G.I.Z.M.O. (COMPLETED)

Chapter XV

Current day, 10:27 PM, one mile east of Radii Weapons Facility, somewhere near Thompsonville, Virginia.

The group of men stood in the middle of the intersection of two muddy, woodland trails. Beams of light from the roll bar on Phil's black four-by-four truck pierced the night. The large man stood in front of the vehicle creating a massive shadow that loomed over a man kneeling on the ground.

"I'd just as soon be in Hell with my back broke than give you these files you backstabbin' bastard!" Kevin said, leaning up against the Prius with his lip bleeding. Steam rose from the smashed hood of the vehicle as the wrecked machine rested against the trunk of a large tree, several bullet holes were visible on its body. "Honestly, I don't know how many more knives one man's back can hold..."

Phil rolled his fingers on the stock of his rifle impatiently. "Give me what you was supposed to give the China-man, shithead!" he said through gritted teeth.

"He ain't gonna work with you, idiot!" Kevin exclaimed and then stood with a grunt. The man considered one of his ribs might be broken, hopefully it was only bruised. He winced as he touched the area.

"Hey, where's your pretty friend? Did you off Cole or somethin'? If you did you sure saved me and ol' Ben a heap of trouble," Phil said with a grin.

"Ben's in on this, too?" Kevin asked in astonishment. "Goddammit, you start waving money around and everybody turns into a bunch of Benedict Arnold's."

"Who?" Phil inquired.

"Nevermind..."

"Gimme some light ya'll!" Phil shouted over his shoulder. "I need to take a look in that death trap called a car, since ol' Kevin here ain't cooperating."

One of the men in the large black four-wheeled-drive pickup's cab directed a floodlight onto the destroyed vehicle.

"So, did you kill him or not?" Phil asked, stepping closer.

Kevin squinted, lifting a hand to shield his eyes. "We, um, we went our separate ways."

Phil paused. "Man, that makes me think of that song, you know the one that gets you right here," he said and smacked himself on his large chest.

"Shut up, Phil, that's your thing."

"No, seriously, It breaks my heart to hear that you two split, I hate lover's quarrels," Phil said, generating laughter from the men behind him. "Now, give me the stuff, no more playin' around, Kevin!" The smile melted from Phil's face as the large man chambered a round in his rifle.

"Okay! Okay, damn!" Kevin turned and bent over painfully to lie across the seats. He tensed as he stretched, the pain was awful. Taking a deep breath, Kevin gathered the papers together and slipped them in the backpack. He began to sit up, clutching the bag, but froze as he saw something move in the trees. Something metallic reflected the bright floodlight's beam. He ducked, witnessing more movement in the darkness only a few yards away. "Shit, what the hell is going on out there?" he wondered to himself.

"Whut you waitin' on, Kevin?" Phil asked. Let's go!"

Riiinnngggg!

Phil looked down to extract his cellphone from his pocket. "'Sup Ben? Yeah, we are about to get the documents from Mr. Kevin here, right directly. He's fishin' em out of the car as we speak. No, Cole ain't with him...I don't know. Why do you care? Prolly killed him and all...yeah, okay. Well as far as I'm concerned, you can do what you want with the four of 'em. I don't care, go on and have fun or you can just wait until we get there." Phil disconnected the phone and returned his attention to Kevin as he lay horizontally in the car, staring out of the passenger window.