Chapter 21

“Wait for them Nyota. Let them come to us...”

“I want to shoot now.”

“Shhhh. Wait, girl.”

“Shoot the tires and front of the truck.”

“I want to shoot the people.”

“No, Nyota. Shoot the truck first.”

“I’m going to shoot the people.”

“Do what I say or you don’t get any bacon.”

“You’re an asshole, Mark.”

“That’s obvious. Shut up and shoot the truck, Nyota.”

“Mark? Mark, sweety? Your cat is safe, she is at the airport apartment.”

“What the fuck? Did you hear Janice, Nyota? She shouldn’t be here. This place is too dangerous for her. Take Janice down to the truck, Nyota. Tell those Marines to leave now with Janice.”

“Janice would not leave you. You are not only an asshole, but are as stupid as the dog.”

“Eat shit. Get Janice outa here, girl.”

“Mark? I am right here, sweety. Mark?”

“Janice, get outa of this shithole now! Those Iraquis are coming right at us. Go!”

“Mark! I’m here, Mark.”

“Sometimes it is better to be kind than to be right. We do not need an intelligent mind that speaks, but a patient heart that listens. You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”

“Geez, give me a break, Dave. No more Buddist shit. And don’t teach that stuff to the furbags either.”

“Your animals deserve to know truth, Mark. And Gautama Buddha was one cool dude; that you must admit.”

“Yeah, whatever. But I don’t wanna hear it from both you and my furbags. I don’t feel much up to anything philosophical just now, man. Too much shit, and I feel like shit.”

“You have abused yourself, Mark; or rather you have sought a path of avoidance rather than living in the present. Buddha said that the body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. You must concentrate your mind on the present moment. Do not worry of the future, do not live in the past.”

“Ya know, Dave, between you and Janice, I don’t know who is worse about trying to reform my dumb ass. At least she’s a lot easier to look at. Wanna surf? How ‘bout Janice? She wanna go?”

“Mark? I am here, sweety.”

Shit. Everything hurts like sin. What’s so bright? Window? What am I looking at?

“Where the fuck am I?”

“Mark! Finally. Talk to me sweety. Tell me how you feel.”

“I feel like dogshit. Where am I?”

“A private room at Providence Redwood Memorial Hospital. Let me get the nurse.”

“No! Nobody else. What happened? Why did the state and feds come after me?”

“I am not certain. I think because of Mister Hats. I know that either Bill or Sandy informed their father when they were told you had been admitted to the hospital.”

“Listen to me. Do not write this down. My computer at the airfield, password is nyota two seven one eight two eight two. In the contacts file, at root, look for Joe Barts and Nick Sons. Call them. Let them know my condition and what Raistron said. Do it now and do not tell anyone else ... I dunno, maybe our lawyer is okay to talk to. You got it?”

“Repeat your password. Who are these people?”

“nyota, all small case, no space, two seven one eight two eight two. Go! Don’t worry about who they are. They’re damn good people that I’ve known for a long time, they may be the only ones we can trust. Then get Nyota and your shit packed and find a way back to the Hacienda.”

“Good to see that you are back with us, Mister Watson. The attending physician says that you are no longer delusional. I would like to discuss a few items, if that is acceptable.”

“Go for it.”

“Your work on the ... let me read this correctly ... vectored scans of computer connections, has been forwarded to the Berkeley and Stanford Computer Science departments by Jason Hats. They indicated an incomplete understanding your hardware designs.”

“Don’t know why, those people are a lot smarter than me. And it’s not much in the way of hardware, it’s all in the firmware, so if ya understand the code, you understand the circuit. Unless Hats Industries has a contract with those clowns, it’s not my problem.”

“We are, in fact, in negotiation with several institutions, as part of a national security project. Your company would be the primes.”

“I’m gonna assume that you and Mister Hats told the feds and the state about my medical problems. It is a temporary condition. So why did you fuck me over?”

“It was not our intention, as you say, to ‘fuck’ you. We are protecting an extremely valuable corporate asset.”

So I’m now an ‘asset’? You can asset this, motherfucker.

“Geez, and some people think I’m an asshole. Ya know something, Mister Raistron? You certainly are a typical Marine officer; the worst type. You’re the type of officer that uses his troops as fodder to further his career. But yeah, I’ll support whatever contract you people are able to negotiate. And just so we understand each other, don’t fuck with my friends, if you know what’s good for Hats Industries. Do ya understand?”

“I think we do understand each other, Mister Watson. Good day.”

Damn it’s good to see Joe. I’d rather see tits, but he’ll do.

“Greetings, dirtbag. Jackie is really pissed at your dumb ass. I ain’t too happy either, asshole.”

“Good to see you too, Joe. Where’s Nick?”

“On his way. He got back from an Italy det last week. They wouldn’t approve his leave immediately. And thanks for the first-class tickets. So anyway, what’s your major malfunction, asshole? Why you laid up in this fancy hospital room?”

“Ya know how Gunny Scott always said to avoid the feds and spooks no matter what? Well, I’m an idiot. I got serious fed, and probably, spook problems. I may be in deep dog shit, man.”

“Yeah? Speaking of the devil, your favorite gunny will be on station within the next two or three days. Did ya know he retired from the suck almost two years ago?”

“No shit? That’s tits. Where is he?”

“Dunno. Wouldn’t say shit when I called him; just that it would take at least three days to get here.”

“We can’t wait for Nick or the gunny. I need to get the fuck outa Dodge. Dude, we need to ex-fill and scat. Once I disapear from this place, we probably got less than four hours before they unlease the hound dogs and track my ass down. I need you guys big-time, Joe.”

“That’s why I’m here, Mark. Talk to me...”

“You still look like shit. Gonna be okay?”

“I’m good. Get my airplane outa the box and fueled up. Can ya do that, Joe?”

“No problema, assbite. Still think that I should go with you to their compound.”

“That’s a big negative. Don’t want any of Hats’ security people to see ya. If I’m not back in an hour, I’m probably toast. Burn down the apartment next to the hangar at the north end of the airstrip, then get the fuck back to zonie-land.”

“Not gonna leave ya, man.”

“Not your choice, Joe. These are some scary mother fuckers, like all-knowing, all-powerful. If ya have to, take them out, later and on your own terms, but only to protect Jackie and yourself; better yet, have Nick fuck ‘em up. See ya, dude.”

“Mark? Mark! How are you, baby?”

‘Baby’? Why the fuck is Sandy crying? Geez, what is it with women and crying all the time? Whatever.

“I’m good, girl. Listen carefully to me. Things at Hats Industries may not be as you think. Be very careful with with Raistron. The colonel is probably okay ... but ... I can’t be certain.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Raistron got some sort of court order, essentially making me a slave to the feds. Don’t know why, but it has to do with the sensor fusion and computer connectivity shit Bob and me have been doing.”

“What are you going to do? Where can you go?”

“Sandy, listen to me. You’re good people. I like you, but your father’s minions are doing some evil shit; and your father may be part of all of this weird shit. You need to be totally ignorant of my actions ... Tell ya what, I’ll get into the sensor logs and wipe them out so that no one will know that you saw me or talked to me. This will only take a few mike.”

Let’s see if my login still works ... Fuck yeah, what a bunch of morons. Let’s grep that shit and see whats in it ... yep, they still have it all connected. I warned them about that shit. Say bye bye to your system logs and security controllers, boys and girls ... Now to run my panic script and ‘rm’ the fuck out of this hard disk with two over-writes. Yeah, say bye bye to all of your code, you mother-fucking commie assholes.

What’s with her? She crying again? Maybe a hug will work; it does with Janice.

“Come here, girl.”

Damn, she feels good. Stopped crying? Good. Gotta get my rifle.

“You take care of yourself, girl. Keep tight with Janice, she’ll know what to do. You okay?”

“I love you, Mark. Please be careful.”

Women sure do like to tell everybody about their undying love. Whatever keeps those tits in gear.

“Bye, Sandy.”

“Mister Nandry, just the man I need to talk to. Can you get me into the armory? I wanna get my rifle.”

“What do you need your rifle for?”

Shit, don’t like the look of this. This old guy looks stout. Don’t think I could take him without getting fucked up. Where’s his pistol? can’t see any bulge. Must be carrying at his back. Let’s see how fast this fucker is...

“It’s my property. I want my rifle. What’s the problem?”

Whamo! Got the drop on his old ass.

“You want to be shot now or later? Open it up or I’m gonna start capping you commie mother-fuckers.”

“You do not understand. We are the opposite of what you say. We are important to the defense of our country.”

“You’re full of shit, you commie turd. Open it or die. And you still owe me one hundred bucks. I should cap your commie ass just for that. Open the armory or die. Your choice, asshole.”

He’s not so tough, the fucker is shaking, good. Shit, forgot to pull his pistol out. A nine mil? What a dweeb. He’s hesitating. Fine, I’ll just smash his face against the bulkhead ... maybe a few more times for the fuck of it

“No ... no ... please...”

“Fucking open it, asshole! Good, now stand there ... Hands on top of your head! Let’s go in.”

Holleee shit. These assholes could arm a third-world country. Fucking M60s? Grenade launchers? M72s? I have no idea what some of this other shit is.

“Your rifle is on that rack.”

“Get it. Lean it against that crate and step to the aft of this rack.”

I would bet a thousand bucks that I could just cap his dumb ass and they would never call the cops to avoid revealing this shit. But the feds would still come after me. No way that the feebies don’t know about this stash. Fuck me. Guess I have to let the asshole live.

“Keep your hands on your head. See ya commie assholes around.”

Yeah, I’ll lock his ass in the armory. He can commune with his arsenal ... They’re gonna be freakin in a few when they realize the palace security system is toast. Gotta beat feet!

“Not going to let your woman know?”

“Negative. Don’t want Janice to know shit just yet.”

“Why are we going to Phoenix?”

“Taking you home, dude. I wanna say hi to Jackie.”

“She may hit you before she says hi.”

“Yeah, women can do some weird shit when they’re supposedly glad to see you.”

“You certainly seemed changed, Mark. You were always the more cynical of us, and a bit paranoid, but I guess we all are. On the subject of paranoid, Nick says that your name popped up when he was in Quantico last year.”

“What’s going on in Quantico?”

“The air farce was doing an Intel Assets Survey seminar, so he and the XO got tagged to warm some seats at Belvoir, then he had to do a flag brief at Quantico.”

“So, was my name taken in vain? And did Nick say anything?”

“Yes and no. We always take your name in vain. He said nothing, but he was a bit freaked about it. He thinks that the DIA assholes, and maybe other spooks, have noticed your work. Did you know that they have a list of scientists and engineers and economists that they consider ‘national assets’?”

“No shit?”

“No shit, man. Where the fuck we going? We are flying due east?”

“Yep. I’m gonna find a place to land in Utah or Nevada, re-fuel, turn off my transponder, and make my way back to zonie-land, literally, under the radar. It’s gonna eat a lot a fuel at low altitude.”

“Mark, I know that you have been making good bucks, but how are you gonna afford going on the run?”

“Dude, I’m not just making the bucks, I’m stinking rich. Between Janice and me, we’re probably worth over one hundred mil.”

“Holeee fuck. But, how would you go about about getting to it? The feds will tag your ass if you try to get at your money.”

“Ah yes, grasshopper. One must know the ways of deciet, subterfuge, and misdirection. In other words, I have the keys to their kingdom. Get me in front of a well-connected computer, and I can shove the big green weenie right up their ass.”

“So, you are one of ‘them’, now?”

“Nope, I am one of those few unknowns that are on the outside. Not even Janice knows what I have done to various feebbie and corporate computer systems and the routing electronics that they depend on.”

“Are you talking shit like nuclear launch codes?”

“No way, man. That’s one of the few things the feebies didn’t fuck up. Can’t get to the nukes, and I wouldn’t want to, Joe.”

“Fucking unreal. Totally fucking unreal, Mark.”

“Ain’t it tits, though?””

Oh shit. I’ve seen that look before. Not again. Ouch. Just fuckin ouch. How does a small person connect with that level of power? Fuck, here come the water-works. Joe needs to take his woman.

“Joe? Please?”

That’s right, ass-bite. Laugh it up. You’ll get yours.

“So how ya been, Jackie? Tits still hanging straight?”

“You never thought to call all these years? For almost two years, you put all that money in our accounts, yet never a simple hello?”

“That is just Mark, babe; Mark will always be Mark. So quit babbling. We got other problems. Tell her, Mark.”

“Jackie? Ya wanna be filthy rich? You always said that ya wanted a horse ranch and your own private observatory. And Joe always wanted a place where you could walk around naked, tits out.”

“Those were silly dreams, Mark. Stuff we used to talk about around the camp fire.”

“Geez, Joe. What’s with your woman? Send her to those schools to learn big fuckin words, get her a PhD, and she’s still got rocks rattling around in her brain-housing group.”

“Jackie, you need to understand that Mark is, to put is precisely, filthy rich. Back to our boy’s original question. Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming? Choose one, Babe.”

“So, our ranch would be a front for whatever your ops are. What are the risks, Mark? If the federal government is after you, they would not hesitate to use deadly force. Think about what just happened with the ATF and FBI at Ruby Ridge. Those people are dangerous and seem to operate with judicial immunity.”

“Yep, thought about that. I would try to never show myself to the public in that area. But the biggie that I’m looking for is a safe place for Janice, and maybe some others. I know of three available places in Idaho that are really big, and are surrounded by National Forest or BLM land. You would probably never see Janice, unless ya wanted. I would want her isolated at a seperate site.”

“Mark. Stop. Think about this. Maybe you should hide in plain sight.”

“Plain sight?”

“You said that the resolution of the new satellites with synthetic aperture radar can identify individuals under good conditions. And the new CCDs we are using on the MMTs are huge, so we can assume that the intel community has stuff with even higher resolution. They can, and will be looking for you; they will focus on isolated and rural areas where that were recently developed. You and Nick and Scotty can stay here. Your movements around a large metro area will go unnoticed, at least if you avoid contacts with law enforcement.”