by Tony Masero
Penevale sniffed the brandy glass and studied Carlo from beneath lowered brows. His black eyes seemed to swallow Carlo whole and the teacher felt as if his soul was being drawn from his body and dragged into the maw of Penevale’s malevolence.
Penevale set aside the glass gently and levered himself to his feet. ‘Bring him along,’ he ordered. ‘Abe, I want the jet fueled and ready to go right away. See to it.’
‘Where are we going, sir? We’ll need a flight plan.’
Penevale turned pointedly to Carlo, ‘Make yourself useful,’ he said in a flat voice. ‘And remember I dislike people who withhold information from me. I really dislike that.’
‘Walla Walla Regional Airport,’ Carlo spluttered quickly. ‘That’s the nearest.’
‘Aw, hell. Back to Walla Walla, I don’t know if I like that, Mister Penevale,’ said Gil.
‘You’ll go where I tell you,’ husked Penevale in a dangerously low voice. ‘Or I’ll cut you off without a prayer. Understand me, you will do as I say or I will not give a whisper for your chances.’
Silently, they watched him amble from the room and then followed in his trail.
Chapter Sixteen
Penevale’s private jet was a fancy Cessna Citation Ultra and there was something of a crush inside the arched interior with all the large bodied men. The luxurious plump, white cushioned seating was racked in a single file along each side of the plane with Abe and Carlo seated at the rear. Gil and Buck spilled out from their seats, side by side across the central aisle and Demus sat beside Penevale and in front of Gil and Buck.
‘You realize,’ said Penevale, leaving his seat and standing in the aisle as they reached their flight ceiling and belts were unbuckled. There was a sparkle in his pitiless eyes as he said it, something that amused him. ‘You two are closer than you think,’ he went on, looking at both Gil and Buck.
Gil’s heart sunk with a feeling of dread, as he understood what Penevale was about to come out with.
‘Did you know?’ Penevale asked Buck. ‘That it was your friend here that was there on the day your brother was shot?’ It was a query offered with all the sounds of innocence but in reality Penevale was playing with them. He had not liked the show of momentary doubt Gil had expressed back in Barnard’s office and he wanted to quash the moment more fully and throw the two off balance. Disturb their obvious close friendship and drive a wedge that would allow him more control.
‘How so?’ asked a frowning Buck. ‘You were there, Gil? What’s he mean?’
‘It’s true,’ Gil admitted, not taking his eyes from Penevale and mentally cursing him for the exposure. ‘I was up there. The guy, the one on the video, he was the one that finished your brother. Randy and me, we got there too late to do anything, by then it was all over.’
‘How come you never told me this?’ Buck asked in disbelief. ‘You was there, man. You saw my brother get it and you never said anything.’
‘I know,’ Gil said apologetically. ‘It seemed best not to. You know? It’s hard enough in the joint without going over stuff like that.’
‘Man! I cannot believe this,’ Buck stared at him. ‘You never told me. Shit! That sucks, you know that, Gil? That really sucks.’
‘Buck, we were too far away. We heard the shots but there was nothing we could do.’
‘You took the money though, didn’t you? Took the money and laid my bro out under a pile of rocks like he was garbage.’
‘I had no way of knowing then we would end up in the same cell.’
‘You might have said something,’ Buck said angrily. ‘Just something, you know how I felt about him.’
Penevale leaned forward in a show of confidentiality, his fingertips resting on the open foldaway tabletops to maintain his balance. ‘There’s something else. Abe has been finding out some background and apparently there’s more that the police never put out. Something that tells us a little about this Cole Junger, whose real name by the way, is David Bulver. It appears he is ex-military, a fact that the authorities considered it would have been unfortunate to make public knowledge given the general feeling towards the military at the time.’
‘So?’ shrugged Buck, still disgruntled by the discovery of Gil’s presence. ‘Most of us are.’
‘Apparently, Mister Junger,’ Penevale continued. ‘Was part of an offspring unit from the Phoenix Program, he was Special Forces, a long-range marksman, an assassin, to be precise.’
‘How’d you know this?’
‘He left his trademark, you see.’
The two opposite waited expectantly and Penevale held the moment, hanging it out as long as he could and enjoying their anticipation.
‘He shot out both your brother’s eyes. It was a thing they did over there in Vietnam, some of them used the Ace of Spades playing cards or cut off ears, this unit did the eye thing.’ Penevale sat back contentedly as he watched Buck’s face blanch at the news. ‘Quite bestial really, don’t you think?’
There was silence for a minute then Buck growled, ‘This sucker’s going down.’
‘He certainly is,’ Penevale agreed quietly. ‘I can see how this news must aggrieve you, Mister Newton but you must remember I have first call on Cole Junger. But don’t worry we shall see he suffers accordingly.’
‘Yeah, we’ll get him, Buck,’ promised Demus excitedly, only too glad to be involved. ‘Make him pay, that’s right, ain’t it, Mister Penevale?’
But Buck had turned away and was listening to the roar of the twin Pratt and Whittney engines and staring vacantly at the moonlit cloud layer beyond the porthole window.
They were tired but even so, Cole took them directly to Martha’s apartment and wandered through the rooms as she packed a few things and sorted through her papers, searching for anything that might lead to her friends or family. Anything that might give an unwelcome tracker leverage.
Drawers were left hanging open in Martha’s haste, clothes strewn about and cupboard doors left wide.
Cole rubbed the tiredness from his face. He needed a shave and his eyes felt sore from staring into the headlights on their five-hour night drive. He felt impatient too; he wanted to be on the move. It made him edgy and restless.
Then he saw the rifle.
It was leaning in back of an open bedroom cupboard.
An old M40 rifle with the Scout scope still attached.
He picked up the weapon. It was an original; he knew Remington only made seven hundred of the model back in the sixties.
‘This yours?’ he asked Martha.
‘Oh, it was my father’s,’ she said abstractedly, her mind on the paperwork.
‘He was in Vietnam?’
‘No, no,’ she said. ‘I think he bought it for hunting.’
Cole slid back the bolt, checking the magazine was empty and as he did so an old feeling rushed back over him. The wooden grip and butt molded to his hand as if it had been made for him. The smell of it and the cold steel as he slid his finger inside the trigger guard. It brought back memories.
‘You got ammunition?’
‘Yes, I think so,’ she turned to look at him, a question on her face. ‘In the cupboard somewhere. You aiming to take it with us?’
‘Maybe,’ said Cole.
He went back to the cupboard and rustled around until he found a cartridge box of 7.62 mm shells. Cole placed his eye to the sight and recalled the number of times he had viewed a body through it. A living body, until he had pulled the trigger.
He hefted the gun and felt the fourteen and a half pound weight. He ran his hand over the worn wooden stock. Half of him was resenting the gun but the other half was feeling secure with it in his grasp.
They were coming.
He knew it in his bones and the urgency raced through him.
They had to move and move fast. Damn it, it was still early but by the time they were through here it would be nightfall again.
‘You ready yet, Martha?’ he called.
‘Alright, I’m coming. There’s a lot of
stuff here.’ There was a touch of irritability in her voice. She was tired too, he knew it. Martha had managed to catnap a little on the trip but they were both feeling jaded by the stress.
‘You call the hospital?’
‘No, goddamn it. Give me a minute will you, Cole?’
‘Okay, it’s just that time is moving on. I’ll get your stuff into the car.’
He took a towel from the bathroom and wrapped the rifle in it, and then hoisting a packed bag he made his way outside.
They ate early at an open diner on the way to Caitlin’s and Martha called the hospital from a hall phone. She came back from making the call looking flushed and uneasy.
‘Everything alright?’ he asked as she sat down.
‘Not really. They’re pretty upset; I’ve left them in a difficult situation. Staff numbers are down; it’s going to leave a hole in their service. People will suffer I’m afraid.’
‘That’s too bad.’
‘I don’t feel good about it, Cole.’
‘If what I think is coming comes, you’d feel a whole lot worse.’
‘But we don’t know it for a fact. Can’t we just put off a move for a few days?’
Cole took her hand across the table. ‘Honey, this is serious. Really, we can’t afford any chances. If Penevale gets wind he will come and more evil than you can imagine will come with him.’
‘Maybe Carlo will say nothing. We might be causing all this mess and running with no need at all.’
‘Maybe. Might. We can’t afford to think like that. Our lives depend on it.’ Cole spoke with full seriousness, trying to impress on Martha the danger they were in. His experience outweighed hers. She was not aware of the depths to which these criminals would reach if they picked up their scent.
Martha capitulated, impressed by his intensity. ‘Okay,’ she sighed. ‘I guess we’d better get going then.’
‘Yeah, I want to hit Caitlin’s as soon as I can. Drop me off at my place and I’ll get my pickup and head out there. Meanwhile take the rest of the cash and buy a new car, we’ll have to register but there’s no avoiding it. Leave your own car in a Wal-Mart somewhere with the keys left in, some chancer will drive it off. If Carlo gives you up they’ll come looking for you and that car. He knows nothing about Caitlin so she is safe.’
She frowned, still finding it hard to believe, ‘You really think so?’
‘I know it. We’ll meet up again here, in the lot outside. Okay?’
‘What kind of car?’ she asked.
‘To buy? Something with power and the capacity for a long drive. You know,’ he said with a smile. ‘We can afford anything we like now.’
‘And what about Caitlin and her cash?’
‘I’ll set all that up when we’re settled. I’m just going to leave her spending money right now. A few thousand so she can get started on some kind of new life.’
They parted at Rivers Bend, Cole taking the rifle and a wad of cash in his pickup whilst Martha drove off to dump the car and purchase a new one.
Cole was pretty sure she would be safe; if anyone were coming it would be after him and the money. He had no idea how long it would take for any pursuit to take place but knew that the sooner they were gone from the locality the better. A quick trip out to make his farewell from Caitlin and they would be away.
As he drove out to her place, Cole for the first time had a moment to seriously think about a life for himself with Martha. He was looking forward to the prospect. It had been a long lonely time since he had felt this way about a woman and despite all the stress involved he was sure they would make a go of it wherever they ended up. He thought about California or maybe even further south in Mexico. Then Hawaii occurred to him. Swimming in clean blue seas, fishing and spending time in tropical heat on long sandy beaches. The notion appealed, yes, maybe Hawaii.
With the colorful vision in his mind, like one of the pictures from Caitlin’s travel magazines, by midday Cole had driven up to the isolated cottage.
‘Hey, Caitlin!’ Cole called out as he got down from the truck. ‘You there?’
Cole ran up the few steps onto the porch and there was still no answer. He hoped he had not missed the girl and would find her inside.
As he swung back the screen door, it was a flash of afternoon light on metal that made him step back instinctively from the dark doorway. Then, it was the porch step that saved his life.
He stumbled over the step and the axe that Demus swung missed his face by inches.
The shock of the attack woke Cole up quickly. He had been tired and not paying attention otherwise he would have noticed something was different in the atmosphere of the place. He might even have noticed Demus’ car parked out back.
Cole fell backwards off the porch as Demus lunged again with the wood axe. His face was a grim snarl of wide-eyed determination and as Cole fell in the dirt Demus screamed a cry of frustration and came on again. Cole scrabbled away and rolled aside as Demus swung high and buried the axe-head into the ground where he had been lying.
It was a long handled blade and it gave Cole an advantage, as the axe was difficult to swing easily in short motions. Cole managed to climb to his feet and desperately backed away as Demus came on again.
‘You miserable thieving bastard!’ Demus screamed, coming on again. ‘I’ll teach you to mess with my girl.’
There was no alternative for Cole, he drew the Colt from behind his back and leveled it at Demus, who froze in his tracks.
‘You put that down or I’ll drop you where you stand,’ Cole growled.
Tears of annoyance formed in Demus’ eyes as he saw he was beaten, ‘You…. You…’
‘Just drop it. NOW!’
Cole drew back the hammer on the .45 and Demus noted the deadly coldness in his eyes and let the axe slide from his grasp.
Cole heard the screen door creak open and Caitlin stepped nervously onto the porch. She looked good Cole noticed, she was clean and dressed well and it looked like her hair had been done.
‘Cole,’ she said, a sob catching the word in her throat. ‘I couldn’t stop him. I’m sorry.’
Angrily, Cole stepped forward and slapped Demus hard around the side of the head with the pistol barrel. Demus sidestepped and bent over offering a howl of pain and clutching at his head.
‘You fool,’ spat Cole, the adrenalin racing through his body at the narrow escape. ‘What’re you doing here? I warned you I’d kill you if I ever saw you here again.’
Demus looked up at him from his bent over position, he checked his fingers for blood and looked spitefully up at Cole.
‘You’re a walking dead man Junger, you just don’t know it. They’re coming for you and you’re the only one around here who’s going to get stiffed.’
Cole kicked him solidly in the outer thigh and Demus’ sore leg buckled under him and he fell to the ground with a sharp cry.
‘Who’s coming? Spit it out.’
‘Penevale’s coming,’ Demus cried out loudly in a gratified roar of spite.
Cole swung around as if he half expected to see Penevale standing nearby in the shadow of the cabin; he looked across once at Caitlin and then back down at Demus. Cole’s heart was full of sudden dread, all the fears he had held inside on their drive back had suddenly loomed into reality and his mind raced at the prospect of what was to come.
‘Start talking,’ he said. ‘You’d better explain how you’re out of prison and tell me how Penevale got involved.’
Demus sneered, ‘I ain’t saying nothing.’
‘Caitlin,’ Cole called. ‘You alone in the house?’
She nodded a silent affirmation.
‘Go back inside then. I’ll be with you in a moment.’
Slowly, with backward glances Caitlin eased herself into the house. When she was gone, Cole knelt down beside Demus and pressed the barrel of the Colt hard up against his knee. Demus began to tremble at the hard feel of the cold metal.
‘One slight pressure,’ Cole advised him, his fo
refinger delicately curling around the trigger. ‘That’s all it takes and I blow your kneecap away. Talk, or it happens.’
Demus’ lower lip quivered and his eyes darted nervously from side to side. Cole jabbed again with the pistol and Demus jumped. ‘Okay, okay. I’ll tell you.’
Cole sat back on his haunches, the Colt held loosely in his hand but still pointed at Demus who edged himself up on his elbows.
‘They know all about you,’ Demus sneered. ‘Everything. About the jewels, about how you killed that biker fellow and changed your name. I was in jail with Buck, the biker’s brother and Gil Gurns was there too. Man, he really hates you, and how. For all the time he’s done on your behalf and for his buddy dying in there. They’re coming for you, oh; they’re going to make you pay alright. Buck was real pissed when Penevale told him about that eye thing.’
‘Was it Carlo who let on?’
Demus nodded, ‘Prick lost his money and came crawling to Penevale hoping he’d make something if he gave you up. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut and when they capped that Barnard fellow he was wetting himself so hard to tell everything about you and your bitch.’
‘They know about Martha?’
‘Oh, yeah. They know all about that piece of work, when they get ahold of her….’
‘Who’s with Penevale?’
‘Enough. Enough of them to take you out.’
‘Who?’ stressed Cole, poking him with the pistol.
‘He’s got that black manservant fellow….’
‘Abe Bones?’
‘Yeah, that’s him; take your eyes out soon as look at you. There’s Gil and Buck. And Carlo, I suppose.’
‘So, six, plus you. Although you don’t amount to much, do you?’
Demus stared at him resentfully, ‘Can I get up now?’ he asked.
‘No. Where are they all?’
‘Oh, they’re around. I just come on ahead to see Caitlin. They’re looking for you out at your place in Rivers Bend.’
Cole was relieved; he had a breathing space. Not much but it was something.
