Bartlebee leapt down from the rafters of the warehouse to land right on the backs of two men carrying crates full of pills waiting to be sold illegally. Quick punches to the back of their heads knocked them out and Bartlebee dragged them back into the shadows.
This warehouse was some kind of hub for most if not all of the drugs being sold in town. He had tracked multiple dealers back here and now he had finally decided to strike.
His plan was to tie up all the guards and then call the cops to come get all the drugs. So far it was all going perfectly. Desiree had been nervous about him going back into action so soon, but she seemed to understand that it was something he needed to do. Plus, she thought the costume was sexy as hell.
Bartlebee grabbed another guard pulling a cart piled high with weed and slammed him into a shelf. He dragged this one out of the main walkway and tied him up behind a barrel.
After the last guard was unconscious, Bartlebee used one of their phones to make a 911 call about the drugs. Then he slipped out the back and drove home to Desiree.
+
"Arthur!" Sam shouted angrily. "Arthur, wake up!"
Arthur's eyes snapped open. It was not wise to ignore Sam when she was upset. "WhatdidIdoImsosorry!"
"You have company," Sam growled.
"What time is it - Oh my God!" Arthur shouted when he saw Hank holding a gun to Sam's head. Only then did he remember that Sam had not been in his house when he fell asleep.
"We have another problem, Mr. Knob," Varner paced the room behind Hank and Sam. "And this one, I'm afraid, is much more severe."
"Mr. Varner, I don't understand. I've told you everything that I know. Why do you have Sam held hostage like this?" Arthur asked.
"Over zealous young Mr. Bean has crossed a line. He attacked one of my business interests and proceeded to phone the police. He cost me quite a bit of money," Varner explained.
"Oh God!" Arthur exclaimed.
"Close, but it's Varner," the older man said dryly.
"Please believe me when I say I had no idea he was going to do something so stupid! I specifically warned him to stay away from you!" Arthur pleaded. He could almost accept getting himself killed after all the crazy shit he had done over the years, but bringing Sam down with him was too much to contemplate.
"And I believe you. I know you, Mr. Knob. You are a trustworthy fellow. That is why your friend Bartlebee will not hesitate to do as you say when you tell him you need to meet with him at your home today at noon," Varner said.
Arthur closed his eyes and swore to himself.
"I will be keeping an eye on Miss Samantha until you have done what I ask." Varner smiled icily and then left.
"Shit-shit-shit!" Arthur screamed at his empty house. There was no question as to whether or not Varner was going to kill Bartlebee for this. A fool might be given a second chance, this was Port Haven after all and the town was filled to the brim with them, but a direct attack on one of his businesses? That he would not suffer peacefully. Varner wanted Arthur to deliver his best friend to his death. A death he had earned with his own stupidity, but death nonetheless.
And on the other hand was Sam's life. Sam who he had so recently realized was much more than an ordinary friend and should have been more for a great deal longer if it hadn't been for Arthur's stupidity and obliviousness. And Varner would surely kill Arthur if he crossed him. And Arthur's family. There were a lot of bodies stacked up against Bartlebee's.
In the end the choice wasn't as difficult as Arthur would have liked to be able to claim. He went over to Sam's place, got one of her guns out of the gun cabinet in her closet, and went in search of Bartlebee.
Not surprisingly, Arthur found his accountant turned vigilante friend at Desiree's apartment. "Sorry to interrupt," Arthur said bashfully. "Could you meet me over at my house around noon? I need someone to hold the ladder while I climb up on the roof and cover up a leak. It's supposed to rain this weekend."
"Sure," Bartlebee agreed happily. He did everything happily these days. "You sure you don’t want me to come over now?”
Arthur shook his head. “No, I have dimes to make this morning. Noon?”
Bartlebee agreed and Arthur left hurriedly. He actually did spend the rest of the morning minting dimes. Time dragged on and on. Guilt gnawed at Arthur as he worked. What the hell had he gone to Sam’s to get the gun for? He couldn’t possibly get the jump on Varner and Hank! Plus, he didn’t want to just start firing at them when Sam would almost certainly be near them. Arthur knew there was no good decision, but he still felt shitty about it.
A few minutes before noon Hank arrived with Sam. It looked as though Sam had not been the most cooperative of hostages. She was bound and gagged, with zip ties around her wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles. Other than the angry glower on her face she looked like she had sustained no serious bodily harm.
“You’re man will be here?” Hank asked. He sat Sam down in one of the kitchen chairs and stood behind her with his gun pressed against the back of her head.
Arthur stood to Hank’s left, next to the refrigerator. He nodded. “Mr. Varner won’t be joining us?”
Hank frowned disapprovingly at Arthur. “Mr. Varner has better things to do with his time than deal with the likes of you.”
Arthur nodded. He tried to give Sam a reassuring look, but if she saw it didn’t help her look any less angry.
Bartlebee arrived right on time, just like Arthur had known he would. “Hey Arthur, I-” Bartlebee froze just inside the kitchen.
“Don’t do anything rash, Bartlebee,” Arthur advised.
“What’s going on?” Bartlebee asked nervously. He was very obviously scanning the kitchen and trying to formulate some kind of escape/rescue plan.
Arthur sighed. “You hit one of Mr. Varner’s businesses last night. I warned you to stay well away from him.”
“The drug depot was Varner’s? Shit! I had no idea! Hank, please, you’ve got to believe I had no idea that place was Mr. Varner’s!” Bartlebee explained rapidly.
Hank was unmoved. He remained silent.
“Wait a minute...you sold me out?” Bartlebee asked Arthur, incredulous.
Arthur couldn’t meet Bartlebee’s eye. “They had Sam. They would have gotten my family. I’m sorry, Bartlebee.”
“No, I’m sorry. Sorry you’re such a spineless piece of shit! When Smith had Desiree I fought for her!” Bartlebee shouted righteously.
“And you would have died if I hadn’t been there!” Arthur shot back. “I told you to stop this nonsense after that. Hell, I begged you! We all knew this was going to end with you buried in some unmarked grave, Bartlebee. All of us but you.”
“No. I could have done it. I could have fixed this town. It wasn’t worth fixing, not with assholes like you living in it. I can’t believe you’d turn me in just like that. We’ve known each other since kindergarten, Arthur!” Bartlebee took an angry step forward and Hank moved his gun from the back of Sam’s head to pointing at Bartlebee.
Arthur closed his eyes and ground his teeth. Then his eyes snapped open. Varner wasn’t here, just Hank. And Bartlebee was right, Arthur was a spineless piece of shit and everyone in town knew it, especially Hank. Arthur turned, pulled the gun out of his pocket, and painted Hank’s brains all over the ugly kitchen wallpaper.
The room was silent for a long moment. Arthur finally came to his senses and ungagged Sam. “Jesus, Arthur!” she yelled as soon as the cloth was out of her mouth.
“I know, I know! Shit, I need to think.” Arthur closed his eyes and tried to figure out how he was going to explain this to Varner.
Bartlebee was still standing, transfixed with his mouth hanging open.
“Ummm...no, Varner would never believe Bartlebee got the drop on Hank…” Arthur thought out loud as he grabbed the scissors and cut Sam’s bonds. She immediately threw her arms around him and kissed him.
“You are so stupid, do you know that? You’re going to have to leave town now, we both are. Varner isn’t the type of guy to leave someone’s girlfriend alone when he’s on a warpath,” Sam pointed out.
Arthur picked Sam up by her waist, spun her around, and kissed her on the mouth. “Sam, you’re a genius!”
“I know, but what did I say that made you realize it now?” she asked curiously.
“I’ve got it, I know what we tell Varner. He’d never believe that Bartlebee was able to surprise Hank, but since Desiree will have to leave town anyway, why don’t we tell him that she snuck in through a back window and shot Hank from the hallway? The angle is perfect!” Arthur gestured excitedly to the hallway right behind him.
“That might actually work,” Sam said, sounding impressed.
“It has to,” Arthur decided. “Bartlebee, are you okay to drive?”
He nodded numbly.
“Then I need you to go get Desiree and start driving. Pick a direction, any direction, and just go. Don’t stop to sleep tonight. And change directions at least once!” Arthur added. He handed Bartlebee the gun he had killed Hank with. “Ditch that somewhere along the road before you make your first direction change.”
Bartlebee threw his arms around Arthur in a bear hug. “I take everything back that I just said about you! I’m the asshole!”
“Shut up, we don’t have time for that kind of talk!” Arthur hugged him back. “Now get going and don’t forget to ditch your phones and credit cards. Cash only, okay?”
Bartlebee nodded and ran out.
That left Arthur and Sam alone in his kitchen with Hank’s mostly headless body. “What the hell do we do now?” Sam asked.
“Varner knows Hank was here so we can’t just bury him like we did Smith. I have to call Varner and tell him our story,” Arthur answered.
“Do you think he’ll buy it?”
Arthur shrugged. “If he doesn’t there’s going to be a lot more blood in this kitchen.”
Sam took his arm and smiled. “If it comes to that, let’s make sure it’s his.”
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