Chapter 43

“Yeah, Eduardo Vasquez is offering a hundred thousand for the man’s head, though, from what I’ve heard about the operation, Eddie boy may have bitten off a lot more than he can chew. Now, why were you asking?”

“Just curious. Now, how about meeting me for a beer at Bennie’s Bar. I think I’ve got some security work for you, but I don’t want to discuss it over the phone.”

“Then, meet me at Bennie’s in thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes,” Ken replied, “and bring a bug detector.”

Ken dropped off the limo at his company’s garage, leaving the main service tech some information about the limo. He also advised the dispatcher they’d be switching to a Suburban the next day, as well as the need for a second vehicle and driver. As soon as he finished he grabbed his helmet and climbed aboard a midnight blue BMW K1200R. It cranked with a roar and left the garage with an even louder one.

With two minutes to spare Ken dropped the kickstand of the bike and headed into a small, out of the way bar. Over the door a Miller Genuine Draft sign proclaimed to the world the name of this place was ‘Bennie’s.’ After checking outside for cars or people that looked out of place he opened the right side of the double door and stepped inside. He immediately moved to the right to stay in the shadows while allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light in the bar. There were three young kids sitting at one of the tables and two older guys sitting at the bar. He immediately recognized them as off-duty cops. Ken laid his helmet on the bar, and asked, “Has Joel got here yet?”

One of the cops answered, “Yeah, he’s in the back room with Bennie.”

“Thanks, Mack,” Ken answered. “We need a few minutes of peace and quiet. Can you cover our back door?”

“Sure, Ken. No problem.”

Ken headed to the back of the building, passing the storeroom and both bathrooms along the way. At the door at the end of the hall he tapped twice, paused, and then tapped thrice. A small, mousy character opened the door and greeted Ken with a hug.

“Hi, Bennie, how’s the world treating you?”

“Not bad, Ken. How about you?”

“I can’t complain, and even if I did, nobody would listen.”

Bennie chuckled, and replied, “Tell me about it.”

As they talked a third man rose from a chair facing the door. He was six foot two and weighed around two fifteen. “Come on in Ken. Bennie and I’ve already checked the room and vouched for everyone out front.”

“I recognized Mack and Sergeant Bolton, who are the young kids?”

“New cannon fodder for the Navy. They’ve been in training now for about six weeks. You know, still green and wandering around in awe, but they’re basically good kids. Now, tell us about this new security job.”

Well, the first thing you should know is one of the principals is supposedly this mystery man’s granddaughter.”

“You thinking about turning her in to Vasquez?”

“No. They’re good people, I just wanted to give you a heads up. That is, if you want the job.”

“How much are they willing to pay?”

“Joel, I wouldn’t gouge them, but I get the idea it doesn’t matter a lot. At the same time, I don’t think they realize the potential danger they’re in.”

“If they aren’t involved in certain circles, I seriously doubt they would. What will covering them be like?”

“I think it will be a large, multifaceted situation, as there may be more players than Vasquez. Also, they’ll have many people here for job interviews who potentially need some general protection.”

“Ken, you’re losing me. First, we have principals who are potential targets of the leader of a Major Mexican drug / slavery ring. Then, you say we’ve a lot of job seekers who might end up in trouble or need assistance. I think you’d better start at the beginning.”

“I guess it would make more sense if we break it down into several jobs with interlocking principals and overlapping support.”

Joel grinned, and responded, “College boy, you need to talk English.”

“I’m trying,” proclaimed Ken. “The first aspect is there are a bunch of young Indian engineers, scientists, and tradesmen coming here to interview for positions in a closely held conglomerate. The company is looking for good people who don’t fit corporate America’s fine standards.”

“Like yourself?’

“Yes, like myself. In fact, I’m supposedly going to be helping them in the interviews and may have a chance to work myself into a job.”

“I can follow that, but why security over a bunch of Hindu’s and such. Don’t we have enough of them here already, and how does this relate to Vasquez?”

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear. The principals, or at least the female, Maria, will be doing the interviewing. As to your other question, when I called them Indians, I meant American Indian, or if you prefer, Native Americans. I don’t know how much of a problem that is of itself, but from what I gather the company is going to be producing products which could make the employees targets if others get wind of what the company is planning.”

“Then, it almost has to be energy related. Now, you say these people are Native Americans, what about the primary principals?”

“They’re also Native Americans, or you could just call them ‘Apache.’“

Bennie’s eyes hardened in concentration when he asked, “White Mountain Apache?”

“Yeah, I think that’s what Maria said.”

Bennie and Joel looked at each other with raised eyebrows and large grins. Joel sat up a little straighter in the chair, and said, “Ken, give Bennie their names and let’s see if he can check them out.”

“OK. They’re newlyweds by the name of Maria and Robert Gray Hawk.”

As Bennie headed out the door Joel asked, “So, if they don’t know about the contract, why were they seeking security?”

“The way Hawk explained it he felt they’d pulled too many people away from their secured area without support, and he wanted to be covered, just in case. I think he’s much more concerned about her than himself. He also remarked about her grandfather having a lot of enemies, and other companies may try to stop them from going forward. How much of that’s true, or not, I’ve no way of knowing.”

“Ken, if the girl’s grandfather is who I think he is we’ll definitely earn our money, and ‘Little Eddie’ will be in a heap of trouble if he comes after this family. His best bet, at the moment, would be to retire to the mountains of his beloved Mexico.”

A stunned Ken responded, “It’s that bad?”

“Worse, and now that I think about what we’ve heard about the doings of the mystery man, I’m almost positive it was the Colonel.”

“What do you mean ‘the Colonel’?” Ken asked. “You’re making it sound more like a name than a rank.”

“Ken, there’s a man, an Apache, who’s a living legend among Special Forces groups. He never wears a rank insignia or even a service ID, but he’s always referred to as ‘The Colonel.’ He’s the hottest chopper pilot I’ve ever heard of, and on the ground he moves like a ghost.”

Bennie reentered the room, and said, “There are some parts here that don’t fit, but the basics are that Robert Gray Hawk is married to Maria Sanchez, the granddaughter of Jason Longbow Magill.”

Joel turned to Ken, and said, “To me, that confirms it was The Colonel.” Then, curious about something his partner had said, Joel asked, “Bennie, what did you mean about ‘not fitting’?”

“According to the Arizona police files Gray Hawk and Sanchez were actually married more than five years ago. Around a year later Robert and Maria’s parents were caught with drugs. There was also a report in the file the girl had been treated like a slave and was abused physically and sexually by Robert and his parents. When both sets of parents were given a long sentence Robert disappeared. This doesn’t sound much like a loving couple on their honeymoon.”

“No, it doesn’t, unless the young man’s had a more amazing conversion than Paul on the road to Damascus.”

“Well, we’ll table that part. If the Colonel wants us to know, he’ll tell us. Now, how do we handle this assignment?”

“So, you’re going to take the job?” Ken asked.

“Ken, my boy,” Bennie said quietly. “This one we would take even if there was no money involved.”

Joel stood, and said, “Bennie, I need you to free up as many of our boys as possible. At the same time I’ll get with the Sheriff to have us named as an auxiliary team of their SWAT unit, as I want legal access to heavier firepower, just in case. I may also talk to Admiral Burke about having one of the regular teams on standby.”

“Will do.”

“Ken, what exactly have the principals requested, and which one seems to be the leader?”

“I get the impression Hawk is quietly leading, while his wife is the more vocal member of the team. By the way, her nickname, which is a play off her Apache name, is ‘Chipmunk.’ Though I suspect she’d inflict a vicious bite if cornered. As for their security requests, I think they’re imagining a ‘rent-a-cop’ type arrangement covering the hotel where they’re interviewing and where the interviewees are staying as guests. The other request was for an armed bodyguard to accompany any of their group traveling in one of Coronado Limo’s vehicles.”

Bennie asked, “Which hotel will they be using?”

“The Renaissance Hotel, my Uncle Tony’s place.”

Joel pondered this information for a minute, and asked, “Will you be continuing to use a limo with these people?”

“No. Tonight I told the dispatcher we’d be using our two armored Suburbans, and the drivers will all have training in evasive driving and vehicular security. The principals haven’t been advised of these particulars, but they’re the ones who wanted to change to SUVs. Hawk and Maria aren’t limo people, and I doubt those being interviewed are, either.”

“Then, tomorrow, we need to advise the principals of the entire situation, and it’s probably a good idea to bring Longbow into the planning. I’d hate to face him if we screwed up and had never advised him or his granddaughter of the threat.”

Bennie grimaced, and said, “You got that right!”

Joel, furrowing his eyebrows in a moment of concentrated thought, continued, “Ken, I think you should also bring your family into this. I know most everyone is now legit, but there’s a lot of bad blood between them and Vasquez’s people. The key is the family doesn’t need to be blindsided, nor do they need to have undue attention focused on them.”

“OK, I’ll talk to Uncle Tony in the morning. I do have two questions, Joel.”

“What are they?”

“First, what are the chances this will just slip by Vasquez, and second, won’t all our activity actually make it more likely for Vasquez to think something was going on?”

Bennie raised his eyebrows, and said, “He’s got a point.”

“Yes, he does,” replied Joel, “and I really don’t have an answer. If we keep it too low-key or ignore the potential problems then it could quickly come down around our heads. Yet, if we make too much of it then we could actually be drawing the attention we’re trying to avoid. The best way I can describe it is we’ve got to prepare for the worst, and at the same time make it appear to be something insignificant. I’m sure there’s a way to do this, I’ve just got to give it some thought.”

Ken spoke up, and said, “I’ve got a couple of ideas, if that will help.”

“Sure, I’m open to anything at the moment.”

“First, Hawk and Maria need to be moved out of the ‘Del.’ It’ll be almost impossible to protect them there without being obvious.”

“They’re staying at the ‘Del’?” interrupted Bennie.

“Yeah, they’re staying in one of the special suites as a wedding present.”

“Then you’re right. We’ve got to get them out of there, immediately, if not sooner. What’s your other point?”

“I suggest you replace the Suburbans and drivers from Coronado Limos with some of yours. They’re more secure, and you can cache some of the heavier weapons in the hidden compartments. That, alone, will provide increased security and ready access to more firepower if it’s needed.”

Benny nodded, “I think it’s a good idea. How about you, Joel?”

“As part of the whole I think it’s an excellent plan, but getting them out of the ‘Del’ might be a problem.”

“Joel, I seriously doubt it. Especially when they learn about the potential danger. These are not kids that have grown up in wealth. They’re ‘normal’ folks. In fact, Maria even told Uncle Tony they’d be staying at his place on their future visits to San Diego.”

A relieved Joel let out a sigh, and said, “That helps. Now, what was your other suggestion?”

Ken answered, “Didn’t you say the other day Police Commissioner McClure has been repeatedly trying to get you to work with his SWAT team on some simulated combat situations?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, the old Excelsior Hotel is only three blocks from the Renaissance Inn. It’s an abandoned five-story brick building that’s scheduled for demolition the first of next year. I suspect it would be a great training ground, especially using paintball guns and water balloons. That would put a major part of your men and the SDPD SWAT team in very close proximity, yet without calling attention to your primary objective.”

“In other words we’d be hiding in plain sight?”

“I guess you could call it that.”

“What do you think, Bennie?”

“What I really think is Ken has missed his calling. It’s a brilliant plan.”

“Thanks, Bennie. So, Joel, where do we go from here?”

“Ken, I’d say we let things stay as they are for tonight. First thing in the morning you need to talk to your family while I call McClure. Bennie, you need to call the Admiral and start things from that end, as well as asking him to contact the Colonel. Also, I wouldn’t give anyone other than the Colonel any specifics regarding Vasquez or the mystery man. He can tell anyone else he feels is necessary. Beyond that we need to warn the Gray Hawks about talking about the Tule River incident, and we need to get them out of the ‘Del’ sometime tomorrow.”

Back in the Phoenix area Mary Beth Saunders was sitting out on the porch of Zed Andrews’ ranch. She was gazing out at the stars while she contemplated many things in her life. Without notice she suddenly felt Zed’s arms wrap around hers, pulling her upright and tight against his chest. He leaned close, and whispered, “What are you thinking about so hard?”

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The Hawk and the Chipmunk

Mike Lowe aka The Scot

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