Chapter 48: Troubled Times

Late-August, 1986

STILL AT IBERA’S IN THE 5th DIMENSION

CHARLIE’S POV: (Cont’d)

[Just then, Dad popped in looking harried, “Charlie ... you guys CAN’T GO HOME...”]

“Why?” We all asked in unison.

“We just discovered that there’s a two-million-dollar bounty out on you! There are dozens of assassins just licking their chops to take you out and they know where you live!”

“Who’s responsible for that!?” I asked vehemently.

Dad hesitated before answering, “The Co-op ... and not just one or two, but all of them. Until we get this handled, I’m thinking you guys should all go out west to our secret hideout. That assassin who shot TJ informed us that somebody reported you had been spotted at the bar with Tom Selleck and that you hadn’t been seen around your house in a while.”

I had to think about that for a minute. “Are you trying to tell me that the guy that shot TJ was actually waiting for me?”

“Yes! TJ was just a target of opportunity. If Monte hadn’t spotted him and dragged his ass off that building, no doubt he would’ve recognized you and you’d be dead too! Just so you know, TJ has a quarter of a million-dollar bounty on his head.

“This is all the Co-ops’ doing. The attack on Monte was all set up by Marek and Franklin. The sniper didn’t even know anything about Monte. He was there waiting for you to come out of the bar. He apparently didn’t know you’d already left. We also captured a second sniper who’d been watching from across the street. She was there to take out Marek and his guys so there wouldn’t be any witnesses. She was the one who told us that the Co-op is behind it all and had pictures of TJ and you, just like the assassin that shot TJ had. That’s why I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go home.”

I was looking at Bob who was just as exasperated as I was. He shook his head, “How about if we go to your cabin, Dad? We’ve got some unfinished business still sitting in your big outbuilding.”

I knew he was thinking about the two pallets of cash that we stashed after our raid on Rafael. I had to agree with him, especially since the cabin did have three bedrooms and while it would be tight, we all could sleep there for at least a few nights. The only real problem we would have would be transportation, since all that was there were the three dirt bikes we bought for the girls and the two ATVs.

Dad sighed deeply, “I suppose that would work. I don’t believe the Co-op knows about the cabin, or that you’re my son, so they would have no reason to ever look for you there.” Dad started looking around then asked, “Umm, where is Greg?”

I choked back a sigh, shaking my head, “He screwed up and jumped into the portal a couple seconds late. Unfortunately, he won’t be back until Christmas!”

Dad’s mouth just hung open in disbelief, “HOLY SHIT! Are you serious?”

He looked at Jamie who was disgustedly shaking her head.

She told him, “I can’t believe how stupid he can be sometimes. He was obsessing that Bob may not have locked the shed and the cabin and went back to check on it just as the portal appeared. Then he got distracted and didn’t notice that the portal had turned yellow just before he jumped into it. Thank God he wasn’t another second later or we wouldn’t be seeing him for nearly 40 years!”

Now dad’s mouth fell open even wider, “Whoa, I didn’t realize just how dangerous traveling through that wormhole was.”

Bob huffed, “It’s not really that dangerous, Dad. Ibera warned us never to enter the portal unless it was green and only if it was green. If you follow the rules, it really isn’t dangerous at all. It’s just that, the consequences for not following the rules are pretty severe.”

Dad chuckled, “If you say so!” He hesitated for a second then asked, “So, are all of you going to the cabin?”

We were all nodding our heads then Ed asked, “Do you guys think it would be okay if Gracie, Crystal and I went home? They’re probably not even looking at us. This way, I can check out the neighborhood for you guys and see who might be hanging around that doesn’t belong there.”

We all felt that would be a good idea, then Bob added, “You know what? My step van is parked over at Jeremy and Rex’s place. If I pop into the driver’s seat, invisible, even if somebody was watching the house, I probably wouldn’t draw much attention. It might come in handy for transporting all that cash.”

I couldn’t really find anything to argue against so it was agreed that all of us except Bob, Ed, Gracie and Crystal would go to the cabin directly from Ibera’s. It would take Bob about three and half hours to drive up there, so we would have some time to get the kids settled and start making plans. Dad reminded us that he had some nonperishable foods at the cabin but we would have to go grocery shopping almost immediately. Bob said we could just let him know what we needed and he would pick it up on his way. With that, Dad popped back to wherever it was he came from and we all headed out to our planned destinations.

IN A PENTHOUSE ON LAKE MICHIGAN

E. Normistronzo’s POV:

I decided I must call Mr. Fox (A. L. Hunt) on our secure phone. He answer on first ring, “Hello, Mr. Big, have you heard anything from your man yet?”

“No! That is why I’m calling you. I have heard nothing after you calling me yesterday to tell me that Charlie guy was spotted at that bar in DC. Max got there within an hour and that’s all I know. Have you heard anything from your daughter?”

I could tell Fox no was happy, “The last I heard she said your guy, Max, had taken a shot at FBI Agent Johnson and he appeared to be down. Then all hell broke loose. A car exploded, then something about a guy and some naked teenager showing up out of nowhere and then Agent Johnson stood up and they loaded your guy, Max, and several other people, who she thinks were Franklin’s guys, into a big FBI van. They were following it, trying to determine where it was going when all of a sudden she said my assassin, Miss Tran, had another shot at Agent Johnson, then she said ‘OH SHIT’ and that was the last thing I heard.”

I now was shaking my head, “So, are you thinking that bastardo, Johnson, may have captured your assassin and your daughter!?”

“It’s even worse than that! Mr. Hammer’s daughter was also in the car with them!”

I make the sign of the cross then look up to God, “Oh, we MUST get her back. We no want to make enemy of Mr Hammer! What was she doing with them any ways?”

“Aaargh! Little Annabel is in love with Janie Hammer. My little ‘Angel of Death’ wanted to see a real life assassination. Jasmine Tram took an immediate liking to her and said she and Janie could go along. Annie and Janie were never supposed to get out of the car! Janie was supposed to call Sledge and me if they needed a lawyer to spring Franklin’s guys from jail so we could kill them.”

I quickly decide to give Mr. Fox some good news, “I do have some good news my friend. Our accountant set me up with this financial guru name Bill Davis, out in the suburbs. He has nearly everything all set up with 10 shell companies and three offshore bank accounts. I am supposed to meet with him tomorrow or Monday to finalize all the paperwork. After that, our accountant will have everything he needs to launder all of our money! He tried to explain to me how it would work but I just told him I believe him because he knows if he screws up we will kill him.”

“E Norm, will this Davis character become a loose end for us?” Mr Hunt asked cautiously.

I laugh heartily, “You no worry, once we make sure everything is as it is supposed to be Mr. Davis will have an unfortunate accident.”

I heard Hunt huff over the phone, “I just wish this Jonah would have an ‘unfortunate accident’. I can’t help but think he had something to do with Agent Johnson not already being dead! Oh, and something else I didn’t tell you yet ... I haven’t heard from Franklin all day and I discovered he missed his appointment with the election board. Nobody seems to know where he is or why he wasn’t there. His whole confirmation is now up in the air. You know how badly we need him to keep our South American competitors in line.”

It was my turn to chuckle, “Have no fear, Mon Ami, I already have a plan in place to wipe Jonah or Charlie or whoever the hell he is off the face of these earth. Let’s just say I have a less than hospitable homecoming planned for him, capisci?”

Fox finally laughed, “You’d better be right, E Norm or there won’t be a hole small enough for you to hide in! Capisci!?”

I laughed from belly, “He would have to find me first, amigo! As many times as that meddlesome Agent Johnson has tried to catch me, I’ve always managed to stay one step ahead of him. The dummy doesn’t even know what I look like anymore. Ever since my plastic surgery I can walk right by Agent Johnson and he no have no idea! Ha-ha!”

Greg POV:

I think I screwed up ... big time! I know it’s been more than 10 minutes since Ed’s shadow exited the portal. Bob and Linda’s disappeared a minute or two before his did and now it feels like I’m not getting any closer to Ibera’s end of the tunnel. I just know I should’ve frigging waited when I knew I couldn’t make the portal before it turned yellow. I just didn’t want to wait another seven days to see Jamie and Tyler!

Now I’m worried, I mean really worried, as to just how much lost time I’m going to have. In my defense, when I looked down at my watch I was only three seconds late. One thing that’s bothering me is when I look behind me I can no longer see the light. The whole way out here I could always see both ends from everywhere. The sights around me are magnificent, I do have to admit. It’s like I’m in a spaceship like bubble traveling at warp factor seven, as Capt. Kirk would say. Watching all the nebulas and other solar systems that are seemingly within reach is breathtaking.

Whoa! What was that!?

This is weird.

At first it looked like some kind of a comet with a long tail just flashed by me coming from somewhere near Ibera’s end of the portal. The closer I look, the more I think it’s some kind of a parallel wormhole right next to the one I’m in! Whoa, if I didn’t know better I’d have to say that several people just shot by me going the other direction! It happened so fast I couldn’t tell how many, just that there were more than a couple. As I look at my watch I realized that I now have been in this tunnel much, much longer than I was on the way out. If this is correct, I’ve now been in this portal for more than 25 minutes. Dammit, I wish I had some idea just how much longer it was going to be.

And also ... how many days, weeks or months I’m going to lose with my family and lovers...

Bob POV:

I popped into the driver’s seat of my step van, still invisible, and decided to just take a second to look around. Everything appeared to be normal. Then I remembered that I left my wallet in my bedroom before our trip to Greg’s Island. I hadn’t really needed it for anything so I chose to leave it at home rather than take a chance of losing it. Since everything appeared to be cool and I was still invisible, I decided to pop to my bedroom to grab it since it also had my driver’s license in it. I got to the bedroom and found it right where I left it. I checked and discovered I still had about $400 in cash so, without further ado, I popped back to my step van.

As I pulled away from the driveway a strange feeling came over me.

I kept looking in the rearview mirror at our house. I don’t know if my sense of clairvoyance was getting the best of me or what, so I stopped and turned around. Clairvoyance wasn’t one of my strong suits, as a matter of fact, this was like the first time I actually felt it. I backed into Rex and Jeremy’s driveway again and turned the engine off, staying invisible.

I flashed Charlie, “Hey big brother, I was just leaving Rex and Jeremy’s place when this weird feeling just came over me. I had just popped into my bedroom to grab my wallet and popped back to my van, then, just as I was leaving, I got this weird feeling something wasn’t right. I sure wish Greg was here because he’s much better at this than I am.”

“Hang on just a second, Bob, let me get Mary. Maybe she can crawl in your head really quick and help you figure out what it is you’re feeling.”

Suddenly I felt a soft female hand caressing my crotch. I chuckled then heard Mary giggling in my head, “I decided to pop next to you so we can do this right. It’s good that we’re invisible so we don’t attract any unwanted attention. Let’s connect and I’ll see if I can figure out what it is you’re feeling. Why don’t you push your seat back just a little farther? Giggle.”

I felt Mary undoing my zipper and giving my rapidly hardening member a nice, erotic squeeze. “Not that I’m complaining, my lovely dance partner, but is this how you and Charlie always connect?”

“For what you needed my help with, not really, but I haven’t seen you for three and half days I thought this might be kinda nice ... Unless of course you object?”

I felt her lowering her wonderfully wet, warm pussy down on me and after a couple of slight misses our lips connected in a very hot French kiss. I flashed, “Ugh, I missed you too, my sweet dance partner, now you should probably get into my head so we can figure out what it was I was feeling. Not that there’s anything wrong with what I’m feeling right now!”

As erotic as making love to an invisible woman could be, her mind merging with mine took me to heights that I hadn’t been to in a while. At this point her real reason for being here was going to have to wait.

She was now moving up and down and her wonderful pussy was giving me unspeakable pleasures as it pulsated and squeezed my cock. With our minds merged, our sexual pleasure was now also being merged and I felt everything that she was feeling along with my own! Just as I exploded into a massive cum I felt a warm, wet rush of fluid running down my leg. Mary was trying to be quiet but her gasps were driving me wild. I stood up out of my seat, bringing her with me, and laid on my back on the floor of the step Van. Mary knew exactly what I wanted and without a single word being spoken, moved into a ‘69’. It was hard not to laugh at the situation. Luckily, we’d both done this enough times that once her mouth found my cock, her sweet, drooling pussy was right where it was supposed to be, filling my tastebuds with her flavor. I couldn’t get enough and before long, Mary had three more orgasms and her mouth brought me another one.

“Phew!” I gasped, then whispered, “Now we should probably try and figure out that feeling I had about the house.”

“I already have my turgid Tangomeister! Somebody’s been in our house and it wasn’t any of our neighbors. That premonition you had was like your mind seeing footprints. You said you were only in your room, down in the basement is that correct?”

“Yes and I popped immediately back to my van.”

I felt Mary flashing Charlie and then I heard his reply, “Okay Bob, Dad said there were many assassins trying to get me. I’m betting that somebody may have wired our house to explode. Those ‘footprints’ you felt must’ve been upstairs.”

I knew we couldn’t leave without finding out for sure. “Charlie, I have got to pop back into the house and find out for sure. When we were preparing for that raid on Rafael’s motion sensor machine guns we determined that the motion sensors couldn’t detect us if we were in our bubble, correct?”