The Strike of the Viper

I don't think I'm going to make it out this time," Jackson thought as he sat tied to a chair. He was a bounty hunter from The Bronx, tough as they come, but even tough as hell bounty hunters can run into trouble.

Jackson found himself in trouble after chasing down what he thought was a low level drug dealer wanted for pushing crack, not realizing the dealer had backup waiting for him in the building. Now he was trapped and tightly bound in an abandoned warehouse, surrounded by guards and dimly lit flickering lights. He couldn’t untie the ropes that kept him in his chair, and his mind was racing for a way out.

“You guys know I have back up too. They’re on the way now and if you don’t let me go you’re all dead! They’ll gun you all down!” Jackson yelled.

They started laughing, then became quiet as one of the guards approached Jackson. He got close to Jackson’s face and spit. Jackson cringed and twerked his face to his shoulder in an attempt to wipe the spit off.

“We’ll deal with your back up, bounty hunter, if it ever comes. Now shut the hell up,” the guard said and rammed the butt of his gun into Jackson’s stomach.

Jackson had faced countless dangerous situations in his time as a bounty hunter, but for the first time, his bounty had turned the tables.

“You know who our boss is, right? We work for The Viper. He loves torturing law enforcement, even bounty hunters like you. You won’t think you’re a rough guy for very long. Not once he’s through with you,” the guard said and smiled.

It was true, the crime boss known as "The Viper" had lured many law enforcement officers into his trap, and escape was nearly impossible. His only hope was backup arriving, and Jackson desperately wished he actually had some and didn’t just make an empty threat.

Jackson strained his hands against the ropes, then heard the sound of loud, intimidating footsteps.

Adrenaline surged through his veins, and he prayed this wasn’t The Viper. He needed more time to plan his escape.

Jackson’s heard the creaking of a rusty door. His body tensed up.

He looked at the man who walked in. He was tall, thin, dressed in a very expensive suit, and had a sly looking arrogant smile.

"You must be Jackson. Welcome to my warehouse, good sir. My men tell me you’re a bounty hunter," The Viper said coyly.

“You must be The Viper. I’ve heard all about you, too. All horrible things, of course,” Jackson said and smiled.

“What exactly have you heard about me?” The Viper asked, then half smirked.

“The usual cartel boss stuff. You’re a creep who likes torturing people and you’ll do anything to avoid prison, like kill people, kidnap children and blackmail their influential parents, hire lawyers that know how to manipulate the system and which judges can be bribed, etc,” Jackson said.

“That’s all true, of course. I won’t deny it. But this doesn’t scare you? Maybe you really are a tough guy,” The Viper said and smiled.

Jackson spit at The Viper and started laughing.

“That’s right, so you better let me go!” Jackson said.

After staring intently for a minute, The Viper said “start with the electricity.”

“You piece of garbage. You’ll never get away with this,” Jackson screamed.

They hooked him up to wires and started shocking Jackson. Then they water boarded him, beat him, put bamboo under his nails, waxed his chest, and kept him from sleeping.

Days went by, and Jackson was still tied to his chair, and he was now sitting alone in a dark, moist room that smelled of mold and rotten meat.

The Viper came in the room, turned on the lights and started circling Jackson like a vulture circling fresh road kill.

"You've been quite annoying these last few days, why won’t you just give up and die? I must admit though, I’m impressed that you've survived this long,” The Viper said slowly.

Jackson glared at his captor and smiled.

"You won't get away with this, Viper. The authorities will catch up to you eventually,” Jackson said in a raspy voice.

The Viper chuckled softly.

"You mean the authorities on my payroll? Or do you mean in court, where the judges are also on my payroll? And then there’s my lawyers to contend with for any other legal situation. They’re so good, they can make the most horrible murder look like self defense. You underestimate me. I’m untouchable,” The Viper said with a sinister smile.

The Viper took out a small pocket knife and pressed its sharp edge against Jackson’s throat. Jackson’s heart raced, he knew this could be the end.

The Viper began to slide the pocket knife across Jackson’s face. A bead of sweat dripped down Jackson’s forehead.

"Tell me, Jackson, how did you manage to become one of the most well known bounty hunters in the world, yet you were so easily captured?" The Viper asked.

Jackson smiled, he had finally managed to get his hands out of the ropes. He quickly looked around and saw the guards were all distracted.

"Well, Viper, it's simple. I usually end up escaping," Jackson said.

“Not if I kill you first,” The Viper said and again pressed the sharp pocket knife against Jackson’s throat.

"You see, I anticipated that you might try something like this," Jackson said.

Jackson smashed his head on The Vipers face causing The Vipers head to throttle backwards, broke the ropes he had loosened, grabbed The Vipers shirt and pulled him closer then smashed The Vipers face with his fists. Before the guards could turn and shoot, he grabbed The Viper again, turned him to face the guards, grabbed The Vipers pocket knife and pressed it against The Vipers throat and used The Viper as a human shield as he slowly started to back out of the warehouse.

“What’s the door code?” Jackson loudly demanded when his back hit the wall.

“Six six six,” The Viper said. Jackson typed in the numbers and heard the locks click. He opened the door and backed out of the warehouse.

Once Jackson was outside he quickly dragged The Viper to his car, searched him for additional weapons, then said “get in the car you piece of garbage.”

“No, I’m not…” The Viper started to say and Jackson punched him in the stomach. Before The Viper could catch his breath, Jackson threw him in the back seat. Jackson had a feeling this heap of human trash had a higher bounty on his head then the dealer he was originally after.

Jackson quickly drove to the police station. He got out of his car and dragged The Viper inside with him.

“I think there might be a bounty on this guy. Can you check for me,” Jackson asked the clerk.

He waited for almost an hour for them to process and identify the guy.

“Wow, this guys worth a million bucks. Apparently he was some sort of kingpin. Man, you should see this guys list of charges, he’s a real maniac. Thanks for getting him off the streets. We’ll send you a check in the mail,” the clerk said when she finally came back.

“Is direct deposit ok?” Jackson asked.

“You got it,” the clerk said and winked.

Jackson went home, showered and went to sleep.

The next day Jackson got his deposit and decided to celebrate by popping open a cold brew and watching some television. He turned on the news and there was a reporter saying “Breaking news: a drug kingpin known as The Viper has escaped prison after threatening to take revenge on the man that captured him. Two men dressed as officers let him out of his cell, took him outside to a plain white van, then drove him off.”

“Crap,” Jackson thought. Jackson got up to call the police, but before he could reach his phone, he heard a knocking at his door…