too Deep

Image Source: littleseasparrow

Jake loved Jack like a brother but at the moment, he felt like throttling him by the neck. He had been complaining ever since they left the station. The two had come along way but right now, Jake was not in the mood for one of Jack’s rumblings.

“Could you shut up?”

“Why should I?” Jack asked. "You dragged me out here in search of your grown ass sister. You do know she is not a small girl anymore and that she needs to make her own decisions? But you want to control everyone and everything."

“Am sorry I asked you to come with me, but this is important. I really need you now, but if you don’t shut up, I'll shove these binoculars up your ass and I mean it!”

“I would love to see you try.” Jack dared him. ”I just hope am in time for my date with Flare. Ever since your sister rejected me, I have been trying to make it work with her.”

“I’m going to make sure we get back in time. Promise.”

Jake shut off Jacks voice eventually. The guy could talk for hours without catching a breath. They had been cops for five years and friends for as long as he could remember. They graduated from the academy together and by sheer luck worked at the same station. Jake always trusted his instincts. It's what helped him solve all his cases and something told him that Bob, his sister's boyfriend was up to no good. He did try to warn Annette about him, but she was in love. A search of Bob's records at the station showed nothing. The guy was too clean!

“Hey,” Jack hit him on the shoulder. “Are you listening to me?”

“No! You talk too much.”

“I just need to know whether you are sure they were headed this way.”

“Of course am sure. I read Annette’s message to Bob last night while she slept.”

“No you didn’t! It’s called privacy for a reason.”

 “Where my sister is concerned, the rules change"

“So what are we supposed to say if they see us? ‘that the station needs a celebratory deer and we just happened to come across them'?”

“They won’t even know we are around. Trust me.”

“I do. I just hope you are right.”

They walked in silence for some time until they came to a clearing next to the Parkinson Waterfall.  It was a beautiful waterfall enjoyed by many especially on weekends. Today was not a weekend though and the only people swimming were Annette and Bob.

“See, they are fine. Can we go back now?” Jack asked.

“Shhhhhh.... just a minute,” Jake said.

Jake stared for a while at his sister and boyfriend. They were swimming and playing with the cool water. Was he over thinking the situation? She was having fun and her laughter rang across the forest. Jake was now confused. Maybe he had judged Bob wrong. Furthermore, 3 divorces and 4 kids he could barely feed did not make him the right person to judge. He envied his sister. He couldn’t remember the last time he had that kind of fun... actually any kind of fun. All he had were three ex-wives fighting to get something from his meager salary. He had vowed never to fall in love again after the third ran off with a guy much younger than him. Love was not for him.

“Is this what you wanted me to see?” Jack’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “What am missing out since she rejected me or what I may never have with flare? This is just cruel!”

“Okay, I admit I was a little overprotective but I don't trust the guy at all. He is up to something and I won't let him drag my sister into it.  For now we’ve seen enough. Let’s head out, I'll catch him another day.”

“Thank you. Next time you are on an Annette spying game don't call ….”

Suddenly they heard gunshots followed by Annette's shrill scream. Jake tried to rush out but Jack held him down. They didn’t have their guns on them. They moved back into the boulder and watched. The water around his screaming sister was now crimson red. She was trying to hold Bob’s head above the water while screaming for help.

“Shit Jack! Shit.”

“Get it together Jake. We need to find out who is shooting and get your sister out of there. You were right about Bob though."

"Stay right here, I’ll be right back.” Before Jack could stop him, Jake was already on the next boulder trying to get as close to the fall as possible.   

"Shit Jake, you are going to get us killed!"

"No I won't. Stay right there and cover me."

"We don't have guns, remember?"

Jake moved slowly towards the waterfall using the big boulders as cover. He could see his sister clearly now. She was trying to drag Bob out of the water and didn’t look hurt at all.

“Get them out of there!” someone bellowed. Jake ducked behind the boulder. ‘The shooter!' he thought. Two more guys emerged from the bushes. One of them dove into the water and got his hysterical sister out. He then went in and pulled Bob out.

“This one’s dead,” he said.

“You killed him! “ Annette shouted. “Oh my God you killed him! He's dead! You killed him! Why? You killed him!”

“Hey!  Shut up!” the leader bellowed. “Shut it or you will be next!”

Annette moved to Bob and hugged his bleeding head. She was hysterical and tried to stop the bleeding with her hands. Jake cursed. Why the hell didn't he have his gun when he needed it most? Now he couldn’t defend his sister.

“Let’s get the hell out of here, the boss is waiting. Put that one in the van, she might know something we don’t and where the hell is Tommy? What is taking him so long?”

Tommy appeared in a scooter, with Jack handcuffed to one of the chairs.

“Shit Jack!” Jake cursed loudly.

“What was that?” the leader asked.

They all stared in Jake's direction. He held his breath and hid further into the boulder.

"Could be an animal," Tommy said

“Who the hell is that?” the leader asked pointing at Jack who was now unconscious.

“Found him in the woods. He must be a stalker enjoying the show as the two lovebirds were swimming.”

“Why didn’t you kill him?”

“I noticed the badge… he is a cop. He may know something about Bob and help us out. If not, we kill him.”

“Okay. But the boss will not like it. Let’s head out.”

Jake watched helplessly as the van pulled away, deep into the mountain. He called the police station and reported the issue.

“How did this happen right under my watch? My sister, my friend and a dead Bob. Was that even his real name?“

He moved cautiously towards Bob in case another goon was still lurking behind. He searched his clothes and found a strange key which he quickly put in his pocket when he heard the sirens.  He wanted to be out there following their trail but the commander had ordered him to stay put. It was going to be a long day.