A voice came through the tannoy system in a loud and unapologetic tone. ‘All free porters report to ambulance loading. All free porters report to ambulance loading.’
Na’talia noticed there was no please in the request and then watched the security guard slam the phone back down onto the receiver.
‘This is bullshit! She heard him say to one of the nurses behind the reception desk. Removing her glasses the nurse nodded sympathetically then hurriedly waived him off as if to say ‘you better go if you know what’s good for you’.
‘Office politics,’ Na’talia thought. ‘It happens everywhere.’
Walking back over to Jay she carried him up to the main reception, discreetly flashed her CIA badge to the same nurse who had seemed understanding to the security guards plight and requested she get a doctor right away. Both Jay and Na’talia looked at the nurse expectantly. The nurse was Caucasian with thinning blonde hair – mostly turned grey - tied into a very neat bun and fixed together with a white bow and a dainty little hat that looked like it was made out of paper.
Na’talia figured the nurse to be around fifty - if not older - but also noticed she at least made an effort to look more than presentable in her average white and blue uniform. Respectfully asking the young man she was dealing with to hold on for a moment, the nurse stood up and moved in closer to counter to take a better look at Jay and Na’talia’s badge. Removing her glasses she took her time to scrutinise Na’talia’s face and read the information written in small print on her badge, which caused Na’talia to switch into a disgruntled, loud and impatient person.
‘Lady, this man has been shot.’ Na’talia stated. ‘And I am a goddamn federal agent. Now go get me a doctor before I have you taken in for obstruction.’
‘Obstruction of what?’ The nurse replied smartly.
‘Look,’ Na’talia shouted - slamming her hand down onto the counter. ‘You can make all of our jobs a lot easier if…’
‘What’s going on here?’ A voice interrupted.
Na’talia and Jay turned around to face the person with the query to see a man with a shiny bald head - wearing glasses, a blue shirt, red tie, brown corduroy pants and a brown leather pair of Clarks.
‘Well?’ The man enquired.
Neither Na’talia nor Jay replied as he was not speaking to them but to the nurse behind the counter.
‘She says she works for the police.’
‘Did you check her credentials?’ the man replied.
‘Yes.’
‘So why have you not followed procedure and called it in and given her what she wanted.’
‘Doctor Ponulack…’
‘I don’t want to hear it.’ He said dismissing her with a wave of his hand.
‘I’m sorry. Doctor Ponulack is it?’ Na’talia asked acting a little bit more reserved.
Innocently holding onto her hand the man replied ‘Yes. I’m a friend.’
Moving over to Jay’s aid he ushered them both through the same automatic doors the security guard had walked through and then down a short corridor that had different coloured arrows painted on the walls - all pointing in the same direction but all leading to different locations.
‘Your brother called me.’ He said finally.
‘When you say my brother,’ Na’talia replied. ‘You mean…’
‘Yes.’ Doctor Ponulack said with a smile.
Opening the door they had stopped in front of Na’talia and Jay saw Leon lying on a hospital bed with two female nurses attending to the hole in his ankle, made by Superior Upson’s fountain pen.
‘H, how, d, did you manage this?’ Na’talia asked – shocked and relieved at the same time.
‘I find myself asking that all the time.’ Jay said with a smile.
Before Leon replied to his sister he looked over at the doctor.
‘Everything ok Doc?’
‘So far so good?’ He said with an unsure smile. ‘I think we should fix you guys up as quickly as possible so you can be on your way.’
‘That’s fine by me.’ Jay said jokingly.
Doctor Ponulak took pleasure in reciting the events that surrounded his and Leon’s first encounter. While very entertaining for him, - because it made him look like a hero, it was a little shocking and quite upsetting to Jay that their association was made during an assignment Leon took seven years ago. Leon noticed Jay look at him with the same expression he had in the Italian restaurant back in Miami. He knew Jay would be upset but reasoned he had to understand certain things were kept from him for his own safety. Looking at his partner lying on the next bed over, Leon gave Jay the universal head-nod. ‘We cool?’ he said.
Jay cut his eyes away from Leon’s direction and started to laugh.
‘What else is there?’ he said scratching his head.
‘Do I know everything about you?’ Leon replied, - regrettably with way too much irritation.
‘Yes motherfucker. You do!’ Jay retorted. ‘From the very first day we met, I treated you like a brother and I never, ever kept anything from you.’
Not wanting to talk about the real issue Leon decided it would be quicker and easier to argue around it. ‘Dude. What’s the big deal… ?’ he said sitting up straight. ‘. . . I took an assignment and I didn’t tell you. Damn nigger! You’re talking like you’re my wife or something. May be you should’ve kept some shit to yourself.’ Leon stopped talking. He had said more than enough and he knew it. Jay had his eyes closed and was slowly shaking his head from side to side.
‘You being foreal niggah?’ Jay said coldly.
Leon let out a sigh. ‘My bad. That was uncalled for.’ he said. – Hoping Jay heard the sincerity in his voice. Not receiving a reply Leon continued ‘It’s just things…’
‘Nahh, its cool dawg.’ Jay cut in abruptly. ‘I understand how things role.’
‘No you don’t.’
‘Yeah I do. You don’t think I notice how you like to go off and do your own thing, make decisions you alone think is right, go over information and then formulate your own version of an answer instead of discussing shit… ?’
Leon was silent.
‘Dude, I know how things role. It’s been that way for years and I’ve gotten used to it.’
Jay’s words clawed on Leon’s conscience, making him feel guilty and at the same time unnervingly exposed. This was the second time - in the same amount of days, Jay had truthfully spoken his mind and given Leon’s character a good brushing up. Edging off his bunk, Leon tested how much pressure he could apply to his right leg by half walking, half wobbling over to Jay – who was now sitting up straight with his legs hanging off the side of the padded trolley the hospital called a bed.
With his fist hung out in the space in front of him, Leon waited for his friend to give him the customary pound to signify they were cool - with Doctor Ponulak and Na’talia looking on.
Jay had already decided to accept his friend’s gesture but left Leon’s lonely fist in dead space for a moment longer. Right before he motioned to tap Leon’s fist with his the satellite phone Leon had taken from the Superiors house started to ring inside the Gucci sports bag next to the side table beside the bed. Seeing as she had better movement Na’talia walked over to Leon’s bed and retrieved the bag for him.
‘They’re tracking you.’ warned the doctor.
Leon took the ringing phone from Na’talia and turned to hand it over to Jay. Leaning backwards and with his arms out and hands up, he said ‘it’s cool bro. I might be the older one, but you’re the one who has the brains for planning. You talk.’
With that, Leon hit the button on the phone to answer the call and said ‘Hello…’
‘Young Cub. I must say you three are quite a little team. Very impressed with what you did to my men. Can’t say I’m happy about it of course but impres
sed none-the-less.’
‘Glad to hear it. We’re just getting warmed up.’ Leon replied.
The guy on the other end of the line started to laugh. ‘Ok, look here you little pumped up son of a bitch. The way we work is that we make an offer once and that’s it. However I have graciously convinced my esteemed associates to extend you, your sister and Sean the same immunity your father, Edwards, Pyro and Aaron all used to enjoy. Think about it young cub. When you leave Ponulak at the hospital where are you going to go? Oh yes, we know where you are…’ The man paused to let out a chuckle ‘. . . Don’t be hard headed young cub. Make the right decision and have a chance to save not only your own life but your sister and friends.’ The man on the other end paused for a moment then said, ‘All you need to do is leave the bonds along with the codes - somewhere of your choosing, turn around and walk away.’
‘Come on, you expect me to believe that?’ Leon scoffed.
‘Do you have a choice… ?’ The voice replied, quickly followed with ‘. . . Tell you what. I’ll even tell you where your mother is living and I don’t mind telling you, living a very comfortable life.’
Leon lowered the phone from his ear, looked at Na’talia then turned to look at Jay before saying ‘Do you two trust me?’
Without hesitation Jay said ‘For sure.’ While Na’talia rested her hand on Leon’s shoulder and said ‘of course’.
Seeing he had the backing of his closest, he raised the phone back to his ear and said ‘You have a deal.’
‘Good, good. You made the right decision young cub. I knew you would. Do you have a TV nearby… ?’
Looking around the room that only held two beds a cupboard and a few monitors Leon replied ‘No. But I can find one.’
‘Good,’ the man replied. ‘Just to prove to you we’re keeping up our part of the bargain we’ve already worked on a cover for the death of our old friend Upson – That bastard - And your friend Edwards. Check the news when you have a chance.’ The man on the other end paused again waiting for Leon to say something but Leon had been in this position many times before and realised this was one of those times he should hold his silence. Realising he was not going to get anything in reply the man said ‘We have arranged for the Agency to hold Edwards and Upson’s funeral on separate days. Upson’s will be next week and Edwards the following. I know you would not want to miss your Chief’s sending off so think of it as the perfect opportunity to hand over what doesn’t belong to you.’
‘Yeah, we’ll think about it.’
‘Ok. You do that. But if you want to know about your mother, regardless of the bonds I suggest you are there respectfully early and in your black suit.’
Leon let out sigh then simply said ‘ok.’
‘Good.’ Came the reply. ‘Oh. Now I think I should tell you that Ponulack will have to be dealt with.’
‘What? Why?’ Leon pleaded.
‘Come, come…’ the voice said with a smile. ‘. . . If I’m not mistaken were you not the one assigned to the case involving his little girl? In your report you said he managed to get the drop on you - making it impossible for you to get rid of his daughter. He ran straight to a television network that was starving for ratings and ran the story as “Good old doctor foils would be burglar”. The man paused for a moment and then said, ‘. . . You think we don’t know the truth. We turned a blind eye but it is time for someone to answer for what you failed to do all those years ago. He is one of the few people left from the Aqua project and it is time that portion of US history gets filed away for good…’
‘You can’t do that?’ Leon said finally.
‘We can, and we will. I suggest you get out of there as more men will be coming for Ponulak shortly and I know you don’t want to be caught up in the crossfire.’
‘This isn’t fair.’ Leon shouted down the phone.
‘Fair young cub… ?’ The voice said with a questioning tone. ‘. . . Who said anything about being fair? We don’t need to be fair. We are Camistock.’
At that the man on the other end of the line ended the call.
‘What’s happening?’ Na’talia questioned.
‘Foreal, what’s not fare?’ Jay added.
Turning to Doctor Ponulak and with a solemn look on his face Leon mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry.’
Which the Doctor instinctively and correctly understood to mean his time was up. Doctor Ponulak nodded his head with a half a smile on his face. ‘You gave me seven extra years with my daughter.’
‘It’s not enough.’ Leon said defeated.
‘It was more than what I had. Now go, get outta here.’
Turning to the one remaining nurse in the room Doctor Ponulak ordered her to lead Leon, Jay and Na’talia out the private entrance.
Within minutes, they were back in the Yukon. From the back seat Jay asked. ‘Are we still going to meet up with Karim?’
Leon nodded.
‘What about Camistock?’ Na’talia enquired.
‘I told him we’ll give back the bonds and work for them.’
‘You said what? You can’t be serious?’ Jay retorted.
Leon quickly looked at Na’talia in the back seat with the use of the rear-view mirror then at Jay sitting beside him.
‘What do you think?’ Leon replied smugly.
Jay smiled in response, turned in his chair to get a better view of Na’talia in the back seat and said ‘You ready for this girl? Me and your brother don’t play when it comes to bringing down the bad guys.’
‘I know. I read y’all file.’ Na’talia replied with a smile.
CHAPTER 25
Within those two weeks Leon and Jay had become re-acquainted with some old friends and had made some invaluable new ones. Another plus was that the damage to Leon’s Ankle had healed quite a bit and had proved not to be as bad as first suspected. The pen had made its way through skin, flesh, and muscle but had missed the bone and tendons by millimetres, - which the private doctor (he visited in Port Charlotte), advised him should reduce his recuperation time by a few weeks. However in the meantime he had to rely on the use of crutches – which he hated to the tenth degree. But at least the final verdict was a marked improvement on the initial thought that passed through his mind at the time of the injury occurring. Jay was also on the mend. Along with Leon he was able to have a full review and appraisal of his wounds and was advised he should have pain free movement of his shoulder within a month or so. The both of them stood under a shaded tree a few feet away from the main crowd that had congregated into an uneven horse shoe shape around the open grave, waiting for Chief Edward’s casket to be lowered into its darkness. The funeral service and grave site was situated in a quiet area of Palm Dale located west of Hollywood. It was only 11:45am but the Miami sun was beginning to make way for its afternoon heat causing all those present to start feeling weary. Leon counted at least eighty people, - mostly FBI agents, mixed in with several other federal agencies and a few news reporters from T.V stations all dubiously owned by the same conglomerate.
Just like the voice had predicted, stories were quickly concocted to cover the real cause of death for both Chief Superior Upson and Chief Edwards. For Superior Upson his funeral was quickly planned for the following week. The official story was that he died in a freak accident while trying to put out a fire in his home. Camistock must have had a clean-up crew go in and remove any evidence of the Superior’s dealings with them. The only scenes shown on T.V were shots of the Superiors house, completely burnt to the ground but no sign of the bullet filled Mercedes, Excursions, Hummer’s or the twenty dead bodies that had been lying across the lawn when they left. The news unsurprisingly turned out to be a very big deal. Due to the Superiors position and political contacts his funeral was spectacle. Even the President and other officials of the Whitehouse were present. However, Leon did not care and neither did he a
ttend. His memories and feelings surrounding the Chief were much more important than Superior Upson. The Story of Chief Edwards passing was also issued nationwide but on a far smaller scale. He had supposedly passed away while on active duty due to a heart-attack. Leon would wince every time he heard the lie told by known news anchors faking remorse, all too willing to read whatever information they were given on the tele-prompter, as long as it kept the nation riveted to their faces.
‘It is a tragic loss.’ One CNN reporter commented.
‘He did so much for his country. He will be sorely missed.’ said another.
‘If only they knew the truth. The real truth.’ Leon thought.
Jay gently tapped Leon’s right crutch with his foot and drew his friend’s attention to a lone Caucasian man, walking towards the funeral from the other side of the gathered mourners. He was wearing sunglasses a navy blue suit, black shoes and a white shirt – unbuttoned at the top. He discreetly joined the back row of people standing on the left side of the grave, - which faced the tree Leon and Jay stood under; and sternly looked on as the Pastor finished his sermon and then motioned to the grave-side help, - dressed in there green sleeveless overalls with tattoos of guns and the words ‘Thug Life’ blazoned across their arms to lower the coffin. As far as Leon could tell there was no family present just past colleagues, most of whom Leon reasoned were all secretly wondering what really happened to Chief Edwards but were too scared to ask the right question to the wrong person and end up attending their very own eulogy.
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