He stopped to wait for the young man to reply and as he suspected the guy finally nodded his head.
With that, Leon’s dad put the phone back to his ear and said, ‘Ok. It’s a deal.’
He could hear the person on the other end repeat his words to someone else and after a few seconds a different person came onto the phone.
‘How are you doing Aaron?’
The greeting was warm, as if the person was smiling.
Leon’s father adjusted the phone on his ear, let out a sigh and said, ‘It didn’t need to come to this…’
The person on the other end cut him off in mid-sentence.
‘That’s not true Aaron…’ The man paused for a moment then said, ‘YOU were the one who said everything would work out, YOU were the one who said Black would be dealt with and that the FBI, CIA or whoever the fuck your friends are would back off and you said we would have our money back. But, 3 years later I still don’t have my money, Black is still alive and then I come to find out your son is a Chameleon - Just like you.’
‘No he isn’t!’ Leon’s father insisted.
The person on the other end of the phone started to laugh, said something under his breath in Spanish and then after clearing his throat asked ‘He isn’t?’
Aaron was about to explain Leon’s situation but the guy on the other end of the phone was not interested.
‘Aaron, I used to believe in you. How could I not. You saved my life on more than one occasion. But that was a long time ago, things are different now. We are both older and wiser and we, Well I - have responsibilities and at this time they far outweigh my loyalties to you. We’re not on the same team anymore. So, just to make sure we’re clear, I’m now responsible for retrieving my boss’s money. So what’s it going to be my friend? Do I get what’s owed? Or do I take your Son and his friend’s life as a down payment?’
Aaron took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. The young Arabian guy, who was still sitting in his chair, watched his associate’s face closely. He couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the phone but he could tell it was causing Aaron distress. He watched him whisper something down the phone and then without any indication ended the call. Aaron looked at the young man opposite him and said, ‘Does your father have a private jet at Miami International?’
The guy nodded.
‘Good.’ Aaron replied, ‘I need that plane prepped and ready for take-off within the hour.’
Surprised, the young man looked down at his watch and said ‘It’s just gone two-thirty in the morning. Does it really need to be ready now?’
No reply was given. Without saying another word Aaron just got up from the desk and walked over to the window to the left of the room. He parted the louvers with his fingers so he could look out across the New-York Skyline. He noticed the flashing lights of a passenger jet flying high above the coast and wandered if it was flying to Miami, which then made him think about Leon lying unconscious – ultimately because of him.
The Arabian guy was still watching him, waiting for an answer to his question. He allowed a few seconds to pass before clearing his throat in hopes of gaining Aaron’s Attention but it didn’t work. So he just sat in his chair and patiently waited for his associate to acknowledge him. If it was anybody else he would have taken it as a sign of disrespect and without hesitation have the person killed on site. But this was different. Leon’s father was not showing any disrespect.
Nearly 12 years ago the young man’s father - a Sultan of Dubai - was informed that his estranged son (who ran away to the US) had been turned into an informant by the CIA; and for information about the Dubai Royal Family he was given a new identity. Under the watchful eye of the Whitehouse, eventually – to those in know - he became Arif “Red Death” Karim. Aaron made the Sultan aware of the Governments plans to use his son and then when the time is right, blackmail the Sultan into getting the King and other heads of Dubai to hand the US all their oil and future infrastructure; in silence for not letting the world know that the person bringing the earth to near global war is a part of the Dubai Royal Family.
The Sultan never really understood why this so called EX-FBI agent was going against his own country’s protocol, but truth be told that was not their concern. They just did not want to be the scourge of the world. The Sultan’s Son had appeared on the grid a few times but now Leon’s father new exactly where he was. In fact Mr Karim would be coming to meet him.
Aaron finally turned away from the window and looked at the young man still waiting patiently in his seat. ‘Tell, your father that this is the best way.’
He paused, walk back to his chair and sat down heavily.
‘I know I said I would hand your brother over once I knew where he was but I need him for something first. Once I have what I want, tell your ole’ man I’ll have his son packaged and sent to his doorstep with a ribbon wrapped around him.’
The young man replied ‘Please forgive me, but just so we’re all clear, apart from the jet in Miami what else exactly do you need from us?’
Without hesitation Leon’s father replied, ‘You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll call your ole man and tell him directly. All you need to know is, right now I need you to get that plane ready.’
Without saying another word the Sultan’s son got up from his chair and motioned to his bodyguards to head for the office door. Before the young man exited the room he turned back around and said ‘Mr Jacobs I have to ask, why are you doing all of this? Why go against your country to protect our name and honour. We haven’t done anything for you.’
Aaron smiled.
‘Just look at it as being the right thing to do.’
The young man did not feel that fully answered his question but he took what he was given and waived Aaron good-bye. Once the door was closed and Aaron was on his own he picked back up his mobile phone and started to dial a number with a Miami Dade area code.
CHAPTER 11
While Leon’s father waited for the person on the other end of the phone to pick up, 1300 miles due south, Leon was starting to regain consciousness. He was unsure how long he was out for but he quickly realised he was tied to a chair. His hands were bound together behind his back and his feet were tied to the two front chair legs. He couldn’t open his eyes due to a tightly wrapped blindfold and talking was not possible as a piece of cloth was stuffed into his mouth. Leon struggled against the urge to fight the restraints, relaxed his muscles and sat as still as possible - and as he was trained, used his hearing to search out his surroundings. Surprisingly, the area was pretty quiet. Apart from the intermittent movement of feet and the slight tapping of machine-guns being moved around from hand to hand, the noise level was barely above a whisper. Leon reasoned he had been conscious for at least five minutes and nobody did anything so he decided to discreetly test the strength of the restraints around his feet. Slowly Leon tried to shuffle his feet away from each chair leg but his restraints barley moved an inch. Leon was going to try more time when his attention was drawn to the faint sound of bubble-wrap or some other material popping behind him. Leon leaned his head back and strained his ears to pick up every molecule of sound floating around in the air. A few seconds passed before he heard the popping again however when it returned Leon breathed a sigh of relief as it proved to be a familiar sound. It was the popping of chewing gum. Leon could tell that sound anywhere. For years Jay had the habit of popping gum under his tongue. He would do it a lot when he was nervous or in deep thought. Jay would say it was his way of training for the ladies but it was just something that irritated Leon when he heard it however tonight it came in handy because Leon now knew Jay was not only sitting right behind him but he was relatively ok. Leon was about to try the restraints around his feet again but before he could move he heard the main entrance of the warehouse open and three different sets of feet enter the room. About 5 ft. a
way Leon could tell that two people stopped in their tracks, while one moved in closer until they were directly in front of his chair. Leon took in a deep breath through his nose, tensed his muscles and waited for the impending blow but to his surprise it never came. Instead, someone reached down and gently removed the cloth from his mouth and blindfold from his face. The sudden burst of light battered Leon’s eyes causing him to wince and blink repeatedly. Slowly the haze over his eyes started to disappear however the pain coming from the back of his head was making it hard for him to focus on the person standing in front of him.
Leon clenched his eyes together for a few seconds and slowly opened them. - hoping the pain would subside. As he raised his head he saw Pyro, casually standing in front of him with his arms across his chest. He was dressed in a white linen suit, white canvas shoes and a white fedora hat. The two top buttons of his white shirt were open, showing scraggily, grey chest hair. Pyro had a large smile on his face and his polished white teeth looked bright next to his overly tanned skin. The last time they met, Leon remembered Pyro having a full beard however today he was clean shaven which made it easy to see a long thin scar, which started a little to the left of his bottom lip all the way up to his left ear. Pyro stood in front of Leon scrutinising him for a few moments before saying, ‘Que Pasa Mr Leon’ with a distinct Cuban accent.
Leon did not make any sign of trying to reply, just heaved a sigh and looked away defiantly. Pyro flashed Leon a broad smile and motioned to one of the soldiers who immediately walked over to Jay, releasing a punch to the side of his face. Jay let out a groan to which Pyro chuckled, looked into Leon’s squinted eyes and said ‘Mr Leon. Believe me, I don’t want to hurt you or your friend but please understand, me and my familiar do not like liars, we don’t like people who try to be someone they’re not…’ Pyro paused, gave Leon another smile then under his breath said ‘And most of all. I DO NOT LIKE THE FED’s!’
Leon stayed motionless. Pyro was starting to get annoyed by Leon’s reluctance to show any emotion so once again he signalled to the soldier to repeat the previous command. The second punch was ruthless. From the moment the strike connected Jay’s whole body leaned over as far as the restraints would allow. The sound alone; of the soldier’s fist hitting Jay’s face caused Leon to draw within himself. He could hear Jay groaning, drawing in as much air as he could through his nose. Finally seeing some sort of feeling register on Leon’s face Pyro laughed however he was no longer interested in Leon as his attentions were now focused on Jay. Without saying another word Pyro walked passed Leon and stood up in front of Jay’s metal chair. Gripping his face tightly Pyro removed Jay’s blindfold and said ‘Young man, I’m going to ask you a question and I need you to tell me the truth. I’ll know if you’re lying, so I suggest you choose your words carefully.’ Pyro paused, released his grip on Jay’s face and then removed the cloth from his mouth. Pyro could tell Jay was about to say something but he cut him short.
‘No my friend. You don’t talk yet.’ He said. ‘First I ask you the questions.’
He paused again and motioned for someone to bring him a chair. Within a few seconds Chocolate had limped over and placed a metal chair right behind him. After undoing the single button on his suit jacket, Pyro took his seat, crossed his legs and with a sly smile on his face looked into Jay’s eyes and asked ‘Who do you work for?’
Jay didn’t answer. Just closed his eyes and rolled his head between his shoulders. Pyro smiled, sat up straight in his chair and said ‘Young man I admire your fight. But believe me you won’t win. If you were smart you would understand your fight is not with me. You should have left me alone and when I told you know deal you should have accepted that as my way of being nice…’ He paused to give Jay another smile then said ‘So, I’ll ask you again. Who do you work for?’
Jay finally opened his eyes and then after letting out a long sigh burst out laughing. He was not trying to play any reverse psychology in order to throw Pyro off; neither was he trying to give Leon some secret code. He was just strangely amused with how things had turned out. Three days ago, he was working a case undercover for the FBI and now he was tied to a metal chair, maybe minutes away from getting his head blown off by Leon’s fake girlfriend’s father. All with the knowledge that this whole situation was instigated by the very same people he was working for. Jay started to shake his head and then under his breath said ‘This is Crazy!’
‘Crazy you say… ?’ Pyro repeated in a questioning tone. ‘You don’t know what crazy is my friend.’
Instantly Pyro’s expression transformed from a full teeth smile to one of share menace. Jay watched Pyro as he eased himself to the edge of his chair and leaned forward so his face was no more than a couple inches away from his. He did not say anything, just stared into Jay’s eyes for a moment. Then as if he had finally made a decision he quickly stood up and without warning ploughed his fist into the left side of Jay’s jaw causing his whole head to swivel to the right. Jay had been in many fights and had taken some serious beatings but the last two punches he endured were by far the hardest he had been hit in his life. The last punch from Pyro was so hard and fast Jay did not actually see it coming however the stiffness in his neck, the tenderness in his face and the pain in his head was all he needed to as prove of what just happened.
‘That’s not bad ole’man.’ Jay said smiling.
A little stunned at Jay’s cavalier attitude, Pyro took a step back and tilted his head to the side; - as if to get a better look at Jay and in a low voice said ‘What did you say?’
With a broad bloody smile on his face Jay returned Pyro’s stare and replied ‘I SAID. That’s not bad, for an old man.’
For the first time Pyro visibly looked shocked. Realising he was not going to get anywhere by inflicting pain, (Leon and Jay had been trained well) He started to feel desperate.
‘That’s it!’ He shouted. ‘I tried to be nice, I tried to give you both a chance to tell the truth, but Oh No, that’s too much for you two. I guess you are what you are.’
Pyro paused, turned to Chocolate and held out his hand which she immediately filled with a High-Power ‘Mach 3’ hand gun. The lb. self-reloading pistol’s chrome casing reflected the warehouse’s lighting like a mirror does in the sun. Jay squinted slightly as Pyro pointed it towards his head.
‘My friend, it is time to say good bye.’ He said smiling.
Jay turned his head slightly to the left and in a low voice said, ‘Nate, Are we still in round 2, or is this round 3?’
‘My bad…’ Leon replied ‘the plan looks kinda fucked up, but don’t worry. We still got this.’
‘ENOUGH… !’ Pyro interrupted, hearing Leon’s low murmuring. ‘You two piece of shits don’t know who you messed with.’
With that Jay lowered his head once again, closed his eyes and waited for the sound of the first bullet; however what he heard was profanity. ‘SHIT!’ one of the soldiers exclaimed.
Followed by another say ‘What the fuck is going on… ?’
Then three to four other men repeat the first phrase over and over again.
As Jay opened his eyes he saw Pyro, Chocolate, Cinnamon and all the army men swarmed in tiny red dots. They were all scurrying around Pyro with their heads and weapons trained up at the windows that went all the way around the top of the warehouse. Leon was still carrying a smile, somewhat relieved that the dark figures he had seen form behind the high windows finally made themselves out to be on his side. The soldiers that were standing around Pyro looked worried. Despite having already been paid nearly two hundred and fifty thousand dollars each for their full security services, they were starting to question if the money was worth it. Nowhere in the contract did it mention suicide however going up against an enemy that had a distinct height advantage would be just that. For the gun men outside it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Pyro was about to give the order to fi
re their weapons but his speech was muted by the high pitch ringing of his mobile. Breathing in deeply, Pyro removed the phone from his inside pocket and answered.
‘Who is this… ?’ he urged.
After a short pause he frowned and repeated ‘Who… ?’
Jay noticed whatever the person had said on the other end caused the colour to drain away from Pyro’s face. Tan still intact but a much lighter version. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets and his mouth had fallen open. He was scarred, really scared however the feeling did not last. Within seconds Pyro regained his composure and started smiling again.
‘I don’t believe it. Is it really you… ?’ He said. ‘I thought you were dead?’
Pyro listened to the persons reply then said, ‘So I’m guessing it’s you outside… ?’
After another short pause Pyro let out a laugh that seemed to come from way deep down in his gut.
‘Shit. Who would have guessed?’ He said. ‘So what are you now, Detective? Special Agent? I knew it! I knew Aaron was still working with you guys all along.’ Pyro paused for moment then with a shrug of the shoulders said ‘Aaron almost had me. You Chameleons never change. Well my old friend, you’re too late. You might have me surrounded but I surround Aaron’s son. You can tell him he brought this all on himself.’
Hearing Pyro’s words caused Leon to wish he was the one tied up in Jay’s chair, so he could at least see Pyro’s face. Leon was trying to come up with the answers to the questions that were flying through his mind however his thoughts were cut short by the words
‘You think I won’t do it. Try me!’
Jay watched Pyro shout his challenge down the phone then point his Mach 3 pistol in his direction. Pyro’s finger started to pull back on the trigger when without warning the warehouse was filled with the sound of broken glass, two bullets hitting flesh, two cries of pain, glass hitting the floor, followed by two bodies falling to the ground – Chocolate and Cinnamon. Seeing both his bodyguard’s lying on the floor motionless, Pyro retracted his initial intention of killing Leon and Jay and quickly raised the phone back to his ear and said ‘What is it do you want?’
The Desert Lion's True Colours Page 13
