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

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  “Okay,” Peace agreed, leading the way to his Buick. “Anything could happen, right? Ken doll could choke on a chip in his car, or fall down a flight of stairs, or…”

  “That’ll be enough out of you. I was only kidding with Bull when I suggested recruiting you to whack the guy.”

  “Ken doll wouldn’t have to get whacked,” Peace replied, as they walked to his Buick. “He could slip on a banana peel, and wind up a paraplegic. It would probably have as good a chance of happening as Holly breaking up with Bull for Ken.”

  “Maybe, but I sense you are forgetting about your impending Fatherhood, 007. It is time to let some events in life happen without your interference,” Polasky suggested, sliding into the Buick front seat next to Peace.

  “Jill will freak when I tell her about this. She’ll probably send me out on a mission to get to the bottom of this travesty.”

  “Listen, Meathead,” Polasky laughed. “You have to stop this God complex stuff. Not every setback in life, or your friends’ experience, requires your meddling. Besides, what did Bull say?”

  “He said if I even mentioned Holly again, I’d better start bringing my saddle to the base; because I would thereafter become his little horsey.”

  “Take a hint then, 007,” Polasky nodded in agreement. “Let Bull and Holly deal with their relationship.”

  “Okay, but what good does it do to let everyone think I’m an all knowing secret agent, if I act like I’m afraid of a little challenge?”

  “I’d take you a little more seriously if you started driving cars like James Bond drives, instead of this Rent-A-Wreck.”

  “Sacrilege!” Peace gasped in indignant outrage.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Ken Doll

  “Peace,” Jill exclaimed happily. “Is something wrong? I mean you’ve never called me before just to chat.”

  “Ouch, I’ve been that bad, huh?”

  “Well, I was beginning to wonder if you thought your line was tapped.”

  Peace momentarily stayed silent.

  “You’re in a phone booth, aren’t you?” Jill laughed. “Come on, admit it.”

  “Okay, maybe I am a little paranoid,” Peace admitted. “You caught me.”

  “It won’t do you much good if my line is tapped,” Jill reminded him. “You are so cute.”

  “How’re you feeling?”

  “I’ve had to add coffee to my list of no-no’s. Banana’s give me heartburn almost like gargling with sulfuric acid; and if I even taste a bean, I better be next to a bathroom.”

  “Doesn’t sound like much fun, Honey.”

  “Just coming to grips with the physical part of having a baby,” Jill replied. “I really feel wonderful.”

  “Any more thought on when we can get married?”

  “I’d like to tomorrow, but I guess it would be okay in a couple of months when the semester ends.”

  “I was thinking more about a couple of weeks,” Peace said, disappointment apparent in his voice. “You can still stay up there, but at least we’d be official. I really don’t think we should wait.”

  “I know, but…”

  “I miss you. I’m coming up there this weekend. I’ll talk to your parents. We can have a beautiful, small ceremony.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you? What happened to get you so wound up?”

  “I just think anything can happen, and I don’t want to lose you.”

  “What makes you think you’ll lose me?” Jill laughed in surprise.

  “I’m having your baby. Where do you think I’m going?”

  Peace related the story of what happened between Bull and Holly. Jill stayed silent for a long moment before replying.

  “Holly was in love with Bull. She told me herself at the barbecue when we were washing dishes.”

  “I knew it,” Peace whispered, almost to himself.

  “She actually came to the restaurant with this guy Ken, and broke up with Bull right in front of you?” Jill asked in confusion.

  “She was upset, but that’s exactly what she did.”

  “How’s Bull taking it?”

  “Quietly,” Peace answered. “I’ve been told to butt out by both Bull and Ed. I just have one of those feelings you get when your hair raises on the back of your neck.”

  “Not very much in life works out the way we wish it would,” Jill said sympathetically. “I guess visions of you, Dan, and Bull having family barbeques, complete with wives and kids, danced through your head, huh?”

  “Momentarily,” Peace admitted. “You saw them together, Jill. Tell me this episode fits the program.”

  “You’re going to do something rash, aren’t you?” Jill sighed audibly.

  “I’m still processing info.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “You think I’m wrong to stick my nose in this too, so I guess that makes it unanimous; but it still does nothing to relieve this feeling Holly is in trouble.”

  “I trust your intuition, my love,” Jill added. “I just don’t want you to lose a friend over it. Can’t you nibble around the edges of a full blown investigation? You know, hack into the Pentagon or FBI, and…” “Heyyyyyyyyyy…” Peace interrupted. “You’re starting to make me feel my choice of a pay phone was a wise one. Let’s keep the black helicopters from flying tonight, okay?”

  “Sorry, 007,” Jill laughed. “I’m new to this secret agent gig.”

  “Jesus,” Peace whispered under his breath. “Never mind my being punished for being such a sloppy pathetic excuse for… oh… never mind. How about it? Can I come up on Sunday, and talk to your parents about marrying you real soon?”

  “Sure,” Jill replied seriously. “We’ll go over to their house, and double-team them. You aren’t mad about my making fun of your JB status, are you, Hon?”

  Peace listened to Jill giggling on the phone as she tried not to start laughing again. “You will so pay for this disrespect, little missy.”

  “Oh, I love it when you’re so forceful,” Jill said in a hushed tone. “I think I’ll take these cumbersome clothes off while we talk about my punishment. Oh yes… that’s much better. Yes… oh… much better.”

  “Jesus,” Peace gritted his teeth, listening to Jill’s soft heightened breathing. “Don’t do this, you little minx.”

  “Oh… ah… do what… Hon?”

  Jill broke into laughter, as she heard Peace start to growl.

  “Not funny,” Peace said sharply.

  “Call me if you change your mind about Sunday,” Jill replied, still laughing.

  “I’ll be there. You can count on it, but I’ll call if something changes.”

  “I love you,” Jill whispered huskily. “Stay out of trouble.”

  “I love you too, but telling me to stay out of trouble is like ordering the IRS not to collect your taxes this year.”

  Twenty minutes later, Peace sat in his Buick, satellite up link for his laptop operating. Hacking into the San Diego police department files first, Peace found no reference to a Ken Landry. He expanded his search into the FBI, and when he came up empty there, Peace searched the student roles at San Diego State. A Ken Landry had been enrolled for the last two years. Peace recognized the arrogant grin on Landry’s face from his file picture right away.

  Peace used the picture San Diego State had on file for Landry to search the FBI criminal database. A few minutes later, a slightly younger Landry was staring out sullenly from a mug photo. The file listed Landry’s real name to be Ken Issacson. He had been in and out of trouble since childhood. Although growing up in Brentwood, a swank suburb of Los Angeles, Issacson had been arrested for burglary, and drug dealing. His parents had interceded on his behalf with a high priced defense attorney in both instances, with the result Issacson did a short stint in a rehab center.

  Issacson’s Father had been a well to do pharmacist, and his Mother had worked as the vice president of a local bank. Shortly after Issacson had graduated from high school, his parents had died in a house fire, w
hile Issacson had been purportedly staying with a friend in the area. After his parents’ executor settled the estate, of which Issacson was the sole heir, Issacson disappeared, nearly three million dollars richer. The friend Issacson had been staying with when his parents died, was killed in a hit and run incident a month after the settlement. The driver had never been found.

  Peace downloaded the information, and logged off. He knew he had been in long enough to set off firewall alarms in the FBI data system. Although his search had proceeded uninterrupted, Peace figured the FBI were now doing back traces into his break-in. He quickly loaded up his equipment, and drove away, looking at his watch. It was only eleven o’clock. Peace leaned back in his seat, steering the Buick expertly, shaking his head as he wondered if they were all in the Twilight Zone once again.

  Polasky looked up from the couch as Peace walked through the door. Polasky turned off his television with the remote, and then stood up with his arms folded across his chest. Peace gave him a little wave.

  “Hey Gramps, what’s up,” Peace observed. “Where’s Nancy?”

  “In bed,” Ed replied gruffly. “You left me off here before 9:30. What have you been up to 007, and don’t give me any of that driving around crap either?”

  “I called Jill to see how she was doing, and to plan pressuring her parents this weekend into a marriage date within the next two weeks.”

  “You could have called Jill from here. Why drive somewhere to call her?”

  “Just being careful, Ed,” Peace grinned. “What’s with the third degree?”

  “I don’t trust you to keep your nose out of Bull’s business like you promised.”

  “Why don’t you go get some sleep?” Peace suggested, ignoring Polasky’s comment. “You have to stop burning the candle at both ends. After all, you’re not a young man anymore. I think…”

  “Don’t make me twist your pathetic little head off, 007,” Polasky pointed at him, threateningly. “Where have you been?”

  “Calling Jill, I told you,” Peace answered, throwing his hands up in the air, and looking at the ceiling as if appealing to a higher authority. “She’s had to stop drinking coffee, and she has killer heartburn, depending on what she eats. Otherwise, she’s doing real well.”

  “That’s good,” Polasky nodded, “but I know you. You couldn’t talk this long if your life depended on it. You’ve been up to something. I know it.”

  Peace laughed, not so much because Ed’s statement had been funny, but because Peace could not get over Polasky’s heightened instincts. “You’re going to have to ease up on me, Ed.”

  “Never mind, spill it,” Polasky ordered, sitting down on the couch.

  Peace shrugged, and sat down on the corner chair. “Ken doll is really Ken Issacson, rather than Ken Landry.”

  “An alias?” Ed leaned forward in interest. “Damn, if we weren’t right about him.”

  Peace related what he had found out from the files about Issacson’s high school run-ins with the law, and his parents’ mysterious house fire.

  “Why would he change his name, when he beat the other raps?” Ed asked, rubbing his jaw, as he contemplated Issacson’s reasoning.

  “I’m figuring he’s up to his eyeballs in something right now, and he wants to keep his real identity to use in case he has to make a quick getaway.”

  “Did you find out his present address?”

  “Yea, it was in his college file,” Peace replied. “I’ll go over there tomorrow after duty, and check it out.”

  “Are you planning on keeping Bull out of this?”

  “I don’t know. He’d rip my arms and legs off if he found out about this later, and I didn’t consult him.”

  “At the rate you’ve been going in the secret agent racket, everyone is going to know pretty soon,” Polasky needled him. “You might as well let him in on it. It’s Holly’s well-being at stake.”

  “That’s how I figured it too,” Peace leaned back with a sigh. “Man, from the time I hooked up with Jill, my luck…”

  “You just used up so big a piece of luck getting hooked up with Jill, it sapped the luck right out of the rest of your endeavors,” Polasky broke in.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Peace agreed.

  Polasky stood up, stretched, and yawned. “I’m going to bed. My curiosity has been satisfied. If you need help, let me know; but no more shoot outs at the restaurant.”

  “I’ll make a note. Goodnight Ed.”

  “Night-night, JB, don’t forget you have to give your computer class tomorrow. Maybe you can sing for an hour afterwards. I’ve been getting a lot of stop-ins now that you started singing more often, just to see if you’re there.”

  “Let’s see, train all day, check out Ken doll’s address, meet the guys for dinner and computer training, do an after dinner show, go…”

  “Don’t be such a wimp, JB,” Ed waved him off, as he turned away towards the stairs. “They’ll take away your double oh rating if you keep up this crybaby shit.”

  “Thanks Ed, I needed that.”

  “Anytime, kid.”

  __

  “You’ve been eye-ballin’ me all day, Peace,” Bull’s voice came from over Peace’s right shoulder. “What’s up?”

  The team had just returned together from running on the beach with full packs, and were putting their gear away before cleaning up. Peace took out a folder from his locker, he had made up the night before. He handed it to Bull.

  “Go through this in private, and then meet me after we get showered. I’ll ride over to Ed’s with you if you don’t mind,” Peace offered.

  Bull glared at Peace, but nodded in agreement before taking the folder with him.

  “What’s with you two?” Doc asked curiously.

  “Not a thing, Doc,” Peace replied. “I was just doing some computer stuff for Bull to check out. Are you going over to Ed’s tonight?”

  “Yea, I did my homework from the night you turned Ed’s into a shooting gallery. I was looking forward to it.”

  Peace looked around at his other teammates who were getting ready to shower. “Did the rest of you guys do those exercises I gave you?”

  “My dog ate my homework,” Tony Chin answered in Chinese.

  “I was unaware you had begun dating again, my friend,” Peace said in the same language, causing Chin to do a double take, and then break into laughter, shaking his head.

  “I deserved that. I should know better than to trade zings with you in any language, you prick,” Tony admitted, as the others looked from one to the other. He quickly told them what had been said, much to their amusement. “I’m glad I don’t have to stay after dinner with you guys tonight. I’m sick of your faces already.”

  “Are you going to sing tonight, Peace?” Nick Turner asked, as Dan came out of his office.

  “Yea, Ed reminded me I still owe him ten years of singing gigs before we’re square from the shoot-out,” Peace replied with a shrug.

  “That means there’ll be women, Tony,” Nick told his friend. “Maybe we better stay tonight. Peace here packs them in from the college.”

  “I don’t know if we should hang with Peace off base,” JT Brigham pointed out, shaking his head sorrowfully. “It almost got Bull and the Lieutenant killed the other night.”

  “I’m up for some excitement,” Tracer chimed in. “When we body-guarded the place the night Peace sung after the shootout, I met this accounting major, and…”

  “We don’t want to know about your love life, Tracer,” Doc Jameson cut him off sternly. “We want to know more about Peace’s.”

  “I’m going up to talk with Jill’s parents this weekend,” Peace said as the others laughed. “We’re trying to get the marriage date moved up to a couple of weeks from now.”

  “Jesus, Peace, could you be in any more of a rush?” Doc replied, as Peace’s announcement stunned his teammates into silence, except for Dan.

  “Peace is going to be a Dad,” Dan explained, smiling as he put an arm around Peac
e’s shoulder. “He’s going to make Jill an honest woman, or we all would have to shoot him to assuage Jill’s honor.”

  The team gathered around to congratulate Peace.

  “Didn’t they teach birth control at Berkeley?” Tony kidded him.

  “I was afraid Jill would dump me once she got to know me, so I had to do something,” Peace explained.

  “Hey, did you come up with any music for your new Seal Ballad?” Dan asked.

  Peace nodded. “I’ll try it out on you guys tonight before any of the crowd gets back there.”

  Bull had walked into the room with folder in hand. “Get a move on, Peace, I want to go over a few things with you before we get over to Ed’s.”

  “Ten minutes, Chief,” Peace replied, grabbing his towel.

  “Don’t slip on the soap, Pop,” Doc called after him. “Hey Bull, you staying tonight?”

  “Yea,” Bull answered nonchalantly. “I’ll probably hang around and give Peace a lift back here to the base to pick up his car.”

  “Since when did you two start ride sharing?” Dan asked with a laugh. “That is, other than you riding him up the hill.”

  Bull laughed with the rest of the team in reference to his latest punishment for Peace. “He just wants to show me something, and I guess he likes my car. You’re not jealous, are you Lieutenant? I don’t want to come between true romantics like you and…”

  “Sorry I asked,” Dan turned away with his hands up in the air as the rest of the team hooted. “Just make sure you guys are on time for dinner, cause I’m starved, and we won’t be holding your place.” “Hoo-ya,” Bull answered smartly.

  __

  Bull had been silent all the way out to his car. After driving past the Marine guard station, he turned expectantly towards Peace. “Okay, you were right as rain. Now, when do we kill this bastard?”

  “One thing at a time, Chief,” Peace replied solemnly, glancing over at his friend. “We’ll check out his address first, and see what the neighborhood looks like in daylight. After we get out of Ed’s, we can check his place out more closely. I know you’re worried about Holly. So am I, but like you said, it could be innocent too.”