Old Sayings Hold True

Paul's head snapped around to stare at me. When I disconnected, he gruffly told me that he knew I was holding back information, but now was the time for full disclosure if I wanted him to keep running interference for me. He didn't want any more surprises. We went to my office and I explained everything.

When I had finished, he sat there gob smacked. He took a few minutes to compose himself then said, "We thought your plan was insane before, but now I know for sure you have totally lost the plot. There is no way I will let you do this." I replied, "Everything is already in motion and if you try to stop it now, a lot of people will get hurt, or worse, for no reason."

I continued, "By having Walsh totally enraged with my actions, his only focus will be to destroy me and with that goal in mind, he will ignore anyone else, unless they get in the way. Not only that, but if it comes to a physical confrontation, I will more than likely lose. So fighting in his head gives me a huge advantage."

After some back and forth, Paul wanted to send his crew with me, but I kept rejecting that idea saying that if I had to think about other people, then I couldn't concentrate on Walsh. I said, "Besides, I have something I bet Walsh doesn't have." Paul asked, "What's that?" I replied, "A suicide bomber who wants to go out with a bang!" I then had to explain about Arthur's terminal illness and his decision to help me. Paul eventually said he would hold back for now, but if he felt the need, he would step in. I quietly asked, "Please only do that as a last resort and I'm dead?"

I told Paul I needed to have my regular phone moving around for the next 24 hours so Walsh could track it, but it had to look like I was going about my normal business. I wanted him thinking I wasn't taking any precautions and would be an easy target. Paul said he would have someone collect it. I still had the throw away phone from our holidays earlier.

I said I was going home to have a shower and get some clothes together for the rest of the week. Paul said not to because Walsh had my place under surveillance. When I asked him how he knew that, he looked out the window and then up and said, "I have my ways." I understood what he was saying. Paul suggested I buy some new clothes and we would meet back at the warehouse in an hour or so.

I was about 3km from the shop when I noticed a black van following me. I made my way to the shopping center and parked in the open carpark at the front of the center. The van parked a few rows over, but where they could still watch my car. I casually made my way into the center, then into one of the shops. From there I called Paul and asked if he had anyone tailing me. When he said 'No' and asked me where I was, I told him not to worry, I would take care of it and disconnected.

I then went and purchased my new clothes and returned to my car. I placed the bags in the passenger side and retrieved a tracking device Jake had given me for Jills car, but hadn't had the chance to use yet. I then sat in the drivers seat and saw the van driver appear to prepare to leave. I got back out of my vehicle and went back into the center.

I quickly made my way to another exit, then ran to the front carpark. When I spotted the van, I carefully made my way to the rear of it while keeping a close eye on the driver. He never took his eyes off the front door of the center. I used the magnet on the tracker to attach it under the vans back bumper, then quietly made my way back inside, then back to my vehicle with a drink and some food. From there, I drove back toward my house. It surprised me when the van turned off about 5 blocks before I got to the house. I looked at the tracking app on my phone to see it was heading away at a high speed. Taking advantage, I quickly turned around to follow using the tracker. I stayed around 2km back until the tracker showed the van had stopped at the real estate office. I then headed to the warehouse for the night.

I gave Paul and the guys a rundown of what happened. I believed it was just a recon mission on their part and the others agreed. At this point, two very attractive women wearing business suits entered the warehouse and joined the group. Paul introduced them as 'K' and 'M' and asked how things went. They proceeded with an outline of the operation of the real estate office, which I found boring until they mentioned what time Walsh showed up and what he was driving.

Paul and I just stared at each other. I broke into a grin and said, "It's working just like I hoped it would. For him, it's now personal and he can't let it go." The others looked at me with blank faces. I told Paul to enlighten them while I cleaned myself up. I hit the shower which made me feel a lot better. The bruising had started to turn yellow, so I knew I was on the mend. It would still be a few weeks before I was 100%, but I had a family to protect.

After breakfast the next morning everybody went about their business, leaving Paul and I behind. I casually asked him if they all just used a letter to identify themselves. He gave me a confused look until I explained my curiosity about 'K' and 'M' and how he only used a letter when addressing the others. That gave him a laugh.

He finally explained they found it was easier to use a single letter instead of their full names. He then rattled off everyones names: Adam, Bob, Charlie, Davis, Elvis, Fredrick, Gavin and Harold. The girls names were actually Kay and Emme. When I mentioned he was the odd one out, a somber look hit him as he said, "I'm just 'Sir'. None of them will use my given name, even though I have tried to get them to." I resolved to do my best to speak with the others when this was over and rectify that situation if at all possible.

We spent the next few hours getting things ready for the forthcoming confrontation. Around 4pm Arthur called me and said everything was good to go at his end. I told Paul I needed my phone back as the game was afoot. He made a call and 15 minutes later K and M showed up and handed it to me with a grin. They explained how they had my phone for the last 2 hours and watched Walsh almost go crazy looking for 'something' while they wandered around 2 different shopping centers.

I powered up the phone and dialed a number from memory. I put it on speaker as Walsh answered. Before he could say anything, I yelled into the phone, "STOP FOLLOWING ME YOU LITTLE TURD. I DON'T NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE WHEN I DO MY SHOPPING!" I couldn't make out most of what he said, apart from 'kill you', before cutting him off. I shut down the phone again and removed the battery.

When I did that, I spotted a strange object under where the battery usually sat. I showed Paul and he gave it to Elvis. Turns out it was a tracker. I knew the only way it could have gotten there was Jill had to have placed it. I had E show me how to connect and disconnect it until I could do it blindfolded. When everyone was eating that night, I told them I would be putting everything in motion tomorrow morning. They just nodded their accent and kept eating.

After dinner, I called Jake to confirm things were going to plan. He told me all the businesses were now insolvent and had been reported as such to the appropriate authorities. His bank accounts, including those overseas were now empty. A $15million drug deal he had been working on with a South American cartel was about to go bad, with him looking like he stole the drugs. A Chinese consortium had been informed Walsh had started up his own human trafficking ring in direct competition to theirs and was bragging he would put them out of business in 3 months. Just as a cherry on the top, he was reported to the RSPCA for animal cruelty.

During that call, I had the phone on speaker, no more secrets remember, and everyone was speechless. Before they could utter a word, I asked them, "How do you commit the perfect murder and walk away free?" I think Fredrick knew where I was headed, but the rest were lost. I continued, "You don't actually commit the murder."

The silence was deafening until Fred spoke up, "You just manipulate the circumstances and let others do the dirty work?!" I gave him a thumbs up and said, "Exactly. The worst I can be charged with is making false statements. But I don't see any of those I lie to making a complaint to a court, do you?" That brought a grin to their faces and nods of agreement.

Paul tilted his head and said, "You're one hell of a devious bastard aren't you? Remind me not to piss you off." He realized what he just said and quickly apologized. I just shrugged my shoulders and told him not to worry about it. I noticed Kay's eyes flick up in my direction for a split second before she looked at Paul. She covered it by asking him about the plan for tomorrow. He deferred to me, which I thought was a bit strange, considering the group dynamic.

I decided to let that situation lay for now and told them I would be heading out about 4am toward the mine. I would be going the back way because I knew those roads well. It would slow Walsh down as they were little more than unmaintained back roads. I would give myself a 2 hour head start, then activate the tracker on my phone before calling him and taunting him into following me. I expected he would get some backup to go with him because that's the type of coward he is.

Harold was the one who asked who I was taking as backup. I quickly glared at Paul but he refused to meet my eyes. I stood and said, "Ask your fucking boss." Then as I left the room, I said to Paul, "So much for no fucken secrets, hey!" I went and sacked out for the night.

My alarm woke me at 3.30am. I rose and completed my morning routine then went to make coffee. Paul already had the water boiling and looked like he hadn't slept. He started to say something, but I raised my hand to stop him and said, "Just don't ok. I don't need to hear your shit anymore. I have better things to do today." I finished my coffee, went for a piss, opened the roller door, then jumped in my car and drove off without a word between us. For once in his life, he didn't get the last word.

It was just after 6am when I turned on my phone and made my first call to Walsh. I said to him, "I know you love being a little bitch, so put the kettle on slut, because I'm coming for breakfast." I hung up before he could say anything back to me. 30 minutes later I called again and said I was held up but would be there for brunch at 10am. I let him rant for a while so I could listen for any background noise. I heard the unmistakable sound of a vehicle driving on a bitumen road at high speed.

Each time he took a breath, I could also hear other voices in the background as well. I cut the call, then picked up my secure phone and rang Arthur to let him know I was about 4 hours away, with Walsh about 2 hours behind me. He reassured me everything was good to go and it would be spectacular.

At about 10.15 I finally answered one of the many calls from Walsh. "What do you want little bitch?" He said, "I have your kids and if you ever want to see them again, meet me at the real estate office at 7pm tonight with $2million in cash. If you're not there, they die!" He quickly cut off the call. I wondered what kind of bluff he was trying to pull. He knew I had no way to raise that kind of money, let alone that fast. I knew my kids and parents, as well as Jill, were safely tucked away where he couldn't get them.

Then it struck me. He was worried. My guess was either the Chinese or the Cartel were on his tail and he wanted to run. I tried calling him back but the call went straight to voice mail. That made me think he was trying to hide his whereabouts.

I pulled out my secure phone and called Paul. When he answered, I abruptly asked if he had eyes on Walsh. He replied he was about 1.5 hours behind me and catching up so I better step up the pace. I said my plan was to have him arrive at the mine 15-20 minutes after I did, so keep me updated. I hung up and slowed my driving to give Walsh a chance to catch up. I was less than 2 hours from the mine.

By the time I reached the gate to my property, I had mentally reviewed how I hoped this would work out. So far, Walsh had acted very much as I thought he would, apart from the latest threat to my kids and the ransom money. I still believed he must have been getting desperate to even consider it. If that was the case, it became a double-edged sword. Working for me, it would cloud his judgement, and against me, it would make him less predictable.

One thing I was sure about was, I didn't have to worry about one of his goons killing me. He wanted to savor that for himself. There had to be a way I could take advantage of that if needed. My secure phone rang at that point and Paul informed me Walsh was 20 minutes behind me. I thanked him and walked over and opened the gate. As I drove through, I spun the wheels to make sure I left fresh tracks to follow. I also left the gate partially open.

It was a good 15 minute drive to the mine from the gate. Arthur greeted me when I arrived and gave me a quick tour of what he had set up. He also showed me a secondary detonator just in case something happened to him and he couldn't fire the C4. He then showed me about 20 fake 'hand grenades' he made from clay he found, that we could throw in the direction of where he had set explosives. That way, Walsh and his crew would think twice before trying anything too stupid.

I saw the dust trail rising from the track and told Arthur it was showtime. I opened the back door of my car and retrieved the mannequin I had dressed in some of my old clothes and placed it on a chair, just deep enough inside the mine where it could be seen but not clearly.. Arthur helped me set up an old rifle in the mannequins hands pointed toward the mine opening. He and I then concealed ourselves deeper in the mine, armed with the automatic weapons Paul had supplied.

The plan was very simple. Take out as many of them as we could until our ammunition ran out, then lure any survivors deep into the mine and blow it all to hell. What could possibly go wrong? Did I mention Arthur and I would make use of the small ventilation shafts grandad had insisted we dig, to make our escape?

We watched the van slowly drive to the front of the mine, then suddenly veer off to the left behind some trees. 7 guys exited the far side of the van and took up defensive positions. They all had automatic weapons as well as body armor. Arthur said to me, "You'll have to aim for their head."

Walsh yelled out to me, "Hey J-boy, looks like you won't make the 7pm deadline. Maybe you should call your kids and say goodbye!" I replied, "No need to. My daughter would beat the fuck out of a little bitch like you. Now go and make the real men some sandwiches!" I heard Arthur snigger at that. I heard the sound of a second vehicle approaching and the squark of a radio.

30 seconds later, the other vehicle stopped off to the right side of the entrance and 6 more goons exited, taking defensive positions behind that van. I asked Arthur where the C4 was positioned and he pointed about 6 meters in front of both vans. I said to him, "On 3!" and rolled a grenade toward each van.

I counted '1..2..3' and he set off the explosives. That was a hell of a bang! I threw the mannequin behind some rocks and picked up my weapon and begun shooting. First I put a couple of holes in the vans radiators, then hit a couple of tyres. Meanwhile, Arthur threw out a couple more grenades and set off the C4. This had the 6 goons from the right move over to the left with the others.

As they crossed between the vans, I saw 2 go down. One crawled away but the other never moved. I don't know who shot them. A storm of bullets came our way. We didn't have to worry about ricochets because the walls of the mine were mostly a hard packed clay, that absorbed the bullets. I asked Arthur how many more charges were set outside, and he said one for each grenade.

He told me roughly where they were, and I asked if he could set them all off at once. He nodded 'yes' and I told him to get ready. I threw one out and Arthur set it off. When the goons took cover, I tossed another 10 in their general direction and gave Arthur the nod. We saw them scramble in all directions just before Arthur let 'em rip.

Noise, smoke, dust and general chaos ensued. During the confusion, we made our way deeper into the mine. The mine ran for about 500 meters, with a number of side corridors off the main tunnel. Each tunnel only allowed you enough height to walk if you bent at the waist. Hey, it wasn't designed for comfort. It worked in our favor for defense.

As we made our way along the tunnel, Arthur set in motion a few noise making devices he hoped would distract our pursuers. The first few just made a noise. The last few were deadly booby traps. I thought to myself, 'Damn, why does this guy have to be dying? I love the way he thinks'.

It took another 10 minutes before any of the goons entered the mine. They were whispering, but due to the acoustics, we could hear every word. Walsh ordered them all to search the mine until we were found. The coward was going to wait outside. As they entered, they donned night vision goggles. I was kicking myself for not having turned on the lights before heading down here. They weren't very bright but would have fouled up their goggles.

We heard them checking the first few side tunnels. They seemed to be a little frustrated at Arthurs distractions. As predicted, they started to ignore the noises coming from the next few tunnels and kept heading our way. Arthur leaned over and whispered in my ear, "When they are all in the side tunnels, you need to slip outside and take out Walsh. I'll keep this lot occupied." I knew what he was really saying.

When they were far enough into our trap, we opened fire. The first couple of goons died immediately, while the rest took cover in the side tunnels. Arthur gave me a small push and said, "Go, Go, Go, and thank you for everything." It was a bittersweet moment for me. He kept firing while I crawled out the air shaft.

I carefully poked my head from the shaft and saw Walsh nervously pacing around the mine opening. I slowly started making my way toward him, using the bushes for cover. I got within 30 meters and drew my pistol, slid off the safety and took careful aim.

I heard and felt the rumble of rolling explosions coming from within the mine. I knew Arthur had done his part, now it was my turn. As I squeezed the trigger another, louder explosion thundered out of the mine and the ground under me gave way. My weapon fired and Walsh hit the dirt. I slid about 50 meters down the hillside until I landed against a large boulder.

I suspect I had broken my leg, but that was only a very minor problem compared to rockslide that was headed my way. I couldn't move out of the way, so I protected my head the best I could. I felt a couple of ribs crack and my wrist snap. By the time it stopped, I was buried almost to my chest. I looked up and saw grandad shaking his head at me. I said to him, "At least I didn't sell it."

He faded away and then everything got worse. A shadow fell over me and when I looked up, Walsh stood there with a bloodied rag around his arm. He looked down on me and said, "You are unbelievably fucking annoying." That made me smile and I replied, "You're not the first person to say that." He then said, "But I will be the last."

With that, he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at my head. He said, "You have turned my life to shit, but I respect you for standing up to me. I'll make this quick and painless for you." I could barely stay awake enough to reply, "Thanks little bitch." And that's all she wrote!

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'......The next thing I knew, was the smell of burning flesh. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around to see if was me who was burning. Then I spotted a familiar stove with a large cooking pot on top and wondered how the hell I had gotten here.