The Good Deed ~COMPLETE~

Chapter 29: I Think I "Can"

BANG Missed...'Shit!' BANG Missed...'Shit!'

Harvey stood behind me. Much closer than I liked. “Relax. Steady the weapon. Breathe...and then fire.”

I did as he said. BANG Missed again. “I can't do it.”

“You can. Now concentrate. Line up your shot...” He paused as I pointed the gun to the far edge of the fenced property. “...Fire when ready.”

BANG Another miss. “It's no use.”

“Aim the gun at the target.” Harvey sounded annoyed by my lack of confidence.

I snapped back, “I am aiming!”

Harvey picked up another gun from the table. “You need to stand like this.” He placed his left foot out a bit, and his right foot back. His knees were slightly bent. I copied his stance. “Make sure to keep your shoulders up, and cup the bottom of the gun with your free hand to help steady the shot.” Harvey held the weapon up and aimed it at the cans. I followed his instructions. “Use the sight on the tip of the gun. Once you have it where you want it, squeeze the trigger.” 'BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG'

Five cans dropped to the grass. I was rather impressed. I still stood in position, my target in sight. 'Here goes nothing.' 'BANG' I missed the can, but I did manage to hit the wooden post a couple of inches below.

“Good. Now, aim a few inches higher this time.”

I did everything identically the same; my stance, my shoulders, my breathing. I aimed the gun toward the top of the can this time...'BANG' The can fell. I had done it. An amazing sense of accomplishment fell over me.

Harvey sounded pleased, “Excellent. Just twenty-four to go.”

I continued to re-enact my previous movements and took aim on another can. 'BANG' Again the can fell. I felt I was definitely getting the hang of it. “Two in a row!” I sure sounded proud of myself.

Harvey reminded me, “It's not quite time to celebrate. I'm not gonna feel comfortable with you aiming a gun at me, until you can hit your target every single time. Keep going.”

I continued to take down the cans one by one. Round after round, I emptied clips and reloaded them. I still missed often, but my aim was improving. Some cans were grazed and the fence posts took a beating. At my best I had managed to consecutively knock down four cans. Although, my streak for missing was higher, at six in a row. Finally, after about a hundred rounds of ammo, the last of the cans had fallen.

Harvey sat on the table, “Nice shooting.”

“Thanks.” I placed the gun on the table with the others. “Can I ask you a question.”

Harvey narrowed his eyes to me with a half smile. “Sure.”

“How did you get involved with a man like Jacob Scholtz?”

Harvey looked away from me, out into the field. “I've known Jacob a long time. We met in college. I was studying law. Jacob was into business management. He's always been the leader type. We became friends right away...inseparable at one point. But, Jacob isn't the kind of person to stay in one place for too long. He has this, need to travel. He moved away, and we didn't speak for quite a few years. Occasionally, I'd receive post cards from various places; Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, NewYork...Jacob seemed to be living his dream.After I graduated, I took a job with the North Point Police Department.” Harvey took a breather. I remained silent, wait for him to begin again. “One day, we got a call reporting a multiple homicide. My partner and I responded...when we arrived, we found five men bound to chairs, each one of them had a single gunshot wound to the chest...They were assassinated in cold blood. When we finally identified the victims, we were all in shock...all five of the men were wanted felons and known leaders of gangs spread across the country. We later discovered that all of the gangs had been taken over and reorganized. We worked with the local authorities in each city and learned that the gangs had been united, into one large--”

I interrupted, “Operation?”

Harvey looked at me with serious kind of stare. “Yes...But we hadn't made the connection with Jacob. We knew that there was one mastermind behind everything, but Jacob was careful and he hid his involvement with the Operation. It wasn't until a few weeks later that he contacted me and asked me for his help...and being a good friend, I agreed to help him before I knew exactly what it was he was into.”

“What did he want your help with?”

Harvey seemed to be getting annoyed with my interruptions. He sighed, “I'd rather not say. But I'll tell you this much, it was illegal and I didn't realize it until it was too late to back out. By the time I figured out what was happening, I was in too deep, and Jacob had become too powerful. He had built an army and when I confronted him about it, he threatened me and my fiancée. I agreed to help Jacob, and keep his involvement a secret from the authorities...I did what I had to do to keep her safe.”

“Your fiancée...who is she?”

“Her name is Kelly Winston...but I broke off the engagement, told her to leave town. I would have done anything to to protect her...even push her away.” Harvey looked depressed as spoke of her. He forced his emotions away, “But that was years ago. Now, I'm just trying to get my life back. Taking Jacob down is the only way.”

“What about Healy?”

“I told you, Danny is on my side.”

“No, I mean, how did he get involved?”

“I mentioned I've done things I wasn't proud of...things I regret...things I wish to God I could change.” He paused briefly. “A couple of years ago, Danny was a rookie in my Department. Things were going well. He was an excellent cop...until one day, I...Jacob called me, he needed me to do a quick job for him. He said some rival gang was causing trouble in his territory and he wanted me to go flash my gun and badge at them...try to scare them off. Well, I was busy, I had a pile of paperwork on my desk...weirdest thing you ever saw; dozens of animals reported missing. Anyhow, I sent Danny and his partner to talk to them. It ended up being a trap...A trap that I was supposed to fall into. Jacob Scholtz and his men were waiting for me, and Danny showed up instead. They killed his partner and threatened him and his family.” Harvey sighed deeply. The memories he shared seem to hurt him to the core.

“So they forced him to work for them? Just like me...”

Harvey just nodded. His whole demeanor had changed after he shared his story. I tried to make him feel better. “It wasn't your fault. How could you have known?”

“It was my fault. An officer died because of me, and an innocent man was forced into a life of crime. I should have never asked Danny to handle that situation. He became involved with Jacob Scholtz because of me...and the worst part is, I forgave Jacob. He told me the whole ordeal had gotten way out of control. He said that Danny drew his weapon first, so his men reacted.” Harvey's head hung shamefully low. “I helped cover up the death of Danny's partner...Officer Chad Pierce.”

I remained silent, unsure of how to react to Harvey's confessions. Harvey took a few deep breaths and looked up toward me. “If I could go back and do it all again, I wouldn't have sent Danny. I would have gone myself.”

“But, then you would be dead.”

“Maybe I should be. It would be easier than living with the guilt.”

With those cold words, Harvey stood and proceeded to walk out into the field toward the fallen beer cans. He continued until he was about half way between the cans and where I stood. He turned and faced me. He stood with his arms down by his side, motionless. I didn't speak. I just stared back at him, waiting to see what he was doing. He just stood there. Ten, maybe fifteen seconds passed.

Suddenly he spoke, “Target practice isn't over yet! You have one last shot to take!” He began to unbutton his shirt, revealing a bullet proof vest beneath.