by Frank Klus
“Everything won’t be fine, Gene. It isn’t just about Casimir trying to steal your wife. Dennis wants a promotion, and his wife wants more money. If Dennis can turn you into some anti-American militant he gets a bigger bonus. That’s precisely what he’s going to try to do. I’ll know what he’s up to because—”
“I know. Dennis talks.”
“Exactly! You need me, Gene. I know how much you hate Jaydan Casimir, but planning something or looking for him only plays right into his hands. Be careful, and don’t talk to Dennis. You may let me out here.”
A few minutes after Gene drove off, Ray arrived and picked up his wife. “You hear everything?” she asked.
“Yeah. Cass, that detective wants to charge Gene with murder.”
“Will he?”
“I doubt he has enough evidence. A middle class guy, well respected, is not easy to convict. If he can’t, then he may try to use Dennis to stir Eugene up.”
“If Dennis finds out I’ve been talking to him…”
“That would be bad for Eugene. If Casimir gets wind of you meeting him he might start thinking he really is dangerous—first, the secret meetings with Zinney, and now secret meetings with you. He’s going to get even more suspicious.”
“What should we do?”
“Cass, I know you don’t like using Eugene, but we must. I don’t like it either, but we can take advantage of this situation. You need to keep Gene mad and angry. We need to bring the Squad back to its original purpose, destroy NOGOV, and merge with New America. They showed us the way. Zinney and Eugene can be the vanguard for the revolution. We’ll be the spark. Look at this world we live in. NOGOV has killed it off. NOGOV has got to go, and Eugene and Zinney are the keys to making that happen.”
“I know, Ray,” Cassandra said. “Then why am I telling the guy to stay away from Dennis and out of Squad territory?”
“First off, he won’t listen to you, and second, we need him to know we’re on his side. We need him, and he needs to know that he needs us. We need him in the New World working with Zinney in the old world. They’d be the leaders and we can overthrow this moldy old regime.”
“How are we ever going to get Gene to agree to that? He’s not a revolutionary. Hell, the only thing he wants to do is play Mr. Businessman. He doesn’t give a shit about politics.”
“But Zinney does.”
“I’m sorry for being a pessimist, honey, but he’s never even going to go over to New America. He may very well break off relations with Zinney as well. I tried to get his cell number so I could call him instead of hiding on the floor, but he told me he didn’t want to see me anymore. The only thing he wants to do now is kill Jaydan because of what he did to his wife.”
“Revolutions often start over some personal grudge. I tell you, Cass, we can use his hatred to our advantage.”
Cassandra frowned. “But it isn’t political with him; it’s personal. He doesn’t see Casimir beyond someone who raped his wife. He doesn’t see how it’s more than just Catherine.”
“You’re impatient, Cass. It’s up to us to help Eugene understand that his wife is only a fatality in a whole chain of events that have killed this country off. Face it, honey, the United States of America is dead, and Eugene will be too if he doesn’t get out of here.”
Chapter 6:
Murder
Several months had passed since Eugene last saw Cassandra. Raul’s new business wouldn’t be ready until spring, so Gene had more time to think about it. This meant, however, that Eugene would have to travel in Squad territory. He would check his backseat, check his speed, and maintain his car before setting out. Stu tried to keep him out of paramilitary territory, and Gene was grateful for that. When he couldn’t, he assured him that his lawyer would come to his rescue if he got into any trouble.
Gene headed out to Landry’s Tool and Die Company. He planned to interview their Chief Operating Officer, Jim Wyatt; his Chief Financial Officer, Andy Paratino; and the company CEO, Marvin Landry. He wanted to assess their situation. Afterwards, he would drive to the Bestard Company to investigate some irregularities.
He tried thinking about the questions he would have for the executives, but his mind continued to wander. He kept reflecting on Catherine, the way she was before the Squad entered her life. He thought about Dennis. He still couldn’t make up his mind about him. He thought about Dennis and Ray when they were just kids. Dennis was the older and the taller of the two, but Ray was the stronger: powerfully built with a barrel-chest, massive deltoids, and large shoulders. Dennis was more angular and thinner with a prognathous visage. They were both charismatic figures. Eugene remembered not liking them at first. He felt a bit intimidated by them. It was they who initiated contact with him. With the force of their personalities they became close childhood friends with the shyer Eugene, but when his friends moved to the south side of Old Chicago, they parted ways. They remained in contact the first year, but he never saw them afterwards until their paths crossed again. Could I still know them? He was now less sure about Dennis than he was before, but the pleasant memories of him obscured his thought.
There was Cassandra. Was she a nuisance or a protector? Part of him didn’t want to see her pop up from his backseat again, but she seemed to have information that was useful to him. She unsettled him; still, she and Catherine had something in common—they both hated the thought of him seeing Dennis.
Finally, there was the offer. This one really unsettled him. Stu was right. This is what he worked for; what he always wanted. Now that it was in his grasp he wasn’t sure he still wanted it. Why shouldn’t I want it? It’s sort of what I’m doing now, only I’ll be the guy directing the operation. What’s wrong with that? Still, he was uneasy about it. Am I about to turn into Faust?
“Cass! He’s in Kankakee,” Ray said.
“How long?”
“Since about 10:30. No telling how long he’ll be there, but this is our first shot at setting up a showdown with the Squad. It could get dangerous. Are you up for it?”
“I’m ready,” she said.
“All right, but things are going to be a lot more difficult than they were. I just got word from our contact that Gene’s company just hired a lawyer with government ties. They warned Jay against bringing Eugene in. He’d have to do something serious before he could be arrested.”
“What’s the point in getting him arrested? I mean, wouldn’t that just make Gene even more reluctant to listen to us?”
“That is a risk, Cass, but I’m betting he would be angrier at the Squad for arresting him. Look, Cass, it’s part of the process. We have to get him to see that this country is no good anymore.”
“Excess speed and reckless driving. Would that get him arrested?”
“Maybe,” Ray said.
“I’ll call Bog. He doesn’t hold a grudge against me. He wouldn’t hesitate to bring him in.”
“How are you going to get him to drive like a maniac, goose him?”
Cassandra just laughed. “Nah, too dangerous. I want him to speed, not wreck the car. I’ll just…you know, press his buttons like I always do,” she said.
“I suppose it’s worth a try. If he gets arrested his lawyer should be able to get him out. He’ll be angry at the Squad. Hopefully, he’ll see we’re on his side.”
Cassandra reached Gene’s car about an hour and a half later. She had her own key to his car, courtesy of Ray, who had a friend make a copy for him, and waited for Gene on the floor of the back seat. She arranged for Bog to follow them. Bog said he’d pull Gene over if he drove more than ten miles over the legal limit, and issue him a ticket. He’d only arrest him if his driving was also erratic.
Cassandra was in there for about two hours before Gene came back. He didn’t look on the floor of the back seat, which slim Cassandra easily fit. After Gene cleared the parking lot and drove onto the street, out she popped.
“Shit!” Gene shouted, but there was no slamming the breaks or swerving over. “This is really getting o
ld, Cassandra. I don’t need protection.” Cassandra just smiled at him and put her arms up on the seat cushion. She started playing with his hair. “Cut that out, Cassandra. I’m trying to drive.”
“What’s wrong, Genie Penie? Don’t you like it when I twirl your hair?” Gene said nothing. “Come on, Gene. Pull over. Let me in front.”
“If I stop and pull over it will be to let you out.”
“Ah, Gene. Don’t be that way.” Cassandra carefully kept an eye on the speedometer. The hotter Gene got, the faster he drove. He was now about three miles per hour over the speed limit.
Eugene was furious at his uninvited guest. He needed to think, and didn’t want this woman’s help. “What do you want now, Cassandra? You wanna warn me we’re in your old territory? That I ought to get rid of my Lexus? Buy an old junk heap and quit my job because my work takes me to too many of the wrong places? Something else? Tell me. Then get out.”
“Yeah, all of those things. Oh, and you forgot about me forbidding you to speak to Dennis again.” He was now six miles over.
“At least get rid of the Lexus, Mr. Big Shot Businessman.” Seven miles over.
“Now, as to what I really want to tell you. It’s about your wife’s suicide.” Eight miles over.
“You want to know why she really killed herself, Gene? It wasn’t because she got pregnant. She could have said, ‘You’re going to be a father.’ But that wasn’t the reason. The truth is she enjoyed fucking Jay Casimir. She felt guilty that he was better than you.”
Gene could see her evil smile as she said it. Instantly, he slammed on the brakes, pulled over, and screamed at her. “Get out, you filthy whore! And if you ever break into my car again I will call the police immediately and have you arrested. You understand that, Mrs. O’Reilly? GET OUT!”
As soon as Eugene finished his rant he heard the whistles of the Lightning Squad. “SHIT!” He was stuck. That damn Cassandra. She probably planned this. Gene waited for the squad leader to get to him. He hoped that company lawyer could get him out quickly. As the squad leader neared him he recognized him as the same one who pulled him over before.
Eugene turned around when he saw who it was. “Is that booger…or wha—?”
Cassandra wasn’t there. He had turned to look in the back seat when Bog knocked on the window. Gene opened it.
“Looking for a gun or something, Mr. Sulke?”
“No. I…was just frustrated.”
“I clocked you at twelve miles over the legal limit.”
Bog looked mean and started speaking in a low and grumbling voice. “You beat the rap the last time and cost me money. Your luck just ran out. Get out of the car!”
He started to get out when he heard the loud popping of weapon fire. Bog turned around to see his rear pointman dead, and in an instant Bog had a funny look on his face as he collapsed to the ground. An astounded Eugene Sulke looked at Cassandra with a squad pointman at her feet, bleeding profusely. All three squad members were dead. The one by Cassandra had his throat slit.
“Jesus Christ!” Eugene said. “Why the hell did you do that? You didn’t have to do that.”
“Get in the car. Now!” Eugene did so, but he was confused.
“But why did you have to kill those men? They didn’t see you. You could have gotten away. I would have been fined; maybe do a little jail time, and that would be the end of it. Now, thanks to your Le Femme Nikita antics, I’m a murder suspect. Jesus, you were no ordinary squad member.”
“You’re right. I wasn’t. I was in the Blue Squad. It’s an elite unit, like the Green Berets,” she said.
“I’m going to be charged with murder or a co-conspiracy to murder.”
“I did what I had to do. We need to get out of Squad territory before those guys are discovered.”
Eugene wasn’t sure what to do. He drove on for about a mile and then pulled over.
“What are you doing?” Cassandra demanded. “We have to get out of here.” She started to take out her phone, but Eugene remained by the side of the road. Cassandra stopped and stared at him. “Eugene, please drive.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “How will they know it’s us that did it?”
“The tracker Dennis put on your car. The Squad’s going to know we were here.”
“You haven’t answered my question yet.”
“What?”
“Why did you have to kill those men? And don’t tell me you had to do it. You didn’t!”
“You’d be screwed if they brought you in. Maybe they’d let you out, but you’d be screwed either way. They know you met me by now. That makes you a suspect right then and there. Now they have this to pin on you. Drive to your parents’ house.”
“NO!” Eugene was fighting to control his anger, but he was developing a genuine hatred for this woman.
“DRIVE!”
“NO!”
“Gene, please!”
“GET OUT!” Eugene had lost control now, and was screaming at Cassandra. “I don’t need your protection. Get out! My life was fine until you, the Lightning Squad, and that Casimir punk entered it. I’m sick of it; sick of you; and sick of all these games. I want you out of my life right now.”
Cassandra found herself on the defensive. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going back to work. I’ll see the company lawyer. I’ll tell my boss everything. I’m innocent here and I’m sick of being used by you and everyone else. NOW GO!”
Cassandra climbed out of the car and watched the Lexus speed away. She reached for her phone and dialed. “Ray, I’ve got a problem.”
Cassandra walked over to her husband’s car and got in. Ray stared blankly ahead and then began driving. “What are we going to do?”
“I have to think.”
“You’re mad at me.”
“Cass, you just don’t think things through. We had a plan, remember?”
“Ray, I know I screwed up, but your plan had no chance of succeeding.”
“You seemed fine with it when we talked about it.”
“You wouldn’t have let me do it if you knew what I was thinking.”
“You’re damn right, I wouldn’t,” Ray said, regretting his harsh tone.
“I saw an opportunity and I took it. That forward pointman was standing right in front of Eugene’s car. The car shielded him from view. I ducked out before Bog got to the car. When I saw where that pointman positioned himself, I just grabbed him around the head and slit his throat without either one of them seeing me. Then I shot both of them.”
Cassandra just stared forward, and then turned toward Ray. “Would it be so bad if he gets arrested? That was the original plan anyway, right?”
“NO! This is serious. Reckless driving is one thing; murder is quite another.”
“I was sure that company lawyer would have gotten Eugene out of a speeding ticket, and he would probably be even more reluctant to listen to us.”
“Everything is changed now.” Ray looked serious as he glanced at his wife. “We’re in trouble. They’ll pick Gene up; scare him with threats of trying him for murder, but they’ll know it was us. They’ll put a big scare in him and then promise to release him with no charges if he fingers us. He will. He hates us.”
“But that’s what I said before. Why get him arrested if he’ll hate us?”
“He sees us as terrorists now, and we’re involving him in our scheme. We needed him to think it’s Casimir and NOGOV who are his enemies; now he just sees us.”
Ray paused and Cassandra pouted. “It’s a process,” he said. “You’re impatient, Cass. It’s just one step among many. With the plan you and I agreed to, the Squad wouldn’t be after us. Things would be simpler. We could help Eugene understand that this government has taken away our freedoms. There’s no regular law enforcement organized by the state or country. Now it’s controlled by unelected people answering to a government seized by corporate interests that have only their own interests to look out for. It’s part of the real
education of Eugene Sulke. He was always taught the way the country is supposed to work. He isn’t political yet. To Eugene, the antics of these corporatists and their pundits is entertaining, or, in the case of his wife, tragic. He still hasn’t made the link that all this will, and is, affecting him. He still sees himself as outside the nonsense. Everything we do must be designed to help him see the truth. Now, everything has changed.”
Cassandra was visibly stressed as she turned back toward her husband. “You’re right, Ray. I really screwed up. What are we going to do now?”
“I gotta think.”
Cassandra knew to give him time, though she threw a few sideway glances at him from time to time.
“We have to assume they’re looking for us,” he said. “At the murder scene, did you remember to clean up the empty shells?”
“No. I’m sorry, Ray. I wanted to get out of there fast.”
“Cassie, you just don’t use your head. You did everything wrong. With their tracker on, they have Gene at the scene of the murders, they have shells from your gun—a Berretta nine. They stopped selling them to the general public years ago. Blues are the only ones that have them. They’ll compile a list of suspects, throw out most of them, and you know who that’ll leave?”
Cassandra’s face turned red as she began to frown.
Ray drove on in silence for a while and then took a deep breath. “Poor little Jimmy,” he said, more to himself.
“What?”
“I always hated that name—Bog. You never knew him before he changed. I did. He was one of the good guys. I’ve known him since he was six years old. He’s the son of James Ruggiano—Big Jim. I used to play catch with him in the back yard after the last baseball field was converted to a parking lot. He was a good kid; a really good kid. I got him into the Squad before Casimir destroyed it. I always believed he’d be a Blue someday. Then Big Jim got killed in a shootout with the RAC. It didn’t change Jimmy, though. He was still a good guy until that day when that asshole driver tried to kill him. I don’t know; maybe it was a combination of being burned and his father killed that….”
