Free Tuck's Revenge by Rory Flannigan Page A

order your men to stand down or
I'll put a bullet in your head.”
    The driver picked up the radio and told his
men he was held captive and to drop their weapons. With a little
hesitation and bewilderment, the men did as ordered and laid their
weapons on the ground.
    Tuck told them to put their hands on their
heads and walk toward the office, and they all complied to that
order as well. When they got to the office, Tuck ordered them to
lie on the ground. Tuck disarmed them, then allowed them to sit up.
He asked Boots to collect the weapons out by the trucks.
    While the manager was gone, Tuck looked at
his captives. "How did you know I was here and what room I was on?”
No one answered him.
    "Last time, how did you know I was here and
what room I was in?” Still none of the men answered him so he
stepped over to one of the men and put his knife in the base of his
skull. "Okay again, how did you know?”
    That time, two different men were ready to
talk. The driver told them to keep their mouths shut and Tuck cut
his throat. "Talk. And you better tell me the truth.”
    One of the men said, "Look, man, we were only
doing what we were ordered to do. We didn't know where we're going
or what we're doing until we got there.”
    "Who was giving the orders?”
    "It was the guy in the computer shop outside
Elkhart, Indiana, but I don't know his name.”
    Tuck called over to Boots. "You know of a
computer shop outside Elkhart, Indiana?”
    "Yeah, that's Harold’s place.”
    "This man says that’s who ordered the hit on
me.”
    "I don't doubt it. Harold was a good friend
of Bill, and he's not much of a team player. He was talking about
taking over until you showed up.”
    "You men want to live?” They shook their
heads yes.
    "Tell you what's going to happen. I'm going
to give you forty-eight hours to make it to Lincoln, Nebraska. Stay
on highway eighty, and if our men see you go there within
forty-eighth ours, I won't come hunt you down. When you get to
Elkhart, you go in and take care of Harold for me, and send me
proof he's dead, and I won't come hunt you down. If after about a
week I don't get word Harold is gone, then I'll go take care of
Harold myself, right after I hunt you guys down.”
    He watched for their reactions. “Now you may
think you can run and disappear, but you know we have the people to
find you, so I wouldn't try to run. Sound like a good deal, or do
you want to die now?”
    "No, sounds like a hell of a good deal.”
    "Okay, do you all have the money to get
back?”
    The men shook their heads yes.
    "Your forty-eight hours are start now."
    They rushed to get back to the truck, but
Tuck stopped them.
    "Whoa. Take your guys with you.”
    The guys ran back, grabbed the two dead men,
and then went toward the trucks again.
    "Don't forget the one across the street on
your way out.” Taking one of the men’s pistols, he handed it to the
smartest looking of them. “Here, use this on Harold when you get
back.”
    The men headed east. After they'd left, the
motel manager told Tuck, "That was a ballsy move giving that guy a
loaded pistol.”
    "I was close enough if he tried to turn it on
me, he'd been dead before he got it off safety.”
    "I didn't know we had people in Lincoln,
Nebraska."
    "I didn't either but they think we do, so it
worked.” The manager walked away laughing.
    "Don't let your guard down for a few more
days yet, it might not be over.”
    "That's what I was afraid of.”
    After another nine days, everything stayed
quiet, and Tuck started to relax. Two weeks later, Tuck started
getting a few votes of confidence from some in the organization
across the country after many found out Harold, the guy from the
computer shop, had been neutralized.
    A few days later, Tuck got a call from Glory
at the front desk, and said there were a couple of guys to see him.
He went over to the office and saw it was two of the men who’d
tried to lay siege to his room.
    One of the guys said, "Can we talk to you