Lightning Strike: Part three; Chapter three

A Chapter by Tabitha t

Chapter Three

Duncan shivered as he huddled in the darkness beside the old printing shop. The rain had completely soaked through the thin blazer he had pulled on before he had come here. James hadn’t mentioned rain and probably didn’t care enough to bother. As long as Duncan could remember working along side James he had always had to do the dirty work while James took the credit.

Duncan knew he wasn’t the smartest guy but he knew how to get the job done. James was the one who could do the suave talking and turn the tables in his direction even if he was greatly outnumbered. Duncan had always admired him for his talents. He had wanted to be like him even in college. He always got great grades and was invited to every party. Duncan knew that if it wasn’t for James taking him under his wing that he wouldn’t have been invited to any of them.

He had been considered an outcast and a loner in high school and everything had changed the day he met James. James helped him dress nicer and even how to get women to notice him, so of course when the day came that James’s needed his help Duncan agreed immediately without hesitation.

Duncan sat up quickly as he saw the van pull up on the side of the road. Someone had noticed the damage to the place. Just as expected the man got out of the car and after a few moments of looking into the windows he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

“Yeah it’s Mark Swiss.” The man shouted into the phone to be heard over another boom of thunder.

“You need to come down here; something is up at your place. Looks like vandalism.” Duncan leaned in closer from behind the bushes to hear over the howling wind. The words “Spray Paint” and “f**k you” drifted across the few yards between the man and himself.

“Its bad out here, be careful.” The man shouted into the phone once more before hanging up and quickly hurrying back to his car before driving away.

Duncan smiled to himself. James had told him to take care of that b*****s’ new boyfriend and he didn’t plan on letting him down. The storm had been a god send, leaving most of the town vacant and he didn’t worry about anyone seeing him. All he had to do is sit and wait till the time came. And that’s exactly what he did. Cupping his hands into fists and shoving them under his armpits he tried to stay warm until Lance had decided to show his face. It didn’t take too long, sooner then he expected he heard the rumble of a truck engine.

At first he had almost mistaken the sound to be far off thunder but as the sound grew louder he saw the headlights come streaming into his vision. The truck was screaming down the wet road and without slowing down had spun into the parking area beside the building.

The truck skidded to a stop dangerously close to the back entrance and the driver jumped out of the vehicle and ran inside the building. Duncan was stiff from being squatted down so long and had to force himself to hurry into the building after him.

“What the hell?” He heard Lance curse from deep inside the back room. Duncan felt a stab of self pride as he envisioned the ruined artifacts and damage he had done inside. James would be proud when he told him how he had thought of breaking into the building. The spray paint was his own personal touch.

“By any means necessary,” James had told him. With this thought in his head Duncan carefully crept into the building and picked his steps carefully around the littered paper on the hard cement workroom floor. As he got close to the door that entered into the main office he could see Lance’s shadow, cast by the blinking yellow light outside, clearly up on the wall.

Using this he could sense that he was bent over examining some of the contents on his desk. His sharp instincts told him that this may be his only chance. Crouching like a fearless Lion, ready to capture its prey, he sprang across the threshold and with a growl he lifted his intertwined fists and then before Lance had time to turn around he brought them down with all of his bulk onto the back of his head.

There was a whooshing sound as Lance’s breath escaped his lungs and then a thud as his body dropped to the ground at Duncan’s feet. He wasn’t dead, Duncan could see his chest rise and fall as he breathed, but he was undoubtfully unconscious. Duncan smile to himself then, as he looked down at the man, James would surely congratulate him on his job well done, and if there was anything Duncan enjoyed was getting a job well done from the man who had given him a chance at success.

Duncan was still smiling as he bent down to hook his arms under Lance’s armpits and drag him back out of the office and through the workroom to disappear into the howling wind and slanted rain.

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