The Good Deed ~COMPLETE~

Chapter 37: Red To Black

For the first several seconds, all that could be heard from within the room was silence. Jacob stood relaxed, his hand crossed at his waist, still holding a gun. My breathing was heavy, like I had just run a marathon. I couldn't stop worrying about Mark. I didn’t have any doubts about Marks skills in hand to hand combat, or his ability to take a life, but my fears were justified.  Mark’s opponent was my biggest concern.  Albert Tullis was an FBI agent and most likely had been trained for situations just like this one.  Not to mention his ‘kill or be killed’ attitude; I knew Albert possessed the mentality to take another’s life without a second thought.  Panic had my brain in a strong grasp.

While we waited for the battle to begin, Jacob tried to make casual conversation as if nothing unusual was going on. “So how long have you and Sue been dating?”

I glanced to him with a disgusted look. “None of your business. Where the Hell is she? Where have you taken her?”  I wanted to strangle him to death right then and there.  I believe I had the mental capacity to kill him with my bare hands.  I didn’t act though, mainly because Jacob was the only one that knew where Sue, my mother and Mandy were being held captive.

“Relax Joe. She's fine. They’re all fine.  Just continue to behave and I might let you see them again.”

“You're a sick bastard.”

“Joe, you'll find that I'm not such a bad guy, once you get to know me.”

“Tell that to Mark and Albert.”

“Well, I can't argue with that. But they both know too much, especially Albert.”

I couldn't understand. “What do you mean, they know too much?”

“I have secrets Joe. Things that I have to protect from public knowledge; specifically the contents of this briefcase.” Jacob held the securely cuffed case up. “Albert learned about my secret, that's why he needs to be eliminated.”

If Jacob wanted Albert dead because of his knowledge of IRIS, then I needed to keep my mouth shut. If Jacob found out that I knew about IRIS, he would surely kill me too. I acted clueless, “What do you keep in the briefcase anyway?”

Jacob looked at me in a similar fashion of disgust that I had given him moments before, “None of your business. Only my most trusted friends know what my secret is.”

“Why do you want my brother dead? What does he have to do with this?”

“When I arrived, I found Albert and Mark in a secured area. Albert was showing off my secret to Mark...He's seen too much.”

I wanted to keep talking to Jacob about his ‘secret’, I needed to know more about IRIS, more than I already knew, which according to Jacob was ‘too much’.  I was about to dig a little deeper into Jacobs business when suddenly, a struggle could be heard within the room; the grunting and growling from two wounded men. I could hear Mark swearing at Albert and the sound of punches landing could be heard. Albert cursed back at my brother, and returned a few punches of his own. I tried to visualize the fight, praying my brother would come out victorious.

My brother and Albert’s struggle continued. The screams of pain only forced my imagination into overdrive. All I kept envisioning was my brother and Albert trying to gouge their thumbs into the bullet wounds of one another.   

Jacob had a sickening smile on his face. “You know, if Albert wins, I'm probably going to kill him anyways.”

“Wh-What if Mark wins?”

“I don't know. I haven't decided yet.”

That was certainly an unnerving response. It seemed that no matter how the fight turned out, Jacob would have his way; both men would be dead, and his secret would remain safe. “That isn't fair...”

“...life isn't fair Joe. I've worked my whole life to get to where I am now. For years, I did the right thing. I was an honest business man and I always took good care of my employees...” Jacob looked to the floor, sadly. “...then, my whole world changed when my doctor told me I had a brain tumor...”

Somehow, even after all he had done and put my family through,  this despicable man had managed to make me feel a tiny bit sympathetic toward him, I watched his body language, trying to read his movements.  I still wasn’t sold on his story.  “Is it... cancerous?” 

Jacob looked up to me, “Yes. At first, the doctor told me it was a small mass, only about the size of a pea. But each time I returned for a follow up...it was growing...fast. The doctor only gave me six months to live.”

I wasn't sure if I should believe him or not. As far as I was concerned, Jacob Scholtz didn't have the greatest reputation for being an honest man. I decided to play along, just in case he was being truthful. “Only six months? How long has it been?” I hoped he would say 5 months and 29 days.

“Four years.” Jacob smiled evilly at me.

“Four years? Why aren't you dead yet?” It kind of slipped out.

He chuckled. “It's my secret.”

“You have a lot of secrets.”  I indicated the case on his wrist.  “Does it have anything to do with what’s in that briefcase?”  I wasn’t sure how the contents of that case could prolong a person’s life, especially since I knew it was a computer chip of some kind.   

Jacob embraced the case and gave it a loving pat.  “It has everything to do with it Joe.”

Now my curiosity was going wild.  This computer chip…could IRIS really cure cancer?  I needed more information.  “How?  What’s in that case?”

“Joseph, this case contains something that will change life as we know it; something so powerful, that whoever is in control of it will rule the world.”

Even though I knew it was a computer chip, I still needed to know, “How?”

“That is a secret that will be buried with me.”

I was tired of his games and my sarcasm and cockiness got the best of me.  I couldn't resist saying, “Come on, you can tell me...cause I'm gonna be the one to bury you.”

The smile on Jacobs face vanished and he pointed the gun in my face. “Tough words for such weak little man...No more talking.” Jacob checked his watch. “Two more minutes and we'll see who's left standing.”

We both turned our attention back to the door. The room was quiet again. Every second of silence seemed to take forever. Those two final minutes were the longest, most stressful minutes of my life. My mind kept asking the one question I was scared to know the answer to. 'Is Mark still alive?'

Jacob looked to his watch again. “Times up.” He approached the door and reached for the handle, when suddenly a gun shot rang out. Jacob was startled, as was I.

I rushed to the door and pushed Jacob out of the way. I quickly opened the door of the room and stopped. I stood at the opening, trying to take it all in. The white walls and tan tiled floor were spattered with blood; wet red hand prints and footprints were everywhere. The bodies of my brother and Albert were laying on the floor. Their clothes were just as bloody as the rest of the room. All I could see was red.

Neither man was moving and my anxiety was on the rise. Then I noticed the gun. The gun I was going to shoot Harvey Dunn with. It was in Albert's grip. Immediately my mind jumped to the conclusion that Albert had shot my brother. I desperately wanted to go check on Mark, but I was frozen with fear. Stuck in the doorway by the scariest thought I could imagine...'My brother's dead'. I felt queasy, my stomach was churning, and then everything went black.