| General Fiction posted March 27, 2025 | Chapters: |
...46 47 -48- 49 
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Marie joins the party
A chapter in the book The Devil Fights Back
The Devil Fights Back - Ch. 48
by Jim Wile
The author has placed a warning on this post for language.| Background Three intrepid women team up to conquer medical challenges. |
Recap of Chapter 47: Due to the urgency of Johnny’s asthma attack, Fran and Dana enter the house with guns drawn. The miniature cameras had spotted them, so Woody and Billy were prepared for their entry. Woody trains a shotgun on them, and he and Billy disarm them.
With the shotgun in her back, Woody takes Fran to the basement, where he handcuffs her to a steel support pole. We learn that Woody had been contacted by Israel shortly after beginning to work for the Kendricks and offered $250,000 to turn against them. This would solve his financial problems, so he took the deal.
Fran convinces Woody of the need to attend to Johnny immediately and explains to him how to use the inhaler. Before he does that, he gags Fran. We don’t know what has befallen Dana, and Marie waits in the car.
Chapter 48
When Woody returned from the basement to the first floor, he noticed the baby was no longer in the dog cage. What had that asshole done with him? He heard Billy talking to the other woman in the first-floor bedroom. He opened the door, not caring what he might find going on in there.
Dana was lying on the bed and handcuffed to the metal bed frame. Billy was in the process of removing her pants while she was thrashing and kicking. Woody came forward and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him off.
“What did you do with the baby?”
“Get your hands off me. He was making too goddam much noise—all that crying, and coughing, and squeaky shit—so I took him upstairs and put him in a back bedroom.”
“Jesus Christ, Billy. Why don’t you quit messing around here and do your fucking job. Now get back out to that monitor and watch the screen like you’re supposed to. The bitch downstairs said backup may be coming. I think it’s bullshit, but we better be watching for it.”
Woody was much larger than Billy who grumbled and cursed him out, but did what he was told.
“What an asshole, that guy,” Woody muttered.
“I think you’re both assholes,” said Dana. “Especially you for turning against the family you were supposed to be protecting.”
“Yeah, well, you may be right about that, but I’m looking out for myself first from now on. Now I think I’ll leave you here cuffed to the bed. I’m going to have to gag you too.”
“What have you done with Fran?”
“None of your business, but believe me, you ladies aren’t going anywhere.”
“And where’s the baby? He’s having trouble breathing, you know.”
“I’m well aware of that. Your partner filled me in. I’m going upstairs to take care of him as soon as I place the gag on you.”
“Woody, you seem like a decent enough guy. Maybe you just got caught up in something, and you’re regretting it now. Why don’t you just let us go and figure out a way out of this for yourself?”
“Yeah, I don’t think so. In for a penny, in for a pound. I’m gonna go get that gag now.”
Marie sat waiting in the car. What the hell was taking so long? Fran had left the engine running, but the A/C in this car didn’t work very well, and Marie was perspiring. Normally a very cold person because of her slight frame, she was boiling over due to the summer heat here in North Carolina. Or maybe it was the circumstances. And damn, could she use a drink.
The longer she sat there by herself in that hot car, the angrier and more uncomfortable she felt as she pictured poor Johnny at the mercy of thugs who were using him as a pawn in a serious game of intimidation. Although it had only been twenty minutes since Fran and Dana had left, Marie could take the idleness no longer. Yeah, Fran had told her to stay in the car, but fuck it. She’d said the same thing to Dana, and she left. Shaking with pent up energy, she had to do something.
She opened the car door and emerged into the afternoon heat. My God, she wasn’t even sure which house they had gone into, but then she remembered hearing the house number was 213. As she walked back, she could see 215. The one next door must be 213.
She made her way up the side of 215 along the hedge line, much as Fran and Dana had done, to remain out of sight. The hedge ended in the backyard, and Marie crossed over to 213 behind the house. She crept forward slowly and carefully, approaching a partially open window she saw at the rear of the house. Unbeknownst to her, a small security camera picked up her image as she crept forward, but there was no one currently watching the computer screen to notice.
She peered into the window and couldn’t see anything, but she thought she could faintly hear Johnny crying haltingly. But what was that other sound, repeated over and over? A muffled voice crying “Help,” perhaps? But it was so muffled that it was almost unrecognizable. And there was another sound like a clanging of metal on metal. These sounds conjured up nothing good.
She had no idea how she summoned up the courage to try the back door, but miraculously, it opened, and before she had time to chicken out, she entered the rear of the house. The muffled cries and the clanging were louder now that she was on the inside and seemed to be coming from down below. A door had been left ajar, and she quietly opened it to see a set of stairs going down to a basement. She made her way down the stairs, and there was Fran, gagged and handcuffed to a metal pole. Marie quickly ran to her and pulled the gag from her mouth.
“Jesus, Marie. I thought I told you to stay in the car!”
“Yeah, well, apparently it’s a good thing I didn’t listen. How did they get the jump on you?”
“Never mind that now. I’ve got to get out of this. Be quiet and let me think.”
Some gratitude! thought Marie, as Fran snapped at her.
In a moment, Fran said, “How did you get inside, Marie?”
“Through the back door. It was unlocked.”
“Then did you happen to notice anyone sitting at a desk behind a computer screen? It would have been to your left, and his back would have been facing you.”
“No, there was no one there.”
“Alright, he must have been in with Dana in a first-floor bedroom or maybe in the bathroom. I don’t know where Woody is right now. Did you see Johnny when you came in?”
“No, but I could hear him, though. He sounded far away, like he might be in an upstairs bedroom or something.”
“Hmm, the other guy must have moved him. Woody’s probably up there with him now. I told him how to use the inhaler. Hopefully that’s what he’s doing, but I don’t know how effective it will be. I don’t think he’ll figure out how to use the spacer in time.”
“What’s a spacer?”
“It’s something babies need for the inhaler to be effective. Alright, Marie, I think the only way we’re going to get out of this and save Johnny is if you can get a handcuff key and uncuff me.”
“Can’t I find a paperclip or something to use, like they do in the movies?”
“Afraid, it’s not as simple as they make it look. That won’t work on most cuffs these days. No, you’re going to have to get the key from one of those guys upstairs. The little guy is a dangerous prick, but I think he’s the one you have to target. I don’t know where he is but he obviously wasn’t monitoring the computer or you wouldn’t have gotten in. Hopefully he’ll go back to it soon. When he does, his back will be to you. You’ll have a chance to sneak up on him and dispatch him and get his handcuff key.”
“Dispatch him? What do you mean by that?”
“I mean knock him out with that baseball bat over there in the corner.”
“I’ve never played baseball in my life. What if I miss?”
“A head is a pretty big target, Marie. You won’t miss unless you’re a complete spazz. You’ll just need to hit him with enough force to knock him out. Do you think you could summon up enough strength to give him a good whap in the head?”
“As angry as I am right now about what they’re doing to my grandson, no worries there.”
“Good. Now go get the bat over there and I’ll explain what to do.”
When she returned with the bat, Fran told her how to grip it and swing it, and had her practice it a few times. “You need to put a little wrist action into it, to increase the bat speed, otherwise you’ll just make him mad but won’t knock him out.”
Marie tried a few more swings.
“Hmm, not great, but it’ll have to do. Make sure you hit him in the area of the temple, not in the neck. And don’t miss. You’ll only get one chance at it. When you’ve knocked him out, feel around in his pockets for a key, then come and unlock me. We’ll have Woody to take care of then. Marie, I’m serious. Do you really think you can do this? You’re a violinist in an orchestra.”
“Fran, this is my grandchild who they’ve kidnapped and is in trouble. I may not have been much of a mother, but I’m determined to be a good grandmother. I’ll do anything for him right now.”
“Okay. You’ve got to be really quiet when you sneak up behind the guy at the computer. Take your shoes off. Don’t take a big breath or cry out as you hit him or do anything that will give yourself away. Just forcefully strike him in the side of the head. You can do it, Marie.”
“You bet your ass, I can. See you soon.”
In by far the bravest thing she had ever done in her life, she removed her shoes and, bat in hand, quietly headed up the stairs.
(3 more chapters to go)
 Recognized |
Fran Pekarsky: One of three narrators of the story. She is an FBI agent from the North Carolina field office in Charlotte.
Dana Padgett: One of three narrators of the story. She is a confidential informant (CI) for Fran and works in Big Pharma.
Brian Kendrick: Fran's younger brother. He is the inventor of Dipraxa and Glyptophan.
Julia Kendrick: Brian's wife. She is a world-class violinist who now plays in a bluegrass band.
Johnny Kendrick: Brian and Julia's baby boy and Marie's grandson.
Dr. Marie Schmidt: Julia's mother. She is the third narrator of the story.
Cedric (aka Cecil): The doorman at the apartment house where Marie lives.
Lou D'Onofrio: Fran's boss at the FBI.
Leonard Merra: A vice president at the Big Pharma company where Dana works. He is in charge of stopping Glyptophan.
Rudy Spangler: A vice president at Gideon Pharmaceutical. He is in charge of stopping Glyptophan.
Peter Israel: The security chief at Gideon Pharmaceutical. He is in cahoots with Rudy Spangler to stop Glyptophan.
Woody Sandbulte: One of three bodyguards hired by the Kendricks for protection.
Nick Burwell: One of three bodyguards hired by the Kendricks for protection.
Harvey Briggs: One of three bodyguards hired by the Kendricks for protection.
Billy: One of the kidnappers.
Picture courtesy of Flux-Pro
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