Chapter 9

Where are you? I asked Colleen.

I'm on Hayden coming up on Indian School Road.

"Robyn, I have a situation. I'll call you back," I said, ended that call and connected with Sifu to set up a three-way silent conversation.

Sifu, Colleen is being followed, I said.

Maybe, she said. Probably.

She's at Hayden and Indian School Road, which means she's closer to the kwoon than the house, I said.

Drive here, Colleen, Sifu said.

That could put you and your students at risk, I said.

They won't try to kill her, Sifu said. They'll want to interrogate her first. I will protect her.

All right, I said. I'm in the garage now, but it will take me a half-hour minimum to drive to the kwoon.

That could be a mistake, Sifu said. You'd be playing into your enemy's hand.

Colleen, I said, do you remember our discussions on surveillance techniques?

Of course.

Is just one car following you, or are we dealing with a surveillance team? I drove through the gates at my house in Carefree.

A team, I think. The car that followed me out of the Institute's parking lot turned off but returned later. That's what made me wonder if I was being followed.

Then this isn't a Greenfield surveillance, I said. His boys are amateurs. If it's a professional surveillance team, Colleen, most likely they'll have a vehicle in front of you as well as the one you spotted behind you, and the team could be using vehicles on parallel streets. That would total four vehicles, but there could be more. How many occupants are in the car following you?

Two, the driver and one passenger.

The passenger could be a shooter, Sifu. Colleen, are you armed?

Yes, my XD-9 with two spare, loaded clips.

I'm on Scottsdale Road heading south, I said. Where are you now?

On Hayden about three miles from the kwoon.

Sifu, have you been trained in evasive-driving techniques?

Yes.

Let's do this. I outlined my plan.

A surveillance team and shooters following Colleen and waiting for the right moment to abduct her made the kwoon a trap, not a safe haven. My plan called for Colleen to stop in front of the kwoon with Sifu waiting outside for her. Colleen would slide over to the passenger seat and Sifu would sit behind the wheel and drive away immediately. I didn't believe my enemy would risk shooting at that time. They wanted Colleen alive.

Still, that moment was the weak point in my plan. If the surveillance team converged on Colleen when she stopped in front of the kwoon, they'd take her and kill Sifu, but I believed, with Colleen's sudden, unexpected stop, they wouldn't be organized enough to mount an attack at that moment and would wait for a better opportunity.

My vehicle sped down Scottsdale Road toward the public garage where we'd parked the Cadillac the morning I introduced Colleen to Mark and Ruben. Colleen knew the garage's location and layout. She'd direct Sifu to the garage, where I'd be waiting for them. I'd also be waiting for Joel Hall's surveillance team and shooters to follow Colleen and Sifu into the garage. Yes, I believed Hall was behind the attempt to abduct Colleen to get at me. I selected the garage to confront the surveillance team and shooters to minimize the possibility of collateral damage.

I'm stopping in front of the kwoon, cowboy, Colleen announced.

I held my breath.

The follow car, a silver Mercury Sable, drove past me, Colleen added.

I'm behind the wheel, Sifu said, and I'm driving away.

I let my breath out slowly.

Another car I've seen before just pulled in behind us. It's a Ford Taurus, white, Colleen said.

Is the Taurus directly behind you? I asked.

No, there's one car between us. Once again, I see a driver and one passenger.

Sifu, try to spot the surveillance vehicle in front of you.

There's one possibility, Sifu said. A car just pulled onto the street from a side street about a half-block in front of us, a white Honda Accord. Two men. A driver and one passenger.

Sifu, speed up a little. See if the Honda speeds up, I said. Colleen, without being obvious about it, check out the Taurus to see if it speeds up, too?

The Taurus is staying with us, Colleen said a few seconds later.

The Honda is matching our speed, Sifu said.

That means they're using communication gear, I said.

I've seen the Honda before, Colleen said.

I'm approaching the parking garage, I said.

I'm turning left now, Sifu said.

The Taurus is turning left, as well, Colleen said.

Watch for a new lead car, Sifu, I said.

A green Chevy Caprice just dropped in behind the Taurus, Colleen said. It's the vehicle that followed me out of the Institute's parking lot. A driver and one passenger in the Caprice. A driver and one passenger seems to be the pattern. The Taurus is turning right.

The new lead car is a Camry, maroon, Sifu said.

Five surveillance vehicles, so far, I said. Look for at least one more, but Hall could be using a total of eight.

I'm turning right, Sifu said.

I'm in the garage, and I'm parked, I said.

The Chevy Caprice turned right with us, Colleen said.

The new lead car is probably a Dodge Stratus, dark blue, Sifu said.

I said, That's six.

The garage is on your right two blocks ahead, Sifu, Colleen said.

When you enter the garage, drive quickly to the third floor, Sifu. I'll need the three floors to clear the three vehicles that will follow you into the garage.

What about the other three vehicles? Colleen asked.

They'll wait at street level.

The Mercury Sable just took over for the Caprice as the follow car, Colleen said. Do you see the entrance to the garage, Sifu?

Yes.

Don't signal. Just turn in and drive as quickly as you can up to the third floor, I said. I'll take out the Sable there, and move down toward the second floor to meet the next two follow cars. With the sound of gunshots echoing in the garage, they'll be together. When I take them out, I'll move toward the exit ramp on the second floor. Wait for me there, Sifu.

I want to help you, cowboy, Colleen said.

You will. Stay with Sifu. When he stops on the second floor to wait for me, I want you to cover my retreat if they send in a fourth car, which will be the case if Hall's using an eight-vehicle surveillance team instead of six.

All right.

I'm turning into the garage now, Sifu said.

I heard squealing tires as the vehicle Sifu was driving wound its way up toward the third floor where I was waiting. The vehicle was one of Jasper's rentals. I'd driven his other rental. I also heard the squealing tires of the Mercury Sable following close behind Sifu and Colleen.

When I saw Sifu and Colleen as they sped past me, I stepped out, leveled my weapon and shot the passenger in the Mercury through the windshield, tapping the trigger twice. I twisted my waist, aligned my shooting arm and fired two rounds at the driver. He slumped over the steering wheel. As I moved down the right side of the ramp, the Sable crashed into a vehicle parked on my left.

The Mercury Sable is out of play, I said to Sifu and Colleen.

The white Taurus turned to move up the ramp, giving me a good line of sight at the driver. I shot him twice. When he fell toward the passenger, I put a bullet in the passenger's head as he tried to bring his weapon in line to shoot at me.

The third surveillance vehicle, the Caprice, had stopped directly behind the Taurus. I ignored the driver because the shooter had exited the vehicle and was swinging his weapon over the top of the car. I aimed at his head. I didn't miss.

I looked for the driver, but couldn't see him and reasoned that he'd ducked down in the seat. I fired the two remaining bullets in my XD-9 into the driver's-side door, released the empty magazine and slammed in a full one. Three quick steps let me see the hiding driver. I shot him the moment I saw him.

The Taurus and Caprice are out of play, I announced.

Would there be a fourth vehicle?

Apparently not. I turned and ran toward the exit ramp on the second floor. Three vehicles with three shooters awaited us at street level, but we couldn't remain in the garage. The police could arrive at any moment.

I saw Sifu and Colleen. Sifu sat behind the wheel of the idling vehicle, and Colleen was aiming her weapon over the hood with the engine and right-front tire between her and any assailant. We'd discussed shooting from beside a vehicle, how to use the vehicle as body armor, but that had been months ago. She made me proud.

Then her weapon exploded, not once but twice. I spun to my rear and saw the white Honda bearing down on me. The driver was hit. Blood streamed down the side of his head, whether from flying glass shards or one of Colleen's bullets I didn't know. He was desperately trying to control the vehicle. The shooter had his arm out a lowered window. I heard the "wheat" sound as a bullet whizzed by my head. I fired two quick rounds at the shooter and dove to my left. The Honda rushed by me and slammed into the wall of the garage.

I rolled to my feet, looked down the garage toward the entrance ramps and saw no other cars, so I hurried to our idling vehicle. Colleen jumped into the passenger seat as I opened the rear driver's-side door and slid into the back seat.

"Drive!" I said to Sifu.

He stomped on the accelerator and the vehicle shot forward, roaring down the ramp. He didn't brake for the barrier arm, and our vehicle struck it. Wood splinters flew in every direction as we raced past the exit booth and the startled cashier. Sifu spun the wheel and took the vehicle up onto two tires when he turned right.

I looked back and saw the Dodge Stratus pull away from the curb. Where was the Camry? Sifu turned left. Tires screamed, but the vehicle remained on all four wheels. He turned right at the next corner. The Stratus followed us, but was losing ground.

Where was the Camry? And did we have two other vehicles to contend with?

Red light, Sifu said.

Run it if you can, I said. If you can't because of oncoming traffic, stop, and I'll take out the Dodge.

As our vehicle came to a stop, I threw my torso through the open driver's-side rear window and emptied my weapon at the Stratus and its occupants. It veered to our right, jumped the curb and smashed into a light pole. The pole fell, crashing on top of the Stratus, part of it settling in the street.

The Camry is in front of us, Sifu said as a bullet turned the windshield into a spider web on the passenger side.

"Are you hit?" I asked Colleen.

"No."

As soon as Sifu saw the Camry, he slammed the transmission in reverse, and the car roared down the street backwards for half a block before Sifu executed a perfect reverse 180. He corrected the skid and stomped on the accelerator, and our vehicle sped away in the direction we'd just come from. He turned right, and then left, and raced up the ramp onto the 101 Freeway, heading north.

Is the Camry behind us? Sifu asked.

No. Take the Scottsdale Road exit and drive north, but make some quick turns to make sure we're not followed. If we're clear, drive to the Carefree house.

As Sifu drove us toward my house, I grew more and more uneasy. Something was wrong. I'd missed something. We'd escaped the serious threat too easily. Hall had to be better than his drivers and shooters had just demonstrated. Four vehicles had entered the garage, not three. A vehicle should have been waiting, idling at the curb, at both ends of the garage, and another two vehicles waiting on side streets ready to be deployed. But only the Stratus was parked at the curb. Why? And how did the driver of the Camry know our location so he could take a position in front of us? We'd made two quick turns, and the turns had been random.

Then it hit me! Colleen first noticed the surveillance team at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute. She'd been inside the building. Her car had been parked, left unattended, in the adjacent lot.

Do not drive to the house in Carefree, Sifu. It's my guess that Hall's thugs placed a homing device on this car. He'll be tracking us. Take the Carefree Highway east toward I-17, I said.

Colleen gasped. "I didn't do a visual check..."

Hush, I said silently. Use mind-talk. Besides a homing device, they might have placed listening devices in the car. Not likely, but possible.

Colleen said, I didn't check for explosives, either. Could... ?

No. They know I'm in this vehicle. If they placed a bomb in the car, we'd be in little pieces already.

Sifu stopped at a red light.

Don't drive away, Sifu. I need to make a quick call, I said and stepped out of the vehicle, leaving the car door open behind me. I called Jasper, and he agreed to meet us at I-17 and the Carefree Highway with my Hummer, drive his rental away and take care of the homing device later. I also told him to pick up his other rental in the parking garage where I'd just left it.

"The police will be all over that garage," I added as the light turned green.

"No problem," Jasper said.

"The light just turned green. Gotta go."

We sat at the bar in my house in Carefree. Colleen set a scotch and water in front of me, moved from behind the bar and returned with a cup of hot tea for Sifu. Before he picked up the cup, she placed a hand on each side of his rugged face and kissed him, which shocked me because the kiss wasn't a quick peck of appreciation. When she leaned back, Sifu knew he'd been kissed - thoroughly.

"Sifu, you are a stellar driver," she said. "Thank you. You saved my life."

I thought the kiss would shock Sifu, too. Hah!

He grinned and said, "You are most welcome, grasshopper."

She giggled - happy sounds - wrapped her arms around me and kissed me just as enthusiastically as she'd kissed Sifu.

"And you, baby, are simply, utterly amazing," she said. "You took out five of the six vehicles following me."

"You helped with one of them."

"I did, didn't I?" Her grin slipped away. "But I made a mistake. I didn't do a visual check for explosives or homing devices after leaving my car in the parking lot while I withdrew from my classes at the Institute."

"If you had performed a visual check, they might have taken you then, sweet thing. From their actions, I believe their primary goal was to follow you to me. If it appeared that goal couldn't be achieved - like seeing you find their homing device, for instance - they would have taken you as leverage to get to me. Although, I believe they placed the homing device at the Institute, the question I have is when and where did they spot you to initiate their surveillance? Setting up a six- or eight-vehicle surveillance team can't be accomplished with only a minute's notice."

"I've been wondering the same thing," Colleen said. "How could they even know what I look like, let alone know where I'd be?"

"Tell us your activities after our meeting this morning," Sifu said.

"I met Ellie for lunch at the Denny's on Scottsdale Road just below Shea, and afterwards we did some shooting at Kevin's range. Then I drove to the Institute to formally withdraw from my classes there."

"How long were you at the gun club?" I asked.

"An hour, maybe a little longer."

"Did you do a visual check of your vehicle after you finished lunch at Denny's or after shooting?" I asked.

She blushed. "No."

"That's three places, not one, where they could have spotted you and planted the homing device. Spotting you at Denny's would've been a fluke, though, and because of the time needed to set up the surveillance team, I'd say they picked you up at the gun club, planted the homing device there, arranged for the surveillance team and started surveillance at the Institute," I said.

"Makes sense," Colleen said. "But how could they know to watch for me at the gun club? And that doesn't explain how they know what I look like."

"Marna Crispin," I said. "Colleen, you visited Marna in her office the morning of the day she was murdered. That's when Hall became aware of you, at least by name. I'd assumed Marna had given me up - as Morgan, not as Luke Upton - when Hall tortured her before killing her. Sanchez could have followed you to the Boulders, and... no, that doesn't fly. Sanchez was an assassin. Hall hired him to kill me, and Sanchez knew where I was, knew about the meeting and that the hotel would cater our lunch. Did you discuss the meeting and upcoming luncheon with Marna when you met with her?"

"Yes, and the spa session afterwards."

"Was our room number at the Boulders mentioned?"

"Yes! Marna asked for the specific room. She didn't want to ask at the desk, she said."

I sighed. "Sometime after I first met with Marna, Hall determined her connection with me. It's my guess that he planted listening devices in her office, probably the night before you met with her, Colleen. Did you happen to mention the gun club to her, or the Institute?"

"Yes, both places." She looked at Sifu. "The kwoon, too."

"And I assume that Marna referred to you by name. That's when Hall discovered your name, at least your first name. He also probably spotted you leaving her office, so that's how he knows what you look like." I bit my lower lip with my upper teeth. "This is important, Colleen. Did either of you refer to me as Luke Upton?"

Colleen scrunched up her pretty face with concentration. "I don't think we did. You were wearing your Morgan hat, so I referred to you as Morgan." She grinned. "Or cowboy. And because Marna was meeting you as Morgan at noon, she referred to you as Morgan, too. The name, Luke Upton, never came up."

"Blind luck," I muttered.

"Sometimes," Sifu said, "it's better to be lucky than good."

I'd turned off my old cell phone, and Ruben and Robyn didn't know about the Communication Center, so neither of them could reach me. I called Ruben.

"Tell me about your situation," he said, instead of saying hello.

I outlined what happened with the surveillance team we'd thwarted. "Which means Sifu and Colleen are in the thick of it whether they wanted in, or not. They'll be flying to Vegas with me tomorrow. Sifu will be our driver, and, Ruben, I haven't seen a better driver. His reverse 180 was picture perfect. Now, tell me about Karsh's stronghold. Can we breach it?"

"The grounds are protected with infrared and motion detectors and video surveillance cameras, not to mention fences and wire defining a no-man's land where vicious dogs are let out at night. Two armed guards man the gatehouse twenty-four/seven. You tell me."

"How about taking him when he's out and about?"

"That won't be easy, but unlike breaching his stronghold, it's possible."

"Good, then that's what we'll do." I gave him my new cell phone number, the names and numbers for my support staff, and the number for the new Communication Center. "Call Horace Reed. Let's tap Karsh's phones at the stronghold, and it would be helpful if we had his cell phone number, or for that matter, the cell phone number of anyone around him, like his driver. We'll turn them into broadcast mode."

"Broadcast mode? Explain."

"If a cell phone is turned on and in standby mode, it can be turned into a microphone and transmitter, which means someone can listen to conversations in the vicinity of the phone; in other words, if Robyn were with you right now, and her cell phone was turned on, and my enemy knew her phone number, he could be listening to your side of this conversation as we speak."

"You're kidding," Ruben said.

"Not at all. It's simple if you know what you're doing. I understand all the technician needs to do is transmit a maintenance command on the control channel to the cell phone. This command places the cell phone in what's called diagnostic mode. When the phone is in that mode, conversations in the immediate area of the phone can be monitored over the voice channel."

"What happens if the person being monitored tries to make a call?" Ruben asked.

"That's how a cell phone user can discover he's being monitored. The user won't know the telephone is in diagnostic mode and transmitting all nearby sounds until he tries to place a call, and even then, he might not twig to the fact that his phone is being used as a transmitter. It will appear as if there's something wrong with the phone because it has to be cycled off and then back on again before a call can be made. Horace or his counterpart in Las Vegas will know how to transmit the maintenance command, but we'll need to give them the cell phone numbers."

"I interviewed one of Karsh's party girls. Karsh likes rough sex. She doesn't, so even through a cracked and swollen lip, she was happy to talk. I'll call her and ask if she knows any cell phone numbers."

"So, he uses pros and is into rough sex. What other weakness have you uncovered?"

"The same source told me that he snorts cocaine like it was oxygen and pops pills all day long - uppers, downers, depending on his mood and chemical needs."

"Have you identified his supplier?"

"Not yet." He huffed derisively. "There's a supplier behind every bush in this crazy town."

"Anything else?"

"Weakness-wise, no."

"Give Robyn my new cell phone number and the number for the Communication Center. I'll bring a bag of extra cell phones with paid-up minutes tomorrow. It's time for the two of you to change phones, too. When Karsh is out and about is he protected?"

"Big time, and his bodyguards are armed and know what they're doing."

"I was afraid of that. Listen, I'd be happier if we had a few more shooters on our side up there. Depending on timing, Heather might join us, but..." I heard his audible groan and stifled a laugh. "What's wrong?" I asked innocently.

"Robyn and I... ah, we're an item, Morgan."

"An item? What does that mean?"

"We're lovers."

"As opposed to fuck buddies?"

"Yeah."

"Well, hell, Ruben, where's the problem? Just tell Heather how it is between you and Robyn. Heather went along with how it is between Colleen and me." I chuckled. "Of course, I also strongly suggest that you tell Robyn how it was between you and Heather."

"Yeah," he admitted after another groan.

"About another shooter? Any suggestions?"

"Yes. Cornelius. Believe it or not, that's his work name, although everyone, including him, shortens the name to Corny, mostly because he can't resist telling bad jokes or puns. He's the recovery specialist who trained me. If he's not on a job, he'll come running if I ask."

"Ask then, and let me know."

"Will do."

"Also, make a list of the weapons, accessories, and other items that you think we might need for the takedown. If I have the items in my armory, I'll bring them with me. If not, I'll call my armorer and have him arrange to have them delivered to us in Vegas. I spoke with Jasper. He'll provide our rolling stock. Sifu will be one of our drivers, but I suspect we'll need another, so call Jasper. He'll put you on to a driver there. You can turn in your rental when the vehicles are delivered. Eileen is checking out residential rentals for a safe house. I don't want to rent hotel rooms there. My face is too well known." I paused. "What about Robyn? I don't remember how well she shoots or how she handles herself in a shooting situation."

He groaned again. I laughed.

"Ask her, Ruben," I said. "No harm, no foul, if she bows out. Okay?"

"Hah! When I tell her about Heather, we won't be able to move her out of here with an overhead crane."

"In that case, ask before you tell her about Heather. One other thing, when speaking with Robyn earlier, she said something that piqued my curiosity. She said not to take it wrong, but that Karsh reminded her of me. Sanchez worked for Karsh, and he was an assassin. Joel Hall could also be labeled an assassin. What kind of bee's nest are we messing with up there?"

Ruben laughed. "Killer bees, I'd say. From all indications, Karsh is an agent for a group of international hit men."

A group of international hit men. The phrase wandered through my mind frequently that evening. Assassin - from the Arabic word hashshashin, given to assassins because, in ancient times, they supposedly ingested hashish before making a kill. But Karsh wasn't into hashish. He ingested cocaine and popped pills. I figured the results were probably similar.

"What are you thinking about, cowboy?" Colleen asked as she walked naked into the bedroom from the bathroom. She was running a brush through her thick hair. Beautiful, I thought without sharing the thought with Colleen.

I said, "Assassins."

"I've gotta admit that the word has a breathy quality to it. It sorta flows off the tongue with no unpleasant guttural sounds, and the profession has been aggrandized by the movie industry. Did you see Léon?" When I shook my head, she said, "Léon was a loveable, professional assassin, geeky looking, but he moved without sound, killed without emotion, disappeared without a trace. He reluctantly takes care of a little, neighbor girl named Mathilda, whose parents were killed, and Léon teaches her his trade. Weird. Deep down Léon was a scumbag, but I cheered for him."

"What about Sanchez?"

"I didn't cheer for him. I cut his cock." She moved onto the bed and cuddled next to me, taking my cock in her dainty hand. I didn't flinch. Brave, huh?

I said, "Ruben thinks Karsh is an agent for a group of international assassins. If we win, we might lose."

"How so?" she asked.

"Loyal assassins working for him might vow revenge." Her fondling hand was giving me a hard-on.

"Naw. They'll just find another agent. I enjoy movies about loveable assassins, but real assassins are bungholes with few, if any, redeeming qualities. Your nemesis hired Karsh to kill you. By now, with failure stacked on failure, your nemesis can't be too happy with Karsh. The master assassin is standing on thin ice, cowboy. Toss him a few bowling balls and watch him sink."

I chuckled. "Lordy, I sure do love you, sweet thing. You have a way about you that helps me look at problems through clear lens."

"Thanks," she said and released my cock. With a graceful move, she straddled my face. "I'm squeaky clean. Eat me, please."

I'd eat you if you were sweaty and ripe, I said silently because my mouth was busy.

Hmm, I'll have to test the veracity of that statement one of these days. "Good! That feels so good, baby."

What's with the kiss you gave Sifu this afternoon?

She chuckled. I was testing a theory. "Yeah, right there." She moaned with pleasure. "Perfect."

What theory?

"Heather said, and I quote, 'A kiss don't mean nothin'.' My theory says a kiss means a whole bunch."

Her hips waved, dragging her clit over my tongue. Elaborate, please.

"I kissed Sifu, and the kiss meant a lot to him, just like Heather's kiss meant a lot to you. Her passionate kiss pleased you and disturbed me. But after thinking about it, I stopped being disturbed. It didn't bother me when she kissed you again at the shooting range, not even when I noticed her kiss gave you a hard-on."

She moaned when I sucked her throbbing clitoris into my mouth and rolled my tongue slowly back and forth over the bundle of nerves.

"So," she said when I released her clit and jabbed my tongue inside her, "I figure she was both right and wrong. She was right because you kissing her or me kissing Sifu, to use her words, 'don't mean nothin'.' We're monogamous. We trust each other. Where's the harm?"

A finger replaced my tongue. "Yeah, baby. Like that."

How was she wrong? I asked and nibbled on an inner lip.

"When I kissed Sifu, really kissed him. It wasn't a stingy, little peck on the cheek. The kiss meant something to both of us. It pleased me to give him pleasure and make him feel appreciated and loved, and it proved to me that a kiss can mean a whole bunch. What's more, I gotta tell ya, baby, Sifu isn't the last man I'll kiss like that. I figure a kiss should mean something, so I say again. Where's the harm?"

She climaxed when I wrapped my lips around her nubbin again, and then lashed it with my tongue. At the same time, another finger joined the one already plunging into her pulsating pussy.

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