Retaliation

Hearing footsteps behind her, Granny spins around to find a tall, dark stranger behind her. Granny anxiously glances toward her victim and then back at her.

"What are you doing?" a booming voice laughingly asks.

Granny's pale face turns sheet white. How am I going to explain it? Sweat rills from every pore of her body as she tries to think of an excuse.

"What are you doing?" the intruder asks again.

That voice sounds so familiar. Granny tries to recall where she's heard it before studying her large rounded build. After a few tense seconds Granny places the voice, the hefty body, to a name. "Jackie?" she questions.

"Of course, it's me, you goofball. I decided to wear a disguise this time to throw everyone off."

"I wish you would've told me instead of scaring me half to death like you did.."

"Sorry about that." Jackie chuckles.

"We'll talk about that later. Right now, I have a more important issue at hand." She turns toward her victim.

"Who are you waiting for?" Jackie asks, trying to see who's coming their way.

"The sorry sack of crap that killed my son. He was released on parole yesterday." Granny explains, resuming her stance.

"What do you want me to do?"

Granny smiles. "Watch and learn, dear child, watch and learn."

"I want to help." Jackie protests, stomping her foot in the dirt.

Granny smiles and says, "You'll have plenty of opportunities tonight."

"Do you think we'll get as many as last night?"

"It'll be more than that tonight, I'm sure."

"More?"

We're going to get everyone we can."

Granny glances up at the stars sparkling across the dark, cloudless sky a short while later. The full moon illuminates its glow all around them. "This one's for you," she murmurs, whacking the bloody corpse. Granny looks down at the battered man, glares at him, and says, "You can't kill anyone anymore." With her cane against her shoulder, she walks through the brush to find her partner, Jackie leaning against the car. "He's taken care of," Granny says, sliding into the driver's seat. Jackie hops in beside her. She glances toward where the body lays and says, "I know it won't bring my family back, but at least they got the justice they deserve." Wiping a tear from her cheek, they pull away. After a few minutes of silence sobs, Granny wipes her face and says, "Our next target is one I think you'll want to do." She hands her a stack of pictures lying between them. "He pimps out his wife and daughters to pay the bills." She looks over to find Jackie staring at two young girls. "His twins just turned six last week."

Jackie stares at the photo a little longer. A single tear trickles down her cheek. "The poor things never had a chance." Jackie's thoughts flashback to the last time she saw her siblings. They were being wheeled out on stretchers, barely holding onto life. Their daddy went ballistic, nearly killing them all. The girls were only four and five at the time, but they've seen more horror in their lifetime than an average adult ever will.

She then recalls standing over her dad, gun in hand. "You'll never hurt us again," she screams, pulling the trigger over and over until the clip is empty. I'm glad he's dead and that I made him suffer to the end. Wiping a tear from her cheek, she flips to the next photo.

It's a picture of their dad. He's a gruesome-looking man with a cold, blank stare. The hate in his eyes and the vile look on his face sends shivers down her spine. A memory flashes through Jackie's mind. "It can't be." Wanting a better look, Jackie flips on her phone. "Oh, my God, it is." Her hands tremble as she remembers the horrific night. Jackie pushes the image away. Tapping the picture, she says, "I ...I know him.

"Are you sure?"

Jackie nods. "He's one of the men who raped me when I was young." She pictures herself tied to her bed, his sizeable foul-smelling body lying on her. Jackie shakes the horrid image from her mind. "I want to take care of him on my own, get revenge for what he did to me, to my family."

"I think it's best if we work together on this. Our next target is a big man, and I'm afraid you might get hurt if you attempt taking him on alone."

"Don't worry, Granny, I can handle my own." She glares at the picture and adds, "You had your solo job, so I should have mine."

****

Granny and Jackie see their victim walking to his car when they pull up to the liquor store. The area is empty except for the junk heap he calls a car.

"There he is." Jackie reaches for the door handle.

Realizing she's about to bolt, Granny slams on her brakes. The car slides sideways in the gravel as it skids to a stop. "You can't take care of him here."

Jackie turns towards Granny. "And why not?"

"There are too many cameras around here." Granny points to a poll. She then points to the one on the building.

"Why did you take me here then?"

"You'll see." Smiling, Granny drives away. A little farther down, she pulls to the shoulder of the road. "What do you think about this spot?"

Jackie glances around. "It's pretty secluded," she says, still peeved.

"It's a perfect spot for a murder, don't you think?"

"So, what's your plan?"

"I'm going to flag him down. When he stops, I want you to sneak up behind him and hit him over the head. What you do from there is up to you. "

"I'm doing this one on my own, right?"

"If that's what you want."

Jackie wrings her hands, "It is. It is."

"Get ready, Jackie, because here he comes."

Seeing an old lady in distress, the man pulls to the shoulder of the road. Hopping out, he sloshes toward her and asks," What seems to be the trouble?"

***

The moon is shining brightly from the cloudless skies. The victim is motionless on the cold hard ground below her. Jackie glances down to find blood gushing from every pore in his body as he scarcely hangs on to life.

"That's for raping your wife and daughters." Jackie slams the cane down on his ribs. "This is for what you did to me." Childhood memories flood back as she continues to pound on his bloody flesh.

Granny hears police sirens in the distance; she turns to see red and blue lights flash across the sky. We have to get out of here.

Running over to Jackie, Granny grabs hold of her arm. "We've got to leave now."

Jackie pulls away. "I'm not done yet." She starts to swing again; Granny grabs hold of her cane. "The police are coming." Granny points down the road.

Jackie bends down, spits in his face, and says, "Now we can go."

"I'd say you are." Granny smiles, rushing to the car.

"Where do you want to go now?" Jackie asks, settling in the car.

"I think we should head to the bar."

"I'm sure we can wipe out a lot of drunks there." Jackie excitedly replies.

"That's my plan. Get as many as we can." Granny smiles as she throws the car in drive. Granny glances over at the bubbly woman beside her. She seems to be enjoying killing everyone way too much. A horrid thought suddenly comes to mind. Granny gives her partner a curious look. She wouldn't kill me. Would she?