Senior Year Box Set

The man looked to be in his thirties. He was the kind of guy that if you saw him walking down the street, the hairs on the back of your neck would go up. He looked like he might stick a knife in your back if he got the chance. If this was who Bill brought with him, Tracy was in more danger than I first thought.

The trees had begun to leaf out, so the forest floor was effectively hidden from above. Cassidy turned on the infrared camera setting, and we quickly figured out where everyone was. Tracy was closer to the lake, while Bill and his other accomplice had spread out closer to the road as they searched for her.

I began to take off my baseball uniform.

“What are you doing?” Paul asked.

“If I have to go get her, I’m not wearing white to draw attention.”

“You’re not going anywhere. You’re not trained. Plus, I’ll lose my job if you’re put in danger,” Paul said.

“Yeah. Fritz talked to all of us and explained that what happened on your vacation can’t ever happen again. I like working as your security. I’d have to take you down,” Cassidy warned.

“Why don’t you help me put down the third-row seating in case someone needs to lie down?” Tami asked to distract me.

Frick! That didn’t sound ominous at all.

While I helped Tami, Paul opened the gun safe in the back of the VelociRaptor. He was already armed, but Cassidy wasn’t. He pulled out a handgun for her. Paul also grabbed the shotgun with stinger rounds for me. The stinger was a nonlethal shell filled with round rubber balls designed for short-range contact. Close up, they would put a man down without a problem.

“Just in case,” Paul said.

For like the millionth time, I wondered where the police were. I called 911 again.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

“This is David Dawson. We called about …” and I gave them the address. “We’ve been able to see that at least one of the men is armed.”

The operator gave me the same answer that they were sending someone. She wanted to keep me on the line, so I handed the phone to Tami. I was afraid I might say something that wasn’t at all flattering about the response we were getting.

“I’m going to go get her,” Paul announced when it became apparent that Bill and his buddy had walked past where Tracy was hiding.

The drones identified Paul as a hostile.

“Cassidy!”

“I’m on it. Let me figure this out,” she said and started mashing buttons on the screen.

I was ready to take the tablet from her when Paul’s image turned green. She gave me an ‘I told you so’ look. Brat!

I was almost hopping from foot to foot with worry as I watched Paul make his way to where Tracy had hidden. Before he got there, the image of the man watching the cars began to move towards Paul’s position.

“What do we do?” Cassidy asked.

The frickin’ drones were useless above the trees; I put that little factoid on my to-do list for later. If we pinged Paul’s phone, I wasn’t sure if he had his ringer turned on or not. I didn’t want to give his location away with something stupid like that.

Fritz had used that ploy on me when we’d played paintball. If I did that and Paul got shot, I would feel horrible.

“To your right!” I yelled.

That got everyone’s attention. We watched Paul react by turning, and suddenly gunshots erupted. The man who had come in behind the other two had obviously spotted Paul. I watched in horror as it looked like both of them went down.

“Figure out how to get the drones to where we can use them to protect Tracy,” I told Cassidy.

“David!” she hissed as I fox-ran to where Paul was.

Training for my upcoming movie had paid off as I silently slipped through the woods. Bill and his other helper sounded like a herd of cows who’d broken out of their pasture. One of them was close.

I saw him before he spotted me. He was an older tough guy who looked uncomfortable in the woods. I would have to deal with him if I wanted to get to Paul, and ultimately Tracy. I slunk toward his approach and was almost upon him when he finally saw me.

The thug lifted his Glock, but I surged forward as I dropped the shotgun and blocked his gun with my right hand, all in one motion. I followed that up with my left elbow to his jaw. His head snapped back, and he looked surprised as he staggered back a couple of steps. The goon didn’t look like he’d had to deal with anyone who could handle themselves. I bet he relied on intimidation, and no one ever challenged him.

He still had the Glock in his right hand. I didn’t wait for him to shoot me, but stepped forward and grabbed his forearm to point the gun away from me. I used a palm strike to his wrist to get him to drop the weapon. The thug’s hand opened convulsively, and he yelled. I punched him in the mouth, cutting off the shout, then slammed my elbow into the side of his head as he crumpled to the ground.

Next, I grabbed his handgun and slipped it into my waistband at my back. I picked up the shotgun and quickly moved away because I heard Bill coming, and I didn’t want to deal with him just yet. My priority was Tracy’s and Paul’s safety.