John wheezed, looked over at Bob who was still standing erect near the tracks on the beach and said, “Come again?”
Bob looked at John in surprise. “Oh, sorry, nothing really. I guess I was just thinking about how life does not always turn out the way you plan it.”
“You got that right! Who would have expected Leo to jump off the banister and tie into us like that? And who would have dreamt that we would still be chasing the same phantom down a deserted beach in the middle of the night? I bet this guy runs marathons just for fun.”
Bob took a deep breath, let out a sigh again, and cleared his thoughts. “John, are you going to be all right?”
“Oh sure, I’ll live. My jaw aches a little, but I’ll survive.”
Ervin took the last drag of his cigarette, flicked it on the beach floor, and ground it under the mud, then turned to Florin. “You sure picked a convenient time to take a leak!”
Florin didn’t reply. He just stared back at Ervin.
Bob felt the uneasy silence. “Ervin, just what in the hell did you mean by that statement?”
“Nothing much, really. I guess I am just a little pissed off at having to chase this asshole all over the damn beach all night. My thigh is burning from that kick he landed on me, and I guess I’m lucky that I reacted at all or he surely would have shattered my knee. Right when we needed Florin the most, he wasn’t there. The reason we were caught off guard in the first place was because we were waiting for Florin to finish in the bathroom. We weren’t expecting Leo to fly off the banister and tie into us like that. You said you wanted us with you just in case he wouldn’t listen to reason. You didn’t tell us that he was violent or had any martial arts training. Hell, as far as we knew, you were just going up the elevator to meet with him and settle some business over dinner at that restaurant on the upper level of the old light house.
“We thought you’d be finding out what he knew or maybe you’d be able to buy him off. Shit, the way he tore into John, I thought for a moment that he would kill both of us before we could even respond. By the time Florin could get his zipper up and finally joined us in the lobby, Leo had already rendered John unconscious with his elbow and about broke my leg with that kick. I know that it’s not your fault, and I know that Florin is one of us too; I guess I’m just pissed off. Nothing personal.”
Bob turned and faced Ervin. “I understand your frustrations. I didn’t expect Leo to react the way he did either. He must have suspected more than I had given him credit for. I truly thought that he was loyal, a good family man, with his values all set neatly in place. I figured that even if he suspected our involvement with Tim’s untimely departure, he would cower with the slightest threat on his family. I thought that we could offer him a deal for his silence, ensure his safety, and simply end his involvement with the B.B.U.S.A. Nice neat little package all wrapped up, end of story. I had no way of knowing that he would pounce at you guys like that. He must have seen us pull up and became even more suspicious of our intentions when he saw that I brought back-up with me. He probably feared that he would end up just like Tim Bance. Come to think of it, he probably acted much like you or I would, Ervin, if we were in his shoes.” Bob paused, and looked over at John and Florin before continuing. “Leo may be dangerous.”
“No shit!” Ervin interjected.
Bob ignored Ervin’s comment and went on. “I guess now is as good a time as any for a briefing. We did a complete background check on Leo prior to getting involved with him and uncovered some interesting things. He has a BA in Criminal Justice but never used it. He went back and finished a BA in Education. After teaching for three years he changed careers and went into real estate instead. He studied Tension Khan Karate as a youth, Taekwondo in High School, and did Judo for his first two years at Boise State University.
“John, like you guessed he is a runner. As near as I know, he has not run any full marathons, but he does have a healthy list of running achievements in 10k races and some wins at the half marathon distance in and around the Treasure Valley area. Leo is a bit of a health nut. He never drank, smoked, or used illicit drugs. He broke off a previous engagement with his high school/college sweetheart because of her smoking cigarettes at a college party. Apparently he hates cigarettes. My only point is that this stuck with me when we screened him. It struck me odd that he would pass up love and happiness with a young lady he dated for nearly four years because of his personal value system. Your values and morals can be assets or detriments depending on how you play the cards.
“He is extremely determined and headstrong when he makes up his mind on something, as evidenced with his previous engagement. He spent ten years overseas, in one of twenty-five different countries his parents traveled to or resided in. He also speaks four languages. I’m told that he learned the other languages at such a young age that he reads, writes, and speaks them fluently, and interestingly enough, has no English accent.
“Much of his younger years of schooling were spent in quasi-military schools, although he never joined the military. He formed a pretty impressive paint gunning team, made up of his best friend who is an Army Major, his wife, his oldest son, and the fourth person was the late Tim Bance. They had competed in some out of state events and even won a few major tournaments.
“We’re not up against ‘Seal Team Six’ or anything, but what I wish to impress upon you now is that it is not in anyone’s best interest to underestimate him either. He is a very determined, self–made individual, and thus a bit of a wild card, unpredictable as you all witnessed tonight. It’s truly a pity, Gentlemen. I admired the poor bastard, but now with all regrets aside, our mission has changed. He, like Tim, is now a threat to the organization, and as such, unfortunately, will have to be eliminated. Our mission has changed. Now it is search and destroy! Do you understand? Any questions?”
Ervin smiled. “Hey Bob, kind of reminds me of our early days, huh?”
They had known each other at the CIA, and Bob had recruited him as his right hand man. He was tall and strong, but he was not handsome like Bob. Ervin was a born follower with idle fancies of grandeur, but he was good at unquestionably following directions. What he lacked in looks he made up for in meanness. Bob had seen him kill before. The killings were justified, but Ervin seemed to enjoy them, usually tormenting his victims prior to ending their lives. He seemed to get high on watching the life slowly drain from a victim. He would remain high for days after a killing.
Bob had also killed before, but unlike Ervin, he found no pleasure in it. He knew that Ervin would always gladly and obediently take care of any necessary dirty work. It had been Ervin who ended Tim’s life.
Bob and John had entered Tim’s house after Ervin was finished. They removed all possible evidence linking Tim to the B.B.U.S.A. Florin had been the loner that night as well. He refused to even enter the house. Instead he simply stood guard outside in the bushes, prepared to warn them of any possible danger via their handheld radios.
“So what’s the plan, chief?” John was probably one of the most loyal employees. He firmly believed in the B.B.U.S.A. and was sincerely proud to be serving his country in such a way. He was their true computer genius, though he did not resemble the typical computer geek.
Bob looked at John and nodded. “Just like I said, search and destroy! Inconspicuously! He will simply have to disappear without a trace so that we can prevent any other domino effects.”
He noticed the shimmering lights reflecting from an off-shore boat passing by in the night, and could also see the distant halos of several faint little lights seemingly floating above the sea further down the beach. “It’s time to get going!”
The men began a slow jog, following the single tack on the beach. When Bob and his contingent of tired followers finally reached the old pier, they turned east towards town, knowing that the jetty would be a dead end. Since he did not take Leo for a fool, he told his men to split up and comb a ten block range and see what they could come up with. They
were to meet him back at the pier in half an hour. As his men disappeared from sight, he thought back to the careful arrangements Leo had made to get him and his men to this sea-side village. Perhaps he was smarter than he had originally given him credit for. He had convinced Bob that he was troubled with Tim’s death, and that he wanted to talk to him about his concerns.
Leo had obviously chosen his own turf. It almost appeared to him as if Leo purposely led him away from Boise, like a Killdeer pretending to have a broken wing to lead predators away from its nest. Bob knew from the tap on Tim’s line that he had sent Leo a flash drive with the results of his investigation reports on it; however, he also knew that Tim was unable to get the password out, thus making the flash drive virtually useless.
The night Ervin ended Tim’s life; they discovered a second flash drive in a manila envelope addressed to CNN. John spent several days trying to break the password and finally confirmed to Bob that they had very little to worry about from Leo. John did his best to find a back door to hack into but still came up with nothing. The CNN flash drive remained locked away in the fire safe in Boise at their main office, the secrets still safely secured. Regardless, he still wished he could offer Leo a sum of money and buy the flash drive just to ensure that its contents were never revealed to anyone, especially the media. He regretted that Leo had not given him the opportunity to strike a deal tonight. There had been time for amends, but now it was out of his control. It would not be the first time, or most likely the last time, that he would have to live with his regrets.
Where did Leo go and what was he up to now? Surely he did not have a particular destination in mind when he took off on his marathon run. Perhaps he was observant and had noticed John following him over the past few days. That might have explained why he tied into John so ferociously.
Bob shuddered as the cool mist started creeping in around his collar. His stomach growled. Supper was originally planned at the restaurant with Leo, so of course, no one had eaten dinner. Two shadows approached from the east. Moments later Ervin and John became visible. They reported no sign of Leo. It did not surprise him when Florin arrived by himself again. He too had not seen Leo.
“Well, he simply didn’t vanish.” Bob said. “John, when following him over the past couple of days, did he ever have a rental car?”
“No, he didn’t. He always took a cab, city bus, or hotel shuttle just like he did tonight at the lighthouse restaurant.”
“Good! I was beginning to think that he had set us up by pre-planning our evening’s exercises, and had conveniently left his rental car parked here for a quick escape. I wish to hell we’d taken a car instead of a taxi ourselves. By the way, did any of you notice any cabs in the streets this late?”
The response was negative. Leo must still be on foot somewhere. John noticed an old pay phone at the other end of the parking lot, and suggested they look through the phone book and call the cab companies to see if any cabs were sent to the jetty recently. Bob commended John for his idea and they set off for the pay phone. Only one Taxi Company was listed in the yellow pages. A tired sounding dispatcher answered the phone but told them that no one had called for a cab to that location in the past hour.
“While I have her on the line should I order us a cab?” John inquired.
Bob started to nod then hesitated. A sudden thought thundered through his head. “Leo has done everything unexpected so far tonight!” He looked over at John, who was still waiting for his reply. “No John, we aren’t going to need a cab just yet.”
John thanked the dispatcher and hung up the phone. “What’s on your mind?”
“I bet you all a free breakfast that Leo is still out on that pier as we speak! He knew we’d assume that he headed into town and would not risk an obvious dead end like the pier.”
John turned and looked at the lights leading over the dark water. “Shall we check it out then?”
He nodded and the men headed for the entrance to the pier. He instructed his men to simply detain and escort Leo off the pier should they encounter him. He felt confident that his premonition was correct this time. The night no longer seemed as dark as it had while running along the beach. Looking out over the water, Bob noticed the horizon giving way to the first light of the breaking dawn. The group of men made their way up onto the wet planks, but felt uneasy and out of their element as fishermen eyed them suspiciously.
Ervin slipped and nearly fell on the moist planks, but was able to steady himself by reaching out and securing his weight on the sturdy wooden hand rail. When Bob caught his eye he noticed panic and fear on his face, which seemed odd or out of place. He frowned at him questioningly.
Ervin relaxed his somewhat contorted face a bit and volunteered an explanation. “I never was much of a swimmer. It would be mighty easy to fall off this jetty and drown you know?”
Bob understood his fear, but also repeated Ervin’s last words again. “It sure would be easy to accidentally fall off the pier and drown, wouldn’t it boys?”
John understood his line of thinking. “You mean it would be a real shame if Leo had an accident out here?”
“Yes, you got my drift exactly,” he paused, “but be careful. I would not want any of you following him into the water!”
Chapter 3
Leo had traveled less than twenty yards back down the jetty when he overheard two young boys conversing as they moved further down the pier. “Seems a little late for tourists out here.”
The second boy gently elbowed his friend in the ribs. “Don’t you mean a little early?” They both laughed as they stopped by a light, throwing their fishing gear down on the wet planks.
“This used to be a pretty good fishing spot,” the first boy commented.
Leo had heard enough. The hair on the back of his neck began prickling like a porcupine trying to get rid of loose quills. He knew very well that tourists at this hour only meant one thing; trouble. He had little time to plan an escape. His pursuers had not been tricked. He glanced at the receding tide and knew that attempting to swim to shore was still not an option. Perhaps he could climb over the railing and hide under the boardwalk down in the rusting girders and rotting pylons under the pier. That was an extremely dangerous option. The jetty was old, rusted, wet, slippery, and barnacle-encrusted. There would be little chance of successfully finding a spot to hide or to keep his footing on the slick surfaces below the boardwalk. If he didn’t fall, but was seen, he would have to jump to avoid being shot, and then he would undoubtedly drown anyway.
Nearby, a fisherman was wrestling with a good-sized catfish, trying to dislodge the large hook out of its ugly wriggling mouth.
An idea shot through his head and he immediately acted upon it without taking the time to thoroughly think it through.
“Allow me,” he said, and with a sudden swoop of his left leg, brought his foot down hard on the back of the catfish. A sharp pain rushed up Leo’s leg.
The astonished fisherman gasped with horror at the sight of the strong, needle like back fin protruding out of the top of Leo’s foot.
Leo clenched his teeth for a moment till the initial rush of pain passed. “Sorry man, I thought I’d just knock it out for you in order to dislodge the hook safely.”
The catfish began to squirm while still attached to his foot. He let out a small yelp in surprise as a new rush of pain passed through his nervous system.
The flabbergasted fisherman, who had not sought Leo’s assistance in the first place, came to his senses and hollered for help to three other nearby fishermen. The men reeled in their lines, laid down their poles, and rushed over to see what all the commotion was about.
Leo remembered how many fishing accidents he had witnessed as a kid over the years of fishing on this very jetty. Several fishermen had cut themselves; one fisherman lost a finger to a not-so-dead speckled shark while trying to retrieve a three-pronged hook. Once, when it was bitterly cold, an intoxicated older fisherman had cut off the tips of th
ree fingers while trying to cut up some bait.
He had witnessed several people slipping, sliding and falling on the moist planks. A couple of people were even carried unconscious from the jetty after such a fall. The most common accidents were preventable. Due to simple carelessness, many innocent fishermen had been hooked by other fishermen. The size of some of the three-pronged hooks used to catch larger fish could be several inches across.
Once, Leo witnessed a gory mess when a young boy fishing alone had prepared to cast one such hook, but neglected to look behind him before beginning the forward momentum of his cast. The pronged hook had fastened itself to an unsuspecting fisherman’s lower earlobe. That particular cast removed nearly half of the man’s right ear. Blood gushed down his shoulder and onto the boardwalk. The man’s agonized howl scared the boy so much that he threw down his pole and raced down the length of the jetty straight for home.
Accidents were not uncommon on the pier, especially at night. All seasoned fishermen had a healthy respect of the jetty and its inherent dangers. Those who braved the late cold nights to take from the bounty the ocean offered, had become accustomed to accidents, and had undoubtedly helped others many times in the past.
Two men held Leo from moving while another attempted to pull the large, squirming catfish from his foot. The oldest of the four men stood hunched over, inspecting the damage, then giving directions and advice to the active participants. After freeing the catfish, Leo’s shoe and sock were yanked off in order to inspect the wound. Some dark blood dripped from both the top and bottom of the foot, but not a sufficient amount to be overly alarmed or to consider a tourniquet.
B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America) Page 2
