Girl Jacked
Authors: Christopher Greyson
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Thrillers, #Crime, #Action & Adventure, #Men's Adventure, #Crime Fiction, #Murder, #Vigilante Justice, #Mystery, #Series
GIRL JACKED
Copyright: Christopher Greyson
Published: August 1
st
2013
The right of Christopher Greyson to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at www.christophergreyson.com
Chapter 4 – Fish Out of Water Dance
Chapter 5 – You Will Know Pain
Chapter 11 – Try to Out Shout Me
Chapter 13 – Anyplace Can be Dangerous
Chapter 14 – Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’
Chapter 17 – Sometimes… We All Do
Chapter 20 – So Much for Green
Chapter 23 – Aluminum Foil and Other Kitchen Stuff
Chapter 24 – Ask a Better Question
Chapter 25 – But by the Grace of God go I
Chapter 2
8 – Drunken Grasshopper
Chapter
30 – Following the Bread Crumbs
Chapter 3
5 – Stupid but Brilliant
Chapter 3
7 – Box Full of Memories
Chapter 1 – The Boar’s Butt
“Car 68?” The dispatcher’s voice crackled over the radio.
“Copy.”
“We got a 10-10 in progress at The Boar’s Butt.”
The Boar’s Butt was a local bar and pizza joint that mainly catered to the same crowd of rowdy guys.
Jack always laughed at the name.
“Any other info?” Jack swung the car around and hit the lights.
“Bartender called it in. No other details. Backup is going to be delayed. What’s your ETA?”
“Ten minutes,” Jack grinned.
“10-4.”
The smile on his face grew as his speed increased. He loved driving fast and relished one of the perks of law enforcement.
I’ll gun it and be there in less than six.
As he raced to the opposite side of town, he looked down at the clock. 11:35 pm. There wasn’t another car on the road in the county of Darrington. The sleepy backwater community had little to offer in excitement and nightlife.
As he sped down the deserted streets, Jack felt alive.
The leather creaked as he gripped the steering wheel and settled back into his seat. He always preferred the refitted Charger for patrol.
Its V8 with 368 horsepower and 395 lbs. of torque roared to life.
I love this car.
The other cops knew Jack had practically claimed it as his own. To Jack, the car
did
belong to him which was why he had almost gotten into a fistfight with Billy Murphy when someone saw Murphy doing donuts in a deserted parking lot.
The stupid idiot.
Jack cut down a side road that ran straight for nearly a mile. He pinned the gas pedal flat to the floor and the Hemi roared with pleasure at its freedom. A rush of adrenaline surged through him as the telephone poles whizzed by at light speed. He kept his hands slightly loose on the steering wheel as he made minor corrections. All too soon, he neared the end of the street and forced himself to slow down… his momentary escapism ended.
A minute later, Jack killed the lights as he rolled into the bar’s parking lot. Jack had a knack for getting into trouble. He decided to angle the Charger so it pointed at the woods and not towards the front of the bar.
No need for the dash cam footage to end up on Sheriff
Collins’ desk.
There were less than a dozen cars and trucks parked outside. He scanned them quickly and two stood out. An old Chevy Super Sport and an enormous red Timberline work truck.
The guy who owns that Chevy always has an attitude.
Jack had pulled him over a couple of times. He fancied himself a tough guy and a ladies’ man. Jack didn’t think he was either.
The Timberline truck meant he would find other lumberjacks inside. In his three years of being a cop and during his tour in Iraq, Jack had seen some tough guys, but a lumberjack made his short list of guys that he didn’t
want
to fight.
He grabbed a backup set of cuffs and jumped out. Instinctively, he reached back in and snagged his hat.
They taught you at the academy how to use something as simple as a hat for crowd control. From the gold shield on top, to the trick of angling your head to hide your eyes, the hat was a tool to be used.
He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair, before pulling the hat down a little lower than usual.
It’s a fight. Crowd control; investigate, intimidate then dissipate.
As he climbed the steps that led to the outside deck of the bar, he made sure not to touch the railing. Made out of 2” rusted plumbing pipe screwed directly onto the porch, the thick railing would turn the palm of your hand an instant rusty orange if you touched it.
Jack pushed the heavy wooden door in as a young couple hurried out. The door had similar pipe for a handle, and Jack tested it as he held open the door and stepped out of their way. The man nervously looked over his shoulder back into the bar as he prodded his girlfriend to escape. She flashed a smile at Jack before she was hustled down the steps.
Jack was a good-looking guy, definitely not a pretty boy but he never had to work too hard to attract girls.
He began scanning the room as he walked through the door. The entire restaurant was a large, open room with a kitchen at the back. There were five booths against the wall and next to them were five large tables, each covered with checkered red and white vinyl tablecloths. Dwight Yokum’s version of ‘Little Sister’ played over the jukebox, and the smell of pizza and beer filled the air.
On the opposite wall was a long serving bar with a dozen stools. Jammed into the corners were two pinball machines and a jukebox. They had painted the brown floor so many times that it was hard to tell, but it was wood underneath.
Calling the Boar’s Butt a restaurant was a stretch. It served a few different types of pizza. If you asked for an appetizer, the waitress pushed a bowl of popcorn closer to you. They served beer, hard liquor, and on occasion cheap wine for the rare girl who dared to ask.
Jack could see the problem the moment he walked in the door. No one could miss the three drunken lumberjacks in the back laughing.
Figures. Paul Bunyans. Wonderful!
None of the men stood less than six feet, and one was a giant of a man.
300 pounds easy.
Jack cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. At 6’1 and 195 pounds, he could intimidate most guys, but that wouldn’t work with these three.
Caution Jack, backup is going to be delayed.
As an uncomfortable silence settled over the bar, the three men stopped laughing and turned to look at him. Jack noted the nine-inch-long hunting knife in the giant’s hand.
“Hello, Officer,” the drunken goliath hollered out. “We’re just playing darts.” He looked at his buddies. “They didn’t have any, so we had to use our own!” he laughed and launched the blade across the room at the tattered dartboard. It hit with a thump and the three of them cheered wildly.
“Are you here for a game?” mocked the ‘tough guy’ who owned the Chevy.
Jack glanced at the wall and saw two other knives sticking out.
Both missed.
He scanned all of the lumberjacks’ hands.
Empty. Good, but I need to get them outside and away from everyone else.
“Can I have your attention?” Jack’s voice was calm as he held up his hands. He didn’t have to shout. Everyone was already looking at him. “Would the owner of a red pickup truck please come to the front of the building?”
“Why?” one of the lumberjacks asked with a sneer as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back.
Jack lowered his arms. “Because his truck is on fire.”
The three lumberjacks looked at each other in bewilderment and then scrambled for the front door. The smallest of the three reached the door first. He yanked it open, and the giant pushed him aside. Jack let the monster pass by.
Then the ‘tough guy’ came charging through, leaving the small guy holding the door.
Perfect.
As the last man stepped outside
,
Jack’s hand flashed like lightning. He slapped one-half of the handcuffs over the man’s wrist and the other to the pipe handle on the outside of the door. The lumberjack’s mouth flopped open.
As the second guy started down the deck stairs Jack yelled, “Watch your step!”
In his drunken stupor, the man panicked and grabbed for the railing. While he looked down, Jack dashed up behind him, snapping one end of the handcuffs to the pipe railing and the other onto the man’s thick wrist. Jack was relieved when he heard it click into place.
Two down - One to go.
Two of the lumberjacks stood handcuffed to the pipes. The third stopped in the parking lot and looked at his truck.
“It’s not on fire!” The giant lumberjack turned on Jack. “It’s fine, dammit!”
His look of confusion turned to anger when he saw that his friends were in handcuffs. He crouched slightly as he prepared to charge.
“You stopped my dart game,” he slurred. ”I’m gonna stomp you!” The hulking man rushed forward.
Jack stepped to the right, and his forearm crashed into the side of the man’s head. Jack grabbed the stunned man by his collar and belt.
This is gonna hurt.
Jack pulled the guy against his leg, twisted his body and pivoted his hip. He lifted three hundred pounds into the air and both men groaned. The lumberjack’s feet went straight up. Jack’s back strained as he supported the man’s weight.
As the lumberjack reached the pinnacle of the flip, Jack stepped aside. His adrenaline rush pushed into overdrive and everything slowed. The man seemed to hang in the air like a basketball player whose slam-dunk had gone terribly wrong.
The Judo flip that Jack used could be finished in one of three ways. He could let the man fall to the ground. He could try to support some of the man’s weight and soften the impact. Or, he could push him down and increase the force that his body would suffer as he collided against the asphalt. Jack stepped aside and let him crash to the parking lot.
He landed flat on his back with a thud onto the pavement. An explosive groan burst from the man’s mouth as all of the air in his lungs blasted out.
Jack flexed his shoulders and took a deep breath. The man’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as he gasped for air.
Jack took a step forward and leaned over the man. “I am sorry, sir. It seems you tripped.” The little Jedi mind trick would also be included in his report. “You’re okay, right?” Jack added as he nodded his head up and down.
The lumberjack on the ground winced as he nodded.
“You’re going to leave now, and everything will be fine.” He waved his hand like Obi-wan. “If you say anything different, I’ll take the three of you in right now.”
The large man nodded his head again.
Jack tried to look menacing as he walked over to the other lumberjacks still handcuffed to the porch. They had remained silent watching the scene unfold. The man held his free hand up, and a slight smirk flashed across Jack’s face.
He is
s
urrendering. Cool.
“We’ll go. We’re sorry. We’ll go now,” the man babbled as he kept his hand up.
After Jack had set him free, he hurried to his friend on the ground.
Jack crossed his arms and furrowed his brow at the last man standing cuffed to the door.
“Sorry,” the man sheepishly muttered as he looked at his feet.
Take out the big guy and the little ones fall into line.
“How many drinks have you had?” Jack unlocked the cuff.
“Two, sir.”
“You’re designated driver. Got it!”
“Yes. Thank you, Officer.” The man kept looking back at Jack as he rushed to his friends.
The men helped the giant lumberjack to the truck as another police car with lights flashing, skidded to a stop in the parking lot. All three nervously looked back at Jack, who waved them on. Jack held up his other hand and gestured to Officer Kendra Darcey as she jumped out of her cruiser.
Kendra carried her shotgun in her right hand as she came over to Jack. He gave her a quick nod to let her know that everything was under control. Both of them watched the red truck slowly pull out of the parking lot.
She turned and frowned at Jack. “I missed it?”
Jack stood on the top step and looked down at the rookie police officer. Kendra was an all-around athlete and an adrenaline junky. She loved being on the go and the outdoors.
Jack tilted his head back. “If I knew you were on tonight I would have left one for you.”
“Yeah, right.” She smiled. “Are you all set? I’ll let
you
handle the paperwork.” She stopped and rested the shotgun on her hip.
Kendra was twenty-four. She wore her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and her blue eyes flashed. A four-inch scar ran from the corner of her chin to her eyebrow. She was beautiful in spite of the scar. Few people knew how she got it, and Jack was one of them. While walking her enormous Labrador retriever, the dog spotted a coyote and took off after it. The retractable leash snapped and caught her in the face. The rope burn never healed quite right.
The truth wasn’t the kind of story that earned a rookie cop respect. When she told Jack that she got it in a fight with four guys during a bust, he knew it was a lie right away. He called her on it, but he also gave her an alternative version. One guy and a broken bottle. They became good friends after that.
“I was hoping you’d volunteer to fill out the forms for the both of us?” Jack walked down the stairs and leaned in close to her.
Kendra laughed. “Don’t go flashing those baby browns at me Jack. I’m not one of your
girlfriends
.”
Jack knew she was teasing him. They were friends, and Jack wanted to try to keep it that way. He also knew that ‘friends’ could easily change into something more. He had enough problems with ex-girlfriends, and he didn’t need one at work.
“You riding solo?” he asked to try to change the subject.