Chapter 15

Ethan and Alex had been at the front door and heard the commotion inside the farmhouse. They had seen when Vinnie's men had gotten the upper hand on the Jump Street officers and knew that they had to get to them before the two thugs ended their lives. Ethan motioned for Alex to quietly follow him to the back of the house and hopefully they could get a jump on them. Very quietly and cautiously they snuck to the back of the house and hid behind the shed. Within moments the back door opened and the two mob men were walking out with Doug and Tom in front of them, held at gunpoint.

"Okay, down on your knees." One armed man said as he pushed Doug down on the ground. Tom was also shoved down so that he knelt down beside his partner. They both had their hands tied behind their backs.

Doug peered over at Tom who returned the glance. Where the hell are Ethan and Alex? Doug thought. Did Vinnie's men take them out too? Doug was beginning to get worried that this may be the end for him and his partner. His mind worked overtime trying to figure a way to get them out of this. He knew from experience that his best friend was also doing the same.

"So, which one of you wants to go first?" One man said with a laugh. He held the gun against the base of Tom's skull while looking at Doug with a smile on his face. "You want to watch pretty boy here get killed first?"

Doug struggled against the man that held him down on the ground. "You son of a bitch…" he muttered. He heard the click of the hammer being cocked on the guns trained on them. He closed his eyes and said a quiet prayer. He couldn't help but flinch when he heard one gun go off, then the other. But as he sat there, his eyes closed and waiting for the pain to wash over him, it never came. Hearing a commotion behind him he opened his eyes expecting to see his partner dead beside him. A look of shock crossed his face however when he saw his friend still sitting next to him. What he saw next shocked him even more. The two armed men that were ready to shoot them were now lying on the ground, each sporting bullet wounds in their chests. Doug let out a relieved sigh as Ethan and Alex came up and began untying the ropes that bound them.

"Am I ever glad to see you two." Doug said, rubbing his sore wrists. He took the gun that Alex handed him and stood up with his partners.

"Yeah, great timing." Tom added.

"We heard all the commotion inside and saw these two idiots bringing you out here. We just had to wait for the right moment to get the upper hand on them." Alex said.

"Well, thanks. We owe you a beer or two after this is all over." Doug said.

"Vinnie and his friends are heading to Vancouver tonight. We've got to stop them before they get a chance to cross that border." Tom said. "Let's stop them before they leave the house."

The cops quietly made their way back to the front of the house and waited for the men to come out. They heard movement inside and knew it wouldn't be long. They weren't disappointed when the door opened and the four criminals walked outside.

"Put your hands up where we can see them!" Ethan yelled. He had his gun trained on the men as they stopped. Before he could say anything else, gunshots echoed throughout the night. Ethan ducked behind the farmhouse and returned fire. The mobsters spread out and ducked for cover as the gunfight picked up in intensity.

Doug and Tom had dove behind a car as the first gunshot rang out. Tom looked around the edge of the car before firing a round. He ducked back behind the car as a bullet flew past his head, narrowly missing him.

"Give it up Vinnie, you're not getting out of here!" They heard Alex yell. His warning was answered with another gunshot. They heard someone yell out in pain and saw one of Vinnie's men hit the ground clutching his shoulder.

Doug peered over the top of the hood and fired another round, clipping a man in the hand. He dropped his gun and clutched his bleeding hand to his chest. He looked over at Tom, who seemed to be intently watching something in the distance. He didn't have a chance to speak before Tom jumped up from his hiding spot and took off. Doug looked in the distance and saw Vinnie running for a car.

"Shit, Tom! Wait for backup!" Doug yelled, but his partner was focused on stopping the mobster. He took off after his friend, hoping that he could get to him before a stray bullet did.

Tom was focused on one thing and one thing only. He had to stop Vinnie before he got into that car and got away. He sprinted towards the man that was almost to the car. He leapt towards Vinnie, tackling him from behind. He heard Vinnie let out a startled cry as he landed roughly on the ground. His gun was knocked from his hand and was just out of reach. Tom grabbed him by the collar and turned him over onto his back. Drawing back his fist, he delivered a strong blow to the man that had held him captive in the warehouse. But Vinnie wasn't giving up that easy. He returned the favor, hitting Tom in the jaw and stunning him. Arms and fists flew as they continued to fight for control of the situation. Tom was caught off guard by a particularly strong fist that knocked him onto his back. Vinnie had a just a moment to lunge for the gun that he had dropped. Picking it up, he quickly turned back to Tom and aimed the weapon at his head. His finger was on the trigger and was about to pull it when a shot rang out. Vinnie yelled out as the gun fell from his hand. He clutched his shoulder that was now beginning to seep a deep crimson color. Doug stood behind him, his gun still aimed at Vinnie. He watched as Tom got up and went over to Vinnie and pulled out his handcuffs. None to gently he tugged his arms behind his back and cuffed him.

"You have the right to remain silent…" Tom began, panting and trying to catch his breath. Ethan and Alex came up behind them with a cuffed associate of Vinnie's. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" Tom continued. Once again the familiar dizziness was beginning to crowd in. He quickly snapped the cuffs on Vinnie just as Doug came up beside him. Doug noticed that Tom had gone extremely pale and instantly became concerned.

"Tom, you okay?" he asked his friend. He grabbed hold of Vinnie just as Tom sat down on the ground and put his head down between his knees.

"Yeah… yeah, just a bit dizzy. I'll be fine." Tom answered. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to get rid of the unwanted vertigo.

"Great job guys." Ethan said as he came up to the jump street officers. "We can finally put this scum behind bars where he belongs." He then noticed that Tom wasn't looking too great. "You okay Hanson?" Tom nodded as Ethan took hold of the prisoner and began to walk him back to the car. Tom slowly stood up and watched as Vinnie was led away.

"Enjoy your prison sentence Vinnie. Give my best to the rest of the inmates." Ethan said as they walked to the car.

Tom and Doug could hear Vinnie's laughter as he was led away. He suddenly stopped and turned back to the two cops. "I'll be seeing you boys soon, mark my words." With that he turned back around and let himself be placed inside the car.

Tom was awfully quite and still quite pale. He looked over at Doug just as the world began to spin. He took a step and was about to say something to his partner when the ground rushed up to meet him.

"Hanson!" Doug said, rushing up to his friend. Tom looked up at him and tried to smile.

"I'm okay…just…" Tom began.

"If you tell me that you're dizzy again, I'm going to clock you one Hanson." Doug said, helping his friend. "You're going back to the hospital and I don't want to hear any arguments. Got it?"

Tom sighed and agreed. "Okay, got it."

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Back at the hospital, Tom was once again tucked into an uncomfortable hospital bed. The doctor had examined him and said he would be fine but he wanted to keep him overnight for observation. This time Tom had no choice but to obey. He and Doug were talking over the case when the door opened. Ethan and Alex stepped inside and made their way over to the bed.

"How are you feeling Hanson?" Alex asked.

"I'm okay. They want to keep me overnight for observation. The doctor said all the dizziness and stuff is just from the concussion." Tom answered.

"Yeah, well, I told you that you shouldn't mess around with a concussion. You never should have left the hospital in the first place." Ethan stated.

Tom shook his head. "You sound like Doug. Besides, we got Vinnie and that's what's important. He's going to be put away for a long time. We got a good collar."

"Yeah, we did." Ethan said. "Alex and I want to thank you guys for all of your help on this one. We couldn't have done it without you guys."

"No problem. We enjoyed working with you." Doug said. "But who would have thought the mayor and some major players from the Seattle PD would have been involved in all this?"

"Just goes to show that you really need to know who your partners are." Tom said, glancing at Doug. Doug nodded in agreement.

"So, you guys heading back to Vancouver soon?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, the day after tomorrow as long as Hanson's cleared to go." Doug said.

"Well, you have a safe trip and if you're ever back in Seattle, stop in and we'll go for some beers." Ethan said.

"That goes for you guys too. If you're ever in Vancouver…" Tom said, extending his hand for a handshake. Ethan and Alex both took turns shaking Tom's hand, then Doug's.

"Take care guys." Ethan said as they left the hospital room. "We'll see you around."

Once the door closed, Tom leaned back into his pillows. It had been a long day and he was exhausted.

"Well, I'm going to let you get some sleep. I'll be back in the morning to check on you." Doug said. He stood up to leave but hesitated a moment. "You're not going to go check yourself out again, are you?"

Tom rolled his eyes at his partner. "Go to your apartment Penhall. I'm fine and I'm not going anywhere."

Doug let out a laugh and smiled at his partner. "Okay then, see you in the morning. Get some sleep."

Tom settled himself back into the pillows and closed his eyes. He felt himself begin to drift off into a dreamless sleep…a much needed and much deserved sleep.