Carter's Mark - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Confrontation

            “Sit.”  Seth shoved the older man towards a chair in the middle of the room.  The man regained his balance, and took a seat.  Keeping the pistol in plain sight, Seth pulled another chair over in front of his new acquaintance, and sat facing the man.  “Wolf, right?”

           

            Tom stared directly into Seth’s eyes at this statement.  After a few seconds of silence, Seth continued.  “Albert Watson gives his regards.”  Tom’s expression didn’t change as he replied.

            “I figured you may come here next.  Beretta told me of two strange men coming into his store asking questions about a rare gun.  And that was quite an interesting article in the paper about that poor mute’s murder.  What can I do for you, Mr. Marks?”

            “You know why I’m here.  Who is he, and where can I find him?”

           

            “Don’t be so hasty Mr. Marks.  You do not find Shadow, Shadow finds you.”  A slight smirk came across Tom’s face, and he changed his focus from Seth, to Wyatt.  “Who’s your friend?”

            “Don’t worry about him.  Here’s what you’re going to do.  You are going to call this ‘Shadow’ and tell him you need him to come down here, and you have something important to discuss with him.  Do this, and we’ll spare your life.”

            Tom stared at Seth for almost a minute before picking up the phone on his desk, and dialed.

            “Mack’s Gun Shop.”

            “I need you to come down here, I have something important I need to discuss with you.”  Tom’s voice was calm, clear, and had no hint of fright whatsoever. 

            “Tom?  This is random, is everything ok?”

            “Everything is fine, I have just run into some information I think you should know, and I need to tell you in person.”

            “Okay, be right there.”

            Tom hung up the phone, and moved his focus back onto Seth.  “Good, now we wait.”  Seth instructed Wyatt to watch Wolf, and he went outside to get some air.  He had been very calm, very criminal in his acts of late, but tonight, the stockbroker’s hands were beginning to shake.  The situation at hand was making him a nervous wreck, but he didn’t dare show any signs of weakness.  He was in charge, and if Wyatt or Wolf were to see that he was unsure of himself, he would lose some of his power over them.  It had started raining outside, and Seth’s boots got wet as he went to the car to get the vial of Cyanide that he took from Albert Watson’s house.  As he went back inside, he heard voices.  Wyatt and Wolf were talking.

            “I don’t know how you can do what you do for a living.  It’s no one’s decision who lives and dies.  It offsets the balance of power in the world, and it’s people like you that should suffer to the fullest.”

            “That’s exactly what I’m doing, offsetting the power.  The people that die by my instruction all have what’s coming to them.  They may not be bad people, mind you, but if someone wants them dead, there has to be a good reason.”  Tom was very confident in himself, and was not going to be judged.

            “Shut up, both of you.”  Seth had entered the room with the same intensity as he had left.  “Wyatt, I need for you to be ready.  When our friend arrives, we need to show him a warm welcome.”  Wyatt nodded, standing up from his sitting position on the floor.  Seth turned to Tom, and spoke.  “Where was this ‘Shadow’ headed earlier?  One of his jobs?”  Tom did not answer this, and simply just stared forward.  “You guys are unbelievable.  How many have you ordered him to kill?”

            “Does it matter?”

            “Not really, I’m just burning some time.  I don’t care about any of the details.  He’s going to get what’s coming to him regardless.”

            After some silence, Tom replied.  “Over a hundred.  No children, and no one that wasn’t ordered to die.  We don’t kill witnesses, we just simply don’t allow any.”

            Seth glanced at Wyatt, as nether of them could believe the number Wolf had come up with.  “And he’s your only guy?”

            “Shadow is an amazing individual, he has been trained well.  You guys are making a mistake asking him to come here, with just the two of you to confront him.”

            “We’ll be the judge of that,”  Seth stopped Wolf from saying anything else by gagging him once again.  “I’ve heard enough for now, it’s time for some silence.”  Seth wanted the house to be quiet when the hitman arrived.

            It was Beretta, however, that got Tom’s call, and it was he that arrived ten minutes later.  It had been a strange phone call, even for Tom, but he had been expecting it.  As he approached the house, he too noticed the strange car parked in the street.  Like Carter, Beretta went around the back of the house, and entered quietly, gun in hand. 

           

            As he looked around, he noticed the wet footprints on the floor, and knew something was wrong.  He only hoped he had gotten here in time to save his friend. 

. . .

            Two knocks, then a pause.  Then an open door, and a concerned, hesitant Gwen standing in the doorway.  This time, she did not make way for him, instead striking up a conversation with him in the hallway.  “So?”  she asked.  After no reply, and seeing his eyes drop, she knew.  “You couldn’t do it, could you?”

            “I could’ve, I just… didn’t.”  Carter seemed lost, like he had lost the lighthouse on the horizon and was just drifting away.

            “C’mon, I’ll put on some tea.”  Carter’s emotions were swirling in his mind by the time he had reached Gwen’s, and now all of the tension started to change into relief.  Gwen looked rough, like she hadn’t slept in days.  Was he to blame for her appearance?  She had blue circles under her eyes, her hair was matted, and she looked as if she had been crying.

            Carter took a seat in the dining room and started wiping his gun off when Gwen came back with the tea.  She sat down across the dining room table from him, distributed the cup, and stared for a moment into his eyes.  “You’re not gonna get all emotional on me, are you Gwen?”

           

            “You look like you are ready for a talk, and I’m going to sit here with you until you do.” 

            “I’m fine.”

            “No, you’re not.  You look scared, confused.  And since I know that’s not what I’m used to seeing from you, you’re not getting off the hook that easy.  Now, tell me, what is it that you’re feeling?”  Carter knew Gwen only meant to help, but what he really needed was time to think.  It was instinct that brought him to her, after setting his condo on fire, as if on some subconscious level he was reaching out.  But now that some time had passed, he thrived to be alone with his thoughts.

            “I’m going to take a shower.  When I’m done, we can talk.”

            After a shower of almost an hour, Carter finally came to terms with sharing his new knowledge with Gwen.  He wondered, however, just how much he could get away with leaving out.  As he got dressed, he started to get lost in his thoughts again.  Breathing in one last heavy gasp of air, he decided not to leave anything out, and went to face his emotions with the woman he had grown to love.

            Just blocks away, Beretta stood in the hallway of Tom‘s house, trying to summon the courage he once had during the war.  He only heard two voices, talking in a low whisper, only now and again.  They were standing on opposite ends of the room, more than likely on both sides of Tom.  One of the figures was walking slowly back and forth, near the doorway of the room.  Big mistake.

            It only took a few minutes for Beretta to devise a plan.  The pacing man was clumsy, leaving himself open to an attack.  It was apparent that the two men did not hear him enter the house, as they were being very careless.  It happened all at once.  The man got too close to the door.  Beretta jumped in behind him, and put his gun to the man’s head.

            “Drop your weapons, both of you.”  Seth was across the room, frozen in shock.  He had brought Wyatt into this, and was not going to do anything to jeopardize his life.  He was his only true friend, not counting Underwood.  Seth lowered his gun to the floor, and released it.  Wyatt’s gun came out of his hands almost immediately.  “Kick it over here.”  Seth did as Beretta asked.  Beretta shoved Wyatt over to where Seth was standing, and picked up their weapons.  “You guys are fools to attempt this.  Two of you guys, obviously amateurs in these matters.  Do you even know how to shoot the weapon I sold you, boy?”

            At these words, Seth recognized the man.  “You’re the guy at the gun store.  You’re the guy working for Wolf?” 

            “Of course not, I’m just a crazy war veteran that likes to get his hands dirty now and then.”  He glanced at Tom, who gave him as much of a smile as he could with a gag in his mouth. 

            Seth changed his focus to Tom.  “You didn’t call Shadow?”

            Beretta took the gag out of Tom’s mouth so he could speak.  “It was a mistake coming here.  I’ve been in this business for a long time.  I knew the two of you were dead the moment you nabbed me from my house.  Mack, I need to make a phone call.”  Beretta released Tom from the binds he had on his hands and feet, and Tom stood up from the chair and walked around to his desk.  Beretta never lost sight of the two stockbrokers that were now scared for their lives in the corner of the room.

            As Carter was getting dressed, there was a knocking on the bedroom door.  “It’s for you James. Some guy, said his name is Wolf.”

            “Okay, I’ll take it in here.”  Tom had never called Gwen’s house, and he didn‘t even know Tom knew about her. Picking up the receiver, he answered.  “Shadow.”

            “How are you Carter?”

            “How did you get this number?”

            “It’s my job to know things.”  Tom seemed too relaxed.  The last time Carter saw him, he was worried for Carter.  Now his vocal demeanor was business like.  Strange.

            “Did you know my father ordered the hit on himself just to see me?”  Straight to the point.

            Very quickly, Tom responded.  “Timothy Parker explained that he yearned to reconcile with you.  I’ve known your father for a long time.  Did you see your mother?”

            “You son of a bitch, you knew about her?”  Carter was way out of his comfort zone now, but he didn’t care.  “How could you send me in there, knowing what was coming?”

            “I had to.  I had to find out if you still had it in you to do what was necessary. “

            “So you wanted me to kill my father, just to see if I was still the heartless bastard you created to do your dirty work?” Carter’s mind, though filled with new information, was fixated on the fact that the only person in the world that he trusted besides Gwen was just as evil as the rest. “I thought you cared about me, but it seems you only care about yourself.” 

            “Carter, above anything else, I’m a businessman.  Speaking of which, there’s some unfinished business at my house I need for you to take care of.”

            “I’m not doing anything else for you.  You created me to be what I am, and I’m tired of being your pawn.  I’m done, Tom.”

            “Carter.  There’s someone here that you killed a few years ago.  Only, he’s not dead.  I need you to come here, even if we are on sketchy terms.  Please.”  What was he talking about?

            Carter took a moment to have a battle with his own mind.  He decided to confront Tom face to face, one last time, and his confusion over the situation going on at Tom‘s house added to his decision.  “Fine.  But don’t expect me to trust you ever again.”  Carter hung up the phone.  Who was at his house?   Someone there that he had killed? What did that mean? 

            “I have to go out, Gwen.  I’m sorry.  It all ends tonight.”

            “What ends tonight?”  Gwen had a concerned look on her face still, and this time it was mixed in with utter bewilderment.

            “All of it.  I’m done.  If you’ll let me, I want to take us far away from this place.”  Gwen leaped out of the chair, and threw her arms around Carter, and tears started to run down her face. 

            “I knew you were better than this, James.  I’m so proud of you.  Please don’t do anything stupid, I need you too much for anything bad to happen.”  Carter comforted her for a minute or so, then gave her a reassuring half-smile, and set out for Tom’s.

            On the ride over to Tom’s, Carter tried to imagine who the stranger was that was waiting for him.  His life was pretty simple, and he had no enemies.  He tried to think back to any loose ends he may have left in his career, but could not find any.  He had been perfect in his duties, all of his missions had been successful. 

               

                As the cab pulled closer to Tom’s house, Carter noticed again the strange car that was parked out front earlier in the day.  The mood on the ride over had been a calm mixed with an uncertainty, and now there was another emotion, confusion, added to the mix.  As he paid for his ride over, Carter surveyed the neighborhood. He noticed Tom’s house, the dog panting on the porch next door, the lights of a living room two houses down.  Whatever this gathering was all about, if it got loud at any point, there would surely be trouble coming.  Tom paid the local police to stay out of his business, but they were only contacts, and would more than likely not be able to keep other cops from dispatching to the residence if there was gunfire in a residential area.

            Entering in the front door, Carter wasted no time.  Inching towards the room with the double doors, he was quiet so he could listen.  A familiar voice, Tom’s, talking to a voice that was only barely audible from this distance.  It seemed that they were the only ones in the room.  He relaxed a bit, but remained cautious as he entered. 

            As he opened the doors and walked in, four faces swung around to meet him.  He noticed Beretta first, sitting on Tom’s desk, with a very stern, militaristic look on his face, holding a gun in his right hand, but only holding it, not pointing.  Only a slight glance to Carter’s right was all it took to find Tom behind his desk, looking back at him.  No one was speaking as he surveyed the room.  Looking left, Carter saw a man in an overcoat and boots, a stranger to his eyes.  Next to him though, was a man with red hair and freckles, wearing all black.  This man was familiar, and it only took a few seconds for the thoughts to come together.  This was the man that Tom wanted Carter to confront.

            Seth Marks.  It had been four years, but Carter could not forget his face.  It had been the only moment in his life that he killed for revenge, the only time that emotion had intervened with his business.  Just as it dawned on Carter that this man had survived not one, but two attacks on his life by Carter’s hand, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

            “Recognize him?”  It was Tom’s, and it was a very business-like tone.  As Carter turned to look at Tom, he noticed that his boss had a slight grin on his face, and his eyes were soft.  What had happened here before he arrived?  Rather than reply to Tom, Carter turned back and looked at Seth.

            His face was stern, his lips pursed and grim.  His cheeks were low on his face, like he was holding back inner anger.  Carter empathized for a second, trying to perceive surviving a gunshot to the head, and the thoughts that would come to mind when the dust settled.  Seth Marks was seemingly unaware that he was in great danger being in this room.  His eyes were focused on Carter, unaffected by anything else that was going on.  Carter’s feelings toward Tom’s were true, but this red haired man’s problems trumped his own.  What’s going to happen now?  Carter turned back to Tom.

            “Beretta, watch these two.  I need to talk to the old man.”  Beretta nodded, and Tom and Carter went out into the hallway.  Tom moved slowly, as he was becoming an old man very quickly, and this lifestyle was seemingly taking its toll on him.  “I need you to understand something.”  Carter could never tell what Tom was thinking; he was a masterfully deceptive man.  “When I was a young boy, you manipulated my mind.  The only reason I am who I am is because you made me this way.  I trusted you to lead me down a path, knowing that you would have my back no matter what.  For you to tell me that you’re a businessman first, and my friend second, is like shooting me in the chest. Shut up and listen to me for a second.”  Tom had tried to interrupt Carter, but Carter was not having it.  “What I want now is to be left alone.  I do not want to take the lives of strangers anymore.  I want out.  I want to lead a normal life for a while.  I want to be human.”

            “What you want?  Carter, I’ve always had your best interests in mind, even when it came to your father.  I knew you weren’t going to pull the trigger on your own family, no matter how horrible they are.  Everything I do has its reasons, and tonight is no different.”

            Carter looked at Tom, not knowing how to feel.  Tom was a hard person to figure out, and somehow he had a way of manipulating people almost effortlessly.  “So what now?”  Carter needed to hear what Tom’s plan was, before devising any decision of his own.

            “Well we can’t let these men live obviously.  They know where I live, they’ve seen our faces.  Beretta has been exposed.  You know what needs to be done.”

            Carter knew Tom would say this.  He also knew that the two people in the other room did not deserve to die just for trying to live.  Sure they had a vendetta, but they weren’t bad people.  Seth Marks was just a normal guy, trying to live a good life, that was a victim of a manipulated man that at the time had no soul.  Now, he had a soul.  He felt as if he owed Seth Marks something, because of what he took from him.  There would be now way he could shoot him in cold blood again, not after all he’s been through. 

            “I’m not going to kill him, Tom. If you want to do it, go ahead.  I want no part of it.  Like I said before, I’m done.  Don’t try to contact me.”  Carter turned to leave when a noise stopped him in his tracks.  It was a gun being cocked, and he knew that Tom was not going to let that be the end. 

            “That girl is getting in your head, isn’t she?”  Tom asked, very calmly.  “This is why I trained you to keep everyone at a distance.  You’re mind has been corrupted by things that are outside my control.  If you want to quit on me, I can accept that.   But not before you do this one last thing for me.”  Carter turned back around to see that Tom was holding his gun out for Carter to take. 

            Carter and Tom stared at each other for at least a minute before Carter finally broke the stalemate.  “Keep it.  I’ve got my own.”  Carter took out his magnificent chrome pistol with the ebony and ivory handle, and walked back into the room.  Beretta was still sitting on the desk, and the two captives were still sitting on the floor in the corner.  “Thanks Beretta, we can take it from here.”  Beretta shifted his focus to Tom, who gave only a small nod.

            “Take care, you two.”  Putting his gun back into its holster on his belt, he headed out of the house.