The Trouble with Dames part 5

It was getting on to four and neither Shepherd nor any of his men were around. Jason had spent the last half hour walking around the park. The half an hour before that he had planned his escape route and where he'd stop to take out any pursuers he'd have to kill. All in all he thought it was a sound plan. He only wished he had a different gun, feeling the weight of the heavy revolver in his pocket, it'd be a close shave he'd have to make each shot count. Shepherd would get two into the head Jason had already decided. Of course Jason wasn't really ready to go that far until he knew what Shepherd had came all the way across the country for. Behind him he heard a stick snapping, Jason spun hard and fast finding himself staring at an aging man, a man whom Jason once held a great reverence for.

"You're late," Jason said his voice a frozen blade.

"My apologies, my last meeting went a bit long, how are you doing my dear boy?"

"I'm doing fine," Jason said his hand gripped tightly around the gun he was growing impatient, "what do you want Mr. Shepherd?"

"Always with the respect," Shepherd smiled, "how many times do I have to tell you to call me Alex."

"You know me," Jason replied, "I was always raised to respect my elders."

"Well I'm getting on in my years and before I let Simon take over the reins of my empire I wanted to clear out a few accounts that I had allowed to go unattended for a while."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Well you see I felt kind of slighted when you left my friend," Alexander Shepherd responded casually.

Out of the corner of his eye Jason could see Simon step out of the trees, behind him two more of Shepherd's thugs. Turning his head Jason saw three more goons come into view. "I wasn't doing any job for you and I know I didn't owe you any money Alex."

"No you see. Simon had set his heart on that pretty little girl you took away with you. It seems he was planning on asking her to marry him. Did you know that Jason?"

"No I didn't. Nor would I care. Your son beat Susan; he beat her to within an inch of her life."

"Lies do not become you Jason; do you have any evidence of this?"

Jason paused stunned, "I... no."

"There you have it," Now normally I'd just let it go but nobody steals from a Shepherd. You know that Jason. How many times have I hired you to deal with someone who stole from me?"

"Christ Alex you can't be serious."

"Oh I am." Shepherd said with a smile an evil and malicious thing, "I am deadly serious."

Jason just stared at Alexander coldly as his hand slowly and quietly cocked back the hammer on the revolver hidden in his coat pocket. "Look Alex I don't have any problem with you. Hell I still respect you, but there's no way that psychopath is going near Susan. So I think we'd all be better off you just let it go. Just think of it as paying back on all those favors you owe me for cleaning up after your son."

"I'm sorry Jason it doesn't work like that," Jason could hear a tinge of regret in Alexander's words, "but we'll make it quick for you. I owe you that much."

"No Alex you don't owe me that, but I promise I'll make it quick for you" Jason responded as he lift the revolver from his pocket and fired a pair of slugs at Alexander Shepherd. Jason was already off running forwards as the bullets collided with the old man first in the neck than in the chest causing Alexander Shepherd to spin as he fell. Another pair of bullets strode towards Simon, but the young man managed to duck out of the way. Instead the slugs found a mark in the man on Simon's left. As Jason reached Alexander Shepherd he used one more bullet on the old man creating a large hole in Alexander Shepherd's forehead. A sixth bullet launched forwards to hit one of the men on his right. It was a lucky shot as the man crumpled to the ground with a massive hole growing out the back of his head. Before any of the others could get their guns out Jason was gone heading into the park. As he twisted his head to look back a bullet imbedded itself into a near by tree. Jason was already reloading the revolver, and a few moments later he dived behind a tree and fired again, two more bullets, one hit Simon in the shoulder, the second shattering the knee of one of his men. A third bullet went wide as Jason took off running again.

"Three more he panted to himself as he ran," he panted to himself. As Jason turned sharply to the right he took a bullet in the left arm. A grunt of pain was all he could afford as he stumbled and rolled forwards. Jason came up firing three more bullets as quickly as he could afford. The other two henchmen fell to the ground and Jason rolled once more to get behind a tree to avoid a deadly close shot from Simon's Beretta.

Jason was already reloading as Simon came up beside him and poked him in the side of the head, "get up you piece of shit."

"And if I don't?"

"First I'll off you than I'll go and have some fun with Susan and little Darien."

"You son of a bitch," Jason said as he pitched to the side hitting Simon in the waist and bringing the thinner man to the ground. The gun flew from Simon's hand and landed a few feet away, but Jason wouldn't need a gun to deal with Simon.

As Jason landed a massive fist into the side of Simon's head the younger man could only cry out in pain weakly bringing up his hands to defend himself.

As Jason continued to rain heavy blows upon the face of Simon he shouted, "You come to my city?! You come here and you threaten my family?! Who the hell do you think you are?! You're not in New York anymore you don't have anyone to look after you shit! Now look what you've done it's just you and me!"

After a few minutes Jason could feel parts of the shattered skull imbed themselves into his hand. Breathing heavily Jason stopped and stood up, "See what happens when you come after me? You should have left it alone Simon."

Silently Jason moved over to his fallen gun and picked up the heavy revolver. Snapping the chamber shut he stood over Simon and fired a pair of bullets into the unconscious man's chest and a second into the pulp that was his face.

"No one threatens my family."