Burn Notice: A Key West Thriller (Kelly Maclean Book 2)

by Nate Hawk

  “Shut your mouth or I’m gonna pull this trigger,” Owen said coolly.

  Lou Deluca carefully watched the unfolding events. Owen could see by what the huge men were wearing (very little) that they weren’t armed. That suited him just fine. First Franco secured his brother but Owen wasn’t convinced that he had given it his very best effort.

  He fired the large gun as a warning shot. The place was closed up so the loud noise only reverberated from within the building. “I said nice and tight,” Owen reminded the men. Once Owen was convinced that Deluca was at least temporarily confined, he went over and smacked Franco across the face with the barrel of the gun. The crippled man crashed to the floor emitting blood and a creative string of profanity about the things that he was going to do to Owen and his friends.

  “Fucking asshole, whaddaya do that for?” he yelled. “You’re fucking dead!” he promised.

  “Yeah, we’ll see tough guy. That’s for beating on homeless guys and for attacking my friend. This is on you.”

  Franco’s blood was boiling and he was preparing for a lunge towards Owen. His desire to attack was well telegraphed and Owen prevented any would-be-action by pistol-whipping the man for a second time. This time there was a different result. Franco was out cold, unconscious from the forceful blow to the head.

  “You’re gonna kill him!” Deluca yelled. “You got what you want now get the hell outta here!” He wanted to add, And don’t let me catch you because I’m gonna cut your balls off you son-of-a-bitch! but he thought better of it.

  “I’m done beating on that piece of trash. Now it’s your turn.”

  Owen took two steps and smashed Deluca in the temple with the gun. Then he grabbed more packing tape and ran it around Franco in a way that would prevent him from moving in any other fashion than a worm. Afterwards he secured a piece of tape over both of their mouths. That oughta hold them until mid-morning or whenever the bikers show up, Owen thought.

  Then he casually turned out the lights and walked out the front door of the reception area with the suitcase. He hated to intrude but his work at the warehouse was done. Thoughts of a comfortable bed were on his mind so he began walking towards the Bed and Breakfast. He noticed the helicopter had moved on to parts unknown and he surmised that they must have gotten the guy they were after.

  ***

  The fluorescent lighting seemed almost mystic inside Somewhere Over the Rainbow as Kelly entered with a cautious gait. Nobody seemed to care that he wasn’t wearing any shoes and also appeared to be dressed in tight women’s clothing. The patrons gave him a look up and down and apparently accepted his outfit. Kelly slid in a far seat at the end of the bar and sat down. Another man slid onto the stool next to him with a mischievous grin.

  “I get the feeling you don’t come here a lot,” he said.

  “First time,” Kelly said with a wink.

  “I do come here a lot,” he said. “It’s a fun place.”

  Kelly looked around. He needed to kill some time but he was completely out of his element. To make matters worse he didn’t have a single dollar in his pockets. Besides, even if there had been money in his pockets he wouldn’t have been able to retrieve it. The pants were so damn tight that there was no way he’d be able to fetch anything out of them. It felt like the blood flow had been completely cut off to his lower extremities. Couldn’t hurt in a place like this, he thought to himself. But to his surprise the man next to him hollered at the bartender.

  “I’d like a beer for my new friend here,” he said.

  Kelly glanced over with mixed emotions on his face. His new buddy was the best cover he had going but Kelly didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Kelly sure wouldn’t be hanging around long. The bartender slid a Budweiser across the bar to Kelly.

  “Thanks,” he said somewhat guardedly.

  Before the man could answer the front door to the establishment swung open with the gusto of a category five hurricane. An officer that had been scouring the neighborhood looking for the burgling peeping Tom began walking excitedly over to the bartender.

  “You seen a naked man run in here a few moments ago?” the officer asked.

  Before the bartender could give him a reply, two men stumbled out of the men’s room. One was without a shirt and the other was scantily dressed himself. The two were embracing each other and halfway through a passionate kiss before they noticed the police officer.

  “I see naked men running through here all the time,” the bartender said to the amusement of his patrons as laughter erupted from the crowd.

  The man in blue began to blush a deep red as he realized he had gotten in over his head. This sure wasn’t his idea of police work. He gave a look around in disgust and marched out, giving a shrug to other officers outside. “Nothing,” he’d said. Kelly started on his Budweiser as his new friend continued chatting him up.

  “I take it those guys are looking for you?” he said curiously.

  Kelly really didn’t want to get into it but he figured it best to give the man something. “Yeah,” he said. “But it’s a big misunderstanding.”

  “It always is with those guys,” the man said empathetically. “Tell you what. I can tell you’re straight and you seem decent enough. How about you finish up your beer and I’ll walk you home to your woman. You know how it is in this town. The cops here won’t think anything about two guys walking down the street, especially a man dressed like you!”

  Kelly laughed and took another swig of the Budweiser. He wasn’t homophobic and he was certainly confident in his own sexuality. He couldn’t have thought of a safer way to get back to the B&B himself.

  ***

  Owen had weaved this way and that through the old streets of Key West on his way back to the B&B. He wasn’t very familiar with the city but he knew if he worked his way generally north and west that he would eventually end up in his desired vicinity. He was holding the suitcase that contained his newfound wealth (he’d already peaked inside) and he was quite excited to share the good news with Megan and Kelly. Owen felt that he knew Kelly pretty well at that point and he doubted that the man would be upset about the midnight intrusion. Owen felt like he was imposing by interrupting the lovers but the kind of good news that he had was certainly worth celebrating. Yes, he knew Kelly well enough to know the man wouldn’t be angry. In fact, he knew Kelly well. Owen knew that Kelly was a reasonable, straight-up guy.

  Somewhere around Elizabeth Street and Truman Avenue, Owen knew he was getting close. Rounding the corner and heading north on Elizabeth Street, he remembered that he just needed to head north until Eaton. A block later at Olivia Street he saw three things that were surprising. First a police car rolled by giving him a once over. Great, he thought. A huge black man with a suitcase walking down the road in the middle of the night. Here we go! He prepared himself mentally in case he had to make a break for it.

  Surprisingly, the cop didn’t seem interested in him and kept motoring by. But then the officer hit the brakes as two other men came into view from Olivia, rounding the corner and heading north on Elizabeth Street. The cop idled his car and asked the two men a question at which point Owen noticed that one of the men was Kelly; surprise number two. What was he still doing out so late and what the hell was he wearing?

  The third thing was the damnedest of all. After the cop initiated the conversation, Owen was closing in. The second man put his arm around Kelly and gave him a kiss on the cheek as he said, “…a peeping-Tom-ladies-underwear-pervert? We’re not into ladies…” The cop sped off in the disappointment of knowing that he still wasn’t any closer to apprehending the right man. Kelly shook the man’s hand in appreciation for saving his ass and told him that he could take make it the rest of the way back by himself.

  “Thanks for playing along,” Kelly had said, feeling a bit dirty.

  The man doubled back a few feet and went west on Olivia Street as he disappeared back into his own private life. Owen double-timed it up to Kelly.

  “What the
hell are you wearing and who was that?” he said in disbelief, wondering if Kelly really was the straight-up man that he had previously thought he was.

  Kelly turned redder than a sunburned tomato as he stammered around, hopelessly lost in where to start.

  “Owen! I uh…, well…, my clothes…, see… the police thought…”

  “Kelly, I don’t know what the hell is going on here but we need to get back to the B&B.” They continued walking as the conversation developed. “Now just so we’re on the same page, Megan is still back there waiting for us, right?” he said shaking his head and wondering what Kelly had done to get himself in his current predicament. “Wait, the helicopter, that was you?” he said now putting a few of the pieces together in his mind.

  “Look, we’re almost back to the Artist House. I’ll just tell you both what happened once we get in there,” he proposed still a bit flushed with a feeling of treading water permeating his mind.

  “Alright Kelly but I’ll tell you one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The cops come snooping around before we get back to the B&B you better get ready to run. Ain’t no way I’m gonna be holding hands and giving you a peck on the cheek,” he roared in laughter.

  ***

  Megan had heard the police sirens and she had begun to worry. Then the police helicopter had made its appearance and that God-awful spotlight had raced all around Key West’s city streets. Megan had known Kelly was in it deep then. She had wanted to help but she didn’t know what to do. She knew from experience that Kelly was more than capable. She also knew from experience that he wasn’t invincible. She could feel it: he was in trouble.

  She did all that she knew to do at the moment. She turned on the news for an explanation. A serious looking news anchor was standing on a Key West street someplace, an umbrella of false light casting itself upon her. All around the well-dressed blonde the neighborhood was dark. At her side stood Merle Jenkins, a sure character and long time resident of the city.

  “Now Merle, I understand that you’ve endured just a terribly humiliating intrusion on some of your most personal items. Can you tell us what happened in your own words?”

  “I sure can,” the old woman wearing a nightgown began. “I heard a loud crash. It’s after midnight so I know it’s not the trash truck or some utility man out there. I knew what it was all along…”

  “And what’s that ma’am?”

  “Well you know… a pervert! Well, no… a rapist! There’s noth’n but rapists out there at that time of night. So I looked around for my phone and boy I was getting ready to call my grand baby Lamont over and…”

  “Yes, ma’am. Can you tell the viewers what you saw?”

  “I already told you. He was a rapist! The man had taken everything but his underpants off so I hollered at him. I said, ‘Rapist!!! Murderer!!!’ and then I called the police before the bulging man could rape and kill me.”

  “And can you tell the viewers what you saw the man doing after he broke out your window?”

  “Yes,” the woman said as she looked around like she was about to divulge a secret that she should not have. “The rapist, I mean… the murderer had my undergarments in his hands…”

  “Oh, that’s just awful Ms. Jenkins…” the news lady said in consolation. “I just can’t imagine.”

  “The worst part,” she continued, “the worst part is that I think… I think he was trying to sniff my undergarments!” the woman said in utter horror.

  “Oh my, Ms. Jenkins! That’s just the most despicable, unspeakable… deviant behavior… And to think this is going on in the streets of Key West! I do hope your soul can find some peace tonight. This murderer-at-large as you put it, needs to be captured and taken off of the streets. I hope the city Police are listening! Jeff Hightower, I’m sending it back to you in the studio…”

  Just before the feed did go back to the studio, Merle Jenkins had something additional to add.

  “Oh,” she interrupted. “When my Lamont hears about this one he’s gonna catch that murderer himself, by God! Lamont! Baby, do you hear me baby? Just come on over to nana’s!”

  Megan couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Could Kelly be involved in this? Then she heard a rap on the door and felt instant and overwhelming relief. She reached over and turned off the TV, thankful for the silence. Megan knew it was Kelly because she could feel his presence. She opened the door in a T-shirt and panties, and to her surprise, there stood Owen.

  “Oh, I wasn’t expecting you,” she sheepishly admitted, leaving the door ajar.

  She walked back and procured some trousers before heading into the bathroom to freshen up. She’d almost disappeared inside… and then she saw Kelly entering through the door.

  “Hey sweetie,” he said with embarrassment.

  She came in kind of close to Kelly and looked at him in disbelief. “You smell like beer!” she charged. “Are you drinking again? And what are you wearing? Are those women’s clothes?”

  Owen wasn’t much help. “When I first saw him a few minutes ago he had his arm around some guy. Did you pick him up at the bar, Kelly?” he said before losing himself.

  Owen’s laughter was nearly uncontrollable now and he began coughing and wheezing, still unable to put an explanation together in his own mind. He fell backwards onto the bed in stitches. This went on for some time as Megan had gotten fed up and was putting herself back together in a socially presentable way. Kelly stripped out of the stolen ladies outfit and grabbed a pair of dry underwear and identical khakis. Then he located a pair of loafers that he was glad to have packed and put on a decent shirt. Megan reemerged from the bathroom and Kelly began reciting his story in a matter-of-fact fashion as he tried to regain some respect in the eyes of his friends. Owen was all laughed out so he tried to cut his friend some slack, praising his innate will to survive and escape, even if it had led him to a gay bar. Then Owen dug deep and somewhere found some fresh energy and the laughter continued.

  The good news was that the radio and cell phone contraption was set and ready to go. Owen had figured out that the bikers were acting as more than just security. He realized that they must also act as decoys if law enforcement seemed to take any interest in the box truck. He’d had half the night to think about it and it was the only plausible reason to have men on bikes tailing the truck. If it was just security, they could ride inside. To avoid any unnecessary suspicion and to allow the bikers to avoid too much time on the uncomfortable sport bikes, the machines were stored in the truck on the return trip. Owen had said that he figured they had a couch set up in the back and maybe even a TV to pass the time during the four-hour return trip. Then Owen continued on with the success of the next step of their plan. The brothers had been tied up for the night and Kelly’s group knew they’d have to watch out the next day, or whenever Deluca and Franco would be found by the bikers.

  Megan asked, “What do you think was in the shipment that went to Miami?”

  “When I was doing surveillance from the bushes, I wasn’t able to see anything definitive. But what’s the one thing all of these guys have in common?”

  “They have serious attitude problems,” Kelly said.

  “Right, now build on that.”

  “I’ve known what they are selling all along,” Megan said. “I’m a nurse, remember? The thing that these men have in common is the same thing they’re selling and it is the same reason they have an attitude problem.”

  “I think you’ve got it,” Owen said.

  “Steroids,” she said. “These guys are all pumped up on testosterone so it only makes sense that they are dealing it too. They’ve all got swollen chests and bad attitudes from the swings in their hormone levels. It’s simple pharmaceutical science.”

  Kelly was impressed. “Although they could be selling almost anything, it seems like the most plausible option.”

  “I’ve got another surprise,” Owen boasted.

  Kelly said, “Yeah, tell us what’s in the
suitcase!”

  Knowing it was the best news of the night, he had saved that twist for the very last moment. Owen opened the briefcase up like a Leprechaun might display his gold. He ran his hand back and forth across the tops of the bundled cash. Then he picked up a stack of ten thousand dollars and fanned himself with it. Megan and Kelly dug in like the money was a present left under a Christmas tree. In fact, it was better than Christmas morning. Inside the Pelican case was a hundred and twenty stacks. Each stack was ten grand and although none of them were ace mathematicians, they quickly realized they were looking at a cool one point two million. They pulled all the stacks out and fanned through them to make sure there wasn’t any filler. Much to their satisfaction: there was no filler.

  Megan was a bit apprehensive to claim the money for themselves since it had been stolen. Owen had pointed out that it had only been stolen from men who were plotting to kill all three of them. He presented the loot as being spoils of war. We still have to survive tomorrow to enjoy the money, he had reminded them.