It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we witnessed a small breakthrough between Larry and Cortez. It looked like Cortez is worried about keeping his family safe, and Larry made some sense in suggesting that the government could protect his family better than Cortez could. Cortez is taking a moment to think through the consequences of continuing to fight or turning himself in. I see Cortez has lowered his gun into his lap. That could be good news. Let’s get over there and find out his choice of action.

 

Larry leans forward in his chair. “Have you come to a decision, Joachim?”

“Not so fast. I need to know that if I surrender, your offer of protection for my family will be honored.”

Larry leans back. “That’s easy. I’ll have the FBI agent draw up a contract, and you can sign it.”

Joachim’s shoulders slump. “He can do that?”

“He will be speaking for the Justice Department. So, yes, he can do that.”

Joachim waves his gun again. “Call him.”

“I’ll put him on speaker so you can hear for yourself.”

“Yeah, do that.”

Larry dials Mike’s number, and Mike picks up on the first ring. “Yeah, Larry.”

“Hey, Mike. We are on speaker, and I’m here with Joachim.”

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“I think Joachim is ready to call it quits if we can guarantee the safety of his family.”

“Um, okay. How many on the family?”

Larry nods to Joachim, who leans closer to the phone. “There is my wife and two daughters and a French Bulldog.”

“That is doable. Where are they now?”

“They are on an airplane in the executive hanger at the airport.”

“That is excellent. For a minute, I thought they were in Mexico, which would have made things a little more difficult. But, I think the government can make a deal for their safety. So, if you can hold on one minute, I will call the Attorney General to confirm.”

Larry speaks up. “Hey Mike, we have an ADA right here. Can’t she authorize the deal?”

Joachim and Larry stare at the silent phone. Then, finally, after what seemed like forever, Larry says, “Mike?”

“Sorry, Larry, I was on the phone with the AG. The deal is confirmed. I will draw up a preliminary rough contract. What was your question?”

“I was wondering if the AGA could approve and sign.”

“A good idea, but somehow having a captive AGA commit to a deal might not hold up later.”

Larry smiles. “Good call, Mike.”

“So, how do you want to do this?”

Larry points at Joachim. “Let’s have you sign the contract, and then one of your guys bring the contract in here. Joachim will guarantee no shooting. I will witness, and once signed, we will have everyone file out with their hands on their heads. Okay?”

“That sounds fine, Larry. I’ll call you back went the contract is ready.”

“Good deal, Mike, and thanks.” Larry disconnects the call. “Well, that’s it, Joachim. You need to tell your team it’s over.”

“I’ll call in Juan and explain it to him. He can handle the others.”

Joachim yells for Juan to come into the little room. Juan must have been right outside since he appears almost immediately. “Yes, boss. We leaving now?”

Joachim looks down. “Not exactly, Juan.” Joachim swivels the easy chair around so that he can face Juan

“What do you mean?”

“Were you eavesdropping?”

“I couldn’t help overhear that you are giving up.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“But boss, what about the rest of us.”

“You’ve been very loyal, and I will try to get you some kind of deal.”

“That’s not good enough. We have families too. You know what’s going to happen the minute we get nabbed by the feds. The Balthazars are going to move in, and for no reason other than pure spite, they will torture and kill all of our families.”

“Well, maybe we can make a deal where the Feds just take me and leave you here.”

“Still not good enough. With you gone, there is going to be a war to end all wars. The result will be the same.”

“So, what do you recommend?”

“We stick with the original plan and get to the airport. Then, at least back home, we have half a chance of defending what’s ours.”

“Sorry. That’s not going to happen.” Joachim raises his gun. “Give me your weapon.”

Juan’s face grows dark. “You are forsaking the brotherhood, but you can have my gun. I’m going to pull it out. Be careful with yours.”

Juan slowly reaches to withdraw his gun from his holster. He shifts his weight to the balls of his feet and, with astonishing speed, vaults into the chair, burying his shoulder into Joachim’s chest. At the same time, he grabs Joachim’s hand with the gun and shoves it back behind Joachim’s head. Larry is taken totally by surprise and is just beginning to rise from the chair as the gun goes off. The force of the bullet to the chest slams Larry back into the chair.

Joachim and Juan struggle, but Joachim is no match for the powerfully built Juan. He tears the gun out of Joachim’s hand and places the cold steel on Joachim’s forehead while holding Joachim by the neck. “Tell me we are going to the airport, or you’re a dead man.”

“You honestly think those feds out there are going to let you walk out of here? You just shot one of their own.”

“I have the hostages, old man. I’m not afraid to kill one at a time to get my way.”

Larry is trying to make sense of what happened. He can hear Joachim and Juan arguing but can’t understand the context. His chest hurts, and he can feel his lungs getting congested. He tries to get up but is too weak to move. He coughs and can feel the metallic liquid in his mouth. Then, almost like a fist to the gut, several stun grenades go off simultaneously all around the house. Larry can hear and smell the automatic rounds that come from all directions. The blurred forms of Joachim and Juan are lifted and thrown across the room. Larry struggles to hold his eyes open but finally gives in to the wish for sleep.

Larry can feel a soft hand on his face, “It will be over soon.”

Larry opens his eyes. “Gloria. My love. Where did you come from?”

“I’ve been with you all along, my love. You need to relax now. Everything is fine. I have you” Gloria wraps her arms around Larry and hugs him tight. Larry relaxes, and for the first time since losing Gloria, he feels at peace.

 

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week Cortez indicated to Larry that he was ready to move to the cars. He instructed Larry to contact those on the outside to let them know they are coming out. As you can imagine, the vector of this story has taken a turn for the worse. Cortez indicated that if anything went wrong, Larry would be the first to get shot.

Before we join the group, we need to talk about the story for a second. As you have seen, this serial has been laid out using nothing but dialogue with no tags at all. So as a reader, you have had what all the scenes and people look like in your mind. You have been able to construct the backgrounds and sensory cues to your own liking.

This was the purpose of telling the story the way it was told. You have invested of yourself in these 88,600+ words over the last two years. I must honor that investment with the construction of an ending that is satisfactory. Yes, we are coming to an end. All the characters we have met previously are lining up backstage for the curtain call. Our MCs are getting ready for the final scene. As the author of this continuing saga, I think it would be wise to expand to a narrative plus dialogue form to catch all the action leading to the end. With your permission, here we go.

Cortez waves his gun at Larry and tells him to get on the phone. Larry gets out of the chair and holds his palms out in one last gesture of supplication. “Come on, Joachim. Just say the word, and you all can spare yourself a lot of trouble.”

Cortez wipes his face with his hand. “You know it might be easier to just shoot you now. If you don’t start listening to me, I might just do that. I’m in charge here, damn you. Now call.”

Larry holds up one hand and reaches for his phone. “Okay, you win. I’m calling.”

Larry reaches Mike. “How are you doing? Good. Listen. I have a situation here. Cortez does not want to take a deal. In fact, he wants to move right away. Hold on. Yes, Joachim.”

Cortez takes Larry’s arm. “Put it on speaker.”

Larry pulls his arm away. “Sure, Joachim. Anything you say. Hey Mike. You are on speaker. His majesty is listening.”

Cortez does not smile at Larry’s humor. Instead, he waves his gun again. “Just get on with it.”

“So, you heard that, Mike.”

“Yes, I sure did.”

Larry looks at Joachim. “Here’s the deal. Joachim is going to take this whole crowd and move them to the airport. He is warning me that if our team does anything funny, he’s going to shoot me—”

“Say again”

Larry can’t help but smile. “Yeah, that’s right, he’s going to shoot me, so I have an interest in making sure he gets in the car and gets to the airport in one piece.”

Mike is quiet

Larry shrugs his shoulders and turns more toward Cortez. Cortez frowns and waves his gun again. “Looks like the head guy is getting a little upset.”

The escape of Mike’s breath is auditable over the connection. “Yeah, okay. We’ll stand down.”

“Thanks, Mike. His Nibbs has a better look on his face. I’m not sure if we will talk again, but I appreciate anything you can do to keep this situation from getting out of control.” Larry disconnects the call. “Looks like you have a free passage to the airport, Joachim.”

Joachim calls for his right-hand man Juan and gives instruction to gather everyone in the living room. Once the guy leaves to get the hostages, Joachim tells Larry to sit. Larry immediately sits. “You know Joachim, this is not going to end here in Nevada. These guys are going to hunt you down.”

Joachim sighs. “You know as well as I that once I reach my compound, there is no one who can get me back to face charges.”

Larry smiles and crosses his arms. “Have you ever heard of a patriot missile?”

“They wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Holding an ADA hostage is not something the government soon forgets. Besides, who will ever know the source of the missile? It could be one of your rivals.”

Cortez sits across from Larry and hunches forward. “They would harm my wife and daughter?”

“How many Wives and daughters have you harmed?”

Cortez pulls on his chin. He sits in silence until Juan breaks the spell. “Yeah, Juan, what is it?”

Juan explains that everyone is in the living room and that their hands have been zip-tied. Cortez nods and dismisses Juan telling him to keep an eye on everyone. He looks Larry in the eyes. “So if I give up, you are telling me my family will be safe?”

Larry holds Cortez’s gaze. “I think we can arrange for your family to go into a program where they will be protected.”

Cortez’s eyes fill. “Their safety is the only thing that has driven me to this point. My enemies would like nothing better than to get their hands on them. So now you tell me of the possibility of assassination by the US government. You have given me enough to think about.”

Larry sits forward. “I would think it over, Joachim. There has got to be a better way than to keep fighting.”

Joachim’s shoulders slump. His complexion takes on a gray tone of weariness. “You have no idea how long I have been fighting.” He places the gun on a side table and puts his hands on his face. “I have to figure this out.”