tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86237965850741923342024-03-07T23:31:05.876-08:00Running HomelessAl Lamandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14826587441856646551noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623796585074192334.post-19855698613777516162011-06-13T07:37:00.000-07:002011-06-13T07:37:57.885-07:00Running Homeless Chapter One<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22pt; line-height: 200%; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">RUNNING HOMELESS</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22pt; line-height: 200%; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Al Lamanda</span></b></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;"><br clear="all" style="page-break-before: always;" /></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Copyright © 2011 by Al Lamanda</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">All rights reserved.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">[Add trademark disclaimer for Crown <place w:st="on"><state w:st="on">Victoria</state></place>.]</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">First Edition</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">First Printing: July 2011</span></div><div class="Printing" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Published in 2011 in conjunction with Tekno Books and Ed Gorman.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Set in 11 pt. Plantin.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent3" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Printed in the <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">United States</country-region></place> on permanent paper.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (attached)</span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span><br />
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</div><h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dedication</span></h2><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">For Ethan and Lois.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span><br />
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</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">One</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Bone-dry heat</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">rose<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>off the desert floor to slap you in the face. Even at night, the heat was oppressive. Breathing was difficult, as if trying to suck air through a thick wool blanket. He took shallow breaths, which had a calming effect on his mind and body. Sweat, which should have been pouring off his skin, wasn’t flowing. That’s how you got into trouble in the desert. Sweat evaporates on contact with the air, creating the illusion that the body isn’t losing fluids. If you don’t drink enough water to replenish those lost fluids, heatstroke overtakes you, bakes the brain, and death soon follows.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">From his perch behind the wire fence that surrounded the small, private airport, he took several sips of water from a quart bottle hung on his belt. He wanted to smoke, but resisted the urge. At night, even the tiny flame of a match could be seen for hundreds of yards. He settled for a stick of spearmint gum instead. As he chewed, he looked at the massive stainless-steel Rolex on his wrist. It was painted black to prevent reflecting light at night. The time was twelve-forty a.m. If the plane were on time, it would land in twenty minutes. If it were on time. Flying at night was a difficult enough task; flying a small aircraft under the radar on a moonless night had to be particularly trying for even a highly skilled pilot.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He picked up the night-vision binoculars, turned on the power and used them to scan the immediate area surrounding the airport office. Harnessing a minuscule amount of light, the binoculars allowed him to see in near-total darkness, although with a green tint. He remembered from somewhere that the color green is the easiest color for the human eye to see in darkness. With or without the binoculars, he knew that the human eye was sensitive to movement at night. That was why you could see a mouse scurrying across the floor in a dark room. If the mouse stood still in the shadows, chances are you would never see it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">However, mice were not on his menu tonight. Humans were. Specifically, men. If the intel was correct, six of them. Four arriving in the plane, two on the ground, probably inside the office right now, drinking coffee.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He scanned the area around the office, the hangar, and the runway, but saw no movement. He trained the binoculars on the office windows, but if the men were inside, they stayed away from the windows. That was smart. That’s what he would have done. Minimizing the risk until the last possible moment enhanced the chance for success. Exposure, even brief, reduces the success ratio. You never know who might be watching. Waiting. Planning an ambush.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He glanced at his watch again. Seventeen minutes to the hour. If the plane were on time, in a few minutes he should hear the faint sound of the engines. He heard a noise and used the binoculars to trace it to the source. A hangar door was opening. A man stepped out, visible in faint outline. The man was smoking a cigarette. He could see the red ember glow brightly as the man inhaled.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The man was confident he wasn’t at risk. That was a serious mistake. Knowing that risk was always present, was always just around the next corner, separated the amateur from the professional and the living from the dead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">At least in this line of work.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">His line of work.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He concentrated on seeing the man’s face in the binoculars. The man was about forty, with thick, heavy features, a strong chin and receding hairline. The man inhaled on the cigarette again and the end glowed bright red.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He lowered the binoculars and focused his eyes on the tiny red dot in the dark. If he had a high-powered rifle with a good scope, he could have put one right through the center of the man’s skull.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He stared at the red dot, fascinated by the tiny spark of light against a backdrop of black.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">She said, “How do you feel tonight, John?” Her voice was soothing, a constant like an old friend.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He was in the serving line at the mission in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">San Diego</city></place>. Holding a tray of hot food, he looked at her from where she stood opposite the counter. “Fine,” he said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“That’s good,” she said. “Don’t forget, you have a doctor’s appointment at four.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Am I sick?” he said</span></i><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more a question than a concern.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">She smiled. “No, John, you’re not sick. It’s just your yearly physical. We need to keep you in the pink if you’re to keep helping out around here.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He nodded. “That reminds me. We need at least eight more bundles of shingles for the west roof. I’ll be out by tonight.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Write down what you need and I’ll see to it that it gets delivered,” she said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He nodded and walked away to an empty table by the window where he could look out while he ate. As usual, the sun shone brightly and the temperature stayed right around eighty degrees, although the breeze coming off the ocean kept things comfortable while on the roof.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Outside the window, some men from the mission hung around after eating lunch. Their clothes were seedy, as were their hair and beards. Not that his own clothes weren’t just as used, but he laundered them regularly in the mission laundromat and did his best not to rip or wear them out. If something happened to be torn, he repaired it with a sewing kit stored under his bed. He shaved often, three or four times per week. He wore his graying hair short in almost a crew cut, not to be fashionable but because it was easier to deal with in the heat.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Spending so much time shirtless on the roof lately had tanned his skin and given his face a hardened, leathery appearance. It made him look mean and angry, he thought, although neither was true. He didn’t feel mean at all, though he tended to stay aloof and he could be perceived that way by others living in the mission. Angry wasn’t even on the table. How could he be angry about anything when he couldn’t remember a single thing about his life?</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Amnesia, they said. Caused by blunt force trauma, they said. He may or may not regain partial or full memory, they said. In the meantime, he didn’t know one damn thing about his life. Not who he was, how he lost his memory, if he had a family or how he arrived at the mission. Just what they told him, which wasn’t much. That he was taken by ambulance from San Diego General to the mission after a month’s stay a year ago. How he arrived at SDG, neither he nor anybody else had a clue.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">She was suddenly at his table. A small notepad and pen were in her hands. “You said eight bundles of shingles?” she said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“That should finish off the west roof,” he said. “I won’t know about the south roof until I get up there.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">She nodded and scribbled on the pad. “Anything else?” He watched her write. She had beautiful hands, sensual fingers. He’d read or heard somewhere that you could tell a great deal about a woman from her hands. What that was, he had no idea.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Maybe another dozen boxes of nails for the roofing gun,” he said. “And knee pads, the kind made for roofers. It’s rough on the knees up there.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">She made another note. He watched her write on the pad. She was a striking-looking woman of thirty-five or six, with shoulder-length dark hair and piercing, coal-black eyes. The tip of her tongue poked out between her full lips as she moved the pen along the paper. It was very sensual to watch.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“I’ll take care of this today,” she said. “Just don’t forget your doctor’s appointment.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Four o’clock,” he said. “I won’t forget, Julie.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">She smiled at him</span></i><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He suddenly became aware that the red ember of the cigarette was no longer visible. He scanned the area with the binoculars, but the man was gone. Probably returned to the office. He glanced at his watch. Twelve minutes to one. As he removed the wrapper from another stick of gum, he heard the faint sound of a plane engine. He scanned the dark skies, but was unable to pick it up just yet. Judging from the sound, he figured it was ten minutes from its runway approach.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Then, suddenly, the runway lights came on and the landing strip was a beacon in the dark, deserted desert canyons. He didn’t look at the lights because they would ruin his night vision, and it would take a good half hour to get it back. Instead, he focused on the airport office. A light had come on and he could see the outline of two men at the window. They, like him, were waiting for the plane to land.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">But for altogether different reasons.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">James Farris read all the reports several times before making the decision to call in his second-in-command, Ben Freeman. At sixty-two years of age, Farris had grown cautious about who he delegated assignments to. With just ten months to his retirement, Farris had spent the past year grooming Freeman as heir to his throne, so Freeman drew assignments only when classified a Level Five priority, which this one was.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Farris picked up a file, opened it and glanced at the contents one more time. Behind him, bright sunlight shone through the window that faced the <place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">Washington</placename> <placetype w:st="on">Monument</placetype></place>. In another hour, he would close the drapes or bake from the heat. Even with the AC on high, that sun on your neck baked the skin raw.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He closed the file and made a small notation in the top right-hand corner. The notation was in code, a code that only he and Freeman could decipher. When Freeman took Farris’ chair, he would create his own personal code, but for now, Farris’ code was the word of the day.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Ten more months and his life’s work would come to fruition. His pension, though substantial, would come from some obscure government agency no one had heard of or would question, not even Congress. He had stocks, bonds, investments and a personal 401(k) in excess of a million, more than enough to make his retirement years comfortable. The thing was, he wanted to go out on top with one more major assignment under his already impressive belt. The fighter’s mentality, he supposed. More likely, his ego.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The file on his desk was just such an assignment.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Ben Freeman arrived exactly on time. Farris expected no less. At forty-six, Freeman stood six foot two and had the wide build of a well-conditioned athlete. The only concession to Freeman’s age that Farris could see was a slight graying of his thick, dark hair around the ears.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Freeman took the chair opposite the desk. Farris said, “I’ll come right to the point on this one, Ben. Extreme prejudice is called for, nothing less. Understood?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“What’s the mission?” Freeman said quietly.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Farris spoke freely. His office was above reproach, above eavesdropping and the usual <place w:st="on"><state w:st="on">Washington</state></place> leaks and bullshit. “The government of an unnamed country in <place w:st="on">South America</place> finances its military through drug trafficking into the States. DEA has been working in conjunction with the FBI and Homeland Security to shut this operation down. Twice a month, a plane delivers shipments of cocaine and heroin to a private airport in <place w:st="on"><state w:st="on">New Mexico</state></place> that operates as a training school. Two men own the school and are the contacts for the cartel that makes the delivery. Make it known that the operation is closed and that any additional activity by this government on American soil will not be tolerated.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Extreme prejudice,” Freeman said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Yes.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Timeline?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“The next shipment is in exactly two weeks.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Freeman nodded, then said, “I’ve used John Tibbets twice since his relocation to <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">San Diego</city></place>. I think he can handle this job.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Alone?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“An extraction team to shut him down, but otherwise, yes, alone.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“He’s still that good?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“He’s aging like fine wine, James,” Freeman said. “Plus, if something should go wrong, it’s the mad ravings of a homeless amnesia victim.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“But, nothing will go wrong.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“No.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Contact Doctor Monroe and have him begin prep work on Tibbets immediately,” Farris said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Should I go along as part of the extraction team?” Freeman said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Farris said. “You’re not a field agent anymore and besides, if the extraction team is good, you won’t be needed.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Freeman nodded. “I’ll give <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> a call right away.”</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The twin-engine propeller plane came in low against the backdrop of dark sky. The man at the controls knew what he was doing. He brought her in at an airspeed of about sixty-five knots and touched down on the runway with the lightness of a feather hitting ground.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The time was three minutes past one a.m. He removed the wire cutters from his belt and snipped a hole in the fence large enough for him to fit through. By the time he was on the other side, the plane had rolled to a stop in front of the hangar doors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He removed the twin, blued Ruger .22-caliber pistols from the small of his back, inserted twenty-round magazines into each and racked the slide. On the end of each pistol, he secured a four-inch-long black silencer. Always assemble your gear last so you’re positive you didn’t overlook something.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Men were emerging from the plane.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He started walking toward them. He was in no particular hurry and moved with the grace and fluidity of a cat in its prime about to undertake a hunt.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Two men emerged from the office to meet the men coming off the plane.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The Ruger pistols felt like extensions of his hands, like they were a part of his flesh and blood and bones.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Four men had exited the plane now, upping the total to six men in all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He closed the gap to five hundred feet. He was walking from shadow into light, and even if they’d had time to allow their eyes to adjust, he would be difficult to see. They were shaking hands, distracted by each other’s company.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He closed the gap to three hundred feet, then two hundred.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">They turned and started walking toward the office.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The gap closed to one hundred feet, then fifty.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">One of the men from the plane must have sensed something, because he slowly turned and peered into the shadows. He appeared confused and he died with that look on his face as he took two shots to the head. The silenced Ruger pistols produced little more than a cough, but the man’s violent reaction as he fell caused the remaining five men to turn around.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">One man screamed when bits of skull and blood splattered onto his shoulders. Two rounds in the face silenced him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The other four, confused, but frightened into action, started to run for cover. He was close now, just ten or twelve feet from them, and it became target practice. He shot the third man twice in the head. The fourth man threw himself to the ground, but he shot him once in the neck and once more in the face, and he was dead before he landed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The remaining two men put their hands above their heads. He put two shots between the eyes of the fifth man. As the sixth man started to cry and beg for his life, he shot him point-blank in the head.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Set back off the road around the perimeter of the airport, Freeman’s crew of six agents watched the scene unfold outside the hangar on a closed-circuit television monitor. Earlier, an agent had installed a mini camera on the fence that was equipped with night-vision capabilities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">As the plane landed, Tibbets emerged from the shadows and used the cutters to penetrate the fence. They watched as he made his way toward the six men.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“He’s getting ready to rock and roll,” an agent commented.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Is this guy as good as Ben said he is?” another agent said.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“I don’t know,” the first agent said. “We’ll find out soon enough.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">They watched the monitor with intense curiosity, anxious to see what would happen. Their curiosity quickly turned to silent awe as he went about the task of assassination with the skill and timing of a master surgeon. In less than eight seconds, all six men were dead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The agent closest to the monitor said, “Holy motherfucking shit.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The leader of the four-man extraction team said, “Give him a second to reprocess and shut down, then we’ll move out.”</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">He looked at the six dead men at his feet. Six men, twelve bullets, less than eight seconds. He tucked the Ruger pistols into the waistband of his pants, then reached into a pocket of his light windbreaker for his cigarettes. He cupped his hands to hide the tiny flame of the match, then took a long, satisfying puff.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">With his right foot, he turned over a body to look at the man’s face. The dead man had the thick features and skin color of a South American, but of which country there was no way to know by looking at him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Suddenly, the Rolex on his wrist started to beep. He didn’t remember setting the alarm. He raised his wrist and looked at the massive watch. He wanted to shut the alarm off, but he hesitated. He found himself staring at the black face of the Rolex, transfixed by some unknown force that tugged at him.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Shirtless, John sat on Doctor Monroe’s examination table while the doctor listened to his heart with a stethoscope. In the corner of the room, Ben Freeman waited until <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> completed the physical, then said, “So how is he?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Remarkably fit,” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“I can see that,” Freeman said. “I meant up here.” He tapped his forehead with a finger.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><place w:st="on"><city w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Monroe</span></i></city></place><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;"> smiled and turned to John. “John, how do you feel?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Fine,” John said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Are you ready for your mission?” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Yes.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“And what is your mission?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“To terminate a drug cartel with extreme prejudice.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Extreme?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Yes,” John said. “Extreme.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“How do we turn him off when the mission is completed?” Freeman said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Preprogrammed suggestion,” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said. He removed a heavy, black Rolex watch from the pocket of his white lab coat and held it up for John to see. “John, when you hear the alarm on this watch sound, what will you do?”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">John looked at the watch. “Wait.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“For what?” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“The extraction team to take me home,” John said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Freeman looked at <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place>. “I don’t know how you do it,” he said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“It isn’t that difficult when you work with the same subject over a period of years,” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said. “There’s a comfort level.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Can I take him?” Freeman said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Yes.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“And he’ll answer to me just like the other times?” Freeman said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“Tell him something,” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">Freeman looked at John. “Put your shirt on, John. We have to leave now.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">John stood up from the examination table and reached for his shirt. At six foot two inches tall, Freeman wasn’t used to looking up at people, but damned if John didn’t tower over him. Even in middle age, John Tibbets was no one to mess with. Freeman knew that only too well.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“I need him back in one week,” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said. “After that, the posthypnotic suggestions weaken and he’ll be more difficult to control.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“I know,” Freeman said. “Not to worry.”</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">“But I do, Ben,” <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Monroe</city></place> said. “Like a father sending his son off to war.”</span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">* * * * *</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The four men that made up the extraction team cautiously exited the van and made their way down to the airport. They were dressed all in black, including Kevlar vests, and carried M16 rifles slung over their right shoulders and nine-millimeter pistols in holsters on their belts. They were experienced, highly trained men, ex-military handpicked by Ben Freeman for their suitability.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">They reached the hole in the fence and silently passed through it. The team leader spotted Tibbets by the hangar and motioned with his right hand, giving a point-look signal. John appeared to be doing exactly what Freeman had said he would do upon hearing his watch alarm sound. Stand and wait.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt;">The team leader led his men closer to their target.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Al Lamandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14826587441856646551noreply@blogger.com1