Dark Night of the Soul (Jerod's Third Tale - Finale)

When I got home, Tania demanded to be filled in. I told her what Marta told me and we split to separate rooms to call friends. I was avoiding anyone I knew had an association with the Company. I called several people and asked about life, the universe and if anything odd happened out their way.  I listened patiently to everything but there wasn’t anything that sounded particularly dangerous or out of the ordinary.

“Shrimp? Any luck?”

“Not really Sweetheart. I didn’t hear anything that sounded promising. You?”

“I heard some great gossip. But nothing that sounds like it will help us find Ted.”

It wasn’t long before Marta waltzed over. Watching her move is sheerly hypnotic, it’s no wonder she’s one of the best pickpocket around. A man can lose track of everything until she’s well out of view.

“Did you have any luck?”

“Well,” said Marta in her soothing southern drawl. “There sure was one interesting thing. Jade Greenwood has a place way on the other side of town, not far from the stadium. She thinks there’s something at Guppy Gills Pond. She’s seen a few flashes of light at night and can hear a car or two a day.” I opened my mouth to ask a question and stopped when Marta held up her hand. “Shrimp, I asked and she says that a car a month is normal. She’s heard a car two or three times a day in the last few days.”



“Ladies, it’s going to be full dark before we can get together a crew and check out Guppy Gills. Should we go now or wait for daylight?”

“Tomorrow. I don’t like the idea of stumbling around in the dark,” said Tania.

“I’d prefer we go now. I always do my best work after dark,” Marta purred. “Looks like you decide.”

I’m still tired from the trip. I don’t know what we might be facing, and that’s a concern. On the other hand, even the hours between dusk and dawn may prove the difference between life and death for Ted.  “We go now. Marta, is there someone that you absolutely trust you can bring along?”

“Wyatt. He may be Company but the only thing he’s worried about now is how to get into the pants of his new boyfriend Eddie.”

I thought about it. My thoughts drifted to Sinbad, we were still good friends. But I don’t really know about what Bad’s been up to lately. Then I remembered my new employee Howie. Ted had said he was completely ignorant of Company business. I just hope Ted was right, it was his head on the line.

“Marta, you round up Wyatt, I’ll get in touch with someone still new in town. Give me 15 to shower and wake up from this damned jet lag and we’ll be off.”

“I’m coming too!”

“No, Tania, you are not.” If looks could kill, I’d be on my deathbed. “Seriously, Sweetheart, we don’t know what’s going on. I need you to be here, protecting the house and the kids. You are the only one I’d trust. And,” I paused for a deep breath, “it might already be too late for Ted, assuming we do find him. I’d rather spare you that.” Or the frustration if this wasn’t right. There are a lot of little swampy places that one red head dude could be dumped in and never found.

“You said I did well!”

“You did Sweetheart, but who can I trust here but you?” Tania stared at me for a moment, then finally nodded. “That’s my girl.” I then rang Howie to see if he was free to help. After I headed off for the quick shower. Marta was making her own arrangements.

Within 20 minutes, I’d had my shower and was feeling more human. Howie had arrived. Wyatt had also arrived with his boyfriend Eddie in tow.  I glanced at Marta and she shrugged. Eddie is a local musician, not my first choice for a rescue. Then again, Howie wouldn’t be either, there are times when you make do.

We piled into the car and drove to Guppy Gills. I left my car well away from the car park, where it would be hard to spot. “Split up and see if we notice anything?”

“Wait,” said Wyatt. “There’s a little shelter on the other side of the pond. I found it one day poking around out here.”

“Lead on.”

The shelter door was blocked by a very large boulder. “That wasn’t there before,” said Wyatt quietly. Three of us pushed the boulder away from the entrance. A quick look inside revealed one red head lying in the room.

“Howie, Eddie, Wyatt, go back to the carpark and keep watch. If anyone arrives, try to nab them. Marta and I will see to Ted.” Wyatt nodded. He, Eddie and Howie went back to the carpark. The sound of my voice echoed strangely.

“No, I won’t. I told you before.” The voice was very rough, soft and only identifiable because of where it came from. Ted was alive.

“Easy there. It’s the rescue squad,” said Marta quietly.

Ted’s eyes snapped open. “Where’s that bastard Crooks? Did he send you to soften me up?”

“What? I don’t know…Shrimp, I swear, I haven’t seen Antone in weeks.” Marta backed away from Ted and looked at me. “I’ve barely seen him since our daughter was born. He’s not much for families.”

“Ginger, do you know that Lana is crying her heart out over you?” I hope the thought of Lana will help Ted focus. Closer, I could see Ted was in a bad way. His hands were red and raw. There were visible bruises on his arms and face and one leg seemed to be at an odd angle.

“Shrimp, are you in this too?” Ted blinked a few times, but he still didn’t try to move. “Wait, Lana?”

“We’re the rescue squad, Ted. Who left you here and why?”

“It was Antone Crooks and Lang Racket. Crooks grabbed my computer and he’s wants me to give him the password. I couldn’t do that. That computer has my entire life on it. Everything, Shrimp.” Ted knows who did it, which means they were going to kill him.

“How the hell did they catch you?”

“I was on my way to go to work when they jumped me. One of them knocked me out, when I woke up, it was here. Then Lang broke my leg with a lead pipe so even when I heard them coming in, there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

I shook my head. “Don’t tell me, you left home at precisely the same time every day right?” Ted nodded. “For a bright guy, that was dumb. Do you remember the day I quit the Company? I said that you’d always have to watch your back.”

“I remember very clearly. Been wondering if you were behind it sometimes.”

“Damn it Ted, why the fuck weren’t you more careful?”

Marta stepped in, “Shrimp, this isn’t the time for this. Ted needs help.”

I nodded, Marta made an excellent point. “Ted, can you stand?”

“I might be able to with help. Without help, no.” I started to offer Ted a hand. At that point, we heard a car nearby and froze. We heard car doors opening and closing and then we heard the car leaving.

“Damn, now they know,” Marta started. A moment later, we heard crunching footsteps.

“Get in there,” Wyatt pushed Antone into the room. Antone stumbled and fell just in front of us. “We only caught this one. Racket wasn’t really out of the car when Mr Hero tried to slug him one.” Howie hung his head. “Racket managed to jump back in the car and was gone.”

Ted snarled, “Where is my computer, you bastard!”

“You looking for this?” Eddie held out a laptop case. “I took it off him while Wyatt was hitting him.”

Ted started to reach for the computer, put too much pressure on his broken leg and fell back with a howl.

“Ted, we have to take you to the hospital. That leg needs professional attention.”

“How are we going to explain this?” asked Marta with one brow raised.

“When in doubt, try the truth,” I replied. “Ted was kidnapped, and was just rescued. Who and why are two questions we don’t answer.” I staggered, it had been a long day and the jet lag was back with a vengeance.

“What do you want done about him?” asked Wyatt motioning toward Antone. With Eddie and Howie there, Antone was unlikely to face an immediate death. His longer term prospects were certainly not good.

“Much as I’d love to leave him here, it’s obvious that rescue is possible,” said Ted. “Wyatt, you lock him up in the Warehouse. You’re responsible for him until a decision is made.”

I glanced at Marta. She was looking annoyed. Her wrench was going to come out and clip someone soon. Possibly Antone, for not doing a clean takeover. Removing your boss is a common way to get ahead in the evil emperor game. The key is not to get caught and Antone failed.

"I've had it with you, loser. You can't be bothered to be there for our little girl. You can't be bothered to send child support. Then you completely stuff this up. We are through."

She slapped him for good measure. I think her frustrations had been building for some time.

The car had been packed on the way here. With the addition of Antone and Ted, there was no way to fit everyone in. “Right, I can’t see a way around two trips. The warehouse is closer, so I think Antone, Wyatt and Eddie get a lift there. Then it’s one drop at the hospital and next stop is my house.” The crew nodded. “Right then, I should be back in ten minutes. Do you need a hand getting Ted out of this building first?”

Eddie didn’t wait but gently picked Ted up and carried him out. “What can I say? I like sweeping guys off their feet,” he quipped winking at Wyatt. I felt better knowing that Racket wouldn’t be able to pin them here while I was gone.

 It was a quick and quiet trip. Antone didn’t make a sound, he hadn’t said a word since Wyatt pushed him in the room. As three disappeared into the Warehouse, I turned the car back for the second pickup.

The second little group was chatting to keep Ted distracted from pain. I took another look at Ted’s leg and decided that Eddie had the right idea. “Come on then, the hospital for you,” I said as I lifted Ted up. Carrying Ted to the car wasn’t easy. Marta and Howie stayed on either side so they could help if I needed it. We managed to arrange Ted in the back seat and the rest of us piled in the front.

“What are we going to do about Racket?” asked Ted.

“Watch his wife Lolly. If she moves out of town, I’d say he’s not coming back,” said Marta.

“That’s a good idea. If Lolly stays, we watch for Lang. She goes and he’ll be someone else’s problem.”

We dropped Ted off at the hospital, and Howie volunteered to take him inside. We watched Ted being wheeled in and then headed home.

“I had no idea about Antone,” I told Marta as we got out of the car.

“Yeah, he’s a bastard. I’d been thinking it was time to dump him.” Marta waltzed over to her place.

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While Ted was in the hospital, Tania and I took Lana for a daily visit. The leg was very bad, the doctors said there was a good chance he’d have a permanent limp. Better a limp then being dead though. Lolly moved out of town so Lang wasn’t planning to return. I don’t know and I don’t want to know what they did about Antone. If Ted used his brains, he’d make sure that Marta had a major say in the decision. Shipments from France arrived ahead of schedule and the import business is booming.

As for us, the kids grow like weeds. Tania forgave me, eventually, for leaving her out of the hunt for Ted. But I find myself worried a lot more about the future. This was all too close to home. Granted I’m not officially part of the organisation any more. Still, I’m paying far more attention to their activities then I used to.


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Bonus pics

Jerod really is quite a devoted family man. He regularly rolls wants to do with the kids and Tania. He wandered in to play with Toby on his own.

My poor Sim guys. They usually cook breakfast and they rarely get to wear more than undies while they cook. I'm sure he suffered a lot. NOT.

Boys that laugh together stay together? Wyatt Walker and Eddie Starr with sychronised laughing.