1 The Beginning of the End

I'm racing down these dark, deserted streets, hoping to escape the law. I've been trying to flee from these unwavering detectives for what seems like a lifetime now. Every fiber in my being screams in pain, and my heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest. I want to put an end to this merciless manhunt, but Jen and our kids will be in grave danger If I do. So, with every ounce of strength and determination I can muster, I keep moving on. My name is Tommy Campbell, and this is my story.

***

It all began on what seemed to be a typical hot July day. The temperature was in the mid-nineties, but the humidity made it feel like it had reached triple-digits. I'd just clocked when my phone rang. Little did I know that answering the call would change my life forever.

"Hello?" I answer, wiping the sweat from my brow as I continue across the lot.

I feel the color drain from my face, my legs grow weak, and my heart pound furiously in my head as the doctor gives me the news. Shoving the phone to my ear, I manage to say, "Is… Is she alright?" ... Critical care?"I'm on my way." I don't know how many laws I broke that day trying to get tp my love that day.

I see my mother-in-law crying in the waiting room. In a state of panic, I dart towards her. "Where's Jen Is.. Is she alright?" I choke out

"I'm so sorry, Tommy," she sobs, pulling me close.

The overwhelming smell of liquor makes me gag. I push her away. "Sorry about what? Where's Jen? Is she alright?" I blurt out, anxiously looking around.

 "She wouldn't have had the accident if I'd picked her up like we'd planned," Mary sobs.

"What wouldn't have happened? What?" I ask, more frightened than before.

"Jen was in a terrible accident, and they're not sure if she will survive. Throwing her head in her hands, she cries, My baby might die. She might die, and it's all my fault. All my fault," she sobs, falling limply into the chair.

"Where is she?" I ask, glancing down the cold, sterile hall. "

"They've taken her to surgery."

"Surgery?"

"They're trying to stop the bleeding, Tommy." She sobs.

"What about our baby and the boys?"

"The boys are with their sitter."

"And the baby?" 

"The doctors aren't sure about her."

"It's a girl, we're having a girl?" I plop down in the chair. "After having three boys, we finally got a girl." 

"I'm so sorry, Tommy, so sorry I didn't do what I said I would.." Mary slurs.

 I suppose you lost track of time boozing it up at the club."

"I only had a couple of drinks with the girls."

"More like a couple dozen."

Mary looks toward the ground tears streaming down her pale face.

"Your drinking has gotten out of hand, Mary, way out of control."

"I know, Tommy, I know. And I'm going to stop it today, I promise."

"You say that now, but I bet you'll drink again before you hit the sack." 

"I won't be, Tommy, I won't. I swear I'll give it up this time." 

"You promised that so many times that I don't even believe you anymore, and neither does Jen." Mary took to the bottle after Jen's dad left. She's been going through booze, and men like their water ever since.

"I mean it this time."

"Yeah, right. The only time you'll stop drinking is when you're in your grave." A similar conversation I had with my dad replays in my mind. He died six months later on his way home from the bar. 

"That's not true. I can stop any time I want." 

I spin back around. "Prove it."

Mary dries her cheeks. With a determined look on her face, she slurs, "I will."

 Seeing one of the doctors step into the waiting room, I dash toward him.

"How's Jen and the baby? Are they going to be alright?" 

"You are?"

"I'm Jen's husband, Tommy." 

The doctor glances over at Mary, and she nods. "Jen's condition is stable for now."

"For now?"

"She has a condition known as cardiomyopathy, which is an enlargement of her heart."

"Yes, yes, I know. She's been taking medicine for that."

"The disease has become life-threatening. I imagine it was due to the dress of her pregnancy. I suggest she get a heart transplant soon after giving birth." 

I recall the doctor's warning about what could happen if she tried to carry the baby to term. Jen was so dead set on having a girl she wouldn't consider the alternative. "What do you suggest we do?"

Your wife will be kept on bedrest and monitored closely for the remainder of her pregnancy. When it's time to deliver, I suggest a c-section so your wife won't have to endure any unnecessary stress. 

"How about the baby?"

"We'll give her steroids to help develop her lungs.

"So the baby is alright?"

"She seems to be holding her own for now."

"When can I see her?"

He glances at his watch. "Our next visitation starts in an hour."

I storm towards the door. "Where are you going, Tommy?" Mary questions.

"I'm going to get some money for Jen's operation."

"What about visitations?"

"I'll be back before they begin."

We've looked into the cost of transplants when Jen was first diagnosed. Since my health insurance only covers a small portion and we're not eligible for financial assistance, my only option is to gather the large sum on my own. Besides winning the lottery, there is only one other way I know to accomplish the task Illegally, the way I did as a kid. 

Yeah, you heard me right. I've been on the wrong side of the law since the ripe old age of ten. I tried to make money the legal way, with a legitimate job, but no one was willing to hire a kid, not for real work anyhow. A few of the townspeople gave me odd jobs, raking their leaves, taking out their garbage, and things like that. I appreciated their charity, but it wasn't enough to put food on the table or pay the bills. Yeah. I was in charge of that, too, since Dad used all his money for booze and Mom left when I was young. So, I did the only thing I could, and that was to steal.

I pull my phone from my pocket as I head towards my car. "Hey Vinnie, it's me, Tommy. I have a business proposition for you." Vinnie, Larry, and I did some major looting in our younger years, and I was hoping we could do it again. "What would you say if I told you that you'll never have to work again?" ... "Yeah, I'm serious."...Meet you at our old place in ten."

I pull up to our old hideout a few minutes later. Vinnie is waiting for me by the door. "So what's this great plan you've cooked up?" he asks, pulling me inside. 

"Robbing houses." Seeing he's about to protest, I hold up my hand. "I know what you're going to say; it isn't worth the time. Normally, I'd agree, but the houses I have set up will put us on easy street, guaranteed." I pull out my phone and start running through the pictures. "What do you think about them?"

He takes the phone away and starts looking for himself. "They're beautiful and all, but I bet they're locked up tighter than Fort Knox."

"That's where my cameras come in." I can tell you the security codes for every door and every safe on the premises. I can even tell you the best time to hit."

"Why do you need my help then?"

"I figure the more that's involved, the bigger the take." 

"So what's our cut going to be on these jobs?"

"We'll split the profit equally between you, me, and Larr."

"You really think we'll make bank, robbing these houses?"

"I know we will."