Chapter 6
He woke the next morning feeling tired and dragged, groaning as his watch beeped to tell him it was time to get up. Jeddrick crawled off the couch, scrubbing at his face and shuffling down to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face to wake himself up a bit. He yawned, glad that Benji was a late sleeper. If he had to see that adorable man-mountain, looking all sleep-tousled and pink-cheeked, he’d lose it and forget that he was a gentleman altogether. And he couldn’t afford to do that, since he had to be to work in less than an hour.
He scrubbed his face in the coldest water possible, then shucked off his sweat pants and took a short but very hot shower to finish the job of waking up. Feeling a little more human, he put on his uniform, combed his short blonde hair, and raided the kitchen for a bagel with butter before he brushed his teeth and went out the door. He made sure to lock it behind him and engage the security system, not wanting those German assholes to try to break in because he’d been careless. He stood on the porch looking around warily, his hand on his gun; but there wasn’t a hint of anybody around, and he drove away to work with only one or two qualms.
Dolores gave him the bad news that there had been no more sightings of the German ‘tourists’, and he tried to shrug that off and do his job. He couldn’t guard Benji 24/7, much as he would have liked to. Still, the artist was careful and didn’t go outside unless Jeddrick was there, so he should be safe. He was just glad that Benji had his painting to occupy himself so that he didn’t get too bored being locked in his house for his own good.
He tried not to brood over the mystery of the paintings too much, either. It would only drive him crazy, since they had no answers as to why these Germans wanted them so bad. Hopefully the x-rays that Benji had scheduled for next week would answer all of those burning questions. Otherwise, he’d end up beating his head against the nearest wall over and over in frustration…unless he could catch these motherfuckers and find out from THEM just why they wanted Benji’s granddad’s paintings so badly that they’d assault someone and steal to get them.
He called Benji at mid-morning, and the artist sounded happy and upbeat. Apparently he’d just finished a painting, which he couldn’t wait to show Jeddrick. He smiled as he replied that he’d see it at lunchtime. Benji told him that he’d be serving barbecued beef sandwiches, which sounded just fine to Jeddrick. He hung up feeling reassured that all was well at the cabin on the lake.
Jeddrick drove down the rutted dirt road, grimacing as his tires sank into the potholes left over from the winter’s ice yet again. He was driving kind of slowly, since he had another plate of cookies from Dolores on his passenger’s seat. They were for dessert, and they looked delicious. He’d tried hard to ignore the twinkle in her eyes when she’d handed him the plate, and had told him to give some: “Sweets to the sweet.”
Oh, well, it was better than being razzed by his fellow officers. He’d never encountered much prejudice or bigotry around here, at first because the Sheriff had put his foot down and had told his deputies outright that if they couldn’t act like professionals then he’d fire their asses; but after he’d proven himself it became because they didn’t care. If he did his job well and supported his fellow cops, he became part of the brotherhood. Even if he’d taken up screwing farm animals, they probably wouldn’t have cared as long as he kept his hobbies to himself.
He negotiated a particularly nasty rut, wincing as his tire sank in and he was jarred heavily. God, he couldn’t wait until the graders came in a few weeks to fix this road! It was simply too wet and soggy still for the big machines to be able to do anything right now, so he’d simply have to endure. Thank God his cruiser had great shocks and suspension.
He saw the cabin appear ahead of him on the right, and as he watched the front door opened and Benji emerged. The tall figure waved at him eagerly, and he smiled. But just as he lifted his hand to wave back, he heard a low, harsh sound from off to his right. Something smashed into the passenger’s side window, and the glass broke out in a froth of shards. He felt a burning sensation in his right arm, and suddenly it went completely numb. He groped at the wheel with the arm that still worked, but between whatever had struck the window and useless arm the car juddered, swayed, and wallowed off the road and into the lake. It struck the water and plowed to a stop, and his head came into contact with the steering wheel smartly. He saw stars, dimly hearing a voice calling his name from somewhere far away.
Fortunately the lake was shallow, so his car wasn’t sinking much. Jeddrick just sat there for a minute, completely stunned. What the hell had happened? His head turned, and he groaned at the pain in his skull as he looked down at his right arm. Red had stained the brown of his uniform near the shoulder, around a torn away part that looked suspiciously like a bullet hole. Somebody had shot him, and he had his suspicions of just who that might have been.
There was a splash, and Benji appeared by his door. “Jed! Jed!” he cried anxiously. “Oh, God, what happened?”
He tried to speak with a tongue that didn’t seem to be working properly anymore. He tried to tell Benji to go back in the cabin and call the police and an air ambulance from the safety of the house. But he couldn’t quite do it, and darkness suddenly rushed up to meet him. The last sound that he heard was Benji’s voice crying his name.
Jed came back to himself in increments. First there was light; a mere pinprick skittering under the closed lids of his eyes. Then sound returned; soft beeps and rustles and the low, stentorian wheeze of heavy breathing somewhere nearby. Smell returned then, and the faint odors of antiseptic and the slight, sour smell of sickness permeated his nostrils. Last but not least, feeling returned to his skin. A low grade throbbing in his skull, a nagging itch under his left shoulder blade – finally all of his senses seemed to be working.
His muzzy, cotton-filled brain struggled to figure out here he was and what was happening. Finally, faintly, the memory returned of him driving to Benji’s lake cabin. He’d heard a sound, and the window of his cruiser had starred as something struck it. That same something…had struck his shoulder after that, and had sent him into the lake in an out-of-control spin. His head had struck the steering wheel, and he remembered Benji wading into the water crying his name…
Then he’d lost consciousness, even before he could give Benji a warning. That thought activated his protective instincts. What had happened after that? Was Benji all right?! He struggled to make his eyelids work, even though they felt like thousand pound weights were attached to them. He had to know what was going on, because he’d left a vulnerable man alone with two Germans who had demonstrated the fact that they weren’t afraid to hurt people to get what they wanted…
Finally he managed to lift his lids, although it was an immense struggle. His eyes squinted against the light, and he saw the tans and greens that hospitals painted the walls of their rooms because they thought they were ‘soothing’. He saw a heart monitoring machine pushed to the side, and an i.v. bag on a stand with a line going down to his forearm. He was covered by a sheet to his waist, and the rest of him was wearing one of those horrible hospital gowns that negated any kind of dignity or privacy whatsoever. Also, he saw a sight that reassured him so much that he went limp on the bed and nearly groaned aloud in relief. Because the huge form of Benjamin Hockness was sprawled in a chair right next to the hospital bed, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging nearly to his chest as he slept in a decidedly awkward-looking manner.
Jed shuddered slightly, and then struggled to speak. “Benji,” he croaked on a breath of sound.
No response. The big form didn’t even stir. He sighed mentally and tried again. “Benji,” this time it came out with more force, as his tongue began to co-operate better with his brain.
Benji started. His eyes flew open, and he sat up so abruptly that it was wonder he didn’t slide right out of the chair and onto the floor on his ass. His eyes flew to the bed, and lit up from within. “Jed!” he cried happily. “Oh, man, I’m so glad to see you awake!”
He stood up and came over to the bed, grasping Jed’s right hand and squeezing it. “You’ve been out for so long…” he babbled, “And they said it might take a while for the tranquilizer to clear out of your system, but I was still really worried…”
“W-Wait,” he managed to get in edgewise. “Tranquilizer?”
The artist nodded. “That’s what you were shot with. A tranquilizer pellet full of ketamine.”
Jeddrick blinked. “Ketamine? HORSE TRANQUILIZER?!”
Benji nodded again. “Uh huh. The doctor said that the dosage was high enough that you were lucky to be alive, except that you’re pretty tough and they got to you pretty quick. They flew you here in a medi-vac chopper, and they gave you drugs to clear the tranquilizer out of your system. But they said you’d be under for hours; it’s after nine o’clock,” he added, glancing at the darkened windows on the other side of the room.
“Jesus,” Jeddrick breathed. “What happened after I passed out?”
Benji hugged himself a little with one arm. “I was so scared that I could barely see straight, but I knew I had to get some help. So I used my cell phone to call the police; I’m really glad that they put that tower out by the end of the drive so the signal was clear,” he added.
Jeddrick would have nodded if his head didn’t feel so very heavy. The residents of the Lake had gone together to purchase a small cell phone tower so that they could still use their electronic devices even out in the middle of nowhere; and he thanked God fervently too that they’d done so as Benji continued: “They told me to stay with you, that they’d sent out a police helicopter and also call for a medi-vac chopper too. I wasn’t going to leave you, and besides I figured that they shot you so that they could get me away from the cabin long enough for them to get in and look for the paintings again anyway. And I don’t care about my paintings as much as I do about you,” he added earnestly, squeezing Jeddrick’s hand again. He found himself smiling, looking into those puppy dog eyes. He was utterly glad that Benji hadn’t gone running back to the cabin to protect his paintings, and if being shot full of horse tranquilizer was the price he had to pay for that, so be it.
“What else happened?” he asked aloud, trying to squeeze Benji’s hand back but not having much luck with it just yet.
“Not much for about ten minutes or so. I stayed with you, even though my lower legs went numb from the water…”
Jeddrick knew what he meant. The lake was still icy cold this time of year. “And finally I heard a chopper coming in across the lake. It was a State Police helicopter, and it circled around a couple of times before it landed. Guys jumped out with guns and some of them went off toward the cabin, and a couple came over to ask me what had happened and if I was all right. One of them waded out and felt your pulse, and he didn’t seem too happy. I got really scared, but fortunately the medi-vac helicopter showed up and landed next to the other one. The paramedics got you out of your car with the help of the state police guys, and they took you away to the hospital. I stayed to talk to the police for their report, and I went into the cabin to see if anything had been stolen. But while they scattered some of my paintings around looking for Granddad’s paintings, they didn’t break anything or take anything either. They were in a hurry, because they must have known that I’d call the police or something like that. Once I’d talked to the police and seen what had happened, they finally let me go and I drove into town to be here with you. I hope you don’t mind – I told them I was your brother,” he added apologetically. “They wouldn’t have let me stay in here with you if I hadn’t.”
Jeddrick laughed feebly, his voice hoarse. “That’s okay, but I’m surprised they bought that story,” he added, looking Benji’s massive frame over ironically.
“Well, I told them I was your half-brother,” the artist said with a rueful shrug.
“Which half?” Jeddrick asked, snickering.
Benji grinned. “It is pretty funny, isn’t it?” he said. “The Sherriff’s Office arrived before I could leave, and they seemed pretty mad that those German guys shot you. They were combing the woods when I left, but I don’t think they found anything.”
“Par for the course,” Jeddrick remarked dryly. He paused, and then went on: “Benji, we have a problem.”
“What?!” the artist asked anxiously.
“Well, these guys have proved that they’re willing to escalate their behaviors because they’re getting desperate. By now, they must realize that the paintings they want aren’t in your cabin anymore. And the only one who knows where those paintings are…” he looked up into Benji’s eyes, which widened. “They’re going to come after you, to force you to tell them where the paintings are. And I want to stop reacting to what they do, and start controlling the situation instead. In order to do that, we need to set up a trap for them to walk into.”
“A trap?” Benji said doubtfully. “What kind of trap?”
“Well, they think that I’m out of the picture. They probably either think that I’m dead or that I’m still out of it. We have a very small window of opportunity here. We need to take advantage of it. Did the police say that they’re going to leave a guard on the cabin?”
Benji nodded. “And I locked the front door and reset the alarm, too,” he said.
Jeddrick sighed. “Well, you’re going to need to call the police and tell them to remove the guard, that you’ll be all right. They won’t be happy about it, but they’ll do it. Then you and I will go out to the cabin together, and I’ll be in the back of your Rover with a blanket over me. If they’re watching, which I don’t doubt they will be, they’ll only see you drive up alone. They’ll want to try and force you to tell them where the paintings are, so they’ll do something before you can get into the cabin and lock the door and turn on the alarm behind you. And I’ll be ready for them. I’m going to turn the tables on them this time.”
Benji’s brows drew together in anxiety. “But Jed, you can’t do that!” he protested. “I mean, you just woke up right now! You’ve been out for hours! How are you even going to be able to walk, let alone overpower two healthy guys?”
Jed sighed, lifting his left hand and feeling how difficult even that small action was. “Yeah, I’m not in the peak of health,” he noted grimly. “But I’ll have the advantage of surprise, and I’ll be armed. This may be our only opportunity to get these guys, and I’m tired of them attacking us with impunity. Next time, they might actually end up killing one of us. And I can’t accept that. I’ll do whatever I have to to stop these bastards. Even if that means shuffling like a zombie and finding a way to lift my gun even though my limbs feel like they don’t work at all. I won’t let them hurt you again, Benji,” he vowed.
The artist looked miserable. “But I don’t want you to get hurt again trying to help me,” he said, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment. “I got you into this, Jed; I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to you!”
“Listen to me, Benji,” Jeddrick said, giving the artist’s hand another sharp squeeze, “I chose to get myself involved here, so whatever happens to me is my fault, not yours. And do you know how I’ll feel if something happens to you because I didn’t do anything? I couldn’t handle that, I really couldn’t.” he said soberly.
Benji’s eyes searched his face, and at last the artist sighed and his shoulders slumped. “Okay,” he whispered. “But Jed, please…”
“I’ll be careful,” he vowed, giving Benji’s hand a tender pat. “But we’ve got to finish this, Benji. We can’t go on waiting for what these assholes will do next. It might be a real bullet next time, not a tranquilizer pellet.”
Benji nodded, sniffling a little. "You’re right,” he said more determinedly. “I can’t wait around for them to hurt you again, Jed. So let’s do it.”
“That’s my man,” Jed remarked in satisfaction.
Benji abruptly smiled through his tears, looking adorable. “Yes, I am,” he replied, looking Jeddrick in the eyes. “Aren’t I?”
He felt himself smiling in return. “You are,” he agreed. “You definitely are.”
“How are you feeling now?” Benji asked anxiously.
Jeddrick smiled wanly. The artist had practically been keeping him on his feet up until now, since his rubbery legs weren’t working too well. They’d been walking the halls of the hospital for over an hour, trying to get the dregs of the tranquilizer out of his system before they set up the trap that would hopefully capture the two Germans. “Better,” he remarked aloud. “My legs are still a little watery, but I don’t feel like I’m going to fold to the ground at any moment.”
“Okay,” Benji said, still looking anxious. Jed knew that he was unhappy about this whole plan, but as far as he was concerned this was their best chance to lure the Germans into a trap. The two men were sure to see and be spooked by the presence of any ‘official’ cops, and if they bolted they might wait weeks or even months to return. And he and Benji couldn’t maintain a state of high alert forever; so they had to be proactive here. He patted the arm he was half-leaning on reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, Benji,” he said soothingly. “It’ll all be all right. I’ll protect you.”
“But that’s just it!” Benji wailed, and then lowered his voice as he looked around at the quiet halls of the hospital. “What if you can’t protect YOU? I just…” he bit at his lip, gnawing at it a little.
Jed reached up and stopped this gesture by putting his finger against Benji’s lower lip. “Trust me,” he said simply.
“I do, Jed,” the artist half-whispered, looking down into his blue eyes. “But I can’t help but worry.”
“I know,” Jed let his finger caress over Benji’s lower lip tenderly. “But let’s think about this logically. If the Germans see anybody else around but you, especially a cop, they’re not going to come within a hundred yards of you or the cabin. They might be scared away entirely by a police presence – and while that might seem like a good thing, it really won’t be in the long run. Because anyone that desperate is going to come back and try again. We don’t know how long that might be, and the cops can’t guard your cabin forever when the perpetrators appear to have fled. We might not be ready for them when they return, and considering the lengths they’ve gone to so far…” he shook his head, his mouth grim. “We can’t afford to let them get away if we can help it. We’ve got to catch them if we can.”
Benji sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I understand, Jed,” he said rather pathetically. “I’m just not a very good action hero or anything,” he added with a tremulous smile.
“Not everybody is. The fact that you’re willing to go into this situation anyway means that you’re pretty courageous, even if you’re not a ‘hero’. And that’s the important thing, in my eyes,” Jed told him seriously. “Be strong, Benji, and let’s finish this thing tonight if we can.”
Benji’s shoulders straightened. “Okay,” he said firmly. “Let’s do it, Jed. Besides, as long as you’re with me I won’t be so scared,” he added.
Jed’s face softened, and he stood on tip toe to lightly kiss Benji’s mouth. “That’s my man,” he said again, meaning every word of that statement.
Go to Next Chapter
He woke the next morning feeling tired and dragged, groaning as his watch beeped to tell him it was time to get up. Jeddrick crawled off the couch, scrubbing at his face and shuffling down to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face to wake himself up a bit. He yawned, glad that Benji was a late sleeper. If he had to see that adorable man-mountain, looking all sleep-tousled and pink-cheeked, he’d lose it and forget that he was a gentleman altogether. And he couldn’t afford to do that, since he had to be to work in less than an hour.
He scrubbed his face in the coldest water possible, then shucked off his sweat pants and took a short but very hot shower to finish the job of waking up. Feeling a little more human, he put on his uniform, combed his short blonde hair, and raided the kitchen for a bagel with butter before he brushed his teeth and went out the door. He made sure to lock it behind him and engage the security system, not wanting those German assholes to try to break in because he’d been careless. He stood on the porch looking around warily, his hand on his gun; but there wasn’t a hint of anybody around, and he drove away to work with only one or two qualms.
Dolores gave him the bad news that there had been no more sightings of the German ‘tourists’, and he tried to shrug that off and do his job. He couldn’t guard Benji 24/7, much as he would have liked to. Still, the artist was careful and didn’t go outside unless Jeddrick was there, so he should be safe. He was just glad that Benji had his painting to occupy himself so that he didn’t get too bored being locked in his house for his own good.
He tried not to brood over the mystery of the paintings too much, either. It would only drive him crazy, since they had no answers as to why these Germans wanted them so bad. Hopefully the x-rays that Benji had scheduled for next week would answer all of those burning questions. Otherwise, he’d end up beating his head against the nearest wall over and over in frustration…unless he could catch these motherfuckers and find out from THEM just why they wanted Benji’s granddad’s paintings so badly that they’d assault someone and steal to get them.
He called Benji at mid-morning, and the artist sounded happy and upbeat. Apparently he’d just finished a painting, which he couldn’t wait to show Jeddrick. He smiled as he replied that he’d see it at lunchtime. Benji told him that he’d be serving barbecued beef sandwiches, which sounded just fine to Jeddrick. He hung up feeling reassured that all was well at the cabin on the lake.
Jeddrick drove down the rutted dirt road, grimacing as his tires sank into the potholes left over from the winter’s ice yet again. He was driving kind of slowly, since he had another plate of cookies from Dolores on his passenger’s seat. They were for dessert, and they looked delicious. He’d tried hard to ignore the twinkle in her eyes when she’d handed him the plate, and had told him to give some: “Sweets to the sweet.”
Oh, well, it was better than being razzed by his fellow officers. He’d never encountered much prejudice or bigotry around here, at first because the Sheriff had put his foot down and had told his deputies outright that if they couldn’t act like professionals then he’d fire their asses; but after he’d proven himself it became because they didn’t care. If he did his job well and supported his fellow cops, he became part of the brotherhood. Even if he’d taken up screwing farm animals, they probably wouldn’t have cared as long as he kept his hobbies to himself.
He negotiated a particularly nasty rut, wincing as his tire sank in and he was jarred heavily. God, he couldn’t wait until the graders came in a few weeks to fix this road! It was simply too wet and soggy still for the big machines to be able to do anything right now, so he’d simply have to endure. Thank God his cruiser had great shocks and suspension.
He saw the cabin appear ahead of him on the right, and as he watched the front door opened and Benji emerged. The tall figure waved at him eagerly, and he smiled. But just as he lifted his hand to wave back, he heard a low, harsh sound from off to his right. Something smashed into the passenger’s side window, and the glass broke out in a froth of shards. He felt a burning sensation in his right arm, and suddenly it went completely numb. He groped at the wheel with the arm that still worked, but between whatever had struck the window and useless arm the car juddered, swayed, and wallowed off the road and into the lake. It struck the water and plowed to a stop, and his head came into contact with the steering wheel smartly. He saw stars, dimly hearing a voice calling his name from somewhere far away.
Fortunately the lake was shallow, so his car wasn’t sinking much. Jeddrick just sat there for a minute, completely stunned. What the hell had happened? His head turned, and he groaned at the pain in his skull as he looked down at his right arm. Red had stained the brown of his uniform near the shoulder, around a torn away part that looked suspiciously like a bullet hole. Somebody had shot him, and he had his suspicions of just who that might have been.
There was a splash, and Benji appeared by his door. “Jed! Jed!” he cried anxiously. “Oh, God, what happened?”
He tried to speak with a tongue that didn’t seem to be working properly anymore. He tried to tell Benji to go back in the cabin and call the police and an air ambulance from the safety of the house. But he couldn’t quite do it, and darkness suddenly rushed up to meet him. The last sound that he heard was Benji’s voice crying his name.
Jed came back to himself in increments. First there was light; a mere pinprick skittering under the closed lids of his eyes. Then sound returned; soft beeps and rustles and the low, stentorian wheeze of heavy breathing somewhere nearby. Smell returned then, and the faint odors of antiseptic and the slight, sour smell of sickness permeated his nostrils. Last but not least, feeling returned to his skin. A low grade throbbing in his skull, a nagging itch under his left shoulder blade – finally all of his senses seemed to be working.
His muzzy, cotton-filled brain struggled to figure out here he was and what was happening. Finally, faintly, the memory returned of him driving to Benji’s lake cabin. He’d heard a sound, and the window of his cruiser had starred as something struck it. That same something…had struck his shoulder after that, and had sent him into the lake in an out-of-control spin. His head had struck the steering wheel, and he remembered Benji wading into the water crying his name…
Then he’d lost consciousness, even before he could give Benji a warning. That thought activated his protective instincts. What had happened after that? Was Benji all right?! He struggled to make his eyelids work, even though they felt like thousand pound weights were attached to them. He had to know what was going on, because he’d left a vulnerable man alone with two Germans who had demonstrated the fact that they weren’t afraid to hurt people to get what they wanted…
Finally he managed to lift his lids, although it was an immense struggle. His eyes squinted against the light, and he saw the tans and greens that hospitals painted the walls of their rooms because they thought they were ‘soothing’. He saw a heart monitoring machine pushed to the side, and an i.v. bag on a stand with a line going down to his forearm. He was covered by a sheet to his waist, and the rest of him was wearing one of those horrible hospital gowns that negated any kind of dignity or privacy whatsoever. Also, he saw a sight that reassured him so much that he went limp on the bed and nearly groaned aloud in relief. Because the huge form of Benjamin Hockness was sprawled in a chair right next to the hospital bed, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging nearly to his chest as he slept in a decidedly awkward-looking manner.
Jed shuddered slightly, and then struggled to speak. “Benji,” he croaked on a breath of sound.
No response. The big form didn’t even stir. He sighed mentally and tried again. “Benji,” this time it came out with more force, as his tongue began to co-operate better with his brain.
Benji started. His eyes flew open, and he sat up so abruptly that it was wonder he didn’t slide right out of the chair and onto the floor on his ass. His eyes flew to the bed, and lit up from within. “Jed!” he cried happily. “Oh, man, I’m so glad to see you awake!”
He stood up and came over to the bed, grasping Jed’s right hand and squeezing it. “You’ve been out for so long…” he babbled, “And they said it might take a while for the tranquilizer to clear out of your system, but I was still really worried…”
“W-Wait,” he managed to get in edgewise. “Tranquilizer?”
The artist nodded. “That’s what you were shot with. A tranquilizer pellet full of ketamine.”
Jeddrick blinked. “Ketamine? HORSE TRANQUILIZER?!”
Benji nodded again. “Uh huh. The doctor said that the dosage was high enough that you were lucky to be alive, except that you’re pretty tough and they got to you pretty quick. They flew you here in a medi-vac chopper, and they gave you drugs to clear the tranquilizer out of your system. But they said you’d be under for hours; it’s after nine o’clock,” he added, glancing at the darkened windows on the other side of the room.
“Jesus,” Jeddrick breathed. “What happened after I passed out?”
Benji hugged himself a little with one arm. “I was so scared that I could barely see straight, but I knew I had to get some help. So I used my cell phone to call the police; I’m really glad that they put that tower out by the end of the drive so the signal was clear,” he added.
Jeddrick would have nodded if his head didn’t feel so very heavy. The residents of the Lake had gone together to purchase a small cell phone tower so that they could still use their electronic devices even out in the middle of nowhere; and he thanked God fervently too that they’d done so as Benji continued: “They told me to stay with you, that they’d sent out a police helicopter and also call for a medi-vac chopper too. I wasn’t going to leave you, and besides I figured that they shot you so that they could get me away from the cabin long enough for them to get in and look for the paintings again anyway. And I don’t care about my paintings as much as I do about you,” he added earnestly, squeezing Jeddrick’s hand again. He found himself smiling, looking into those puppy dog eyes. He was utterly glad that Benji hadn’t gone running back to the cabin to protect his paintings, and if being shot full of horse tranquilizer was the price he had to pay for that, so be it.
“What else happened?” he asked aloud, trying to squeeze Benji’s hand back but not having much luck with it just yet.
“Not much for about ten minutes or so. I stayed with you, even though my lower legs went numb from the water…”
Jeddrick knew what he meant. The lake was still icy cold this time of year. “And finally I heard a chopper coming in across the lake. It was a State Police helicopter, and it circled around a couple of times before it landed. Guys jumped out with guns and some of them went off toward the cabin, and a couple came over to ask me what had happened and if I was all right. One of them waded out and felt your pulse, and he didn’t seem too happy. I got really scared, but fortunately the medi-vac helicopter showed up and landed next to the other one. The paramedics got you out of your car with the help of the state police guys, and they took you away to the hospital. I stayed to talk to the police for their report, and I went into the cabin to see if anything had been stolen. But while they scattered some of my paintings around looking for Granddad’s paintings, they didn’t break anything or take anything either. They were in a hurry, because they must have known that I’d call the police or something like that. Once I’d talked to the police and seen what had happened, they finally let me go and I drove into town to be here with you. I hope you don’t mind – I told them I was your brother,” he added apologetically. “They wouldn’t have let me stay in here with you if I hadn’t.”
Jeddrick laughed feebly, his voice hoarse. “That’s okay, but I’m surprised they bought that story,” he added, looking Benji’s massive frame over ironically.
“Well, I told them I was your half-brother,” the artist said with a rueful shrug.
“Which half?” Jeddrick asked, snickering.
Benji grinned. “It is pretty funny, isn’t it?” he said. “The Sherriff’s Office arrived before I could leave, and they seemed pretty mad that those German guys shot you. They were combing the woods when I left, but I don’t think they found anything.”
“Par for the course,” Jeddrick remarked dryly. He paused, and then went on: “Benji, we have a problem.”
“What?!” the artist asked anxiously.
“Well, these guys have proved that they’re willing to escalate their behaviors because they’re getting desperate. By now, they must realize that the paintings they want aren’t in your cabin anymore. And the only one who knows where those paintings are…” he looked up into Benji’s eyes, which widened. “They’re going to come after you, to force you to tell them where the paintings are. And I want to stop reacting to what they do, and start controlling the situation instead. In order to do that, we need to set up a trap for them to walk into.”
“A trap?” Benji said doubtfully. “What kind of trap?”
“Well, they think that I’m out of the picture. They probably either think that I’m dead or that I’m still out of it. We have a very small window of opportunity here. We need to take advantage of it. Did the police say that they’re going to leave a guard on the cabin?”
Benji nodded. “And I locked the front door and reset the alarm, too,” he said.
Jeddrick sighed. “Well, you’re going to need to call the police and tell them to remove the guard, that you’ll be all right. They won’t be happy about it, but they’ll do it. Then you and I will go out to the cabin together, and I’ll be in the back of your Rover with a blanket over me. If they’re watching, which I don’t doubt they will be, they’ll only see you drive up alone. They’ll want to try and force you to tell them where the paintings are, so they’ll do something before you can get into the cabin and lock the door and turn on the alarm behind you. And I’ll be ready for them. I’m going to turn the tables on them this time.”
Benji’s brows drew together in anxiety. “But Jed, you can’t do that!” he protested. “I mean, you just woke up right now! You’ve been out for hours! How are you even going to be able to walk, let alone overpower two healthy guys?”
Jed sighed, lifting his left hand and feeling how difficult even that small action was. “Yeah, I’m not in the peak of health,” he noted grimly. “But I’ll have the advantage of surprise, and I’ll be armed. This may be our only opportunity to get these guys, and I’m tired of them attacking us with impunity. Next time, they might actually end up killing one of us. And I can’t accept that. I’ll do whatever I have to to stop these bastards. Even if that means shuffling like a zombie and finding a way to lift my gun even though my limbs feel like they don’t work at all. I won’t let them hurt you again, Benji,” he vowed.
The artist looked miserable. “But I don’t want you to get hurt again trying to help me,” he said, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment. “I got you into this, Jed; I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to you!”
“Listen to me, Benji,” Jeddrick said, giving the artist’s hand another sharp squeeze, “I chose to get myself involved here, so whatever happens to me is my fault, not yours. And do you know how I’ll feel if something happens to you because I didn’t do anything? I couldn’t handle that, I really couldn’t.” he said soberly.
Benji’s eyes searched his face, and at last the artist sighed and his shoulders slumped. “Okay,” he whispered. “But Jed, please…”
“I’ll be careful,” he vowed, giving Benji’s hand a tender pat. “But we’ve got to finish this, Benji. We can’t go on waiting for what these assholes will do next. It might be a real bullet next time, not a tranquilizer pellet.”
Benji nodded, sniffling a little. "You’re right,” he said more determinedly. “I can’t wait around for them to hurt you again, Jed. So let’s do it.”
“That’s my man,” Jed remarked in satisfaction.
Benji abruptly smiled through his tears, looking adorable. “Yes, I am,” he replied, looking Jeddrick in the eyes. “Aren’t I?”
He felt himself smiling in return. “You are,” he agreed. “You definitely are.”
“How are you feeling now?” Benji asked anxiously.
Jeddrick smiled wanly. The artist had practically been keeping him on his feet up until now, since his rubbery legs weren’t working too well. They’d been walking the halls of the hospital for over an hour, trying to get the dregs of the tranquilizer out of his system before they set up the trap that would hopefully capture the two Germans. “Better,” he remarked aloud. “My legs are still a little watery, but I don’t feel like I’m going to fold to the ground at any moment.”
“Okay,” Benji said, still looking anxious. Jed knew that he was unhappy about this whole plan, but as far as he was concerned this was their best chance to lure the Germans into a trap. The two men were sure to see and be spooked by the presence of any ‘official’ cops, and if they bolted they might wait weeks or even months to return. And he and Benji couldn’t maintain a state of high alert forever; so they had to be proactive here. He patted the arm he was half-leaning on reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, Benji,” he said soothingly. “It’ll all be all right. I’ll protect you.”
“But that’s just it!” Benji wailed, and then lowered his voice as he looked around at the quiet halls of the hospital. “What if you can’t protect YOU? I just…” he bit at his lip, gnawing at it a little.
Jed reached up and stopped this gesture by putting his finger against Benji’s lower lip. “Trust me,” he said simply.
“I do, Jed,” the artist half-whispered, looking down into his blue eyes. “But I can’t help but worry.”
“I know,” Jed let his finger caress over Benji’s lower lip tenderly. “But let’s think about this logically. If the Germans see anybody else around but you, especially a cop, they’re not going to come within a hundred yards of you or the cabin. They might be scared away entirely by a police presence – and while that might seem like a good thing, it really won’t be in the long run. Because anyone that desperate is going to come back and try again. We don’t know how long that might be, and the cops can’t guard your cabin forever when the perpetrators appear to have fled. We might not be ready for them when they return, and considering the lengths they’ve gone to so far…” he shook his head, his mouth grim. “We can’t afford to let them get away if we can help it. We’ve got to catch them if we can.”
Benji sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I understand, Jed,” he said rather pathetically. “I’m just not a very good action hero or anything,” he added with a tremulous smile.
“Not everybody is. The fact that you’re willing to go into this situation anyway means that you’re pretty courageous, even if you’re not a ‘hero’. And that’s the important thing, in my eyes,” Jed told him seriously. “Be strong, Benji, and let’s finish this thing tonight if we can.”
Benji’s shoulders straightened. “Okay,” he said firmly. “Let’s do it, Jed. Besides, as long as you’re with me I won’t be so scared,” he added.
Jed’s face softened, and he stood on tip toe to lightly kiss Benji’s mouth. “That’s my man,” he said again, meaning every word of that statement.
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