by Frank Perry
in the back seat. The garage door opened by pushing a button on the rearview mirror. He turned before driving out. “We’re going for a short drive down by your husband’s boats. If you do anything foolish, remember that I have a gun. I’m a desperate man, that’s all you need to know right now, and I won’t hesitate to shoot either of you.”
The two passengers huddled together with their hands tied in front and their feet bound. Both were in tears. He knew Mrs. Peña was probably capable of anything right now after threatening her daughter. There was nothing he could do about it.
It took about ten minutes to drive through the Embarcadero, to the docks beyond. He looked at his watch and was an hour earlier than instructed. He parked the black car as far from the ships as possible, yet able to see all three clearly under the dim dock lights. He turned. “I’m going to make a call now. At some point I will allow you to talk freely, but I want you to listen first.”
Melanie yelled, “Go ahead and call, but don’t expect us to be quiet.” Landra sat quietly staring at him.
He said, “Remember that I have the gun.” He glared at them both. “I won’t hesitate! If you keep your mouth shut, you will live, but it will all depend on your husband.”
“My husband! What has my husband got to do with anything?”
“Just stay quiet.”
He opened his call log in his cellphone and called the last number. It rang four times, then he answered. “Hello, Mr. Kohl, you’re early.”
Hunter looked sternly at the back seat. “I want to know that Laura, my fiancée, is alive.” The women stared at him but didn’t say anything.
He pressed the speaker on his phone. There was a sound of scuffling or sliding on a hard surface, he wasn’t sure which. Then there was a sound of tearing and a yelp—as they ripped tape from her mouth. Peña’s voice came back on, “Talk, bitch! Say something to your lover. Tell him to save you. Tell him!”
She yelped again, “Hunter, Hunter, is that you?”
The sound of distress in her voice infuriated him. “Yes. I’m here, sweetheart.”
Peña said in the background. “That’s enough, get her out of here.”
The women listening were shocked. They sat quietly, listening. Peña continued. “Okay, now you have your proof. If you come to me now, I will set her free. If you don’t, she’s at the bottom of the ocean like your other friends.”
Hunter responded. “Mr. Peña (as if to remove any doubt with the women in back), you don’t have any complaint with me or my family. The drug reform laws are set. I can’t change it now.”
“You, fucking bureaucrat! You want to destroy by business. Well, I will tell you. I will destroy you like everyone else who’s ever crossed me.”
Hunter answered. “Time for talk is over. Listen!” He held the phone up and pointed the gun at Melanie.”
She was still stunned from hearing her husband, a man she didn’t know. Or maybe he was a man she had avoided knowing. But now, their daughter knew the truth. Her daddy was a murdering drug dealer by his own admission. He was ransoming Hunter’s fiancée in order to kill him. How evil could one person be? She had been raised by evil. “Luca?”
Hunter muted the phone. In a short moment they heard a sullen reply from Peña. “Mel...Mel is that you?”
Hunter unmuted the phone. “It’s me, Luca. He has me and Landra."
Peña was barely able to control his rage with this wife and daughter listening. “What’s going on? Where are you? Where are they, Kohl?”
“They’re with me, Peña. They’re both shocked, but they’re both with me and healthy for the moment.” He looked at both women who didn’t show any defiance.
“Kohl, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m trading with you, Peña. It’s a two for one deal.”
“This won’t end it, Kohl.”
“Oh. I think it will, Peña. You get your women, if they’ll stay with a murdering drug smuggler (he glanced at the women who looked down).”
“You and I will need to settle this later, Kohl.”
“Whatever you say.” He wanted to use much coarser language, but he didn’t want to taint the effect the dialogue had on the women.
“Where are you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“How can I get your woman to you?”
Hunter found it hard to ask. “Can she walk?”
“She ... ah, has some damage but she can walk short distances.” The daughter, Landra, was crying.
Hunter ordered. Undo her and walk her to the pier.”
“What makes you think she’s on one of my boats?”
“Because you do all your murdering on your boats and dump the evidence at sea.” Melanie was staring wide-eyed in disbelief. Peña didn’t deny any of it.
There were some muffled noises in the background. Peña then asked, “Where will I get my family?”
“I’ll pick up Laura and drop your women at your home if we’re not followed.”
“How do I know you will keep your word?”
“I’m not the criminal here, Peña. You only have my word. I didn’t start this, but I can sure as hell end it. I’ve never broken a trust. That’s the only answer you get.”
Peña was painfully aware that his wife and daughter had heard all of this. He was about to say something when Melanie yelled from the back seat. “Luca. You let that poor girl go! Do it now, and stop asking questions! If you value whatever you have left in life, do something right!”
Hunter kept staring at the boats. He didn’t acknowledge Melanie’s pleading, but he suddenly felt ashamed that she and her daughter were in this. Their lives, their illusions, were shattered.
A deck door on Ocean Queen opened, and Peña’s big man came out with his hand wrapped around Laura’s upper arm. Her hands were tied and she stumbled trying to walk. He could hardly control his fury seeing her condition, but her only chance of survival depended on him maintaining control. Peña’s wife and daughter saw her also. Ramon half dragged her to the end of the pier and left her there with her hands tied. Hunter was tearful as he drove from the dark corner of the dock toward Laura. He didn’t know if Peña could be trusted. He feared that she would be shot down in front of him as he approached just to satisfy the sadistic blood-lust of the drug smuggler. He pulled opposite her with his gun in his hand. He wouldn’t use in on the woman, but he needed it for show-of-force if something happened. “Untie me.” It was Landra. “Untie me, and I’ll get Laura in the car.”
He wasn’t sure what to do. “Come on, untie me. She’s hurt!”
Logic told him to stay on plan, but instinct told him he should listen to her. Instinct won. He reached across the seat with his knife and cut her restraints. She rubbed her wrists then jumped from the car and helped Laura into the front seat. Landra was gentle helping her sit down then lifting her legs inside. Hunter was outraged seeing Laura bruised and hurt. He could only pray that she hadn’t been abused otherwise. He cut the tape from her wrists, and she curled over next to him. They embraced momentarily, but he needed to get out of gunshot range.
Hunter could only imagine what Peña was thinking, watching from the bridge of the ship. He was startled when Landra got back into the car. “Now, untie my mother.”
Hunter did as she asked, even though they were still in proximity of Peña and his men. He said, “I’m sorry I got you into this.”
Melanie rubbed her wrists. “I’m not. Now please take us home. I want to pack some things before we leave.”
No one said anything else as he sped away.
Near Peña’s house, he explained that they should not look in the yard for the guards. They were “gone.” He stopped at his car and left the engine running as he walked around to help Laura out. Melanie and Landra got out of the back seat and helped him. After Laura was in the rental car he spoke to both women. “Look. I am so sorry to have gotten you invol
ved in this.”
Melanie put a hand on his cheek. “I’m not, Mr. Kohl. I only wish there is more we could do.”
He smiled, “What will you do now?”
“Oh, we’ll get some things and go to a hotel out of town. In a few days, Luca will transfer money to a new account, and I will never see him again.”
She looked at Landra who said, “Me, too.”
Melanie then said, “Luca has a mean streak. You need to be extra careful now.”
He nodded. “I figure.”
She kissed his cheek, and the ladies left in the Mercedes. Hunter took Laura to Sue Ann’s. On the drive down U.S. 101, Laura held on to Hunter’s right arm, resting her head on his shoulder. She didn’t talk, and Hunter didn’t force the issue. He continued to be enraged that Peña had involved her in this. He took satisfaction that Peña lost his wife and daughter as payback, but he would always feel awful that they had to be used this way. He was conflicted and wished there was someone to unburden him. Laura was not that person tonight. He hoped she would never need to be fearful of anything again. He felt sick that Peña was still a free man.
She said, “It’s not over, is it?”
He hesitated. “No.”
“Hunter, I want to help get that animal behind bars or dead. He’s not someone that should be free.”
He smiled at her guts. “I have a plan, sweetheart, but it could be dangerous.”
“I don’t care. We’ll never live free as long as he’s out there. I want to put him away.”
He nodded. “Okay. Tomorrow, I’ll call the FBI.”
The Case
At one o’clock the next day, Hunter and Laura were in Kasey McDougal’s office, laying out the case. Both had heard Peña admit killing people. They knew it included José, Sue Ann and John Richards, at least. John Richards was actually John Fleming of the Secret Service, investigating Peña for José Rivera’s murder. Hunter admitted to being a sworn Secret Service Agent, working undercover. In this capacity, he discovered the trap doors on Peña’s ships. He had also found a large shipment of cocaine delivered from the ships and would lead the FBI to almost two hundred kilograms stacked at the bottom of San Pedro Harbor. He diagramed the precise location. He had placed tracking beacons on the ships and could map their movements to Central America then back to the exact location where the drugs were lying on the bottom near the docks. Finally, they could convict Peña for Laura’s kidnapping. The case against Peña was finally rock solid. When the meeting ended, Kasey left to prepare the charges that would put Peña away for the rest of his life. With the unrecovered cash he’d used to finance the two drug shipments to Mojo, his personal wealth was almost gone. Until Jesus Ruiz paid up, he only had a few million stashed away. Everything else was in real estate, ships and his jet, that couldn’t be converted to cash quickly and would be seized. Melanie would take most of his cash.
Hunter left feeling satisfied. Neither of the Peña women were discussed. He was sure Peña would secretly clean up the guard’s bodies and weapons on his estate. It would be ironical if the dead guards were on Ocean Queen when the FBI struck.
The next morning they were on a plane to Washington. The final Appropriations Bill was with the President for signature with two days to spare in the fiscal year. Overall, Hunter felt satisfaction with the way the past year turned out. He would forever miss Sue Ann. John was another matter. He was a pro and knew the risks. Hunter did not hold him responsible for disclosing the safe house. Everyone has their limits, and John died trying protect them. He surpassed the limit.
Laura and Claire moved to the Eastern Shore to be with the Malones until Peña was behind bars. They understood the risk, but insisted on protecting Laura, who was now the strongest prosecution witness.
The FBI swooped down with warrants to arrest Peña, Ramon and Korb. Other warrants were issued to inspect the ships. They would find substantial forensic DNA evidence of John Fleming in the hold of Ocean Queen. The stern would be measured for evidence of Jose’s car. Sue Ann’s finger prints would be in Peña’s limo and his fingerprints on several of her jewelry pieces. Korb was caught on the ship and arrested.
Luciano Peña had survived many times on his instinct. Everything was coming down hard, and he suspected the law to be after him slightly faster than the wheels of justice were actually turning. After cleaning up the mess at his property, he was frantic to know where his wife and daughter had gone, but she wouldn’t answer her cellphone. He also knew his business was done. He left a message with Roxanne to destroy his computer by throwing it in the harbor. After the bodies from Pacific Heights were taken to the Queen, he ordered Korb to dispose of them and for Ramon to come with him to the airport.
En route in the early morning, before dawn he called Jesus many times, but he didn’t answer the phone. The pilot was waiting to fly to San Bernardino, ahead of any commercial airline traffic.
Flying across the Tehachapi Mountains, Peña called Ruiz again. This time he answered.
“Jesus, where have you been?”
“Luca! You know what time it is?”
“Yeah. It’s daytime, the sun is rising in the east. I can see it from twenty-four thousand feet.”
“You’re flying?”
“I left town early after a long night of work. We’ll land in San Bernardino in about half an hour. I’m coming up to see you. I need my money – now!”
“Luca, I haven’t moved all the goods yet. You said I should sell it and then pay you.”
“Well, the deal changed, Jesus. I’m coming now.”
“Luca, I don’t have much, a couple million.”
“You got an hour and a half then I’m bringing Ramon with me, and you owe me twenty million, more or less.”
“Where can I get that much cash so fast?”
“Jesus. I don’t know, and I don’t fucking care. Just have it ready, I don’t plan to stay long.”
Jesus started to protest, but Peña hung up. He had a headache and closed the window screen, missing a beautiful sunrise.
The car driver in San Bernardino was a contract limo driver, not one of Peña’s men. There was no time for arrangements. Unknown to him, the FBI and state police already had his ships and office impounded. Korb was in custody, and the freezer on Ocean Queen contained three bodies, all murdered by piercing lacerations.
When Luca arrived at Ruiz’s property, and the gates were open. There was no equipment parked at the entrance this time.
They drove up the dirt road and stopped in the same location as Mojo, days earlier. There were no people in sight and all of the wreckage from Mojo’s caravan was gone. It looked deserted, but the gate wouldn’t be open.
Ramon exited the car and stood looking in all directions. Ruiz did not show himself. He moved toward the building. If the steel utility door was locked, he would rip it out. When he approached the door, there was no sound except the desert breeze up the canyon and a Peregrine Falcon circling above in a thermal. He pounded on the door with a massive fist, waiting to hear footsteps. There was nothing. He pounded again, then jerked forward, throwing his weight against it as the sound of the shot reached him. The door didn’t move. Ramon turned around with a large red spot in the center of his shirt. He looked enraged as the second shot hit dead center.
Ruiz was firing a semi-auto M14 7.62mm rifle with 7x scope from two hundred meters away in a hidden alcove on the nearby hill. He watched through the scope, amazed that the big man didn’t fall. He was sure he’d hit him. As Ramon stood, unmoving, Ruiz aimed higher and fired again. It was another excellent shot. Hitting Ramon on the side of the head, behind his eye. The giant was dead, falling stiff, face down by the building.
Peña didn’t immediately understand what happened, watching from inside the car. He saw Ramon fall in disbelief. Ramon was indestructible – except for high-powered sniper rifles. The driver also saw Ramon fall and panicked, flooring the car, spinning in
the dirt as another shot disintegrated his window. He wasn’t hit, but glass shards had ravaged his upper body, hands and face. He screamed and fell out of sight in the front seat.
Peña wasn’t armed and jumped from the unarmored car yelling with his hands in the air! “Jesus! Jesus! Don’t shoot! What do you think you’re doing!
His body flew backward with the shot to his chest. He squirmed on the ground and tried to crawl when a second shot ripped through his lower back. He was mortally wounded and would die in minutes.
Jesus Ruiz stood on the hillside from behind a cactus cluster. He said to himself, walking down the hill. “There’s a new boss in town, Luca.”
Epilog
The FBI seized all Luciano Peña’s assets on a drug conspiracy charge. Peña’s body was never found. Melanie transferred over two million dollars to a different account before the Government seizures and was able to resume life with her daughter under new identities.
Claire resumed her life in Sacramento, finally at peace with everything that had happened over the past few years. Laurie and Hunter went back to Washington. The drug reform language was lost in committee with so many stakeholders facing re-election. Hunter’s future with the state was uncertain, as well as his future intentions about leaving Washington.
Laurie finally forced the issue and proposed to him, which he accepted enthusiastically. He never felt so much joy before saying “yes.” It also crystalized his decision to stay with the Secret Service. They planned a spring wedding for the following year.
THE END
