Kingfish

by Frank Perry

orders were taken then Hunter said, “I’m not sure how it’s going, Leigh. I’m doing okay with California delegates outside of San Diego. You’d think those would be the ones behind it.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, they see the violence every day in their districts.”

  She smiled before answering. “No, not really. The bad stuff happens out in the desert, way away from the city. The city of San Diego is quiet.”

  “Still, why won’t they support limited legalization if it would stop the Border War?”

  “Hmm, ever do a headcount at the San Diego Border Patrol Sector? I bet between San Diego, El Centro and San Ysidro that they have five thousand people employed by CBP (Customs and Border Patrol). Throw in DEA, and you probably have another thousand. Those are a lot of voters who want to keep their jobs. No one in Government really wants the war to end. There are Washington empires depending on it to support their people.”

  He shook his head. “Yeah, at a hundred billion a year. This doesn’t even account for the gang killings across the US and our prison problems.”

  “Look, Hunter. My advice is look for support outside the border regions. Avoid law enforcement advocates in general. You’re attacking their wellbeing. Go after members that don’t have a stake and genuinely want to correct the budget deficit and stop violence.”

  “You know, you always bring a rational side. When I was in the BP (Border Patrol), I watched buddies gunned down in ambushes. I survived two myself. It’s seems insane that our Government wouldn’t want to end it.”

  “Don’t blame the Government, in general. There are plenty of members that will listen to you. You just need to target the right ones. I’m not just talking about California delegates. Anyone on the right committee is fair game.”

  “Where should I start?”

  “You start by eating lunch. I’ll go back to my office (home) and email you a list of people you need to focus on. You still need to press your state delegates, but you need to go a lot farther away. I’m gonna send you a list of people in Congress that want reform.”

  He smiled and they talked on a personal level through lunch. Neither wanted dessert, but did have coffee. Like most Washington power lunches, it lasted until two o’clock. Hunter had a fundraiser to attend at the Capitol Hill Club that night. He really didn’t want to attend, but part of his job was representing the state employee’s PAC (Political Action Committee). Tonight, he would drop an envelope into a fish bowl and have hors d'oeuvres for dinner with a dozen disinterested staffers then ride back on the Metro, as quickly as possible. He wanted to talk to Laurie before it got too late.

  That evening, after he finally got home, he looked at the list of people Leigh had identified. Many he’d never heard of but trusted her advice completely. Then he called Laurie, and they had a warm cuddly conversation, as cuddly as could be on the phone before she went to bed. He stayed up until midnight, preparing an action plan from Leigh’s list.

  Sometime in the pre-dawn morning, his cellphone rang. He kept it on the nightstand. “Hello.”

  The man spoke. “Is this Hunter Kohl?”

  “Who’s calling?”

  “That’s not important, Mr. Kohl”

  Hunter was still half asleep. “Look, I don’t have time for games.”

  “Oh, this is not game, I assure you, Mr. Kohl.”

  “What do you want?”

  “First, Mr. Kohl, I want you to listen to someone we have here.”

  Hunter didn’t have time to respond before she screamed. “Hunter! Hunter! They have...” Her sounds were muffled after that.

  Hunter’s fury exploded. “Who was that!”

  He heard some vague dialogue and a scuffle before the man spoke. “Well, Mr. Kohl, what do you think?”

  “Look asshole, who was that?”

  “Don’t you recognize the voice of your loving cousin?”

  Sue Ann! “What do you want?”

  “It’s quite simple, Mr. Kohl. We simply want your attention. Nothing more. You see, we expect you to play ball with us when the time is right. Do you understand?”

  “What about Sue Ann! What about my cousin?”

  “This time, Mr. Kohl, we are throwing her back. It will not happen again. When you hear from us again, you will be given instructions. Remember your dear brother-in-law.”

  “You bastard!” The line went dead.

  She was still in her pajamas without shoes or coat. She never saw or heard the men who broke into her apartment when she was asleep. Before she knew what was happening, her hands were taped together at the same time as her eyes and mouth were sealed with tape.

  She was thrown into the trunk of some large car and taken to the harbor. The evening foghorn sounds and smell confirmed that she was carried aboard a boat or ship. The vessel cruised for over an hour while she coiled terrified against cold steel walls in some unseen metal room.

  Then someone talked to Hunter. She screamed on cue as they ripped the duct tape from her mouth, pulling a handful of hair with it. Her eyes were completely sealed. She could smell body odor and occasional bad breath. She cried the whole time in the room, fearing being helpless and raped. She had almost no clothing on.

  In Washington, Hunter was going mad. He called Claire, who was also asleep. “Hunter, what’s wrong?”

  “Claire! I just wanted to see if you were alright.”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. What’s wrong?”

  “Claire, they took Sue Ann.”

  “What! Who! Oh, God, Hunt. What should we do?”

  “Look, Claire. Check on the kids and make sure everything is locked. Then call John Richards.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know, Claire. I don’t know.”

  As soon as he hung up, he thought about calling Laura but decided not to scare her. The man on the phone made his point, and it was close to dawn anyway. He’d talk to her during the day and try not to scare her. He wouldn’t sleep again that night.

  After dressing in the morning, he didn’t look again at the list Leigh sent, and didn’t go out. He was mad and concerned for his family and friends. He wasn’t scared for himself. Let them come. He was scared for people he loved.

  Around noon time, nine o’clock in California, John Richards called him. “Hunter, we got her.”

  Hunter let out a breath. “Is she...is she okay, John?”

  “She’s pretty banged up and scared, Hunter, but she should be okay. She’s going to be shaken for a long time though. She could have died.”

  Hunter felt rage developing again. “What did they do, John?”

  “Someone, some men, kidnapped her from her bedroom, Hunter. They taped her all up with duct tape and treated her like garbage, throwing her into a car trunk. She’s a good looking girl, Hunter. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, she would have been raped, but these guys had other orders.”

  “Yeah. I know some of it. I’ll tell you more in a minute. Tell me what they did to her.”

  “They took her onto a boat, a good sized one from what I can figure. Anyway, after she talked to you, they dumped her in a zodiac off Half Moon Bay and threw her overboard closer to shore. She was still taped up and they didn’t care if she drowned.

  “Anyway, she struggled in the water until the sea loosened the tape and she got free. She had to swim to shore in some rough stuff, but made it. I don’t think most people would have survived, Hunter.

  “After that, she was freezing wet with almost nothing on and stumbled up onto the coast highway where a man helped her. She’s in a hospital with her parents. Claire is heading there now.”

  Hunter sat with his hand supporting his forehead. “Thank God.”

  “What’s this all about, Hunter?”

  “John, I’m not sure. I think it was a warning. He mentioned José. He said he would be back in touch.”

  “So, he’s scaring you?”

 
; “Yeah. I think that’s the idea.”

  “Hunter, I think I’ll talk to Claire and get you stationed back here again.”

  “I don’t think so, John. Not until we know what this is about. I don’t think they’ll touch anyone until I get some instructions.”

  “What if he never calls back? What if there’re no more instructions?”

  “Well, then maybe everyone will be safe.”

  “Yeah, but we need to catch this guy.”

  “I know, John.”

  “Hunter, we’re bringing the FBI into this, and they’ll look real close at any evidence. You need to send me your phone log info. I don’t think these guys are stupid enough to use a traceable phone number, but we need to check anyway.”

  After the call with John, Hunter called Claire’s cellphone.

  She answered, “Hello, Hunter.”

  “Claire, where are you?

  “I’m about at Vallejo on I-80. I’m going to the hospital in San Francisco.”

  “John said she was going to be okay.”

  “I think so, Hunt. What happened?”

  He explained the phone call and all she could say was, “That Bastard!”

  “You know who it is, Claire?”

  “Yeah, so do you.”

  “Peña?”

  “Who else, Hunt?”

  He didn’t mention anything about José. “Yeah. It’s gotta be him.”

  “Think about it, Hunter. We all know he’s behind Jose’s murder. Now, he’s coming after us.”

  “The FBI’s getting involved.”

  “Yeah. John told me.”

  “You think they got anything on Peña?”

  “I don’t know. I think they’ve had his gang under surveillance for a long time. I don’t know where we fit into this. Even if they have stuff on him, they