Chapter 53: Not Again

I opened my phone as I pulled over. A black Mustang passed me as I answered.

"Hey Rod, what's up?"

"Your playmate from Arrowhead is dead."

"What?"

"Don't worry, it wasn't you. Someone got to him in the hospital; we're still trying to figure out how. Jimmy, the fact that they killed him says a lot about just how serious they are. Apparently they couldn't take the chance that he might tell us anything. You need to watch your ass, this shit is getting deep fast. I still can't have you watched without some kind of justification, and since that's attention you don't want it limits how much I can help you."

"I understand. I just don't get it though, there is only one reason that anyone would be interested in me and I just can't see how anyone would know about it."

"I don't either, Jimmy. Not unless we're right about the Washington thing, but for the purposes of this conversation, it doesn't matter. Right now, things like why and how are at the back of the bus. The thing you have to concentrate on is what it means, and it means that some very bad people are expressing an interest in you. What you need to focus on and think about is what you need to do about it."

As he was talking I saw a car turn the corner a block behind me, then pull over and stop. It was far enough back that I couldn't make out a lot of detail but the headlight configuration suggested it was a Mustang.

"I understand. More news; it looks like I'm being followed again. A black Mustang passed me when I pulled over to take your call, just now a car turned the corner a block back and pulled over, I can't be sure but I think it's the same Mustang, any suggestions?"

"If it's following you then it suggests they haven't managed to put a new tracer on your truck yet. If they had they wouldn't have risked being seen again so soon, they would have just pulled over somewhere out of sight and waited for you to start moving again. Could you tell if there was more than one person in the car?"

Just as he asked another car came around the corner, its headlights backlighting the Mustang and exposing two silhouettes.

"Two, another car just turned the corner and backlit them for me."

"Okay, is there a 7-11 or AM/PM nearby?"

"Yeah, there's one a couple blocks over."

"Good. Go to the gas station, put the hose in your tank like you're filling up and try to see where they stop. Did you notice if the car had license plates?"

Have I mentioned how much I love my new sister?

"Paper plates, City Ford," Jamie said.

I relayed the information to Rod.

"Good, go into the station and call 911, tell them your friend's car was stolen yesterday and you think you just saw two guys driving it. Tell them where you are, where they're parked if you know, and then take your time filling up. I'll have that car on the net in about two minutes. The ID number won't match but they won't know that until they pull them over, and that should be all the time you need to shake them, not to mention it will confirm whether or not they were really following you. My money says the car probably is stolen even if it the ID I give them doesn't match, so they probably aren't going to want to be stopped by the cops either way. When you leave, head for the freeway, then call 911 back and tell them you just saw the car again and which way it's going on the freeway. Just keep going and things should get interesting within a few minutes."

I plugged in my headset and headed for the gas station. When I was about a block away, the Mustang pulled away from the curb. I picked up a pint of ice cream for my mom to kill a little time and then took the long way home. Ten minutes later I spotted two California Highway Patrol cars parked on the side of the I-10 freeway. My friend was about a quarter mile back but right after he passed them the two cops pulled out into traffic. I pulled off the freeway at the next exit, got into the left turn lane, and waited. The Mustang pulled in two cars back with one of the CHP units behind him. The light changed and as we started forward the second CHP pulled in front of the Mustang and both units lit up their flashing lights. At almost the same time, a spotlight lit up the whole area and both of the officers jumped out of their cars with weapons drawn.

As soon as the spotlight hit, the guy in the Mustang floored it and drove over the island to get to the on-ramp on the other side, knocking down a street sign in the process. I didn't hang around to see what happened after that. All the way home I was thinking about my options.

The problem now was that I couldn't use the garage without explaining to my parents why I needed it. I took the sweeper Rod had left into the garage in case whoever might stop by later decided to search the truck. I could go over it sometime tomorrow at school. I seriously doubted they had anyone watching me there; the goonies would be all over anyone hanging around like that. I still didn't tell Allison, no point in scaring her any worse than she already was. I was hoping Lizzy didn't have any plans tonight, that way Allison wouldn't be bored. Jamie and I had some serious work to do.

My first stop was to see Rod. I'd gone to bed early so he was still up watching television with his wife. Safe enough; at worst she would tease him for falling asleep. I pulled him into his office between shows. With a little luck we could be finished before the commercials ran out.

It was a bit of a shock to him; one moment he was on the couch, the next he was looking across his desk at me. I was sitting in the chair next to the one Rebecca usually used. I thought he took it pretty well.

"I thought I might be seeing you, wasn't ready for that though, usually you call first. Your two playmates in the Mustang ditched the car out by Banning and disappeared."

"I'm going to try and keep this as short as possible so your wife doesn't realize you fell asleep and wonder. I'm starting to worry about just how serious these guys are," I said. "That's twice in two days, and just so you know, it's not Atkins' people. They didn't get anything out of Rebecca. That means we don't know who these people are. Rod, I need several things from you; people actually. When things looked like they might be going south before you said you could give me some people I could learn from, about how to hide. I think I better do a little studying in case I do need to disappear. Also, I talked to Rebecca a while back about learning to fight, really fight, life or death stuff. I got lucky with that guy yesterday, he thought I was running away and I caught him off guard. I can't count on luck. The fact that they sent two people after me tonight suggests that they are worried about how I got away. I need someone to teach me how to stay alive. Especially if they come at me with some kind of weapon; whether it's a knife or a needle I need to know how to handle it."

"You sure you have time for that kind of training?"

I held his eye, "I'm a fast learner."

He raised an eyebrow and stared at me for moment. I though he was going to ask for an explanation but he just asked, "Anything else?"

"Pursuit driving; how to lose someone if I need to; how to spot someone following me. That was another lucky break tonight. They got careless because they were following a kid. That's twice I've gotten away from them. I don't think they're going to be taking me for granted after this."

"Not just gotten away, Jimmy, you turned the tables on them both times. You're right, after this the kid gloves are likely to come off. What do you need to work your magic or whatever it is you do to get to new people?"

"Whatever you can give me? A name, a picture, every little detail makes a difference. If you've had personal interaction with them it really helps. Just run through some of the memories of your time with them."

He nodded and turned his computer to face me, then began typing. An image came up almost immediately; a man in his mid-fifties with short cut hair and dark eyes, clear complexion, no scars. The view pulled back and he looked like a drill sergeant's worst nightmare. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who looked more 'average'.

"Carter Malloy; advanced hand to hand trainer at The Block, that's an unofficial nickname for our agent training facility in Quantico. Twenty-two years in the field; one of the most dangerous men you'll ever meet. Lost his left hand to a drug dealer. They handcuffed him to a railing in a barn they were using as part of a cocaine pipeline, and then they set fire to the barn. He cut the hand off himself. He can kill you with that stump faster than most men could with two good hands. As part of the introductory lesson he takes on two men with his good hand tied behind his back. He hasn't lost yet."

"I'm going to like this guy," Jamie said. I could hear the anticipation in her voice.

As Rod had been speaking images of Malloy had been flashing up on the screen, including a video clip of 'lesson one.' Rod began typing again and a black man wearing round wire-framed glasses popped up.

"Bart Reston. Logistics and support specialist. Surveillance, tech-ops, ID, you name it. He's the go to guy for anything behind the scenes. He trained Paul."

He typed some more and a third man popped up on the screen. "Wheels. His real name is Wilfred Thurgood Omstead the second. You ever call him that you better be calling long distance from an untraceable phone. If you can drive it or ride it, he can ride it or drive it better. You ever see the second Beverly Hills Cop movie? The opening scene where the bad guys are making a run for it in a truck full of cigarettes and Eddie Murphy is bouncing around in the back? There's a scene in that chase where they spin-out a bus. If you look closely you'll see they watered the road to get it to work. I've seen him do it on dry pavement. Everybody who goes through his course puts $100 into a pot. When you pass the class you get a chance to either follow him or lose him. If you can do either one, you win the pot. Last time I checked there was twenty grand in the pot. He gets to keep whatever is in there when he retires.

"Those three should be about as good a start as you could ask for. Malloy can teach you the basics on most weapons as well. He used to be able to assemble a .45 from a box of parts in a pitch-black room in under sixty seconds. It takes him a little longer now with only one hand."

He paused for a second, clearly debating whether or not he should go on. Finally he made the decision.

"Jimmy, I hope it doesn't come down to this but you can't risk waiting to find out. Go see these guys; work your magic, learn fast. If you have to run, here are three places you can start..."

He showed me a list with three addresses and box numbers. Each would contain an address and a key to a locker or storage facility.

"Jimmy, you're a good kid, and like I said, I hope it doesn't ever come to this, but if it does, my best advice is don't look back."