Leaps Of Faith

Maggie’s World

Standing near the bar inside of Club 9, Maggie watched Detective Reed Hackman negotiate with a bouncer to try to get upstairs. She cursed under her breath. Taking care of Marco was turning out to be a complicated enough task without involving the police. Reed being a part of the scene, and her mixed emotions about him, made the whole thing surreal.

People danced around her like wild animals in a mating frenzy, their bodies clashing together under the lights. None of them realized that a high speed chase was going on around them. Maggie had seen Marco run up the stairs to the private meeting rooms. He had open permission to use the secluded area, which he usually did to carry out drug related business. Tonight, she wasn’t sure if he planned on hiding out up there, or if he was retrieving something. She’d hoped to wait for him down on the dance floor and surprise him when he tried to leave.

Maggie wanted to run over and tell Reed with what exactly he was dealing. He thought he was simply going after a normal murder suspect. Marco, who had plenty of murders under his belt, was much more than that. And when it came to his survival, where Marco wasn’t that smart, he was as mean as he needed to be. While Reed probably had years of experience dealing with criminals like he imagined Marco to be, he wasn’t ready for the monster that Marco could be.

“Damn it,” she whispered, watching Reed walk up the stairs. The black man with him, who she assumed was another cop, followed him step for step. After the pair left, the security guard picked up his radio and began to talk to someone upstairs.

Maggie hated indecision. She wanted to go up to the private area and take Marco out right now and end this, but the situation couldn’t have been more wrong. There were too many witnesses, and the cops right at hand. If she killed Marco now, she’d just replace him as a liability to the Drake Family. She didn’t fear for her life, but her way of life would be severely hampered if she took action here and now. There had to be another way.

After only a few moments of the cops being on the elevated walkway, Maggie could see a commotion on the landing. The railing and angle from where she stood only allowed for a limited view of the area. Several security guards rushed up the stairs and joined bodies that she could see scuffling about. Then, like a phoenix bursting forth from the sky, Marco Breaux came into full view, jumping from the upper level.

Marco took out several dancers on the floor when he landed, but barely skipped a beat in his escape. All indecision evaporated in Maggie as her feet began moving her toward her prey. He was running somewhere that would be a better forum for her intentions. Hopefully in the meantime, they would be able to ditch their uninvited guests.

Weaving through the young men and women on the floor was as much a dance as it was a shoving match. She tried to keep violent collisions to a minimum, but between her and Marco, at least ten people hit the deck before they ran out the side door.

In the open night air, Maggie took a deep breath and looked in both directions. She took a few steps and stayed close to the brick wall of the club. One advantage to being in the Drake Family, and a disadvantage to her now, was that when a Family member didn’t want to be seen, he or she could almost make themselves invisible. Luckily, she also had a very sharp eye and had faith that even with the best hiding technique, she’d be able to find her prey. Maggie wondered what he could be thinking. Since she chased him here, she knew he didn’t have a car to make a quick get away. She took several steps toward the front of the club, eyeing each recessed area where Marco could be hiding in the dark passageway.

The sound of a motor revving on the opposite end of the alley caught her attention. She didn’t see anything, and knew the sound had to be coming from an intersecting alley about a half block down. Marco had found transportation.

Before Maggie could move in that direction, the side door of the club burst open. She shrank even further against the wall and concentrated on not moving. A moment later, Reed Hackman’s head peeked out, then his whole body followed. He held his gun cheek high as he studied both directions of the alley. It only took a moment for his ears to catch the roaring motor.

Reed’s look of quiet concentration, his eyes squinted and focused on something he couldn’t see, added a few years to his otherwise boyish face. Because he stood with the busy street to his back, Reed blackened out a portion of the light reaching the recesses of the alley, and his front remained in shadow. She couldn’t see his face very well as a result. His intense green eyes stood out as two points of light. Maggie thought she could have looked at him that way, like a dark knight out for vengeance, all night.

Then the loud engine became even louder, and Reed’s eyes grew wide. Maggie followed his stare to see Marco charging up the alley on a black Ninja motorcycle. She fought the urge to step out of the shadows to get Reed out of the way. She knew, however, that he was smart enough to fend for himself.

Reed lowered the gun and paused as if he might fire, but he didn’t have time. The bike was on him in seconds and all he could do was dive out of the way. He landed in a practiced roll and was on his feet before Marco was ten feet on the other side. Maggie watched as the motorcycle turned toward the left up ahead, barely squeaking by a black SUV. Reed ran to the SUV, hopped on the side, and sped away toward his suspect.

Maggie remained still for several more moments, wishing Reed hadn’t left, and wishing he’d known she had been there. She’d been a fly on the wall for most of her life, and suddenly found herself wanting more, and wanting to know why. The young woman sighed to herself, shook her head, and took off in the direction that everyone had headed.

The club comers and goers were in a tizzy on the street in front of Club 9. She heard a buzz of people saying they’d almost been run over by the crazy people in the SUV. She wasn’t interested in that, however. Those people were lucky to be alive. She peered off down the direction Marco had gone. He was headed to the highway. That provided many different possibilities of where he might be ultimately traveling.

Maggie didn’t want to be in Marco’s head. She, unfortunately, thought she knew how he thought. He wouldn’t leave New Orleans. He’d lived here all his life, and most likely weathered through storms more difficult than the one he faced now. And he would know that hiding would only buy him so much time. What he needed to do was eliminate Reed, then buy a policeman or two in order to remove his name from the wanted list. So Marco was probably trying to get Reed into a more favorable position for execution.

That meant Marco would want to take the policemen to some place familiar. Other than Drake Manor, which was not an option for Marco at the moment, he knew the warehouse district like the back of his hand. He knew where the nooks and crannies had nooks and crannies, and he knew that no one there would compromise his plans.

Maggie took off at a jog toward Drake’s Carved Wood. It was only a few blocks away and her car was still parked at the back. She hoped that Marco assumed she’d given up on him, and that she would be able to take him by surprise. She also hoped that she would be able to get to Marco before Reed Hackman met a bad end.

Maggie paused in the shadows of the dock street lamps to examine the black Ninja motorcycle leaning against a pole ten feet away. Marco had boldly left it there, almost begging the policemen to come to him. Two warehouses were within a hundred yards in each direction, but they didn’t appear to be Marco’s location of choice for the final showdown he was setting up. The bike was in front of a dock leading to a large cargo ship bobbing on the night waves of the Mississippi.

Reed Hackman and the policeman with him had just reached the ship and were heading up the stairway into the hold, their guns drawn at the ready. Maggie knew she didn’t have a lot of time. Either Reed was about to meet his end, or Marco would be captured. Either outcome didn’t appeal to her. She would bet on Marco succeeding, but Reed was turning out to be very good at his job, and twice as persistent.

Maggie took off in a sprint toward the opposite end of the ship. Reed could have turned around and seen her at any time, and likely would have heard her feet pounding against the slats of the dock if he hadn’t been so focused. She didn’t waste the time to try and conceal herself. Watching Reed disappear into the interior of the ship, she didn’t need to. Maggie let the soft wind, wet with spray from the river, wash over her as she ran, mentally preparing herself for a confrontation.

When she got to the bow of the ship, she searched the hull for her ticket inside. The boat stretched at least fifty yards, and stood out of the water forty feet. The owners had given it a colorful paintjob, with navy blue on the bottom, and three feet red and yellow stripes along the top edge. The massive ship likely carried some kind of cargo from a foreign country. Maggie didn’t know where, and doubted she’d take the time to find out.

A life ring hung by a rope near the top rail, the name of the ship painted in faded letters around the circle. Maggie found the name Ocean Dragon a bit ominous in light of the purpose of her visit. The placement of the life ring, however, was perfect for her intention. Maggie stood upon the dock railing, a wooden structure faded and cracked in the hot Louisiana sun, and coiled her body. The dock creaked beneath her as she shot up with all her strength, propelling herself over the water and toward the ship. She caught the rope with one hand and cushioned her collision against the hull with the other. She waited for several moments to make sure no one had seen or heard her maneuver, then began pulling herself up the rope.

She landed on the deck of the ship in a combat position, hands up, fists clenched, ready to defend herself if needed. No one met her, though, so she quickly scanned her surroundings to determine her next move. The captain’s station was in front of her, a windowed room complete with a large wheel, a metal version of something that would be found on a pirate ship. Behind it, she suspected she’d find entry into the guts of the ship.

Gunshots rang out from somewhere inside, and she knew that she was in the right place. She wondered if there was something in the control room that would help her find Marco quickly. She could see a computer station and other equipment that looked much more high tech than was likely invented when this ship was built. Advances in technology probably required that the ship owner buy new equipment to stay competitive. Amongst the sonar and radar, and whatever else might help the ship move, there also might be surveillance equipment to help keep the ship secure.

Then she realized she wouldn’t need it. Another gunshot sounded closer to her, and a moment later, Marco burst through the door into the helm. Maggie crouched down beside a storage container tucked against the inner hull and stilled herself. Luck seemed to be on her side at the moment, and the element of surprise would be hers.

Marco ignored the equipment in the helm and ran straight for the door. His face looked panic and his eyes wild. Reed must have been more than a match even for Marco’s special abilities. He looked like he had no more fight in him, and wanted to run far, far away. Maggie was sorry she could not let that happen.

The crazed man burst through the door as fast as he could go, his eyes searching the deck for the best avenue of escape. Maggie slowly stood up and angled her body to launch an attack. Unfortunately, Marco’s years of having to watch his back paid off. He saw or heard her, turned toward Maggie, his eyes glazing over with anger.

“You shouldn’t be here, Maggie,” he said, his voice cold enough to ice the air.

“I’m going to kill you, Marco,” she said, moving toward him.

Marco took a step away from her, back toward the door. “We’ve been through this before, and I’ve got other problems, so let’s not do this right now.”

“I’m sorry. It’s well past time for this.”

The sound of footsteps banging against metal began filtering through the closed door behind him. “My friend is coming,” Marco said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. I’m thinking you don’t want to be here when he comes.” Marco turned his head back toward the interior of the ship.

“I’m not going to be,” Maggie said, rushing toward her prey.

Turning back to her, Marco braced for her attack, and swung a fist at her face. Maggie didn’t try to avoid it. Her mission was more important than a brawl. She absorbed the blow and pushed forward, colliding with Marco’s body. He fell backward and they both hit the door and rolled onto the floor. Marco tried to control her hands with his.

Marco connected another punch to her face, and Maggie found herself with her back against the floor and Marco looming over her. He twisted away again, elevating his body, ready to thrust back down with a hard strike. When he was committed, Maggie pulled the knife from her waist, and as Marco plunged toward her, she drove the blade into his chest hilt deep. A silent scream stuck in the man’s throat, and he looked at her in disbelief. As the knife did its work, Marco’s body went limp. Maggie pushed him off to the side, his weakening form thumping to the deck floor.

The inner door of the helm opened, and Reed rushed through. Maggie crouched beside Marco, who moaned softly, the knife in his chest pulsing with the beat of her heart. She wanted to take his body with her. Leaving anything for the police to probe could mean trouble for the Family. Drake would be unhappy with her if she didn’t do everything she could to protect her kind.

The only way to take the body with her, though, was to kill Reed and his partner. She didn’t think she could do that, plus, the extra attention two dead cops might bring to the murder investigation would only mean more trouble. Leaving Marco wasn’t ideal, but Maggie knew it was her only choice at this point.

As Reed neared the outer door to the deck, Maggie pulled the knife out of Marco’s chest. She bent down to put herself nose to nose with the man who had been her father’s confidant for decades. “Die with honor.”

She didn’t wait for a response. Without looking toward the policeman charging through the door, Maggie turned toward the starboard side of the ship and the open waters of the Mississippi River.

“Freeze,” she heard Reed yell.

She accelerated to full speed in only a few steps, and was at the railing only a moment later. Like an eagle, she launched herself into the air, her arms spread wide. As she cleared the side of the ship and gravity began pulling her toward the water, she twisted her body into a perfect pike.

With barely a ripple, Maggie disappeared into the dark water below.