Breacher (Tom Keeler Book 2) by Jack Lively (reading well TXT) 📕

bedroll in my hands. I was led into the prison through a series of security doors. I figured we had gone halfway deep into the place when the two guards stopped me in front of an open door. The cell was big enough. Bigger by far than I might have expected. But this was Alaska, and space wasn’t an issue. The cell contained a bunk bed, a toilet with no seat, and a sink. All stainless steel.

The guard closed the door, a thick sound. Then his keys scraped and clanged for several moments.

Then I was alone, sitting on the lower bunk.

I ran through the sequence of events since that afternoon, beginning with the third bite of that burger, and ending with the prison cell door closing. When I was satisfied that I had it all straight and correct in my mind, I tipped myself over and lay down on the thin mattress. I didn’t bother with the bed roll, which I had dumped on the floor. I closed my eyes and was instantly asleep.

I had been asleep for an hour and twenty minutes when I heard keys clicking and scraping again in the cell door. I swung myself up on the edge of the bed. Two silhouettes entered, backlit by the corridor fluorescents. The first guy was slapping a baton into his palm. The second guy slumped against the wall behind him. The two bad apples, the big guy in front slapped the stick into his palm again. He said, “Keeler, you’re outta here. They’re transporting you up to Juneau.”

The older detective had said that we would talk in the morning. It was his investigation. I couldn’t think of any reason why I would be transported to Juneau, about three hundred miles away. It was a trip that would involve several boats, wheeled vehicles, or an airplane. I wasn’t buying it.

I said, “No, they’re not. And no, you’re not taking me.”

The guy said, “Not your call, pal. Get up and ready, we’re taking you now.”

The guard behind him unclipped his Taser. He was the one named Gavin. He said, “Let’s just Tase him. He’s already resisting.”

A Taser is a stun gun device that shoots two wired darts. Once both projectiles get into the skin, the device releases a 50,000 volt charge which connects up between the two steel darts through the muscle mass between them. The result is intense muscle spasm, pain, and momentary paralysis. I figured the Taser was the least of my problems. The big guy was standing in the way of the skinny guy with the Taser. I figured there was no time to lose.

I launched off the bunk, using my left leg to push out horizontally, like a catapult. At the same time, my right leg cocked and released into the big guy’s left knee. I felt the knee give, and he grunted. I bumped up against him the moment his knee caved and he dropped. With my right hand I pulled the Taser from his stab vest. The big guy was slow to react. I pushed him off and aimed the Taser at the skinny guy. I pulled first, and the two darts shot out at 180 feet per second. One of the darts hit him in the neck and embedded. The other hit his stab vest, bouncing off uselessly. Those things need both darts to embed in skin, so I was out of luck. The skinny guy named Gavin had his Taser up. There was a pop as he pulled the trigger and the firing pin pierced a compressed air cartridge. Then, a whoosh as the darts came at me.

Next thing I knew I was thrashing like a fish out of water.

Seventeen

The big guy cuffed my hands behind my back while I was immobilized. Five seconds later I was raring to go. Gavin said, “Calm down, buddy. We’re only taking you to the other holding cell for the transfer. It isn’t our idea, orders from above.”

I said, “Orders from whom?”

He said, “The prison warden. Just came through. They want you up at Juneau by end of day tomorrow. The transfer happens in the a.m.”

“So why not leave me alone here?”

“Not our call. Maybe they got someone else for the room.”

I said, “Not happening.”

The big guy was massaging his knee. He blew air through his lips. “What a pain in the ass.”

Gavin had his Taser up and reloaded. He said, “You want another load of this?”

I said, “Bring it on. Just makes me more likely to want to kill you.”

“Last warning. I’m gonna juice you up good this time.”

I shrugged. The slim guy discharged his Taser. The barbs hooked into my rib area and the muscles spasmed. It was unpleasant, but the second time I was ready. It was only pain, and pain can be overcome. I would have ripped the darts out with my hands had they not been cuffed behind me. There was too much slack in the line to use my body and tug them out. The guy sent the electricity down the line for a good ten seconds, more than enough to put most people down. I rode it out until the battery ran down. When he was done I felt bad, but not as bad as I’d have felt if I had capitulated.

The big guy said, “Had enough now? Ready to cooperate.”

I said, “I don’t think so. I won’t be cooperating.”

The slim guy pulled the wires sharply and the barbs tore out of my flesh. There were now four wet and bloody smudges on the shredded front of my shirt. Gavin looked at me with his mouth open, panting. He said, “Screw this guy. He can have the damn room. Right?”

The big guy said, “I guess so. Not our problem if he thinks this is fancy real estate.”

The slim guy said, “Pal, you’re going to realize that we were only ever trying to do you a favor by moving you. Now you’ll have it the way you want it,