Free BackTrek by Kelvin Kelley Page B

sir, but I still have to finish this-“
Jack began.
    “Have you got the guy in custody yet?” Howe
asked, as a puzzled look crossed Jack’s face.
    “No, sir.”
    “Then it can wait until tomorrow. Go to your
family Jack. You need them. And they need you.” Howe turned and
walked out of the office. He did not wait for Jack to respond. Jack
knew that he needed to finish the report anyway. He glanced at the
clock and his heart sunk. Six-fifty. He was beyond late, and he
still hadn’t left yet. Hurriedly he saved his work, gathered his
things and grabbed his jacket on the way out the door. He sprinted
to the elevator, and began to repeatedly tap the down arrow, until
finally he heard the bell ring that indicated the elevator had come
to a stop on his floor. As the door opened, he expected it to be
full of people, but for once it was completely empty. He stepped
inside and as the doors began to slide shut he punched the button
for the garage. Tracey was going to kill him, he thought, there
were no two ways about it. He had told her that he’d be there at
seven, and there was no doubt that he’d be at least twenty minutes
late.
    When the elevator finally reached the garage
level, and the doors began to open, Jack sprinted towards where his
car was parked. He fumbled with the keys, as he tried to get the
door open, and finally got them in the lock. Once inside the car,
he started the car, and the tires squealed as he backed out of the
parking spot. He stomped the brakes and brought his vehicle to an
abrupt stop. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. He was
going to be late, and that’s all there was to it. There was nothing
that he could do now to stop it, and driving like a maniac wasn’t
going to solve the problem. It would only endanger lives. He
reached over and grabbed his seat-belt, locked it into place, then
gently let his foot off of the brake, and slowly headed out of the
parking garage.
    Traffic was not on his side as he made his
way towards the restaurant, and he was later than he had thought he
would be. He breathed a sigh of relief when he could finally see
the Pappa Louigi’s sign up ahead. He and glanced at his watch. It
was almost seven-thirty, as he pulled into the nearly full parking
lot. He passed Tracey’s car as he drove down the first full row of
parked cars, but there was no sign of her and the kids. At least
they were still here, he thought, and relaxed a bit. Finally at the
rear of the lot, apparently where the staff parked, he found an
open spot and began to pull into it. His headlights flashed over a
dark figure that appeared to be bent over near the dumpster, and
Jack’s senses flared up. As he brought the car to a halt, he peered
towards the dumpster again, but in the darkness, he couldn’t make
out anything in the shadows. Cautiously he got out of his car, and
locked the door. He hesitated. Should he check out the mysterious
figure, or go inside where he belonged before Tracey left.
    Suddenly there was a shriek further back. He
could hear the unmistakable sound of a muffled female scream. His
instincts took over. He crouched, ran, and pulled his weapon
simultaneously. As he approached the rear corner of the parking
lot, he threw off the safety on his Glock semi-automatic. He could
hear a commotion just ahead, and he eased up against the back of an
SUV that was parked in next to the last slot. Suddenly, as he
braced himself to confront the situation, he heard the sound of
silenced pistol fire. In training he had fired pistols equipped
with silencers to learn how they handled and how they sounded. Now
for the first time since his involvement with any law enforcement
agency, he heard that sound in action. He knew that this was not a
good sign. Only the elite of the criminal world had access to such
equipment, so chances were whomever was on the other side of this
van was going to be a professional. He shifted his gun in his hand
slightly, and remembered distinctly that he had chambered