needed a way to get us out of the country. Nothing personal, I swear.”
Tommy looks around for any sign of his old friend. Jackson can only faintly feel the sting of pain from his broken ribs. The anger at Tommy’s betrayal has him so enraged the pain has grown numb.
Thinking Jackson must have swum down the beach away from the pier, Tommy drops the bags and puts the pistol back in his pocket. Breathing heavily, Tommy picks up one of the bags and heads toward his car.
Tommy is laboring to carry the heavy baggage, and Jackson sees it as his chance to surprise the traitor. He springs from the water and pounces on Tommy with a tackle that would have brought down Walter Payton.
Both men fall to the sand with a hard thud. Tommy screams as his ankle snaps and the wind is knocked from his chest with a jolt. Jackson beats flesh and sand frantically with tightly-clasped fists. A few blows find their mark; others smack uselessly against the beach. Tommy, desperate to escape, rolls away from his attacker and struggles to pull the gun from his pocket.
Jackson sees the sun glisten off the cold steel and grabs a hold of Tommy’s forearms. They roll around in the sand like tiny tornados. Jackson’s eardrums violently vibrate at the sudden blast from the gun between the men. He rolls off of Tommy and sees blood pouring from the mouth of his old friend. Tommy coughs twice. Blood splatters the sand as he tries vainly to roll over. The bleeding man’s eyes widen just as his pulse stops.
Bruised and battered, Jackson makes his way to Tommy’s car thinking tomorrow he’ll trade the yacht for an engagement ring. Alice seems like the answer because she is all he can think about now.
***
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