“What his problem?” Bishop asked. He closed the door behind them and walked into the living room and plopped onto a couch before Daniel and Rook could make it passed the kitchen.

  “Getting comfortable?” Rook asked.

  “It’s been an exhausting day, Rook, give me a break.”

  Rook and Daniel joined Bishop in the living room when Willard came from the hallway in a state of panic. “They’re gone! My wife—my daughter!”

  “What?” Rook asked.

  He hadn’t known Willard for longer than a day and this was the second time he’d seen him like this. His face was red and his eyes were bulging with tears forming in them. The first time was when he was in Ian’s presence and Ian threatened his family then.

  “Maybe they finally realized that you were a no-good thief and bolted,” Bishop suggested. “Or maybe they went to the store or something, relax man.”

  “They didn’t just go to the store idiot! My wife is paraplegic and in a wheelchair and only leaves the house when I’m with her!”

  Bishop through his hands in the air. “Sorry—I didn’t know.”

  Rook turned to Bishop, raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes before turning back to Willard. “I’m sorry, Willard. There must be a reasonable explanation for this. Is there any reason they would leave without telling you?”

  “No,” said Willard. His hands shook violently as sweat poured from his head as he paced around the room. “Something must have—oh no…” his voice drifted off. “Something… must have happened to them!”

  “Whoa, wait a minute, calm down. We don’t know anything yet, so let’s just take it one step at a time,” Bishop suggested, motioning down with his arms.

  “What’s that?” Daniel asked as he pointed to the small square television that sat on the wall.

  Their gazes fell to a note taped to the black screen. In a panic, Willard scrambled to the television and ripped the note off and reading aloud contents. “Call me, Ian.”

  Without a word, Willard ran into the kitchen, pulling the cordless phone from the wall and dialing numbers with both thumbs. The phone was to his ear within a second as he paced around the kitchen, biting his nails.

  “Come on… pick up… where’s my family, Ian?” He shouted in a single breath. “What did you do with my… not until I talk with my family!”

  The others watched as Willard broke down right before their eyes. He collapsed to his knees and lowered his head. He held the phone in Rook’s direction as tears fell into his lap causing blotches on his jeans. Rook’s face turned and his eyebrows lowered before he walked over to Willard. After handing Rook the phone, Willard's body went limp and his arm hit the floor as he hunched over, sobbing tears of sadness. Bishop rose and walked over to his side, kneeling and patting him on his back.

  “I know I’ve given you shit all day, but I’m sorry about your family. We will get them back,” said Bishop, before shooting Rook a look. His expression was cold and Rook sensed Bishop was holding in his true emotions. He could see the anger boiling over in his eyes and he felt the same way. Rook lifted the phone to his ear. “Ian, where are they!”

  “That little stunt you pulled has the entire police department after you! It made me feel uneasy, so I eased my mind. Don’t worry, they’re safe for now. Consider them an insurance policy until you finish the job.”

  “This isn’t part of the deal!”

  “So what? You only have a few hours left to get him here, or I’ll have all of you killed, including the girls, understand?”

  “Let them go, this has nothing to do with—hello? Hello?” A dial tone sounded, causing him to end the call and throw the phone to the floor. “He hung up.”

  Bishop rose from the floor. “What did he say?”

  “He took them as insurance—to ensure we finish the job because the cops are looking for us. If we don’t bring Daniel, he’ll kill them, then us. He lied, Bishop—Mr. Ortega didn’t hire gangsters to protect him. He was being protected by the police,” Rook explained before sitting on the couch. “That guy on the roof was a Detective.”

  They turned to see Daniel glaring at them with sadness in his eyes. He sat on the couch, taking a deep breath before speaking. “It’s true. I was being protected by the police,” he admitted. “The man tried to rescue me on the rooftop was Detective Liam Moss. I thought you were sent by those thugs that have been attempting to kill me.”

  “Sent to kill you?” Bishop asked. “Tell us why you needed the cops protection?”

  “It happened a little over a year ago. I was at the Continental restaurant with my wife Amanda and we were celebrating our two-year anniversary. I wanted to stay home and cook for her, but she wanted to try the new restaurant instead. Apparently they had an amazing beef wellington there,” Daniel recalled. “Everything was going great—the food was amazing, the atmosphere was electric, and she was so happy. But then he walked in…”

  “Take your time, Mr. Ortega,” said Rook before placing a hand on his shoulder after seeing the tears forming in his eyes.

  “A man named Leonardo Falcone entered, arriving with five others, all dressed in royal blue suits—I’ll never forget it. I saw them coming in the door from my seat and I watched as they scanned the room until they found who they were looking for. They revealed large assault rifles and opened fire in all directions. I dashed for my wife, and we fell to the ground. The firing was loud and shook the restaurant for what felt like an eternity, but all I could think about what protecting my wife. I’d thrown the table down over us as some form of shield against the bullets and was as still as we could be until the shooting stopped. I heard them leaving the scene as sirens rang in the distance. After a few moments I looked around the table to see the restaurant ripped to shreds and there were bodies covered in blood everywhere. The sirens were almost outside when I turned and whispered to my wife it was safe to go outside, but she didn’t respond. She died; a bullet went through her spine before I could get her down to safety. She died before I got her to the floor.” Rook and Bishop watched as Daniel buried his face into his hands and sobbed uncontrollably. Willard, still hunched over kept his head lowered while listening as Bishop continued to console Daniel.

  No one spoke a word until nightfall. Rook rose from his seat and broke the silence. “We have no choice; we have to get him back to the police.”

  “Are you insane? My family will die if we do that!” Willard argued with fire in his eyes. “I’m no warlock—nor do I know how to use magic, but I will not allow you to kill my family!”

  “No one is saying that, Willard!”

  “What are you saying? It’s easy to decide when it’s not your family being held prisoner and threatened by a madman!”

  “I’m sorry Willard; I can’t—in all good conscious—I can’t allow Ian to take Daniel. He’s done nothing wrong. We can go to the police and get them to help!”

  “That’s not happening,” said Willard. He rose to his feet, his hands shaking with his face red and filled with fury.

  “Bishop, talk some sense into him!”

  “That’s out of the question, Rook. I’m sorry, but I agree with Willard.”

  Rook shot Bishop a look of confusion and disbelief before jumping to his feet. “What? You can’t be serious! You’re not suggesting we give him up are you? They will kill him!”

  “I’m suggesting that we do what we were hired to do,” Bishop explained. “I don’t like this anymore than you do, but I can’t have the deaths of an innocent woman and little girl on my conscious… You of all people should understand that, Rook!”

  “We’re taking him,” said Willard in a forceful tone.

  “I’m sorry Bishop, but I can’t allow that.” Rook stood up from the couch and removed a silver pocketknife from his jean pocket.

  With a flick of his thumb, the blade swung open and ignited in a bright blue aura of electricity with sparks of magical energy surrounding it. A loud humming sound came from the blade as it sparked flashes of electricity every few seconds. He held it in front of him before maneuvering his feet into a defensive stance. Bishop didn’t respond, and he remained seated in his chair admiring Rook and his determination from afar. Willard backed away, and so did Daniel.

  “Rook…”

  “There’s no talking me out of this, Bishop! If I have to go through you to save this man’s life, I will.”

  “Even at the cost of theirs? Are you sure you’re ready to make that sacrifice?”

  “No—we can get help from the police! Hell, we can get Uncle Niles involved if we have to!”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not happening. As strong as you are and as much as your Uncle has taught you—we’ve been down this road before. You can’t beat me in combat.”

  “Don’t underestimate me, Bishop!”

  “I would never disrespect you to do something like that, Rook. You are stronger than you know, and to be frank, there’s a power inside of you that scares the hell out of me,” Bishop confessed. “But, you and I both know… this will not end in your favor. So please, put your conduit away before things get out of control.”

  Rook’s focus remained on Bishop. His words stung, but they carried weight. Rook’s uncle trained him to use magecraft, but when he met Bishop, he realized that their skills were different. Bishop was more experienced and more apt at using magic than he was. Rook took him to his limit every time during their sparring sessions, but the result was always the same. He couldn’t get the best of Bishop, no matter how hard he tried. He’d gotten close occasionally, but never follow succeeded. Thinking more on it, if he engaged Bishop in combat it would not end in his favor, not to mention the possibility of them injuring Willard and Daniel during the fight.

  There was no getting through to Bishop, no matter what he said. They’d been on opposite sides before, Rook was used to that, but he also knew once Bishop decided on any situation, there was no changing it. That, coupled with Willard’s instincts to save his family put him on the losing side of the argument. Realizing this, he relented and retracted his blade causing the blue aura and sparks to disappear.

  Placing the pocketknife into his back pocket, he stood straight and exhaled. “You’re right, Bishop. I can’t stop you, but you can’t stop me from going to the police either,” he said before turning to Daniel. “I’m sorry Mr. Ortega, but the only thing I can do is go to the police myself.”

  “It’s okay Rook, I appreciate you trying. Thank you for understanding.” He his hand before Rook turned to face Bishop.

  “I’m sorry, but if there was any other choice…”

  “There’s always a choice, Bishop… always.”

  “Sorry it had to be this way, Rook.”

  “Me too.”

  Rook turned and walked toward the door, stopping before he passed Willard. “I hope you get your family back safely, Willard. I’ll bring help as soon as I can.”

  Willard scoffed and turned his head. “Thanks.”

  Rook nodded and continued to the door. He understood Willard’s coldness and discontent toward him and accepted it. His family’s lives were at stake and Rook was on a path that would have ensured their deaths from his point of view. He didn’t have to say it for Rook to understand why he felt that way. Understanding the emotional weight Willard carried as a father was something he couldn’t understand at this point. He didn’t have a wife or daughter whose lives were in jeopardy, but he understood his willingness to do anything he had to do to find his family. Before he exited, he turned to Bishop one final time.

  Chapter 6

  Trade

  Bishop nudged a man from behind as they walked toward the shipyard. “Move it, Daniel!”

  He wore a hood and kept his head down as Bishop walked behind him pushing him along a walkway that led to Mill’s shipyard. Abandoned boats and parts laid scattered in every surrounded them in every direction. The only source of light came from inside a small office building in the fifty meters ahead. Bishop saw armed men walking around it as they approached.

  Their footsteps grabbed the men’s attention, making Bishop and Daniel targets of their weapons. “Stop right there!” a man ordered.

  Bishop threw his hands up. “I’m here to see Ian! I got someone here to see him!” He shouted. The men stopped in their tracks before he continued. “I don’t have all night!”

  “Wait right there,” a man ordered. He grabbed the radio from his belt and held it to his mouth. “Boss, they’ve arrived, over.”

  A minute passed before Ian, flanked by the entourage Bishop encountered the day exited the building striding toward them. The armed men lowered their weapons as Ian passed, stopping several meters in front of them. Bishop removed the hood to his jacket and me Ian’s gaze. His personal body guards, Devin and Barry stood with their arms folded behind him as he grinned.

  “Ronnie—how’s the arm?” Bishop asked.

  “You bastard!”

  “Enough!” Ian shouted, turning to Ronnie, then back to Bishop. “Let’s get this over with… You seem to be missing a few members of your group. I thought Willard would at least come to see his family, but this is a new low, even for him.” Ian laughed.

  “My partner had a change of heart and besides, he wasn’t needed for this job. I could have done it myself. And as far as Willard goes, he’s too distraught right now to function, thanks to you kidnapping his family and all,” said Bishop.

  “I did what was necessary to ensure the job was complete, and it was,” Ian explained. He turned to Daniel. “Mr. Ortega, how… what the hell are you doing, Bishop?” Bishop removing the Yo-yo from his pocket and manipulating it interrupted Ian while he spoke. “Really, Bishop? Right in the middle of me speaking you pull out a toy? Aren’t you like twenty-something? Is this a game for you?”

  “This? No, this is no toy, it’s a custom Yo-yo I made; it helps me… deal with stressful situations.”

  “Cut the crap and let’s get this over with. Send him over.”

  “No,” said Bishop after putting the device back into his pocket.

  “What?” Ian asked.

  “I don’t mind giving him up, but the thief’s family—let them go first. They have nothing to do with this,” said Bishop. “I can give up the murderer here without a care of what you do to him, but I can’t do that when an innocent family is at risk.”

  “You know, I’m really starting to hate you. You’re almost as bad as your partner. It doesn’t matter—they’ve served their purpose,” Ian explained. He turned to the armed man who stopped Bishop upon his arrival. “Tell Ryan to let’em go!” he ordered.

  The man put his radio to his mouth once more. “Let them go, over.”

  “How do I know you let them go? You aren’t the most honest person I’ve encountered,” Bishop questioned.

  Ian sighed and swiped his hand in the air, creating a spellscreen. In it was Willard’s wife being let out of a black van with their daughter on her lap outside a police station. The van’s doors closed, and it sped off away from them. With another swipe of his hand the spellscreen disappeared before Willard.

  “Satisfied?”

  “Well you’re just full of surprises aren’t you, Ian? You didn’t tell me you could use magic.”

  “Let’s just say I have a network of friends in dark and low places. Now, send him over.”

  “Move it!” Bishop ordered, giving him one final push toward Ian.

  Holding his head low, he walked to Ian, stopping at an arm’s reach. Ian reached to remove his hood, but his hand went right through him. He tried once more, but the result was the same. Ian shot a look of confusion at Bishop, who returned a grin.

  “What is this?” Ian asked. “What kind of game are you playing? I know you can use your illusion magic or whatever-the-hell, but where is he?” he demanded.

  The illusion disappeared in front of them, causing them to stumble backward. Ian’s arm guards raised their weapons toward Bishop, but he too disappeared before them. They charged to where Bishop once stood and searched around, looking for any direction he could have gone.

  “Hey!” Bishop shouted. Ian and his men turned to the office building to see Bishop standing on top of it. Removing the hood, the man revealed himself to be Willard, standing next to Bishop holding a gun. “You didn’t really believe I would hand over an innocent man to you, did you?”

  “Kill them both!” Ian roared, stabbing his finger in their direction.

  Gunfire erupted from their weapons aimed at Bishop and Willard, who retreated off the roof, leaping to the ground. Ian’s men gave chase when a large explosion erupted behind them. Sirens blared in the distance as a train of red and blue lights armed descended upon the shipyard. The policemen exited their vehicles as Ian’s men fired upon them. More of Ian’s men joined the firefight as Ian, Devin and Barry made their escape.

  Detective Moss arrived in a black SUV with Rook by his side, joining the fray and taking cover behind an overturned boat. Bishop and Willard watched as Ian, Devin and Barry fled toward the docks and gave chase. Rook and Detective Moss avoided the firefight as best as they taking cover as they followed them.

  Bishop and Willard gained on Ian and his guards, chasing them through the abandoned yard and into a large tanker. Large blue, red and yellow containers sat atop it, but the lack of light made it impossible to see their direction as Dennis and Barry split away from Ian. Rook called out for Bishop as the gunfire became less frequent upon their arrival. The police overwhelmed Ian’s armed guards with tactical precision and the few that remained surrendered without incident.

  “You bastard!” Detective Moss roared before grabbing the collar of Bishops shirt and lifting him against a container. “Where is he?”

  “If you’re talking about Daniel Ortega, he’s safe and sound at Willard’s apartment,” Bishop answered. He struggled to release Detective Moss’ hold of him and turned to Rook. “You were right, Rook—there’s always a choice. After you left, I sat and thought about what you said and I understand why you felt that way. I couldn’t go through with it, so we improvised. I tricked Ian into believing Willard was Daniel to have his family released, they should have contacted with the police by now, and you can confirm that for yourself, Detective.”

 

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