Chapter 42

We didn’t run into a bunch of traffic at JFK and only had to follow the pattern and get in line at twenty miles out. Lisa smoothly put the aircraft on the runway and taxied to an Agency hangar.

John Scott, Sam Nightfox, and Tom Crowfoot were all waiting for us. Tom was restricted only to Marshal activities because of his value to the Service now. John and Sam both warmly greeted us. John said that I need to visit him on Key West so that he could show his home off. He said that CJ can’t visit because he has too many women. Chuck laughed and said, “The new kid is gathering faster than I did. He already has over a half dozen.”

John laughed and said, “There’s something in the water up there. I have two and that’s a lot more than enough.”

Sam told us, “Maria has found the sweetest little Indian girl who she just loves to death. She was just a nanny for the baby and to help Maria watch the kids at first, and then we had a bed partner one night, and Maria made sure that I enjoyed the new partner before her. I wonder if I caught a disease while living with you there in Florida.”

Tom said, “The other men from the Agency and the Marshal Service are on site. Here’s the plan: Both Chucks will lead a team through the two entrances. John and Sam are going to be set up in sniper positions to pick off any possible problems that may show themselves. The idea is to do this in a rush so that their captives aren’t used as a shield or just executed. This group is a mixture of a bunch of American underworld guns and some Russians. The captives are about fifty percent from the U.S. and Canada, and fifty percent from Russia. We’ll use Lisa and Janet as intermediate snipers since you brought them with you. Remember, the faster the better so that they can’t warn the other sites. There’s going to be collateral damage, so pick your targets well, and make sure that you drop them quickly. I’m going to be in a third sniper position to cover the fire escape on the north side of the building.”

I think we all understood what was going to happen so Chuck, John, Sam, and I put some MP5 magazines in our vests along with a couple of sidearm magazines. I watched the girls load up with a couple of extra sidearm magazines and filled the rest of their vests with .308 magazines.

We rode in a passenger van with a police escort until we were close to the site. We met the other men of the two teams, and made sure that they all had plenty of ammo and were wearing armor. We all carried the HK5N with silencers mounted. We would be able to know where the enemy was firing from this way. That every one of them were in Agency BDUs made me feel a lot more at ease. Chuck was feeling the same way and giving me some soothing thoughts. I felt the comforting thoughts from both Fran and Lisa as we went toward our entry points.

The door we wanted to enter was locked, but it only had a single bolt holding the door. An Agency man stuffed a wad of material where the bolt was and lit it with a lighter. There was a flash of light and the door warped. Another man pulled the door and the bolt was like liquid. We didn’t see any alarm wires or magnets, so we moved forward.

We heard that the rear entrance had been breached in the same manner the front one had. Our first contact was a man by the elevator with an AK that wasn’t at the ready. I didn’t have to make a decision as one of the men put him down, while another ran to him and jerked some devices out of his ears and around his throat. I split the team up and was going to send four up in the elevator and six of us were going up the stairs. I told the elevator team to be on the sides of the door and to wait until we were at the stairway door before they activated the elevator.

The six in our team ran up the steel stairs set in concrete, so there was very little sound. We tried the door to the hallway at the fourth floor and found that it was locked. A quick scan, and an equally as fast stuffed wad of material, and we were ready. I told the elevator team to move over the radio.

We lit the material, there was a flash of light again, and we pulled the door open. Rounds were hitting all around the metal door jamb. One of the men received a scratch from a ricocheting AK round, but it was just a scratch and hardly bled.

The elevator doors opened and the interest in the stairway door was switched to the elevator. My team was out in the hallway firing at those whose attention had switched to the elevator. My team eliminated eight men who were protecting or guarding the captives. The elevator men had survived without casualty, so we were in good shape. There were no guards with the captives, so I advised the Marshal teams to come up to herd this group of captives to somewhere safe. It was someone else’s problem to figure out where they came from and where they should be returned to.

We were met downstairs by Tom who said, “Helicopters are coming to take you guys to a place in Jersey that’s said to be like a fortress. All the men on these teams will go with you, and another small group of Agency men will be there. Let’s hustle over there and get the intelligence we need to finish this. The other sites have been cleared.”

We were soon flown some distance south from where we were into New Jersey. This was an old gangster’s home with walls and open spaces designed to keep intruders away.

A group of Deputy Marshals had attempted going to the house, but were fired on from turrets on top of the house. I told Fran, “Clear that turret with your fifty, and do it to any other locations that open fire. Lisa and Janet, you two set up as snipers covering the entire front. I’m sending men around the back to do the same. I’ll take a team in through the front door and we’ll clear the place. We should be able to free the captives if they have any. Whoever is going to be with me come on?”

John was going to be the only one to stay behind to assist as spotter. Sam, Chuck, and Fran were with me along with six Agency men. I know my antenna was up and I was getting more nervous by the second. The front door had the first problem. There was a tripwire right at the step to enter the house. I figured that it would at least get rid of the door.

I threw my hook on the end of a line and snagged the trip wire. I pulled when we were all clear. Kaboom. That was some heavy overkill, since there now was a huge opening where the door used to be.

I threw a piece of blown off concrete into the opening, and at least a dozen automatic rifles opened up at it. I hoped the others noticed where the rounds were coming from. I waited for the familiar ‘clack’ that was the bolt locking back after the last round in the magazine fired. I ran into the entryway firing at the first location that I knew someone was firing from, and then switched to the second one.

We did what was necessary there, and were advancing into the house when I had an eerie feeling. I looked up and saw a guy on the stairway aiming a pistol at us. I dove, pushing Chuck, Sam, and Fran out of the way. The guy got me in the thigh and arm. Someone behind us got the guy. I got up and ran toward the back where there were at least a dozen men with some form of rifle or handgun. Bullets were flying everywhere. My team came up behind me and finished off that group of resistance.

We were just finishing up when I saw a man come from behind something and level off at the men in front of me. I dove at them, knocking Chuck, Sam, and Fran down again, as I was hit by what seemed to be a dozen AK rounds on automatic, and then spun around from a round in the arm. Another round finished me by grazing me on the top of the head. Nighty-night.

Holy shit, I hurt. My head hurt as bad as it did when I woke up after the head surgery when I was kicked. My arm really hurt, so I had to assume that a bone had been hit this time. My side hurt, my other arm was bandaged, and my thigh hurt almost exactly where I was shot before.

I forced myself to open my eyes. I immediately shut them again. Janet was in a chair with her head back and eyes closed. Fran was there by the window, Mercy was there standing with her, and my sister’s familiar body was next to them.

The equipment attached to me must have made a noise, because I suddenly felt all of them next to me. Janet said softly, “Chuck, Chuck, can you hear me? Come back to us, Chuck.”

I opened my eyes and was immediately mobbed by all the people in the room. A couple of ladies in white coats with stethoscopes draped around their neck burrowed their way to me, and began checking my vitals. One asked, “How do you feel, Mr. Miller?”

I looked at her and groaned. I asked her, “Can you make me hurt any worse than I do? Let me tell you then.”

The nurse hit a button on some machine next to me, and I felt something soothing pass through my arm. I lay there looking at everyone and said, “And the good news is that I’m feeling great now.”

I received a lot of smiles and a few laughs. Gin said, “You have enough feel good juice in you to make us all feel good. I’m sure glad you’re back with us, at least awake and talking.”

Tina was standing over me, and said, “I’ve double checked everyone here and know that you’re going to be okay. Thank Fran for knowing what to do with the wounds you had. That graze on the head will match the scar on the other side. Listen, you crazy man, thank you for saving ours, but see if you can duck a little better.”

I had to ask, “Umm, where am I?”

To the last one, they all looked at each other. Nikki finally sat on the side of the bed, and leaned down to kiss me. “You’re in New Jersey. We’re going to get you home as soon as they give us the okay to transport you. Tina has already signed up to be your attending physician. She helped clean up a couple of your wounds a second time. Fran assisted her, and they said that you were in better than expected condition. Your head wound caused a concussion, and you have three broken ribs and a cracked clavicle, along with the other wounds. Your armor had twelve rounds buried in it according to Janet. The video showed that you killed the shooter while you were falling. I suppose that was revenge of some sort.”

I closed my eyes, but couldn’t remember anything after tackling the people to get them out of the way. I could feel that instant and somehow knew that I was going to be hit, but it didn’t matter. The people I was pushing out of the way were more important. There never is enough time to stop and make a decision. You act instantly, and hope it’s the right decision.

Janet leaned down and kissed me. “I somehow knew that you were going to be alright. You kept telling me that all will be well, although you were out of it. Mercy told me that it was your subconscious trying to make me feel better. It did.”

I spoke to all who were there. Fran came to the bedside and leaned down to kiss my lips. “Thanks for saving my ass again. You are one fearless motherfucker. There would be about four hundred dead little girls without your efforts. It’s going to be four to six months before you can be on duty again. The Agencies are going to argue over who has to pay you during your recovery.”

It made me laugh, since I knew that Tom wasn’t going to take any shit from anyone on this.

Chuck and Steve came to the room the next day. Steve said, “I can’t believe that these guys let you get shot up like that.”

Chuck said, “Thank you, Chuck. Sam sends his thanks as well. I was a little pissed when you collectively knocked us all down the second time, but the automatic rifle fire from that AK then had me crawling away. You saved our asses, Buddy. I’m sure glad that you survived that much fire. I know we’re special to be able to survive the way we do, but this one was special because you saved Sam, Fran, and me, along with all those little girls.”

“Glad I did what was necessary. Now, get me out of here so that I can recover at home.”

Chuck said to me, “What would you think of recovering on board my big boat? We have an extra suite that would be perfect for you and your family. Tina will go to the college to get your women a temp withdrawal so they can go, still do the classwork via the internet, and then make up any lab work when we return.”

I told Chuck, “Hey, I’m not going to be much help. I won’t be able to pull on lines for the sails or any of the hard work.”

Chuck just smiled and said, “We have it covered. Most of the heavy work is taken care of by electric motors. A vessel the size of this one has to have all those to assist, or about two hundred men to do the work. You’ll be put out on deck to get some sun and then shifted from place to place to heal.”

Janet had been staying with me, and leaned over to give me a kiss. “This will be a perfect way for you to heal. Kissa doesn’t want to leave her new job, and will be watching the company and courier flights while we’re gone. We’ve hired a lot of very good pilots who like to fly for smaller companies. There are several in the instrument rating course who will be available for courier flights. We have six men who are now flying the G650. We’re using four men for Hawaiian flights because most of them are quick turnarounds. Tiny found us another G650, so we have two doing Dewey’s turns, and two doing our Island Paradise work. All our courier work is being handled by Hawks, and will soon be augmented by a Delta.”

I smiled at Janet and said, “We probably need to get away from here so that Tiny can’t push more airplanes at us. We’ll have Tiny unload a G650 for every Delta delivered and one of our King Airs or CJ4 for a Hawk while he’s playing with airplanes. We’re looking for speed, STOL characteristics, efficiency, and dependability. Wes’ airplanes give us that, so why not continue with what he makes?”

Chuck managed to convince the doctors following my case to let him and Doc Tina take me home. I was loaded into an ambulance and taken to the airport for a mercy flight home. Gin, Nikki, and Fran were given instructions for the flight home by Tina. I was loaded into another ambulance once there, and taken home to the patio.

I was mobbed by adults and kids. There was nothing better than having all these people being sweet to me. I was lying in the bed that I was going to be in for a while later, when Brandy and Tiani came into the bedroom I was in. Brandy gently hugged me and kissed me everywhere that she could without making me groan. Tiani did the same and said, “Anything you ever need, anything, we’ll make sure you have it. You saved our man. You took bullets that were intended for him. I can’t tell you how much you mean to us. Thank you, Chuck.”

There were continuous trips to the marina by the families to make sure the boat was outfitted with enough toilet paper throughout the next week. I was able to get up, shuffle out to the patio, and lay on a hospital bed out there instead of having to stay inside.

I could stand having a couple of little ones on the bed with me by late the second week at home. They would jabber at me and I would answer in unintelligible gibberish that they thought was the right answer. This was giving me a lot of time to think that our women should begin bringing us babies.

Chuck made an announcement to everyone on the Friday evening of the third week I was confined. “The boat will sail a week from Monday. We’ll be in Ireland within a few days less than three weeks if we don’t have any hiccups. Our plan is to visit Ireland and then head to the Mediterranean, where we’ll make some stops at Steve’s factories. We’re all planning on some time on the great beaches there, but we’re going to bypass a lot of the sightseeing. Chuck Miller’s ladies want to do some tours, but they’ll be on their own while the rest of us kick back and relax. Chuck may not be able to go everywhere, because of his injuries, but he should be getting back to normal about then.”

“Now comes the fun part. Brandy has done some advance work for Lisa and me. We’re going to do a concert tour with one stop in Greece first, one stop in Italy, and then on to the Riviera. We’ll do two concerts there before sailing home. This will be similar to our tours with the other band, the Blues Expedition, but it won’t be multiple concerts at each venue. The Lucky Lady Blues Band will be the featured warm up band, and the kids’ individual bands will each have a shot at wowing the audience. Sounds like a Friday night on the patio, doesn’t it?”

Bonita bounced up to the microphone and with a big grin said, “We hope to have at least a dozen new pieces recorded by the time we get home. We’re also going to introduce to you a new musician in our group. You’re going to love him. I’m already falling for the guy, and he’s hardly done anything yet.”

I wondered who that would be.

I had been feeling better each day and I was awake early on Saturday morning. I thought I might stretch my limits a little, and was able to dress myself and move out to the grassy area between the patio and Glenda’s house. The big tent was still up, so the space was a little limited. The boxes for horseshoes had been removed, so that area was cleared.

Beginning to try a form after being totally still for almost four weeks is something to gradually approach. I used a basic form that would stretch me and wouldn’t hurt the clavicle, or pull on the other wounds that were just about healed. The ribs were still tender, but not bad. I knew that I would be weeks ahead in the healing process if I could stretch the muscles around the ribs. I was on my third repetition when Janet and Fran came out to join me. They followed me as I repeated this basic form, but I’m sure they pulled it much harder than I did.

I kept this up for over a half hour and was heavily sweating. The good news was that I was becoming more flexible with each movement. The two women bowed and then rushed me when I stopped and bowed to them. Fran said, “Now I know that you’re going to be alright. You’re going to have to work on getting your strength back. Janet and I will help you gradually do it.”

The two helped me through a shower and dressing. We all had coffee with Steve and Glenda. She told me, “We’re going to stay here this time. A trip like that is hard on us older folks. You take care of yourself and take care of that crazy Bonita and Lizzy. You know that it was you she was talking about, don’t you?”

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, but Steve said, “I’m not sure how you’ve swayed that girl from Chuck, but you apparently have. Be gentle with her. That girl and Lizzy do everything together, so if one makes up her mind that you’re it, you’re going to have contend with both of them.”

I was almost feeling terrified that someone like Bonita would want to be with me. Lizzy was almost understandable, but she had never been forward. Then again, Bonita hadn’t been forward either. Janet could see my discomfort and kissed my cheek. “You’re the most loving man I’ve ever met. You’re even more loving than my Dad, and he’s the gentlest of them all.”

Janet gently hugged me, and said, “This is all going to work out and this sailing adventure is the way that it’s supposed to happen. You should be able to have Bonita and Lizzy if I get to have Andrea.”

I wanted to go into a dark closet and cry. All these women wanted something that I don’t think I have. The dress code for Saturday morning had me fantasizing about all the women on the patio, but Bonita and Lizzie came bouncing up in front of me when I was sitting with my delectable group, plus Andrea. Lizzy took after her mother and was slim and sleek, except for what Steve called her ‘party balloons’. That girl rivaled her mother and grandmother, and loved to wave them in my face.