Chapter 71

  Shawn maneuvered around the disabled SUV and out through the open gate. Chuah, who was standing next to Charlie under the guard shack eave, waved them by. Shawn drove slightly slower than he would have liked because of the rain-slicked roads, but they still made good time. He had a lot of questions about Jesse’s recovery and what he had been doing all these years, and Jesse filled him in as he drove. The main road branched off to a secluded road as they got close to their destination. There was no security gate to block their way. Only a sign warning that you were entering a private drive. The road was cut through the dense foliage just up from the beach. As they approached the home, the rain stopped as if someone had suddenly turned off a spigot, and within minutes, the sky rapidly cleared. The short drive led to a home built into the side of the hill, and Jesse could see that lights were on inside.

  “It looks like someone’s home. I know you’re not exactly neighbors, but do you know who lives here?” Jesse asked.

  “I only met him once,” Shawn said. “He’s a wealthy Chinese businessman from Singapore. Kim and his wife are somewhat close friends. I’ve met her a few times at the club, although I don’t think they spend much time here. They could they have live-in help? Or maybe the lights are on timers?”

  Shawn pulled the Range Rover into the main driveway staging area in front of the three-car garage, and the outside security lights came on.

  Jesse turned to look at Shawn and said, “Why don’t you see if anyone’s home while we get our gear together?”

  When Shawn returned, Jesse and Ken were standing by the Range Rover, looking at his iPad.

  “Well, is anyone home?” Jesse asked.

  Shawn turned up his hands and said, “No one came to the door.”

  “Good, that’s one less thing we will have to worry about.”

  “I take it that the satellite feed is working again. Did you pick up Rakov yet?” Shawn asked.

  “No, the satellite has passed out position. We are on our own for now. But I would wager that Rakov will be heading straight for the lights of that house.” Jesse said as he pointed to the house in front of them.

  Jesse noticed that Shawn’s right eye looked worse and was starting to close.

  “We should have put some ice on that eye. How do you feel?”

  “Like someone beat the shit out of me, but the painkillers are finally starting to kick in.”

  Jesse nodded and said, “Good, let’s get into position.”

  Jesse threw a vest at Shawn and told him to put it on. Then he directed Ken to take up a flanking position thirty yards away. When Shawn had his vest secured, Jesse handed him a weapon and told him to follow his lead. All three men moved into the dense foliage where they could observe the home and driveway. As they waited, the timed outside security lights went off, and the jungle around the house was again cast into darkness.

  *****

  Ivan’s hopes were raised when he could see the lights ahead, but just as quickly, they were dampened when he came upon a ten-foot security fence. Unknown to Ivan, the former owner of Shawn’s property had a kidnapping attempt on his only daughter. After that, he took great precautions to protect himself and his family at all his properties. After some searching, Ivan finally found a downed tree leaning up against the fence, and he started climbing. The bark on the tree was slippery even before the rain started. But now it was like climbing up a slippery eel. Ivan struggled to stay on the tree and fell many times before finally taking off his tactical vest and placing Shawn’s automatic into a side pocket of his pants. He finally reached the top of the fence, and he was no longer cold. He was hot and sweating and very uncomfortable in his wet clothes. He rested a few minutes and cursed the man who built the fence. After finally cooling down and regaining some of his strength, he continued. The fence had a cantilevered razor wire top section that protruded outward to prevent unwanted visitors from climbing over the top, and Ivan eased his way to its edge. He finally reached a point where a large limb branched off the main tree trunk and was past the razor wire. Grabbing hold of the limb, he swung his legs over the side of the fence. As he did, his rifle strap got snagged on the razor wire. He tried to pull it loose, but his hand slipped from the branch in the process, and he started to fall. He hit the ground hard. When he finally got to his feet, he looked up and saw his rifle dangling in the air. He searched the ground for something long enough to unhook it from the fence. Not finding anything, he decided to move on with only Shawn’s automatic and a pocket knife as weapons.

  Ivan finally reached the back of the house. He could see where all the rain and debris had been diverted away from the back of the home by a concrete barrier designed to protect the structure's foundation. The windows were too high for him to see anything inside, so he moved around the side of the home and tried to look into the lighted rooms, but drapes or blinds covered them, emitting light from around the edges. Ivan kept moving until he arrived at the front of the home.

  *****

  Shawn was the first to spot Rakov as he emerged from the shadows.

  “There’s the asshole, and it looks like he’s heading straight for the Range Rover,” Shawn whispered to Jesse.

  “He’s probably going to check to see if the keys are in the ignition,” Jesse replied.

  Looking him over, Shawn said, “It doesn’t look like he has a weapon with him. Didn’t Ken say he had an assault rifle?”

  “Yeah, he did.” He said he saw him grab an assault rifle just before he headed down the staircase.”

  “Well, he doesn’t have one now.”

  The motion detectors turned on the security lights again, and Shawn and Jesse got a good look at Rakov as he moved toward the vehicle. When the lights hit him, Rakov immediately turned toward the front door, looking for any sign of trouble. He saw no one at the door or in the windows and finally realized the lights were turned on by a motion sensor.

  *****

  Before Jesse could stop him, Shawn was up and heading straight for Ivan. As his feet hit the paved driveway, Shawn shouted at Rakov. “Hey, asshole…now it’s my turn.”

  Ivan turned and was stunned to see Harris step onto the driveway, followed closely by a man who was pointing a laser-guided weapon straight at him. The man yelled out, “Don’t move, or you’re a dead man, Rakov.”

  He thought about pulling the 9mm, but under the circumstances, he did as he was told.

  “Take that weapon slowly out and throw it over here,” Jesse yelled with authority.

  Ivan complied and watched as Harris removed his shoes. He had no idea what he was doing but suspected the man wanted a pound of flesh.

  “I’ll tell you what, you piece of shit. If you can kick my ass, I’ll let you go. I suggest you accept my offer because you won’t get better odds elsewhere today.”

  At that moment, another man came out of the darkness with his weapon aimed at him.

  It was the black man he had seen coming down the staircase after he shot Smith. Something about him was familiar. Then it finally dawned on him. It was the black asshole from Prague, the one in the helicopter that had punched him in the face. Ivan turned and looked at the other man. It was his partner with camo paint on his face. What the hell. Who were they? Certainly not Prague police.

  But now he had to deal with this fucker.

  “And if I kick your ass, these fuckers are just going to let me walk away?” Ivan said skeptically as he pointed at the two men.

  Shawn answered without looking at Jesse, “Yes, they are.”

  Ivan grinned, took off his wet shirt to give him more freedom of movement, then tossed it to the pavement. His body and arms were covered in Russian mafia tattoos. Some were professional, and some were prison art. Most of it was demonic.

  Smith hadn’t told him much about the man standing before him, but he knew one thing. The man was more than twenty years older, and there was no way he was going to kick his ass. No way in hell. But on the other hand, he was a little leery about the man. He knew that the man was in excellent shape, and he sure as hell didn’t lack confidence. He only hoped that, after he made short work of the old bastard, the other man would honor his agreement. At this point, he had nothing to lose.

  The two men stood only eight feet apart, studying each other. Ivan was used to overpowering his opponents quickly; this man would be no exception. Harris didn’t move toward him. He just stood his ground with his knees slightly bent and was moving from side to side on the balls of his feet. His hands were just above his waist, waiting for him to make the first move. Then Ivan came in hard. He charged Shawn like a bull, intending to use his brute force to overpower the man and drive him to the ground. To his surprise, the man didn’t even flinch. He didn’t bring his hands up to protect himself or back away. He simply held his ground. Ivan changed his tactics when he saw the opening, an easy shot to the man’s head. He would send him to the ground with one punch and be all over him. The fight would be over quickly. Unfortunately, his hopes for an early victory promptly vanished as his fist only pushed through the humid night air, leaving him off balance and out of control.

  Shawn watched him move and could tell that he wasn't a fighter. He was a brawler, and he anticipated his first move. Just in time, he pushed back and easily slipped Ivan's would-be knockout punch. Shawn had earned his nickname for being very quick, and although the years had taken some of his speed away, he was still very fast. As Ivan's intended blow missed, it exposed the right side of his head. Shawn didn't miss the opportunity. He cocked his left hand back and then sent a short, powerful punch that caught Ivan in the side of his head. The sound of flesh crunching against hard bone caused Ken to say to Jesse, "Oooh, I'll bet that hurt."

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  The blow didn’t put Ivan down, but it staggered him. Ivan could take a punch better than most men, but after the single blow, Ivan saw stars, and it rocked him. He had been hit hard many times in his life, but not many as hard as this man had just hit him. He even hit harder than the black asshole. Was it a lucky punch, or was he too overconfident in an easy victory? He wondered why Harris didn’t follow up with a barrage of other blows, so he assumed it was a little bit of both. Regardless, he had a little more respect for his opponent, and he had to take this guy a little more seriously. He shook his head to clear out the cobwebs, and a trickle of blood ran into his right eye from a cut at the corner of his eyebrow. Ivan turned to look at Shawn and taunted him. “My fuckin grandmother can hit harder than that old man.”

  Shawn chuckled and said, “Well then, she must be one fucking big bitch. And if she looks anything like you, she must be one ugly fucking big bitch.”

  Ivan didn’t charge this time; he came in slowly and cautiously, looking for an opening in his opponent’s defense. However, he was amazed when Harris dropped his hands as if to say hit me if you can when he got to within an arm’s length away. Instead of a haymaker, he tried a quick right jab to the head. To his utter surprise, the bastard slipped the punch easily and countered with a right hook that landed squarely on his chin and nose. The blow wasn’t as hard as the first one, but it snapped his head back, broke his nose, and busted his upper lip.

  After the second blow connected, Ken lowered his weapon to his side and relaxed a bit while Jesse kept his weapon at his chest. Ken said, “Ouch,” after Shawn broke Ivan’s nose and blood gushed out. Jesse just stood and watched in awe at his old friend in action. The man still had it.

  Ivan was still on his feet, and blood was running into his open mouth from his ruined nose and lip. Ivan spit out a glob of blood and moved his tongue over his teeth. He was happy to feel that his new bridgework was still anchored soundly.

  Enraged now, Ivan charged Shawn again, intending to drive his head into his chest and take him to the ground where he could pummel the man, but Harris was like a phantom. When he thought he had him, he only got a handful of air. For his trouble, he was hit on the left side of his face just in front of his ear by what must have been a sledgehammer. The blow caused him to see stars again, and he stumbled and fell to the ground. It took a moment for the earth to stop spinning and for him to regain his senses. When he finally did, again, he was surprised that Harris hadn’t continued his attack when his opponent was on the ground and dazed. This was an opportunity that he would never have passed up. Show no mercy on your enemy. Give no quarter. Kill or be killed.

  Ivan turned to get up, and he looked at Harris. He was saying something to him, although he couldn’t make out the words because of the ringing in his ear. He’d only been hit with three punches, which felt like a dozen. And he hadn’t even hit the man yet. Now, his confidence in an easy victory was quickly slipping away.

  Ivan was no quitter, and he knew that he could take a lot more punishment, but he also knew that he couldn’t take too many more blows like the ones he had just received. He now knew that he needed to be more cautious and that he had to find an edge to use against this man. He decided to come in slow, protect his head, and wait for an opening. He had taken many men down with a single punch, and he was confident that if he connected, this man wouldn’t be any different from all the others that had fallen before him. He got to his feet, moved in, and waited for Harris to make his move. All he needed was one good shot to the head or body, and if the opportunity came up, he would tackle Harris to the ground where he wouldn’t be able to dodge his blows. He came in low like a wrestler, and Harris made no attempt to move out of the way. Instead of throwing a punch, he went for the legs. But just as he was about to grab them, they vanished, and a split second later, his head and body were rocked by a series of blows. Without really knowing what happened, he found himself on the ground again. Blood was running into his mouth and both eyes as he tried to sit up. His right eye was now closing fast, and it would be useless to him in a matter of minutes if not seconds.

  To make matters worse, his left eye wasn’t far behind. Now, he was left with no alternative. He cleared the cobwebs out of his head again and looked for any weapon he could use against the man. The ringing in his ear was starting to subside, and he could hear Harris taunting him.

  “You have no trouble hitting defenseless women or men that are hog-tied, but you seem to have some trouble when someone hits you back,” Shawn mocked him.

  Ivan’s jaw tightened, and he glared at Shawn.

  “What, no smart comeback. You know…I heard that you were supposed to be some sort of tough guy. But instead of a tough guy, I got a fucking pussy. Is that what you are, asshole…a fucking little pussy?”

  Ivan’s glare disappeared, and he came at Shawn from a low crouch. At first, it looked like Harris was turning to run, but then he saw him pivot on his left heel. A split second later, Ivan felt a stabbing pain on the right side of his chest where the heel of Shawn’s right foot had just struck his ribs. The vicious kick knocked the wind out of him, and he found himself on the ground again, unable to catch his breath. When he did, the pain was so intense that he was sure that some of his ribs were broken. He spat out another glob of blood and tried not to breathe, but it was impossible not to.

  *****

  Ivan had never been beaten this badly without inflicting some hurt on his opponent. Even when he was sent to the infamous boy’s prison camp at Bashkortostan at the age of twelve, he had fought boys much older and bigger than himself and had often come out on top, and if he lost, he had always inflicted some pain on them and gained their respect. But the man in front of him was an enigma. He was much too fast for an old man, and he hit with the force of a mule kick.

  *****

  Ivan was lying on his stomach, and he turned over on his side to push himself up when his right hand pushed into some mud and debris that had washed up on the driveway. Ivan had found his edge. Leaning on his right arm, he wiped blood from both his eyes with his left hand while eyeing Harris the whole time. He turned his body to conceal his action for Harris. Clenching his fist around the mud, he staggered to his feet.

  He could see that Harris's right eye was partially closed, and he moved away from it in a circular motion and looked for an opportunity. Finally, he saw it. Harris had taken his eyes off of him for a split second to look at his friends. Ivan cocked his arm back and threw the mud at Harris's face. As fast as Shawn was, he wasn't able to avoid it. He tried to close his eyes and turn away, but it was too late. Ivan's throw was perfect, and the mud caught both of his eyes. He instantly turned and tried to wipe the foreign matter out, and Ivan seized the opportunity.

  He loaded up his right fist and drove it into Shawn’s kidney as he turned away. Ivan had taken a lot of punishment and felt immense joy as he heard the man groan in pain. Ivan wasted no time in this small triumph. He immediately sent another right hand to the same spot and a left hook to the back of Shawn’s head. Now he had him. All he needed to do was to get him on the ground and pin him down.

  Ken was pissed when he saw the tactic that Ivan had used on Shawn. He started to move forward to intervene when a hand reached out to stop him. He looked over at Jesse who shook his head.

  “As much as I’d like you to help him…I don’t think he’d like that.” Jesse said.

  Shawn had to admit that the fucker could hit hard. His already bruised kidney felt like it was stuck with a hot, burning poker, and the back of his head felt like it was hit with a baseball bat. But his immediate concern was the mud in his eyes. He remembered seeing a water fountain in the garden between the main entrance and the garage. He had to get there and wash out his eyes before Rakov could do any further damage.

  Ivan continued to pound Shawn from behind, and he finally got him to the ground. With no way to protect himself, Ivan’s blows were starting to take their toll. More blows were raining down on him when he felt Ivan’s left hand grab him around his neck, pushing his face into the ground. Finally, Shawn had had enough. He reached back, grabbed one of Ivan’s fingers, and bent it backward until it snapped out of its socket.

  Ivan howled out in pain and released his grip. Shawn didn’t hesitate; he spun over onto his back and kneed Ivan in the groin in one quick movement. Ivan tried to stay on the offensive, but the pain was too great. He curled up and grabbed his balls. They felt like they had been crushed in a vice. Shawn immediately pushed Ivan off of him and got to his feet. He could barely make out the bastard on the ground. He was only a blur. The more he rubbed his eyes, the worse his vision became. He needed to clear his eyes before it was too late.

  Shawn remembered seeing a water fountain in a garden area along the driveway and headed toward it through his blurred vision. He could hear the water flowing from its tiers and followed the sound to its source. He finally found the fountain and plunged his face into the somewhat warm water, but it was still refreshing, as he washed out the dirt from his eyes. With his eyesight starting to return, he glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Rakov closing in fast. He decided that playtime was over.

  While Ivan was on the ground comforting his groin he remembered the short knife in his pocket. He didn’t want to use it, thinking he could beat the man easily and he was going to hold Harris to his promise. But now he doubted that the black prick his partner would let him walk away even if he did beat Harris. Now, he was resolved to get some satisfaction from gutting the bastard. He opened the blade and cuffed it in his right hand to conceal it.

  Shawn rinsed his eyes one more time before Ivan reached him. His left eye, though not perfect, was good enough to see. He ran his big hands through his hair and went out to meet his adversary with a whole different intent now. Not wanting to be fooled again, Shawn looked at his hands to see it there was any foreign matter in them. He spotted no mud this time, but he did see a glint of steel. He saw it just briefly, but he knew what it was. As he got closer, the blade dropped down from his palm, and the four-inch blade was fully revealed. Ken started to step forward when he saw the knife, but Jesse stopped him again.

  “Let them fight, Ken.”

  “Dude, the fucker pulled a blade!”

  “Yeah, I know he did.”

  “I thought that you guys were like brothers?”

  Jesse turned to look at Ken again and said, “We were.”

  “Well, if I’m ever in a similar situation like this…please feel free to jump in and give a brother a hand.”

  “I’ll make a mental note of that if it makes you feel any better, Ken,” Jesse said with a bit of humor in his voice.

  “Gee, thanks, boss.”

  Ivan crouched low with the blade out like the pincer of a crab. The pain from his cracked ribs hurt all the more when he bent forward, but his rage pushed it aside. The two men circled each other both looking for any opening. Ivan made a few false thrusts to throw Shawn off, although his vane tactics didn’t work on Shawn. Finally seeing the distance close, Ivan attacked. He drove off of his powerful legs and straightened out his right arm in a classic fencing thrust aimed at his opponent’s chest.

  Ken brought his weapon up to his shoulder just in case he had to use it as Shawn edged in closer and waited for the man to make his move. Despite having a weapon now, Shawn noted that he was very cautious. Shawn closed the gap between them even closer and he anticipated Ivan’s move. He made his move a split second after Ivan initiated his.

  Despite his age, Shawn’s speed was remarkable. He spun three hundred and sixty degrees and thrust his right leg backwards to avoid Ivan’s blade and his heel caught Ivan flush on the chin just as his leg was straightening out. The force of Ivan moving forward and Shawn’s leg wiping from the side was like two steam locomotives colliding. Something had to give.

  The two witnesses watched in awe as they heard the crunch of bone on bone. Ivan didn’t even know what hit him. The force of the blow snapped his head sideways and completely took him off of his feet. When he landed, he was out cold. Ken lowered his weapon and looked at Jesse.

  “You ever get into a fight with this friend of yours before?”

  Jesse slowly shook his head and answered, “No…and after what I just witnessed…I hope I never do.”

  “That goes the same for me. That’s one, tough old man.”

  Jesse was surprised by his answer and looked Ken straight in the eyes.

  “Ken, I thought you weren’t afraid of any man?”

  Ken grinned and said, “I just made an exception.”

  Jesse nodded and chuckled in agreement then they started to move forward.

  Ken and Jesse walked up to Shawn and looked down at Rakov. His face was a bloody mess and his jaw just didn’t look quite right.

  Ken said, “The poor fucker looks about the same as we saw him in Prague, except that he’s not covered in bat shit.”

  Shawn glanced at Ken with a questioning look and said, “What?”

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later.” Jesse said. “How are you feeling?” Jesse was going to add “old man,” but after what he just witnessed, he decided against it.

  “I think I could use a drink right about now.”

  “That makes two of us. Do you know any single women we could call up.” Ken replied happily.