I feel I need to give you, my dear readers, a warning. This is probably one of the most violent chapters I have ever written. Even as I wrote it, read over it, and edited it, I gave myself chills and my heart beat faster. It has language and it has violence but it's where my heart and brain took the story. This story has taken me on a different path altogether and even for me it has been intense to write. So even though this is a tough chapter to read, it's part of the story. I hope you will still follow along with Chiara's and Mark's fate and believe in their love beyond all the darkness.
Chapter 21
Mark made it to his apartment at
around eight thirty. It was snowing heavier now and the snow was sticking to
the ground. He turned his car off and grabbed his back pack from the back seat,
then set up his TiLite next to his car and transferred over into it.
Two cars were parked across the
parking lot but all four persons sat in one of the two cars, a dark colored SUV
with tinted windows. Each one of them had a gun in their waistband, one of them
with a silencer on his gun.
They were observing Mark from
afar and now discreetly got out of the SUV. Mark didn’t think anything of
hearing car doors getting shut from across the parking lot. The apartment
complex was large and consisted of about 300 units, all three-story buildings
with apartments, people were coming and going all the time.
The snow stuck to his wheels as
he pushed his rims and rolled over to his apartment door. He had his back pack
on his lap and at his door he pulled his key out from in between his thighs.
He stuck the key into the door
and unlocked it. Just as he pushed the door open, he heard swift commotion
behind him. It was muffled enough where none of the neighbors could hear it,
but noisy enough that Mark was about to turn his head to see where the
commotion stemmed from. Over his shoulder he only saw four male figures rush
over into his direction.
Before he realized they were
actually sprinting over to him, Mark couldn’t react quick enough as they aggressively
pushed him into his apartment, slammed the door shut behind them and locked it
with the chain.
It all happened so fast that Mark
was completely stunned as they pulled the backpack off his lap and threw it into
a corner. One of them came from behind and jerked Mark’s head back, pressing a
large strong hand onto his mouth and holding him in a choke hold. Instinctively
Mark still gripped his rims, trying to keep from falling over backwards with
his TiLite as the guy just yanked his head back. Mark couldn’t see the faces of
the people because the light in the apartment was still off. He tried to somehow
defend himself or get to his Beretta in his waistband but he had no chance as
he was trying to keep himself in the wheelchair while he was held in a choke
hold, a large hand pressed firmly onto his mouth so all that came out was a
groan.
He gripped the push rims of his
wheelchair tight and was trying to somehow push in any direction to somehow get
loose but they held him back. He couldn’t scream and all he got out was gasps
and groans trying to somehow make a noise. The light was still off and he heard
Ranger meow loudly from somewhere in the apartment.
They now dragged him out of the
wheelchair and shoved him to the ground with such force he had to keep his head
from hitting the floor. Mark heard Ranger meow again and as he tried to pull
himself up, a foot in a heavy boot kicked him so hard to his face that he fell
back again and this time he couldn’t break the force with which his head hit
the floor.
It all happened so quick and
within moments he had a thick piece of cloth stuffed into his mouth and he
heard duct tape getting pulled off a roll and quickly it was secured so tight
over his mouth that he couldn’t move any mouth or face muscles anymore. His
hands were pulled violently behind his back as he laid on the ground and endured
a couple more kicks. Some of them landed on his upper chest but some apparently
landed below his T-4 because he couldn’t feel any pain but just knew that he
was being kicked. And some more kicks landed on his head, he felt his head
sting and like his brain had just endured a strong blow.
All four of the men seemed large
and strong. They didn’t speak but just man handled Mark violently and without
mercy. They found his Beretta in his waistband and took it from him. His
cellphone which had been between his thighs had fallen to the ground somewhere
with his getting pulled from his wheelchair.
Without any words his hands now were
duct taped and zip tied behind his back. As he laid there, trying to see or
make some sounds, he was kicked into the stomach and against his head again.
Eventually the light in the kitchen was switched on. Mark now could make out
some more of their faces but all four had bandanas tied over the noses and
mouths so he only saw their eyes.
They pulled him up and dragged
him through the apartment to his bedroom. His arms were twisted and hurt as
they violently dumped him in the bathroom and Mark’s head again hit the tile
floor hard. He instantly felt blood run from his nose and causing a small
puddle next to him on the floor. His cheek touched the cold tiles and he tried
to make out anything, but in the bathroom it was completely dark with no window
and not even any lights from any electronics.
Mark had no chance when he got
kicked a few more times into his chest, stomach and probably other parts of his
body where he couldn’t even feel the blows. Stomach acid rose in his throat but
it had no place to go and he had to swallow somehow only using his esophageal
muscles. His whole body was shaking violently from the force and even though he
couldn’t see, he knew his legs were trembling. His head hurt so bad he feared
he was about to lose consciousness. He was certain that he had already suffered
a concussion. The blunt force to his head with feet in heavy boots had been
violent and painful.
They left him in the bathroom on
the floor, closing the door. He was trying to breathe as his eyes were filled with
tears, not from sadness but from extensive pain.
He tried to get his breathing
under control, he tried to move his hands but they were taped up with lots of
duct tape into two fists really.
He then heard one of the men
outside, “What the fuck? It’s a cat; get that fucking cat and break its neck.”
Mark stopped in any wriggling,
any movement and really stopped breathing momentarily as he heard this.
The other voice was deeper and
replied, “Just throw the thing against the wall a few times.”
“You fucking asshole, you want
neighbors to get suspicious with banging noises? Dude sure ain’t banging
bitches in here.”
The voices were muffled and not
very loud but Mark listened as good as he could and hearing them talk about
Ranger in that way terrified him. He tried to make some sounds for help but
nothing but a weak grumble came out.
He heard them again, “Just break
its fucking neck man.”
The water in Mark’s eyes was not
from pain anymore but sheer terror now.
He listened and he heard Ranger
meow. He couldn’t do anything for Ranger but heard as they debated some more
what to do with him.
“Just grab it and get rid of that
fucking thing. Just choke it out or something. Break its neck.”
Mark then heard Ranger clearly
meow fearfully a few times and he heard the voice again, “Just do it man.”
Now he heard a high pitch disturbing
screech from Ranger and Mark squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to move and tried
to wriggle his hands free, he tried to scream but he couldn’t do any of those
things. He was barely able to breathe through his nose.
One of the voices hissed,
“Fucking cat scratched the shit out of me.”
Apparently, Ranger was putting up
a fight but Mark felt tears run over his face.
He heard Ranger scream once more and
then it was quiet and he heard one of the men again, “Get rid of it.”
It didn’t take long and as Mark
lay there on the cold tile floor, his nose bleeding, tears running from his
eyes thinking about what had just happened, the door opened and for a moment he
saw a large male silhouette in the door frame with the light from the hallway
falling in behind him and the lifeless, limp body of Ranger was tossed into the
bathroom and landed next to him with a heavy lifeless thud.
“Here’s your fucking cat.”
Mark just saw momentarily
Ranger’s body next to his face and even felt Ranger’s fur brushing against his
cheek lightly and then the door was shut and he was in darkness once again.
Tears were streaming from his eyes now mixing with the blood from his nose. He stretched
his face over some and touched Ranger with his forehead trying to feel if there
was really no life anymore in Ranger. Ranger’s body was still warm but motionless
and without life.
Mark tried to swallow as tears
were streaming from his eyes and he could barely breathe. Ranger was dead. Mark
felt his whole body charged and trembling and he tried to wiggle his hands but
the tight duct tape didn’t budge an inch. His hands were fully wrapped up in
the tape and he felt like the blood circulation was getting cut off from his
wrists.
He heard his legs thud about on
the tile floor, his feet in sneakers jumping on the floor making low thumping
noises. He knew his legs were spastic and the intense trembling of his legs
even moved his body slightly.
He was trying to breathe through
his nose and he felt the moisture of the blood partly running into his throat
and leaving a trace of a metallic taste in the back of his throat.
Ranger’s dead body lay next to
him and Mark was absolutely helpless. He didn’t know what to do and think. He
felt his heart beat fast and his head was pounding with the blows he had
endured already and having hit the tile floor in the bathroom. His mouth hurt
and he felt the cloth material soak up the saliva in his mouth leaving it
parched. He tried to collect himself and his thoughts. He knew Chiara would be
waiting for his call to let her know he was safe at home.
Chiara knew that Mark had been
planning to stop for dinner and she was going to give him some more time. She
thought he may have gone into a restaurant or store to pick up some dinner. She
was sleepy, the surgery ordeal still lingering. She was on heavy pain medication
still and her leg was somewhat pulsating with the things that had been done to
it during the surgery.
Just as she was about to close her
eyes the surgeon came into her room and stood next to her bed for a little
while, talking to her and informing her that the surgery had been
successful. He had to insert some screws
and metal plates to get Chiara’s ankle bones in place. She had to keep her foot
elevated and no weight bearing at least for eight weeks. After the swelling
would be down a cast would possibly be applied but he told her it may also just
be a boot or brace. Chiara listened only half way, she was still tired and was
glad when the doctor was done with her. She looked over at the clock on the
wall, it was almost eight now and Mark should be calling any time.
Mark lay in the dark of the
bathroom thinking about who those men were and if they had anything to do with
Chiara’s past or if he had just been the victim of a random attack.
He lay like this for a while but
didn’t know how much time had gone by when the door opened again and two
figures appeared in the door frame.
They now grabbed him and pulled
him from the bathroom into his bedroom.
One of them said, “Fucking
cripple is heavy and we’re supposed to drag him around and shit, what the fuck!”
They shoved Mark to the ground in
the bedroom. The only light fell in from the hallway but he saw all four men
now in the bedroom, two of them standing and one sitting on his lounge chair
and one all the way up on the bed with his shoes on, leaning on the head board.
Mark tried to look up some but
couldn’t make out much and they all still had the bandanas wrapped over their
mouths and noses. His vision was blurry and his face felt wet and he saw some
blood drip from his face onto the floor next to him.
The one in the lounge chair
replied, “Shut the fuck up you pussies. Yeah, you’re going to drag him around
unless you want to sit him in his fucking wheelchair and push him around.”
Mark tried to move some but he
couldn’t. He saw his legs were still shaking and twitching on the ground and he
felt his whole body cramp up really. He took quick breaths through his nose
only.
One of the two guys standing now
kicked his legs, “What the fuck is with his legs?”
The one in the chair spoke again,
“You fucking idiot, give him a blow to the head, he can’t feel shit on his
legs.”The one he had called an idiot replied, “But his legs are shaking and shit, so they still move.”
Now the one on the chair got up
and came over and Mark tried to make out what he saw but he didn’t have time to
even look up when he got kicked in the head a few times and with a gasp he just
let his head fall onto the tile floor. He felt he was close to passing out from
the constant blows to his head.
The one who had gotten up from
the lounge chair and who had kicked Mark in the head now squatted down next to him.
He pulled out a large hand gun and he pushed the barrel with a silencer under
Mark’s chin and with that forced Mark to look up somewhat.
Mark felt the barrel pressed
under his chin as the guy said, “So you’re Mark? The one she texted? The one
who told police about us and then the pigs came out to get us?”
Mark could not see much, but made
out dark longer hair and dark eyes looking at him.
Now the guy said, “I’m Chiara’s
boyfriend. You know Chiara, don’t you?”
Mark couldn’t reply but only took
quick breaths through his nose and making some gasping and groaning sounds. He
still had the barrel of the gun pressed into his chin, being forced to look up at
the guy.
It was apparent to him now that
this was Trey right there in front of him.
Trey now said, “I didn’t know
Chiara had a thing for cripples. It kind of pissed me off when I found out you
know. There I’ve been taking care of her all those years and gave her a decent
life when she really only came from fucking shit and then she betrays me with
some motherfucker in a wheelchair.”
Mark could only lay there and
listen. His legs were shaking hard and his wrists behind his back hurt. Trey
kept the barrel of the gun under his chin and seemed to press it even harder
into Mark’s skin.
Trey now turned to his cohorts,
“Leave me alone with him for a little while.”
The three other guys left out the
room and Trey walked over to the bedside table and turned on a light. Mark followed
him with his eyes as good as he could.
Trey came back over and actually
got down on the floor next to Mark, playing with the gun right in front of
Mark’s eyes.
“You know I somehow imagined
meeting you was going to be different. I’m kind of disappointed how weak and
fucked up you already are. And I had all those plans how you and I would have a
good old fight, you know like in the old days when knights fight for the heart
of a lady. I pictured that Chiara would have gone for a different guy, someone
a lot stronger and capable of holding his own. But you’re really just a weak
piece of shit. Does your cock even work still?”
Trey just sat there on the ground
next to Mark. Mark felt his body tremble and he closed his eyes as the pain in
his arms and head was strong and his vision was blurry.
Trey continued, “I’m debating
what to do with you. It feels kind of unfair because you’re obviously not a
match for me. I mean even if I untied your hands really you wouldn’t be doing
shit. I was going to beat the shit out of you, I was going to hurt you bad and
then kill you. I would have liked for Chiara to know about it too. Where is she
anyways? I miss her you know. Is she at Swedish hospital? I’d really love to
see her.”
Trey sat there and played with
the gun in his hands. Without a warning he then sent the barrel of the gun
right into Mark’s face with a violent blow. Mark’s head jerked back from the
blow and he felt the blood ooze from the open wound Trey had inflicted.
Trey sat completely calm though
and looked down at Mark and then to his legs, “What the fuck is with your legs
man?”
Trey kept his eyes on Mark’s legs
for a moment, then said, “It must be frustrating if you can’t fuck a bitch
anymore. Chiara likes cock you know, like hard and big cock, she gives great
blow jobs. She also takes a cock in the ass sometimes. I’m kind of picturing
how you would have done that. Like I would love to see you get up on your knees
and shit. I don’t know if that works though, probably not. Just know my hard
cock has been in her mouth and pussy a thousand times.”
Mark felt his face hot and moist,
sweat and blood was running over his skin and the pain was almost unbearable.
Trey now looked at Mark again, “I
would really love to let you talk to me. I think you may have a lot to say.
Would you promise not to scream like a scared bitch if I take this duct tape
off your mouth?”
Trey now seemed to smile, “I know
what I’ll do. I’ll have one of my friends take the shit off your mouth but I’ll
hold my gun to your head. I have the silencer on already so if I have to shoot
you, it won’t be so loud.”
Mark closed his eyes and really
didn’t do anything. He had no strength left, his legs were spastic, falling
around on the floor and his body was giving in to the violence.
He felt the blood run through his
veins and pulsate in his head and neck with his racing heartbeat.
Trey walked out for a moment and
then came back in with one of the other guys and Mark blinked at their
silhouettes over him.
He heard Trey say, “Take the duct
tape and shit off his mouth. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Trey’s helper roughly tore the
duct tape off and pulled out the saliva-soaked material from his mouth.
At the same time Trey pressed the
silencer on the end of the gun barrel against Mark’s forehead. Mark didn’t
intend to say anything at the moment, but instead tried to catch his breath. He
had his eyes closed instead of looking at Trey. He felt the pressure of the barrel
on his forehead and he knew he was one bullet away from being shot and killed.
Trey now said, “Oh, by the way, I’m
sorry about your cat man. I imagine it had been the only pussy you’ve had
around for a while. But you know I have a cat allergy, it’s kind of severe and
I didn’t want to break out and shit, so cats are not good to have around me.”
Trey sounded like he was having
an ordinary conversation, speaking in a calm but cool tone, “I really have this
urge to beat the shit out of you but again I think it’s unfair. I think we
should fight it out somewhere though. Like I could also stay on the ground or
something. Would you like that?”
Mark didn’t respond, he was too
occupied to deal with the pain he felt and the trembling of his body.
Trey shifted, “Should we do that?
Like fight on the ground since you can’t use your legs and shit?”
And with the gun in his hand Trey
inflicted another painful blow against Mark’s head. Mark moaned from the pain
and felt dizzy for a moment. It hurt and he could feel his body wanting to give
in. His eyes felt swollen and he felt blood run over his face. He rolled over
onto his back somewhat but his arms behind his back prevented anything else.
His legs were still twitching.
He swallowed and he tasted blood.
Trey shifted and came closer
again and pointed the gun at Mark’s forehead again, “So do you have anything to
say to me before I fuck you up or kill you?”
Even if Mark wanted to talk, he
couldn’t find his voice. Instead his body shook and trembled and he was trying
to breathe somewhat normal. He tasted blood and sweat running over his face,
into his mouth, from his nose and he felt severe pain.
Trey now stated, “Well Mark, if
you won’t say anything, let me say something. I really wish you wouldn’t have
stuck your nose into my very personal business. I’m a pretty busy guy and my
business was really flourishing but you kind of fucked that up by making some
stupid decisions. You think you have Chiara but she’s not yours and she’ll
never be yours. She’s first and foremost my bitch and you made a fucking huge
mistake trying to interfere with all of that. I want to keep her cock sucking
hole quiet and I want to make her remember where her place is, which is with me
and on the streets where her ass and pussy belongs. You do realize hundreds of
motherfuckers had had a piece of her ass before and fucked her brains out a
thousand times. She’s nothing but a piece of flesh that actually brings in
fucking cash for my business. I kind of like her I guess, I do buy her shit and
I think I treat her decent. I have known her for a long time you know and so we
have a history. I don’t want that history or my future with Chiara get
destroyed by you. But I need to make sure she doesn’t turn on me or all her
friends and even though I don’t want to do this I kind of have to. I’m still
not all the way sure if I want to kill you or just fuck you up. A slow death
would be kind of a cool thing. I could hurt you really bad but not kill you all
the way. I mean you’re already fucked up in a wheelchair so I’d have to be
creative with what I could do to you to add on to make your life even
shittier.”
Mark now opened his eyes and
looked up at Trey. The gun was still pointing at his forehead and he swallowed
hard, trying to find his voice.
His words didn’t want to come out
right as he struggled to talk, “I don’t give…give a fuck…if...”
He had to stop talking as he had
to take some quick breaths.
Trey leaned down closer to Mark
and said, “Give a fuck if what?”
“If I die…I’ll die…loving her.”
Mark coughed and took some gurgling
breaths, then kept on, “Just let her…go. You…you can kill me but…but let her
go. Just leave her alone…”
He gasped for air and coughed with
gurgling sounds.
Trey pretended to be surprised,
“Wow, did you guys hear that? He’ll sacrifice himself for her.”
They all laughed and Mark felt
his heart race at his own words. It was really not far-fetched that Trey would
kill him any moment.
Trey then asked, “You actually
love her?’
Mark tried to swallow but felt
his throat restricted.
He was barely able to speak, “I
do…and I…I beg…you to let…let her go and…have…”
He stopped, breathing quick in
gasps, then continued, “Let her...let her have…a chance for…for a normal life…she’s
tired and she wants…wants to be free from…all of it.”
He was exhaling and inhaling
quickly through his mouth now, feeling his anxiety increase and his body give
in to its tremors and the pain he felt.
Trey was still staring at him
right there, “Shit man, you’re so fucking boring. You’ve literally no fighting
spirit in you. I wanted this all to be so different but like this I just have
to finish you.”
Mark coughed and closed his eyes
again, he felt tears come up in his eyes now and he felt the strength leave
his body as he felt dizzy. He could barely hold it together anymore. His hands
were numb from being tied up, his body felt cold and he was shivering now. He
really had no idea how his legs were holding up. They were twitching like they
were trying to run away but instead looked like flopping fish out of water.
Trey glanced at his legs, “Shit,
your legs are seriously fucked up, man.”
Trey pushed the gun harder
against Mark’s forehead and Mark expected that this would be the end and squeezed
his eyes shut. He didn’t dare look up at Trey anymore.
Instead he barely brought over
his lips once more, “I loved her like I’ve…like I’ve never loved anyone in my…in
my life before and just…just so you know…she was into me…into me like no one
else. She wanted…all of this…she wanted my…my fucked-up body so much…because…”
Mark could barely talk anymore
and only gasped the next words, “She’s…is into fucked up legs and…and guys
who…who can’t walk. I’m…I’m exactly the kind of guy she…she thought of…when you
fucked her a thousand…thousand times. If she even came…came with you inside
her…it’s because she…thought of guys like me with fucked up…legs.”
He had no more strength and he
was sure that would be his end. Trey would pull the trigger and the bullet
would race into his head and maybe come out on the other side and he immediately
would lay there in a puddle of blood and take his last breath.
This didn’t happen though but
instead he now got more kicks to his face, to his chest and to his arms. Trey
was furious and full of rage now. Mark’s words had triggered him to unleash all
of his fury on him now.
He went at Mark for at least five
minutes and Mark couldn’t do anything. Trey’s three cohorts stood by and
watched as Trey unleashed an overload of rage on Mark.
Mark opened his eyes once more
and saw Trey over him kicking and gasping and the last thing he heard him say
before he passed out was, “She’s mine and she’ll always be mine. Fuck you
cripple.”
It was now nine o’clock and
Chiara woke from a nap and when she looked at the clock on the wall, she was
shocked and quickly she called out for the officers outside her door, “Excuse
me.”
Officer Barrington had come in at
eight and was pulling the evening shift duty. He sat outside the door on a
chair at a small desk and heard Chiara’s trembling voice from inside the room.
He walked in and Chiara was
sitting in her bed and before he could ask what was going on, she asked, “Did
my boyfriend call this evening since he left?”
Officer Barrington shook his
head, “No, not that I know of. I can ask Officer Newland.”“Yes, please ask him. My boyfriend was supposed to call when he got home after he left here. He’s been calling when he gets home. I’m worried about him.”
Officer Barrington walked out and came back in shortly after, “So, no, Mark has not called since he left. There are no recorded calls.”
Chiara felt her body start shaking and her hands tremble, “I need to call him. I need to make sure he’s okay.”
Officer Barrington thought for a moment, “We’ll call him.”
Chiara felt panic creep up, “Please do it now. I’m very worried. He wouldn’t forget to call. He knows it’s important to me. Please do it right away.”
She could barely sit still and Officer Barrington nodded, “Okay, okay. I’ll call him right now.”
He had all of Mark’s information
in his computer and brought up Mark’s phone number, then dialed it and waited.
After a few moments, Mark’s voice
mail came on and Officer Barrington hung up, slightly wondering about this.
He came back into the room, “So,
it went to voice mail.”
Chiara’s heart was racing,
“That’s not possible. He has his phone on him for me and he was going to call
me like he did every night since I’ve been here. Please call him again.”Officer Barrington dialed again, this time on speaker and before the phone went to voice mail, he said, “If the voice mail comes on, don’t say anything.”
And right then Mark’s voice mail
came on again.
He pushed the end call button and
looked at Chiara.
Her face was full of fear and
worry, “Something is wrong. Something happened to Mark. You need to send
someone to his place or track his phone and find him.”
Officer Barrington was thinking
about this and debated about the urgency of this situation, “Maybe he just
can’t get to the phone right now.”Chiara now felt tears come up in her eyes, “No, he always has his phone on him, especially right now with everything going on. Please go to his place or please find him, I beg you.”
Officer Barrington heard Chiara’s
obvious anxiety about this situation and he started debating on any further
action. Trey Espinoza was still on the loose and there was a slight chance that
Trey would be back in Seattle.
He looked at Chiara, “I’ll make
some phone calls.”
Chiara said with a trembling
voice, “Or call Officer Collins, he’s Mark’s friend. He can go check on him.”“I’ll make some phone calls.”
Chiara was absolutely terrified
now about something having happened to Mark and she started crying.
Officer Barrington did make some
phone calls and deliberated with the Seattle PD police chief on what to do.
After some considerations about the current situation with Trey being on the
run, Mark having basically led the police to where Trey was and the danger Mark
could find himself in, it was decided that a Police patrol would be sent out to
Mark’s place and check on him to see if he was all right.
Officer Barrington informed
Chiara and she was crying, “Please do it soon.”
“They’re already on their way out
there.” Chiara looked at Officer Barrington with glistening eyes, “I can just feel it. Something happened to Mark. Trey Espinoza is very dangerous. If he’s out there, everyone needs to be careful, even the police officers.”
Officer Barrington decided to go
back out and make another call, maybe just a patrol wouldn’t be enough. If Trey
Espinoza would for some reason be at Mark’s apartment, this situation could get
very dangerous and needed to be handled in a different way.
Shortly thereafter a SWAT team
was activated to go out to Mark’s place. According to the newest update the
chance of Trey being in Seattle again was very high and all indications were
pointing to his wanting to go into hiding or maybe taking revenge on Mark for
having assisted in the bust in Portland.
Chiara sat in her bed with
Officer Barrington and the nurse by her side as she cried and was scared and
worried. Anxiety took over and she was getting so nervous and scared that she
had to be given a slight sedative to calm her down. Even with the medication
though she constantly talked about something having happened to Mark and what
she would do if that was the case. She basically talked about ending her life
if worst case scenario had happened to Mark.
The nurse held her and Officer
Barrington watched and stayed in contact with Seattle PD.
It was shortly before eleven that
night when ten members of the Seattle PD SWAT team heavily armed and in full combat
gear silently got out of their armored vehicles at Mark’s apartment complex.
They didn’t want to stir up any neighbors or anyone really. They set up their
formation outside his apartment door and were ready to bust it open.
From inside the apartment they
heard the TV on and they heard male muffled voices laughing and talking. And it
wasn’t only one voice but several.
Everything happened in an instant
when the door was busted open and four SWAT team members stayed outside and six
members of the team stormed Mark’s apartment and caught four men sitting in the
living room by surprise.
Fire was opened right away, shots
were fired, and people were screaming and after about three minutes the
shooting stopped because four men lay dead in Mark’s apartment.
The TV was in pieces, blood
pooled on the floor, guns were scattered next to bodies, and holes were in
walls. The SWAT team quickly assessed the situation squatting down over the
four bodies and confirming their deaths and talking on their radios relaying
the information to headquarters. All four men had been armed and had been
shooting at the officers. None of the SWAT officers was down, they had been
wearing all their protective gear and bullet proof vests.
Mark’s TiLite wheelchair was over
on the side but Mark was nowhere. None of the four men was Mark. Two officers
still armed and ready made their way through the hallway toward Mark’s bedroom
and following protocol quickly stepped into the bedroom assessing if there was
any more threat. No one was in the bedroom, only a dim lamp on the bedside table
was on.
The bathroom door was closed and
again they snuck up to the door, ready with their weapons and two additional
officers coming into the bedroom behind them, two more were out in the hallway,
all pointing their guns toward the bedroom, ready to shoot to kill if there
should be any more threat of a shooter.
One of the officers carefully
opened the bathroom door and pushed it open, quickly both officers pointed their
guns into the dark bathroom. A faint light from the bedroom shone into the
bathroom. The officer switched on the light and the bathroom was bright now.
They discovered the body of man,
blood drenched in the tub and a dead black cat next to him.
One of the officers called out, “There’s a person down in here. Not sure if he’s still alive.”
All the officers now came over
and one of the officers had already squatted down next to Mark and put his
fingers on his aortic vein in his neck, “He’s still got a pulse. Call an
ambulance!”
Mark was a bundle of blood and motionless
body in the blood drenched tub. His face was covered in blood, his hoodie had
been torn and his T-Shirt was drenched in blood. His Jeans was hanging halfway
off his hips, his boxers were showing and in his crotch his jeans were saturated
with urine. His legs had stopped twitching a while ago, his body had given in
to the injuries and the violence. His heart rate was slow, his blood pressure
had dropped dangerously low.
Mark was barely breathing
anymore, his eyes were swollen shut, his lips were busted and bloody, his face
had been kicked and beaten and was streaked with blood, his arms were still
tied behind his back. His hair hung stringy, wet from blood and sweat and his body
was covered in dark bruises from the violent kicks and blows he had endured for
almost three hours.
The ambulance got there and the
EMT’s were shocked to see Mark in the state he was in but tended to him quickly.
He was barely breathing and didn’t make a sound or any kind of motion when they
tended to him. Ranger was placed in a plastic bag.
Officer Barrington walked into
Chiara’s room. The nurse was holding her in her arms and Chiara looked up
expectantly with tear filled eyes.
Officer Barrington then explained
softly, “They found Mark, he’s alive but seriously injured. They’re trying to
save his life at the moment. He’s en route to the hospital.”
Chiara broke down and nothing and
no one could calm her down. After Officer Barrington had told her about Mark she
was screaming and crying and she didn’t stop until they actually gave her an IV
sedative.
That night in Mark’s apartment Trey
Espinoza and three of his men were shot and killed. The SWAT team had done exactly
what they had to do as they came under fire right when they stormed the
apartment. With the death of these four men, an underground prostitution ring
had been cracked badly and it was just a matter of time now when more people
would get arrested and other women would be freed.
What an intense chapter. Can't remember that I've read something like that before on this blog. But I like the suspension and action.
ReplyDeleteOmg
ReplyDeleteWow so intense! Dani your writing is great
ReplyDeleteSuspenseful and incredibly well written. Thank you for an amazing chapter.
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