Chapter 25

After dinner I phoned Thia to tell her that I might be coming home sooner. She seemed genuinely happy even when she said. “As long as it’s not in a box, I can wait.”

Next I called Mica to tell her I didn’t think I would need her after all. Without telling them anything, I had released my prison guards. I also promised Mica dinner for her sacrifice to keep her evening open. “It’s not like I have men lined up,” she replied.

“Yeah, I know that feeling,” I said. Maybe I can rent a restaurant and have your family and mine for dinner at the time. You know all of us at once.”

“Are you crazy. Thia and I would be cat fighting all night, Keep the families separated at least the two of us. Unless you are there to keep us separated, I avoid Thia at all cost. But call me when you get home. Keep your head down in the meantime.” Mica said as she ended the call.

After the calls home, I checked in with Gray. He had the backup GPS locator software. When I asked, he advised me that the agents were all in the neighborhood, and driving in circles just to be sure we were safe. Gray and I knew that we wouldn’t be safe until the last Kalashnikov brother was in custody or dead. My choice was dead of course.

Since early the next morning was my hike with a likely deadly outcome, for one or more of us, I slept poorly. Even so Gray’s knock at 6:15AM woke me. At least he brought me a cup of convenience store coffee.

I poured my coffee from the Styrofoam cup into the electric tea pot and reheated it a little. “So Gray, should we carry the grenade launcher with us?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Not a bad idea. However collateral damage is only acceptable in a Muslim country,” he replied.

The coffee was boiling in only a couple of minutes. “Actually the last brother might be Muslim.” I replied to his observation.

“Hell Ed, I might be Muslim. I’m not of course,” he stated ending that conversation.

Gray’s phone rang at 6:45 AM. He had a three minute conversation which is a long conversation at that time of the morning. “It’s time to go,” He said. “And Ed, it’s been a pleasure.”

“Yes it has and at the end, if either of us is left, let’s fight for a rough take down of the sheriff’s Captain,” I said.

“Amen to that,” he agreed.

It was almost seventy degrees outside. It was a warm morning, but still I shivered. Fear does that to me once in a while. I slipped into the car with a moan of pain.

“Are you okay?” Gray asked.

“This might be as good as it ever gets,” I said. I was in a slightly depressed mood.

“Yeah me too. Your black moods are rubbing off on me,” Gray said.

“Let’s get this shit started. We got places to go and people to kill,” I said.

“I have to admit. You do know how to turn a phrase,” He said.

“Actually I mostly steal someone else’s phrases. Hopefully someone who is smarter than me,” I admitted.

“That sounds like the best plan. At least you can remember them and rephrase them.” Gray said.

“Okay Gray, we are here,” I said. I pointed to the parking lot entrance as I added, “Turn in there.”

Gray turned in and parked in a rear corner of the parking lot. We were parked almost in the backyard of a Greenway neighbor. The people who lived there were probably told to stay inside.

I was already tooled up and ready to go. Since the fisherman’s vest was easier to keep a hand on the trigger of my Weapons, I wore it. Okay I did carry the war club walking stick, so I could only keep one other weapon close. I chose to keep the .38 snubby in my right hand pocket. The war club was in my left hand. No I’m not ambidextrous. But I would rather have a lethal weapon in my strongest hand. It would be unlikely that I would get the chance to beat the brother with my war club/walking stick, but I could hope. I did have the, 22 mag in my left pocket, just in case.

We started walking and scanning for snipers. Supposedly the park was being scanned by an infrared drone. We didn’t get any notification of anything. I was expecting a simple three mile walk. Since I did it every day, I didn’t really mind the company on my walk. I walked lone the majority of the mornings. I never could interest Tonya in walking. Walking with Gray was almost a pleasure. His presence kept reminding me that someone was trying to kill me, which made it somewhat of a buzz kill.

Gray had his attention focused on the communications ear piece. “They tell me there is no one on the bridge we have to walk under,” he said.

“Well I’m impressed. I would be more impressed, if I couldn’t have stopped twenty five yards from the bridge to rest and check it out old school.” I informed him. “First old school lesson was, if you can see them, they can see you.”

“Trust me, a lot of guy’s last visual was a hellfire missile coming through their roof,” Gray said.

“True it’s going to be hard to use old school technology against modern weapons,” I agreed. I try to use old school technology though. The PVG pipe bombs are similar to 18th century black powder technology. And, they don’t show up on a modern magnetometer.

“Granted, I never would have thought of it, but an RPG would have been more effective,” Gray said.

“Ah but the PVC pipe bomb is more like the rubber bullet shotguns you use,” I said. “The are less lethal and they sent the same message.”

At the one mile marker we encountered, a middle age woman walking her dog and pushing a baby carriage. That put me on edge.

“You pet the dog,” I said to Gray. So he did and I approached the woman.

“Do you have a boy or girl?” I asked.

She said, “She is a girl.”

“How old is she?” I asked keeping the war club close. I noticed the dog wasn’t at all protective. He was very calm.’’

“Trisha is ten months,” she said with that very distinct east European accent.

“She is very well behaved, isn’t she Gray?” I asked.

“Yes she is almost like a doll,” he agreed. He could see her getting nervous. “If I reach into that baby carriage, and come out with a weapon, my friend is going to shoot you and the baby doll. So tell me is there a weapon?” I asked.