The Spirit Survives

by Gary Williams Ramsey

  There was only one way that she could come up with that kind of money, that path was to turn and become a double agent spying on the FBI for La Cosa Nostra. In her mind, there was no choice, her family came first.

  Ahalya revealed her true identity to Bastone and cut a deal. She became his most valuable asset for obtaining inside information from the FBI. After this turn, Ahalya decided that she would do what she had to do regardless of what Bastone wanted her to do. She learned to use her beauty and sex to get whatever information Bastone required.

  To keep her identity secret from the other members of La Cosa Nostra, she was only known as Macy. Her ultimate goal was to connect with the Benefactor through the Italian.

  Macy sat alone, sipping her white wine, as she waited on Bastone at Grazie’s Italian Grill in Green Bay. She was a little pissed that he had selected an Italian restaurant, but she would make do. After a short wait, she saw Bastone enter. She beckoned to him and he proceeded to the table and sat down. The server immediately came to the table with a pair of menus. Bastone requested a Bourbon and water and began studying the menu. He had yet to greet Macy. The waiter returned with the bourbon and Bastone took a long pull. He handed Macy a thick envelope and she opened it and inspected the cash inside.

  “Okay, what did you find out about the Fixer?” he inquired.

  “His name is Francis Ford Harris. His current address is in Chicago. I ran an FBI check on him, and he is a minor felon. He only hit the big time in the crime scene in the last ten years, although the Bureau hasn’t been able to pin anything on him. It’s believed that he does exclusive work for the drug kingpin known only as the Benefactor. He has one son from a prior marriage, and from here it gets interesting, the son’s name is Ben Harris, who coincidently is the name of the man who was recently rescued from a cave that was collapsed by the tornados. He is the sole witness to the murder of Veronika Ivanova, who was the daughter of the Russian Mafia figure, Sergey Inanova. All this information is confidential and is only known by the FBI and certain members of the Chicago police department.

  Bastone exhibited no visible surprise at the information. He calmly gave her additional instructions. “I want you to contact the Fixer again and spend some quality evening time with him. If you’re able to get the Benefactor’s name and address from him, it’s worth, $50,000 to you.”

  Before she could speak, the server approached the table, “May I give you today’s specials?” he chirped.

  Bastone cut him off with a brisk, “No, bring us another round of drinks and an order of Bruschetta. For my entrée I’ll have the Sea Food Piscatore.”

  “Bring me the Spicy Curried Chicken with no sides,” Macy said. She stared at Bastone. He was the only man that she had been around who had not undertaken to get into her pants. “What is your damn problem?” she snapped at him, “Have you never been told that ladies order first.”

  Bastone gave her a cold stare, “You’re no lady to me, Macy. You’re just another cop on the take.” With that said he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. He stayed on the phone until the server returned with the entrees. They both ate their meals in silence.

  Macy vowed to herself, He’ll pay for this disrespect. However, she just nodded and looked away. “I’ll call the Fixer when I get back to the hotel and set up a date. I accept your offer.”

  Chapter 56

  I gently laid my father’s head on the ground and rose to my feet. I looked around at the gruesome scene. Petrov lay in a pool of blood with half for his head blown off. My father matched Petrov with the amount of blood surrounding his body. I walked over to the side and vomited. There wasn’t much in my stomach, but whatever was in there came out.

  I glanced at my watch, and it was 1:00 a.m., only four hours until I had to meet with the man who was holding Leah. I went to Petrov’s dead body and rummaged through his pants until I found my car keys. I trudged up the hill, got into the car and drove to the convenience store. Along the way, I passed a white compact car parked along the side of the road, which I assumed belonged to my dead father.

  When I arrived at the convenience store, I proceeded inside and straight to the restroom. I scrubbed my face and cleaned up as much as I could. I picked up a six pack of bottled water, a box of saltine crackers, paid for them, and went back to my car. I sat there drinking water and eating saltines, trying to settle my rebellious stomach. I didn’t have time to go anywhere to try to get some sleep, so I decided just to wait for my rendezvous with the kidnapper.

  At this stage, the only person I knew that I could trust was Rex Herns. He had given me his cell number during our conversation at the hospital, and I had programmed it into my cell. I grabbed my cell, scrolled to his name and pushed the button. I realized the time of the morning, but I had no alternative.

  On the seventh ring, a faint voice said, “Hello.”

  “Hi Rex, this is Ben Harris. I’m sorry to call you at this time of the morning, but I have an emergency.”

  “Where in the hell are you, Ben? I went to the hospital to see you, and they told me you just left. Are you nuts? You’re in no shape to be out of the hospital.”

  I took a deep breath, “Listen Rex, someone has abducted Leah, and I’m trying to meet his demands and get her back. It’s a very complicated situation, and I don’t have time to go into details. I needed to report to you that there are two dead men at Lookout Mountain. They’re located in a small valley, across the road from the first observation point parking area. One of them tried to kill me and the other one died saving my life. When this ordeal is over and I have Leah back, I’ll give you all the details.”

  Rex bellowed, “Ben, let me help you. Tell me where you are. I can be there within an hour and we can work this out together. Don’t try to go it alone, that never works out.”

  “Sorry Rex, I have to do this my way. I don’t want Leah harmed.” I hung up. I hated to do that to Rex, since he had been such a good friend, but I couldn’t take the chance with Leah’s life.

  I slumped down in the car and nodded off to sleep. About an hour later I was awakened by the sound of sirens. I looked out the window and three police cars were entering Lookout Mountain. I assumed that Rex was in one of the cars.

  Within minutes my cell phone rang. It was 4:30 a.m. The familiar voice of the kidnapper shouted, “You son of a bitch, I saw the police cars going to Lookout Mountain. You called them and now your sexy girlfriend is a dead woman.”

  “Wait, Wait,” I screamed into the phone. “They’re not here with me. I’m alone in the parking lot at the convenience store per your instructions. I did not betray you. Leah is far too important to me!”

  There was silence on the other end of the phone for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he replied, “Okay, but our meeting place will change. I want you to leave your location now and drive to the Residence Inn in Green Bay. I’ll be watching you and when you drive into the parking lot, I’ll call you with more instructions. If I see any sign of the police, she’s dead. No more reprieves.”

  “Just don’t hurt her, I‘ll be there as soon as I can,” I said.

  In my exhausted state of mind, I didn’t think that the kidnapper would be watching. I instantly cranked the car and sped off to the Residence Inn.

  Chapter 57

  Following the meeting with Macy, Bastone promptly drove to the Residence Inn to resume his surveillance of Bo Lopez. On account of the meetings he held with the Fixer and with Macy, he found it essential to ask Lon Esponsito, a local Mafia underling, to observe Lopez during that time and report to him. Bastone instantly recognized Esponsito’s grey Honda when he pulled into the parking lot. He parked beside the car and got in. “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “Lopez did make a trip early this morning,” Esponsito responded. “He drove to the Lookout Mountain area at about 3:00 a.m. this morning and parked in the back corner of the parking lot at the store near the entrance to the mountain. He appeared to be waiting for someone. A couple of other cars enter
ed the parking after that. After about an hour of just sitting there, several cop cars, with sirens screaming, entered Lookout Mountain. As far as I could tell, Lopez made a call and left. I guess the cop cars scared him. He drove straight back here to the hotel. He did go out to the Denny’s restaurant earlier and brought back two bags to his room. That’s the extent of his movements.”

  Bastone handed the man an envelope filled with cash. “Thanks, I’ll take it from here and if I need you again, I’ll call. Give my regards to your family.”

  Esponsito grabbed the cash, nodded and cranked his car to leave.

  Bastone got out of the car and watched as the man drove away. He settled back in his car and waited for Lopez to move again.

  The boredom of the stakeout was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. “Hello Bastone,” the familiar voice of the Benefactor said. Bastone had known for some time that this man had his voice altered through some sort of device when making calls on the phone. Bastone had never heard the sound of his natural voice.” I’ve got some news for you, which will change our plans. Do you have anything to report before I tell you?”

  “Nothing of significance,” Bastone replied, “There has been minor activity here.”

  “Well I’ve just been informed that Petrov was killed. His body was found on Lookout Mountain along with another body. That second man’s name was Francis Stephen Harris. Do you know him?”

  As usual, Bastone exhibited and expressed no emotion. He thought about lying to the Benefactor but figured thought that the devious man might be testing him. “I know who he was,” Bastone said. “Francis Stephen Harris, that’s the real name of the Fixer. I found that out just today.”

  There was a short silence on the other end of the phone. “Thanks for being honest with me,” the Benefactor replied. “It appears that the two bastards killed each other. One other thing, the ex-cop Ben Harris was at the scene. That’s the man who witnessed Sergey’s daughter’s killing. Things are getting too hot to handle. I want you to move forward and take Bo Lopez. Tell Sergey that he confessed to you and told you that he was hired by the Salazar cartel with the blessings of the Flores cartel. Take him to Ivanova, collect your million, and let’s get this war started.”

  “I’ll get right on it sir,” Bastone replied. “I’ll make all the arrangements and should be able to have it done by tomorrow.”

  There was a click on the other end of the phone. The Benefactor was through talking.

  Bastone snapped his phone shut and sat there a few minutes thinking. He opened it and pushed the button for speed dial to Sergey Ivanova.

  * * *

  On the second ring, an annoyed Sergey grumbled, “What do you want, Bastone?”

  Sergey dismounted his lovely southern mistress. “What are you doing?” she panted.

  “Shut the hell up,” was Sergey’s response as he rolled over to talk to Bastone.

  “Listen Sergey, Petrov has been killed, but more importantly, I’ve uncovered without doubt who killed your daughter, and I have the explicit details of the murder.

  “What happened to Petrov?” Sergey demanded.

  “He was shot by a man named the Fixer. I think the drug cartels hired him to silence Petrov about who hired your daughter killed. I have all the details, and I’ll share them with you when I get there with the killer. It’s Bo Lopez, without doubt.

  “Bring the son of a bitch to me now,” Sergey snarled. “I want his sorry ass here now!”

  “Sergey can you send a private jet to the Green Bay executive airport tomorrow night. I’ll bring him to you and give you all the details.”

  “I’ll send my private plane. It will be there at 8:00 p.m.” Sergey retorted. “You better have your ass there with Lopez, or you’re a dead man to.”

  “I’ll be there,” Bastone replied emotionlessly.

  Bastone felt no remorse for the Fixer. The only inconvenience it presented was that he thought the Fixer could lead him to the identity of the Benefactor. He and Macy would just have to find another way.

  He opened his cell again and called Macy. “Get Esponsito on the phone, he just left here, and I want him back. My plans have changed and I want you and him here, straight away. And we need a van.”

  Chapter 58

  Bo Lopez was at the end of his rope. He didn’t trust Harris, especially when he saw the cop cars entering Lookout Mountain. He was tired of babysitting the bitch, Leah, who was getting more and more troublesome. He still needed her to get to Harris, but he was ready to rape her and then kill her for being so difficult. He had still heard nothing reported about Ms. Strawberry Shortcake, but sooner or later she would be discovered, and he wanted to be far away from the Residence Inn when that happened.

  Additionally, he hadn’t heard from Elesar Fernandez of the Salazar cartel and this silence concerned him. He tried to call the man several times but always got voice mail and no return call. Bo felt as if he was being hung out to dry for some reason. He just needed to talk to Harris and find out what the man knew about Cherokee’s death, which had been reported in the media, and then kill him and the girl and dispose of the bodies. He was very anxious to get back to Chicago and get out of this God-forsaken place.

  Initially, he thought that he and Cherokee would just kill the Inavona girl and immediately leave Green Bay. The world had twisted itself into a pretzel since then, and he needed to get out.

  His backup plan was simple. When Harris arrived at the parking lot of the Residence Inn, he would call his cell phone, let him speak to Leah and then instruct him to come immediately to room 101. He would find out about Cherokee and then kill the man and the girl. He screwed on his gun silencer as he peered out the window, awaiting his prey’s car. He had transferred Leah to the living area and had tied her to a dining room chair with duct tape over her mouth. He looked out the window and saw the Ben’s rental car enter the lot and park. Bo pulled out Leah’s cell and pushed the speed dial for Ben.

  After only one ring Ben answered. “This is Harris. Is Leah okay?”

  “Listen asshole, she’s fine and if you follow my instructions, she’ll stay okay,” Bo lied.

  “I want to hear her voice now!” Ben demanded.

  Bo had anticipated this, so he walked over to Leah and said, “I’m going to take the tape off your mouth. If you scream, I’ll punch you out, understand?” Leah nodded. “I’ve got Ben on the phone now, and I want you to tell him you’re okay and then we can end this thing. Do you agree?” Leah nodded again.

  Bo ripped the tape from her mouth leaving Leah momentarily breathless. He waited for a moment and then put the phone to her ear. “Talk.”

  To his amazement Leah shrieked into the phone, “Get away, Ben. He’s crazy and is going to kill us both. Go now, please!”

  Bo yanked the phone from her ear and slapped her hard. He put the duct tape back over her mouth as tears streamed down her face.

  “Okay Harris, you heard her. Now do exactly what I tell you,” Bo said.

  “Just tell me what to do,” Ben said in a calm voice.

  “I can see you right now,” Bo answered, “keep the cell phone to your ear and walk slowly to room 101. Do it now or she’s dead.”

  Ben got out of the car and started walking. He knew that 101 was directly across from the suite that he and Leah had been staying in. As he approached the suite, he noticed a man standing in front of the window watching him. He walked to the door and knocked. When the door opened, he was facing a pistol with a silencer screwed on the end. The man holding the gun was the man he had witnessed killing the girl on Lookout Mountain. He held his hands up and walked into the room. Ben looked around and saw Leah tied to a chair with blood on the side of her mouth leaking from under the duct tape. Anger flashed again but he controlled it. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I need to know if you talked to Cherokee and what he said before he died, and how exactly did he die?” Bo asked “I need to know now.”

  Ben understood that as soon as the man got wha
t he wanted, he would kill both Leah and him. This big guy was certainly a professional and looked mean as hell.

  “What do you mean?” Ben asked as he moved closer to the man.

  “Don’t play with me shitface, and stay where you are.”

  Ben halted and unexpectedly fell to one knee. He placed his hands on his head and started violently shaking. “What in the hell are you doing?” Bo yelled as he walked closer to get a better look. Ben heard the heavy foot steps getting near. He stopped trembling, looked up and suddenly pivoted on his left foot and swept his right leg forward, with all his strength. His foot landed solidly on Bo’s ankle. Ben followed through on the sweep and knocked the big man’s feet from under him. Bo hit the floor with a resounding crash. Ben was instantly on him, kicking his ribs and trying to shatter them.

  With incredible resilience, Bo rolled to his back and fired his pistol twice. The gun spat the bullets almost silently as the silencer performed its magic and muffled the noise.

  Blood spurted from Ben’s temple as he crumbled to the floor. Bo gasped for breath, laid the gun on the end table, and got to his feet. Leah was struggling violently in the chair. Bo walked to the sink in the kitchen, scooped water, and splashed it on his face to gather his wits. Suddenly the door slammed open, and he heard a voice say, “Stay exactly where you are, Lopez.” Bo heard the familiar sound of hammers being cocked on two pistols. He raised his hands and turned around.

  Chapter 59

  Bastone, Macy, and Esponsito stood looking at Bo Lopez with Macy and Bastone pointing their guns at him. There wasn’t a lock manufactured that Macy couldn’t pick, and she had quietly picked the lock of the hotel door. She was pleased that the dead bolt hadn’t been engaged from the inside.

  What they saw surprised even the unflappable Bastone. Lopez was holding his ribs with his face as white as a sheet. A dead man lay in the middle of the room with a pool of blood under his head. There was a woman tied to a chair wearing only bra and panties. Her eyes were wild with fear.