Last Anniversary (Part II)

"I won't be long..." A late 1930s twisting tale of a love that was never meant to be...

Last Anniversary (Part II)

A Story by Colton Warr

...As Marie continued on from an earlier conversation, Robert couldn’t help but interrupt and say “Walter?” aloud. Just as the word left his lips, all three figures immediately turned to the direction of the voice. The two men in suits drew pistols from their jackets, took aim at Robert and Marie, and opened fire.

Immediately as Robert saw that he got in front of Marie and pushed and pulled her towards the back hallway. Marie screamed. The men continued to fire their weapons. Bullets were whizzing and whipping by both Robert and Marie, slamming into their surroundings. The sound of the guns echoed throughout the theater. Robert and Marie made it into the hallway and continued running, not sure exactly where they were going. Robert catches a sign on a door saying exit and he thrusts his body into it. The doors crashes open and they continued running down the alley way that it opened up to. Their pursuers were close behind, however, and were still firing the occasional round that would fly by Robert and Marie. Robert noticed that there were only two followers, and Walter wasn’t one of them. 

“Where are we going?” Marie shouted. “I know a place we can go, but we need a car,” he shouted back as they continued to weave through an alleyway. 

“My car was out front.” she replied.

“Then we will have to steal one.” he answered. 

“What? You’re crazy!” she responded.

The theatre was being evacuated and Walter quickly walked back to where his boss was while blending in as best he could with the crowd. He noticed that all three cars were still parked where they were earlier. He went up to the middle cars window that was simultaneously rolling down. Smoke was the first thing to come out of it. 

“What the hell happened?” asked the older man. 

“We ran into him unintentionally and it spooked your boys, so they opened up on him,” he answered. 

“Well did they get him?” he asked back hastily. Walter shook his head. 

The older man shouted back at him “You fucked this up, Walter. Now get in the front car and lead us to where he is. Or we may just have to settle for discreetly bumping you off.” 

Walter immediately got in the front car, and told the driver to start in the alley behind the theatre. All three cars pulled away. 

“Here, this way,” Robert yelled as he pulled Marie behind him. 

They arrived at a street that was nearly empty, except for one car. They raced to it. As they arrived, Robert ordered Marie to the passenger door while he proceeded to break into the vehicle. After shattering through the drivers side window, he reached down and unlocked his door. He then unlocked the passenger door, and Marie entered the car. He began to hotwire the car. 

“You know how to hotwire a car?” Marie asked while she struggled to catch her breath. 

“You pick up some things, I guess,” he responded awkwardly. 

“You picked it up, who taught you?” she asked. 

“Honestly, although I appreciate your interest in the matter, I don’t think it matters, Doll.”

 Immediately after saying that, a bullet ripped through the upper left hand corner of the windshield, splashing small slivers of glass on Robert. The engine started.

“Hang on!” he screamed as he pressed his foot all the way down on the gas. The engine roared. “Get your head down!” he yelled as they flew by their firing followers. 

They were able to fire two more holes through the side windows on the driver side, but Robert and Marie remained unharmed. 

As they raced away, Robert asked “You alright? You okay?” 

Marie replied shocked, “I think I’m alright.” 

After a few seconds of silence, Robert broke it, “Look, I’ll explain everything soon. Just let me stop by at a place I know and grab some things and I’ll take you to a safe spot where we can talk. What do you say?” 

She replied, “Is anyplace safe in this city for you? I mean why were those men shooting at you, Robert?” 

He took a deep breath and responded, “Look they are on foot, and we are in a car. They have no clue where we are going. I promise Marie, I’ll explain everything soon.” 

Back at the scene of the shooting, the three cars pulled up to the two men who fired upon Robert and Marie. The two men walked up to the middle car as the window rolled down. 

The old man spoke “Where are the bodies?” 

As if assuming the job had been done, one of the two men responded hesitantly, “They got away boss. In some car they found on the street.” 

The old man took a deep breath. “The girl still with him?” he asked. 

“Yes, sir,” they both replied. 

“I mean Jesus Christ, did you even hit the damn car?” he said. 

One of the suits responded, “Yes boss, three times, one in the front windshield and two along the driver’s side.” 

“What kind of car?” he asked. 

“A Rolls-Royce sir, black.”

 The old man took another deep breath. Just then, the men in the third car exited the vehicle, and walked toward the two men. They were armed with clubs, tire irons, and wrenches. The two men knew what this meant. The men surrounded the two of them. One of them spoke a faint, “Boss.” 

The old man replied, “This is the second time he has slipped through your grip, gentlemen. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, well nobody ever lives to say they have fooled me twice.”

He paused and began shaking his head. He then turned and looked at them both, and spoke. ”Scream, it helps take your mind off of the pain.” 

As he finished the sentence, his window rolled up. The two men were shaking in fear. The two other cars began to pull away to begin a search for the car. As they pulled away, a man standing behind one of the two men drew back with his baseball bat, and released a vicious swing against the temple of one of the men’s head. The beating ensued. 

As the two cars pulled away, the old man watched the scene through the mirror on the driver’s side. He stared at it. After a few seconds passed, and the scene escaped from sight, he looked ahead at the road. 

One man in his car asked, “Where do we start?” 

The old man replied, “Start at his little safe house about 8 blocks from here, he thinks we don’t know about it.” 

The second car then pulled ahead of the first and took lead. 

Outside of a brand new building close to the outskirts of the city, the stolen black Rolls-Royce pulled up to the side of the road. 

“I have to go up and grab a few things; do you want to come up with me? I can show you the place,” he said with a smile. 

She shook her head, “No, I think I’ll stay in the car.”

 He paused while looking at her. She wouldn’t look at him. As he began to open the door, she reached out and grabbed his hand. 

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything. I’ll listen.” 

He couldn’t help but smile. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, “I won’t be long.” 

He was almost ready to tell her. He started upstairs to the third floor where he lived. He retrieved the keys from his pocket, as well as the switchblade from his inner jacket pocket, and opened the door with caution. As the door slowly crept open, he scanned the room, making sure everything was in place. Once he was satisfied, he entered and closed the door behind him, locking it. He set his keys and knife down on a counter that lead into his kitchen area. He proceeded to his bedroom. He opened his closet and retrieved a small bag. He began putting some clothes and bathroom items in it, as if he were planning on staying somewhere. As he scanned the room for anything else he stepped towards his dresser and opened the bottom drawer. Out of it, he pulled an old picture. He blew the dust off of it to reveal its true image. It was them, their first picture together. She was sitting on his lap at the old saloon downtown. How things had changed. He placed the picture in the bag as if it was the final topping. It wasn’t. He got down on his hands and knees and pulled an old case out from under his bed. He opened it to reveal an old Civil War era Colt .45 revolver. It was given to him by his dad. He placed it in the bag along with the black powder, and closed it, time to go. As he walked back out from his bedroom he stopped. Eventually they would get to stop and talk and he wanted it to be romantic. He wanted to show her that he still knew what she liked and how to treat a lady. But he didn’t have much. He retrieved a bottle of wine that he had been keeping for a special occasion. He also grabbed several glasses, candles, and a huge blanket that had been given to him by his mother.

 

Marie was not only sitting in that black Rolls-Royce, she was thinking, a lot. So many thoughts were racing through her head. “Is he the same guy she knew all those years ago?” Who is trying to kill him?” What had he become?” She took a minute to readjust what was left of her hair style in the mirror. As she started, something caught her eye. Two cars pulled up and parked across the street. Men proceeded to get out. They were armed. She wanted to get out and warn Robert, but she couldn’t. They were too close now, she would be caught. And what good would that do? She leaned back in her seat to try and avoid being seen. 

All of the men entered the building. Her breathing began to pick up. What could she do to help? Nothing, he was about to get ambushed. The old man’s right hand man was leading the attack, someone he could trust to do the job. The old man exited his vehicle, retrieved a long Cuban cigar from his inner jacket pocket, and began to light it. She could see everything unfolding in front of her but she just couldn’t do anything. 

“Alright, listen up. He lives somewhere on the third floor but we don’t know what room. Knock on all of the doors and see if anyone comes to answer, we’ll start by ruling them out that way. If you find him, don’t kill him. The boss man is the only man who takes care of Robert, now. Personal business he says. He didn’t say anything about roughing him up though.” He ended with a smile and they began knocking on the doors of the third floor. 

Robert was about to pick up his knife and keys to leave, until something caught his eye. An old letter he had written to Marie back when they were together. He opened it up and began to read it. However his reading was interrupted by the sound of knocking. Not on his door but on the one down the hall. He could hear people moving in the hall. He quickly opened his bag and stashed the letter on top. As the men outside continued to knock, they were getting no luck with any room. That’s because Robert was the only resident of the third floor. 

This aggravated the right hand man. As he walked to the next door, Robert’s door, he knocked. Robert heard the knock and froze at first and then quickly scrambled to retrieve everything. As he knocked again, Robert couldn’t help but think “Oh my god they have Marie.” He had to get back down to the car as soon as possible. All Marie could do is sit and wait for something to happen. She would glance back and forth at the building and the old man. 

Robert went to grab his keys and knife and just as he was reaching for them he heard “Alright I’ve had enough of the subtle s**t.”

 The right hand man reared back and kicked through the door of Roberts’s apartment. The door slammed open and flung small pieces of wood on the floor. The opened door revealed the sight of Robert grabbing his keys and knife. “Got the b*****d!” the right hand man screamed. He dove after Robert, tackling him to the ground and sending his keys, bag and knife tumbling to the ground as well. A struggle of terrible fighting followed. The right hand man knelt atop of Robert and threw a punch at Robert’s face, connecting with his eye. As he loaded back to fire another one, Robert quickly threw him off of him, and went for the knife, the closest weapon to him. The right hand man quickly rebounded and noticed that none of his men were in the room.

“Hey you stupid s***s, he’s in here!” he noticed Robert moving for the knife and grabbed a vase full of flowers and slammed them into Roberts back, stopping him in his tracks. Robert flipped over in an attempt to fling him off of him, but was unsuccessful. The right hand man grabbed a huge sharp slice of the vase and shoved it toward Roberts’s chest. Robert reached out and intercepted the sharp object and the man intent with ending his life. Robert tried reaching out with one hand to acquire the knife, but was but centimeters away. 

The sharp piece of glass began to slightly penetrate Roberts’s skin. “Ahhhhh!” he screamed. Just then, he channeled all of the energy he had left and threw the man off of him, grabbed the knife, and stabbed the man in the side of his body. He quickly looked up and noticed the other men entering the room and aiming their weapons. Robert moved to his bag, and pulled out the revolver. He ran behind a table in his living room, threw it on its side and braced for a volley of bullets. He received one. Robert then rose and fired away at one of the men, hitting him directly in the chest.

 Outside, both Marie and the old man heard the shots. Marie jumped with every shot. As the old man continued to smoke his cigar, he glanced at the very car Marie sat in, their eyes appeared to lock for a second or two, and then he looked back at the building.  

The right hand man was still alive and yelled “Don’t kill him!” Robert also heard this, and took advantage of the opportunity. He rose and remembered all of the training his dad gave him for years and years. He fired the remaining five bullets, striking five men and killing them. He was out of ammunition, and still had one man to kill. As the shooting ceased, Marie thought the worst. Tears began to develop in her eyes and run down her face. 

The right hand man rose, knife still in his side, and yelled “Come on then, we’re both men here!” 

Robert reared back and launched the revolver at the man and struck him in the face, compliments of decent pitching arm from back in the day. Startling him for a few seconds, enough time for Robert to charge him and tackle him to the ground. Then Robert reached to the man’s side, retracted his knife from his body and stabbed the man in the neck, ending him for good this time. Robert left the blade in his neck while he collected himself. He had just killed four…five…six more people than he had ever killed before, Hell, he had never killed anyone in his life before. 

“Marie.” He said out loud. He began recollecting all of his things. He didn’t know how many more of these guys were left so he decided to take the fire escape down to ground level. As he was going down, he anxiously looked to the car, to try and see if he could see any sign that she was alright. That she was still alive and unharmed. After reaching ground level, Robert scanned the area before making a dash to the car. 

He saw the two cars parked across the street but didn’t see anybody around them. He couldn’t see anyone in their car either. He sprinted for the car. He was panicking. He had to see Marie’s face. He had to make sure she was okay. He arrived at the car and threw the passenger side door open, "Oh my God..."

Author's Note

Part II of the three part Short Story I am doing. I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you think about how the story is progressing. Thanks for reading guys!

Reviews

[Irenic]

Very vivid especially fighting scene. Like it. Thanks for sharing

[Colton Warr]

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed part two and the fight scenes! Thank you so much for giving this one a read as well!

[Irenic]

welcome....................:)

[Nila M.]

Great fiction! I really like the old cliffhanger style. I think you could have a whole other story just in the character of the "old man" boss. That would be interesting to take it even further back. Short stories that give a lot of information and still keep you interested are no easy thing. I'm always impressed by those who take up the task. Thank you!

[Colton Warr]

Thank you Nila! I thank you for the kind and encouraging words! I have actually debated on writing a prequel that kind of explains more a these characters background stories and whatnot. Which would also give more information on just what exactly the letter said! Thanks for reading! I'm glad I was able to keep you interested!

[Nila M.]

Thank you for writing! I look forward reading more. You have definitely found your groove.

[Lyndy]

This story is getting more and more intriguing. I love it! Will check out Part III soon.

[Colton Warr]

Thank you so much, Lyndy! I'm so glad you have enjoyed the story thus far! Thanks for reading! Part III will be coming soon!

[Nene]

AAAAAAAAA whats going to happen nextt!!!!! That is so cruell leaving me in suspense hahahahhahahaha... Love it... The story is progressing amazingly.... I can't wait for part 3!!

[Colton Warr]

Thank you so much Nene! I am so glad you enjoyed Part II as well! I'm sorry I am leaving you in suspense but hopefully it will be worth it once you read Part III! Thank you so much again for reading!

[dan]

Colton, The way you write, with all of the little details accounted for, makes the reader feel as if watching a movie, noticing details as the camera pans across a scene. Really gripping storytelling. Please make sure you send me part 3. One question: why do you not give "the right hand man" a name? Then you wouldn't have had to say 'the right hand man' as much as you did. That's the only thing I noticed that seemed out of place. You're a very accomplished writer, Colton. I see published books in your future. take care...dan

[Colton Warr]

Dan, Thank you so much as always for the awesome review and positive words! Reviews like yours continue to give me confidence and positivity moving forward. Thank you for that! I will absolutely send you Part III! I thought about giving him a name, but decided to leave it as The Right hand man, just like the old man, I wanted to keep the villains nameless and allow the reader to fill in to the role anybody from there life that has kept them from loving someone. Thats what this story is based off of. A love in my life that certain figures in my life would not allow me to fulfill. And her and I are no longer together because of it. So this one runs deep for me and I wanted the reader to relate by inputting whoever they wanted in the villains shoes. If that makes any sense? Perhaps it doesn't but that was the reasoning behind it anyway. Thanks again for reading, Dan! I sure hope published books are in my future, that would be a dream come true for me.

[Colton Warr]

And thank you for thinking I have what it takes!

[dan]

Colton, Now I understand; keeping the villains nameless is a good plot device (see, I don't know these things because I don't write long stories). It makes perfect sense. My bad. take care...dan

[Valentine]

Re read 1 and then read 2. The story is interesting, I hope in 3 you start to give just a little of the background for the battle between the cigar smoking old man and Robert. Very interesting keeping his infatuation with her also in the story. Females like a story that is not all blood and guts. Keep the chapters coming.. Valentine

[Colton Warr]

Thank you so much Valentine! I'm glad you like where the story is right now! There is a little more background in Part III, I promise! Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate you giving Part II a read!

[sinNsincerity]

This is pretty good, can't wait to read what's next to come...

[Colton Warr]

Thank you so much! I appreciate you stopping by and giving this a read! Glad you like it so far, my friend!

[wordman]

well this chapter kept me on the seats edge my friend

[Colton Warr]

Thank you very much! I am happy to hear that! Glad you are enjoying everything so far! Thanks for reading, my friend!

[wordman]

you are welcome