Chapter 6

For some strange reason, the door to the outside was not locked. I managed to slip inside without attracting attention. To my surprise, the whole warehouse, around 30,000 square feet, was well lit. There was almost nothing in the warehouse except for a very large safe. That safe was well guarded, at least if you counted the men who were standing around and carrying Uzis. It was a cinch that I was not going to be able to crack this place with the stuff I had with me, and I was going to need help—at least one more person, possibly two more. I had finally run up against a Carnoli nut that I couldn't crack all by myself.

I sneaked out of the place the way I had come in and went home to plan my next move. I really wondered how I was going to get help. The only person I thought I could trust was Bill Wilson. I had a class scheduled with him tomorrow, so I would broach the problem to him at that time. Maybe he could point me toward someone I could recruit if he was not interested.

The next day, I walked into the dojo. Bill was standing in the practice room waiting for me. "Hi, Bill, I'll be with you in a minute. I'll be right back as soon as I change."

"No, wait a minute, Chuck. I have to talk to you about something very important, and it may affect the class situation."

"Sure, Bill, what's the problem?"

"There may not be a problem, and that will be up to you. First, I have to know, are you Paladin?"

Shit! That caught me flatfooted. It was the last thing I was expecting, and I was momentarily caught with my jaw on the floor. "Yes, Bill, I am Paladin. How did you know?"

"Well, for one thing, some of the injuries inflicted on the bad guys sounded like stick work to me, and you are the only person I know of, outside of myself, who could do it that well. Furthermore, you get to know somebody real well when you spend hours with him working in martial arts. You strike me as the kind of person who has the balls to do things like that."

"Shit, I'm busted! Yeah, I am concentrating on the Carnoli crime family, but I do take on other odd jobs as they fall my way. I was once a cop. I arrested the Carnoli brothers once and they beat the rap. I nearly paid for that with my life, and I did spend a year in pain getting over their revenge. In fact, this is not my original face. I'll give you the details over a beer sometime, but I want to know why you asked."

"Basically, I owe the Carnoli family real big. Those three bastards raped and murdered my youngest sister nearly three years ago, and I have been looking for a way to get back at them. That's why I'm interested in you—could you use a partner?"

"Oh, my God, Bill! It's almost funny. Today, I was planning to ask you to join me in my crusade against the Carnolis. I have just found out the hard way that I can't do the job alone. There are just too many of them, and they are too powerful for me to beat them by myself. I badly need a partner, and I had hoped that you would be the person. For one thing, you have a lot of training that I lack, so you could teach me while we work. So, how about it, Partner?"

I put out my hand and Bill shook it. Now there were two Paladins! Well, I needed to change my business card. "Look, Bill, we have a lot to discuss, and this is sure not the place. Do you have anything scheduled after my class time, tonight? If not, please join me at my house for dinner. I can call and arrange it right now, and I guarantee that you will not regret it!"

"Hold off, Chuck, there's one more thing before we are locked up. What do you think of a third person to work with us. This person would bring important skills that neither of us have, but are going to need badly. Furthermore, this person is in excellent physical shape and nearly as skilled as I am at stick fighting. What do you think?"

"Hell, Bill, if you vouch so strongly for this guy, I'm all for it. Who is he? Do I know him?"

"No, you have never met this person. Now, I'll give you the last piece of information that may kill the whole deal. The person I was talking about is my SISTER! She was a special agent working out of the US embassy in Israel. Among other things, she is a crack shot with about any weapon you can name, she can open any lock ever made, and she is tough as nails."

"Gender is not important. She sounds like a superwoman. Hell, yes, bring her on!"

"OK, GAIL, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW!" I nearly fell over in a dead faint. This woman was not just beautiful, she was every man's wet dream! I guessed that she was 5'-6" tall and weighed about 140 pounds, all of it muscle except where fat was needed to fill out the package. She had the same auburn hair and brown eyes as her brother, and her face was as nearly perfect as it was possible for a human to be.

On top of everything else, she shook hands with a firm grip. I don't know if I was in love, but I was sure in lust! Her first words were, "Down, Boy. We'll talk about that later!" Then we all laughed. Right then, I called Carol to tell her that we would have two guests for dinner, but we would eat in the breakfast nook, not in the formal dining room. Nevertheless, I told her not to stint, and she was expected to eat with us.

Gail and I took some time to run through a few exercises with the stick so that we could get a feel for each other's technique. We had worked up a sweat, so Bill called a halt and we all adjourned to the showers. No, Gail went to the Ladies Locker Room, but I would have been delighted to shower with her at any time.

She came back out dressed in a tee-shirt and jeans, but she would have looked good in anything she wore or didn't wear, for that matter. The Wilsons followed me home in Bill's pickup. They were impressed when we got to the house, and I suspect that they figured me for some sort of practical joker until I led them through the front door and shouted to Carol that we were home.

OK, I admit that my mother had lavished a lot of time, effort, and money on the formal part of the house, and it was enough to impress just about anybody, but the informal part where I led my guests was as comfortable as one could hope for.

We reached the kitchen just as Carol was removing her shoulder holster. Since my fun and games had started, I had convinced her to wear it anytime I was not at home. I didn't want her to get caught short if we should get a visit from the Carnolis.

I introduced Carol to Bill and Gail, and cordial relations were immediately established. I told her that these were the partners that she had ordered me to find. Carol brightened up at that and commented that she would try to make a good impression with her cooking.

Dinner was not quite finished, so we sat at the breakfast table while Carol finished her usual masterpiece. While we were waiting, I told Bill and Gail all of the gory details of my initial experiences with the Carnoli family, especially the siblings.

Carol responded with the explanation that she had been on duty in Israel when she heard the news. She was devastated and immediately began the formalities of leaving the service (that's what she called it and would not give any details) to try to bring the three men to justice. She had been totally frustrated until Bill had told her his suspicions about me and the possibility of forming some sort of partnership. Gail had liked what she'd heard so far and could hardly wait to get started with the hunt.

Dinner was reserved as time for small talk, but we got serious as soon as the table was cleared and Carol rejoined us. I told them about my discovery of the warehouse last night, and my desire to clean it out. I explained that we did not need the money, but I wanted to deliver a big blow to the Carnoli family.