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

by Lessil Richards

  He asked him if he was under control now and whispered in his ear, “I’ll give you one chance and only one chance. Listen carefully. Either you cooperate fully and we have a long chat later, or you, too, will die in this fire. Which is it?”

  The others had not heard his words. They were tending to Ervin who was coming around. Florin thought about his family and he wanted to live. He slowly nodded. Bob released his grip. Florin shook his head and eased up onto wobbly legs, looked at Bob, and nodded again. Bob eyed him cautiously and watched him walk out the side entrance into the alley. John was the next one out. While Bob and Marcus walked on either side of Ervin, stabilizing his long legs, Florin saw John lose his supper in the garbage can. The building had taken on a red glow. Smoke began to seep from the side door. Soon someone would be reporting the fire. Marcus and John had disabled all the fire security devices as well as the smoke detectors. They left a fire bomb that would explode within minutes. The five of them made a hasty departure.

  Florin sat up front next to Bob, who drove. They went directly to the new office. There they unloaded and began the lengthy conversations. Ervin looked awful. He was in severe pain. He would need a dentist and some stitches.

  During the two hour conversation with all members present, Florin watched Bob reach under his coat jacket several times. Florin felt like he was in an interrogation room, and knew he was vulnerable. He thought there was a good possibility that Bob would retrieve his 9mm pistol and shoot both Ervin and him at any given moment. Ervin repeatedly pleaded for medical assistance, to which Bob turned a deaf ear. Ervin held his face over a bucket the entire time, bleeding savagely for the first thirty minutes. Later long strings of red spittle hung from his lower lip and swollen jaw. At one point Bob screamed at Ervin, telling him to shut up. It was at that very moment Florin was sure Bob would pull his pistol and shoot them both, but when he finally pulled his hand from under his jacket it did not hold his gun. Florin breathed a sigh of relief.

  Bob asked how they thought this matter could be resolved. Florin saw an opportunity to get out and asked if he too, could be transferred with Carl and Marcus. Bob agreed that he would personally see to it within the week, providing that there were no more problems amongst the group. Ervin agreed as long as he could get medical attention. Bob sent Ervin out with John and Marcus to seek medical help and hollered at them when they were leaving to tell the emergency room that Ervin had been in a bar fight.

  “Florin, what am I going to do with you? Don’t you think I have enough problems without having you fighting our own team members? What’s the deal? What’s going on in your head? Talk to me!”

  Florin felt the threat was greater now that they were alone than ever before. He feared the end may be close and prepared himself to react if Bob reached under his coat one more time. Florin tried to read his expressions and body language.

  “Damn it! You are my best guy! You have superb skills and a good head on your shoulders. What’s up with you and Ervin?”

  Florin cleared his throat. “Ervin is cruel. He tortured that poor woman unnecessarily. Once he had extracted the information he continued for pure joy. He is evil. I could not watch her suffer any longer, so I ended her life. He should not have come at me like that. She is the first person I ever killed. Ervin was extremely lucky he wasn’t the second!”

  Bob’s forehead creased into deep lines for a moment, but he thought he understood Florin. A long uncomfortable silence lapsed. “Thank you for your honesty. I understand. I will transfer you next week with the others. You are right that Ervin is vicious, but sometimes that is necessary. I will deal with him myself. Tomorrow we will all act as if nothing happened. Tomorrow we’ll head for Challis and wrap this up. Can you do that?” Bob did not wait for Florin to respond, instead, he quickly dismissed him. “Go get some sleep now.”

  Florin left quietly, knowing he was lucky to be alive. When he was out of sight, he hurried to his apartment as quickly as his unsteady legs would carry him.

  Florin finally reached the end of his tears; he had made a decision. He simply could not stand by and let another person die. He had to warn Joyce and Leo. He would stay with Bob until the transfer and then he would attempt to get out of his contract. He would do everything in his power to prevent any further loss of life. He spent some time in prayer, more earnestly than ever in his life. Then he went into action.

  Chapter 32

  The phone rang. Joyce had just finished up with the morning rush and for the first time that morning she found time to relax in her office for a few minutes and try and work on the previous day’s books. She answered the phone on the second ring.

  “I need to speak to Joyce,” the voice on the other side said immediately.

  “This is Joyce.”

  “Mom. It’s your other son, Florin.”

  “Oh, Florin. What a wonderful surprise. How are you?”

  “Mom, listen to me, it’s very important.”

  “Are you all right?” she interrupted. “Is something wrong? Your voice sounds weak.”

  “Mom, please, just listen to me. You are in great danger!”

  “What are you talking about? We can’t be in danger; we are half a world away.”

  “Are Leo’s wife and kids there with you?”

  “Yes, how could you know that? Have you seen Leo? How is he?”

  “Mom, you all have to leave right now! You are in great danger!” Florin was yelling into the phone. The sweat was running down his face again.

  “Slow down, what are you talking about? What danger?

  “Mom, I don’t have time to explain, but you are in terrible danger. A man has been sent to bomb your business. Tomorrow five men are leaving to kill Leo and Doug in Challis.”

  “My God! Florin, how do you know this?”

  “I have been working for some bad people, Mom; I didn’t know they were bad when I started working for them. You must warn Leo, too. I am endangering my life to make this call. Tonight they killed Leo’s office manager and burned down his business. You must leave the country tonight and disappear!” He willed her to listen and quit questioning him.

  “Florin, its morning here. Remember the time change?”

  “Oh yes. Then leave now. Call Leo after you are away from your business and warn him that the people will be coming for him tomorrow,” Florin implored her.

  “Did you try to call me yesterday?”

  “Yes, Mom, that is when I found out that they were sending a man to kill all of you. He has instructions to blow you up. Probably will be a bomb! You must hang up the phone, pack, and leave. Promise me you will?”

  “Yes Florin, I promise. Thank you, but you must be careful.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Mom. Tell Leo that I am one of the five men that will be coming for him, but not to worry, that I am on his side.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell him.”

  “Go pack now Mom, I love you. Goodbye.”

  “I love you too, Florin. Thank you. Bye.”

  Florin hung up the telephone receiver. He still felt terrible. What would Mom think of him now? Once he had been closer to his “Idaho Mom” than his real Mom. He did not want her to hate him. At least he had made the call to warn her and she would in turn undoubtedly warn Leo. He knew he needed some sleep. He would have to be as aware as possible in the morning. His life, Leo’s, and even Doug’s life might depend on it. He hoped that he had messed Ervin up so badly that they would have to postpone their trip another day or perhaps leave Ervin behind. That was probably a vain wish. Bob would not change his plans regardless of Ervin’s medical condition.

  The last thing in the world that he felt like doing was sleep, but he forced himself to lie down on the bed. He lay quietly, meditating, trying to rid himself of all thoughts. He had done everything he possibly could. He only concentrated on his breathing and his heart beating. As thoughts tried to break into his reverie, he would breathe deeper to continue his focus. After nearly an hour he felt back in control. He was no l
onger sweating profusely, his breathing was relaxed and he could hear and feel his heart pulsing in his body. Florin opened his eyes, leaned over to the bed stand and set his alarm, then tossed the comforter over himself and eased into a light sleep.

  Chapter 33

  Leo almost did not answer his grandmother’s phone. He supposed it was probably another elderly lady trying to arrange a card party. His grandmother belonged to at least five different card parties. He had been forced into playing bridge, canasta, pinochle, and shanghai before when Grandma had been hosting a card party and they ended up being short one player.

  When he noticed the time was nearly midnight, he knew it was way too late for another senior citizen to be calling his grandmother, so he decided to answer the phone.

  He cautiously picked up the phone. “Sharp residence.”

  “Leo, it’s me. Thank God I reached you,” Sarah’s familiar voice came through the phone, but the tone instantly alerted him to danger.

  “What’s the matter, dear?”

  “They tried to kill us.”

  “What? All the way in Africa? Are you all right? What about the kids and Mom? What happened?” Leo’s heart was pounding. His legs buckled and he was glad there was a chair by the phone to land his butt on as he was going down.

  “We were all in the inside parking lot when the blast went off.”

  “Blast, as in a bomb?”

  “Yes. About thirty minutes before it happened, Mom received a call from Florin warning us to pack up and disappear. We were all packing when I had a premonition that we were too late and something was going to happen right now. I had Traykie run in and grab Mom so I could talk to her. She reluctantly came out back with him, and as I was telling her how I just had this awful premonition that it was all too late, we heard the blast and screams.”

  “What happened? Did anyone get hurt?”

  “Oh, Honey.” Sarah was crying as she tried to talk. “Ursula is on her way to the hospital in fair condition along with about eighteen other patrons. So far we know one man is dead. Someone just opened the front door to the day room and rolled a hand grenade into the dining room. Witnesses say that the grenade was under a table and one man jumped up and kicked it away from the tables. He is probably the sole reason more people aren’t dead. He managed to kick the grenade into the foyer by the stairs and restrooms before it went off.”

  “Good grief. How is this connected to the B.B.U.S.A. and how in the world did Florin know?” Leo was overwhelmed with the enormity of what happened and the narrow escape of his family, as well as the absolute confusion of how Florin was involved.

  Doug saw the expression on friend’s face and interrupted the telephone conversation with, “What’s happened?”

  Leo turned to his friend. “A bomb went off at my mother’s restaurant, and many people are hurt but my family survived unscathed.” Then he spoke again into the phone, “Go ahead, Honey.”

  “Florin is working for the B.B.U.S.A. He didn’t know they were bad people until they started chasing you. He knew they were sending someone to Africa and he called to warn your Mom, just about a half hour before it happened. That’s why we weren’t in the restaurant. We were out in the apartment packing when I had the feeling to get Mom. It’s what saved us.”

  “Packing? Where are you going?”

  “We don’t know, it obviously is not safe here, we have to leave.”

  “You best just come home, all of you. We’ll have to make a stand, get help.” Leo had never been angrier in his life. His family had been threatened, nearly killed, and he wasn’t near enough to help them.

  “There’s more…” Sarah began to sob on the phone.

  “What? Honey, tell me, I have to know.” Leo was holding his breath, his face contorted. Doug stood over him with great concern, wondering what was going on but not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

  “They murdered Natasha.”

  “How do you know that?” The anger Leo knew now held no bounds.

  “Florin told Mom when he called; they burned our office down too.”

  Goose bumps popped out all over his body. “Was Florin involved? How can he know this? It isn’t even on the news yet. What is going on? Tell me!” Leo was raising his voice.

  “Yes-no-sort of, I guess, but he’s not on their side. He told us to call you and warn you that five men are coming to kill you guys in Challis tomorrow. He said that he will be with them, but not on their side. He said he has put his life in danger just making the call to warn us all. They know about Grandma’s house and where you are.”

  “Do you believe Florin?”

  “Mom does. Now especially after what happened. If he had not called to warn us, we may have all been killed.”

  Leo’s voice was icy cold. The very sound of it put a chill down Sarah’s spine. “Then let them come. Doug and I shall finish it once and for all. You come on home. This will be over before you even land.”

  “No, Leo. Run. You have time. Get out of there this minute.”

  “Honey, if they can reach you all the way in Africa, there’s nowhere to run. We shall have to take a stand and finish this matter. Now pack up Mom and the boys and leave Africa.”

  Sarah was crying again. “Where do we go?”

  “Come home. Just fly right back to Boise. By tomorrow, these guys will no longer exist.”

  “You are scaring me. What makes you think you can take care of these guys on your own? You’ve got to get help. Go public, go to the police, do something!”

  “This is personal. They have murdered Tim and now Natasha, blown up Mom’s business, and burned ours’ down. They attempted to kill you, my sons, and my mother. No! We’ll end it, all right. We have the upper hand. They won’t know that we are expecting them.”

  “What about the police now, especially after our business burned down and Natasha was murdered? Can’t you please call the cops, now? You guys can’t do this alone!” Sarah’s voice sounded even more desperate than before.

  “What would I tell them, Honey? There’s this mysterious organization called the B.B.U.S.A. of which I now have no documented proof, which is going around killing people and blowing up businesses even as far away as Swakopmund, Namibia? I’d probably be committed. And who do I blame? Faceless people? I don’t have any proof, no names, nothing. It’s impossible. As a matter of fact, I’d likely be the prime suspect. We have insurance on our business for fire you know. I’d probably be placed under arrest and charged with her murder and arson. I’m sorry, Darling; this has to end now, my way, on my terms.” Leo was adamant.

  “I’m scared.”

  “I know you are Honey. I am too, and from the look on Doug’s face, so is he. But we’ll take care of it. Are the police still at the restaurant?”

  “Yes, the place is swarming with medical people as well as police and probably a hundred bystanders.”

  “Is my Mom around?”

  “Yes, she’s talking to a detective.”

  “Sarah, will you promise me you will all get out of there today?” Leo implored.

  “Yes, but you must promise to keep yourself safe, and to try everything else before a confrontation.”

  “Like what, Dear?”

  “Police, or the title companies will have records of the transactions; even the County Recorder’s Office will have some records. Wait a minute, Leo. I have a back-up copy of every file at home.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes! Remember when we first opened the office; we couldn’t afford a fire safe for our paperwork? When the state came and audited us, they required that an additional copy be made of all transactions and stored at a separate location in the event of a fire. I quit making copies of all the transactions when we bought our first fire safe, but I kept the habit of making copies of all of our personal transactions. All the copies are in the bottom two drawers of our filing cabinet at home in the closet by the gun safe.”

  “All right Sarah, you wi
n. I’ll promise to make all attempts to break the password with the files prior to engaging the enemy. But one way or another, they will pay. I’ll try and break the code first, and get them through legal means, but if they reach me first, I’ll be forced to take the law into my own hands.”

  “Okay, Leo. You might try calling David, if he’s still there. He should get away from Boise anyway. If they went for Natasha, he may be next. Will you call him, Honey?”

  “Of course. Watch your every step, Dear. Keep the kids with you every second, and get out of Africa as soon as possible, Okay? Remember, I love you all.”

  “Okay, we will, here’s your mother.”

  “Did you hear what happened?” His mother sounded calm in spite of what must be going on around her. “Did Sarah tell you of the danger you are in and that you must leave Challis immediately?”

  “Yes, but are you all right, Mom?”

  “Of course, but there were other people injured, and a man is dead and the business is a mess.”

  “Listen carefully Mom, promise me you will take Sarah and the boys and leave the country by the end of the day.”

  “I can’t. The investigators won’t let me. I have to stay and answer questions, see how Ursula and the rest are and then rebuild. I simply can’t just up and leave now.”

  “The hell with them! Damn it… Listen to me, please. You all have to get out today.”

  ...silence. “Leo, when did you learn to talk that way?”

  “I don’t. I’m sorry, but this isn’t a game. Do I have your full attention now? Get out! They are trying to kill you! Promise me?”

  “Okay…. If you feel so strongly about it, we’ll leave. What about the business and the boarders?”

  “Refund their money and have them out within the hour. Board up what’s left to board up, call your insurance company, leave someone in charge and get the hell out of the country today.”

  “Okay, okay, one hour.”

  “Stick together, and keep the cops there until you leave. I told Sarah that you guys are to fly right back to Boise. I’ll meet you there in a day or so.”