| General Fiction posted March 17, 2025 | Chapters: |
...43 44 -45- 46... 
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The beginning of the end
A chapter in the book The Devil Fights Back
The Devil Fights Back - Ch. 45
by Jim Wile
The author has placed a warning on this post for language.| Background Three intrepid women team up to conquer medical challenges. |
Recap of Chapter 44: Dana volunteers her services to Rudy to help stop Glyptophan. Rudy wants to know how the phase-2 trials are going, and Dana suggests impersonating a writer from Myalosoma doing a follow-up article with Brian. She says she will go interview him personally. Rudy agrees, and she leaves the next day to visit Fran. She “interviews” Brian that night.
Fran talks to Brian on the same call and finds out that Woody had found a hidden camera on their lamp post, which enabled the bad guys to track them, and he disabled it. Brian expresses his fear to Fran about continuing the testing, and Fran says he and Julia have to make that decision. They both think they should keep going.
Chapter 45
Dana sent her email to Rudy Spangler explaining that Brian Kendrick’s phase-2 testing was going extremely well. She summarized the results using bullet points from their brief conversation. She relayed that Brian had bought the ruse completely and had been happy to provide her with the information for the Glyptophan update in Myalosoma. Also, that he seemed very positive about the future.
Rudy emailed her back an hour later saying how much he appreciated the report and that she had done a good job providing the needed information.
As soon as he transmitted the email to Dana, he dialed Peter Israel. “Pete, my sources tell me that the Glyptophan trials are going too well, and from the sound of it, Kendrick has no intention of calling them off. I think it’s time to put the next phase of our plan into motion. Have you got the rental home all set up and ready to go?”
“Of course I do. Alright, I’ll let our guys know that it’s a go and to put the plan in action at the earliest opportunity. I’ll let you know when it’s done and we’ve gotten Kendrick to send his email to the FDA. I’ll have him CC me on it so I’ll know when he’s sent it. By the way, Rudy, don’t contact me again unless you’re calling it off for some reason. Just trust that I’ll get it done, and let me take care of the details. Okay?”
“Okay, Pete.” Jesus, what a prickly bastard. Alright, so be it, as long as he gets the job done.
“Woody,” Julia said. “Johnny has his 18-month appointment at the pediatrician’s today. Would you be able to drive us there? My mother too? The appointment is at 1:00. We should be back in plenty of time before your shift ends.”
“Sure, Julia. That’s fine. I’d be glad to. What time should we leave?”
“It’s only 10 minutes away, so if we plan to get there a few minutes early to check in, we should probably leave here in an hour.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll be ready.”
At 12:30, Julia went into the family room where Marie was playing the piano with Johnny on her lap. “Mother, could you please change Johnny if he needs it and get him ready to go to the doctor while I go down and tell Brian we’re leaving soon?”
“Sure. Johnny and I just want to finish this duet together, don’t we, Johnny? Then we’ll get ready to go.”
Julia chuckled. “Okay. We’ll be leaving in 10 minutes.”
Fran and Dana were enjoying lunch at one of Fran’s favorite downtown eateries when her phone rang. It was the Communications Center at the FBI field office.
Dana watched as Fran fielded the call. Fran’s voice suddenly rose, “It came in at 11:00 last night, and you’re just giving me this message now?”
…
“Oh, Jesus. Did you learn where the house is?”
…
“Alright, stay on top of it and let me know as soon as you do.” Fran hung up.
Dana said, “What is it?”
“They were asleep at the switch and didn’t realize what they had until they intercepted a call a few minutes ago then realized there was one last night too. They’re planning what sounds like a kidnapping.
“Bastards!” said Dana.
“Look, are you about done eating? We’ve gotta get out of here now and go to Brian’s house.” Fran plunked $50 on the table and headed for the door with Dana in tow.
When they exited the restaurant, they headed for Dana’s car. Dana had insisted on driving to the restaurant for lunch since her car was blocking Fran’s in the driveway at Fran’s house.
Before they got into the car, Fran said, “Do you mind if I drive? I know the way and won’t have to keep giving you directions, plus I’ll probably drive much faster than you might feel comfortable doing.”
“Sure thing,” she said, handing Fran the key fob.
Once in the car and heading toward Brian’s house, Fran said, “I’m going to call Brian. I’ll put the phone on speaker so you can hear it too. Then I won’t have to repeat everything.”
Brian answered on the third ring. “Hey, Big Sis.”
“Brian, listen closely. We intercepted a call from Israel’s phone last night and another from a few minutes ago. It was Rudy Spangler giving him the orders for what sounds like a kidnapping. Ev—”
“Oh, my God!”
“Well, it hasn’t happened yet, but it sounds like it may be going down soon from the call that just came in. Are Jules and the baby there now?”
“No. Jules and Marie are on their way to the pediatrician to take him for a checkup. Woody is driving them.”
“Alright. I’m going to call her right away and warn her. I’ll call you back after that.”
On the way to the doctor’s office, Woody apparently made a wrong turn as he reached the outskirts of town. Julia said, “Hey, Woody, I think you turned a street too early. We need to turn onto Harper Road.”
“Ah, you’re right. Sorry about that. I’ll just turn around up here at this abandoned gas station.”
As Woody pulled into the station, Julia’s phone rang, and she pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID. She pushed the talk button and said, “Hey, Fran… “
As they circled behind the station to turn around, Julia noticed a car parked behind the building, which was strange because the building was clearly abandoned, and there were no other businesses nearby and no apparent reason for a car to be parked there. The area was desolate.
Woody stopped the SUV next to the parked car, and a man got out of it.
“Say that again, Fran. You’re talking too fast.”
Before she could make sense of what Fran was telling her, Woody turned around, leaned over the backseat, and held a taser against Julia’s thigh.
“Ahhh… ” she shrieked as the 50,000 volts shot into her bare thigh, and the phone fell from her hand to the floor.
At the same moment, the side door where Marie was sitting was yanked open, and the man on the outside placed a taser to Marie’s thigh. A similar charge passed into her, and the two startled women passed out immediately.
“Alright, Billy,” said Woody. “We’ve got about two minutes before they wake up. I’ll undo the car seat, and you grab that diaper bag. I’ll get in the back of your car and buckle the baby in, and you hightail it out of here. Do you know where to go?“
“Not yet. Israel said to call him as soon as we got the kid. He’ll tell us then. Why don’t you call him and find out? And shut that baby up. He’s driving me nuts.”
“Jules, Jules, what’s happening?” shouted Fran into the phone. She’d heard Julia cry out, and a few seconds later another cry. She heard a clunk as Julia most likely dropped the phone, and it hit the floor. After that, she heard only the muffled sounds of Woody speaking, and then she heard the baby begin to cry and say, “Momma, Momma.”
In a few more seconds, after much rustling and car door slams, she heard what sounded like a car peeling away with a screech of tires. Then nothing.
“What just happened?” said Dana.
“Sounds like we just caught a kidnapping in the act. Shit! And we don’t know where they’re taking them. So, Woody is one of them, the fucker. What else can go wrong? I’ve gotta call Brian and tell him.”
She quickly dialed his number, and he picked up right away. “Did you get ahold of her?”
“Listen carefully, Brian. I called, and she answered, but we got cut off in the middle of the call. Julia cried out. There were no gunshots, so she was probably tased. Marie too. I heard Johnny start crying and then a car peel out of there. The whole thing was planned, and Woody was in on it.”
“Woody was in on it? Jesus Christ, Fran! And we were so careful in choosing him. What the fuck?”
“Listen up. Dana and I are on our way to your house now. Jules will probably call both of us when she comes to, which should be any minute now. I’m going to hang up to wait for her call. Just sit tight. We’ll be there soon.”
In five minutes, Fran’s phone rang, and she answered immediately, “Jules? Are you okay?”
“Fran, they took Johnny. They must have tased me and Mother. When we came to, Johnny was gone. His car seat and diaper bag too. Fran, it was Woody who tased me.”
“I know. I heard it go down. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. I want my baby back! He has asthma, Fran. What if he has an attack? Do you think those motherfuckers would know what to do? Oh, God! This was all planned. I can’t believe Woody would do that.”
“Listen, Jules. Did he leave the keys in the car before he left?”
“I don’t know. Let me look in the front seat.” Julia got out and opened the front driver’s side door. The key fob was sitting in a tray on the center console. “Yeah, he left the fob here.”
“Alright, wait a few minutes until you feel clear enough to drive and go directly home. Dana is with me now, and we’ll be there at your house in about half an hour. Call Brian as soon as we hang up. Hang in there, Jules. We’ll get him back. I’ll see you soon.”
Brian quickly answered when he saw it was Julia calling. “Babe, are you okay?”
“No, they took Johnny!”
“I know. Fran just called and told me. She heard it go down when she first called you. Have you talked to her again?”
“Yes. I just got off the phone with her. She says she’s coming to the house. Brian, what are we going to do? They took our baby!”
“Jules, where are you now? Let me come get you and your mom.”
“No, I’ll be okay to drive in a few minutes. That damn Woody. I can’t believe he betrayed us like that.”
“Yeah, he was either in on it from the start, or they found him and paid him off.”
“Brian, our baby’s gone. I’m scared. What if he has an asthma attack? There’s an inhaler in the diaper bag, but what if they don’t recognize what’s happening or how to use the inhaler if they even happen to find it?”
“I don’t know, Babe. I’m scared too. We know what they want—for me to call off the phase-2 trials. I’d do it in a minute if we could be assured of getting Johnny back. Let’s just wait for Fran to come before we decide anything. She’s on her way here now. I’m sure the kidnappers will be calling soon too. Maybe we’d better hang up. As soon as you feel up to driving, come home. Thank God you’re okay. I love you.”
“I love you too. See you soon.”
Julia looked over at Marie. “Oh, Mother. I’m so scared!”
“Are you going to be okay to drive?”
“I think so. We’ve got to get home. Fran is on her way, and we’ve got to be there when the kidnappers call us with their instructions.”
“I’ll tell you, Julia, if I ever get my hands on those fucking kidnappers, they’d better fear for their lives.”
Julia chuckled grimly. “Yeah, same goes for me.”
Book of the Month contest entry
 Recognized |
Fran Pekarsky: One of three narrators of the story. She is an FBI agent from the North Carolina field office in Charlotte.
Dana Padgett: One of three narrators of the story. She is a confidential informant (CI) for Fran and works in Big Pharma.
Brian Kendrick: Fran's younger brother. He is the inventor of Dipraxa and Glyptophan.
Julia Kendrick: Brian's wife. She is a world-class violinist who now plays in a bluegrass band.
Johnny Kendrick: Brian and Julia's baby boy and Marie's grandson.
Dr. Marie Schmidt: Julia's mother. She is the third narrator of the story.
Cedric (aka Cecil): The doorman at the apartment house where Marie lives.
Lou D'Onofrio: Fran's boss at the FBI.
Leonard Merra: A vice president at the Big Pharma company where Dana works. He is in charge of stopping Glyptophan.
Rudy Spangler: A vice president at Gideon Pharmaceutical. He is in charge of stopping Glyptophan.
Peter Israel: The security chief at Gideon Pharmaceutical. He is in cahoots with Rudy Spangler to stop Glyptophan.
Woody Sandbulte: One of three bodyguards hired by the Kendricks for protection.
Nick Burwell: One of three bodyguards hired by the Kendricks for protection.
Harvey Briggs: One of three bodyguards hired by the Kendricks for protection.
Picture courtesy of Poe Assistant
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