The weekend was a little strained without Bobby around and not knowing what was up. I did a few honey-do type repairs inside that needed to be done and laid out in the sun a lot. I was silly hanging around home thinking Bobby would come strolling in any second.
Monday morning, I woke at my usual time, completely rested. Wanda was wrapped around me, but the other side of the bed was still empty. I slid from bed, slipped on my peg and a pair of shorts and went out side for some stretching and a few forms.
While I was forming my mind kept wandering to Bobby and where she might be. I suppose I didn't have a chain on her, and she was a grown woman, free to do what she wanted. Still, it was unusual that she wouldn't call after our intense relationship for over a year. When I finished, I saw that I had been joined by Wanda, Marie, and Jan. Angie and Dennis were sitting by the pool watching. We all went in the pool, swimming for the exercise value, but not to wind ourselves. After the swim, Wanda and I showered outside, with me giving her long breasts some special attention. She loved the scalp massage I gave her as I washed her short hair.
The girls living in the house were unusual in that all of them had fairly short hair. Marie had the longest, cut in a short page boy while Jan had the shortest with almost a long man's cut. They all claimed it was easier for them to take care of and didn't require long bouts with the hair dryer.
We had a nice breakfast with all of us speculating on Bobby's adventures and return. Marie was quiet and didn't offer anything, and since she was with Dennis, I didn't think too much about it.
At work, I was immediately engulfed in having to complete my incident reports and my version of the capture report. I wrote up separate commendations for the C.I.D. unit as well as the special recon teams that assisted us. I sent the complete capture report to John's office so he could spread the news through the branches as to how well the Army had responded. I even included the Air Force recon photo assistance so an additional branch received some credit.
Bud called about ten to tell me he had several leads, but no real good theories of what this gathering of escapees really meant. I called D.C. to talk to one of the heads of the Bureau of Prisons. They had no idea what the two incidents meant, but listened to my suggestion of cutting off internet access and/or to be sure to monitor the net activity. I felt the only way they could be making contact would probably be through the net.
After that conversation, I went over to the station to see if Bobby was in. She wasn't and Marie said she had called in early this morning to advise Sarah she wouldn't be in today.
This was unusual. I wondered if there was a family illness. Back in my office, I called down to Bobby's parents' house. Maxine answered, so I asked how everyone was doing. Maxine seemed to be nervous about something, but answered that everyone was fine. When I asked if Bobby was there she paused a long time before answering me that no she wasn't there right then. She did say that she was sure Bobby would call me soon.
Lunch was a quick run down the street for some deli sandwiches for my office, followed by my finally catching up with the endless supply of paperwork that flowed through the office.
At two o'clock, I called out to the air park to find out if Lisa could accompany me for some hood time. Star said for me to come out and she would get Lisa or another instructor for me.
By two-thirty, I was doing a preflight inspection on a 172 when Lisa came driving up in her Mustang convertible. She hopped out, in a pair of shorts and skimpy tank top, and walked up to me saying, "How's my favorite student today? Are you ready for some blind flying?"
Lisa filed a VFR flight plan today and did the actual takeoff while I was behind the hood. As soon as we were up, and according to the instruments, heading west, Lisa gave me coordinates for the Davis Island airport and told me to land there first. The flight path to get to the approach was difficult as you had to avoid the Air Force Base and Tampa International. If you went too far west then you were into the pattern for the downtown St. Pete airport. I called TPA air traffic and requested permission to fly below their pattern at thirty-five hundred feet. I was able to skirt the outer edge of the McDill Air Force Base pattern then make a wide arc to line up for Davis Island. As we were just about to touch down, Lisa said to apply power and pull up.
She told me to fly up to Zephyrhills to use their new landing equipment. Since we were still VFR, I climbed to five thousand feet, homing in on their beacon. I entered the pattern and requested landing instructions and was told to please observe the skydivers south of the pattern. There were always NOTAMS, (notices to airmen) for skydivers in that area, so most everyone just stayed away from that air space. It wouldn't be fun to have someone with a parachute land on your airplane as you passed through.
Again, Lisa had me pull up before we touched down. She told me that we should see if Brooksville was working right, so we flew toward the airport there. When you're behind the hood, the instructor has to be your eyes to watch for other aircraft at or around your flight level. When I entered the pattern and asked for instructions, the tower advised their instrument landing equipment was under repair. If we wished to land for fuel or business to please advise. Lisa radioed back that we were a training flight so we would bypass the hospitality today.
Lisa said, "Head to Clermont. I haven't been in there for a while. They have some newer equipment that's supposed to be nice. They also have a nice operations building with clean restrooms. I need a potty right now."
I entered the pattern and requested permission to land. They answered back, "Do not attempt to land on the runway. We have a sinkhole forming on the side of the main runway. If you have to come in, use the grass strip."
Lisa said, "Damn, I have to pee. Head to Zephyrhills again; they're closest and should give us a straight in if they answer. If not, just use the instruments and get us down and over by operations.
Since there was no answer, I declared my position and intention to land. Using the signals from their equipment, I brought the plane down to touch down the wheels and to drop the nose. Lisa said, "I got it" and taxied to the small operations building. I shut down and accompanied Lisa inside to use the facilities. There was no one at the operations counter, but that wasn't all that unusual as at a lot of small airfields, the operations desk person has many other jobs.
When we finished, no one was at the counter yet so Lisa hollered, "Sandy, are you here?"
There was some banging from the other side of the operations counter so I looked over the top to see a lady with short brown hair lying on the floor gagged and hog tied so she couldn't get up.
I went around the counter quickly and pulled off the scarf that had been over her mouth. While I was loosening the ropes holding her, she began telling us that someone she didn't know had just come into operations with a gun telling her he wanted an airplane. She said she told the guy she didn't have possession of any airplanes as they didn't have a local rental program. The guy was perturbed and tied her up and left her there. She didn't know where he was, but he had just left.
While I was still down behind the counter untying the operations attendant, I heard, "Hold it right there, lady, don't move. See this gun, I mean business. You behind the desk, stand up slowly and know I'll use this gun if you make a move."
I motioned for the attendant to remain on the floor as I pulled my Glock and moved to the edge of the counter. Luckily the swinging door to the counter area was propped open so I could get out from the counter without him seeing me. It's difficult to duck walk with a fake leg, but that had been one of the exercises the rehab people made me do, so I was able to move around the counter keeping low.
"I told you to stand up. I won't hurt you if you stand up now. Don't make me mad or I'll start shooting up the place. I want your airplane. Just throw me the keys and I'll be out of your hair."
I was now on the far side of him while Lisa was away from the center of the counter and completely out of the line of fire. I stood up and said, "If you put your gun down, you will not have to spend a long time in jail. If you use it, your jail time will be a lot longer. If you were to harm one of us, then it's needle time. How about putting your gun on the floor and sitting down. You really don't want to spend the rest of your life in jail."
"I ain't spending ten minutes in jail. I'm flying out of here right now in your airplane. I think I'm going to have me some pussy before I leave and you're going to refuel that airplane for me too. Now get out here so I can tie you up."
I said one more time, "Do yourself a favor. Put your gun on the floor and sit down. This is an important decision you're about to make. Do it now."
The man was getting mad and began raising his gun. I dropped down behind the counter as he fired a round that went high, shattering a window behind me. I shifted my Glock to my left hand and leaned out around the side of the counter. He saw me and was lowering his gun when two of my rounds went into his chest and the third hit his head. His gun went skittering across the floor as he fell.
"Lisa, turn around, don't look at him. Sandy, please call the police. Do you have a blanket or something I can cover him with? Sorry ladies, I didn't have a choice, he fired at me and was going to shoot again."
Lisa did turn away, but had a shocked look on her face. The attendant, Sandy, was on the phone trying to convince the 911 operator that there had just been a shooting at the airport and one man was probably dead. She finally convinced someone she was for real. She looked at the handset for about fifteen seconds before hanging up. She too turned away and said, "In the closet over between the bathrooms are some emergency weather blankets. You can use one of those."
I pulled out a blanket and spread it over a bloody, obviously very dead guy. I would let the local cops do all the work as I was not on duty and was just defending myself. The airplane hijacker just made an unfortunate choice of locations to steal an airplane.
A single car came with a single policeman. He came into the operations building saying loudly, "Sandy, 911 isn't a joke. You can only use it for emergencies, what,,,, ?"
The policeman stopped dead when he saw the body covered with the blanket. He frantically looked around and spied my sidearm. He pulled his gun and said, "Lift your gun from your holster and put in down."
"Before I do that, let me show you my badge. I'm a deputy U.S. Marshal. I gave the man opportunity to give up and tried multiple times to discourage him. He fired at me once and was about to fire again when I returned fire."
"Show me your badge, but come a little closer. I'll probably have to have your weapon."
I handed him the badge wallet and he looked at it. He turned to Sandy and said, "You better call in again, I need a detective and I don't know who else."
Sandy said, "Use your radio or is that thing you're wearing for looks. No one believed me when I called in the first time."
The policeman realized he was wearing a portable. He called in to request assistance, automatically saying, "11-99 for a 10-55. 10-87 at the airport operations building."
His speaker came back with, "Repeat that."
The officer keyed his mike again and said loudly, "Christ, I need help. I have a dead guy out at the airport operations building. Send me help, now. That's an 11-99 for a 10-55. 10-87 at the airport operations building."
The speaker came back with, "Do you really have a shooting with a dead person?"
The officer just stood there grimacing. He keyed his mike and said, "Yes, that's what I said. Please get out here, this dead guy smells bad."
I told Sandy and Lisa, "Why don't you two go out and sit in the shade. I'll bring you both some water."
The two girls went outside, so I went to the vending machine and was going to put in money but the door was open. I pulled four bottles of water from the cabinet and closed the door. I handed the policeman a bottle and said, "The casings of my three rounds are over by the end of the counter. When you're ready, I'll give you a statement."
I had just handed the girls bottles of water when four cars, including two marked cars, came sliding to a stop in the gravel parking lot. Four plainclothes detectives and four uniforms with lots of rank showing came running into the building. We could hear another siren coming and it turned out to be a coroner's van.
A detective came out and went to the trunk of his car. He came back with a few pair of rubber gloves, a kit, and a camera. As soon as he went inside, another detective came out and asked for my weapon.
"My sidearm is registered with the U.S. Marshal's office. The ballistics characteristics are on file with the FBI, the Marshal's service, and the FDLE. A federal officer's sidearm is never to be given up. Please consult your district attorney or the FDLE."
The guy just looked at me and couldn't think of a response so went back into operations.
Sandy said, "Thank you, Chuck. Lisa said that was your name. Thank you for freeing me and thank you for defending us. That is horrible that a man had to die, but you gave him several warnings. I can't imagine where he thought he could go to. Even flying under a thousand feet, someone would pick him up, follow him, and capture him.
One of the uniforms with Captain's bars on his collar came out. "Can I check your ID again? The officer inside said you were Charles Johnson."
I handed the officer my ID and he looked at it. "Are you the senior deputy from Tampa?"
I nodded.
"I was with Tampa PD when you were having your war about a year ago. Your name is imprinted on my mind. This guy sure picked the wrong person to pick on. What did he want?"
Sandy began telling the story of how he had come in and had tied her up. Luckily Lisa and I needed to use the rest room and that's why we happened to be in the operations building.
The officer said, "I'll send a detective out to take both of your statements. If you would, Deputy Johnson, could you come in and show us what happened and we'll get a statement from you at the same time."
I went inside and showed them where I had been behind the counter and how I had gone to the outer edge so Lisa wouldn't be in the line of fire. The older cop asked, "You're right handed right?"
I nodded.
"You shot the man with your left hand?"
I nodded again.
"Are you that good with a gun?"
"That's not that good. I'm sure you qualify with both hands individually and together."
The older guy said, "I never could shoot worth a hoot with my left hand. Sure I can hit a target but I could never be that accurate with both hands."
"All it is, is practice. I haven't been practicing with my left hand lately, but you can bet I'll start again."
My cell phone rang. It was Wanda, "We were just notified that there was an escape from the Orlando holding area this morning. The escapee is somehow linked to those men from Oklahoma. I've sent out an e-mail cautioning all law enforcement to watch for possible escape attempts. Angie and Conish are calling all of the jail and custody facilities in our region to be extra careful."
"Thanks, Wanda, send another e-mail memo and create an S.O.P. to restrict all internet use by prisoners. If we have to, we'll just pull the internet service from those units. They can use the phone. There is no law that says we have to provide internet service to prisoners."
I asked, "Have you heard from Bobby yet?"
"Um no, but I'll talk to you when you get back. I've heard about her but not from her."
"Ah, I may be a while. I'm at the Zephyrhills airport. I've been involved in a shooting. Some idiot was trying to steal our airplane and shot at us."
Wanda said, "I take it that his actions were unwise and had fatal results."
"They did. I'm trying to get done with the investigation as we speak."
"If you need to be bailed out, call me. Otherwise, we're having fish for dinner, out at the trailer park. Mercy called me to invite us out. Their fishing charter service brought back a bunch of fish so we're invited to enjoy the food."
"I'll meet you out there later. I'm not sure how long this will take. Do I need to write up an incident report for this? This isn't Marshal business."
"You will need to make a report. You used a firearm provided by the service and you were actually on duty, learning to fly."
"Okay, I can never skate, can I?"
We hung up and I was pleasantly surprised when an older detective showed me a handwritten statement that was exactly as I had told it. "Good job Detective. You've got it. Let me sign that thing for you and we'll get Sandy to copy it for me. Would you sign it as well?"
The older Captain came up to us right then and said, "I think this guy is an escapee from Orlando. He's one of yours, Chuck, he's a federal prisoner in the process of being transferred to Leavenworth."
I called Wanda back, "Is there a description of the escapee? Does he have any identifying marks?"
There was a pause as Wanda was pulling up the description, "He has tattoos. One on his chest is a cowboy lassoing a cowgirl, several names on his right arm, and a large flowery drawing with mom in the center."
I opened the dead guy's shirt to see the cowboy throwing a rope around a naked cowgirl.
"Advise Orlando their escapee is not going anywhere. He unfortunately is not available to be incarcerated any longer. Can you fax the prisoner's info and sheet to me? Let me get you the number."
I gave her the number then advised the police officer that the dead guy was ours. I called the station and told Sarah that I unfortunately ran into the Orlando escapee. I needed a cleanup unit at the Zephyrhills airport operations building. I would hold up the locals from moving things around. I was sure they would share with our guys.
The fax was spitting out the info sheet on the prisoner complete with a fuzzy photograph. It wasn't so fuzzy that you couldn't tell it was the same man. I asked the detectives to please share their information with my techs when they arrived so we could get the stiff out of the building. I said my crew should be able to clean up the stains before they left.
Outside, I told Lisa, "The folks at the park are having fish from the charter service tonight. If we get out of here in time, you should come out."
Lisa said, "I have a martial arts class at seven that I hope I'm not late for. I really enjoy it. I've watched you and can tell you've had training. Was it all in the military?"
"It was all while I was in the military, but it wasn't all from military training. I enjoyed the arts and studied several forms during the time I was in the service."
"That's neat." Then Lisa asked, "Do you use Tae Chi?"
"I do, it is my way to prepare for a tough day and it can be the way I settle down if I'm upset."
"I know," Lisa said. "I get so wound up sometimes that my saving grace is to be able to use Tae Chi to relax."
A white van with U.S. Marshal written on it came into the parking lot. The two techs came in and introduced themselves and asked what had been done so far. The detectives and the uniforms shared their information with the techs. They even downloaded their pictures onto the tech's laptop. The techs gathered copies of the statements and made a copy of the prisoner data I had received.
The two told the coroner to hold the body and to not dispose of it until the next of kin if any could be notified. They helped the coroner load the body with the comment, "Chuck left his trademark corpse, a couple in the body and at least one in the head. It's been a while since we've seen one."
The older officer said, "I heard you were a terror there for a while. I even saw you use a piece of steel for an umbrella at the hotel. That was pretty slick."
I asked the techs to forward my ballistics info to the local police department. They said it would be done. One of the techs came back from the truck and asked for my weapon. When I handed it to him, he dropped the magazine and put three fresh rounds into it. He said, "Can't have you going around with a half empty weapon." As he handed it back to me I pulled my spare magazine from my back pocket to show him.
"I should have known. You're a good scout, always prepared."
The cleanup guys had cleaned the tile so that you couldn't tell a dead guy had bled all over it. Sandy thanked them profusely and said, "I can't believe how slow it's been. Usually I get several aircraft in and out of here, especially with our low gas prices."
It was getting to be right at five-fifteen, so Lisa and I said goodbye to everyone and began the preflight inspection. We were soon in the air and almost immediately on approach to the air park. Lisa pulled up to the hangar and said, "I'll write up a low fuel notice and hang it on the yoke. Let's get out of here. You want to eat and I want to get to my class."
Lisa hugged me and said, "Thank you. Before, I always liked guns and the power they represented. Today I saw for myself how powerful they really are. I also learned that using that power isn't what you think is. Thank you, Chuck."
I drove the short distance to the trailer park. As soon as I entered the patio, Wanda handed me a drink and said, "I'm glad you're alright," while Angie and Marie hugged me, saying that it was all over the news how a deputy marshal had been in a gun fight.
I realized I still had my holster on, so I went out to the car and put my Glock and holster into the glove box and locked the car. Now I felt more at ease around all the kids.
Sue, Mercy, Kathy, and Juanita all gave me hugs with Sue and Mercy insisting I kiss them as well. Kathy said, "You're as bad as Steve. You two are scary the way you can be in danger like that and just brush it off. That's why I left before so just be patient with me, Chuck. You're a nice guy, but you scare me."
Sue said, "Now, Kathy will cut Steve off for a week worrying he'll do something like that too. It's not your fault, Chuck, you did what you had to do. I'm glad you're alright."
Strange, the whole evening no one asked about Bobby. We all ate and had some good conversation and beer. As it got late, I suggested we head home. Marie said Dennis would bring her home later. Angie and Jan went with Wanda.
As soon as I walked into the house, I could tell something was different. I walked into the bedroom to take off my leg and put on my slip on peg. When I went into the closet to hang up my pants and jacket, the difference was very obvious. All of Bobby's clothes were gone. I looked into the drawers and they were empty as well. The few pictures of her family were gone, as was the plaque for her promotion to station chief.
I sat on the bed trying to figure this out but couldn't. I suppose I had to be like I had heard my dad say one time. "If you love them, let them go. If it's right, they will be back."
"Are her clothes gone?"
I nodded, "It looks like all of them. She didn't have a lot of personal stuff. She lived in the safe houses for so long that she was used to not having a lot of personal items to move. What do you know, Wanda, what's up?"
"I don't know anything really. Sarah said that you were to call or go see Millie. She wanted to talk to you."
I took the peg off and slid on a pair of jeans and put my leg back on. Wanda asked, "Where are you going?"
"Down to Jonah's to see Millie."
Wanda asked, "Can I come with you?"
I said, "Sure. but I'm going to ride."
"Good, I like to ride and you haven't been very generous about giving rides lately. Let me put some jeans on and I'll be ready."
It was probably good that Wanda was going with me to hold me down a little. I was wound up enough to possibly ride a little more aggressively than I should.
It didn't take but fifteen minutes to ride down to Jonah's. As soon as I came in the bar, Millie saw me and looked around then came up to me. "Get a beer and let's talk out back. Do you want Wanda to hear this?"
"Sure, Wanda is very close to Bobby."
We went out to the big deck and porch that covered most of the backyard behind the bar. After sitting down with our beer, Millie began, "I guess you saw that Bobbie moved out. I told her she was nuts, Michelle said she was crazy, Mom said the same thing, and the two girls are ready to come up and move in with you. I want you to know, before I say anything else, the whole family really likes you and will welcome you in our homes and in our arms anytime. You were the person to give us our Bobby back, so much so that she's become a little crazy."
Millie looked all over but couldn't look me in the eye. "This is the hard part. I found out a little while ago that Bobby has moved in with some professional wrestler. I don't want you to go hurt anyone, but Danny and she used to be close with this guy and his ex-wife. He showed up here one night when Bobby was here while you were out of town and he has been all over her since or so she says. She said she's always had a crush on this guy and wants to see what he's like. I'm sure you'll find out everything even as it won't necessarily be public record, but it will come to light pretty fast. Bobby is appearing with this guy on TV this coming weekend at a wrestling match being held in Orlando. Most of the family is pretty big on wrestling, so they'll find out too, as they will be watching. Please, Chuck, don't hurt either of them. You're an adult, if you need to talk to someone, call me. Call Jonah. Call Mom. Christ, this is just terrible. I really thought you two were the done deal."
"Don't worry, Millie, you can assure everyone that I'm not a lovesick crazy. I do love the lady, but I can let her go. It does make me angry that she couldn't talk to me about it. I'm disappointed about that, but I can live with it. My job is busy enough that I won't have much time to worry about it, will I, Wanda?"
"You have been busy lately," Wanda said. "Millie, he can't even take a flying lesson without getting into a shoot out. Did you hear what happened out at Zephyrhills?"
"Was that you? They said on the news it was a gunfight," Millie said concerned. "Did you get shot at?"
I nodded, "It turned out to not be that threatening. It was over quickly."
"Still, Chuck, that's so bizarre. You go flying and you end up in a gunfight. That's one of the things Bobby said scared her so bad. She said she was going to get someone who wasn't going to get shot. She said your trip to Oklahoma was all she could take."
"It's our job. She knows that. I thought she was over it. I'm sorry she feels that way. Do you know what she's going to do about work?"
"She said she's taking two or three weeks leave. She apparently has a few months leave time coming. She said she has a strong assistant so it wasn't a problem."
"That answers the question as to why Sarah and Marie were so distant. Thanks, Millie. I'll miss your family. I was thinking you-all were going to be the family I didn't have. Tell all of them to call if they need me. Come on, Wanda, tomorrow's a work day. See you, Millie."
Millie got up and gave me a big hug, with tears streaming down her cheeks. She choked as she said, "Bye, Chuck, don't be a stranger. This is still a good place to come for a beer and, Chuck, you know Mom and Dad will welcome you anytime you're in the area. The girls will always enjoy seeing you."
I rode the bike back to the house at a reasonable speed, not wanting any kind of confrontation. After putting it away, I shucked my clothes, got a tall Beefeaters and turned on the hot tub. Wanda joined me with a drink, then Jan and Angie came out with glasses in their hands and sat with us. Marie came out with a Coke can and slid into the bubbles. We all sat thinking of our lost family member.
"You know, I love all of you, you too, Marie. I'm so happy you've found a special guy. Now I need to find guys for you Jan, Angie, and you, Wanda."
Wanda said, "I don't know whether I want a permanent guy. I'm pretty content the way my life is right now. You're all the man I could want in my life right now, so I think I'm content."
Then it was Jan's turn, "You know I still like girls probably more than guys. Other than out at the park, you've been my only man. I'm still partial to you, so I don't think I want another guy right now. You can send me some sweet young girl if you want, but other than a toy to play with, I'm happy. I have my job, my friends, and my lovers here at home."
"What if Dennis isn't the guy?" Marie said, wondering. "What if we're not perfect for each other? I think I really love the guy. I just got done making love to him, and left him sleeping in my bed to come be with another man I love to be with. But, Chuck, I'm a faithful person and won't sleep with you while Dennis is around. I hope you understand."
"Of course, Marie, I love you even more for it."
"Come on, gang, let's go to bed," I said standing. "Tomorrow will come early. Let's not talk about this away from the house. I'm sure everyone will find out soon enough. Marie, if someone asks, tell the truth. That's the way it should be."
We got out, shut the tub down, and covered it. Marie and Angie headed toward their suites, while Jan and Wanda followed me to my bedroom. Jan asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight, too? I know Wanda likes to be in here, so do I, can I?"
"Sure, but how about us just sleeping tonight? I'll enjoy being snuggled with both of you."
We lay down and I had a head on each shoulder. They each gave me a very sweet meaningful kiss, and I listened to their breathing change as they drifted off to sleep. I lay thinking about Bobby. I wanted to cry because of the loss, but somehow, I knew something like this was going to happen. I didn't feel like I had lost her forever, but I sure had lost her for right now. My mind was settling down, I was relaxing, even while thinking about the crazy day it had been. I was tired.
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious