Problem Solving

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:

I write for my enjoyment and as therapy to exorcise some demons. Although my stories are mostly fictional, they are usually based loosely around actual events in my life.

Names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty. Just remember this is the internet.... Nothing here is real... If you do believe it is real, please seek professional help. Of course, any sex scenes occur only between persons aged 18 years or older.

I hope you enjoy reading this, but if not, I really don't give a fuck because I'm an Aussie..

Deal with it...!!

PROBLEM SOLVING

I knew within 5 minutes of them walking into the restaurant. I was very well known in this town, having lived here all of my 52 years. I don't know why she would even consider meeting another man anywhere near this area, because she had made the comment on more than one occasion, how it seemed that if she did anything around here, I would probably know about it before she did. While this was a town of nearly 85,000 people, it had that 'small town' vibe where there were very few secrets.

My name is Jack Johnson. My wife is Jill Johnson (nee Williams). We married 17 years ago after dating for a year followed by a 2 year engagement. We had 3 kids, the eldest, Lisa 18, in university then Toby 16, and Debra 15, still in high school. It was a second marriage for both of us. She is 44 but could pass for 35. We met when she rear-ended my boat whilst I was stopped at a red light. I had spent the day fishing with a few friends and was heading home when it happened.

From the moment I laid eyes on her, I was smitten. Blonde hair, blue eyes, typical 'girl next door' look. Ok, so my dick was doing my thinking for me. But if you saw what I saw stepping out of her car, yours would too. A white singlet top, 'Daisy Duke' cut-off denim shorts with a killer pair of heels.

Somehow, I managed to act like a gentleman and looked her in the eyes while we exchanged our information. The damage to the boat seemed limited mostly to the outboard. While I knew a replacement motor could be expensive, it was better than having structural damage to the boat itself. This was why I paid for insurance.

Her car had a bent front bumper and broken grille but was still drivable. We were just about to leave when a police car pulled up. As the officer got out, I quietly said "Shit!" Jill glanced at me but didn't say anything. The cop came over and said to me "Hi Jack, what have you been up to now?" I replied, "We just had a little fender bender and have exchanged details, so we're all good, Pete."

He looked at Jill and asked, "Is that right Miss?" She seemed taken aback but said it was. He then got her details and gave her his card, saying if she had any problems with me to call him. When she agreed, he told me to behave myself, then walked back to his vehicle, got in and slowly drove away, giving me a smirk as he went.

After he left, Jill said that he obviously knew me and wondered if she should be worried about that little exchange. I had a chuckle and said, "My brother has a strange sense of humor sometimes." I saw her visibly relax at that statement. I decided to push my luck and asked if she would like to go out with me sometime. Amazingly she agreed, probably thinking me having a cop for a brother, I would be safe. I told her I would call her when I knew what my upcoming schedule was.

Actually, I am safe. I have been known to re-educate some gents in the correct manner of how to treat a woman. My brother and I were brought up the old fashioned way. Show respect to everyone until such time as they no longer deserved your respect. I held to that a lot more tightly than Pete did. I'm sure that attitude cost me a few friendships though.

Two days later, my phone rang with an unknown caller. I answered with my loud, brash voice that I reserve for telemarketers and spam callers, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?" I yelled down the phone line. Was I worried this might be a business call?! No, because this was my personal number and only friends and close associates knew it. They also knew what I thought of spam callers.

Silence is all I heard. I was about to disconnect when a timid female voice asked, "Is that Jack?" She sounded vaguely familiar so I replied in a much gentler voice, "Yes, this is Jack, who are you?" "I'm Jill, the blind girl who ran into you." I immediately apologized for the way I answered the phone and explained why. She thought it was a hilarious.

I asked what I could do for her and she reminded me of my offer to take her out. She went on to explain she had a work engagement coming up on Friday evening and the office slime bags had been pestering her to be their date to the event. She was hoping I might become her 'Knight Errant' and save her from a fate worse than death. How could I refuse a request like that? I got the details and set a time of 6pm to pick her up.

Friday evening bang on 6pm, I rang her doorbell. When the door opened, any gentlemanly thoughts I had, deserted me. A lovelier vision I had never seen. She stood there wearing a royal blue evening gown with 3inch heels. Her golden hair was styled up on top of her head. Her makeup was sparingly applied, along with a faint whiff of a fragrance with a sweet smell. Perfect.

Somehow I kept my cool and we made it to the event intact. As soon as we arrived, I understood what she meant by the office slime bags comment. They kept coming up to her asking for a dance, whilst outright ignoring my presence. Jill had rejected every offer and was getting mightily pissed off with them all.

One young guy, who was full of piss and bad manners, drunkenly leaned over Jill and tried to kiss her. The slap she delivered to him was heard around the room. He reared back with a closed fist to retaliate when I stepped in front of him and said, "Do you really want to do that to my date?"

He may have been drunk, but he knew exactly who I was. A look of extreme fear fell across his face and he started apologizing profusely saying, "I am so very, very sorry Mr Johnson. I meant no disrespect to either you or Miss Williams." I replied," Would you have disrespected Miss Williams if I had not been here?"

He hung his head in shame. I glared at him, saying maybe it was time he and his drunk mates cut back on the alcohol for the night and started behaving like gentlemen. He agreed with me and went to join the others. As he walked off, I said just loudly enough for him to hear, "I'll see you around sometime." I watched the shiver travel down his spine.

While this exchange was going on, the entire room was silent. Why wouldn't it be. Just about everyone here knew who I was. I was affectionately known as The Problem Solver. I earned that title after my first wife, Anne, was caught in the crossfire between rival gangs on her way home from her first gynecological appointment.

Anne and I were high school sweethearts. We met when her family moved here and she started at our high school. We were both 13. It was soon apparent to everyone we belonged together. When we married just after our 18

th

birthdays, we exchanged our virginities on our honeymoon. It was truly magical.

We had only been married 3 years when Anne was murdered. Even though it was ruled an accidental death by the Coroner, I only saw it as outright murder.

There were 8 gangs around our hometown. Over a number of years, they had grown beyond the resources our town could expend to keep everyone safe from them. My brother told me 6 months after Anne was buried, the police had no hope in solving the problem anymore. They didn't even expect to be able to find who killed Anne.

I told Pete I needed to take a sabbatical and get my head together. He agreed that would be a good start. I called my boss that evening, telling him of my decision. He told me to take all the time I needed. I warned him it could be a few months but he said my job would still be waiting for me, no matter how long I took off.

My boss had been very good to me during this trying time. I suppose it helped that he was a 2

nd

cousin of my mother. He owned a packing factory that employed 80 people. I was the maintaince manager because I had a knack of being able to think outside the square when it came to solving difficult problems when machines broke down.

It was a cloudy day when I set off for my sabbatical. My first stop was at Anne's grave to tell her I needed some time to get myself together, but I would be back to deliver justice on those responsible for taking the two most important things in my life. At that, there was a small break in the clouds and a little ray of sun shone down on me. I felt a whisp of warm air caress my face and I knew Anne understood.

I had no destination in mind when I left the cemetery. I just turned away from town and drove until I felt tired. I stopped at the first small motel I saw and stayed the night. This was my life for the next 2 months. I know I saw a few tourist things but can't remember what they were. I did a hell of a lot of thinking and made some firm decisions.

I then headed to Uncle Max's farm. No-one in the family talked openly about Uncle Max, he was after all, the black sheep every family had. He was actually dads half-brother from a brief affair his mum succumbed to not long after her and grandad were married. Things were a lot different back in their day and divorce was rare.

I couldn't explain why but I always liked Uncle Max. He never tried to sugarcoat anything and I always respected his advice. It seemed to me he lived his life on the outside looking in. He tended to have a hard outer shell, but I knew there was a soft underbelly.

It was late afternoon when I arrived at his farm. I could see him in the distance plowing a paddock. I grabbed one of the 6-packs of beer I had brought, jumped on one of his quad bikes and headed toward the paddock. When I was 100 meters from him, he stopped plowing and watched me approach. I held up the beers and saw the smile spread across his face as he recognized me.

He held up 2 fingers, meaning he would be 2 minutes, then finished off the paddock. With that done, he climbed from the tractor holding out his large hand for the beer. He downed that in 6 seconds and retrieved the second. Before he opened it, he grabbed me in a bear hug saying he was so sorry about Anne. After his second beer and my first, we made our way back to his home.

We washed up, ate some dinner then sat on the verandah talking about life and the universe and how unfair it all seemed sometimes. I told him of my vow to Anne when I started my sabbatical and he nodded his head in understanding. I explained how Pete said they never expected to charge anyone with the crime and how out of control the gangs were back home.

Around 10pm, Max said it was time to turn in for the night as we had a big day ahead of us, starting a sunrise. I knew coming here, I would have to work for my keep. Pete and I were always taught there was no such thing as a free ride.

4am the next morning, Max woke me saying breakfast was ready, so get my fat arse out of bed. It was only a light meal to tide us over till mid-morning. As we got in his 4WD, he explained he and other farmers around the area, had a problem with feral pigs destroying their crops. Max had taught Pete and I about guns and safety while we were growing up.

So there we were in a hide Max set up a few days ago, waiting for the pigs to show up at dawn. He quietly said to me, "Just think of each pig as one of those gangbangers. Take out some frustrations on them." And I did. After a frenzied 5 minutes, I had taken down 5 pigs and Max had gotten 14. His last 2 were at a distance of around 400 meters.

When I asked him about that, he explained that it takes practice and discipline, plus also a bit of luck. I asked if he would teach me how and he agreed. It took 3 months before I could shoot nearly as well as he could. The pig problem disappeared.

During my 5 months away, I had kept sporadic contact with Pete and my family back home. On our last call, Pete mentioned how blatant the criminal activity was now. The police tried, but it was a losing battle. Under resourced and hobbled by laws that favored the criminals, he was seriously considering packing up his family and leaving town.

I relayed this to Uncle Max and saw anger cross his face but he said nothing. The mood that night was very somber. The next morning I told Max it was time I headed home as I had promises to keep and things to do. He understood what I was really saying and told me to keep my head down and don't do anything too stupid.

As I put my bag in the car, he brought out the rifle I used for pig shooting, along with 1000 rounds of ammunition. All he said was, "Remember to breathe steady and concentrate. Good luck!" As I drove away, I wondered if I would see him again.

On the drive home, I contemplated what I was planning to do. I honestly believed there was only a very slim chance of me surviving my upcoming actions. My plan was simple, take out as many gangbangers as I could. The police couldn't do it without ending up in jail themselves. I wondered how our justice system had become so fucked up that the criminals had more rights than the rest of us. Besides, they had taken my reason for living, so I would take their lives as recompense.

I arrived back at the house Anne and I lived in when she was still alive. Without her there, it wasn't a home anymore. As I entered, I could smell the musky scent of a closed up house. The mail sat on the kitchen table along with a fine layer of dust. Pete had a spare key. So I suspected he had been keeping an eye on the place, even though I never thought to ask him.

I then opened the fridge expecting the worst after 5 months but found it empty and clean. Thanks again Pete. When I looked out the window, I saw the recently cut grass. It was mid-afternoon so I called Pete to thank him. He didn't answer, so I left a message and decided to do some shopping. Apart from some tinned foods the cupboards were bare. Before I left, I unpacked in the spare room as I still struggled going into 'our' bedroom.

When I returned with my supplies, I stocked the fridge, filled the pantry and cracked open a beer. As I sat on the back veranda, wondering how to go about my quest, my phone rang with a call from Pete. He asked what's up and I replied I just called to thank him for looking after the house.

Realizing I was back, he stated that Beth, his wife, and the kids would love to catch up with me. When I suggested tonight, he replied he couldn't because there was a 'sting' going down and it was all hands on deck. I casually asked where it was happening, but all he would say was it southside of town. I told him to call with a time we could catch up and he said he would.

A germ of an idea started forming in my head. Probably a bad idea but it was all I had so far. I quickly dug through all my old clothing and found the darkest outfit I could find. I even retrieved an old ski mask I forgot I had. Then I ate a light meal before changing into my new outfit.

By now, I'm sure you can figure out what my plan is. Follow the police, give them some back-up and take out as many gang members as I could, hopefully not getting shot, or caught in the process. I loved the 'KISS' principle when it came to planning.

Here I was, sitting in my car in the garage waiting for darkness to fall. I had my rifle, 4 ammunition clips with 30 cartridges in each plus another 2 boxes of cartridges just in case. I pressed the button on my remote to open the garage door and nothing happened. The door never moved. I quickly got out of the car and saw the door motor had been disconnected.

I plugged it back in and pressed the remote again. It opened easily, so I jumped in the car and turned the key. Again, nothing happened. I said out loud to nobody, "What the fuck is going on?" It was then I felt the whisp of warm air caress my cheek again. I knew then, I was not going out tonight.

I closed the garage door, took my rifle and ammunition to the secure storeroom under the stairs and proceeded up to bed. It was only 8pm but I felt exhausted. As I lay half awake in the early dawn light, I felt Annes arms around me and her leg over my thigh. I quietly said, "That was a stupid idea hey?" She squeezed me a bit tighter.

I suddenly realized Anne couldn't really be there, but it felt so real to me. I closed my eyes and thanked her for keeping me safe. I felt the warm caress on my cheek and contentedly fell asleep again. When I woke later, for the first time in months, I felt totally rested. I then noticed I had slept in our bed. I knew then I would sleep here for the rest of my life.

After a hearty breakfast, I moved back into the master bedroom. Around 11am, Pete called me asking if we could meet up now, somewhere private. I suggested he grab some take-away chicken and come over to my place. He said he would be there in 30 minutes. I made sure I had some cold soft drinks in the fridge because Pete didn't drink and drive.

When he arrived, we had our 'bro hug and he stood back looking at me. He said it was good to see me back in the land of the living again. I sheepishly told him something very profane happened last night that made me feel I had a future here again. When he asked what, I said I wasn't ready to discuss it with anyone yet, but if I told him, he would probably want to lock me up. He gave me a look that I had never seen before from him.

I suggested we eat and he could tell me what he needed to talk to me about. When we finished eating I sat back and said the floor was his. He leaned forward in his chair, looking me in the eyes and said, "Sorry, but I have to ask where you were last night?" I then leaned forward, looked him in the eyes and said, "Why do you want to know that, Officer Johnson? And why would you be sorry about it?"

I knew calling him Officer Johnson would throw him off, but I never suspected by how much. He had tears in his eyes as he explained the sting they pulled turned into a total fuckup. One officer was killed, two more were severely injured. In the tally up, the police could account for 5 dead gang members. Yet somehow, there were 9 bodies.

I looked at him and had to ask, "Do you really think I had something to do with that?" He said he knew it sounded crazy, but I had told him how I had learnt to shoot better and he knew I had an axe to grind and reparations to collect. It just seemed odd that the same day I return, something like this happens. He apologized again, saying it was just his cop mind overthinking things.

He got up to leave and I asked him to let me know a good day for dinner at his place. My calendar was open for the next few weeks. He said that until they could figure out what happened last night, there wouldn't be any stings happening, so he should be free most nights. He would have Beth call me to arrange dinner later in the week.

I decided it was time to clean the house. It was dark by the time I finished, so I threw some bacon and eggs in the pan, cooked that, washed the dishes, then took a quick shower and hit the sack. Housework is a great way to burn off extra energy. I slept peacefully again.

A little after 9, my doorbell rang. I peeked through the spy hole, but all I saw was a head of red hair. I only knew one redhead and that was Beth. I slowly open the door, but before I could get it more than half open, a bundle of energy threw herself at me. Luckily I have good reflexes. I caught her without either of us falling.

She was blubbering about how everyone had missed me, how worried they were about me, etc, etc. By the time she started to settle, I had gotten us to the lounge room and sat us on my recliner. It took nigh on 20 minutes for her to compose herself enough to start talking. Now before you have any wrong ideas about Beth and I, to me, she was the sister I never had. Besides, she was married to my brother, so I would never go there