Page 75 of Monk
Moving slowly and sticking to the shadows as much as possible, I make my way down the slope, closing the gap between us. When I’m within thirty yards, I lean against the trunk of a tree and take aim. Movement in the bushes just across a narrow spot in the river draws my attention. Spencer seems to see it at the same time, and wheels around, bringing his sidearm up.
“No!” I scream as I break cover and head straight for him, hoping to draw his attention from Kasey.
Spencer spins, bringing his weapon to bear. I hear the sharp pop of the shot and feel something slam into my shoulder. Kasey screams as it drives me back a step and knocks me on my ass. It feels like a fire has erupted in my arm and I feel it going numb, though an excruciating pain spreads through my shoulder and upper chest.
With the warm, viscous feeling of blood pouring down my chest, I raise my weapon and squeeze off a shot. The ground near his feet seems to jump, spraying dirt and debris into the air. Spencer dances to his left, readjusting his aim, and I find myself staring straight down the dark barrel of his weapon. My gut tightens and my heart starts to pound like I’ve just run a marathon.
As he squeezes off a shot, I roll to my right. I hear the solid thump of his slug hitting the earth where I was laying a moment ago. I get to my feet as he squeezes off another shot, the slug slamming into the tree trunk beside me with a solid thud. I feel a white-hot pain slice across my cheek, my shoulder throbbing, agony radiating through my entire body.
Dropping on one knee, I ignore the pain and raise my weapon, bracing it on my leg as I squeeze off a burst. I see a red mist spray into the air and watch as Spencer’s leg crumples beneath him. His scream is long and tortured, the sound of a man in pain, and he clutches his thigh. As I move to the right, he raises his arm and squeezes off three more shots in rapid succession. All of them are wildly off the mark.
Coming around the trunk of a tree, I see Spencer trying to rise to his feet, and when he spots me, he raises his weapon once more. The sound of it dry firing is audible even from where I stand. Despite the feeling of liquid fire burning in my shoulder, I smile viciously at him.
“Looks like I win,” I say.
Holding my AR at the ready, I walk down the slope toward him. Still on his knees, he lets out a roar and hurls his empty weapon at me. Like his final three shots, it doesn’t even come close. As I move in on him, I see Kasey step out of the bushes on the other side of the river. She splashes through the water and runs straight at me, tears streaking her dirt-covered face.
I get to Spencer first and sneer down at him. “I should fucking kill you right now,” I say, my voice cold and emotionless.
“You don’t have the balls,” he says.
His eyes widen when I stick the barrel of my weapon against his forehead. He swallows hard, sweat pouring down his face, and he trembles wildly. Spencer holds his hands up.
“Please don’t,” he says with a whisper.
“You don’t need to kill him, Jacob. You won. You beat him.”
I give her a smile. “You beat him. You outsmarted him, Kasey.”
Spencer’s eyes narrow as recognition seems to set in. His mouth opens and closes a few times as he tries to force the words out.
“You’re Jacob?” he finally manages to croak. “Jacob Tulo… whatever? You’re that guy?”
“Yeah. That’s me. Tulowhatever.”
He smirks, and then winces as the pain from his leg wound ripples through him. Spencer’s eyes focus on the barrel of my weapon, which is still pressed flush to his forehead. I cut a glance at Kasey and her eyes are wide, scared. She reaches out and puts a hand on my arm, and though she says nothing, I can all but hear her begging me not to kill him.
“She’s told me about you. Never got over you, I guess,” he tells me.
“Guess not.”
“So, what now?” he asks.
“Give me a good reason I shouldn’t pull this trigger,” I glower at him.
“Because I never did anything to you?”
“For all of the pain and stress you’ve caused Kasey, I should put a thousand rounds into your fucking skull.”
She shakes her head. “He’s not worth it, Jacob. You should not have to carry the stain of killing this piece of shit on your soul.”
“Knowing he’s still alive in this world after what he did to you is going to be a stain on my soul.”
“He’s going to prison,” she says. “He’s going to prison for a very long time and you know things have a way of… working themselves out.”
I let out a long breath and stare down at the man on his knees. His eyes are red and shimmering with tears as he contemplates his own mortality. I want to kill him. I really want to kill him. But I also don’t want to be a monster. Not anymore. After everything I did in Afghanistan, my soul is stained enough and Kasey is right, he’s not worth it.
As if sensing that I’m not going to kill him, Spencer sits up a bit straighter. The fear drains from his eyes, and a wavering smile of relief touches his lips. I can’t let him think he’s won any sort of a victory here, so I quickly spin my weapon around and bring the butt of it down on his forehead. It lets out a loud crunch and Spencer crumples to the ground. Kasey looks at me with wide, scared eyes.
