My Soul to Keep

“You can't be serious.” Terra put her hands on her hips and glared at Zack. “A little too perfect on the timing don't you think?”

“It's obvious he's baiting me.” Matt stated grabbing Terra's attention. “Which is why I'm not going alone. Brian and Johnny with Jordan. Zack and Terra with me.”

“We can't take her in-”

“He's banking on me not to. He's positive I'll hide her out somewhere and leave an opening.”

“He won't expect me to be there...” Terra almost smiled at the thought of catching him off guard.

“She can't just waltz in! He's always got his little men hanging around. We'll be outnumbered.”

“Then give Terra your gun and we'll go alone!”

Zack didn't like the idea, but he pressed his lips into a thin line as he started Matt down. His anger was clearly displayed, but he made no moves to step down from the plan. “We can't just march in there with Terra. She's got no weapons, she's not prepared for this...she's a liability.”

“We've got more than enough weapons to arm her.”

“If you really care about Terra, think of her! What if he's done fucking around with us? All he's got to do is put one between her eyes and the hunt is over.”

“Since when do you care about Terra?” Brian chimed in, putting himself in front of Terra.

“I'm sick of our friends getting hurt over this! Look at Jordan! She's innocent in this whole equation and she's in a hospital bed shot! Why?!”

“Because of Docker.” Matt said looking carefully at Zack.

“Because of what Docker wants. Because of who he wants.” Zacky turned his eyes to Terra, serious eyes baring into her.

“Don't.” Matt was chest to chest with Zack before he finished speaking. “Don't you pin this on her.”

“That was not my intention, but this is never going to end until he gets her. Don't you think charging in with her will insure him ending her?”

“If he wanted her dead, he wouldn't be going through all of this trouble.” Matt defended as his anger climbed. “Instead of plastering his walls with her pictures, he would have killed her already.”

“She's worth something to him,” Brian added folding his arms over his chest. “and he wants her alive.”

“I'm not leaving if I know I've got a chance to save my sister.” There was a sting in Matt's tone, his heart was starting to get in the way.

“I'm going and that's final.” Terra seethed. “I can't stay here and wait on someone to sneak in and kill me or Jordan.”

“...If she gets in the way-...” Zacky grunted in defeat. There was no way he was going to have a choice in the matter. “She stays out of the way and out of sight.”

“I never said she was going to be strapped to my chest walking in the place.” Matt stated flatly.

“I'm done talking about it. Are we going or aren't we?!” Zacky questioned a bit too loudly.

“We'll take your car.” Matt demanded as he reached back and took Terra by the wrist.

[**]

The ride out from the hospital was filled with thick silence. Terra was holding the gun that Zacky tossed at her in her lap. Her heart was in her ears, her palms were sweaty and her mouth was dry. What if this turned out to be a massacre? What if this guy was advancing and she couldn't pull the trigger? What if she got Matt killed?

She kept down playing herself. This was a public place after all. Lots of people, lots of ways to get the cops involved. What if that's what he wanted? What if Docker knew?

“What if he knows you're undercover?” she asked more to herself than to the two men in the front seat. “Oh my god...he knows.”

“What is she going on about?!” Zacky asked as he looked up from loading his gun. His green eyes ablaze with confusion as he watched her in the rear view mirror.

“Docker. Does Docker know we're undercover?”

“He can't be that stupid.” Zacky chuckled slightly as he returned his attention to his gun.

“How would he know?” Matt asked calming while keeping his eyes ahead.

“He had his little mole Cole with me. I'm sure that's something he ratted us out on.” Zacky said with a little more venom than Terra was expecting.

“This coffee shop,” Terra began while staring at Zacky's face in the mirror. “how secluded is it?”

“It's not secluded.” He sounded annoyed. “It's in the middle of fucking town. Can you shut up now?”

Matt looked like he wanted to say something in her defense, but he just tightened his jaw and kept driving. Terra's fear kept rising in her chest, this whole thing just didn't feel right at all. When Matt pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop Zacky directed him to, Terra was about ready to rip out of her skin and run away screaming.

“No fucking way...” Zacky was staring to his right, mouth slightly ajar. “He's just standing in broad daylight! The fucking bastard!”

“Samantha...” Matt's voice sounded so full of emotion, but yet it was so flat.

“Keep a level head dude. We gotta be smart about this.”

Just then there was a loud thud on the hood of their car, looking to the source of the sound made Terra's heart skip a beat. There, leaning against the car with a wide grin, was a bulky man with a bald head.

“Are we going inside to have coffee, or are we just going to stay in our cars boys?”