| Fiction |
Part Four: Escape from City
Hall
Jerry Lee Louise dove head first across the desk. He reached
out and hit the mayor on the forearm, causing him to drop
the gun. As Jerry Lee hit the floor he reached out and
grabbed the falling gun, then sprung to his feet behind the
mayor, pressing the pistol into his temple.
“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead. You never would’ve
seen it coming. I would’ve been in another state by the time
someone found your body. I would’ve been sitting at my
favorite restaurant ordering my favorite meal by the time
they realized you had been killed by a sniper’s bullet.”
Jerry lee said ominously. “I would’ve completed two more
jobs by the time they figured out where I shot from and what
type of rifle I used and five more by the time they realized
the sale of such rifles was untraceable and gave up on their
investigation.”
Jerry Lee tossed the pistol onto the desk and patted the
mayor on the shoulder.
“I can kill you in the blink of an eye and if you ever point
a gun at me again, I will. Now, pick up the pistol and do as
I do.” Jerry Lee said.
Jerry Lee walked around the desk as the mayor picked up the
pistol. From the look in his eyes Jerry Lee knew he had
gotten through to the man. The door was crashed into again,
further splintering the frame around it. Jerry Lee pointed
his hand like a pistol.
“Shadow me. I move you move.” Jerry Lee said, swinging his
arm back and forth, imitating aiming a gun.
The mayor moved the pistol around, trying to mimic Jerry
Lee’s movements.
“Most importantly, I say pull, you pull that trigger. You
understand Mayor Harper?” Jerry Lee asked.
The Mayor stared at him, his eyes wide.
“Do, you, understand?” Jerry Lee asked forcefully.
Mayor Harper nodded, a frightened look in his eyes.
“Good, now we need to get to shaking.” Jerry Lee said.
Jerry Lee moved around the mayor’s desk and flipped it onto
its side. He then shoved it across the room, wedging it
against the door to the mayor’s office. Jerry Lee then
turned around and pointed at the wall.
“Run through that wall.” Jerry Lee said.
Mayor Harper looked at the wall, then back to Jerry Lee.
“Run, THROUGH it?” Mayor Harper asked.
“Trust me, just hit it full tilt boogie and you’ll do fine.”
Jerry Lee said.
The mayor stood for a moment, then ran at the wall. He
lowered his shoulder as he hit it, crashing straight
through. Jerry Lee followed after him quickly. He helped the
mayor to his feet, and then stepped in front of him. They
were in a large storage room. Tall metal shelves filled with
supplies lined the walls. There was a door at the far end of
the room.
“What is this place?” Mayor Harper asked.
“You disappoint me Mayor. Every good king should be familiar
with every inch of his castle. This is the maintenance
access area. They’ve got their own set of rooms back here as
well as their own stair case.” Jerry Lee answered.
Jerry Lee moved forward slowly, holding his hand out in
front of him, his fingers still pointed like a gun. Mayor
Harper followed behind him, doing his best to imitate Jerry
Lee’s movements with the real gun. As they approached the
door it flew open. A man in a dark suit stepped in, a pistol
in his hand. Jerry Lee crouched down and pointed his fingers
at the man.
“Pull.” Jerry Lee said coolly.
The man in the dark suit began to raise his pistol.
“Pull!” Jerry Lee yelled.
The man in the dark suit leveled his pistol. It was aimed
right at the Mayor’s head. Jerry Lee turned to look at the
Mayor. His eyes were wide and his finger wasn’t on the
trigger of his gun.
BLAM!
Jerry Lee raised his arm up. Blood splattered into the
Mayor’s face. The Mayor’s eyes were wide with shock as he
stared directly at Jerry Lee’s arm. He had raised it just in
time to take the bullet that had been traveling perfectly,
aimed directly at the Mayor’s forehead. Jerry Lee dove to
the side and grabbed onto the metal shelving. He pulled down
on it hard, causing the heavy shelves and their contents to
tip over. The mayor fell to the floor to avoid the falling
shelf. It crashed hard into the man in the dark suit,
crushing him beneath it.
Jerry Lee stood up, a sour look on his face. Mayor Harper
got up slowly as well, his eyes fixed on the dead body
underneath the shelf. He felt Jerry Lee’s eyes upon him and
shifted his gaze, looking back at Jerry Lee. He looked
beyond angry. Mayor Harper looked at the bullet hole in
Jerry Lee’s arm. Blood ran smoothly down the bright blue
sleeve, dripping off at the end.
“Jerry Lee, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t bring myself…”
Jerry Lee raised his hand.
“Not a word.” Jerry Lee said.
“I just couldn’t…”
“NOT A WORD!” Jerry Lee screamed.
Mayor Harper stopped speaking, his mouth wide open. The
intensity from Jerry Lee frightened him as much as being
shot at had. Jerry Lee moved across the room to the dead
body. He picked up the man’s pistol and tucked it into his
waistline. Mayor Harper walked towards Jerry Lee and held
out the pistol to him.
“Please just take it. I won’t shoot anyone Jerry Lee, I just
won’t.” Mayor Harper said quietly.
“I can’t.” Jerry Lee said.
Mayor Harper thrust the pistol out further, a confused look
on his face.
“What do you mean? Just take it and you do all the shooting.
Please Jerry Lee, please.” Mayor Harper said.
Jerry Lee pushed his arm away and stepped towards Mayor
Harper.
“I. CAN’T.” Jerry Lee said sharply.
Jerry Lee turned and walked towards the door. Mayor Harper
followed him. He carried the hardballer pistol at his side,
pointed towards the ground. Jerry Lee pushed the door open
slightly and looked out into the hallway. After a moment he
pushed it open all the way and stepped out, motioning for
Mayor Harper to follow him. As they walked slowly down the
barren concrete hallway, Jerry Lee spoke quietly.
“The mafia isn’t like what you’ve seen on television and in
the movies Mayor. It’s not the Godfather and it sure as hell
ain’t the Sopranos. That’s the first thing you have to
understand.” Jerry Lee said.
Jerry Lee stopped at a corner and peered around it. When he
saw it was clear he motioned for Mayor Harper to continue
following him.
“There are rules to everything in mafia life. It’s very much
like being in the armed forces.” Jerry Lee said as he
continued to creep down the hallway.
“So you’re in the mafia?” Mayor Harper asked.
“Not exactly. A hitman is like a temp, we get hired when the
mafia needs our special type of help. Much like a real temp
though, we have to follow the rules and procedures of the
mafia when we’re in their employ. You break rules as a temp
in the corporate world, you get fired. You break rules as a
temp in the mafia world, you get dead. Simple as that.”
Jerry Lee said.
Jerry Lee stopped talking as they reached the door to the
stairwell. He pushed the door open and looked in cautiously.
After looking down and then up he opened the door fully and
stepped through. They walked past a janitor closet, and then
started down the steps. They were on the third of four
floors.
“What rules are you talking about?” Mayor Harper asked.
“The rules of engagement baby. The only rules that matter to
a guy like me.” Jerry Lee said.
Gunfire erupted beneath them. Two of the men in dark suits
were at the bottom of the stairwell, firing up at them.
Jerry Lee stopped Mayor Harper and pointed up, and the two
of them began climbing back up the stairs.
“You see, unless the mafia sanctions the use of a hitman,
then we’re forbidden from getting into mafia business.
Unless there’s a contract on the table, an order for a hit,
then a hitmans involvement in the matter is outlawed.” Jerry
Lee said.
Mayor Harper ducked down as bullets struck nearby. Jerry Lee
continued up the steps, unfazed by the gunfire.
“Basically this prevents escalation. You use missiles we use
chemical weapons, you use chemical weapons we use a nuke,
you use a nuke we use all our nukes. If there’s a contract
on the table, then everyone knows going in, there will be
nukes used in this fight.” Jerry Lee paused and looked back
at the Mayor, a smile on his face. “Figuratively speaking,
of course.”
As they reached the third floor landing Jerry Lee moved to
the janitor closet and opened it. Still talking over the
loud gunfire coming from below them.
“It’s a way to keep things civil and to keep them fair. Now,
whenever a hitman gets involved when there’s no contract,
that’s when trouble can really start.”
Jerry Lee pulled out a large bottle of disinfectant cleaner
and turned back around.
“But I thought someone hired you to be here.” Mayor Harper
said.
Jerry Lee turned around and looked down the stairwell at the
two men charging up.
“They did, but they only hired me to observe and advise you.
As far as the mafia is concerned, if I don’t pull the
trigger and shoot someone dead, then I was never here.”
Jerry Lee said.
Jerry Lee grabbed Mayor Harpers arm and aimed at down the
stairs.
“Now be sure and keep your arm still and when I say fire, be
sure and pull the trigger.” Jerry Lee said.
Jerry Lee waited and watched as the two men in dark suits
continued upwards. After a minute he lobbed the bottle of
disinfectant towards them.
“Fire!” Jerry Lee yelled.
Mayor Harper pulled the trigger, shooting and hitting the
falling bottle of disinfectant. It burst into flames. The
liquid fire rained down on the two men below them, causing
them to cry out in agony as they were set ablaze. Jerry Lee
pulled Mayor Harper by the shoulder, forcing him to look
away and follow him up the steps.
“I… I killed them, didn’t I?” Mayor Harper said.
Jerry Lee continued running up the steps as he answered.
“Oh don’t be dramatic Mayor.” Jerry Lee said.
“I killed them!” Mayor Harper yelled.
Jerry Lee turned around, annoyed that the mayor wasn’t
following him. He sighed heavily and then moved to the
mayor. Jerry Lee put his hand on his shoulder.
“You didn’t kill them Mayor Harper.” Jerry Lee said.
“I… I didn’t?” Mayor Harper said meekly.
“Of course you didn’t.” Jerry Lee said as he turned and
began running up the stairs again. “Fire did.”
Mayor Harper reluctantly followed Jerry Lee up the steps.
Jerry Lee didn’t slow down as he neared the roof access
door, instead hitting it, sending it flying open. Mayor
Harper came running up behind him. He shielded his eyes
against the bright sunlight as he stepped out onto the roof.
Mayor Harper immediately felt himself being pulled to the
ground as machine gun fire began. As his vision adjusted to
the daylight Mayor Harper could see bullets hitting all
around him, kicking up the loose gravel that lay all over
the roof of the courthouse. In a panic he started to stand
up, but was shoved back down by Jerry Lee.
“Stay down!” Jerry Lee yelled.
The two of them were crouched behind an air conditioning
unit. Pinging and clanging noises sounded out constantly as
the unit was hit with machine gun fire. Jerry Lee stuck his
head out slightly. There were three men on the roof firing
at them, each with a machine gun. They were spread out, one
to the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. This
lead Jerry Lee to believe that these guys had a bit more
training than the other men they had run up against so far.
Jerry Lee pointed towards another air conditioning unit that
was beside the man in the middle of the roof.
“Fire at that air conditioner and don’t stop until you run
out of bullets!” Jerry Lee screamed.
Mayor Harper nodded. He took a deep breath, then stuck his
head out and began firing at the air conditioner. Jerry Lee
jumped up and began running at the man in the middle. He was
returning fire at the mayor and didn’t see Jerry Lee
charging at him. The other two men saw him running and began
firing at him. Bullets hit all around him as he sprinted
across the roof. As he drew closer, the man in the middle
saw him and turned towards him. Jerry Lee heard the mayor
fire, then quickly heard the bullet ping off of the air
conditioner. This one however, ricocheted up and struck the
man in the neck. The man twisted and fell, clutching at his
neck. As Jerry Lee came upon him he too dropped to the
ground. As he skidded to a halt in the gravel the machine
gun fire from the other two men stopped abruptly. Jerry Lee
looked up, pleased to see each of the two men pitching over
backwards. They had been so focused on hitting their target
they hadn’t realized Jerry Lee had led them directly into a
crossfire. When Jerry Lee had ducked they had shot one
another.
Jerry Lee brushed off his suit as he stood up. He could hear
Mayor Harper walking towards him. The mayor’s face was pale
as he looked down at the man his bullet had hit when it had
ricocheted. Jerry Lee collected the pistol and machine gun
from each of the three men, then walked back over and gently
pulled the hardballer pistol out of Mayor Harper’s hand.
“You did good Mayor.” Jerry Lee said softly.
Jerry Lee reloaded the hardballer, then put it into the
shoulder holster under his coat. He looked like he was ready
to go to war, with four pistols tucked into his waistline
and three machine guns strapped across his shoulder.
“Is it over?” Mayor Harper asked.
Jerry Lee moved to the edge of the roof and looked down at
the street below. There were three vans parked across the
street, each with three of the men in dark suits sitting in
it.
“Not quite. They’re waiting for the men in the building to
flush us out front.” Jerry Lee answered.
Jerry Lee moved towards the fire escape on the side of the
building.
“So we sneak out the back then?” Mayor Harper said.
The two of them began descending the fire escape, towards
the alley below.
“Nope, ‘fraid that’s not an option. We’re going to go
straight at them.” Jerry Lee said.
“We’re going to attack them? What, is that another of the
mafia rules of engagement?” Mayor Harper asked.
“That’s my rule baby. Jerry Lee don’t sneak out the back.”
Jerry Lee answered.
As they reached the alley below Jerry Lee crept to the edge
and looked out at the vans parked across the street. He
retreated into the alley and pointed at a dumpster.
“Hop in.”
Mayor Harper stared at him.
“In the dumpster?” Mayor Harper asked.
“That’s right. It’s going to be the safest place, trust me.”
Jerry Lee answered.
Mayor Harper grunted as he climbed the side of the dumpster,
struggling to pull his small, overweight frame up. Jerry Lee
got below him and pushed him up, causing the mayor to fall
head first into the dumpster. Jerry Lee pulled himself up
and looked into the dumpster.
“Cozy?” Jerry Lee asked.
“Why is this happening Jerry Lee? Do they want something
from my town or are they trying to get something from the
vault in the basement? There’s nothing of real value there,
I can show them!” Mayor Harper said, panic in his voice.
“Why would anyone want to kill me? I never was mean to
anyone and I always rule fair on the issues in the town.”
Jerry Lee looked down at him for a long moment before
answering. He was impressed with how long the mayor had kept
his composure. Jerry Lee felt bad for him, especially
because of the answer he was about to give the man. He
reached up and grabbed the lid to the dumpster and started
to close it.
“It’s not you they’re trying to get to Mr. Mayor.” Jerry Lee
said.
Just before the lid closed Jerry Lee added.
“It’s your daughter.”
Jerry Lee hopped off the side of the dumpster and kicked the
blocks away from the wheels. He got behind it and began
pushing with all his might. The metal dumpster creaked
loudly as it began moving slowly towards the street. Jerry
Lee pushed hard, causing the dumpster to pick up speed as it
entered into the road. Jerry Lee was running behind it now,
pushing it faster still towards the lead van parked across
the street. He gave it one last shove and released it,
sending it crashing hard into the front passenger side of
the van.
The men in the vans began to get out. Jerry Lee pulled one
of the machine guns to the ready and opened fire on the
middle van. He concentrated and held his breath, helping him
aim and hit the gas tank. The van exploded, flipping upwards
and sending a fireball into the sky. The other two vans were
knocked away as well. The front one flipped up onto its
roof, sending the dumpster rolling away into the street. The
back van was blown onto its side and was on fire.
As Jerry Lee moved to the front van to make sure the men
were all dead, the Mayor pushed the lid open on the dumpster
and stood up. His eyes were wide as he took in the scene of
carnage.
“Good God!” Mayor Harper exclaimed.
Satisfied that all the men in the first van were dead and
certain that no one inside the second van could’ve survived
the explosion, Jerry Lee moved to the third van. As he
walked up one of the men came bursting through what was left
of the broken and shattered windshield. The man was bleeding
bad and looked to be burned badly as well. He had a pistol
in his hand. Jerry Lee grabbed the man’s hand, trying to
twist it and get the pistol to aim away from him. The man
was fighting like he was possessed and Jerry Lee struggled
to keep the pistol pointed away from him. Jerry Lee hit the
man in the face with his other arm, but it seemed to have no
effect. He desperately twisted the man's hand but could feel
his own strength fading.
BLAM!
The gunshot rang out loudly.
“Oh drag baby.” Jerry Lee said quietly.
The two men stood for a long moment. Finally, the man in the
dark suit fell over, a bullet hole in his stomach where the
pistol had shot him. Jerry Lee walked out into the street,
and began checking the machine guns, getting them ready.
Mayor Harper came running up.
“What are you doing?” Mayor Harper asked.
“Finishing this.” Jerry Lee said, his eyes focused intently
on city hall.
“What happened to not getting involved?” Mayor Harper asked.
Jerry Lee motioned over his shoulder, to the man who he had
just shot in the gut.
“What, that? There’s no way they’d find out about that!”
Mayor Harper exclaimed.
Jerry Lee fixed him with an intense stare.
“Find out? Trust me Mayor Harper, they already know. This
changes everything.” Jerry Lee said.
With a machine gun in each hand Jerry Lee began walking
towards the entrance to City Hall.
“What do you mean by this changes everything?” Mayor Harper
called out after him.
Jerry Lee didn’t look back as he answered.
“It means no more of these kid games. Things are going to
get dangerous around here.” Jerry Lee answered as he moved
inside city hall.
Mayor Harper turned around, looking at the carnage in the
street.
“Kid games?” He said quietly.
Gunfire erupted inside city hall and Mayor Harper could hear
yelling and screaming. After a few minutes a car approached.
It was a s.u.v. and skidded to a stop in front of the mayor.
His daughter, Emily, jumped out and ran towards him. Anyone
who had ever seen her almost always remembered her. The girl
had a movie star figure and a smile that had broke more than
a few hearts.
“Daddy!” Emily yelled.
Emily slammed into him hard and wrapped her arms around him.
Mayor Harper hugged her back.
“Daddy are you okay? What the hell is going on here?” Emily
asked.
“Daddy’s fine sweetheart don’t you worry. As to what’s going
on around here, well…” Mayor Harper said.
Emily let go of him and interrupted him.
“Goodness gracious, great balls of fire. Jerry Lee Louise,
is that you?” Emily asked.
Mayor Harper turned around to see Jerry Lee coming back out
of city hall. He was wiping blood from his face. When he saw
Emily he smiled.
“Hiya Em.” Jerry Lee said.
Emily ran towards him and embraced him.
“Ugh, not too tight.” Jerry Lee said.
Emily stepped back, a smile on her face.
“Blood, dead bodies, and things exploding. I should’ve
figured it was you.” Emily said playfully.
“God it’s good to see you again Em. You look… well, you look
gorgeous.” Jerry Lee said.
Emily posed for a second playfully, and then laughed.
“Thanks Jerry Lee.” Emily said.
“Um… how do you two, what is, where did…” Mayor Harper
stammered as he walked towards them.
Emily looked at her dad, then back at Jerry Lee, a concerned
look on her face.
“Jerry Lee, is my dad in trouble?” Emily asked worriedly.
Jerry Lee nodded.
“I’m afraid we all are now. We need to get somewhere and
talk about…” Jerry Lee said.
“EMILY!”
The three of them turned to see Cliff Wallace running
towards them. He was a tall, athletic man in his mid
twenties and was the town sheriff. He grabbed Emily and
hugged her tightly.
“Baby, I’m so glad you’re okay. You shouldn’t of come here,
I can’t have my wife putting herself in danger.” Cliff said.
“Wife?!” Jerry Lee exclaimed.
Emily looked at him, a slightly embarrassed look on her
face.
“No, not wife.” Emily said quickly.
Cliff turned and looked at him.
“Well, not yet. Fiancée for a few more months.” Cliff said.
“Of course, if I had my way we’d just…”
Cliff trailed off as he looked at Jerry Lee more closely.
The man was covered in blood and carrying a small arsenal.
Cliff’s eyes went wide and he pulled out his revolver. He
smacked Jerry Lee in the side of the head with it.
“On the ground!” Cliff yelled.
Jerry Lee got onto his knees, too tired to fight against the
situation.
“No Cliff, you’ve got the wrong idea!” Emily said.
Cliff was pulling out his handcuffs.
“Stay back Emily, this guy is obviously dangerous!” Cliff
yelled.
Mayor Harper stepped forward.
“This man saved my life Cliff. You’re making a mistake
here.” Mayor Harper said.
Cliff turned towards the mayor.
“Did he or did he not kill people here today?” Cliff asked.
“Well yes but…” Mayor Harper began to answer.
“Then I’m sorry.” Cliff said as he handcuffed Jerry Lee.
“But he’s under arrest.”
WHEW! THAT WAS A LONG ONE, BUT WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT.
SINCE EACH OF THE REMAINING PARTS OF THIS STORY WILL BE OF
SIMILAR LENGTH TO THIS ONE, SMALL TOWN HITTER IS NOW GOING
TO UPDATE MONTHLY. WILL JERRY LEE GET OUT OF JAIL? WHY IS
THE MAFIA AFTER EMILY? HOW DO JERRY LEE AND EMILY KNOW ONE
ANOTHER? AND JUST WHO OR WHAT THE HELL ARE THE SEVEN WONDERS
OF THE WORLD? BE HERE NEXT MONTH TO FIND OUT THE ANSWERS TO
SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS, THE QUESTIONS TO SOME OF THOSE
ANSWERS, AND A WHOLE LOT MORE ACTION IN SMALL TOWN HITTER
PART FIVE: THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON.