by Finian Blake
“That is ten years pay for ten days work. Hell yes I am happy.”
“Would you go out of your way to make things work?” Noah poured a Scotch and passed it over to Ralph.
“Hell yes. I might even want to do business with you again. I will even give you references.”
“Let us hope not! Personally, I am glad your name is not Frank. That has been one big challenge. At one point we were dealing with seven Franks, and that was one major pain in the ass.”
“I could change my name,” Ralph laughed.
“No! Please don’t even joke about it. We still have two flying with one on the ground. That is more than enough.” Noah had a thought bounce through his head.
“Have you ever made any drops from altitude?”
“I have made two drops to be exact. You need to be careful but they are not very difficult. The main trick is not doing too big of an up to roll the pallet or it will come racing out like a canon. If it catches the ramp there will be serious damage to the bird. That brings up the next problem and this one is yours. You need to triple check all the straps if one gets caught there will be a huge problem with you needing to cut away whatever is hanging up.”
“I guess a sharp knife is essential.”
“Oh yes! One of my friends launched half of a loadmaster out the back with the load while the other half stayed with the plane. That was a real mess.” Noah made a mental note, that an air dump would be way down the list. Ralph told some old stories of his Air America exploits. After a few hours both men were pretty well loaded. They called it a night and Noah turned in for the evening.
Noah awoke about nine o’clock with a healthy hangover calling the others for a conference. Fran and Frank were doing some practice with the helicopters Fran was racking up some serious hours on Jet Rangers and with Frank as her instructor they could practice where ever they went. The engineer and Ralph were available. He set up something for four in the afternoon assuring Frank that Suki was on her way back to England. Frank looked absolutely drained from his full day with Suki and elected to hide for survival. Noah then went over to Everywhere Air. Bob was at the front counter. He pointed to a tractor-trailer backed up to the loading dock.
“That is the last shipment of drill bits. Bill and Hank should have them loaded on pallets by noon.”
“Go ahead and load them on the Ark. Use four pallets. We will pick up another pallet of produce in Manchester. I am going to need forty or fifty cargo straps and a box of duct tape. Separate from the pallets.”
“What the hell for?”
“I have an idea. Buck is screwing with me, so I may need to dump the back haul. There is something that just does not feel right.”
Noah used the secure line to call Susan.
“Did our girls make it back alright?”
“Yes they were tired, but doing well. Terri told me about what happened the other day. You seem to be a lightning rod for excitement. She was very enthusiastic. So, you are the duct tape vigilante.”
“No, that would be Terri. I was just her Sancho Panza while she attacked her windmill. I just stood back in amazement. She surely has a wicked streak.”
Susan wanted to jog Noah’s memory, “As you well know someone put it there, but she is feeling much better.”
“To me she is incredible,” Noah said, “she makes me want to quit this shit.”
“She gave me your little envelope. What do you want done with it?”
“Lynn is the financial wizard. I need it invested. Use the name Adam Furst. Noah Body is about to have an accident. If she can’t do anything else, convert it into cash, and put it in the bank.”
“Not in my organization.” Susan caught the pun right away.
“Would Furst Adam work?”
“That might be accurate.” Susan conceded. “Speaking of money, Lynn got the property and the road for a little over 800,000 Pounds and that is with the estate stamps and closing costs. You have just over 200,000 left. What do you want done with it?”
“It is a loan. Remember the choice is yours. You mentioned something about an equestrian property. Have Terri start plans for development. I was hoping to get out of the states. Could you let me have a small cottage on the property, by the entrance? You could call it a caretaker’s cottage. Two bedrooms or so would be good. This one would need a kitchen and an advanced shower.”
“In light of your investment I think that would be manageable.”
“In that case put Terri to work designing it. Have Lynn take 100,000 from the case in your trunk and start developing the property as you see fit. Have Terri make the cottage something that she would like to live in, quaint on the outside and modern on the inside.”
The light bulb went off in Susan’s head, “In my trunk? What have you done?”
Noah mumbled out his answer, “I forgot about the case that I left in your trunk. You may want to pull it out before someone rear ends you. Take a 100,000 Pounds and use it to start developing the new property.”
Susan got back to her question about Terri, “Would you like her to live in the cottage too?” She wanted the big answer.
“We haven’t gotten that far yet. I need to finish this last run. It may present a real problem.” Noah did not sound as confident as he usually did.
Susan was not happy with that answer.
“Are you doing anything to improve the odds?”
“Yes, we need a different route back. I have a list of fuel stops. Everything after Tehran will be different. Let me give them to you Cyprus, Cape Verdi, and Barbados. I may also need a stop in Honduras. We will be empty by then so I do not think that will be a problem. Let me know the details when we get in. See you in three days.”
Noah called Bob back to the supply room to review the expenses. “I would like to be sure everything is covered.” Bob brought the accounts back with him. He had been tracking the expenses as they came in. Everything was paid for except for the last return trip. All of the parts and services were paid for including the time on the Ark.
“Even with some repairs, a $100,000 will more than cover it, and you have one fifty in the safe. We are good on the expenses.” Noah knew he could trust Bob’s estimate.
“This other map case has some money in it. If I don’t come back, split it five ways. You are one of the five. Fran, Ralph, two Franks and you can do an even split.”
“How much is in there?”
“There is enough money in it to make a nice bonus.” Noah took the envelope that he had originally left in the safe with him loading the hundred thousand in his money belt. Bob locked the safe and headed for the front. As Noah walked out of the supply room he noticed the lift bed pull up to the rear of the building.
“Bob, I need to leave here tomorrow. Get the Ark serviced. Have a mechanic do all the checks and see if we are good with the security costs. We are going for a five AM departure. Have fuel and everything loaded tonight. I am going to take care of the last piece of business this afternoon. Noah walked out the front door.
As he went down the steps he noticed two men leaning against a green Ford Galaxy. He went to the truck without delay getting in and driving off as quickly as he could. The men in the Ford hurried after him. He caught the I-10, switched to the I-110, to the I-105, to the I-405.
They were hard on his tail and he could not lose them. Noah got off on Sepulveda Boulevard heading south. Noah slid the sawed off shotgun from under his seat pulling a red baseball cap out at the same time. At times, the car was only one car length away. Noah slammed on the breaks as soon as he entered the shadow of the tunnel bracing for the collision. The Galaxy locked its breaks, just missing the truck by inches. The car was just inside of the shadow of the tunnel. The car behind the Galaxy was struck by the car behind it with a loud crash. Noah spun out of the truck walking back to the Ford. The driver was reaching down on the seat by the time Noah reached the Impala holding the shotgun in his left hand. The driver noticed that his right hand was empty which slowed his movemen
t momentarily. Noah fired with his left hand, catching the driver full in the face. He fired again at the passenger also catching him full in the face. Noah walked calmly back to the truck climbing in behind the wheel and slowly driving off as if nothing had happened. He did not look to see the results knowing what they would be. At three feet you don’t miss with a shot gun. The difference between daylight and shadow blinded the witnesses and by the time anybody realized where the noise was coming from Noah had reached the light at the end of the tunnel. He caught up with traffic turning left on Mariposa Avenue turning right three times after that. Noah was back on Sepulveda headed north driving toward the traffic jam that was forming due to a gawkers block. People still had not realized that there was anything seriously wrong other than a fender bender. Traffic was slow, but moving.
He made a right on Century and pulled into the parking structure by Jeff’s building. He slid the shotgun back under the seat taking the elevator up to the seventh floor.
“Jeff, how is it going? I had a message that you were done with the three sets that I need for this trip.” Noah peeled off the baseball cap, throwing it in the trash.
“The ID’s are done, but the history still needs some work. Do not use the passports for three days, but otherwise you are good to go.” Jeff looked around, “I was hoping that you would bring the girls. They did some great poses. I wanted some more pictures.”
“They thought you did some great work too. They want some copies.” Noah thought a minute. “Jeff I do not want to open a magazine and see naked pictures of my girlfriends. I don’t want them published. They are for your personal use only are we clear?”
“Understood, we are crystal clear.”
“That last set of ID’s; will you hold them here. I will pick them up in person or send one of the girls. Can you hold this for me too?” Noah handed Jeff an envelope with two hundred thousand in it.
Jeff smiled, “I would rather see one of the girls.”
Noah next drove to see Sean at his office. On the way, he broke down the shotgun dropping the stock in the trash at a MC Donald’s, slipping the triggers in the trash at a Seven-Eleven, finally throwing the barrels in the scrap metal bin behind a machine shop.
Sean was on the phone when Noah walked in the door. Noah waited until he was finished.
“I need to leave tomorrow. Am I good to go or do I need to do something else?”
“You are good to go. Grace jumped on the abstract immediately putting a full out rush on the whole operation. Your letter of credit is good although we might need an additional twenty or thirty for closing.” Noah started pulling money out of his money belt.
Sean broke out laughing, “I see you are prepared. Marsha says that she will be ready on time. I talked her into using four crews on the job since the patio needs to be reworked. She might have change for you.”
“Tell Marsha not to worry about money back as long as the job is finished. Have her put in a fancy barbeque or some improvement on the patio. Have you looked at cars?” Noah asked rolling $30,000 out of his money belt. “Get two cars and park them in the garage. Don’t worry about the change. I would like two nice ones.”
“For that we can get two well-equipped Mercedes and have change left.”
Noah rolled another $50,000 from the money belt. “Call it a handling charge. I do not expect you to do it for free. If you could give him a hand getting squared away I would appreciate it. Gregory and his family will need some help. He should be back in six or seven days. I won’t be back.”
“You can count on me,” Sean said with confidence, “business will be taken care of and that is rock solid.”
Noah drove back to Ontario around two o’clock. He took a slow walk around the hotel looking for any signs of surveillance. Noah hated surprises and this morning was one more than he cared to have. At three, he rented a different hospitality suite. Noah was waiting for some of Bucks people to show up. He left word at the desk for the crew to meet him in the hospitality suite. Ralph was the first to arrive.
“I banged on the engineer’s door. He will be down in a few minutes. He was still worn out from your errands. What did you guys do? Frank looks like he ran back to back marathons.” Noah filled Ralph in on some of the history. He covered the first run and Frank’s reaction to his disposal habits. He covered Suki in broad detail glossing over Susan’s set up covering the last run. He skipped the part about Maria and Fran being the same person “So, you set Fran up with a new identity. Frank told me about that. He also told me about your hit. That was hairy. You are not as quiet as I thought.”
“Do not ever repeat that again. It can still backfire. I do not want to get her killed. We all went through a lot of shit to set this up. That is what the big bucks are for.”
“It never happened.” Ralph would never mention it again.
The relief walked in with Fran. They barely made it in from flying. Noah sat the two of them down.
“I am going to say this one time. Never look back. You were never anybody else other than Francesca Anna Garcia. You do not ever look back for any reason. If they find out, they may turn around and do the job for real. You have no life other than what is in your paperwork. Buck ran a full security check on you and did not spot a thing. Do not throw it away.”
“Noah I am sorry,” Francesca pleaded, “I cannot shift that fast. I had a life before this and it is hard to walk away.”
“Walk away or never walk again. You have seen what they wanted to do. That is how you will end up if you go back. As far as anyone is concerned what they think happened out there is exactly what did happen.” Frank wandered in still looking tired.
“The gang’s all here, this is the last run let’s proceed. Do not take anything for granted. We are going to make some changes in the route. I am currently getting the fuel stops negotiated. They gave us some problems along the way. This time we will make our own arrangements. We will depart zero five hundred from Everywhere Air. That should put us in Manchester about twenty-two hundred. We have two full days in Manchester and we leave the second day at zero five hundred. We should hit Tehran at four PM. From there we change routes. It will be the same old story for cargo all the way. We will be carrying three passengers. The big difference will be that we will dump the cargo, if necessary. We roll out all the pallets at the same time. Are there any questions?”
“What if Buck does not approve the stops?”
“We are not going to ask him. All of the changes are going to be made outside of his authority.”
“What about fuel? Not all of these small airports have large reserves.”
“Fuel will be prearranged by Susan through her personal channels.”
“Can you make all those changes on your own?” Fran wanted to know.
“I will have some help from Susan. We will complete the arrangements with the rebels a month or so down the road, when things cool down a little.”
“Any more questions,” Noah did not have many more answers thankful that all was silent. “Good we meet in the lobby at zero four thirty. I want wheels up at five.”
Noah drove over to Everywhere Air making his usual stops tripling the order of cigarettes and booze. He found Bob at his desk.
“Do you want my pickup truck?”
“Yeah it is one well-tuned ride. How much do you want for it?” Bob always asked for first call when Noah sold the truck.
“A ride to the airport,” Noah said with a straight face.
“What is the catch?”
“There is no catch, Bob. Get it registered tomorrow. Do not keep the same plates. Here is a signed title and the registration.” Noah passed Bob the paperwork.
“I don’t know what to say.” Bob was speechless.
“Say that you will pick us up at zero four thirty. Noah smiled, “Now give me a ride over to the hotel.”
“I will pick you up at zero four thirty. Let’s get that crap out of my truck.” Bob laughed as he pulled the key off of Noah’s key ring. They drove t
he truck through the building Bob cleared with the security crew unloading the contents of the truck into two cardboard D containers putting them on the Ark. He stopped with Noah at the hotel bar ordering drinks to celebrate their final piece of business.
“Here is to you Noah. I do not think I will see you again, since you are making a dead man’s plans. It is unlucky you know.”
“Here is to you Bob my friend. You are one of the few people that I trust. Keep the faith.” Noah touched his glass to Bob’s and they slammed their drinks down in one pass. Bob did not like the change in mood.
“I need to go. I will see you in the morning at zero four thirty sharp.”
As Frank and Fran walked past the bar they saw Noah having a drink. They stopped in to join him.
“We were just going to have dinner. Would you care to join us?”
“That sounds like an excellent idea. I think I will.” Noah did not want to be alone, and good company was just what he needed. He requested a table for five. Frank went to the phone to call the others.
Fran stayed behind with Noah, “Are you trying to play match maker?”
Noah laughed, “You have already made the match. I don’t have to make a thing.”
“What about my husband.”
“Maria is dead. Francesca has no husband and if my calculations are correct, Marcel has already killed Jesus and Juan.” The tension was deafening and Noah pointed to Frank returning to the table. “The two of you should go to your room and screw your brains out since Francesca Anna Garcia has never been married.”
Frank walked back to the table, “Nobody is in their room. It looks like there will be just the three of us.”
Fran stood up quickly grabbing Frank’s arm, “Noah, I think you will be dining alone. I remembered something that needs to be done in my room. Frank, I will require your help.” She took Frank firmly by the hand dragging him to the elevator punching the up button. Noah switched back to the bar picking a side table with a good view of the room. He noticed Frank and Ralph making their way to the elevators. He caught them before the elevator arrived. “I have a table in the bar. Let’s have dinner.”
