HARD CASE (A John Harding Novel - Special Ops, Cage Fighter, CIA Agent)

by Bernard L. DeLeo

  Jafar laughed and shook his head. “No. I think you would be more discreet. Does Ms. Connagher know of your celebrity?”

  “No, and she doesn’t need to find out from you, wise-guy. I’m going to work out. Want to join me for a few more tips on how not to get your ass kicked?”

  “I think that would be helpful.”

  Jafar and I worked out for an hour. He learned and he didn’t forget. I showed him a few knife techniques to practice on along with his hand to hand combat lesson. My muscles loosened up, but by the time we were done, my ribs were howling. While we were in the kitchen microwaving a couple meals my phone rang. It was Dennis. I took the phone out of the room with a little wave at Jafar.

  “Everything’s ready, John. We have a special limo and I have Devon Constantine’s chauffer license to drive it. He drove tanks at one time so I’m sure he’ll be okay with the limo. I had one made up for both your friend Tommy and this Jafar kid you’re breaking in. By the way, Jafar is a real interesting find. We’ll have Ms. Karim at The Inn by seven that evening. I figured you’d like to meet us there with Kensington.”

  “When’s the first public speaking engagement?”

  “The Alameda County Fairgrounds. The Fremont Afghan Center organizes a New Year’s celebration there that’s attended by ten thousand. It will be next Sunday. I’m hoping I can persuade our guest to keep a low profile until then.”

  “You don’t need me for this. You need Superman. Get a line to Krypton and see if he’s available. If not, maybe Jack Bauer’s free. I heard Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.”

  I smile as I hear Dennis laughing his ass off. He finally gets it under control down to a mild chortle.

  “I saw your throw down with the Russians, John.”

  “I just found out about my YouTube notoriety today but I’ll bet you’ve known for quite a while, Denny. Any comment?”

  “Have you heard about the Abu Dhabi’s Flash Entertainment buying a ten percent piece of Ultimate Fighting Championship?”

  “UFC 112 was held in the United Arab Emirates. So what?” It was a good match.

  “That’s right and what would you wager no one there would look at you with more than a glance.”

  Oh boy, am I slow on the uptake. “You do know I was banned from the circuit and they don’t just take anyone to these UFC events, don’t you? You have to earn a place on the ticket.”

  “I think we can manage something on the undercard if need be. You have many videos to lure them into taking you on. The fight with Rankin will seal the deal. Every fighter has a trainer and corner help. Tommy, Devon, and the new Arab speaking kid would be a perfect training crew. There are always some very hard elements moving through Abu Dhabi, John. One of these UFC things might take place over there with an added bonus of having a high value person of interest also attending at the same time. It would be a fortuitous occasion.”

  That’s twice today I’m surprised – not a good sign. I certainly see many pluses for Denny and the gang. Finding a way into the UFC would be a hell of an advertisement for my new business. Getting caught in a place like Abu Dhabi or Dubai doing wet work on the other hand – not so much, especially with my friends along for the ride into hell. Dennis chuckles at my silence.

  “No need for you to sign on in blood right now. Think it over. I must say, John, it is rather shocking you had no idea any of your rumbles were being videoed. Take this as a warning to start smelling the roses, buddy.”

  “Bite me. You like my new recruit. What do you think about vetting him for something more substantial in the future?”

  “Like bringing him up to speed as your technical consultant, you Luddite?”

  “Something like that.”

  “John, you were one of the most promising hacker candidates we ever had go through our classes. You can work code with nearly magical intuitiveness. What is all this crap with you not answering phones or even watching your own fights on the Internet?”

  “You hit it right on the button. After seeing what you guys have going in all its glory, I’m knowledgeable in exactly how to avoid you if I want to. The rest is about as interesting to me as watching grass grow. I keep my skills up in tech stuff just like I do with languages.”

  Dennis laughed again. “That’s why you own that old Chevy! I bet you still sweep it for bugs anyway, don’t you?”

  “At least you can’t shut it off on me from space.”

  “Duly noted. Have you decided anything about the Russian mob after your run in with them last night? Hell of an encounter by the way. On that particular YouTube adventure I’m glad the video was grainy.”

  “I’m staying the hell away from them. If they know what’s good for them they’ll stay the hell away from me.”

  “Send me their names. I’ll do a little digging and run some surveillance for you.”

  “Thanks, I will.” I don’t do this Lone Ranger shit to the point of stupidity. “You won’t get into trouble with the other three letter government group, will you?”

  “We’re all one big happy family now.”

  “I’ll bet. See you tomorrow.”

  Jafar has our instant dinners on the table with suitable utensils. The kid looks up at me questioningly when I walk back in the room. At this point with Strobert’s interest in him I’m inclined to start my recruiting talk. I wasn’t much older than Jafar when CIA expressed an interest in piggy backing onto Marine Recon endeavors in Afghanistan. When the team I was on got ambushed while taking a clandestine look around the Tora Bora area for Osama I managed to outflank our Taliban ambushers. Our CIA liaison, Jackson, a lean bearded guy that hailed from Minnesota, made it up to my position first after I signaled all clear. He took one look at the six dead Taliban, two with their throats slit, and glared at me like maybe I should have asked his permission.

  “It would have been nice to question one of these guys, Harding.”

  I shrug. I don’t take prisoners when my buddies are under fire. “Woulda’, coulda’, shoulda’ – write me up.”

  By that time, the lieutenant and my fellow grunts made it up to where we were. Two were wounded but still mobile. Lieutenant Bell scans my handiwork with a much more appreciative eye, as do my buddies. We don’t talk much because who the hell knew when we’d have a bunch more religion of peace followers flocking down on us. Our corpsman patches up the wounded while the rest of us take pictures and DNA samples just in case one of the Taliban is famous. We strip the bodies of everything we can carry and throw the carcasses over the cliff afterward. All the while Jackson dogs me. I have enough enemies around so I ignore the looks.

  Back at base camp we’re met by two more company men. One of them was a leaner Dennis Strobert. See, I’ve know Denny a long time which would have made me unhappy to have had to gut him the other night. Denny and the other guy listen to Jackson rant in angry whispers while pointing at me. I’m really worried. What are they going to do, send me to Tora Bora? Strobert smiles in my direction. Where Jackson sees me as someone lacking in intelligence gathering abilities, Denny has decided I might be of value in other ways. Strobert recruited me shortly after. I’m seeing a lot of potential in another direction with Jafar.

  Chapter Nine

  Pseudo-Dad

  I sit down and eat in silence, noting Jafar accepts my nonverbal decision without comment. He eats quietly too. I’m liking the kid more and more. When we’re done chowing down I make my pitch.

  “I have some people with government ties I’d like to vet you with. If you check out okay it could mean a lot of free education in an assortment of skills. It won’t be a requirement for you to work with me but it could be a valuable opportunity for a lucrative career.”

  Jafar gets a comical worried look on his face.

  I’m an amateur mind reader. Jafar has seen too many spy movies. “No, we don’t kill you if you turn down the offer. They do require a confidentiality agreement and for you to work off any debt you owe them if you want to part company before your contract ru
ns out.”

  Jafar smiles uneasily, nodding his head as he contemplates his next words. “You are a skilled killer, Mr. Harding. I know this. I am not sure I would be very good at-”

  “Hold on, kid. I’m not asking you to become an assassin.” Boy, am I a little off on my spiel. Maybe I better stick with what I’d like him to do for me. “You’d make a very competent analyst and tech guy for me. How many languages was it you told me you know?”

  “I speak Pashtu, Arabic, and Spanish besides English. I’m sorry I misunderstood what you were asking of me.”

  “Forget it. It’s my bad. I’ve never recruited before so this is a first for me. Is any of this interesting to you? If not, we need to drop the subject.”

  “No one can know. I understand. I am surprised you want to recruit me for anything after only knowing me a few days. I am, just as you say, a kid.”

  “The guy who recruited me did so after knowing me for about half an hour and I was only a year older than you are. That same guy has taken an interest in you.”

  “Was he angry about your fights being on YouTube?”

  “Nope. As I figured, he was a few steps ahead of me on that front. I don’t need an answer from you immediately. Think it over carefully. We’re going over to meet the young woman we’ll be escorting around tomorrow evening. Dress casually but nicely. Make yourself ready to go by six, okay?”

  “I will be ready. You are going over to my high school with me tomorrow morning, right?”

  “Yep. I have to get you checked in with me as your contact. Anything I should know before we get there tomorrow?”

  “Not really. I am a good student.”

  “From now until you graduate I want to know everything out of the ordinary at your school. I’ll teach you how to watch and remember what you see while distinguishing the extraordinary from the mundane. Public high schools nowadays make great observation training grounds. Learning how to pick out telling details, without alerting anyone of your interest, is exactly what we’ll be doing with our young lady arriving tomorrow.”

  “It will be challenging not to get my ass kicked practicing perceptiveness at my school. Some jerks there give out attitude adjustments if they just think you’ve looked at them too long.”

  Indeed, young Jedi. “Hence the training potential at your school for noticing things while retaining your attitude in its present state. I’m not training you in unarmed combat so you can join the mixed martial arts circuit. I’m doing it so if you make a mistake you’ll have a chance of surviving it.”

  “I can get thrown out of school for fighting.”

  “Well waaahhhhh.”

  Jafar smiled. “I remember you dropped out of school at fourteen.”

  Smart-ass. “In any case, I’ll back your play at school if you tell me the truth. One thing about having Government Inc. interested in what you can do is they will many times remedy problems in very low key ways for you – problems like suspensions, teachers with God complexes, and even the occasional law related miscommunication.”

  “Have they handled problems for you?”

  “I’ve been careful to avoid problems I would need them for. I trust you to avoid such problems too. That’s another reason for having a real good lawyer on our side.”

  “Like for getting out of jail after killing an Ishmael Ali?”

  “Yeah, and springing ungrateful teenage car thieves.”

  Jafar laughed. “If not for you I would have needed much more than a lawyer.”

  * * *

  Walking onto the Skyline High School campus with Jafar reminded me of the time I did a deep cover liquidation near Peshawar. A multitude of human emotions and deceits radiated out from the students we passed giving me the eyeball – fear, speculation, amusement, anger, resentment – I even had a few looks from coeds who appeared to be measuring me for sexual advances. My life might have been different if I had known high school was this interesting. Jafar kept his head down, hands stuffed into his pockets. He had obviously decided to take my recommendations for practicing covert observation as a volunteer exercise. I noticed a baggy pants crew near the entrance jiving with select individuals trying to enter the school without provoking mayhem.

  “Those guys hassle everyone.” Jafar kept his head down.

  I’m pleased. He is covertly paying attention. “Anything major?”

  “A few of them claim to be members in the Norteanos. Do you know of them?”

  Illegal alien gang-bangers dealing in drugs, kidnaps and violence. After all, Oakland is a ‘Sanctuary City’. “Any problems?”

  “It varies day to day.”

  As we draw closer I see one of them recognizes me and yanks his compadres away from the door for a quick conference. I hear my name whispered as we walk by and they remain where they are. This could go a couple ways. Jafar might now have a bull’s eye on his chest or a free pass to come and go as he pleases.

  “They must have seen the fight.” Jafar smiles up at me. “Maybe that means they won’t bother messing with me.”

  “Or they plan on bustin’ you up just to let me know they don’t care.”

  “Currently, they make anyone they single out miserable. They’ve marked me already so I’m not sure I’ll notice any difference.”

  I chuckled at that one. “I’ll give you a note for them if they approach you – something like if my friend has handed you this note, you’re too close and he feels in danger. Walk away or they’ll find your body in an aqueduct near the Coliseum with your balls cut off and shoved down your throat.”

  My note idea gets Jafar laughing. Apparently he thinks I’m kidding. I’ll type it up when I get home. I remember my Dad when he had a lucid moment explaining some stuff to me when I came home from my first day at junior high school in a bit worse shape than when I left. He looked over my black eye, split lip and various cuts and scrapes with an amused look. I was jumped by three guys who didn’t like the way I smelled. They weren’t interested in why. Having been put through the wringer by my Pop many times in the past I was unimpressed with their attack. They ended up looking much worse than me and I got suspended. The principal didn’t care whether it was three to one or not. Dad explained when he was growing up in the fifties kids were real careful about picking on other kids, because most of the fathers were vets from World War II, and they didn’t take kindly to their kids getting beat up. Back then a kid never knew whether there was an older brother or three who would be showing up the next day for some payback either.

  When we reached the office the secretary ushered us into the principal’s office. Things had changed since I made my trip to the principal’s office in Leavittsburg. The office looked a heck of a lot more upscale than I remember old man Shimer’s cubby hole when I visited him long ago. I should have stayed in school. Our tax dollars at work really gave this guy studiously ignoring us a nice spot to entertain. He looks up from his flat screen monitor at us with a stern questioning look. When he sees me he decides on a more cordial greeting. Jumping up from his desk chair he extended his hand to me with a big smile. As I carefully shake the principal’s hand I make a mental note to tell Tess what a great first impression I made.

  “I’m Stan Guererro. Can I help you?”

  Stan’s middle aged, medium height, balding and carrying twenty pounds too much weight but he’s got a good handshake and he looks me in the eye. So far, so good. “My name’s John Harding. I have an appointment to check Jafar Kensington back into school. He’s had some trouble at home and will be staying with me for the time being.”

  Stan gestures for us to sit down in the chairs fronting his desk while taking the folder from me with the paperwork Tess had Jafar’s Mom sign. He looked it over with the right amount of intensity before turning his attention to Jafar.

  “You’ve been a good student, Jafar. I hope that will continue to be the case.”

  “It will, Sir.”

  “Will you be the one to contact for any classroom problems or parent-teacher meeti
ngs, Mr. Harding?”

  “Yes. I have had a talk with Jafar. He knows my hospitality depends on his doing well here at school.” This is like alternate reality stuff for me. If I take on any more oddities my head’s going to explode. I reluctantly give him a card with my whiz-bang phone number on it. Denny will love it when I put Government Inc on hold while I take a school call. “Call me at this number anytime if a problem crops up.”

  “Thank you. I’m sure everything will be fine.” Stan gets a speculative look on his face. “You look familiar, Mr. Harding. Have we met before?”

  Uh oh. “I don’t think so. Nice meeting you.” I stand up and shake hands with Stan again, deciding to make a quick exit before he remembers where I look familiar from.

  Outside the office, Jafar grins at me. “You think Mr. Guererro watches YouTube?”

  “Never mind that. I have another school meeting at three this afternoon to take in my new persona of Pseudo-Dad so stay out of trouble today. Can you hang around here safely until I get done?”

  “I can take the bus over to your house, John. My last class is at two so I’ll make it to your house before you get done. Does this meeting have something to do with Ms. Connagher?”

  I shrug while I’m watching the kids streaming by in the hallway looking up at me like I had a third eye or horns. “Her older sister’s kid is having some trouble she thinks my appearance at the school meeting might help. Any suggestions?”

  “Call in sick? The dog ate my homework? Aliens beamed me aboard their ship for experimentation. The-”

  I give the punk a push to start him on his way down the hall. “Get away from me before I forget I’m your temporary guardian and dropkick you into next week.”

  Listening to Jafar’s laughter receding down the hallway put a smile on my face for some unknown reason. When I made my way out of the school I parted the baggy pants crowd like Moses parting the Red Sea. I didn’t make eye contact but they decided to dog me out to the parking lot anyway. I had to remind myself I had another Pseudo-Dad meeting and I couldn’t do it from jail. I arrive at my old Chevy and the boys start laughing when I unlock the driver’s door.