This is a continuation to the story "Starting Over", which was written several years ago. It was not just a stroke story, but had some more fleshed out characters. I've tried to get started on this sequel several times, but never got going on it.
In the first chapter of Book II, we saw John Jackson pulled back into another crime that has been inflicted on one of the strippers from the same club he went to in the first Book. In this case, it was kidnapping. He and Luke Cole, a detective with which he had problems before, find her and one gets shot. This is the aftermath and continuation.
Main Characters
LTC (Retired) John Jackson, 5'11", 180, 46 years old.
Marie Jackson, John's dead wife, 5'8", 140, 44 years old.
Angelica Jackson, John and Marie's daughter, 5'5", 125, 19 years old.
Mary Bradford, bartender, 5'5", 120, 34 years old.
Margaret (Maggie) Bradford, Mary's sister, 5'6", 115, 37 years old, and John's love interest.
Madeleine (Maddie) Bradford, Maggie's daughter, 7 years old.
Juliet Margolin, waitress, 5'4", 145, 24 years old, Mary's cousin.
Samantha (Sam) Walker, 5'6", 130 pounds, 39 years old, John's neighbor.
Joyce Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 120 pounds, 20 years old, and now an exotic dancer.
Marion Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 115 pounds, 18 years old.
SFC (Retired) Craig Smithson, 6', 190, 47 years old, NCO from John's Army unit.
Captain Jeff Smithson, 5'11', 185, 44 years old, SFC Smithson's brother and a captain in the Seattle Police Department.
Jeanne (aka Jasmine) Welch, 5'5", 110, 21 years old, exotic dancer.
George Watkins, 6'4", 280, 35 years old, bouncer.
Olivia, 5'4", 120 pounds, 21 years old, called Livy, exotic dancer.
Luke Cole, 5'10", 180, detective in the Seattle Police Department.
Marcus Candiotti, strip club manager.
Previously:
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"Gun!" John shouted and he threw his body at Luke to tackle him out of the way. The door would slow down almost everything, but the windows and the wood panels on the bottom panels of the windows would not. He had worn a lightweight protective vest, but he was not sure that Luke had.
Everything happened so fast it took a while to put it together. Mason grabbed Livy's foot as she passed over him, bringing her down and she hit her head, dazing her. Jake turned and let loose a shot that passed through the window at about waist level at the time that John was tackling Luke.
So Livy was down, Mason was up and running and he and Jake took off out the back door. Meanwhile, Luke was rolling John off him to see what was wrong.
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Everything was jumbled and chaotic.
The bullet went through the window easily and had struck John on the lower back, on his vest, but still hard enough to do damage. Luke was thrown to the ground under John. He rolled John out of the way, and came up with his gun. Mason had gotten up, bolted up the stairs and started toward the back door after hearing the shot and seeing that it was Jake that was shooting. Jake followed on his heels. They burst out the back as Livy was slowly coming up the stairs, trying to keep her balance after being a little dazed from banging her head.
Luke was on his knees checking out John with his gun out. He peeked into the house to make sure the individual with the gun wasn't coming out and then went back to John.
Livy got to the top of the stairs just as Luke determined that John had been hit in the vest. He grabbed his police mic and yelled for an ambulance, backup, and gave the full name of Jake and added that he was with an accomplice. Luke had done his research after Juniper's statement the day before and determined that her son's father was Jake Alfredson. He just didn't know where he was staying as he had already had a patrol check out his last known address, where they found that he was no longer living.
Luke then rolled John onto his back, which hurt.
"Fuck, don't put me on my back." John was protesting.
"I'm going to pursue." He looked up at Livy as she came out of the house in just her bra and panties to crouch down next to John. "Stay with him until the backups and ambulance arrive. We'll get your statement from you soon." Then Luke took off through the house and out the back to see if there was any sign of them. He had to check John first, then call in the situation, then pursue. He had radioed his location when they first arrived at the house as was required, so his compatriots knew where he was. Now they just had to get there.
Livy knelt next to John, who had turned on his right side to keep the left off the porch. "Stay there John." She leaned over and gave him a kiss. "I knew that the club would call you in and that you would find me."
John groaned. "Yeah, but it looked like you were already loose. You got free?"
Livy grinned. "Yeah, just now."
Meanwhile, Luke had run out the back and all the way to the next street, but there was nothing that indicated he would find anything out there. He looked around and studied anything that might be moving or changing. Nothing. They had gotten away before he could get there. He headed back over to John and Livy.
The police backup arrived just three minutes after Luke called and the ambulance 5 minutes after that. The EMTs checked out John and then Livy and transported them both to the hospital in the same ambulance. Luke had gotten a quick description from Livy of her experience while the EMTs were loading John. He then explained what had happened to the other police while he directed them to cordon off the place with tape in preparation for the arrival of the forensic team. He needed the name of Jake's accomplice. He also wondered about the two of them. Jake had taken a shot at a police officer and Mason had allowed Livy to get the drop on him. This didn't sound like a crack team of kidnappers or whatever it was they were. There was probably a lot more to this. He waited and thought.
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Livy was taken to the hospital and held until early the next day. She was really only dehydrated and scared. She got up and got ready to go see John when they told her they were both going to be released. John had not rested as comfortably.
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April 16th, 2013