11-High Noon

11

High Noon

“Mother-fucking TWICE!”  Rockwell was screaming at the top of his lungs from the back seat of the Grand Marquis.

“Rockwell, give it a rest ,will you?”  Stone said back to Rockwell as he drove with one hand, the other holding a Kleenex over his bleeding nose.

Rockwell, as expected, ignored his partner.  “What the fuck is going on?  How does some shit, ex-football dick get the better of us?  TWICE?!”

“Luck.  It was dumb luck.” Stone replied out of deep, frustrated anger.

“He shot me in the foot!” Rockwell hollered.  “With my own, fucking gun!”

Stone’s phone rang. “Shut up now.  It’s The Muppet.”

Rockwell got quiet and leaned over the back seat to listen as Stone answered.  “Stone.”

“New plan, I have negotiated a hand off at Noon tomorrow.  I’m going to be handing off the money to the currier in a couple of hours.  The meeting is at some unfinished hospital.  I want you two to show up and bring me back the money and that fucking flash drive.” Elmo Kincaid’s voice was hard with a hint of desperation.

Stone heard it, “So, why should we bring all that money back to you?”

Stone heard the anger on the other end.  “Are you serious?  You’re going to fuck with me right now?”

Stone managed a grin.  “Seems like the best time.”

There was a sigh of acceptance on the other end.  “Alright, you each get ten percent of the money you recover, which is half a million.  I’ll consider you both in, again.”

“So we get the best jobs?”  Stone confirmed.

“Yes, yes, you crazy mother fuckers.  Now get me my shit back!”  Elmo yelled into the phone.

 Stone nodded and Rockwell did a mock fist-pump.  “Deal.  What’s the address?”

****

Creegan watched out the front widow next to Maggie.  They were standing in a second floor waiting room.  A large four pane window facing the front of the building was where they watched.  Luckily, the glass was tinted, so anyone on the outside wouldn’t be able to see them.

Creegan checked the time on the wall.  It was 11:54.  “You told them to enter through the front, right?”

Maggie didn’t look over at Creegan.  “I told Elmo to have the courier walk straight down the middle of the front parking lot and through the front door, buts let’s face it Creegan, if they wanted to come in the back, who’s going to stop them?”

Creegan was silent, she was right, after all.  There were only two of them.  If Elmo decided to send an army, they would be cooked.  Creegan and Maggie would have to rely on the fear of the unknown.  If Kincaid knew it was just the two of them with the flash drive and no backup plan it would be a cinch for him to finish this relatively cheap.  But Elmo didn’t know.  He didn’t know who really had the drive or were it was.  He had no idea how many people were working with Maggie.  He knew, literally nothing.

He has to play this conservatively.

Creegan reassured himself, but somewhere deep inside Creegan knew there were going to be surprises.  When it came to Maggie, nothing was easy.

Another three minutes ticked off the clock.  Creegan had just begun to get nervous when he saw her, a squat, hard looking red head in a leather jacket.  She walked to the edge of the parking lot with a hockey bag slung over her shoulder.

“There.”  Creegan said and pointed.

Maggie shook her head, “Kinda hard to miss her, don’t you think?”

The woman dropped the bag then pulled up her jacket and shirt as high as her sports bra and began to slowly rotate.  “What’s she doing?” Maggie asked.

“Showing us she’s unarmed.”  Creegan replied.

After the red head had done one full circle, she re-hoisted the duffle and began to walk across the lot toward the entrance.

****

Rockwell and Stone waited, a couple of rooms down.  They had swung over to Rockwell’s place and patched up his foot as well as picked up some supplies.  Having snuck into the back entrance of the hospital a couple of hours ago, they decided to wait to make their move until both the money and the flash drive were in the open.

“The courier’s here.  It’s the Irish woman.”  Stone said, watching the red head come up an escalator and meet Creegan and Maggie at the top.

“Bet she’d be a great lay,” Rockwell said absently.  “That or her vagina would bite your dick off.”

Stone turned and frowned at him.  “Get your head in the game.  It’s almost time.”

Stone backed away and began to check each of his four guns; two Glocks in shoulder holsters under his coat, one Walther PPK in a belt holster on his backside and a Derringer in a boot holster.  Rockwell checked his big .357 and then belted a bunch of speed loader’s to his right thigh.

“So we have to get the flash drive and the money, right?”  Rockwell asked.

“Yep, and take out Creegan and Maggie.” Stone replied

“That’s a fucking given,” Rockwell said motioning to his foot.  “But that still leaves the question of the Irish woman?”

Stone racked the slide on his automatic and looked at Rockwell.  “Looks like the luck of the Irish just ran out.”

Rockwell raised an eyebrow then started laughing.

Stone frowned, “What?!

 “Have you been waiting you whole life to say that one?”

Stone’s frown became a scowl.  “Fuck you.”

****

The three of them moved slowly back into the waiting room, Creegan and Patty’s eyes locked on each other as they moved.  Once inside the room, there was a long silence.

“Where’s the flash drive?” Patty took time to try to control her accent.

“Where’s the money?”  Maggie quickly replied.

Patty raised an eyebrow, then looked slowly at the bag, then back to Maggie.  “How many Irish women do you know that play hockey?”  Patty’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Maggie’s face scrunched. “I meant, let me see it.”

Patty eyed Creegan who had taken a stance to the left, between the two women.

Patty suddenly dropped the bag on the waiting room table and unzipped the top.  As the zipper peeled away revealing the contents, Maggie’s face lit up.  All of her thirty two teeth showed as she moved in for a closer look.  Stacks of hundred dollar bills lined the inside.  Maggie instinctively reached inside and Patty lashed out, grabbing her wrist. Creegan snapped to attention but didn’t make a move.

“The flash drive.” Patty said sternly.

Maggie nodded, her eyes going back to the money.  “Okay.”

Maggie stepped back and began to bend down to reach.  “It’s in my shoe.”

Patty watched as she slipped her hands into her pockets and into the brass knuckles that made her job possible.  If something was going to happen is would be-

“What the fuck?”  Patty looked outside the window and saw the van in the parking lot.  She also saw the twelve, heavily armed suits getting out.

Creegan became confused, “A duck?  Where?”  He turned and looked out the window.  “What the fuck?”

Creegan turned back around just in time to see the flash of metal.

****

“Well, that was simple enough,” Barbie noted as she watched through the window as the red head walked through the front door of the hospital.

 Kenneth nodded from the driver’s side.

“Lock and load, boys,” Barbie said as she pulled out a Glock while everyone else picked up MP-5’s.  They were nasty, little fully-automatic machine guns with banana clips.

The clicking and clacking of pre gun battle filled the car and Kenneth took the van into the parking lot.  Barbie turned around, “Kenneth use five of them and you boys take the back. The other five of you come with me into the front.  Our primary is the flash drive on the dark haired woman, secondary is the hockey bag of money on the Irish woman.”

All of the men nodded or answered.

Barbie opened the door as Kenneth brought the van to a stop.  “No prisoners.  No witnesses.”

****

Creegan was completely taken off guard by Patty’s right hook.  The blow, complimented by the brass knuckles, sent a shockwave through Creegan’s whole body.  Creegan spun on his heels like some kind of Looney Toon and hit the floor.  The world circled Creegan and he struggled to maintain consciousness.

Maggie watched shocked, as Creegan hit the floor.  One punch had seemed to end it.  She turned back toward Patty with utter fear in her eyes.  Patty slowly stepped onto the table, then down in front of Maggie.

“One more time, before I get rough.  I want to flash drive.”  Patty’s voice was full of intent.

Maggie’s eye’s narrowed.  “Look we can work together, you and I.  Lets walk out of here with the money and the flash drive, split it in-”

Patty grabbed Maggie’s hair and pulled her head back.  Maggie screamed in pain and shock.  “None of that, woman-to-woman, sister shit, girly.  I want the drive.”

Suddenly, a hand gripped Patty’s arm and pulled it away from Maggie’s hair.  Creegan was standing in front of Patty with fire in his eyes and blood from his lip.  They stared at each other and Patty tore her arm away as the two stared at each other.  There was an understanding of what was going to happen next.

Maggie looked back and forth between the two, realizing that some kind of silly warriors understanding was occurring.  She wasn’t going to wait.  She grabbed the bag of money and slung it over her shoulder.

“Don’t get too attached, lass.  I’ll be gettin’ that back once I’m done here.”  Patty said to Maggie without turning from Creegan.

Maggie didn’t respond as she ran out of the room.  There was another second and the clock on the wall switched to 12:01.  Patty and Creegan advanced, Patty throwing the first jab with her right .  Creegan tried to avoid it, but it still glanced off his jaw, and the brass knuckles made it sting more than it should have.

Creegan’s jaw had been tempered from years of abuse and he moved through the blow without blinking and delivered a brutal right forearm blow to the side of Maggie’s head.  She staggered backward into an end table.  Creegan wasted no time moving in and cocking his arm back for a killer left cross.

Patty knew that Creegan would have the power advantage.  A good blow from Creegan might end her.  She straight punched the top of Creegan’s left thigh full force.  The knuckles digging in.  The blow made Creegan yowl and stagger backwards as the muscles in his legs reacted to the blow and cramped up.

Patty pushed forward to capitalize.  As Creegan bent over and grabbed his leg, Patty brought a big left hand in a downward arc.  Creegan managed to get his hand up and stop the punch.  Patty was ready for the block and shifted her feet bringing a right uppercut.  The blow caught Creegan flush on the nose.  Patty felt it break.

Creegan grunted and retreated, falling backward over the middle table to the other side.  Blood began to flow, freely from his nose.  Creegan rolled backward again, after hitting the ground trying to gain some distance between himself and the Valkyrie that was assailing him.

She stepped over the table, again on the offensive but as she stepped down Creegan saw an opening and took it, shooting in, like an amateur wrestler, and grabbing her around the waist.  She began raining hammer fists down on his back.  The blows hurt, but not enough to make Creegan let go.  Creegan roared and picked Patty off her feet and rushed her backward getting three or four steps of speed before crashing her back first into the dry wall.  It cratered and broke around her as she was imbedded in the wall.

Creegan felt her rib crack under the pressure of his big shoulder.  He was on an adrenaline rage and began to mercilessly uppercut Patty’s damaged ribs.  She wailed in pain with each of the violent blows.  She knew she had to do something as the pain was blinding.  Anymore of this and she would lose the ability to stand.  Suddenly, she remembered the blood from Creegan’s shoulder when he and Patty had fled his apartment.

Patty roared like a feral dog and cocked her right hand back, striking Creegan’s shoulder and the bullet wound with all the force she had.  Creegan screamed in pain and Patty wound up and struck the same spot.  Creegan took one step back, then brought his whole body into a straight punch.

Patty, however, saw it coming a mile away and ducked.  Creegan’s hand struck the wall with full force.  He felt his hand shatter as the connection was made.  Creegan screamed in pain and Patty moved in, bringing a huge upper cutting left to Creegan’s abdomen followed by a right hand to the chops.

Creegan lost his breath, then almost went out as Patty’s hook connected to his temple. His knees went weak as he staggered, Patty limped in and Creegan’s desperation kicked in, he stepped forward and caught her boob with a left-hook.

“MOTHER FUCKER!”  Patty yelled in pain as she staggered backward and stumbled over a chair, onto the ground.

Creegan went to one knee.  The blood was running down his left arm from the reopened bullet wound.  His right hand throbbed, his nose leaked blood and his left eye was swelling shut from Patty’s first blow.  He was having a hard time breathing with the damage done to his nose and literally everything on his body hurt.  He saw Patty pulling herself to her feet on the other side of the chair.

“You have got to be kidding me.”  Creegan mumbled through the blood dripping from his chin.

Patty brought herself to her feet, somehow.  It hurt to put any weight on her left foot.  She had at least two broken ribs, maybe more.  Her left eye was beginning to blacken and shockwaves of pain ran through her body from her chest.  She had never fought like this.  She had never had to.

Creegan stood, slowly, and limped forward, his hands coming back up into a lazy guard. Patty took slow, painful steps toward Creegan, her hands coming up.

Last round.  They heard the bell.

Creegan threw a lazy haymaker, trying to make something happen while seeing double.  Maggie ducked the blow and threw a long jab into Creegan’s mid section.  Creegan visibly felt the blow and Patty stepped in, jabbing him in the mouth again.  Creegan felt his lip break open, deeper.  He staggered and fell to one knee.

Patty cocked her right back for one more final punch.

This would end it.

Creegan pulled himself together.  In the seconds before the blow, he somehow scoured the remains of his energy and pulled it all into one last move, knowing this blow would put him out.  As Patty launched her punch, he rose.  Using his left to stop the punch, he snaked it around her arm and caught her wrist in his under arm.  Creegan then brought his right hand up and locked it with the left.  He then locked his forearm against Patty’s elbow on the wrong side.

Creegan then flexed with everything he had, pulling up on the arm.  Patty’s elbow was forced inwards and up.

A loud and audible pop could be heard throughout the room.

Maggie screamed as her elbow popped.

Creegan maintained his grip of her arm with his left and pulled her in closer.  He then brought his right forearm into her face.

Then, again….

          …Then, again….

                    …Then, again…..

He broke her nose and busted her lip, her left eye almost totally closed and purple now, Creegan lost track of how many times he hit her.  He was working on instinct, now.  He suddenly bent over and picked her up onto his shoulder, then dumped her off, sending her crashing into, and through, the waiting room table.

Wood splintered as she crashed down.  Creegan fell into a kneeling position above her head, then raised his hand and cocked his fist back to strike when Patty’s hand came up loosely.  At first glance, it looked like she was trying to protect herself but Creegan knew better.

She had conceded.

He relaxed his fist and then his body and fell backward to the floor.  The fight had been mere seconds but it had felt like an eternity.  His whole body screamed at him.  It begged him to remain on the floor but he couldn’t.

Slowly, Creegan picked himself up.

Patty’s hand had dropped and now she just lay there breathing.

Creegan dragged himself toward an exit as the sounds of gunfire sounded through the hospital.

It was never simple.

He had a job to finish.