Chapter 28

Chuck

Sunday mornings are fun out at the park. The women wear near nothing, driving us men crazy. I anticipated a good time.

When I woke and began my exercises, John joined me on a treadmill, followed by some weights. He said, "It sure would be nice to have you close by. We could workout together. It's a lot more fun to do this stuff when you have a buddy."

About that time, Lisa, Brandy, and Tiani came in and began using the other treadmill and the stationary bikes. Little Tiani said, "We like to work out with Chuck, here or in bed. Both are fun."

That made me blush and John laugh. Lisa said, "Chuck will usually form Tae Chi in the morning. Now almost the whole house is out there doing it with him."

John asked, "Do you still take lessons, Chuck?"

"I only go to the dojo to spar now. Not as often as I should, but at least once a month. I sometimes join in a class for some discipline reinforcement."

John said, "I didn't keep up with the martial arts. Probably should have, but I'm lazy."

I said, "Not hardly, John. You may not practice martial arts, but you still exercise and go to the range. Along with your very stressful days, you definitely are not lazy."

"Hey everyone," Tina hollered, "it's almost six thirty, let's head to the park for Sunday breakfast and the fashion show.

The rest of the household was up, and already in their 'almost not there' gowns. When John saw Kenisha in the gown the girls gave her, he almost dragged her back to their room. The girls all brought along some clothes for later, but loaded up in cars as they were dressed.

Out at the park, John was once again totally mesmerized by even more women wearing teasing, visually treating, gowns. It was a voyeur's paradise.

Steve walked over as Jan and I were talking together and asked, "Is this private or can I ask you two a couple of things?"

Jan said, "Anything we have to say about the Alcam group, you might as well hear. I was telling Chuck that the team leader from the DC front line group wants to do something tomorrow morning. The intel has more hired help coming to town, and the strike force feels it's getting closer to them making a move."

I said, "Sarge says the observation teams have reported at least a dozen men have come to town. They drove in, so that means they brought their own tools."

"The Miami Bureau, along with the Marshal's staff are ready to move in down there at the same time we move up here," Jan said. "They have cause to go in after them, so we might be able to clean out all the nests of rats at the same time."

Steve asked, "What can I do? My security people are all ex-military and well trained."

"Steve," I said, "You need to concentrate on your home area and your businesses. Your exposed areas would be the yacht area and the airpark. You've proven you can protect the airpark fairly well, so do the same at the marina, and make sure you're protected here and in the business park. We don't know how much they know about you, so anything can happen. If they can hurt your business, then the business value wouldn't be worth as much. If they can intimidate you into just giving it to them, they would be real money ahead."

"Do you think we're safe during the daylight hours?" Steve asked. "They wouldn't do anything during the day, would they?"

Jan said, "Probably not, but it would be good to stay vigilant. Since this is Sunday, they may think our guard is down, so keep your family close and keep your friends close as well."

Steve said, "I don't like being threatened or being afraid to just be normal. Let's get Hap and make sure we have all the help he needs."

Hap was having breakfast when the three of us sat down and Steve asked him. "Hap, Chuck and Jan say we need to be careful today as some bad guys may think we would be relaxed around here on Sunday. Do you have enough help to watch here, the airpark, the shops, and the marina?"

Hap was nodding, "We have some Sheriff's deputies helping out part-time at the shop and now out at the airpark. We have some Pinellas county deputies at the Marina. We should be fine there. I have men all over the business park and we're protected pretty well here. We put two men over at the sports complex to make sure the people there are protected. I'm spending lots of your money, Steve, but we should be good."

I said, "Sounds like you've put resources where you need, Hap. We just need to make sure all the units watch for any strange vehicles or something out of place."

Hap said, "That is part of their marching orders. I've briefed all of the part-time deputies and they know this could be serious. I'm not saying we're impenetrable, but we should be damn near there."

"Thanks," Steve said, "all of you. Hire as many as you think you need, Hap. This scares the shit out of me. If it were just me, no sweat, I can defend myself, but all these folks out here, the marina, and the airpark, are what I worry about."

Everyone was eating breakfast when Steve stood up and said, "Listen, everyone, Mercy wants to go out on the big sail boat today. Tiny and Kevin are taking a couple of the big boats out too. How about all of us get ready and head over to the marina and enjoy a day on the water?"

Heads were bobbing up and down, and even my bunch was all for it. I gathered the women from my household and told them that they were going sailing as there might be a problem around the park or even at home. They reluctantly agreed, only because they would get a chance to go out one of the sailboats they keep hearing about.

Shortly after that, John received a call, and I noticed Jan receiving a call too. They both motioned me over to them, along with Hap. Jan said, "The strike team in Orlando said a group of eight SUVs just left there. Our people are following them in the direction of I-4 right now."

Steve had joined us and said, "Damn, they were supposed to wait until tomorrow."

Sarge called me and asked, "Where do you think they are going?"

"I don't know, Sarge, the only thing I can think of would be the airpark, but they already know there is going to be security there. I'm not sure what they think they would gain if they went there en masse."

Sarge said, "I agree with you, but for some reason I think they may want to cause some grief where Steve lives, or out at his business park. They don't know what security he has there, so it may seem like an easy target."

I had an idea, "Sarge, I'm going to get hold of the County Sheriff's office and ask if they could just detail a bunch of cars to sit in front of the access points of the business park and the trailer park. I'm sure if the people coming see a show of force, they will pass it by and go on out to the airpark. We can be ready for them out there. Have you got a helicopter in the air yet, or is Orlando handling that?"

"The Bureau just put a bird in the air and Orlando is following them but off to the south of the highway, staying out of direct sight," Sarge said. "Our bird is going to do the same from the other side."

Thinking of what would be the best way to handle eight vehicles of at least six per vehicle, I said, "Detail a team to get out to the airpark and close it down. Lock up everything and get any of the workers either out of there or where they can't get hurt. Make the techs shut all of the hangar doors so there is no easy access. I think we should have some men already waiting there and for another group to follow them in. If we can get enough men, we can have people at both ends of the runway so there is nowhere to run."

Sarge said, "Let me get that started with the Bureau. We have enough time to get it ready. You call the County Sheriff and get that started."

I found Mickey and asked her to help me get a contingent of patrol cars parked all along the business park entrance and the trailer park entrance. She said she would make sure there were at least three cars at every access point. She said, "Glad I'll be here instead of out at the airpark. That wild cowboy stuff scares the 'you know what' out of me."

Steve's folks had packed up and were quickly out of the park. That still left several hundred people and families there, but the show of force in front should convince intruders it wouldn't be a good idea to come on in. I directed Hap to be in charge of his security people at the park, and to arrange them so that if cars did turn into the park, they could stop them at any entrance or access point.

Jan asked me what John and I were going to do. I said, "We're going to get ready, and when the group passes here, we are going to follow them and be part of the closing group that follows them into the airpark."

Jan said, "The Bureau is going to have a couple of dozen men out there with some of the deputies. There should be both deputies and agents at each end of the runway with the security men. There are security men in each building and Sarge said he would put at least one man with each security man. That should keep them out of buildings."

Jan brought her portable up to her mouth and said, "Go ahead."

The handheld broadcast, "We're passing Plant City now, so we're about forty minutes out at the pace they're going. We can't see into the vehicles, but they appear to be heavily loaded. We're guessing six to eight men in each vehicle."

Jan said, "Ten four, we're setting up now. Tell me if they turn off toward seventy-five or come to two seventy-five."

John came up to me and said, "I just got a call from the Director. He said that they are going to hit all of the Alcam offices and operations as soon as the first contact here is made. He said even the Marshal was getting nervous about this one."

He turned and looked around and asked, "Show me what you're carrying in your trunk again. Hope there is at least one more vest around here."

Jan heard him and said, "Come with me, John, I have a vest you can use. It says FBI all over it, but it'll keep you safe."

John came back wearing the FBI vest as did Jan and Wanda. I asked Wanda, "What are you doing? You should have gone with Steve."

"Not a chance. Marie and I are in on this one. It's in our backyard and we're part of the service. We'll stay here and make sure the place is secure, but we're not going away from where we might be needed."

I told them, "Good, stay here with Hap's security people, Mickey, and the county people. If by chance these guys turn in here, find cover first then use your skills. Don't waste ammo on shots that are too long. Wait for them to get up close, just like the decision course. You know the drill."

The two girls smiled at me then gave me a hug. That's a strange way to get ready to do business.

Jan said, "I'll ride with you guys out to the airpark if you follow them. I've already told the chief what I was doing. He's so nervous; he's going to have another heart attack if he doesn't settle down."

Jan's radio crackled, "They turned up I-75 and look like they're turning toward the trailer park. They are going to come from the south on Fletcher. It'll be a little bit before they get there."

This waiting was making me nervous. I was always the aggressor, always pushing ahead to stop an attack. I went to them, not waiting for them to come to me.

A few minutes later Jan's radio broadcast, "The group is approaching from the south. They are about two minutes away."

I had John and Jan get into the car and drove toward the gate. If these guys turned in here, the three of us couldn't hold them but we would be a hell of a bump in the road.

We parked beside the security shack where I noted the guard had what looked like an M-16. Hap was buying decent stuff. There were two County Sheriff's cars parked at the entrance, so it was doubtful the convoy would turn in here.

The first car had slowed in front of the trailer park but then accelerated down the road with seven more big Chevrolet Suburbans following. As soon as they were nearly out of sight, I pulled out to follow them. We had just begun to follow the convoy, when I noticed that what looked like half the Sheriff's cars were coming with me.

Jan said, "I can see two helicopters watching them, so the airpark people will know the time frame. It's only ten minutes out to there.

I followed them right to the front of the airpark where the lead car didn't even stop. It drove straight through the closed gate, knocking it down, then drove across the runway. When that car got near the hangar, he stopped and all the other cars stopped in a row next to it. I had pulled up behind the operations building and the Sheriff's cars followed me.

We were watching as more and more men climbed out of the SUVs. Only half of them had rifles, but a bunch had what looked like machine pistols, Mac10s and Uzi's. Those things sprayed rounds.

I asked a county deputy if he had a bullhorn. He nodded and got one out of his trunk. Going to the side of the building, but not out of cover, I turned the horn on, "This is federal law enforcement. You are surrounded."

About sixty men began shooting in my direction. Thank goodness everyone was behind the building. Rounds were hitting everywhere, skipping off the pavement, ricocheting off metal rails and poles, and the concrete block of the building.

I tried again, "You are outnumbered, put down your weapons, you are surrounded."

More rounds were fired toward where they thought I was. Behind me, I heard a short scream then a lot of cussing. It sounded like Jan, but if she was cussing, I didn't have to worry about her. I kept focused on the men now standing and looking toward the operations building.

From the other side of the hangars, another bullhorn broadcast, "You are surrounded, put down your weapons."

The group as a whole turned and fired toward the rear of the hangars. John came up beside me as I was raising my rifle. We both fired at the same time knocking down the first two men. We kept firing, knocking down at least ten before some men turned back around toward us and began firing. Of course, we were already down behind a concrete wall.

One of the deputies said, "Some of them are getting in their truck. They're heading toward the end of the runway. Look, there are Sheriff's cars down there."

About that time, I saw a car heading the other way on the runway, knowing that a reception committee was waiting in that direction as well. I peeked over the low wall to see several of the men who had been shooting at us run toward the hangars. They were splitting up. With so many men still trying to fight, this was going to take a while.

I turned to the deputies and said, "Stay here. If any of you are good with a rifle, snipe them. Make sure of your target before you fire. There are a lot of law enforcement agencies out here. Whoever is best with a rifle, do the deed. John, you and I are going to get closer in, using the car as cover.

Looking around, I could see Jan with her shirt torn off her arm. She had the sleeve wrapped around it and wasn't looking happy. She said, "I want to go with you. Don't you object. It isn't going to hurt me to help you out. Three of us can look in three different directions. Now, let's go."

I headed to my car, with John and Jan following. I said, "I'm going to pull to about the end of the hangar and turn sideways. All of us get out on the driver's side. John, you and Jan ride in the back seat."

We drove across the tarmac, but went to the outer hangar where there would be less places to hide. I pulled the car out in the open from the hangar and stopped. We all got out of the car as it was hit multiple times with rounds fired from men trying to hide in the small space where the doors and wall meet.

I slid to the front of the car and found a target. I downed that one and found the next. John was firing steadily, the same way as I was.

Jan yelled, "The car that went to the north end of the runway is coming back. We're exposed."

I told John and Jan, "Fire at the tires, slow it down. I'll fire at the windshield; you can bet they don't have bulletproof glass."

Jan was firing immediately, saying, "Yeah, they don't have protected cars, do they?"

The car ground to a stop and four men jumped out. Jan, John, and I put them all down in a second. Who knows who shot which one? It would take the CSI and coroner teams to figure that out, if they wanted to.

One of the Sheriff's cars had come across the runway and had parked where we were, but on the far side of Steve's hangars. They were firing a lot and I could hear fire coming from between the hangars to the side of us. Jan was watching in that direction when two men came running back toward the cars still parked there. They didn't look armed at that point, so they must have dropped their empty weapons. The car they climbed into spun around and headed out of the airpark. A volley of Sheriff's rifles stopped the car dead.

Jan's radio began to chatter. The ends of the runway were reporting in. There wasn't any more firing, but we needed to be careful as someone could be hiding anywhere. I said to John, "Let's check the five vehicles first, then join in sweeping the place."

Jan said, "The first group that took off to the south end of the runway was neutralized. Maybe we can find a couple people still alive and question them."

John joked, "Then you better get Chuck to put his rifle down. I think he's pissed that someone would mess with his airplanes."

"They're not all mine, John," I said, glaring a little. "Most of them are Steve's."

As the Sheriff's deputies came across the runway, I directed them to slowly go around this hangar, then come down between the two main hangars. I could see the Bureau and deputy contingent sweeping the far hangars.

John stood up and said, "That was a long fire fight. They were about to put up a hell of a fight. Glad they ran out of ammo. Those little machine pistols are scary, but not a very good fighting tool when the only thing those guys know is full auto."

As I stood up, Jan pointed to my right shoe. The whole front of the shoe on my prosthetic foot was blown off. "Didn't you feel that?" Jan asked.

"Too busy worrying about what was in front of me, Jan. You okay, you know you're going to have an adrenaline rush like you won't believe. I see a paramedic truck, go get that looked at."

Jan's radio crackled then, "Steve Sharp's boat is under some kind of attack out in the gulf. We got a call from the Coast Guard as they are aware of our posture here right now because of the marina. I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I hear."

Damn, I sent the women out on the boat to be safe and someone is messing with them out there. Steve and his girls are tough and a formidable force when they need to be.

John asked, "Kenisha's there with them, can Steve handle this?"

"They should be all right, John. I saw them hold off and totally annihilate some pirates on the sailing trip I took with them. You read the reports from the Coast Guard."

John was shaking his head, "But Kenisha doesn't know how to fight."

"I'm sure Steve has her and the kids all below deck. That big sailboat is strong and rifle rounds won't go through the steel hull. Tiny and Kevin were taking two other boats out there, so it isn't like they are alone."

I said this knowing Kevin and Tiny had no training, and probably only had a couple of rifles between them. Steve's group was savvy and he had taught them how to fight off boarding pirates. I hope they had enough firepower on board.