Chapter 32

Steve

I was awake around three in the morning, thinking about Chuck and Lisa.

"What's the matter, Honey, do you feel all right?" Sue was in a robe, standing next to me. "Do you want me to make you some coffee? It's almost six. You've been out here most of the night."

I looked up at the love of my life, "Just thinking about Chuck and Lisa. You saw them; they nearly lost it for a while. That's real PTSD stuff. That's the aftermath of a combination of intense fear, anger, and the passion to do something that needs to be done and feeling guilty about it. You saw the intensity of those two on TV. They walked right up to those men who were shooting at them. I think those men were already dead, but still pulling the trigger. Both of them had two guns blazing while walking directly into the line of fire. They didn't have any body armor; they were just reacting to a situation. It makes me shake to think of that kind of intensity. I'm afraid for them."

Sue was now sitting next to me, holding my arm with a hand resting on my leg. "Honey, those two have been trained to do what they do. I know it was bad, but they were protecting three of their own, as well as the others in that store."

I looked down at Sue, "Do you ever have flashbacks of the accident that disfigured you so badly, that you had to go through years of surgeries to make you whole again?"

"Of course, Honey, how can you ever forget something like that? Oh, I see what you mean. I just have that one horrible memory, and they have so many. You have been in those situations and you don't show it."

"Mine are over, Sue, the last thing that happened is that nutty thing out in Las Vegas. I still see that in my head."

Sue stood up and turned the overhead patio lights on. "Now you have me thinking about stuff and feeling the fear I felt back then. I'm going to get you some coffee and get me a Diet Coke." Sue paused before she reached the door and turned to me smiling, "I forgot the new coffee system has already made some."

Glenda walked in the door with her mug in hand. She walked over to the awesome coffee bar, filled her mug, then pulled a mug from the shelf and poured me some. When she sat down at the table near the couch where I was, she asked, "Trouble? I saw you out here during the night, and Sue has been out with you for a while. Anything I can do to help?"

"I'm just worried about the stress Chuck and Lisa have been through lately. Those two have been pushing the envelope recently. They need to back off, slow down, and do something different. Maybe they need to just play their music, or maybe fly charters for a while, even go on tour with the Blues Expedition. They need to do something to mentally really get away."

Glenda reached out and patted me on the knee. "Chuck's not going anywhere with all those new babies he has in his family. The man is a crazed lawman, but he's very family oriented first. Just look how he's built and gathered his family. He'll work it out, Steve. He's a strong man. I just hope he can help Lisa get through her fears."

"Glenda, Lisa was trained as a Marine, as a pilot, then trained for the Secret Service. She's as tough as nails, but I'm sure both of their minds can become fragile sometime. Chuck and Lisa will have to work through this together."

Sue came out with her Diet Coke. Following her were Kathy, Mercy, and Juanita. Kathy said, "Giovanna and Mickey are still asleep. The babies are still asleep too. They are lucky not to have early risers like ours were."

Sue idly said, "It has to be genes from their dad. He's the early man around here. They have those same genes, wonder when they will start waking early?"

Tiny and Ruth came through the back door, while Chuck, and what looked like his entire household, minus Pops and Rags and their men, came through the front. The noise level picked up as more and more people began showing up. By the time the bellhop from the hotel arrived with the food, people were sitting at the tables ready to eat.

Tiny said to me, "It's a good thing we pushed the special opening for the Costa Rican officials back until this weekend. We've had so many things going on that it's impossible to get caught up."

A cheery voice next to Tiny added, "You mean Jim and me? Did we bog you down?"

Tiny laughed, "No, Fran, you didn't do that. The plant is just one more item to work on."

I asked, "When are the Costa Rican people coming to the resort? What's the plan?"

Henry was sitting at the table now and told everyone, "They will arrive Thursday evening. All of the S&S people that are going this weekend will leave here Wednesday noon. They will have most of a day to explore and enjoy the resort. We are inviting the Costa Rican President, Vice President, and the 17 ministers, but that also will include their families, about thirty-five guests total, to this gathering and offering a midweek overnight stay for their people who are like our Congress. We're being cordial, but not totally giving the house away."

Tiny mentioned, "Chuck made the right decision to not have a casino at the resort. The resort with the government run casino in the city is enjoying a boost in business. Everyone is happy."

"When am I supposed to go down there?" I was wondering if I had an itinerary.

"I have you and as many of your family as you want to take scheduled for Wednesday," Tiny replied. "Chuck is going down either Tuesday or Wednesday. I don't know how he is going to put everyone up, but he's planning on taking his entire household, including Big Tina and Lena. He mentioned he had it taken care of, so we'll see."

Marty was there and suggested, "That's easy enough to find out. Call Diego, he'll know."

I looked over at Chuck and Lisa and saw them joking and chatting with all of their people. "Better, or easier, I'll ask Chuck."

There were groans among those trying to be gossips or making second guesses. As much as we all love each other, all of us are curious about what the others are doing.

Chuck was heading our way, so I asked him about his plans. He replied somewhat clumsily, "We were planning on packing up and flying down this afternoon, however, Jan tells me I am going to have to attend a press briefing on what happened yesterday. I'm sure there are a lot of anti-gun people who are saying we were too aggressive yesterday, so law enforcement must once again defend ourselves. The only thing I am concerned about is the press plastering my name all over."

Mercy was with our group and said, "It's going to be difficult for you to stay under the radar as that video has gone totally viral on YouTube. At least you can't see either of your faces enough to be recognized. In any of the news releases and print stories about the incident so far, you and Lisa have only been named as off duty U.S. Deputy Marshals. That video also shows the first guy Lisa shot was bringing his gun up to do something to Ace, Brandy, and Tiani. I'm sure one or all three of the family would be dead if she had not acted in time."

I could see the stress from this discussion on Chuck's face, and tried to steer our conversation away from the event. "Chuck, do you want to wait and go with some more of us?"

"If I can, I wanted this to be just the immediate family, but I can see it would also be nice to have you and your family with us. Then that means Tiny, Henry, Marty, Moleson, plus wives and kids. We might as well take a 737, but we need to keep in mind that we'll need at least twelve regular seats for the baby car seats. All the new additions are going to make a big difference in our travel plans.

"To get back to your original question, I had Diego separate the top three floors of suites for us and the S&S people. We will have to have a meal or two with Mina and the rest of the island people, but we have time to work on that. If some of us want to stay in the new suites in the big house on the home island, we can do that too."

I asked Chuck, "When do you have to do this press briefing? If you want, I can be with you. I know how tough some of these things are."

"I can do it," Chuck said, with a determined look on his face. "I've asked Sarge to set this up with a screen or video system that doesn't show my face. We won't use names, or at least our real names. If necessary, Sarge will tell the press we are working undercover and don't want to take a chance on being recognized. I'm leaving in a few minutes and will try to keep Lisa here. Hopefully, that will satisfy the press."

"Not a chance in hell, Supercop," Lisa said, coming up behind Chuck. "I will be with you, and if asked, I'll tell them what really happened. They attacked innocent people and were about to shoot them, and I shot them first. You joined in as the other bandit perpetrators began shooting. I'll be with you, Big Boy, you know, through thick or thin."

Chuck was frowning as he waved goodbye to us and took Lisa by the arm. They said goodbye to everyone, but took Ace with them.

When I went to tell Sue I was leaving for the shop a few minutes later, Mercy came up to me, "Chuck and Lisa are in full battle mode. They are totally closed off and have been since the incident. That's why the kids aren't going nuts. I'll know when they come out of it. They will let me back in."

I hugged Mercy in appreciation of her understanding. I was able to kiss all of the women, and the two babies, as well.

Chuck

I didn't want to do this. My mind was already on the way to Costa Rica with the family. Now it was going to be with Steve's, the other S&S people, and all of mine. I was going to use a G-5, but now it was going to be at 737. Maybe we did need a 747 like Air Force One. Our demand on size is becoming ridiculous. It's the comfort we want that is making our size needs ridiculous.

On the way to the press briefing, I explained to Lisa and Ace what had been set up. Lisa and I would be screened and our voices would be scrambled, using our subterfuge of being undercover. I told Ace, "You are going to spend the morning with Sarah, the Assistant to the Chief, or ACE. She is going to swear you in as a Deputy and run another background check on you. I know you've been through a few with the Secret Service, so you should have nothing bad in your file. If you watched the videos I left for you and took the tests, she will pat you on the back and give you the next group. Do as many as you can from the selection for new Deputies. You can be valuable that way."

Ace asked, "When will I be able to do some work with experienced agents or Deputies?"

"As soon as you are sworn in and given a badge, you'll be assigned duty. Make sure Sarah gives you some body armor, and ask for a couple of more magazines for your weapon. You don't have to sign magazines out, and you don't have to do anything but ask and be recorded for ammunition. Remember, when you have a few minutes, go down to the firing range and get proficient. You know what I mean."

Something about Ace was bothering me, and there was no way to find out but to ask him. "Ace, up in Atlanta, you were acting as if you had a lot of experience and you were even the team leader there. You were sharp-eyed enough to pick out the problem we had last week here, but when it came to defending yourself, you shot a shooter in the arm. What was that? You acted the right way on the biker clubhouse attack and followed directions, but you were far too nervous for someone who has been on missions like I know. At the Warehouse store, you were unprepared and obviously never directly faced someone who could be a killer, and who would, or was going to, kill you. Thank goodness it didn't happen, but tell me, how much experience do you really have? How much training have they given you?"

Ace's face was a little red, but he shook it off and glanced at me. "Not enough, training that is. I did one tour in Iraq and that was mostly what you guys would call powder puff patrols. I was always in areas that were pretty secure. Combat? I was in one firefight when the patrol was hit by a bunch of guys with rifles. I shot back and was aiming when I shot. I don't know for sure, but I do think I hit at least one.

"When I got out of the service, I applied to the Secret Service and was accepted. You see, I had finished high school and my college degree early and couldn't find a job, so I joined the Army. I thought that would give me some life experience to help me for the rest of my life. I was a sergeant when I was discharged, which was about average. After an entire week of personality tests, the Secret Service people sent me to JJR. That is the James J. Rowley Training Center outside DC. That wasn't a big deal. It was a lot like Army basic training, with a lot more class work and sidearm training. They trained me to use the MP5, but in a cut down version. I wasn't very good with that. I did some shooting with a .308 sniper rifle and did pretty good. Like I said, we learned to look at crowds and people to see who might be a problem. That was the bulk of the training.

"At the end of the training session, they send a lot of guys as advance people to where presidents are going. Some go to past presidents, but most of the personal protectors are involved with the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and often some other important people. The Vice President's security staff is pretty big too. When everyone was chosen for those jobs, I was assigned to a Treasury unit and almost immediately sent out with an old guy to sit in a big tree stand, watching a farm house. We watched the farm house, took pictures of comings and goings, and kept a diary of what was going on. Believe it or not, I did that for a month."

I could tell Ace was a little put off by that job. He continued, "I did four jobs like that, all with older agents. Then I was put into a team to arrest some counterfeiters in an old warehouse. It became a shootout, but I didn't shoot because I was watching the rear, and told to stay put and not enter the building so I wouldn't be in a crossfire. My record apparently shows I was in that one.

"I did another of those, and was again sent to guard the perimeter to keep anyone from escaping. That one was nasty, as two of our guys were hit. At least they didn't die, but they were seriously wounded. I told you about taking a prisoner to DC, and I ended up doing that a few times with other counterfeiters that were caught. For the next several months, up until Atlanta, I was on surveillance teams watching people and places. That's really exciting, huh? I knew what to do when the shit hit the fan in Atlanta, but you and Lisa did it all. I thought Lisa might have been a little rough shooting the one guy like that, but now, after the Warehouse thing, I think she should have just put one between his eyes.

"I have to tell you, Chuck, when we were lying on the roof of that building inside the biker clubhouse grounds, I was scared. You guys told me when to shoot and I did the best I could when that Hummer came through the fence. I know I hit at least two more of the men who were firing their weapons after that, and I didn't try to shoot them in the arms. It was eerie, Chuck, I remember you and Lisa firing your silenced weapons before the trucks came through the fence, but when I began firing, I don't remember hearing anything. When that last shot was fired, it was so quiet that I could have heard a bird in a tree change feet.

"So, Chuck, to answer your question about how much experience I have, according to my file, I have a lot; a dozen plus weapons situations where I never used my weapon, then with you and Lisa. You two are amazingly dangerous and experienced. I don't think I've ever even imagined a couple like you two. I need some, or a lot of, real experiences before I can really back you two up. You've challenged me on the firing range, you've challenged me to learn the Deputy Marshal's duties, and I'm ready for any new challenge."

Lisa was sitting in the back seat and asked him, "You didn't have your weapon with you at the Warehouse, did you?"

Ace almost hung his head. "No, and I'll tell you what. I won't go anywhere without it again. The people there made this coat and all of the coats fit perfectly with a shoulder holster. The clothes are really nice, and I feel like I look good in them, but now no one would ever suspect I am carrying. I like that, since I usually just had a jacket before. That looked pretty hokey in the middle of the summer; but a lightweight sport coat looks very professional during the summer. The girls picked out some of these knit shirts to give me a more casual look. Like I said, I really feel good in these fancy clothes."

Lisa was grinning. "You do look good dressed nicely. You'll have to fight the women off."

"Ha, ha, ha," Ace laughed, "As if I will ever have to fight women off. There is one that I would like to have to fight off. I'd give up if Tina was to attack. She's so big, so tall; there is so much of her that she is really messing with my head."

"You haven't made any tries to get her attention; how come?" Lisa asked, really questioning this guy's self-confidence.

"Tina, or Big Tina as you call her, is younger than I am, but not that much younger," Ace said, as he squirmed around a little. "I was just afraid she already had a dozen boyfriends chasing after her."

I reached over and patted the guy on the shoulder, "Tina scares off ninety-nine percent of the guys because of her size. The same applies to Lena, but she has made a huge effort to be slim, just tall, that's all. (For those who remember Bony Maroni) You have to let her know you're interested, Ace. That girl will be all over you. Be careful though, because if she latches on, she might not let go."

Ace chuckled again, "Sure, as if; that would be a bit of a dream come true."

Lisa fluffed Ace's longer hair, "Next time you see her, get up close and talk to her. Ask her if she wants to take a walk, go to the gym or to the dojo. You need to begin working out over there to learn real martial arts, not just what your basic training was."

"I'll do that, Lisa; that is, I'll ask Don for an appointment to begin some serious training. I'll also see how I'm welcomed when I talk with Tina."

We arrived at the Federal building and parked in the back. As we went by the front, there were news trucks lined up at the curb. I didn't go through the front security area since I didn't want anyone to see me, so I took out my seldom used key and opened the door to the private elevator that took us to the top floor, where my office and the Station were. I stopped in at my office and told Wanda that I was there, but wanted to get Ace with Sarah.

Wanda said, "Let me take Ace in to see Sarah, and you go down to the back door of the FBI conference room. They have it set up like you did for Conish when she was interviewed. They are expecting you. Lisa, do you really want to go down there?"

Lisa was nodding and holding onto my arm. "Damn right, I do. If Chuck is under the gun, so am I."

Wanda was standing with us. "Well, go down there. I think a couple of the people there will be a surprise to you. Come with me, Ace, let's make you a Deputy. I hope you watched those videos you checked out."

Ace showed Wanda a bag and said, "Yes, Ma'am, I watched them all twice and did the tests over the internet. I didn't have a badge number to record, but I'll take the test again."

On the way out the door, I had to have a hug from both Conish and Angie. Angie told us, "The only place I see you two anymore is on the patio. You've been so busy that I see your reports, but never you. Be careful, Chuck; you too, Lisa."

Lisa and I took the stairs to the FBI level and quickly walked to the side door of the conference room. There was a room divider screen set up across the room with a few chairs on the side we were on, with a card table holding a pitcher of water, a coffee thermos, cups, glasses and a strange microphone. There were also a couple of delicious looking, genuine law enforcement jelly donuts on a paper plate.

Frank Harris, the FBI SAC (Special Agent in Charge), and Jan, the ASAC (Assistant Special Agent in Charge), were waiting for us. We could hear a lot of voices and people moving around on the other side of the screen. Frank told us, "Sarge and a couple of other Deputies are in there to make sure no one slips a minicam under the wall or tries to see over the divider, you know how news people are. Get settled, have a donut, and Jan will stay with you. I'm going in with Sarge to help keep the peace in there."

Lisa and I each had a donut, and all three of us poured some coffee. Jan told us, "This is a voice distortion microphone, so no one can get voiceprints from it. The Bureau has equipment to get the original voice back, but it is horribly expensive. I'm sure none of the news people have that available. Just talk into the microphone. We have white noise speakers to mask your voice, and there is a second barrier between us and the audience. There is a big screen TV out front that will show two people, and it will have a transcription streaming across the bottom. The speaker is in the TV monitor, so they will focus at the two figures shown there, and not on the wall. Ready?"

Jan flipped the microphone on and very clearly said through the speaker out front, "Ready." Jan flipped another switch on the microphone, then we heard Sarge talking to the people there.

Sarge began, "Two federal law enforcement officers were doing some shopping at the store we know as the Warehouse, along with some of their close friends and extended family. Please note that these are federal law enforcement officers, and we have not identified the agency or division. There has been some supposition on this so far, and I can tell you all of it has been incorrect to this point. As a matter of fact, this suit came from there. While they were shopping, seven armed men came into the store and announced a holdup. I'm sure you have all seen the video of this and know that the two people responsible for thwarting a massacre at the Warehouse shot and killed all seven of the perpetrators, while being fired upon. Both of the individuals were slightly wounded, but thankfully, not seriously. No other store employee or customer was harmed, except for the lady who was struck by the lead perpetrator. These two people are involved in an extensive undercover investigation, and it would not only be detrimental to their investigation, it would probably result in one or both, or even more people, being murdered. I know you don't want that, so we have set this up for you to ask your questions and they will answer through a voice scrambler. The text will be scrolled on the big monitor, and at the conclusion of this press briefing you will be supplied with a copy of the transcript. When you ask each question, and even a follow up, please state your name and the news facility you are with. Ready?"

The first voice, "This is George Patterson of Channel 28 news. I know you are supposed to be on an undercover mission, but I don't see any reason for you not to cancel that and be able to tell us your names and for us to view you. What are your names?"

I quickly said, "Sarge, would you show that gentleman out. That was a dumb question."

There was a lot of grumbling and a shout, "You can't make me leave." When it calmed down again, Frank said, "You have just witnessed the authority the man behind these screens has. It could be a matter of life and death if he was to be exposed. Please, keep your questions relevant."

"This is Sandra True of the Tampa Bay Times, the former St. Petersburg Times; I would like your opinion if you really thought it was necessary to kill all seven of those men. From the video, it appeared that although all of the perpetrators had weapons, most were incapacitated almost immediately, but you kept firing at them with two guns from each of you."

I told the lady, "When you are being fired upon, you don't have the time or the opportunity to decide who or who not to shoot. In this case, all six were leveling their weapons at us, and I don't know for sure, but I believe all six of the perpetrators shot their weapons. The only one who didn't get a shot off was the man who had hit the lady, and he was leveling his gun at either the other man or the two women. He was shot before he could kill one of those people."

Lisa leaned over the microphone, "I shot the man because he hit an innocent person who was offering her purse. He was raising his weapon on her and the other two at that time. That man had already announced that he was going to kill someone and he would have done that. It was a good, justified shooting."

Listening to Lisa describe what she had done was bringing back that terrible feeling, my fear and the guilt. I could feel the anger building in Lisa as well as her precarious grasp of her emotions.

"I'm Fred Prosper from Channel 8 news. I could see that you defended yourself and the others, but how many rounds did you fire, and didn't you feel that you had done the job far before you ran out of ammunition and kept coming toward those men who were obviously dead? You looked like you were still pulling the triggers on your guns but the slides were all locked back. Don't you feel you fired more than necessary?"

I laughed. "How many rounds would you fire if someone was shooting at you, your wife, or your kids? Do you really think we fired too much?"

"This is Fred Prosper again. I slowed the enhanced video enough to see that you both had a Glock 27 in your right hands, and a Glock 22 in your left. I slowed the video sound down so I could count how many shots were fired. I counted muzzle flashes from the four weapons, and there were fifty-six rounds fired. That means you were using a forty caliber, with not only full magazines, but an extra round in the chamber. Aren't fifty-six rounds excessive against six men?"

Lisa wanted to answer that, "First, what good is a weapon if it is not ready to use? A smart officer has a round in the chamber. Second, did you count how many muzzle flashes there were from the perpetrators? Did you look at or even see the muzzle flash of the man that I shot first? That round could have killed any of the people in front of him. Just like my partner asked, how many rounds would you fire if your family was being threatened and fired upon?"

The interview went on like that, until one of the reporters, without naming himself, said, "You two really enjoy killing, don't you? I could tell how much fun you were having shooting and killing those men. It is you that should be put on trial for murder."

Frank's voice came loud and clear, "That last question came from Mike Fraizer of Bay News 9, just for the record. With that question, that is the end of this news briefing. You can take your frustrations out on Mike. Have a good day, ladies and gentlemen."

While Frank was saying this, Jan was pushing us out the door toward the stairwell. We went up two floors before taking the elevator up to the top floor. Inside the station office, Ace was sitting at a chair next to Marie's desk. In front of him was an ID card, a badge, and a badge case. Both were sitting on a folded up armor vest. It was one of the new long ones, similar to what Lisa and I had.