The Runners: Chapter 32
Chapter 32
“You were supposed to take care of the problem!” A vexed voice thundered inside the opulent office of Dr. Chandler. Gretzky was visibly dismayed as he berated at a man wearing a fedora while seated quietly in a cushy leather sofa. His thick, yet sharp tone of voice reverberated off the walls and windows of this magnificent space and seemed to linger on. Smoking his cigar, Dr. Chandler looked on the two men’s exchanges from behind his desk, showing no intention of intervening.
“Grrrrr,” the target of the scream let out a low growl as he remained sitting, unfazed by castigating Gretzky. His head was resting on his hands that were joined at the respective finger tips. The weight of his head supported primarily by two index fingers, he kept his eyes closed as if he was in deep thoughts, oblivious to angry Gretzky.
“He is good! Maybe better than I had expected.” Woodson took off his hat as he spoke softly. He placed the hat on top of the glass coffee table and raised his head to meet Gretzky’s furious stares, but said nothing. Woodson couldn’t help, but wonder how David was able to overcome his hired assassin.
“You’re praising the rookie and accepting your miserable failure? You’ve just messed up big time!” Not being able to contain his rising anger and frustration, Gretzky abruptly stood up from his seat, slapping both his hands on the surface of the coffee table. Then, he bent forward over the table to stare down at Woodson. At the same time, he gave a quick glance over to Dr. Chandler to see if he had anything to interject.
Chandler just puffed away at his cigar without acknowledging Gretzky. He was enjoying this show down of the two big egos who were about to go at each other. Gretzky being the hot headed one of the two, while Woodson was more reserved and measured, Chandler was curious as to who would come out as the victor between the two. Seeing that Chandler had no intention of interrupting the exchange, Gretzky returned to staring down on Woodson accompanied by coarse breathing.
“I underestimated the rookie… After all, his training and service records were impeccable. I should say it is second to none. I thought of it too lightly,” then, adding a bit of sarcasm for Gretzky to hear, Woodson became more complementary of David “he did deserve to be assigned to me.”
“Am I hearing the hell right?” Now, all the more infuriated, Gretzky raised his voice a notch, “you dare to show up to this meeting and all you can say is praise the little bastard that you should’ve taken care of long time ago? This is unbelievable!”
“She was our best killer! Things always tidied up when she was sent to a job. David was no match for her. Hmm…” Woodson’s praise slowly turning into a concern, he began to consider David to be a rather large roadblock, a threat to his grand plan and well being. Woodson saw David as a rookie who lacked the real world experiences. As a result, he had tolerated David’s snooping around the old files since there was no easy way to link the dots that will connect back to him. After all, the critical files were secretly encoded by none other than Darren, the computer genius. However, his opinion has changed acutely after his assassin failed to finish off what he had considered to be a small inconvenience. He suddenly realized that it would take a more calculated approach to eliminate this rising threat.
Woodson was oblivious to Gretzky who was now fuming just above him. Feeling disrespected by Woodson, Gretzky burst.
“What the hell are you going to do? If you and your miserable team are not up to handling the situation, I will do it for you!” Gretzky pounded the glass table and straightened himself up to a standing position. Then he looked over to Chandler, threw his arms open and palms up in disgust. At the same time, Gretzky was waiting for Chandler’s disposition on what he had just suggested with respect to doing the job himself.
“Well?” Gretzky looked over to Chandler, his arms still open. But again, Chandler had no interest in intervening.
“It will take more than a loud mouthing son of a bitch to get it done right!” No longer able to ignore Gretzky being in his face and growing more disrespectful, Woodson let Gretzky know that he was out of line. Woodson respected Gretzky for his absolute loyalty to Chandler. But, he always thought of Gretzky as a hot headed, ignorant son of a bitch who was and shall, always, remain beneath him.
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Unlike Woodson’s elite background, Gretzky’s did not have the notable education or employment history. He was the only child of a single mother from a humble family. He was a troubled young man from early on. Growing up without a father, Gretzky lacked discipline and role model. He roamed the streets with the wrong crowd as he became involved in petty crimes and got into trouble with the law when he was young. He spent a few months in a juvenile correctional facility where he decided that he needed to shape up. But, his environment did not help him as he made acquaintances with several active members of the local gangs while in the facility. This experience would shape his later career.
The life was not easy for Gretzky. However, he had worked hard to finish high school. Then, he had managed to enroll with the local Milwaukee law enforcement recruitment program with the earned certificate. He was a good cadet and no physical challenge was too difficult for him.
In one instance, in a self defense demonstration class, one of the wrestling instructors called out for volunteers. As none came forth, the instructor began calling the cadets shameful names and began throwing unimaginable insults at them. Driven by feeling disrespected, Gretzky stood up and came forth onto the center of the mat. Welcoming this young cadet, the instructor sneered at him. Then, approaching close, he grabbed young Gretzky by the shirt and attempted to throw him over his back using a Judo technique. But, Gretzky did not fall. Instead, he had diffused the attack, making the instructor feel embarrassed.
Having been humiliated, the instructor rushed towards Gretzky, grabbing hold of the young cadet’s trousers. He then attempted to lift Gretzky off the ground. However, Gretzky twisted his body half way to his right and placed his right leg between the legs of the instructor, effectively countering the instructor’s move. The instructor momentarily gave up and released his hold somewhat at which point Gretzky used his opponent’s momentum to throw him over his back. The instructor landed hard and rolled a few feet as the cadets burst out shouting repeatedly, “Gretzky,” “Gretzky!”
Gretzky proceeded to help the instructor get up on to his feet by extending his right hand to him. Visibly upset and embarrassed by the defeat to a cadet, the instructor refused the young man’s gesture by slapping Gretzky’s hand away. The instructor got up and stormed out of the training session, losing all of what he had in terms of dignity. This had prompted another instructor to hastily take over and finish the session. From that point on, Gretzky became known as the ‘Iron Gretzky’ and no one ever called him by his first name since.
He had completed his training successfully and became a local officer with the Milwaukee Office. He performed his job well. However, he wasn’t able to break his ties to the local gang members from the past juvenile years. As a result, he got involved in corrupt activities by helping small time gangs further their financial gains. That was all for small money which he eventually got tired of. Few years after he had joined the Milwaukee Office, his mother, who was his only family member and had some level of refraining effect on him, had passed away. This momentous event was the turning point in the life of Gretzky.
He wanted to make a name for himself. Then a big break came when he applied for a private security job at VTT. He was hired and rose in the ranks of the security team. Then, he was assigned to the team responsible for the security details of Dr. Chandler. He did not let this opportunity escape him. He was loyal, resilient, committed, and brutal when necessary.
One day, he had accompanied his new boss on his visit to a research center in the Nevada desert, where he had made an extremely strong impression on Chandler. Since then, he rose rapidly in the ranks and several years later, he became the chief body guard, the go to guy for Chandler. Dr. Chandler trusted him because Gretzky was loyal and will go to any lengths to complete a given mission. Gretzky hasn’t disappointed Chandler’s expectations, not even once.
Here they were. The two men, Woodson and Gretzky, who came from very different walks of life, but were placed in the same room about to clash in a show down. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. Chandler saw a good combination and was able to bring both in to further his objectives. But, there were always strains in these two men’s interactions as their backgrounds are far from being relatable. Gretzky did not trust Woodson because he always thought Woodson to be someone who could betray for personal gains. At the same time, Woodson felt Gretzky to be beneath him in every respect. These differences, perceptions, and conflicts kept both men at bay from each other. This conflict was going to manifest in some form of clash as time went by. Today was turning out to be that day.
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“This is fucking over your head!” Gretzky thundered back at Woodson. “You,” leaning even closer to Woodson than before, “have no clue! You let this rookie run around right underneath your nose!” continued Gretzky, “and you call for someone else to get it done when you are right there every day with the little piece of shit!” Gretzky’s voice grew louder with each new exchange. Gretzky swung his right arm wildly while pointing his index finger right at Woodson’s nose. All the while, he was staring down directly at Woodson like a lion about to devour his prey.
“In your mind,” shaking his head in displeasure, Woodson sat back in his seat as he said, “if I had killed my own subordinate, no one would eventually find that out and trace things to me and back here, ultimately?” Woodson was very frustrated with Gretzky, yet seemed to remain calm. Woodson had to remain undetected to protect his own interests. At the same time, it would also shield Chandler and others who were all involved in this conspiracy
“No! You do it so that no one knows that it was you!” Somewhat contained, Gretzky responded.
“And, how do you suppose you will manage that if you were me?” Woodson came right back, knowing that Gretzky had no answer.
“This problem is more complicated than what you make it out to be. Let me worry and deal with it in an unsuspecting way or it will put everyone out in the open!” Woodson continued, “Unless of course, you have a better solution…” There was a long pause and no response was heard from Gretzky. He just stared at Woodson fuming wildly.
“I didn’t think so.” Woodson picked up the hat from the coffee table and put it on his head as he stood up. Then, he turned to Chandler to voice his displeasure.
“And, I suggest you keep your mad bull dog from barking too loud. I will deal with it!” and he took a couple of steps towards the door. As far as Woodson was concerned, this meeting was over.
“You…son of a bitch!” Gretzky ran over the glass table and lunged at Woodson from behind. Crashing into Woodson, Gretzky’s momentum sent both men onto the floor and they rolled over several times. They got separated as the two masses collided against the vases containing giant saguaro cactus, shattering them all over the floor. Woodson landed on his back and quickly righted himself on one knee while Gretzky stopped himself from rolling further by braking with his palms and feet. Then, they both got up quickly and launched at each other as neither hesitated a moment.
Older but more leaner, Woodson got to Gretzky first. He took a swing at Gretzky who was able to block with his left arm as he lowered his head at the right time. Immediately, Gretzky came back and swung at Woodson’s head, which Woodson had dodged. Both threw fast rhythmic punches at each other. To the untrained eyes, they appeared to be attacking each other wildly without any coordinated skills. However, each one’s movements were rapidly anticipated by the other person.
Each ducked and swayed left to right and right to left, dodging series of punches from each other. Then, for a very brief moment, Gretzky saw a window of opportunity to penetrate Woodson’s defense. He launched himself and was able to grab around Woodson’s neck. With right hand, he applied pressure on Woodson’s jugular veins while pushing him backwards.
At this time, Chandler stopped puffing his cigar and immediately stood up behind his desk. “Enough!” He yelled seeing that the situation has gone much farther than he wanted. Simultaneously, both men froze on their feet. The loose soil from the broken vases rose up from the ground, dispersing as it floated like black ashes, rising from a fire. It filled the space where the two men now stood still.
“Argh!” Gretzky let out a silent moan that only he could hear. He felt a sharp object near his Adam’s apple. Gretzky kept his eyes on Woodson while Woodson was looking down on the ground. There were droplets of blood on the floor, which was traced back to Gretzky’s neck. Small amount of blood trickled off the switch blade that Woodson held against Gretzky’s neck. Gretzky gently relieved the pressure from his grasp of Woodson’s neck and he felt the sharp object being pulled away from his own. Gretzky turned to Chandler, completely releasing his hold on Woodson as Woodson returned the favor by folding the blade away from Gretzky. He wiped Gretzky’s blood off the blade against his coat and placed it back into his belt holster.
“Disagreements aside, we must work together! I won’t let either of you compromise my operations. Is that understood?” Chandler could not afford to lose either one. He needed an UNSC insider who was capable of navigating through the maze of law enforcement. Woodson provided exactly what he needed with his position. With his connections and being around the block for a while in many critical roles, there was not a better person. He needed Gretzky because of his absolute loyalty. He could not pick one over the other at this juncture although he trusted Gretzky more by far than Woodson.
Chandler also knew that harming Woodson without the necessary precautions would expose himself to be vulnerable to the persecutions by the UN agencies. He also knew that Woodson would have had enough intel on him securely stowed away as an insurance policy.
“As far as I can tell, this fight is a draw!” continued Chandler, “you are both concerned with this problem as I am. I’d prefer—-,” he flipped his hand to signal Gretzky to withdraw to which Gretzky obliged reluctantly, but obediently. Gretzky took one step back and moved few paces to the right of where Woodson stood, never taking his eyes off of Woodson. Woodson gave a quick shot at Gretzky and turned to face Chandler.
“I said, I’ll take care of it!” cutting off Chandler nearly grinding his teeth, Woodson reiterated his intention that he would handle it himself.
“Of course you will,” Chandler said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Chandler knew it better than to push the issue. He also believed that Woodson would be better suited to eliminate this particular roadblock.
“But, the problem needs to go away quickly,” now sitting back in his chair, “we must not risk missing our timeline!” Chandler crossed his feet, one over the other as he placed them on top of his desk and he repeated, “quickly.” He leaned back and puffed out a lung full of smoke towards the ceiling and watched the smoke rise up and dispersing away before reaching the ceiling. He knew that all his plans could disappear just like that puff of smoke should there be a compromise. Chandler couldn’t let that happen. He needed both these men to succeed. However, he would not hesitate to eliminate anyone should the need arises. This wasn’t the time, not just yet, and certainly not in this abrupt impetuous way to allow this conflict to continue.
Woodson picked up his fedora off the floor. He dusted it off with his hand and tapped it against his slacks. Once satisfied that it was clean enough, he placed the hat back on and turned to the door. Then, without giving a second look to either man, Woodson confidently made his way out.
“You will hear from me once the problem is eradicated. In the mean time, leash your bulldog!” Then, he entered the elevator and the door shut behind him.
“Son of a bitch!” Fuming over the departing verbal shots from Woodson, Gretzky swore loudly and threw half of the broken vase at the closing elevator door. It shattered all over the room littering soil, dust, and broken pieces of porcelain in every direction.
“I will get you….Woodson!” Gretzky promised to himself. Then, he paced around back and forth fuming before sitting on the sofa. He felt the wounds in the neck as a reminder to get back at Woodson. All the while, Chandler took in Gretzky’s reaction as he watched the smoke disappear.