B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America)

by Lessil Richards

  He had come home four out of five nights with a taste of blood in his mouth, all inflicted by his sparring partner, a mere girl of twelve who had only been taking lessons for four months. She had been the only child close to his age for a sparring partner, and had recently achieved her yellow belt. She was assigned to teach him the basic eight man kata defense techniques while the Sensei worked primarily with the more advanced students. He supposed that she was the one to thank for the lesson of not judging a book by its cover.

  He respected the little girl who used to beat him time and time again. She had attained her orange belt by the time he achieved his yellow belt. He had trimmed down, gained experience, and practiced hard in his spare time, learning to do a variety of katas with expertise. The day they both achieved their green belts, he had been proud of the little girl who had blossomed into a fine young woman. Leo respected his Sensei, as he did not just award belt levels every few months to satisfy parents, like some of the American dojos; he waited till one grew both in skill and maturity. It took Leo well over two years to achieve his green belt. He absently wondered what became of his original sparring partner and hoped life had been kind to her.

  She had been replaced when Leo returned to the states by a young man named Doug. He’d sparred with Leo at the YMCA in high school and again in college while taking Judo. He did remarkably well considering he was always trying to fight back epileptic seizures. In school, at times, he appeared partially drugged. His movements and speech patterns were sometimes sluggish and deliberate due to the heavy doses of daily medications required to prevent him from having seizures.

  He trained right alongside Leo. They both did a year of wrestling in high school, but switched to running and martial arts. Doug far surpassed Leo’s abilities in wrestling while Leo excelled in running. Doug only once placed in the top three positions of a running race in the Treasure Valley, but what he lacked in speed he made up for in feats of strength and endurance despite his presumed handicap. Doug definitely had determination and grit. It was no wonder that he did so well in the United States Army. It had taken four years of persistent doctor’s evaluations and statements to convince the military to accept the fact that he no longer suffered from seizures as an adult and no longer required any medication.

  During the four-year struggle to get into the Army, Doug graduated from Boise State University with a degree in Computer Science. Leo recalled the celebration the two of them had the night of their joint graduation ceremonies. His college degree allowed Doug to join the Army as an officer. Lieutenant Corrigan served in Desert Storm/Desert Shield, and when he returned to Iraq in Operation Desert Thunder he was Captain Corrigan. At the completion of his fifth and final tour during Operation Iraqi Freedom and his reassignment to Colorado, he became Major Corrigan. Leo was extremely proud of his best friend and his military accomplishments.

  As soon as he could, he would go seek his friend’s help. By now, Doug would have received the weird package that he mailed to him two days earlier. Leo hoped that he would take the package seriously, and not think it was some wild trick he had concocted. Doug might have justification for thinking the strange package from Leo was a prank. They shared a wonderful, wild, and wacky friendship nurtured through many years of activities and adventures.

  Leo had instructed Doug not to call any of his telephone numbers in Idaho. He mentioned that he was in real trouble and would need some help. He told him he would call or show up in person, and the one thing that may be able to save his family and his life was concealed by an encrypted password on the enclosed flash drive. He warned him not to trust anyone, nor tamper with the flash drive till he contacted him.

  Leo reached the motel and walked into the lobby, exhibiting only a slight limp. Two clerks were working behind the reception desk. One was totaling the money in the change drawer and comparing the amount to that of the cash register receipt printout. The other, a more refreshed looking man, was confirming a reservation to a caller over the phone. Leo was relieved that it was between shifts as each man looked sufficiently distracted not to have noticed what vehicle he had supposedly been driving.

  When the slender desk clerk hung up the phone, he turned to him with a slightly puzzled look on his face. “May I help you?” he asked.

  Leo nervously brushed at his face, almost getting the feeling that he had something awful attached to the end of his nose. He wished he had a mirror to check his appearance. The last three people he had encountered either gave him a strange look or thought that he was some sort of a vagrant. He could not read the response of the desk clerk as clearly as the elderly lady or the waitress. “Yes, I need a non-smoking room with two queen sized beds for three nights.”

  The clerk handed him a registration card. “Any preference on which end of the building you want?”

  Leo chose the rear of the building and finished the registration card.

  The other desk clerk walked over to the cash register and replaced the change drawer. “Well, Dennis, she checks out A-Okay. I guess it’s all yours.”

  Dennis nodded. “Thank you, see you tomorrow. Have a good night.” Dennis picked up the registration card and began entering the data into the computer. “Mr. Fullmer, would you like to leave your account open so that you can place phone calls or watch pay-per-view movies?”

  “No thanks. I’d like to settle my account now if you don’t mind.” He then added “It will be cash,” before Dennis could get a chance to ask cash or charge?

  Dennis rung up the room and collected the cash for the three-night stay. The clerk handed Leo his room card key and gave him directions to it, as well as the location of the sauna, Jacuzzi, and exercise room. He thanked Dennis and noticed another one of those puzzled looks on his face. It was either a look of acute concentration or possible constipation.

  Finally the clean-cut desk clerk spit out some of the words that he had so earnestly been chewing on. “QKSILVR, does she have the bigger six cylinder, 4.0 liter engine, or just the smaller 2.5 liter four cylinder engine?”

  Leo realized, with relief, that Dennis had just finished reading the last information on the registration card about his vehicle and license plate. “She’s among the first group with the improved six cylinder engine and upgraded Select-Trac four-wheel-drive system. I used to own an old 1985 Jeep Cherokee with the small engine, but it was awful. It was simply a gutless wonder that should never have been considered for production. This newer one at least lives up to the name, ‘Jeep.’”

  The clerk lit up. His hobby and love was obviously engines, big ones. Leo patiently waited and listened to the stories about his hot rod CJ-5 Jeep with its big modified V-8 engine, and how he was building a monster truck for future competitions with his uncle.

  After conversing about off road vehicles, as well as hunting, Dennis wanted to know if he needed any help with his bags or a wakeup call. Leo said that he was just fine, but would call upon Dennis if he needed any further assistance. After thanking him, Leo left the lobby and headed along the outside of the building towards the rear entrance, purposely remaining observant and alert to any possible danger. The parking lot was mostly empty. He did not observe any suspicious vehicles.

  As he walked towards the back of the motel, he relapsed in to thinking about his teaching days, missing the fulfillment he felt when he helped a student learn a new concept, seeing the pure joy on the face of a student who truly understood what was being taught. He did not miss the long hours associated with teaching, correcting papers in the evenings, doing lesson plans on the weekends, and doing summer workshops to maintain his accreditation. Working in real estate, he enjoyed setting his own hours, and loved working alongside his wife.

  She had been the elusive Miss Perfect that he had sought all through college. When Leo sort of gave up on looking for ‘Miss Right’ she appeared in an unexpected manner. When he switched careers from teaching to real estate, money was pretty tight, so he placed a small ad in the paper to tutor math for high school or coll
ege students in the evening hours. The night Leo arranged to meet Sarah, a college senior struggling to pass her last math class; they both felt an instant connection, an attraction and respect for each other beyond physical awareness.

  Sarah was beautiful, but what made her noteworthy, was the fact that she did not see herself that way. To her, she was just the girl next door. She had long brown flowing hair that tumbled down her shoulders in natural waves and gentle curls. Like Leo, she was somewhat top heavy, but in a good way. Her eyes seemed to change color depending on the clothes she wore and the lighting of the room. At times they appeared hazel or even blue, but in his company they were usually green. Her teeth were white, even and straight, thanks to nearly four years of braces. She glowed when she smiled.

  Leo refused to accept any money from her the first night they met for tutoring, as he could not keep his eyes off her and had a very hard time concentrating on the math. They ended up going down to the university café, and mostly talked and got to know each other over hot chocolate and blueberry muffins. They both felt so at ease with the other, that the few scheduled study sessions seemed obsolete as they quickly switched to dating mode and seeing each other as often as possible. He helped Sarah get through her college math class and shortly after she graduated from Boise State University he proposed to her. He knew from the moment he first saw her that they were meant for each other. She later admitted that she had dreamt of Leo six months prior to their first meeting. The night she first walked up to him in the Boise State University Student Union Building she, too, knew that one day Leo would become her husband.

  They started a family a year after their marriage. Traykie was the first born son, and Chris, followed three years later. As the boys grew up, Leo spent more time with each one. They spent endless hours training for fun runs, shooting baskets, talking, playing, paint gunning, and learning together. Leo remembered the time when they had all been out jumping on the trampoline in the back yard on a sunny afternoon. It was so hot they turned the sprinkler on under the trampoline and changed into their swimsuits. All four were jumping, slipping, and giggling on the wet trampoline when the plumber, who had finished installing their new dishwasher, came out. “You know I see a lot of families with my job, but I must say you all are the happiest, and might I add, the jumpiest family I ever did see!”

  Leo always remembered that statement fondly, for it was about as close to the truth as is possible. He was extremely thankful for all the blessings in his life. He had great friends, a fantastic family, good health, and was financially comfortable. Even though his finances would not have been as well off today, Leo wished he never let Tim Bance convince him to get involved with the B.B.U.S.A. Organization. No amount of money was worth uprooting a family, and definitely not worth dying over. He stiffened his resolve and pushed the fatigue further back in his mind. Somehow he would keep alert until this was all over. Too much depended on him now.

  At the back of the motel he used his room card to unlock the rear entrance. He hopped up the half flight of stairs, entered the second floor hallway, and located his room a few doors down on the left. Leo noticed with amusement that even this new motel did not have a room 213. Personally, he was not superstitious.

  He entered the room and immediately placed the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outside door knob. He flipped on the light switch, locked the door behind him, and dumped the contents of his duffel bag on the nearest bed.

  He closed the curtains so that no one could see in, turned around and looked yearningly at the two queen sized beds that seemed to be beckoning him to take a rest. He resisted. Looking at the jeans and black T-shirt on the bed by his duffel bag, he let out a sigh. It had been too long since he’d been hiking, hunting, or fishing. He missed Idaho’s beautiful back country; the birch and aspen trees alongside the Salmon River, the natural hot springs between the towns of Stanley and Challis, the rolling hills crowned by the majestic Sawtooth Mountains. He promised himself that when this crisis was over, he would take his family back to that area for a long vacation.

  He used the restroom and started the shower then eased down on the nearest bed and removed his shoes and clothing. The wound had bled a little but actually did not look as bad as he had expected. He walked over to the double sinks and was pleased that they were conveniently located outside of the immediate bathroom shower area.

  In the dim light, Leo was startled by his own reflection in the mirror, and instantaneously reacted into a defensive stance. Feeling a bit silly, he took a closer examination of his reflection, then chuckled, and turned to tell Sarah what he saw. With disappointment, he remembered that Sarah, his best friend and confidant wasn’t there. He looked in the mirror again and examined the dark muddy smudge across the side of his face, partially along the outside of his nose. It was no wonder he had so many strange looks. He wondered what else he had missed.

  His five foot eleven inch frame was well proportioned. Perhaps slightly top heavy, as he was thickly muscled through the chest, creating an impressive V shape to his upper body. He didn’t resemble the chiseled appearance of a body builder, though he was plenty strong enough. A fair amount of his muscle development came from firefighting and digging line. Sarah hated how body builders looked. She thought they were grotesque. He never wanted to over develop his body for that very reason. His muscles had always been trained for speed and endurance. His mildly tanned body was attractive and he was proud of it. He was not the hunk of the year, but he did possess sharp clean features that often drew feminine attention.

  His appearance was perhaps more formidable looking than it really was. He always walked tall and proud and kept a straight posture. He felt like 6 foot 2, instead of 5 foot 11, and two hundred pounds instead of one hundred eighty. He laughed at his own arrogance, though he would be the first one to admit that his abundant self-confidence could be construed by others at times to be overly presumptuous.

  Leo was a bit of a perfectionist. He was an excellent teacher, understood math, and could easily break it down to where others could grasp it. He was a good firefighter and excelled at martial arts and running. He was successful in real estate and enjoyed life, and it showed. He could be perceived as “cocky” in the areas he excelled at, but he also knew his limitations.

  He eased his left foot into the shower, forgetting his problems for the moment. After washing and relaxing for a few minutes in the warm steaming sanctuary, he reluctantly left the bathroom and shaved, then he opened the first aid kit he had purchased and poured some hydrogen peroxide on his left foot. He sat on the edge of the first bed, with water droplets still glistening on his skin, watching with fascination as the wound seemed to come alive. It did not hurt that much but the peroxide fizzled and foamed, turning the reddish-yellow wound into a lively mass of little bubbles.

  He re-bandaged the wound, dried off, applied some deodorant, and got dressed in his new attire. Anxious to finish his plans, he quickly messed up both beds, and then rearranged the pillows under the blankets and comforters to look like someone was sleeping in each bed. He tossed his old clothes in a corner and repacked his remaining belongings in his duffel bag. After glancing out the window again to make sure the coast was clear, he picked up the duffel bag and walked to the door. He opened the door and could see a laundry cart a few yards down the hallway, but otherwise there was no one visible. He tossed the room card on the counter next to the sink and shut the door firmly; feeling to make sure it was securely locked and double checked to make sure the “Do Not Disturb” sign was visible.

  He adjusted the duffel bag strap, placed it over his shoulder, and walked to the rear entrance. He quickly crossed the width of the parking lot and eased his left foot over a low shrub fence into the adjoining Dairy Queen parking lot. He went around the back of the fast food restaurant and entered the main road on the far side of the building to avoid being noticed by any motel staff. Leo then proceeded towards Sam’s address.

  Chapter 12

  The afternoon br
eeze was picking up, bringing cooler air from the Pacific Ocean, but a refreshing change from the heat of the day. The sun had passed its apex and was on a slow downward trajectory toward the western horizon. The fog had dissipated, but Leo knew from past experience that a new fog bank was developing over the distant ocean and would undoubtedly return by nightfall.

  Leo found Sam’s place easily. It was located on a hill overlooking the beach. The previous night’s run seemed like a distant memory, but he knew that his life was still in peril. Everything he had already done would be in vain if he did not soon buy a vehicle and escape the town. Leo had been accustomed to very little sleep while fighting fires, and knew he could push back resting for a while longer, as long as he kept enough caffeine or adrenaline in his system.

  Leo walked up to the gleaming 1998 Mazda MX3 and cupped his hands in order to look through its tinted windows. He liked the look of the little car; it resembled a cross between a Porsche 929 and a VW Bug. Sam’s daughter had definitely taken good care of the vehicle. Leo could not see any scratches, dings, or dents, not even a rock chip in the front window. The front of the vehicle had a white leather vehicle bra covering the front bumper that ended where the hood started. The white custom hubcaps matched the cover on the front. He was actually astonished that Sam had not already sold the car and that the dealers had been foolish enough to let this one go, as it exhumed curb appeal. What high school student or college student wouldn’t want it? Leo could smell the fresh Armor All on the tires, and could tell by looking at the tread that they too were fairly new. He looked up as the front door of the house opened and Sam appeared on the front porch.