The Witness
Part-I
Terry was already having a bad day when his mom refused to sign the permission slip for joining the soccer team. When he got home that evening from school the only thing on his mind was getting a signature from his mom on the permission slip. But her demands were simple yet unattainable, ‘At least a B+ on all your subjects is all I ask. Is that too difficult for you?’
Easy for her to say, thought Terry. Well, so his mom wasn’t an option and his dad wasn’t either. The reason is his dad wasn’t an option was......... complicated. His dad and mom had got divorced about a year ago. He never got a valid reason but the end result was that he was not allowed to see his dad. That hadn’t stopped his dad though, he comes occasionally once in a month but that was all.
Anyway he decided to deal with the situation later. He had bigger things to take care of, like the midnight show he and his friend were planning to go for.
*
That evening he was returning home with his friend, Ronald from the movies. The show was awesome and they were discussing about how it could have been better on their bikes on their way home. Suddenly Ronald stopped because there was something wrong with his bike. Ronald kneeled to check it out while Terry walked around. That was when his day got a lot worse. He stopped short when he saw something weird in front him. There were 2 cars parked opposite to each other and against one of them leaned 2 men in wolf like masks with one of them holding a briefcase. Against the other was a another man whom Terry wasn’t able to recognize. He was tall, wearing a black coat and black hat and also had a briefcase. He had blue eyes and a couple of freckles. The wolf masks made Terry shiver and he ducked behind a car and watched. One of the men with the wolf mask who seemed to be the leader exchanged a suitcase with the man with freckles. After verification of the objects in the case, the wolf mask guy took out a gun and shot the man with freckles with such swiftness that his victim barely had time to respond.
Terry was so stunned that he couldn’t move. He tried to move his lips but no words came out. The shooter removed his mask and said something in some language that Terry couldn’t interpret. He couldn’t recognize the shooter but his face was almost embedded on Terry’s brain. He was sinister looking, tall and pretty fair. He had black eyes and a long pointed nose. The other man also removed his mask and Terry gasped so loud that both the men turned towards Terry. He ran towards his bike and urged Ronald to get going. Ronald was dumbfounded but managed to get on his bike and follow. Soon they had a car behind them and Terry knew they could never outrun it. They quickly cut into a alley into which the car couldn’t follow.
When they arrived at Terry’s home both of them were gasping for breath.
‘What happened bro,’asked Ronald.
Terry could barely catch his breath but he narrated what had happened.
‘Who was the last guy?’ asked Ronald.
Terry felt a chill, hesitated and replied, ‘my dad!’
Ronald was taken aback. Terry hung his head walked into his house, muttering a good night even though he knew he was not gonna have one.
*
‘OMG! Kid that took a lot of guts, you know that??’ asked the cops I.
The next day after school Ronald had suggested that Terry meet a cop. There was a cop on his street who was their neighbor. His name was Gavin Derangler and he was very friendly. Terry didn’t want to bail out his dad but at the same time he didn’t want to carry it around on his head. So he decided to meet this guy that afternoon.
‘Yes sir, I know’, replied Terry. Terry was able to recognize the guy who was shot. It seems his name was
Jordan McCurry and he was supposed to be a witness send by the FBI to trap the shooter. Terry agreed to only be a witness if his dad was left out of the case. It was also found that the shooter’s name was Jerry Donwell a well know thug mafia leader.
‘We need to protect you until tomorrow because we can’t present a witness today, since it’s too late,’ said Gavin.
They headed towards Terry’s home where they agreed he will be staying along with Gavin for the night. On their way they dropped Ronald home. Terry was worried about what he was gonna tell his mom when they get home. Little did he know that he had an even bigger surprise waiting for him.
When they got to Terry’s house, Terry was shocked to find the shooter siting on the couch with his mom siting opposite to him. His dad was standing behind Jerry with his face cast downwards. His mom looked angry and sad.
‘Hello, Terry. We were just talking about you,’ said the shooter smiling.
He stood up and walked up to Terry and said,’ I am gonna just get to the point. We both know what you saw....’
Terry was shocked, how could this man know that Terry was the witness from yesterday night.
Jerry chuckled as if reading Terry’s mind and lifted something from his pocket. Terry was horrified to see his favorite keychain that was a gift from his dad dangling on Jerry’s fingers. It must have feel out of the bicycle during the rush. That’s when a realization dawned on him, his dad sold him out. He looked at his dad but his head was still cast downwards as if ashamed.
‘Don’t look at him,’ told Jerry,’it wasn’t his fault. Anyway the past is the past kid I am here to make an offer. I know your family is in a financial crisis and I am willing to help. As long as you keep your mouth shut. ‘
Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Terry forced himself to speak,’ As good as the offer sounds, Mr. Jerry, no thank you.’
Gavin breathes a sigh of relief while Jerry’s lips tightened. ‘Here’s another offer kid. If you value your life, keep your mouth shut.’
Terry’s mom stood up and shouted,’ you can’t come in here mister and threaten my son.’
Jerry turned, took out his gun and pointed at her. She gasped while Gavin took out his gun and pointed at Jerry and said, ‘I might have to ask you to leave Mr. Jerry. This kid is under my protection and so is this house.’
Jerry looked at Gavin and said,’ we are leaving.’ He looked at Terry once more and said,’ Have a good day!’
He walked out, followed by Terry’s dad.
Terry rushed and hugged his mom while Gavin explained to Terry’s mom the situation. It was decided that Gavin will sleep on the couch outside Terry’s room and Terry will be sleeping with his mom. That night all hell broke lose. It started with the bullets that shattered the front window. Gavin woke up and burst into Terry’s room and grabbed Terry by the arm and told his mom to stay in the room. They rushed out to the backdoor but stopped on their tracks as 2 shots crashed on to the door. Gavin ran upstairs pulling Terry along. Suddenly Gavin was shot and he feel backwards but pushed Terry telling him to run. Terry was crying now. He couldn’t let this man die. But he knew he couldn’t do anything. He ran into an empty room and locked the door. He backed away from the door with his heart pounding. Suddenly the door was kicked open and there stood Jerry with his gun.
He walked towards Terry whistling on the way and lifted his gun towards Terry’s head. Terry closed his eyes, expecting the worst. But Jerry didn’t pull the trigger instead he was pulled backwards and thrown on to the wall by Terry’s dad. Terry looked at his dad in a mix of happiness and awe. Jerry was angry but he couldn’t move. Suddenly Gavin came into the room. He was smiling and he seemed fine for a person who was shot. He lifted his gun at Terry’s dad and Terry was shocked. Jerry laughed and said,’ Sorry kid! Gavin was my man all this time. The reason he didn’t kill you yet was because I wanted to do it personally.’
Terry’s father suddenly sprang and attacked Gavin who fired a bullet that hit the wall. Terry’s father struggled with Gavin for sometime and pushed Gavin out of the room. Terry felt helpless. He was frozen in shock, he knew he had to run but couldn’t even lift a finger. Jerry got up and pointed his gun at him. Terry closed his eyes and awaiting his doom. He heard the trigger pull and the sound of a shot but he felt nothing. He opened his eyes and saw his father laying on the ground before him with blood flowing from his chest. Terry kneeled beside him and cried out. He could see that there were no hopes of his dad making it. He was shot right on the head.
Jerry shrugged and said,’ Guess I gotta kill both of you.’
He was about to pull the trigger when Terry heard a sharp ‘thunk’ and Jerry fell backward. Terry saw his mother holding a flower vase behind Jerry. He ran and hugged her and she hugged back. They sobbed for sometime. Then botg of them kneeled beside Terry’s dad and Terry’s mom kissed his forehead.
The next day Jerry and Gavin were sentenced to life imprisonment, after Terry’s father’s funeral. To this day, Terry remembers Jerry’s last words and his smile, ‘I will be back!’
Hope you liked it so far. Like and subscribe for part-II.
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