Robin Hood Visits Brazil

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  Chapter 10

  Nancy had booked the entire top floor of the Hilton for the team. Brad had a suite. The remainder of the rooms were divided up, or left unused. For the time being, Tony and Angie would stay at the hotel while a new office was found and occupied to accept a large computer room with insulation.

  After all was logistically set up, a large old colonial house was leased for the duration of the stay in Belem. Nancy and Wade were pounding the sidewalks trying to find an ideal office location near a warehouse on the port. By the end of the second day, they'd located an ideal location right on the port where goods or supplies could be off loaded being stored in a large warehouse.

  They used Tony's business name: Security Import/Export Inc. to note the location and for signing a five year lease. Brad told them to hire a gang of construction workers to build a sound proof computer room complete with security devices installed and overseen by the local CIA agents.

  Five days later Billy and Alice were happily connecting up their new hardware. While working they jokingly told Lord Perez thank you for purchasing all this nice computer equipment. The irony was that Lord Perez bought the computer system that would destroy him financially.

  The new office was an empty space that didn't have any walls or dividers. There was one room in the back that could be used for privacy and that was the place Tony, Angi and Brad had a talk with Amanda Zeda. Tony held the note written by Felix identifying who she was. After the introductions were made and Amanda had told her story, Angie thought God had delivered a gift from heaven. Angi asked, "Amanda how serious are you to avenge your father's death?"

  "I'm 100% serious and ready to commit body and soul to see that man in hell. Tell me what I need to do and I'll do it," said Amanda with conviction.

  "Are you willing to use your body to work your way inside his domain," asked Angie.

  "I've no experience using my body, but I'm a quick learner."

  "We need information from his office. In particular a map locating his regional sites with the person in charge; such as this Bruno guy who murdered your father. By the way Amanda, Bruno won't be bothering anyone anymore as he was deemed expendable by our staff."

  "I thank whoever took care of that evil devil. I'll send word to my family soonest I can."

  "Amanda, from the map I see you lived not far from the main Amazon River. I'm wondering if you know a site where a group of say five men could hide undercover. If not maybe you know somebody who can be trusted to guide us along the Amazon for locations of camps," asked Brad.

  "I know of two places that would serve as a camp unseen from river traffic. I'm sure there're lots more. My brother Remon has a friend who runs the river as a transportation service. I can send word to have him meet one of your people in Manaus at my aunt's café where I talked with Felix."

  "About how long does it take to send word from here to your family," asked Brad.

  "Not long. I'm guessing two or three days at the most. We natives realize how important a message is so we do our best to see it taken care of. Just tell me what day and what time and my brother will be there," said Amanda.

  "Okay guys, if there aren’t any more questions of Amanda, she and I need some time for girl talk," said Angie.

  "Before you leave today Amanda, let's chat again," said Tony. Both he and Brad left the two women alone. Brad's heart went out to Amanda knowing what she would be going through in the next few months. Also she'd have to be real careful not to be caught spying. Billy needed to set her up with some hi tech communication device that could be hidden from prying eyes. Actually, a code needed memorizing for computer use to obscure e-mail sites.

  Brad liked that idea and walked the new computer room where he and Alice were playing with their new toys. Billy gave Brad a chin up nod saying hello as he had both hands busy hooking up God knows what. "Billy and Alice, I need a few minutes to bounce something off you guys. How about a walk on the dock area for lunch?"

  "I can always eat boss. Give me an idea of what you have in mind so I can think about it," said Billy.

  "We need a computer code for a spy inside Lord Perez's office. He must have a map of his regions with marked locations for responsibility. We need a verbal code to cover the spy in case someone gets curious about her computer use."

  "We got it," said Billy with a nod from Alice. "Call us when you're ready to chow down."

  Brad and Rocky went for a walk to think about what had transpired and what was coming up that was first or second on the to do list. Actually he wondered what was taking Mike so long to get here. Brad realized Mike was Mike and he'd be here when he was good and ready. Meanwhile, his father had sent mail saying his package had arrived. It would be ready for pickup the next day. Things were going along very well, he thought.

  ***

  "What do you mean Bruno is dead. How did he die? Talk to me or you'll follow suit," screamed an irate Lord Perez.

  "Lord, he was executed with a bullet into the head. His two men were killed the same way: shot with a pistol into their heads while they slept. We've no idea who or why. I'm just reporting the facts Lord," said a shaky security man.

  "Okay, I'm calmed down now. Let me get it straight, in Bruno' house somebody came in while he was sleeping and shot him in the head. What about the cash he always has this time of month," asked Perez.

  "No cash was found anywhere. That doesn't mean the locals took the cash and we guess that whoever killed him robbed him at the same time. Our books show he would have had around 20,000 Real with him. We sent some men to talk to the locals and nobody knows anything. Of course the locals aren't going to talk to us or tell us the truth. We did hear a whisper that one of Robin Hood's merry men did the deed."

  "Who the hell is Robin Hood, I'll be damned if I know. Check it out on the computer stupid and give me a full report on this guy Robin Hood. If I can find the bastard I'll cut his balls off."

  "I'm on it Lord and Calo called in worried about his life being in danger."

  "Tell him it was a random thing and not to worry. Now get going on this asshole Robin Hood. Put some of our best men on his trail in Manaus. If word gets out, the farmers will panic."

  After security left he pondered the killing. Lord Perez didn't get where he was by being stupid and ignoring what was in front of him. The killing of his three men by execution mob style was clearly out of place here in Brazil. There were two things he needed right now, one was a stiff drink of Papas Pillar and some good head. He frowned thinking about that new girl who just didn't seem to put forth an effort to please him. However, the rum sounded good while waiting for security to run a check on this Robin Hood guy.

  He was sipping his fine rum when security came in to report on Robin Hood. "Lord, you're not going to believe this but Robin Hood is a mythical person from six hundred years ago in England. His band of 'merry men' stole from the rich and gave to the poor. The guy was an outlaw, but a local hero. I guess Lord; we've got an imitator playing the good guy. I'll check further to see what I can find out about this jokester."

  "Ask around if anybody received a lot of money suddenly in Bruno's town," said Lord Perez.

  "I'll send a chopper with some soldiers to twist some arms in Porto Velho."

  "You do that and meanwhile see if you can find me a new girl."

  ***

  Felix was relaxing in Manaus waiting for number 3 to arrive. Whymare was from Africa, but not so dark. He used sun block so he wouldn't turn black. He and Felix had become good friends over the last couple years. Felix requested he be sent as he knew Lord Perez would send some soldiers to see what happened to Bruno. What the soldiers didn't know was Felix and Whymare would be waiting for them.

  Whymare showed up just about dark. They took off immediately for Porto Velho and planed on hiding out at the widow's place like before. Felix thought the soldiers would show around 9 am the next day. It was commonly known his soldiers flew from place to place in a helicopter if time was important.

  Felix and
Whymare drove up in his jeep. They found a place to hide the jeep and walked the remaining short distance to town. The widow woman was pleased to see him again. She once again fed both of them well. Felix told her his plan and she said the locals would help where they could. "I'm sure they will take somebody from the town and torture him or her for the truth. Pass the word around that all they know is the guys name was Robin Hood. When all the soldiers are distracted from watching the torture, my friend and I will take the soldiers out. Now, I must warn you and all of the town's people that danger lurks as when word hits Lord Perez that he lost a helicopter and soldiers, he'll go ballistic," said Felix.

  The next morning the widow woman made a fine breakfast for her two boarders. She'd spread the word of what Felix had told her to say to the townspeople. The reply was that they would do their best.

  Like a lot of towns that relied on markets for sales of goods all had a square in town. In the case of Porto Velho the square was large enough for a helicopter to land in. Also usually just off the square was the church. The church is where Felix and Whymare hid out waiting for the soldiers to arrive.

  Felix estimate of the arrival time wasn't far off. Just shortly after 9 am the sounds of rotor blades beating the air reached the ears of the townspeople. Felix and Whymare had Ak-47s and of course hand pistols. This was war and the war was against the drug lords. Both men were set and ready, but Felix cautioned Whymare to wait until he gave the signal when the soldiers would all be watching the punishment of an unfortunate person being made to talk.

  The chopper landed blowing dust and vegetable stalls flying. People covered their eyes and noses. Others took off for the jungle to hide. Those that stayed behind were mostly kids and old people.

  The blades slowly came to a halt and four soldiers got out including an unarmed pilot. The armed men were dress in camo gear sporting a full complement of weapons. The leader wore a red beret and carried a three foot long whip. He had a habit of slapping his leg with it. He looked around to choose a victim and found a middle aged man sitting alongside his display of vegetables.

  The whip man quickly walked over and barked at the soldiers to stand the man up as he had some questions for him. Two soldiers yanked him up and held the man by both arms with one soldier on each side. "Where is this Robin Hood guy that I'm hearing about? Start talking or I'll cut your tongue out," screamed Whip Man who then struck the guy across the face leaving a wicked red mark.

  "After the pain subsided the man said, "I don't know any Robin Hood, but the word is he is going to kick all you drug bastards out of our town and country. That's all I know."

  "Take him and sit him down on a chair in the middle of the square. Tie him up so I can work him over. I want all the people to watch this guy die slowly," said Red Beret.

  One soldier found a wooden chair while another secured some rope. In a short time the man was tied to the chair with his shirt being torn off him. "Now, tell me where I can find Robin Hood," said Red Beret as he laid a red welt across the man's chest.

  Felix saw all three soldiers were watching the action. Felix used his left hand to show he'd take the guy on the left and Whymare the guy on the right. Felix said he'd take the guy in the middle while Whymare shot the whip man in the ass. Felix gave the 1,2,3 and both fired at the same time with the second shot from Felix a fraction a second later taking the third soldier out. The Red Beret went down clutching his back side dropping his whip. Both "merry men' rushed out the door to make sure whip man didn't go for his side arm. Felix pointed his Glock at the leader telling him not to move or die.

  "Well Whip Man, let's see how you like it when you're on the receiving end of the whip," said Felix as Whymare cut the man loose from the chair. Then both men sat a wounded leader on his backside in the chair. They tied him up and stripped him down to the waist. Felix handed the whip to the man who just a few minutes ago was sitting in the chair being whipped.

  The man drew back and ripped the whip across the leaders face. He howled in pain. Felix asked him to hold on for a minute. "Hey tough guy. How's it feel being on the other end of the whip?"

  "I've got money, let me go. I'll pay good."

  "You wanted to know who Robin Hood is. Well I'm not him, but I'm one of his soldiers or 'merry men.' I'm going to let this man whip the hell out of you and if you live, you can fly back to Lord Dickhead and report to him what happened. I'll bet you're dead meat either way. Now where is that money you just mentioned?"

  "It's in the chopper under the seat. We're supposed to pay our gas bill later today," said a whimpering man who was on the verge of tears. Felix gave the man with the whip the go ahead and soon Red Beret was dripping blood from countless whip marks.

  Felix found a case full of cash. They tossed the still alive whip man into the helicopter and the hired pilot took off for home base.

  Felix took the bag into the church. The priest counted it with drool running off his greedy lips. The total was 100,000 Real or about $45,000 USD. Felix orders the priest to give each member in the town 50 Real and ordered each townsperson to keep their mouths shut. It would be best if they went to the big city of Manaus to spend the money. To the church he gave 5000 Real. The rest he would take back for their war chest.

  It was time for both to return to Belem and report in. Both knew Lord Perez would have a shit fit after hearing the story direct for his wounded man. Well, this was war and war takes no prisoners. Robin Hood had made his move and there was a lot more to come besides this small skirmish.

  ***

  Back at the warehouse, Nancy reported she'd found an old giant colonial house and had leased it for five years. It needs a lot of work, so a team of workers set to it. Wade did the design and oversaw the workers. Meanwhile, Billy, Alice, Angie and Amanda worked out a code for Amanda to use spying on the Lord Perez affairs. In their free time, Angie and Amanda had class with the ways and means of satisfying a horny man. At the end of a week, Amanda felt confident to send her 'resume' to Lord Perez.

  Angie had taken her to a hairdresser and to a better than average clothing store for her dress. Her dress needed just the right pretentiousness, but not overly ostentatious. In addition a high price hooker was hired to put the icing on Amanda's cake.

  Brad finally heard from Mike. He was in Manaus at a high end hotel. "Nice to hear from you Mike. Where might you be these days," asked Brad.

  "I'm kind of partial to big cities and I thought that Manaus fit my program to a T. I'm registered here under Mike Brimstone from Chicago. If you could give me directions I can be there in an hour or so, by chopper. I presume you've a place for a chopper to land?"

  "Our hotel has a landing pad on top. We're on the top floor of the Hilton. I'll meet you in my suite."

  "On my way. Have Billy and Alice good maps of Amazonas," asked Mike.

  "Everything you need will be waiting for your arrival," said Brad.

  Chapter 11

  Lord Perez stood by "Whipman"- Jorge's bedside. Jorge could barely speak as his mouth was all cut up. He only had one eye left as the other one was so badly damaged it had to be removed. The rest of his body, including his backside, was in severe pain.

  "Tell me what happened and be quick about it. I hate hospitals as they stink to high heaven."

  Mostly through the corner of his mouth, Whipman told his story with embellishments from his bravery. Perez took it with a grain of salt. What he wanted to know was if it was the same Robin Hood guy as before. "I really think so Lord. There were two of them with AK-47s. They killed my three soldiers, but left the pilot alone. I was shot in the backside then tortured for where I'd hid the money for gas. After that they let all the townspeople have a go at me with my whip."

  "Serves you right Jorge carrying a whip. Give me a description of those two guys."

  "To me they looked average Brazilians; expect one was darker than the other. They spoke a mix of Portuguese and English. The last I saw they were walking into the church with our bag of money."

  What did th
ey say about Robin Hood," asked Lord Perez.

  "The one guy said he wasn't Robin Hood, but one of his 'merry men.'"

  "Consider yourself retired Jorge. You can monitor one of our security screens when you recover."

  Back in his office, Lord Perez was livid and his forehead looked like a road map with veins sticking out ready to explode. He had four of his top lieutenants in front of his sparkling desk. He said, "Find this Robin Hood guy and his 'merry men' now. I want their balls hanging off my wall. Send a team to forcefully question everyone on the Negro and Solimoes rivers. I want answers and I want my money back. Snoop around to see who received any money lately. Leave the church alone, I'll take care of those folks. Oh, and get a hold of Pedro and have him come see me pronto."

  After his men left, Lord Perez sat thinking about what the hell was going on. He took out a legal pad and a shiny new pencil. He wrote down what he thought about: Bruno kills a farmer. Bruno and two of his men die shots to the head. Some money taken. Nobody in his town knows anything. Jorge flies with three soldiers to get some answers. Pay gas bill 100,000 Real. Three men killed and Jorge almost whipped to death. Left alive to tell the story of Robin Hood and his 'merry men.' He sat back with the notebook in hand staring at it. This is not random, he thought. Somebody is trying to make war upon me. It was a rush of fear that ran up and down his back with the idea of how to fight a war against an unseen enemy. It was time to admit he needed some help; but from where and from whom? What he really wanted again, when the stress hit was both a drink of rum and a really good blow job. He called his head of security and told him to advertise for an executive secretary with salary negotiable.