Peace - A Navy SEALS Novel (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 3)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Whenever I was within two miles of your car,” Peace confirmed.

  “Shit,” Lewiston proclaimed disgustedly.

  “I’ll need about an hour to settle with the guests over at your house. Call for help after that,” Peace directed.

  “Listen, Peacenik, you can leave those guys to the cops. I’ll have an army over there in minutes. I’ll…”

  “No can do, Detective,” Peace cut him off. “That will not work into our plan.”

  “Our plan?”

  “We have a few more steps left in all of this, I’m afraid, and I’ll need your help with them. Here’s how it goes. You were watching Batiste, and his men thought you were on to him for something. They kidnapped you, letting you know they had men at your house ready to kill your family. They brought you here, and tortured you until you passed out. When you came to, they were all dead, an obvious gangland style hit. The other killers had left you for dead, or they didn’t care about you one way or another. How am I doin’ so far?”

  Lewiston nodded. “Go on.”

  “You heard Batiste mention to one of the others about a mole they had in the Department: Captain Brills. You…”

  “I’m going to kill that bastard myself,” Lewiston broke in.

  “No can do,” Peace reasoned. “Not in our plan. You heroically, inch by torturous inch, after pitching yourself backwards out of the chair, managed to retrieve your cuff keys, unlock yourself, and call for help on the Perp’s phone. They find the two other thugs executed in front of your house, and conclude it’s a gang war, which will involve Batiste’s Father. The fallout should keep him holed up in Ensenada long enough for us to complete the rest of our plan.”

  “The rest of it? What rest of it? This still does not let you off the hook for McCray and Miguel.”

  “They were on the take, and you surmised correctly they had stopped me on the street. They threatened to kill my girlfriend, and me, if we didn’t drop our complaint against Batiste.”

  “So, why not just do what they wanted?”

  “Ignoring your lack of moral clarity here,” Peace smiled grimly, “it still did nothing to get Dink here off my back, and he knew where Jill lived. On top of that, those two were going to plant stuff on me that very night, only I insisted they impound the car rather than allow them to search the trunk. They were going to turn my life inside out, simply because I stopped a guy from taking my head off with a lead pipe.”

  Lewiston started to reply; but then sat silently, massaging the area above his injured foot. He owed this man his life, and the lives of his wife and daughter still hung in the balance. The wisecrack about his moral clarity had struck home. Peacenik had been caught up in this volcano of events, just as he had been, following Peacenik’s actions. Lewiston looked around at the dead bodies, realizing with the deaths of McCray and Miguel, added to the eventual arrest of Brills, Peacenik would be single handedly responsible for cleaning a gangland cell out of the SDPD.

  “I don’t care right now if you kill half of San Diego if you can make sure my wife and daughter are safe,” Lewiston said plainly.

  “That’s the spirit,” Peace replied with a smile. “I have to go. Remember to give me about an hour. I know the pain will be tough to gut out, but it can’t be helped. Will you be able to handle the Brills part of this?”

  “Oh yea, I’ll handle that son of a bitch. Mobry will be with me, backing my play. We’ll get a court order, and search every one of these punk’s residences and personal items. When they see how well the picture fits… hey… you know Brills probably sent McCray and Miguel, so he probably suspected you were the killer right off. What…”

  “Thanks to your intense interrogation, you kind of blew his plans,” Peace interrupted with a laugh. “He’s the one who fired you all up to grab me on base, wasn’t he?”

  Lewiston’s frowning silence was all Peace needed to confirm his theory.

  “He was still in the driver’s seat until you punched me. He had to back away after that, and wait.”

  “You set me up.”

  “You didn’t have to take the bait, and it didn’t take much,” Peace reminded him. “I knew somebody was going to keep getting me hounded until they manufactured a way to frame me.”

  “It wasn’t a frame. You did kill them. How the hell did you pass that polygraph?”

  “I’m a cold blooded psycho.”

  “Good point,” Lewiston sighed. “Get going. When will you contact me again about the next phase of this plan of yours?”

  “I better wait until all this gets off the front page,” Peace replied. “You need to come by the base and apologize. We’ll keep it private, but we have to lay some ground work for what I have in mind.”

  “Okay, but it better be real private, psycho, because I was right all along.”

  Peace laughed, and walked towards the door. He spun around suddenly, and Lewiston looked up at him again from his ice pack. “I forgot to mention the next phase involves the neat boat I saw parked at your house when I installed the bugs.”

  “Just shoot me now,” Lewiston ordered. “You ain’t touchin’ my baby.”

  “I’ll talk to you later,” Peace said, laughing and waving on his way out.

  “I mean it, you psycho prick. Don’t even use the words, your boat, in a sentence.” Lewiston called out, evoking even louder laughter from Peace.

  __

  Lewiston looked up groggily from the recovery room table. Mobry stood next to him, concern embedded deeply in his features. Lewiston’s wife and daughter were standing next to the Mobry, huddled together, fear their common bond.

  “Will I walk?” Lewiston asked, his voice more of a croak.

  His wife Tina, swept past Mobry, and embraced her husband as Lewiston tried to pat her back comfortingly. He waved at Tara, who had hung back. She walked up and grabbed his hand with both of hers, eyes big as saucers.

  “The Doc says you’ll be dancing in another month,” Mobry told him. “You’ll have to stop at the metal detector every time you fly; but other than that, you’re aces.”

  Tina framed her husband’s face in her hands. “We were so worried. All the sirens and noise right in front of the house; and then they find two dead bodies in a car just a few doors down from us. They hustled Tara and I out to a police car, guarded by an army of police. No one would tell me anything until we made it to the hospital. By then, you were in surgery.”

  “You think you were worried,” Lewiston replied, reaching for the water glass with a straw next to his gurney, still keeping hold of his daughter’s hand. He looked up at Mobry with a grim look. “Did they get Brills?”

  “The DA just about passed out when I went to him with that; but they woke a judge, and the rest is history,” Mobry answered. “We found enough at Batiste’s residence to pick Brill’s up inside of a couple hours. The money trail search begins tomorrow, or should I say today. You did real good, Dave.”

  “I was sure wrong about Peacenik,” Lewiston sighed. “Any leads on who hit Batiste and the guys who kidnapped me?”

  “The gangs task force has some ideas, but that’ll take some time. Ballistics should turn up how many shooters we’re looking for,” Mobry replied. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

  Mobry kissed Tina goodbye, and hugged Tara. “You two will have to check in here with Dave for tonight. I have a squad of men watching the hospital, two right outside the door. We’ll know tomorrow how serious a threat is left. Goodnight now, I’ll see you tomorrow, Dave.” “Come see me bright and early, Mick,” Lewiston requested.

  “I will,” Mobry called back over his shoulder.

  “Will you be okay, Dad?” Tara asked her Father.

  “Just like brand new, honey,” Lewiston said, pulling her close.

  __

  Peace looked down at his watch, a little surprised it was only three in the morning. All of his disguise, his bugs from Lewiston’s and Batiste’s cars, and the 9mm silenced auto, he had killed Batiste and his men with, were now in
over a hundred feet of water off the Coronado coastline. With Lewiston on his side, Peace felt it was overkill; but better safe than sorry. Brills could start talking, when he knew all he had left was to make a deal.

  Peace exited the old Ford, and walked up to the Polasky home. There were no lights on. He eased into the entranceway, and immediately the light flicked on. Polasky was sitting in the living room, his feet propped up, dressed in a blue bathrobe and pajamas. Peace waved.

  “Hi Ed, you’re up late.”

  “How’d things go tonight?” Polasky asked with a smile.

  “What things?”

  “You know of course, whatever I read in the newspapers, hear on the radio, or see on the TV today, I will attribute to you,” Polasky informed him, smugly.

  Peace sighed, knowing Polasky would indeed hear all about what had taken place. He ignored Ed’s pronouncement anyway. “I was out driving, and working the bugs out of the old Ford.”

  “Yea, I’ll bet you were, kid. Need an alibi for tonight?”

  “Get some sleep, Ed,” Peace replied. “Thanks for waiting up. You still want me to work tomorrow night?”

  “If you don’t have any other special ops planned. Nancy still hasn’t gotten over the fact you’re engaged. We won’t have to have the ceremony behind bars, will we?”

  “I doubt that would go over well with Jill’s folks.”

  Polasky laughed, as he pushed himself up from his recliner. “No, I guess not. Good night, Pauley.”

  “See you tomorrow, Ed.” Peace watched the ex-Seal walk up the stairs to his bedroom, not for the first time wondering if there were anything Polasky didn’t know.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ground Rules

  “Peace,” Dan said, as he met his friend at the entrance to their training facility.

  “Lieutenant Dan,” Peace quipped, coming to a complete halt, and saluting smartly. “What brings you here so early when you could have stayed in bed for at least another hour.”

  “I get here at six a lot of mornings,” Dan replied, smacking Peace’s hand down instead of returning his salute. “Have you seen or heard the news?”

  “Nope, I was listening to the oldies station on the way in; and did you know you are not allowed to strike an enlisted man, Lieutenant Dan?”

  “Yea,” Dan replied, putting his arm around Peace’s shoulders. “It looks like you’re off the hook with the cops. Batiste and a bunch of his men kidnapped Detective Lewiston, and ended up dead in a big gang hit.”

  “Jesus,” Peace whistled, astonishment on his face. “Is Lewiston okay?”

  “He was tortured, but he’ll be fine. Say, that surprised look really works for you, buddy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let me put it to you this way, Peace,” Dan instructed, escorting Peace to his locker. “They’ll be doing ballistics tests on the bullets used to kill those men. I’ll be waiting to hear if it was just one weapon, or more than one.”

  “Why?” Peace asked, switching nimbly to confusion.

  “Oh, you’re good, partner,” Dan sighed. “Keep that up and you’ll definitely have a future career in the acting field.”

  Peace halted, and faced his old friend. “Look, Lieutenant Dan, maybe I’m a little foggy this morning, so why don’t you spit this out in plain language. What exactly are you getting at?”

  “The same thing every Seal on the team, and probably Commander Jessup, will be wondering,” Dan answered seriously. “If one weapon was used on those guys, you took them out, and I don’t need you to admit to it. Ain’t no gangland wannabe out there, who knocks off four guys neat as you please, and then rushes across town to take out a couple of thugs outside Lewiston’s house.”

  “Wait a minute,” Peace grinned, as if it were a joke. “You’re saying I killed how many men last night?”

  “I’ve watched you the last few years, Peace,” Dan continued. “Six months crawling around on the Iran border area, and those gigs in Syria, Nicaragua, and the last one in Chili. I’ve never seen anyone more professional. You never hesitate, and you make decisions intuitively. Don’t think I didn’t know you were going to open up on those guards in Chili all along, orders or not.”

  “I didn’t have a spotter,” Peace replied defensively. “I just didn’t want anything to go wrong, and a bunch of you guys get hit while I watched with my thumb up my ass.”

  “My point exactly,” Dan smiled. “You live the preemptive hit. We don’t teach that type of linear thinking to the degree you’ve taken it to. On the Syrian border, I…”

  “I heard the woman warn her friends,” Peace broke in, knowing exactly where Dan was going. “She spotted us, and didn’t think we had anyone who spoke the language.”

  Dan nodded in agreement. “Did anyone question it when you jumped up and wasted everyone in her car? You didn’t call for a vote. You didn’t wait for the rest of us to join you. You did them all, and then you explained.”

  “Where are we going with this, Dan?”

  “I don’t know exactly what happened, but I know you saved Lewiston and his family. You killed those guys just as surely as you’re standing here with that Opie look on your face like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Dan concluded.

  “Can you and I return to more pleasant reality? This deductive phase you’re going through does not become you, and I resent the Opie remark.”

  Dan laughed for the first time. “Okay, but are you done with this business yet?”

  “What business?”

  “The gang elimination business,” Dan replied, exasperation seeping into his voice.

  “I’m looking forward to my upcoming marriage, and you’re mired in some assassination plot. I bet Becky would not approve of this…”

  Dan had Peace by his shirtfront and up against the line of lockers in a split second. “You’re beginning to irritate me, Petty Officer Peacenik.”

  “I could give you a chorus of The Ballad of the Green Berets,” Peace offered, seeing Dan was not going to absorb his storyline easily, and his friend’s irritation was real.

  “Hey, can I play?” Bull’s booming voice called out from where he had entered the room.

  Dan released Peace, almost guiltily, as he looked over at where Jenkins stood with his arms folded over his chest. “Peace and I were just going over the morning news.”

  “Yea, I heard it too. You trying to wring a confession out of the little prick, Lieutenant? I’ll help if you want, but I doubt we’ll get anywhere. If I hear that Green Beret crapola one more time though, he won’t live to play secret agent man again.”

  Dan looked back at Peace. “You see what I mean? Did you really think we wouldn’t make a few leaps in reasoning? I’m sorry about grabbing you like that.”

  “I shouldn’t have mentioned Becky, Dan,” Peace replied solemnly, as Bull walked over to join them. “I can’t control what you guys think; but may I suggest waiting to find out what the SDPD concludes, rather than making rash judgments.”

  “Hummmmm…,” Bull intoned, rubbing his chin, and looking at Dan. “It appears Secret Agent Man here has an in now with the cops. Want to bet on whether Lewiston has a new best friend, Lieutenant?”

  “They have some Captain in custody as a link to organized crime inside the Department, according to the news,” Dan added, nodding at Bull in agreement. “Somehow, our Wild Warrior bypassed his wise friends’ help completely, dove into a pile of shit, and emerged smelling like the proverbial rose.”

  “It sounds as if you have the situation outlined perfectly, Lieutenant,” Bull agreed.

  “Let me know when you guys are done,” Peace sighed.

  “Whoever covered Batiste’s ass is still out there,” Dan reminded Peace.

  “I know.”

  “The Lieutenant wants to know what you have planned, you little weasel?” Bull said, glowering menacingly at Peace.

  “Planned for what?”

  “You know, Lieutenant,” Bull said through clenched teeth. “I�
��m beginning to see why you were getting upset.”

  “Look, you guys are as close to brothers as I’ll ever have in this life. If I thought either of you, or the people you care about, were in danger over the situation as it now stands, I’d be banging on your doors yelling for help. With Batiste gone, any connections to others besides me went with him.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Bull stated. “His people will know about your new fiancée, my little friend.” “I realize that.”

  “You’re going to need help, Peace,” Dan added.

  “If I knew what you were talking about,” Peace replied, “I would also know where to ask for it.”

  “Have you found out who ran interference for that murdering scumbag?” Bull asked.

  “His Father,” Peace answered. “He runs a real shadowy importexport business: Aztec Imports, with a port connection in Ensenada, just South of the Border, along the Baja Peninsula. The CIA and FBI both link him to drugs and gun running. He’s high up on the terrorist watch list, so old Dink has been a real thorn in his side; but that does not mean he will be glad to be rid of him.”

  “Won’t Batiste’s Father believe the papers?” Dan asked.

  “For a while maybe. Sooner or later he’ll be looking into it a lot closer than the police, and he knows all the people involved on his behalf.”

  “It sure sounds like you should be asking for help, even though you are one nasty Secret Agent killin’ machine, I must admit,” Bull said with a grin. “What’s the body count now, six?”

  “But they were all bad,” Peace intoned, doing a reasonable Arnold Swartznegger impersonation, complete with accent.

  The three men were still laughing when Doc Jameson, Tony Chin, and Tracer Robards walked into the room together. Doc hurried over excitedly, with Chin and Robards close behind.

  “Hey, you hyenas hear the news this morning? That guy, Peace here was in trouble over, is dead. What’s so funny, anyway?”

  “Just an old movie line, Doc,” Dan replied. He looked at Bull and

  Peace, before he went on. “So, tell us what you’ve heard.” “A gang hit, they say,” Tony Chin put in.