Maggy continued to dish out her sandwiches to the remainder of the men posted inside the house. Each one of them thanked her, but kept their attention to their work. There was something different about Carter. He frightened her. And Mike–she had never seen that look in his eyes before. He was protecting her. She was warmed by the prospect but at the same time, angered. She had always been able to protect herself. And she could have handled Carter. She was sure of that. What right did Mike have to come along and cause trouble? Especially when Elly’s safety may count on that jerk in the dining room!

Before returning down the stairs Maggy went to the bathroom and retrieved the iodine, cotton, and a bandage from the medicine cabinet. She brought the items down with her.

Mike was waiting for her in the kitchen. Maggy paused for a second to set down her platter and flash him an angry look, before crossing into the dining room. She went directly to the man at the window.

“Let me see your chin,” she said when she entered. Carter turned. He flashed a smug look at Mike who stood in the doorway.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s all right,” Carter said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re cut.” Maggy took his face in her hands. She examined the cut and bruise. Then she pulled out a cotton ball and saturated it with iodine. Carefully, she swabbed the man’s face. Then she took the bandage and gently taped the cloth to the man’s chin.

“It should be all right now,” Maggy said quietly and turned to leave.

“Maggy,” Carter said from the ground by the window.

Maggy faced him.

“I’m sorry if I got out of hand.” He flashed another look at Mike who still occupied the doorway.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, and left the room avoiding Mike as she passed by him.

“Maggy.” Mike followed after her.“I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” Maggy spit back at him. She started to leave but stopped- her attention far away. Then she wheeled on Mike. “How dare you?” she said in a low and violent whisper. “You hit him. How could you do something like that!”

“What was I supposed to do?” he asked quietly, his eyes intent on hers. “Let him manhandle you that way? Stand by and watch him put his hands all over you?”

“I could have handled it, Mike. I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”

“Maybe I considered this battle mine,” Mike whispered back harshly. He stopped just long enough to flash Maggy an angry look of his own, before leaving the room. 

Maggy watched him return to the den, before slumping into a chair at the table and staring into the space in front of her.

Elly entered the kitchen shortly after Mike’s departure. She took a seat across from her. “You want to talk about it?”

Maggy shook her head.

“Well I do. Let’s go into your father’s office. We won’t be disturbed in there.”

Maggy regarded her. Then she nodded and followed Elly down the hall.

Maggy entered the office first. She went directly to the sofa. Elly closed the door and followed her path. She took a seat next to the girl and folded her hands in her lap.

“What is it you want to say, Miss Elly?” Maggy asked, her attention towards the floor.

“It’s the first time two men fought over you, isn’t it?”

Maggy looked at her then turned away. “Why do they do it? It’s so stupid.” She turned to Elly and in a much louder voice she said, “I can’t believe he hit him!”

Elly smiled.

“It’s not funny, Miss Elly. Our lives may depend on that ... that creep in the dining room. What right did Mike have alienating him? Why couldn’t he take the circumstances into consideration here?”

Elly was quiet at first. Then she answered, “I guess it’s because he’s in love with you.”

“What difference does that make?”

Again Elly looked at her intently. “A lot of difference, Maggy. It means you are no longer separate people ... you’re a couple. He sees your battles as his own. He wasn’t just protecting you, he was letting you know the extent of his involvement with you, as well as letting the ‘creep’ know it.”

“Staking his claim, is that it,” Maggy said angrily.

Elly smiled. “Yes.”

“I’m not so sure I like that–”

“Of course you do. What would you have done if the situation was turned?”

“I don’t follow you.”

“If another woman showed up and was fondling Mike, the way that “creep” was attempting to fondle you ... whispering in his ear?”

Maggy looked down and nodded. She turned to Elly, “I’d scratch her eyes out.”

Elly smiled. “Your claim on him is the same as his on you ... you’re a couple, bound by the love you share. Love is a deep investment, Maggy. Nobody lets it go easily.”

“Not ownership–”

“Well in a way it is. He’s protecting his investment. Just as you would be with the blood of the other woman’s eyes under your nails.”

Maggy laughed. 

“I was in the same boat as you.”

“Huh?”

“Your father did the same thing as Mike. A man showed up last year–”

“Mr. Lewis.”

“Yes. Gary had a noose around my neck and here comes your father causing trouble. He beat– well you know. I told him I’d handle it. I was so afraid of Gary’s retaliation for your father’s actions, I lashed out against your father. Thank God his bond was stronger than my fear and frustration. Truth was, I couldn’t handle it. I was caught up in something much bigger than I could get out – Heck, I’m still caught up in it, aren’t I?”

Maggy smiled and shrugged.

“Anyway, his demonstration against Gary– there was nothing professional about the violence you’re father dealt him. It was terrifying. But through that I realized the extent of his–”

“Claim?”

Elly smiled and nodded. “Yes. As well as my own.”

Maggy shook her head. “I never saw Mike so angry, Miss Elly. It was scary.”

“I know. But I think you were a little hard on him. He’s been beating his head against the wall ever since you ran up the stairs.”

“I guess I’ll go talk to him,” Maggy said. Elly nodded and both women rose.

The telephone rang as they moved along the hall. Maggy quickened her steps to answer it, but Stevens beat her to it. He shrugged an apology before returning to the receiver.

“Broden residence? This is Stevens... Perkins? Yes, sir...”

Stevens was quiet for a short time listening to the man on the other end of the line. Mike had rejoined the group in the kitchen. His eyes were pained when they met Maggy’s. She smiled for him to show all was forgiven, then turned her attention back to Stevens.

“But, sir… You can’t do that! That would leave them in danger.... I know it wasn’t sanctioned... I know ... but Moss– I’m aware that he no longer works for the agency ... But sir–Dammit Perkins! Perretti’s just across the street. If we hang tight we’ll get him! ... What? ... I can’t do that, sir. Weren’t you listening? ...Yes, I was listening to you, I just didn’t like what I was hearing.... If you don’t mind my saying sir, you are a jackass! ...  I will consider myself fired, but I still consider you a jackass! You’re leaving these women in grave danger ... Oh, go to hell Perkins!” Stevens retorted bitterly before he slammed the receiver down on its cradle.

“What’s going on?” Mike asked from behind him.

Stevens turned to face the group in the room. “We’re being called off.”

“What!” Elly shot at him. “But how can that be? Perretti’s just across the street. Where’s the logic in this?”

“I don’t know, Miss Saunders,” Stevens admitted. “It sounds fishy to me, too.” He looked intently at Elly. “I’m sorry.”

“Wait a minute,” Mike put in. “You’re not serious? You’re not going to pull them off now?”

“I have no choice, Deputy. Whether they stay or go will have to be their decision. Many of them have families to support. And this operation was never sanctioned–that means that technically, to stay, after being ordered off of an illegal operation, would cost them their jobs.”

“I don’t believe this,” muttered Mike. “This is crazy,” he added shaking his head. “Why wasn’t it sanctioned? I thought you all have been after Perretti for years?”

“There was no time to get the proper channeling. Then there was the rift between my uncle–”

“Uncle?”

Stevens looked at him. “Ex-Agent Moss.”

“Oh,” Mike whispered. “I get it now.”

“Don’t judge him so harshly, Deputy. He did the only course of action that was open to him–”

“If this is illegal, then any arrest wouldn’t stick–not without the proper warrants–”

“Mort was handling it from that end. The convictions would stick. There are clauses– however, with authorization to call off the operation, which we now have, from Perkins himself, we have no legal course to follow with arrest.”

“Even if you stayed, the arrest would not be valid?”

“No. But yours would, on charges of attempted murder.”

Mike stared at him. Then he smiled and nodded. “However, without the others its just you and me against his men.”

Stevens nodded sharply. “Yes.”

“See if they’ll stay.”

Stevens turned to the dining room. “Carter!”

Carter appeared in the doorway. “Yeah?”

“We’ve been called off, officially. Round up the men, I want to talk to them.”

Carter glanced at Maggy, then the others in the room. He appeared confused. “Called off? What the hell for?”

“Perkins’ orders. Go ahead and round up the men.”

The Federal agents filled the room. Their attention was riveted on Stevens as he explained the situation.

“I have no authority to order any of you to stay. And in all honesty, I can’t guarantee your jobs if you do. But the truth of the matter is that these people need our help. And if we don’t proceed with this operation now, we stand to lose Perretti for good. I’m asking for volunteers."

The men stared at him.

“I have a family, Stevens. They depend on me too. And quite frankly, jobs these days are scarce. And if Perkins could so easily blacklist Moss, Richards’ best boy, think how easy a time he’d have with us? Sorry, I’m begging off,” explained one of the men. He took a breath and looked intently at Stevens. “You know that if something were to happen to us, during this unsanctioned operation, none of our benefits apply. If I were to be injured, I couldn’t afford the hospital care. My widow would get nothing if I die. I have three small children...” he let the comment hang. He looked at Elly, then Maggy. “I’m truly sorry.”

Around the room the agents muttered among themselves, then one by one they offered their own excuses, all variations of the first. They stood and filed out of the Broden home, some out the back, a few out the front, all offering their apologies as they left.

Haverty held back. He looked at Stevens then the door. Then he shook his head. “He’ll fire us, Stevens,” he said. “Moss put us in a spot this time.”

“You’ve been there before, Haverty. It was Moss who saved your ass.”

Haverty nodded and bit his lip. He looked to the door, then again at Stevens. “This is all I know." 

“Yes.”

“What about you?”

“I’m already among the ranks of the unemployed for telling Perkins the truth.”

“Which was?”

“He’s a jackass.”

At that Haverty laughed. “I’m in. The son of a bitch– putting people in jeopardy over a grudge, is it?”

“We’ll collar Perretti and shove the collar down Perkins’ throat, after we have a chat with J. E.”

“Where do you want me?” Haverty asked.

“Upstairs, front window.”

Haverty smiled. “Best shot in the house,” he said and left for the stairs.

Carter was standing on the front porch when Stevens went to bolt the door. He appeared to be contemplating the situation, much the way Haverty had done. Then he leaned against one of the porch’s support beams and lit up a cigarette. Stevens watched him from the front door. Their eyes locked. Then Carter took a final drag on his cigarette and dropped it to the ground. He smashed out the ash with the heel of his boot, then again contemplated Stevens. He shrugged and returned inside the house.

“I can’t in all consciousness leave while the young lady is in danger,” he said with a greasy smile. “Where do you want me?”

Stevens smiled and patted his shoulder. “Glad to have you back.”

He turned to Mike. “Is there a rear exit to the pub?”

“Yeah. Actually its on the side, it opens into an alley, its just out of sight there.” Mike pointed across the street to the side of the building.

“Does the alley have an exit, or does it dead end?”

“Has an exit.”

“So they can work their way around back without us seeing them.”

“Easily.”

Stevens nodded. “In that case,” he turned to Carter. “The deputy and I will watch the back of the house. You keep an eye on the front with Haverty. Only you watch from down here, should they get by Haverty’s shot.”

Carter nodded and went to take his position.

Stevens brought Mike with him to the rear of the house. The women were waiting for them in the kitchen.

Stevens turned to Maggy. “You’ll be responsible for the dining room window. All you need do is holler if you see anything. Do you think you can handle that?”

“I can handle it,” Maggy assured him.

Stevens turned to Mike. “That window offers a direct line of sight to the back woods. I’ll watch the back door, it offers a line of sight to the north end of the house. You keep an eye out through the back window. That way we’ll be able to cover the entire house.”

Mike nodded. He looked at Maggy. He wanted to have a moment to talk to her, but it looked like that luxury would have to wait. She gazed at him and they said their peace quietly with their eyes alone. Then they separated, Maggy going into the dining room, Mike to the den.

“What about me?” Elly asked. “What can I do?”

“Stay away from the windows and doors. Although it is unlikely your life is in danger until he gets his hands on the ledger, you are still his target.”

Elly stared at him intently. “I want to help, Stevens.”

“There will be plenty of time for that when he moves in on us. I’ll wager we’re in for a gun fight,” Stevens said, keeping his voice low. “We’ll need you to keep us supplied with rounds.”

Elly nodded. “I think Bob has some extra rounds upstairs. Forty-five caliber.”

“That will help. I noticed the deputy carries a .45. And I think Carter does also.”

“I’ll go get them.”

Once the others were settled in, Carter quietly left his post. He tiptoed up the steps and to the bedroom at the head of the stairs, the room that offered a direct line of fire to the alley across the street. He eased the door open and silently slid inside.

Haverty was busy watching out the window, his rifle barrel pointed through the crack in the broken window jam. His sights set. His breathing steady, so as not to upset his aim. His concentration was fierce.

In one swift, unbroken, almost choreographed move, Carter hauled his arm around the Haverty’s neck and pulled off center until he heard the neck snap. Then slid the body to the ground. Carter stared at the man’s face... now peaceful. A small trickle of blood collected in the crease of his lips. Carter smiled. Then he went to the window and signaled with a small mirror he kept in his breast pocket. Once his signal was answered by another, Carter turned around and headed silently down the stairs.

© Copyright 2025 C J Driftwood. All rights reserved.