As Selby gave the orders, Mallette jumped out of the van to head back to the warehouse. The cars Mallette had waiting outside had now pulled in behind the two vehicles that crashed through the gate.
Inside, Ames’ men had reached the conference room. Hearing voices coming from the room, they broke through the door and immediately started firing before they even had a chance to acquire their targets. Bullets pelted the room, though there were no victims to go along with it. All they succeeded in doing was destroying the room.
“What the hell?” one of the men said. “Where is everybody?”
He didn’t get a reply, and didn’t need one, as one of his men went down instantly. The gunshots were coming from behind them, where they had just come from. They immediately retreated into the room, though it was no escape. Mallette’s men didn’t need to proceed any further. They just needed to keep the others at bay for the moment.
Outside, the gunfire started flying by the cars. Mallette’s men—and Ames’ men—were lobbying bullets back and forth. The men in the lead car got dropped by Mallette’s men coming in behind them. Then, the men in the second car got out and met the same fate as the others. A furious exchange between the remaining men lasted for about thirty seconds.
Then it suddenly stopped. An ominous silence filled the air. Selby and a few others cautiously moved forward to check on the fallen men, as well as make sure the cars were empty. First, they checked the men on the ground, to make sure they were really dead and nobody was playing possum and would come up shooting.
But there was no playing involved here. They were all gone. Selby checked the vehicles. The first one was empty. Then they moved to the second one. They opened the front doors. It was clear. Then they opened the back doors. There was a man lying down on the floor, trying to keep himself concealed.
“Get up and get out,” Selby said, his gun pointed at the man.
Mallette’s men on the other side of the car also had their guns pointed at the man. If he came up shooting, he was as good as dead. The man didn’t resist, though. He slowly got out, his face not yet revealed as he slid his way out of the car. He kept his head down as he stood up straight.
Selby’s eyes lit up at the sight of Wilson Ames standing in front of him. He needed to tell his boss who was still just outside the front gate, waiting for word that it was safe for him to come in.
Selby motioned to the others. “Keep your guns pointed at him. If he moves, shoot him.”
Selby quickly ran back toward the gate, which was only a few seconds away. He turned the corner, seeing Mallette leaning against the wall.
“Boss… we got him.”
Mallette’s face indicated he wasn’t sure whether he should act surprised or excited, or some combination thereof. “Ames is here?”
Selby nodded. “And alive. He was in the second car that came in.”
Mallette excitedly slapped Selby on the arm. “Excellent. Let’s go.”
Selby led Mallette through the gate and to the car where Ames was still standing, guns still pointed at him.
As soon as Mallette locked eyes with him, a grin formed on his face. “Well, it looks like we meet again.”
“Take a while to think of that line?” Ames asked.
Mallette pointed to the warehouse with his thumb. “Take him inside.”
The others led Ames inside, with Mallette following a safe distance behind. Once they got there, Mallette was informed of the situation with the others. It was a standstill between Ames’ men in the conference room. They weren’t getting out without a fight, though they weren’t making a move to escape yet.
With Ames standing in the middle of the room, and Mallette’s guards still pointing weapons at him, Mallette started pacing around him.
“Would you like to tell your men in there to surrender?” Mallette asked.
“Nope.”
“There’s no hope for them. No way to escape. They’re trapped.”
Ames shrugged, not showing the slightest bit of concern. “Oh well.”
“Wouldn’t you like to make a deal in order to spare their lives?”
“What exactly do you want here, Rich?”
“The same thing I’ve always wanted. Power, control, authority. That’s always what it’s been about.”
“Fine. It appears you’ve won.”
Mallette laughed as he continued walking around his prisoner. “Yes, I have, haven’t I? Winning is such an intoxicating feeling, isn’t it? It can just consume a person, make it seem like nothing else is important, make you do things you normally wouldn’t do. Just for the sake of saying you’re the best. You’re on top. Nobody else is better than you… and everyone else is beneath you. To the victor go the spoils. Isn’t that right?”
“So they say.”
Mallette nodded. “So I’m claiming my spoils.”
“If you want to run me out of town, just do it. I’ll take my men, we’ll leave and never come back.”
Mallette laughed again. He looked at his men as he passed them. “Listen to this guy, will you? They’ll leave and never come back. Like I actually believe him.”
“You have my word. You’ve won. There’s nothing else I can do here. I’ve played my last hand. The men I have in there are all I’ve got left. I’m leaking oil and I can’t plug the leak.”
“Remember what I said about power. I have all of it. I can choose to end all of you right here if I so choose.”
“What good would that do? Like I said, you’ve won. Just tell us where you want us to go, and we’ll go there.”
Mallette walked around the back of Ames and grabbed a pistol out of the hand of one of his men. Once he was back in front of Ames, he stopped and brought the pistol up to Ames’ head, about a foot away from it.
“The only place I want you
