The first thing Forest said in the morning meeting was, "Christ almighty, can't you two do anything without finding something to give our service a good name. You go up to Jacksonville, and in no time at all, you've got every federal agency there is and the armed forces attacking the docks. You completed the capture with only a fifty percent casualty record then you go on TV and give everyone from kindergarten to the Coast Guard kudos for doing a good job."
"I give you a day off and what happens. You stumble onto a double homicide and lead the investigation of the crime scene instead of coming straight home like good little girls and boys. Who taught you two about crime scenes anyway?"
I smiled and said, "I had too much time on my hands and watched all of the crime scene and body handling videos. There's a lot of good information in them."
"I should have known. We have videos to tie shoes and button buttons. Anyway, you two, good job up in Jacksonville. Everyone knows and loves the marshal's service today. Good job down in Sarasota. The on site detective was on detail from the FDLE and said our guy just took over and had everyone working together to get stuff done. He wrote some kind of commendation for you two. Hope it's for a Big Mac lunch. You two need it."
"Good news on that front too. Brevard County sheriff's department has the bad guys holed up in a house and is waiting to finish bringing them in. Hopefully they haven't hurt anyone else."
Forest went to give out the air marshal duties to four new people he introduced as guys who transferred down to semi retire. He gave out a couple of escapee hunts, and then he said to Bobbie and me. "You two are going to have a full house for the next week or so. We're detailing another team to stay out there with you. There will be multiple relocations coming through. I don't think any of them will be there twenty-four hours. You're going to have to partially clothe them. I want none of their luggage or regular apparel to get anywhere near our safe house. Everyone that comes through will be requested to totally strip, in view of a same sex attendant and put on a jumpsuit and flip flops that we will provide. Double-check any jewelry for signals, cameras, or signatures. Absolutely no watches past the checkpoint. If they bitch, put it in a bag and tell them it will be forwarded to them after they are relocated. Make sure that their hair is washed and combed out. Comb it for them if you can. These people coming through are very sensitive and should understand the need for the extra security."
"The reason for the extra effort is that we have intel that there may be a mole that is supposed to have some form of tracking device so they will know the path the service uses. We will have an ultra-sensitive body monitor at the checkpoint. We should be able to find an implant if there is one. I'm taking a special interest in these relocations all the way through."
I stood to address Forest, "If these people are so secure, why not house them on base after the check point. We get their sizes and provide clothes. It shouldn't be a big deal. If we're afraid of compromising the safe house, let's not. I'm sure our enemies have the coordinates of the base, so let's keep them there."
Forest thought for a minute and said, "Okay, but make sure you get the right clothes for these people. They will need two days of clothes. Make it happen and be careful. After each movement, I want a report of any conversations you have with the guests. We might get a hint from the conversations."
Bobby and Sarah were going as a pair so that one person was in the clothing room, and one person would be with the subject. That way the measurements would be exact and they could describe the clothing before it was sent. The men would be easier. It would be jeans and shirts or slacks and shirts, and perhaps even a sport coat. We would get it done.
We found out the checkpoint was going to be the Bureau's warehouse lab. This was perfect as they had every type of test equipment in the world, plus a safe room to take off the clothes.
The first couple we picked up was in their forties and remained quiet until we got to the warehouse. We explained in detail exactly what we going to do. They said they understood and we proceeded.
Fifteen minutes later, Bobbie was combing out the lady's hair, while I was measuring the guy. I called and had the clothes ordered while the guy put on his jumpsuit and flip flops. We put him though the signature scanner and found him clean.
Bobbie finished with the lady, had her scanned, then she joined her I guess husband in a hospitality room to read and watch TV.
These transfers were so secure we didn't use any of our personal vehicles and never used the same vehicle twice.
The second set of people was about the same, with no problems other than the wife was bitching at the husband the whole time. She didn't want to give up her jewelry, but we bagged it and promised it would catch up with her when she was located.
She also didn't like being observed while showering and objected to having her hair combed out. Bobby said it was either she combed it out or she
would shave her and give her a wig. Bobby combed out the hair.
We were able to pass them through without any additional problems.
Pair number three was a pain. They tried to pull off a superiority thing with Bobby and me. When they got out of the car and it sped away, the guy asked where it was going. I said we never used the same car twice for security reasons. When we began stripping him down, he went berserk. He bitched about each piece of clothing and when he removed his slacks without removing his shoes, I became suspicious. He wouldn't remove his shoes, so I told him that I would hold him down and cut them off. When I flicked out my knife, he took the shoes off. We went through the whole thing with the guy, while he bitched about every article of clothing.
He had a head of thick, curly hair that I said had to be washed thoroughly, which he did, but then became very belligerent about me combing it out. I gave him Bobby's verse. I comb it out or I cut it off, your choice. He was wild looking but finally said to comb it out. I was suspicious, so I had him lie on the bench on his back, and put a towel on the floor beneath his head.
I combed it very thoroughly, and son of a gun if two small things didn't fall onto the towel. I combed all of the hair too, the back, the sides, the top. I almost wanted to comb his eyebrows. I flipped over the towel and laid it on the used stack so he wouldn't be suspicious. I put him in the signature grid naked instead of in the jumpsuit. The operator's eyes got real big before he began smiling. He had the man grasp the handles on each side of the grid and remain still for a moment. The tech ran a bunch of current through the
guy, and tested him again. He was smiling and said, "You can get dressed now."
Bobbie said she had the same kind of trouble with her subject. So we decided we needed to run a scam on these two for fun. Forest argued about it at first, then agreed so we took the two, blindfolded them, and drove around in circles for a half hour, and came back to the same building putting them in a holding room and not in the waiting area. After about forty five minutes, we took them on another circle tour and put them into a different room. We told them they were in a secure holding location before their final destination.
Totally camouflaged closed circuit monitors monitored each room they had been in. This time the woman pulled her jump suit down and used a comb she had asked for and began combing out her pubic hair while the guy held his hand under her. He must have gotten what he was looking for, as he unscrewed the light bulb in the bedside lamp, then put whatever it was inside and screwed the light bulb back in. The tracking guys immediately said the room was giving off a very strong signal. Our guys went outside with signal strength monitors to see if the signal penetrated the building. It didn't. After about thirty minutes, the guy removed the bulb and the small transmitter, and it looked like he threaded it onto the ladies pubic hair again.
We had a different marshal go in and tell them that something was wrong and their destination was being changed. He blindfolded them and took them on another ride, then put them in a room in a small motor home inside the building. We left them and they did the trick of combing out the transmitter and putting it into the light bulb socket.
As soon as the lady was zipped up, different agents went and blindfolded them and hauled them out for another ride. This time they were taken to a federal holding cell downtown and separated. The woman had the comb taken from her and the guy had a thorough body cavity search including his pubic hair.
We took the lamp, drove out to the country along the beach and put it into a small house out there and plugged it in. The Coast Guard sat off the beach about a quarter of mile in what looked like an old fishing boat. Some agents were dug into a bunker about twenty meters from the house. Plus there was monitoring equipment placed every klick (kilometer) leading into the shack.
We had been smart enough to put the lamp on a timer that turned on and off erratically. On the third day, a guy walking along the beach walked past the house, and on the way back went straight into it then came back out, looking around. The folks there didn't disappoint him. They took him into custody as he was yelling diplomatic immunity. A Coast Guard dingy came in to get the guy and took him out to the fishing boat where he was transported to Guantanamo Bay. Oh well, I guess he was a terrorist. The lady never did talk, but the guy was a chatterbox. They were working for the foreign government that the escapees were from. They became spy-trading material for the future.
We were able to relocate a dozen couples without running across any more spies.
Bobbie and I learned some good lessons for when we had to house any foreign nationals that we were unsure of. The Bureau promised to help us anytime, as this last group had been a good learning experience for them too. The techs were really impressed with the strength of the tiny transmitters.
Bobbie and I actually spent almost ten days doing yard and house work without any calls or assignments.
We were lounging in the kitchen, reading the Sunday paper when the duty phone rang. It was Forest. We were to pack business casual and some rough clothes, and go to the Lutz private field to be transported to D.C., where we would be picked up. He said we didn't need anything except our personal weapons. We would be picked up in forty-five minutes.
Our job was to do, not to question, so we threw our stuff together but I grabbed the suitcase with the false padded bottom and put an MP5 with five extra magazines in it, along with an extra Glock and five extra magazines. I hate to be unprepared. When the cars showed up with our relief and the transportation, we went out to the private airfield and were put on an S&S Lear. Our pilot was a nice looking babe with about 50 triple Z tits. Bobby even did a triple take. Her co-pilot was a cowboy looking guy with fairly long hair, wearing jeans, an S&S T-shirt, and cowboy boots. They did the checklist thing and we were off. The cowboy came back and offered us soft drinks or booze if we wanted. We declined, but Bobby couldn't resist, she asked, "What do we have to do to get one of those neat T-shirts you're wearing."
He smiled as he said, "Easy, just go to a NASCAR race and look for one of the S&S trucks. They have them on race days. If you want you can stop by the main shop and ask one of the girls there. They might be able to find one for you. Tell them Steve sent you. That probably won't get you anything, but tell them anyway."
As soon as we landed and taxied to an area away from buildings, a Suburban came out to pick us up. We thanked the flight crew and rode into D.C. to a non-descript building that said only Federal. A man checked our IDs but didn't make us go through the electronic security, ushering us into an elevator instead. We arrived in a lobby area and went through some offices to find John sitting at his desk.
"How was your flight, everything okay?"
"Great, smooth and fast."
"I'll tell you why you're here as soon as one of the reasons shows up. This is going to be important and there will be special orders, so just be patient. Do you need the restroom or want something to drink?"
Bobby went to the restroom and when she came back, I went and brought back a couple of bottles of water. We had this thing where we never left our baggage or briefcases alone. One of us was always with them.
A haggard looking guy came through the door with a couple of men that looked like Secret Service. John introduced the man as Frank Manchetti. He didn't look all that Sicilian to me, but what do I know. The two security men were excused and told to wait in the cafeteria. They would be summoned.
John said, "Frank Manchetti is a security risk. He stole some secret stuff and gave it away to another government, one that is supposed to be an ally. We suspected Frank, so the stuff he gave away is totally worthless and if the directions were followed exactly, without researching each step, those who possessed the secrets had a big bang. We found out that they did indeed suffer a big bang in one of their most secret laboratories. They are pissed. They think Frank did this to them on purpose. He not only gave them a deadly secret, but took money for doing it. Now Frank wants anonymity. He wants to hide and never be seen again. I personally think we should either shoot him, or turn him over to those who want him dead."
John stood and paced back and forth a little then said, "This government has spies everywhere. They probably know how many sheets of toilet paper the president uses. Hiding this guy is going to be a problem. It will be a problem just getting him out of D., C.
"You two are babes in the woods up here, but because of who you are, you may have a better chance of hiding this guy than anyone. I'm going to give you a bunch of money and some credit cards. Each time you use one of these credit cards, cut it up, and throw it away. Better yet, let some idiot steal it from you. I want you to hide him. Put him somewhere that will not make it obvious he is a wuss. Somewhere that he will blend in, like in a cesspool. I don't want to know where he is. Not yet anyway. You two will do whatever it takes to hide him where he will be safe. I want you to take him into the library and find out as much about him as you can. This file folder may or may not be accurate about his past."
Frank, "This is your only chance to survive. If you do survive, we will take care of you for the rest of your natural life. I don't know why, but we will. Be honest with these two as they will take care of you. If you cross them, they may have to kill you to survive themselves. Now go with them and do what they tell you."
"Oh yeah," John said seriously." Both of you, there is no restriction as to body counts. Any one or groups that need to not exist, make it so. These are my orders and you will follow them. He reached into his desk drawer and handed us four silencers. "These only suppress noise for about five or six rounds. If you have to use them, wipe them off and get rid of them. Take these two sat phones. Only use them if you have too. They do not have any GPS co-located the same as both of your cell phones. You can use those for a few days, then get some throwaways. Be sure to shut off anything you throw away. Make sure it will never be functional again. Good luck and be careful. John handed Bobby and me each a big handful of hundreds and a stack of credit cards.
We took Frank with us to the library. I said to Bobby, "We've seen this video. We have to do it by the book, every step. I can see now why it said to do what it did."
I took a deep breath and said, "First empty your pockets of everything, totally. Take off your coat first so we can look through it while you do your pockets. When he was done, I told him to take off his shoes and pants, then sit."
We went through his pocket junk. We separated his keys, then went through his wallet piece by piece. We kept pushing everything into a pile, even his handkerchief. The only thing left was some cash, sans the money clip, and some change. I went through his shoes, checking to see if there was any possible location for a bug or locator device. They looked clean, but we would eventually ditch them.
"Take off your shirt, please." We didn't have to look far to find two bugs and what could have been a camera. We put it in the pile. I opened my suitcase and took out a pair of jeans, a western shirt, a belt, a pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of socks.
"Take off your undershirt and lay across this table, please. Bobby, use his comb and comb his hair out over the undershirt." We didn't find anything.
Okay, you're not going to like this, but we recently found out that this could happen. While I do this, Bobby, go downstairs and talk those guys out of one of their wands. Tell them we are experimenting with a new type of weapon, anything, just get it.
When she left I said, drop your underwear and get into a kneeling position on the table. I slid the undershirt between his legs and used the comb to comb out his pubic hair. Son of bitch, there was one of those tiny signaling devices. I pointed to it and said, someone planted that on you in the last day or so. You might have been drugged, you might have been asleep or whatever, but they know where you are. I checked his skin, all of it to make sure there were no recent cuts or nicks.
"Put the socks on, then the jeans, without your underwear. They'll fit you okay. You might as well put the shirt on, too.
Bobby came in and I pointed to the signaling device from his pubic hair. All she said was "Damn, those things are really small."
I waved the wand over the signaling device and it squealed. I had Frank stand on the table and we worked up from the table an inch at a time over his whole body. If I had some lube, I swear I would have stuck it up his ass. We were doing fine until we got under his arms. Shit, more hair. We used the undershirt and comb and found a tracking device under each arm. We finished doing him without another even tiny squeal. Just for fun, I went over his shoes and they gave off a symphony of sound. "Sit over there and put these shoes on for right now."
I put everything into a wastebasket, except his money that I pointed to. Before I let him take it I did use the wand to check it out. He put his money away.
"What do you think? Should we take the wand back or leave it up here?"
"I'll give it back to them before we leave. I'll unbutton a couple of buttons and lean over. They'll forget everything except that I gave it back to them."
"Okay, Babe, I saw a board of vehicle keys when we left the offices. I didn't let the door shut, so it should still be open. I'll take a couple of sets of keys and see if I can ID where the garage is. That should help get us out of the city. After that, we'll play it by ear."
I walked to the door and gently pulled it open, slipping through, and not letting it latch. I stepped around the partition to where the key rack was. I took a set for a Dodge and one for a Ford crew cab truck. They were supposed to be in adjoining spaces 24 and 25. I peeked around the corner to see into John's office, but he was gone. I looked up to see if there were any video monitors around the keys or the door I had used. We'll have to watch for those.
I went back to the library, checking on video cameras. I knew that some we would never see, but most would be visible. If we could get out of the building and down the road, I really didn't care.
After telling Bobby to watch for video cameras, we went downstairs to the main floor. The elevators and the stairwell were out of sight of the front door. I took Frank to the stairwell while Bobby went up front. She was perfect; she must have teased them good as they watched her come back and push the button then get on the elevator car.
Frank and I went to the second floor and met Bobby. We walked down the hall to the garage but noted a video camera covering the walkway. I looked for the space numbers and noted 24 and 25 were far off to the left of the door. We edged along the wall slowly until we could walk across to the two vehicles. I chose the pickup, as it would probably get us farther, considering people don't care what pickups do.
With Frank in the back seat, I had both of my passengers lie down in the seat so they wouldn't show on a video camera if one caught me driving out. Frank had to direct me in D.C. as I had no idea where I was. I told him we were going west, anywhere west would be good. I noted the truck had dual tanks and both were full, that meant we had about forty gallons. At fifteen miles to the gallon, we could go about six hundred miles. We drove out past the beltway to I-270 then took I-70 to I-68. I made a quick stop at a service station and bought gas for cash, while Bobbie got a map and some bottles of water.
We drove through to Morgantown where we found a Wal-Mart. We did some shopping for more jeans and shirts and bought Frank some work boots. We splurged and bought him a seven dollar watch too. A guy needs a watch. Back in the truck, I told Frank we would pick him up some luggage at the next stop.
We got on and stayed on I-79 to Charleston. It was morning, Monday morning, and we could buy a car. I wanted to get rid of the truck as it could have a GPS system even though Ford doesn't put them on automatically like GM. We had breakfast and found a trashy little dealer that sold us a Ford Bronco for a reasonable price after a lot of haggling. We were able to get the truck with tags and stickers right there, legal or not, but we were able to do it. I drove the Bronco and had Bobbie follow me in the truck.
We found a warehouse district and drove around until we found some empty buildings and drove in one. We parked the pickup way back in the corner behind a giant furnace. We wiped it down to the point of ridiculousness and left the keys in it. Hopefully, someone would steal it and drive it around a while, further eliminating any fingerprints.
I needed to sleep so we found a motel on the outskirts of Charleston and got a double. I saw a Laundromat that would do clothes for us, so I dropped off all our new clothes and went to a restaurant where we ate well, then we went to bed. I woke at four, showered, and dressed, then went to get our clothes. Everyone dressed in their jeans and such, but Bobbie and I had to wear our shirts out to cover our weapons. We checked each other out to make sure the guns didn't show. We took I -64 all the way to St. Louis where we rented another double.
In the back of my mind, I kept thinking that a place around St. Louis would be good. The Illinois side had a lot of rules, and the Missouri side did as well. Then it came to me, Arkansas was loose as a goose. We would go down there and find a place that would be perfect. We took I-55 south then I-40 over to Little Rock. There we rented a double, ate, then slept.
The next morning, I got a newspaper and looked through the want ads. We interviewed Frank until we knew him better than his mother. He was smart, but not too smart. He was educated, but that doesn't help if you have to have all kinds of background checks. I needed to stash Frank without any ID, or a fake one, if I could get one made.
What do I do with him, hmmm. A night clerk at a small motel would work, but it might be the wrong place, too public. We might find him a job as a librarian, but they might check his background. Then it hit me. This guy was on the run from politicians, not gangsters. I'll bet I could find him a place keeping books for someone.
First things first. I went to the county courthouse in a small town fifty miles out. There I researched death certificates from the last few years where the birth date would be about the same as Frank's. I found a notice of assumed death because the guy had been lost at sea. No body, no real death certificate. I bought copies of everything, including the birth certificate, of course. I went to the local high school and asked if they had the transcripts for Howard Sacks that graduated either in seventy-four or seventy-five. I showed my U.S. Marshal ID, saying I was doing a security check. The lady was very cordial and copied his transcript and gave me a copy of his acceptance into the Merchant Marine Academy. This was perfect. She also gave me a copy of his certificate of course completion from upstate New York. I thanked her profusely and headed back.
That afternoon, Frank became Howard Sachs. We went to another county out in the country, where he took a driving test and was issued a driver's license with a picture without his glasses.
The next step was to have Lasik done on his eyes and get him some hair. We scheduled the surgery and it went fine. Frank, now Howard, couldn't believe how great it was. A shyster plastic surgeon replanted hair for Howard until he really looked good. Howard was happy. I had forgotten something, so I had to go back out to that school. The secretary was happy to see me. I asked if I could see his file again, (which she had never showed me in the first place) and I looked through it until I found the social security number.
Back in Little Rock, we went to the social security office where we had to explain that Howard jumped ship in the Philippines to live with girls in grass skirts, but got lonely for Arkansas and he came back. He showed his driver's license, school transcripts, and the Maritime Academy certificate, and we got a Social security card.
The next and last place was the IRS. We went there on a Friday afternoon and explained the whole deal to the guy. He looked up Howard's account to find that he had not filed in the year he went astray. Howard filed on the spot, paid his penalties of thirty-seven dollars, and promised to file every year now that he was back home. The IRS guy wrote up an out of country waiver, handed Howard copies of everything and we said goodbye.
Back at the motel, I told Howard that he could get a job as a small town librarian, or just about anything else he thought he might do. I told him that if he stayed down in this neck of the woods, or even down in Texarkana, a little farther from his new birthplace, he would be untouchable. He told me he wanted to think about it for a night or so.
We still ate every meal together, and still stayed in a double room in fleabag motels.
Frank told us at breakfast that he thought he might teach school in a small town. He said his certificate from the Maritime Academy was the equivalent of a bachelor's degree and he felt he could teach elementary, even up to high school, since he did have a history degree as Frank.
We went to the State Department of Schools and asked what positions might be available in southern Arkansas. Howard explained that he wanted to live out his years teaching in a small community. The lady had a couple of positions open in Prescott, and one in Hope. She said she could call for him if he wanted. He asked about the sizes of the towns and both were nice and
small. He said, for her to call Prescott to see if he could get the high school job.
They wanted to interview him as soon as possible so he made an appointment for tomorrow morning. We went to J.C. Penny and bought a suit from some separates that fit. We bought him a few pair of dress slacks and some nice shirts, along with some dress shoes, and Howard was ready to teach school.
The next morning, it took the school superintendent about fifteen minutes to hire Howard Sachs as the new high school history teacher. Howard said he would find housing and advise them of the address. The school secretary gave Howard a list of places to look.
Over lunch I told Frank/Howard this is what was going to happen. I was going to buy him a dependable used car. Rent him a place with the rent paid up for six months, and give him a wad of money to tide him over until his school paycheck started coming in. I knew he would need more clothes,
but I cautioned him about not buying fancy clothing. The last thing I said, "Don't ever call anyone you've ever known before we plucked you from death. The country you pissed off holds grudges. If you used to go to a church related to that country, change religions. If you have a wife and kids, I am sorry, but this is now, and they no longer exist."
He assured me he didn't have any family. He thanked me profusely and said, this was an easy job for you. You didn't have to work hard to get this done at all.
I looked at him and said, "What I did was to steal a government vehicle. That's ten years. I falsified a birth certificate and some other documents, and under the new Homeland Security rules, that's probably twenty years for stealing an identity. Now I'll tell you, there were three times we had tails. Any one of them could have been our death warrant. We were lucky Howard, very lucky. We lost them in traffic and I made sure we lost them before we returned to the direction I wanted to go."
"Let's go get you a place to stay and a car. What first?"
"Let's look for my new home."
We stopped at a gas station and bought a limited use cell phone then began calling about the apartments. We drove by each one until Howard said stop. This looks perfect. I'll bet that door among those bushes is the private entrance and the rent is very inexpensive. Let's call again and see if it's okay to stop in."
We called, then walked up to the door to be met by a lady in her late forties. She showed Howard the small furnished apartment that was very nice. She showed him a small carport where he was to park his car. She said that if he wanted, they could share rides to school as she taught mathematics in the same school. Howard was grinning from ear to ear. He said he would be back in a little while. When the lady turned her head, I handed Howard enough for six months in advance. You would have thought he proposed, she was so appreciative.
We left to drive down auto row. I told Howard he needed a nice dependable car, probably something like a Taurus or other small Ford. I told him not to trust GM cars as they could always be traced. He said he didn't think that would be a problem anyway as he liked Fords. We found a great deal on a five year old Taurus that had only twenty-two thousand miles and didn't look like it had been hit. It was a puke green and probably been on the lot too long, so we were able to negotiate. The dealer even gave Howard an additional discount since he was going to be a teacher right there in Prescott. We drove to the motel, packed up his clothes, and shook hands.
I gave Howard Six thousand dollars, telling him not to spend it but to put it in the bank. Word would get around that he was thrifty and some woman might want to give you a chance at living the rest of your life happily married.
The limited use cell phone became Frank's new telephone number. I told him that every time he needed minutes to just go buy them at any gas station or on the internet.
We watched Frank/Howard drive away, feeling pretty good about the deal. We jumped into the Bronco and followed him way far back to see if he was followed. After he had parked in the carport he was designated to park in, he carried his bag around front and was let in there. The lady met him, and a minute later, the two went upstairs.
We watched for a long while. Drove the streets around him checking to see if anyone was sitting in a car or whether a car looked out of place. On the way back to the motel I said, "Let's get out of Dodge and head home. When we get tired, we'll stop, fool around, and head out again. I want to ditch this car for another soon. We'll trade in Mississippi. They're easy there.
We drove for about six hours and stopped to eat at a truck stop. We ate then went next door to a Motel 6 which really should have been a motel 5 1/2 as it was ratty. We showered and messed up the sheets so at least the maids could brag about their Notel Motel. We drove through Shreveport and while we were going through Brandon, Mississippi, Bobby said, "Look at that car. I like it. Let's go see if we still have enough to buy it."
The dealership dealt with some really old classics. What caught Bobbi's eye was a Mustang Boss 302. It looked pristine, but didn't sound pristine. The guy was trying to feed me some shit about it having a racing cam. I told him I would trade the Bronco and three grand, plus I wanted to know the name of a shop where I could get the motor rebuilt. We argued until he gave me my price along with the name of a shop down the street that had a good name. We did the transfer while he licked his lips and counted his cash. I babied the car down to the shop he suggested, but got a real bunch of double talk. I told the guy I would rather push it back to Tampa than to listen to his shit. We drove over to a truck stop and walked around to the work bays where guys were tearing apart big diesel trucks. Bobby was worth stopping to stare at, so I had a chance to ask the guy about a shop that would rebuild an antique 302.
He said, "So you bought Larry's Boss and now it doesn't run?"
"I bought it knowing it needs the motor rebuilt or a new one, so I'm asking about who does a fair job."
He looked at me, then at Bobby and said, "I noticed you got one leg, so I'll shoot straight. Several guys will rebuild it for you and do a good job, but if you want, I'll swap out your 302 for a 351 Windsor and you can bring it back up here in a month and I'll swap it back for a couple a hundred."
"Sounds good, what do you want to put in the 351?"
He thought a second, "Can you go six hundred?"
I smiled and asked where he wanted the car. He said, "If it will make it this far, put it right next to me. Be careful though, so the thing doesn't blow up getting over here.
Bobby and I walked over to get the car and drove it gently over to the bay and parked it. We pulled our bags out from the trunk and I went over to give the guy two hundred to get started. He nodded and said, "It'll be ready to roll in the morning. You'll have to keep it under a hundred twenty for the first thousand or so and change the oil after the first thousand. Okay?"
Bobby was laughing and he had to say, "Down here, Honey, we don't dawdle out on the highway. If you drive much under a hundred, a HiPo is going to think your running shine or drugs."
Bobby asked, "HiPo?"
The guys say, "You know, troopers, highway patrol."
Bobby's laugh was infectious and the guy had a good time with it.
We walked over to the truck stop motel and got a room by the pool. We swam until we were tired, then went back to the truck stop to eat. We noticed the hood was off the Boss and a motor was dangling on a chain. We didn't stop to bother the guy as it was his deal.
We had a good meal and went back to the motel to have some of the lovemaking we had missed out on for a while.
Bobby asked when I was going to call into John. I said, "Well, I threw my other phone away in the Federal building, we left the two satellite phones in the library, and we gave the cheap phone away to Howard. I think I'll just wait till we get back to Tampa and let him know the deal is done."
"You're not going to tell him where Howard is?"
"Nope, and I don't think he wants to know."
"Are you going to give him the rest of the money back?"
"Probably not, since we won't have much left when we get back."
Bobby looked confused, "But what about those credit cards?"
"We might take Forest out to dinner on one, but I'll grind up the rest and tell John to close the accounts."
"No one will know what we did?"
"You're damn right they won't know."
"How will you write your report?"
"I'll say that I relocated Frank to a secure, mutually acceptable, location."
"They won't want to know more than that?"
"They might, but John doesn't want to know, ever."
Bobby smiled at me and said, "We have some of the best adventures and vacations. This was some trip."
We fell asleep in each others arms and slept soundly until morning. We were up, showered and had breakfast by eight. We hauled our bags over to the Mustang and put them into the trunk.
Our man came around the big truck with a visible name tag today. It said Carl.
"So, Carl," I said, while counting out five hundred. "Did you get it done?"
"You bet. Let's take it for a spin. I put a new rear main seal in, plus I fixed the jumpy first gear and replaced the U-joints."
I handed him the five and another hundred. "Hey, I said six and I meant six."
"I know you did but you did eight's worth of work and I'm gonna try it out. Hop in the back seat, Honey, and hold on."
Bobbie shoehorned herself into the tiny back seat as I started the car, noted the amount of fuel, then rolled down to the concrete highway entrance. I let the car roll out to about twenty, then floored it. We burned rubber through the rest of first, second, third, and chirped into fourth. The clutch was smooth and the gears leaped into place. The car felt good and drove straight.
I yelled, "Larry never wrecked it, huh?"
Carl yelled back, "They only thing he did was sit and rev it up and burn rubber in first gear. That's how he almost blew the engine."
We were touching a hundred twenty-five, so I let off and slowed until about thirty, I yelled "Hold on." I hit second gear, floored it, and spun a hundred eighty degrees, fishtailing down the road through fourth gear. I eased up and coasted into the bay where we had started."
Carl said, "Holy shit, you can drive. Christ, you could sell rides at the carnival."
Bobby said, "I would have pissed myself if I wasn't coming so hard from this thing."
Carl broke up and asked, "Are you going to drive this thing that way all the time?"
"Naw, I got it out of my system, but if I ever need to, I know it will do the trick."
"No shit. That was awesome. When you come back up, I'll get my old lady to come up so you can give her a ride. She'll be so excited, I'll get laid before she goes home, unless she's ridin' you on the way in."
Bobby was smiling and asked, "I know this is a hot rod but we live in Florida, does it have air?"'
Carl said, "Ice cold, factory air. When it gets hot roll the windows up and turn it on."
We took leave of Carl and filled the car up with premium and choked over the price. I checked the oil and noted the temp wasn't high at all. I sent Bobby to buy us a cell phone, then we headed out.
This car was dangerous. Every time I looked down at the speedometer I was doing close to a hundred. When we stopped at the same rest stop that the guard was shot at, he recognized me and asked if I heard?
"What haven't I heard?"
"That asshole that shot me tried to shoot it out with a bunch of sheriff's deputies and lost. He's six feet under by now."
Bobbie said hugging me, "Good riddance. And best of all you didn't have to do it."
The guard said, "You have yourself a good man, Honey. He was more worried about me than catching them that day. That's the sign of maturity."
I said, "Bad guys always get caught, it just takes a while sometime."
We were smelling home now and made some good time rolling that way. I didn't know where I was going to keep this thing, but I wasn't planning on letting it go. Bobby drove the last two hundred miles, keeping it around ninety. This buggy was going to cost us some tickets. We needed to insure it too.
We called the house with our just purchased cell phone and said we were five minutes out and were driving an old Boss 302. The two team guys were out front waiting for us when we rolled in.
They were in awe as the body was perfect with enough wax on it that if it did get hit, another car would just slide off. I told them that this was my treat to myself after they blew up my pickup. They laughed and asked, "Didn't you ever get paid for that thing?"
"Nope, didn't know I could."
Bobby said, "It's really not his. He bought it for me. I love it."
We hauled our luggage in and I pulled the extras from the fake bottom of the suitcase and stored them, signing them back into inventory. I hung up the clean stuff and threw the dirty stuff into the hamper.
Out in the kitchen, Bobby had a beer opened for me, when one of the guys said, "Forest asked that you give him a call as soon as you get in. Give him a call to tell him everything is okay."
I used the house phone, "Good evening, Sir. Bobby and I just rolled in from our vacation, or assignment, or whatever it was."
"Yes Sir, we fulfilled what John wanted us to do. No Sir, John will have to tell you that."
"No Sir, I haven't called him yet, but I will. Do you have his cell number. I seem to have lost my cell phone."
"You do, you have it? Where did you find it."
"Well, my oh my, I must have dropped it when I went to the bathroom. That's really good, now I don't have to hunt up all those numbers."
I wrote down John's number then said goodbye and that we would see him at the morning briefing.'
Bobby said, "Don't we get some down time after something like that?"
I looked at her and said, "Did you fire your weapon?"
"No."
"Did I fire my weapon."
"No."
"Were we able to do everything we were supposed to do peacefully?"
"I guess, but I know you twisted some arms."
I smiled at Bobby, "No, just sweet talked some people, that's all."
"Let me call John," I said, using the house phone.
Bobby said in sarcastic voice, "Now you'll hear more double talk than a carni-barker."
"Evening, John, this is Chuck."
"Yes Sir, the job's done."
"Do you really want to know over the phone?"
"I didn't think so."
"It's done, all set up, and planted. Our guys would be proud."
"Did I break any laws? Well, I did drive fast a few times."
"I don't know anything about a Ford crew cab."
"Credit cards? I don't have any company credit cards. If you want to send me one, I'd like that. I could take Forest out to supper."
"No my cash is getting a little low. I'll go by the bank in the morning and get some though."
"No Sir, Bobby was just bragging on me to Forest that we didn't even fire a round the whole time we were gone. Not even any target practice."
"You'll have to stop in down this way the next time you're in the area. We found a great Italian restaurant that you would like."
"Okay Sir, nice to talk to you and yes, we are home and happy to be here."
"We report in the morning, no down time on this one. We didn't shoot anybody."
"Goodnight, Sir."
One of the team members said, "You're so full of shit. That was the king of the service you just bullshitted. And the way you talked he knows you're bullshitting him. What's with you anyway?"
I smiled, "It's what he wanted. I gave it to him."
The other guy said, "I'll bet I could track down what you did. I would track down where you bought this car and if you traded anything in on it, then go back from there. I'd figure it out from your gas receipts."
Bobby said, "I flashed gas station attendants my tits for free gas the whole way."
The other guy said, "Shit, now he's got Bobby acting like him. What's the world coming to."
I announced, "I'm starved. How about I run up to Publix and buy some steaks, potatoes, and any kind of veggies you want. I want a salad though."
Everyone agreed and when I went to drive to Publix, Bobby beat me to the car and roared off down the street.
The evening was quiet and the guys told us about a couple guests that had been through. They were using the Bureau warehouse to check guests out before they brought them here. They thought that was one of my better ideas. They said that D.C. had sent down a pile of new directives that we needed to read and some new videos. They said we would enjoy one of the videos.
Bedtime was relaxing and fun. Bobby and I splashed around in the pool a little, sat in the hot tub a little then played in bed a lot. We were happy to be in our own bed.