“Nice to see you, partner. We’re in open desert from now until we reach Samtah. What’s our chances of avoiding any more bandits?”
“Slim and none. Van coopted a Reaper for backup. It’s on our tail now, but mostly for tracking progress. The Reaper has two AIM-92 Stingers for air to air. It could help with ground attack, but we’ll be avoiding that. With our extra fuel, we should be good to Samtah with no problem. Van’s working the Carrier Group in the Gulf of Aden, but you can imagine how well he’s doing with that.”
“I don’t know how this flight will go, but damn… it’s good to get the hell out of Sana’a,” Carl remarked with a comical sigh. “Thank God you got here when you did, Lo. Rick’s out of control. He was killing everything in sight, even farm animals.”
Carl went on with his routine for a couple more minutes, entertaining Lo and our pilot, Matt. After Carl’s brief comedy routine at my expense, we settled into radio silence. With a couple hours flight ahead inside a mercurial country like Yemen, complacency was not a problem. Nearly an hour from the Saudi border, we got buzzed.
“It’s an old Mig-21,” Matt told us. “They’re ordering us down.”
“Yeah… that’ll happen,” Lo said. “If they lock on us, we’ll have to fire everything we have, and hope for the best. Sorry, Matt. I was hoping the Yemen air force wouldn’t get involved. They don’t have a dog in this hunt.”
“I should have doubled the asking price,” Matt replied, as the Mig-21 buzzed us again. “Next time they turn, it will be to put a couple right down our throats. Next time, Lo, leave the old bastard.”
“Hey… that’s not very nice talk with death staring us in the face, Matt. I thought we were besties.”
“Sorry, Rick. I get cranky when I’m about to get blown out of the sky.”
We watched the Mig-21’s afterburners as it rolled toward us. Then… it got buzzed.
“Oh baby… the sucker got slapped in the face by an F/A-18 Super Hornet, and it ain’t havin’ any. Your boy, Van, must have talked someone into a little help off the Carrier Group, Lo.” Matt paused. “You have to be the luckiest geezer alive, Rick, you prick.”
The Mig-21 flew off without hesitation. “Better to be lucky than good. Is he sticking with us until we get to Samtah?” It would be nice to have that kind of escort to the border.
“He says yes, and there are two of them. That would be enough to level all of Yemen, so I’m thinking it’s easy money into Samtah.”
“I think you should give us a discount, Matt.”
“Fuck you, Cantelli!”
Chapter Two
Home again
Our very impressive employee, Timothy ‘T-bone’ Griffin, waited for me when the taxi stopped in front of my house. He watched my house while Lo and I made complete geezer fools of ourselves with the benediction of a grateful government. Bone is six feet four inches of bad dude – with black attitude when we needed it for Madigan and Cantelli, Security and Investigations. He was also a decorated army vet, and our number one IT specialist. I had to bring him in on a bond ticket twice. The second time he nearly killed me. Then, the same night we shared the same cell - long story. We came to an understanding. I figured I’d either have to hire him or kill him. I don’t kill vets… period. The big softy jogged toward me, tearing up at the eyes, with his hand out. We shook, but it wasn’t enough for him. Bone put my diminutive six foot two inch frame in a bear hug. Yeah… I was glad to see him too.
“Damn… Rick. I’ve been followin’ your adventures, brother. Why the hell would you and Lo ever agree to dance in the sand like that?”
“How dare you use our CIA key to hack my whereabouts and idiocy, Bone? I’m surprised at you. C’mon in. Want a drink?”
Bone gave me a Vulcan neck pinch, enjoying my upbraiding of his commentary on my journey to Sana’a. “Lord in heaven… I’m glad to see you back. I never thought you’d get out of the embassy alive. Carlene tried to drug me, because I hung out on the computer so long, following that government sell-out. It’s eight in the morning, Rick. I can’t be havin’ a taste with you now. Some of us have to work for a livin’.”
Good one. “It’s five PM somewhere, Bone. I’ll get you coffee, and I’ll have mine loaded. You can be my designated driver.”
That stopped him for a moment on the way inside. “You really coming into work, Rick? That’s sick.”
“What the hell am I going to do at home with a jetlagged head? Hell, I can doze off in the office. It’ll be fabulous, considering where I’ve been. How is business?”
We reached the kitchen while Bone gathered his thoughts. I could tell Trish was in the mix, and he didn’t know how to do an update without mentioning her. It bothered him more than it did me. “Ah… business is good, Rick. We’re busy in a bad economy, so that’s good news. A really great thing is Steve Ramirez is back. Man… I love having him with us again. He says his wife had a change of heart
“Yep. I didn’t think Steve would ever make it back. If you would have seen Steve’s wife’s face when Lo and I brought him back after he got mugged by the gangbangers – oh boy. We didn’t think he’d ever come back to work. When he did, Lo and I figured his days were numbered. We were not surprised when he quit. Are you partnering with Steve now?”
“I’d like to. Trish is too intense for me. I’ll stick with her if your balls are too shrunk up after getting cuckolded, old man.”
We both chortled over that ace while I started the coffee maker. “The only way you’d know what a cuckold is would be Lo sitting you down in her office, and explaining it using a chalkboard with pictures, you prick.”
Bone shrugged with comic timing and finesse. “I was under orders, Rick.”
“I figured as much. Don’t worry about it. Trish and I can partner on cases without any problems. Besides, Trish needs an alpha male to keep her in line. She eats little puppies like you and Steve for snacks on her day off.”
“That’s mean, Rick… true… but mean. Trish is a stone cold killer. I could see it in her eyes from her first damn day. It’s weird now. When we’re in the office at lunch time instead of out on a case, Sam brings her lunch. It’s so cute.”
“Sam Wiggins is a CEO of a Fortune Five Hundred company. Trish is young enough to have a kid. Hell… she’s sure too young for me. We had a good time together. It’ll all work out, Bone. If she objects to partnering with me though, I’ll go with Steve. Agreed?”
“Okay… but I want one thing straight. If I don’t want to play superhero with her, I’ll need backup.”
“Agreed. She was getting on the edge with the night prowling gigs, especially bringing out the disc sander for info gathering. Being with Sam will tone her down on the extracurricular antics,” I replied, hoping I was right.
I poured our coffees, and doctored mine Irish. I sipped it, elbows on my kitchen table, and a song in my heart. I believed at that moment, I had worn out any notions of spy crap I harbored in my old geezer head.
“I have to ask, Rick. How in hell are you not in prison?”
“Plausible deniability, Bone. All actions inside the embassy, we recorded as self-defense. Everything outside the embassy happened while we were supposedly trapped inside. After the Benghazi mess, the higher ups are circling the wagons. No matter what anyone claims or screams, the official word is all embassy staff and support people survived. Whatever happened outside the embassy, they’re disavowing. The Jihad jokers don’t have any proof because the first explosion outside the embassy coincidentally disintegrated their Al Jazeera film crew. The small clips they have of the night battle through the streets is grainy at best with them chasing two raggedy robed guys. The Company guy in charge, Van Carmichael, whisked away the two valiant embassy crusaders during the outside diversion. Neat… huh?”
“Don’t go back there, chump.” Bone held up his coffee cup in a toast.
I toasted with him. “Home has a whole new perspective for me now. Besides, Lo officially assumed future negotiations with the Company. We c
an’t prove it, but it seems the favor needed to wipe our slate clean of the double Mossad killing here turned out to be Lo and I served for lunch on a plate to appease our friends the Israelis. Our slate’s clean, but if Lo finds out who screwed us, I believe there will be blood.”
“It’s Thursday. Will you be rested enough to escort me and Carlene to Casablanca Night at your restaurant?”
“A partnership, brother – don’t refer to it ever as my restaurant. Lo, Frank, Jadie, along with Tim and Sally Collinswood are in a partnership with me. Just because I play Bogey’s Rick from the movie on Friday nights doesn’t make me sole owner. Hinting at it will get me in trouble. Yes… I will be by to escort you and the lovely Carlene to my first Casablanca Night in over a month.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Friday nights are no fun without our get together.”
“You, Trish, and Shelly did a hell of a job while we were away, I’m sure. Thank you. You looked in on our little Temple, right?”
“She’s fine. I think the kid’s going mental without you and Lo around. I made sure the workouts at Jadie’s gym didn’t get unwanted visitors. They all missed a few since you’ve been gone. Karen Bastille is really showing now at seven months pregnant. Trish, Karen, and Temple have kept doing appearances together since their movie is still breaking box office records. None of us know where all that’s going. Anyway, they don’t need a bodyguard with Trish in the trio. All she has to do is cast her evil eye on a problem person, and the threat ends. She’s digging the movie star role too.”
“Has Cheech been stopping by?” Cheech Garibaldi is our reformed gangster, now making a splash in the movie business, especially since the movie script, ‘A New Beginning’, he backed made the big time with our three ladies. I had to kill his brother, but we worked it out, and avoided further casualties.
“Cheech bought a place in Oceanside right after you and Lo took off. He’s been a real force in the area. Every two bit crook, and gangbanger knows the real life ‘Godfather’ lives nearby. It has had an effect on local crime. I’m betting the across the border cartels are keeping an eye on everything Cheech is doing. A few of his boys watch out for his three stars too. Whenever Temple, Karen, and Trish are together for workouts or meals at the restaurant, I’ve spotted wise-guys I’ve seen with Cheech.”
Well done, Bone. “That’s good work, Bone. How are we doing in the bond retrieval business?”
“Stayin’ the hell away from it until you and Lo got back. Trish and I have nabbed a few low level skips, but we’ve kept the investigations geared to missing persons, company insider theft, and some unhappy spouse dealings. New installs are going very well. Notoriety sells, brother.”
Yeah, it does. “As long as the notoriety involves the entertainment pages, and not me in the tank, I’m happy. So far, everything’s peachy. You know how uncomfortable Cantelli-land can get when all I hear is good news. Spit it out. I’m sure you were glad to see me, but the reunion could have happened at the office.”
Bone hesitated, but he saw me honing in on him with my geezer stare. “Chet Torrance escaped from Pelican Bay two weeks ago. Detective Staley told us Chet made a deal with federal prosecutors to give them all the deaths he contracted working for Teddy Alvarez – where the bodies were buried, and the whole smear. During the transfer to federal custody, the transport was jacked in route. Staley believes whoever filled the void left by the deceased Alvarez took Chet somewhere, found out what he made a deal for, and whacked him.”
Chet did contract killings, sometimes with Trish when she was in the game. All was right once again in the infamous Cantelli-land. “They would have whacked him on site. They wouldn’t have cared what the hell Chet told the authorities.”
Bone nodded. “That’s what Trish said. I wanted to see you anyway, but you needed to know Chet is on the loose. I already told Frank. He’ll make sure to tell Lo. The other bad blip on the radar is Temple hanging out with one of those bad boy celebrities. Trish and Karen tried talking to her, but we think she’s zoomed past the infatuation stage. They’re all over the entertainment pages.”
“Temple’s always stayed clear of drugs. If the boyfriend’s not robbing banks, there’s not much we can do about it.” I’d hate to see my pseudo daughter have any heartbreak, but the celebrity life is tough on teens. She’s past eighteen. Some things a kid has to learn on their own.”
“His last girlfriend called the police on him because he beat her,” Bone replied. “Temple got mad when Trish said she’d educate him on what to do and not do while dating Temple. Trish was going to visit him in the night, but I convinced her to wait until you and Lo came back.”
“Excellent thinking, brother. Temple doesn’t like thinking she’s some helpless little girl. We’ve all worked on her self-defense techniques. You know as well as I do it’s mostly a mental thing. She could be the reincarnation of Bruce Lee, but if Temple hesitates, she gets whooped. If she doesn’t strike the right places, with all she’s got, then she gets whooped. That’s why the smart celebs have bodyguards like Karen does. Thanks for explaining the situation though. I’m a hell of a lot more worried about Chet.”
I refilled Bone’s coffee, and mine, including throwing a charge into it. Life was good, in spite of other people’s problems. “I hope Lo takes the day off. I don’t need her riding herd on me. She should be in a state of bliss after using the M60 on the way out of that hellhole.”
Bone straightened in his chair. “She did? Damn… that old lady rocks.”
“She rocked that helicopter – stitched it from stem to stern, and blew the cockpit. They didn’t have a prayer.”
“Damn… the old lady loves Temple. I hope we can keep her from taking sides in the celebrity relationship match.”
“Lo will let it play out. She’ll of course torture Temple at the workouts, but that’s more for entertainment than anything else. I’m ready to face the day. I’ll bring my loaded coffee along for the ride.”
“I bet you didn’t do much drinkin’ in the sand, huh?”
“Nope… but I’m making up for it now… with moderation of course.”
“Of course,” Bone replied. “C’mon, you lush before I have to pour you into the car.”
“You’re mean, Bone.”
Bone stood up. “I can see why Temple likes you so much. You’re beginning to sound like her.”
* * *
Shelly saw me first. “Rick!”
I gathered her into my arms with heartfelt feeling. Shelly Fontenot is part of our very weird family. “It’s good to see you, Shell.”
She pushed away from me, brushing aside tears. “Damn it, Rick… you could have called or at least e-mailed Bone. When the embassy attack was televised, we thought you were dead.”
“Can we leave it at the fact it wasn’t possible? Lo and I had to pay back a debt, thanks to my having to take care of Adina and her husband. You, Trish, and Bone did a hell of a job covering for us while we were away. Thank you.”
“We love you two, you old fart. Is the debt paid in full yet?”
“Yep. We got confirmation after they tried to have us killed. We’re good. They’re pissed we survived, but the Israelis are calling it even.”
“Bastards!”
“Yeah, they are Shell, but they’re the only thing we have as an early warning force in the Middle East. They are also our only real allies in the region. Let’s put that out to pasture. We’ll concentrate on getting back to normal… whatever that means in Cantelli-land. At least Lo isn’t here yet to disrupt the few seconds we have in peaceful bliss.”
“Hi, Hooterville.” Trish held out her hand. “I’m glad you’re back.”
I clasped her hand with every cell in my body on edge. Trish and I would have been like nuclear fission if we had ever been in the same age group, in the same place, and in contact. The good Lord knows what manner of interaction we would have had. That she had linked in with someone from her past because of our collaboration was… I don’t know… atonement i
n Cantelli-land? “Hi Trish. It’s good seeing you. How’s Sam doing?”
She blushed, which I found cute on multiple levels.
“He’s fine, Rick. I…I hope I can keep working here.”
“Are you kidding? No way am I firing you from our very strange group. I thought we’d covered this before I left. I’m happy for you and Sam. Let’s drop the uneasiness. You’re golden with me. You, Shell, and Bone have done a sensational job keeping Lo and I in business without incident. I’ve already promised Bone I’d be at Casablanca Night tomorrow. I also plan to work out at Jadie’s Gym beforehand. Everything will be on Madigan and Cantelli.”
“Uh… am I still partnering with you?”
“Since Bone gets goose-bumps every time he’s near you, I figured maybe you and I could solve a few cases together without any problem. Steverino… is that you? I hardly recognize you without the ring through your nose. How the hell are you?”
“Fuck you, Rick!” Steve held out his hand, which I grasped with enthusiasm. “I was fine until you decided to play my whipped status in front of everyone.”
I hugged him. “Oh my… I didn’t realize, Steve… I am so sorry. Okay, show of hands, let’s make this official. Is there anyone in the office who doesn’t know Steve is whipped?”
No hands, but a multitude of chuckles.
“Well… hell… there we are… democracy and truth in action. We love you, Steve. Your shortcomings are not a problem.”
“Fuck you, Rick! At least Bone treats me with some respect.”
“That’s because he doesn’t know Lo will coerce you two into ratting on each other and everyone around.” Heh… heh… I saw the exchanged worried look of revelation between the two with satisfaction. “You two hadn’t considered what a bonanza you two rats would be for Lo?”
Right on cue, in pops the Harpy, as jet lagged as I was, but casting the cunning net of trickery at us with one glance. She smirked in anticipation. “I see Hooterville beat me in. I can smell whiskey from here, which means Bone met him at his door, and acted as designated driver. You all did well while we were away. I’m happy to see you in the fold once again, Steve. Did you find your balls unattended in some alley?”
Rick Cantelli, PI: Into the Darkness (Rick Cantelli, P.I. Detectives Book 3) Page 4
