[Chapter 67: The Battle for Revenge]
The red Jeep Wrangler turned off 20th Street and entered the Palisades neighborhood. Behind the wheel was Miller Collins, his right hand resting on Kevin's thigh.
The two exchanged a tender smile, their eyes locking for a moment.
In the flow of traffic, Edward drove a van, keeping a close but safe distance behind them. From the passenger seat, Hawke was almost certain they were on their way to the house Miller was renting.
He had worked out several contingency plans, mapping out locations like the beach, park, a house, and a hotel. The hotel was the least desirable, and the house came in second.
To avoid raising suspicion, Kevin couldn't directly lead anyone out into the wilderness. The house was more manageable; Hawke had previously bought specialized footpegs for climbing lampposts.
As traffic slowed ahead, the van followed suit. A turn later, a high-lift work vehicle appeared up ahead, with workers in reflective vests attending to streetlamp maintenance. Hawke had spotted this truck the last time he came by.
Days had passed, yet it was still here working. Jobs like this could easily be lost if one worked too quickly.
Hawke quickly said, "I looked up Miller's house here; it has a pool in the front yard. Get in touch with Kevin and tell him to take Miller to the front yard."
Eric immediately took out his phone, his fingers darting over the screen as he drafted the message.
...
Just then, the Wrangler turned off the road, and Miller clicked a button on the remote, waiting for the gate to open before driving in.
While Miller parked and got out, Kevin pulled out his vibrating phone and quickly glanced at the new message.
He then tucked the phone away and stepped out, staring at the turquoise expanse of the pool. "Wow, what a beautiful pool! Can we swim later?"
"No problem," Miller replied, pulling Kevin along. "Come on, let me show you the house."
Kevin followed him.
...
Not far outside, Edward parked the car. Eric looked toward the house but saw only trees, with the tall black walls blocking their view.
He sighed, "How do we get the shot? Are we just going to barge in? What if that jerk has a gun? Should I wait here while I take the camera in on my own and test the waters?"
Hawke stopped him, saying, "Don't rush it."
Eric, driven by his thirst for revenge, asked, "What do we do now?"
Edward reassured him, "Don't worry; our boss is a whiz at climbing lampposts -- known as the Lamppost God!"
Eric, having read plenty of wild literature for his craft, asked, "Do we hang people from lampposts?"
"No," Edward gestured. "Just up and down, up and down; your hands get calloused and become very handy."
"But I can't climb," Eric lamented. "Besides, I want to do this myself."
Ignoring these jumbled thoughts, Hawke quickly surveyed the area to ensure no one was coming out. He then instructed Edward, "Drive the car back; head toward the cherry picker."
Peering at the height of the trees and the black wall, Eric recalled the height of the lift and excitedly grabbed Hawke's arm. "You're a genius!"
Hawke dismissed the footpegs from consideration and said, "You'll operate the camera yourself; vent all your frustrations through the filming."
Eric remembered the humiliation he suffered and slammed the seat back in frustration, spatting angrily, "I'm going to ruin that jerk!"
...
Edward drove back, parking the van near the lift.
Hawke got out of the car and walked over. A Mexican worker in a hard hat shouted, "Dangerous work! Stay back! Don't come over here!"
Hawke replied loudly, "Who's in charge here? I've got business to discuss."
Edward and Eric followed closely behind. Edward crossed his arms and shouted, "Want to make some cash? If you do, get over here quick!"
Behind a cone, a hefty black man raised his hard hat, studying Hawke for a moment before his focus landed on Edward. He smirked and said, "Savior, is that you?"
Edward recognized that familiar voice and responded with just a hint of surprise, "Bull Daddy?"
The big man walked past the cone and approached Edward. "I thought I was seeing things; turns out it's really you. Savior, still causing trouble for those women?"
"I'm saving them, okay? Without my comfort, they'd wither away in loneliness."
Hawke was a bit surprised that the lead man knew Edward but pressed forward since they were already engaged. He cleared his throat gently.
Edward quickly made introductions, "This is my current boss; this is my former boss, Benjamin 'Bull Daddy' Daniels. He used to do landscaping, but I guess he switched jobs."
Hawke cut to the chase, "We want to make a deal. We need to borrow your lift for a maximum of two hours."
Benjamin Daniels, a business-minded man, shot right back, "A thousand bucks." He pointed at Edward. "That's because I'm doing this for the Savior."
Without hesitation, Eric pulled out a stack of cash from his pocket, counted some out, and shoved it into Benjamin Daniels's hand. "You work for us for the next two hours."
Benjamin Daniels pocketed the cash and shouted to the others, "Boys, pack it up; we're working now!"
Hawke asked, "Do you still have work clothes and hard hats? One for each of us."
With police patrols occasionally rolling through the wealthy district, it was easy to get what you wanted when you had money. Benjamin Daniels rummaged through his truck and pulled out uniforms, hard hats, and reflective vests, handing them out cheerfully.
Hawke put one on while Eric and Edward did the same.
...
The Mexican driver packed up the lift as the other workers put the cones back in the truck. Benjamin Daniels hopped in his pickup, and with the lift following behind, they rolled forward alongside the van.
The three vehicles parked near a lamppost close to Miller's house.
Hawke caught sight of an approaching black-and-white sedan in the distance and warned Edward and Eric, "Get to work; keep quiet."
The three donned their hard hats and began unloading the cones from the truck, setting them up around the lift.
A patrol car rolled up slowly, and the passenger window descended. A middle-aged Black police officer peered out and said, "Bull, you guys are really getting things done today, huh?"
Benjamin Daniels waved cheerfully, "Doing a bit here and there to stretch out the job; if we finish too quickly, I can't make any money, and then Bull goes broke."
"Don't let me interrupt you," the officer replied, rolling his window back up.
The patrol car sped off quickly, disappearing from the scene.
...
Hawke returned to the vehicle, grabbed the camera, and handed it to Eric. He glanced at the lift and asked, "Is it working? If not, don't push it."
Eric, feeling optimistic, grinned, "Climbing high and low to shoot, that's basic for directors. This is nothing."
Hawke encouraged, "You're better at filming than I am; just stay safe. No matter what happens, safety comes first."
Eric replied, "Got it."
Once the lift's support legs were down, Benjamin Daniels directed Eric to get into the bucket while the driver raised it up.
Hawke pointed to the trees beyond the black wall and said, "Hide the lift behind the treetops, use the branches and leaves for cover."
Benjamin Daniels immediately instructed the driver to comply.
Hawke pulled out Eric's phone and sent a text to Kevin.
As the lift rose higher, Eric positioned himself in the treetops, easily looking beyond branches and leaves and beyond the black wall to see the house inside.
The private blue pool sparkled under the sun in the courtyard in front of the house.
Eric gave Hawke an "OK" sign from above while the bucket settled mostly behind the trees.
He powered on the camera, removed the lens cap, and aimed it at the courtyard, his hands steady as a rock.
In his heart, Eric knew Hawke had worked hard to create this opportunity for him to exact his revenge personally.
...
At that moment, the side door of the house opened, revealing two men in swim trunks making their way to the pool.
Eric adjusted the camera to follow their movements, zooming in to capture their faces.
The two men jumped into the pool, splashing around playfully and embracing suddenly.
Kevin retreated backward, perching at the edge of the pool.
Miller leaned over, lowering his head...
Eric zoomed in once more, continuing to record.
He lost track of time until Miller suddenly lifted his head and wiped at the corner of his mouth.
In that instant, he caught a glint of reflection, quickly turning his head to see a figure standing in the lift with a camera pointed their way -- shooting them from behind the trees.
Miller pointed and shouted, "Hey! Don't you dare film me! Stop it! Stop it!"
Eric, realizing he'd been spotted, panicked and yelled down, "Get me down! He saw me!"
The lift began to descend slowly.
Inside the black wall, Miller sensed something was off and tugged at Kevin. "Get inside now!"
Kevin, being an actor, reacted even more frantically than Miller, tripping on his way inside.
Miller rushed back into the room, hastily throwing on some clothes and picking up the phone to call.
Kevin was a wide-eyed mess, unsure of what to do next.
Miller set down the phone, trying to reassure him, "It's fine; I can handle it."
He then handed Kevin a gift box, saying, "No matter what happens, don't say a word."
*****
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