by Finian Blake
“Chief I am standing right behind you and you won’t need binoculars to see me. Hell I’ll pick you up at twenty over your annual salary whenever you say the word.” Chief Martin Strong had served as a major at Sembach Annex with Tom serving under him as senior instructor. Martin knew that he was a short timer because the city Council had several members that seriously didn’t like him.
The Chief laughed, “Hell for that I will put him down for a cavity search and isolation.”
Tom only said one word, “Done.”
It was three thirty in the morning when Khalid was awakened by flashing lights in the parking lot of his apartment building. Jamal’s small apartment was next to his. He heard a loud pronouncement “Police…” followed by a loud crash. Khalid thought it was his door that was being kicked in and realized to his relief that it was Jamal’s door. He was in charge of security for the group and knew that there was nothing compromising in either apartment. He would just have to wait and see what was going on. He decided to take this time to compose himself. In a half an hour there was a knock at his door.
“Whose there?” Khalid believed that the police would be hauling him off for interrogation.
“Police I know that it’s early but could we please talk to you.”
“A moment please I am not dressed.” Khalid slipped off his shirt throwing it to the far side of the room opening the door in just his pants. “What do you want at this hour?”
The officer produced two pictures. It was obvious that the men in the pictures were dead. “Do you know these men?”
“Are these men dead? Did they have an accident?” Khalid did not try to hide the shock in his voice. He held up the pictures. “One is Jamal and this one is Haroun. I work with both of these men.”
“Well, they were shot trying to rape two women on the side of the road not far from here. Could you tell us anything about either man?”
“Yes of course I can. They are both from Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. We all work at Four Diamonds Security.” Khalid decided to put as much distance between him and the others as he could. “They went drinking. I came back here since I do not indulge. They are good men I doubt that they did what you say.”
“The women claim that they shouted that they tempted them beyond reason and were going to give them 100 strokes. Somewhere around twenty-five strokes the women passed out and then the perps tried to use them as shields when the officers shot them.” Khalid winced, “In Sharia Law a woman that tempts a man beyond reason is subject to 100 lashes. It seems that Jamal and Haroun were enforcing Sharia law.”
“Well here it is a crime to beat a woman and so is attacking police officers with a knife. They are both dead. They were shot at close range through the heart by officers Eve Mendenhall and Rene Duda.”
Khalid was aghast, “They were killed by women in combat! They will be forever disgraced in the afterlife.” The officer tried to contain his outrage because he knew there was a cultural difference involved. It had been part of his sensitivity training just last month.
“Well disgraced or not they are on their way to hell now. No matter who shot them.” The officer handed them a card. “If you wish to claim the bodies for their families call this number.”
Before the officer was fully out of sight Khalid was on the phone to Maalik. “Haroun and Jamal have been slain by the police. They came to my door.”
Maalik calmly asked, “What were the circumstances?”
“Two women tempted them beyond reason and they were giving them 100 lashes when they were interrupted by two police women who shot them.”
Maalik fought to keep his focus on the broader picture. “Do you know how the police tied them to us?”
“They asked if I knew them and I had to admit that they worked with me. Lying would not do any good since even a minimal investigation would yield that information. I also gave them your name since we all work the same shift.”
Maalik was not happy with the news, but he knew that Khalid was right. Getting caught in a lie would only attract unwanted attention. “What about the bodies?”
“The police gave me a number to call so that the bodies could be claimed. I believe that we should push to get the bodies as soon as possible. Anything less would show fear inviting unwanted attention. We are here legally and we are innocent of their transgression. Pick me up at eight and we will find out what must be done.” Khalid hung up the phone and dialed Four Diamonds. He had no way of gaging what the reaction would be there. Khalid called the dispatcher informing him of the unfolding events receiving an immediate three days off with a promise of more if necessary for both him and Maalik. Next he drove straight to Maalik’s house for a face to face discussion. It was only five AM so there was no traffic and it was easy to tell that he was not being followed. When he pulled up to the garage Khalid jumped out of the car running to the corner of the house to observe the street. He was startled to find Maalik standing behind him when he turned around.
“They can get my address from Four Diamonds if they want. We will handle this business with Jamal and Haroun returning to our project once we are through. I will have Nabil, Rajiya, Safiyyah and Uzma keep their distance. Rajiya can direct their efforts. it will only be for a few days.” Nabil was the logical choice for temporary leadership but Maalik suspected that he was trying to assume overall leadership of the group.
Khalid was still shocked by all of the surprises that he had suffered so early in the morning. “But we lost our bomb maker and a fine machinist. How will we replace them?”
“Nabil can mix the compounds and if we need something special we can do what the Americans do which is hire someone for the specific job, at least until we can replace them. I will call to see if there is anyone on the horizon. Now let’s drive down and talk to the coroner. I don’t want their bodies desecrated by an autopsy.”
Khalid and Maalik talked to each other all the way down to the Coroner’s Office to bolster their courage. When they walked into his office they were surprised to find that the Coroner was a Muslim and quite friendly.
“Please come in I have seen you lead Salah at the Mosque. Are you here for Jamal and Haroun?”
Maalik was shocked that he knew about his friends. “How did you know who we were looking for?”
“This is America and your two friends are the only two Muslims in the morgue. I was hoping that someone would come before I was forced to begin my autopsy. My preliminary findings should be enough to fill all of their needs. They each took two rounds through the heart and the bullets passed clear through the bodies, so there is no need to do an autopsy. We know who shot them and the weapons used. One of the slugs actually lodged in a tree. We were able to ascertain that they were armor piercing rounds which the police are not supposed to be using. Since they were not wearing body armor all of the slugs passed through them like butter. Allah only knows where the other slugs went but we have the one from the tree. I did not wish to desecrate your friends so I x-rayed them and did some paper work waiting for you to come. I have repaired the holes, cleaned the bodies and we have three pieces of cotton cloth in which to wrap each body.
I have talked to the chief of police who is a friend of mine and he will release the bodies for burial. With what we know they should be released for burial quickly. If you bury them in the county we can exhume them later if there is a need, which I doubt will be necessary.”
Maalik pressed, “Do you know who shot them?”
The Coroner smiled shaking his head. “I will cater to your religious sensibilities but not feed your revenge. You must be satisfied with what I have done for your friends forget your revenge or it will take a very long time to release the bodies. Leave me your number and I will call the second that they are released. In the meantime, go and make your arrangements.” Maalik and Khalid jumped out of their chairs as if shocked by electricity.
“Thank you we thought that since they were shot by the police that it would take us forever to get their bodies released.”
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br /> “Rest assured that I will make every effort to get them released as soon as possible. There will be no trial since they are both dead. I find Chief Strong to be sensitive to our traditions. He has done many other favors for me in the past and we have a firm relationship.” The two men left the Coroner to his paperwork. When they were out of site he picked up the phone. “Chief, are you sure that you don’t need to hold the bodies? I would hate to disappoint them.”
“No, are you sure about those slugs?”
“No doubt they are Teflon coated armor piercing rounds. When they spall they take out a large chunk of flesh as they exit. We were lucky to find that one slug in the tree it was 9 mm and there were some microscopic bits of flesh on it. It is definitely not authorized for police use even if it were a righteous shooting.”
“Good if I release the body today will you give me the slug since it was a righteous shooting?”
“Yes…”
“Then we have accord. Release the body sometime after noon and send me the slug by courier. I swear to you that the two police officers involved will be disciplined. I cannot afford an incident involving the State Department and I wish to leave this on the books is a simple solved crime. Can you agree that this is a clash of cultures and not an international incident?”
“Yes Chief, I believe that we should close this matter without fanfare.”
The Chief loved these cases the perps were dead, the shooting was righteous, and the case was closed without costing millions of dollars in court. He also solved his problem with Eve and Rene. All would be right before the sun went down.
The Chief picked up the phone calling Tom’s special number. “Tom this is the Chief. I wanted to check out one detail before I fire Eve and Rene. You are 100% sure that you will pick up both of them before I have them resign.”
“100% sure, I will pick them both up ten grand above their current annual salary with full benefits.”
The Chief laughed, “I would think about coming over for that.”
Once again Tom put out some bait. “For you I would go for thirty grand over, full benefits, and an executive position, with the option of domestic or international assignment.” Martin noted that the offer had raised $10,000 and included a choice of assignment since their last conversation.
“You really know how to tempt a guy.” The chief hung up the phone and pressed the intercom button for his secretary. “Nancy, send in Mendenhall and Duda.”
Eve and René walked in the office closing the door behind them. The Chief looked at them. “We are screwed on our deal. The forensic team found one 9 mm slug in a tree and it was an illegal round.”
Both women screeched at once, “What do you mean an illegal round?”
“They found a 9 mm Teflon coated armor piercing round that was certified as passing through the perps. The shooting was righteous, but the rounds were illegal.”
“Where the hell do you even buy rounds like that?”
“They are purely custom hot loads that could easily pass through body armor or three people before spending.”
Eve jumped out of her chair leaning half way over the desk, “This was intentional!”
The Chief held up his hands. “I honestly didn’t know that they were using that kind of stuff. If this gets out I am screwed too. I have an offer for you ten grand over your annual salary, full benefits and you won’t have to work with assholes that you know that you can’t count on. You have the deal the second that you resign.”
Eve and Rene looked at each other and shrugged. “Done…” The chief took two forms out of his desk sliding them to Eve and Rene. The names were already filled in along with the other information. Each form had a card attached to it. “You knew this would happen!”
The Chief shrugged, “If it makes you feel any better I will be right behind you. Call the number and ask for Tom. You will be on their pay roll the second that you sign.
Eve signed her form. “Let me use your phone.” She dialed the phone. “Let me talk to Tom!” After a few seconds she said, “We signed our papers what now?” After a few more seconds Eve said, “And that includes Rene...”
Eve hung up the phone looking at Rene. “We are both now working for Four Diamonds Security. I have the address and we are expected in thirty minutes.”
“Good luck and do me a favor,” the chief asked. The women looked at him without saying a word. “When you go through that door I want you to sound really pissed off.”
“It will not be a problem in the least Chief. We are already there.”
When they went through the door Eve and Rene threw their badges and pistol belts back in the office slamming the door so hard that it shook the wall. COCK SUCKER…!” They stormed past the squad room and Eve opened the door and screamed. “Hey mother fuckers, thanks for the back up this morning. If you took any longer I would have been able to fucking retire.” Eve and Rene stormed down the hall each raising both of their arms with middle fingers extended. The shift walked out into the hall, applauding after making sure that the ladies were not wearing their pistol belts.
Rene and Eve hopped into their cars and sped out of the lot heading toward the address that they were given and were surprised to see the huge sign in the window, ACME TEMPORARY SERVICE. The front had one cheap desk with ten moth eaten chairs in front of it. They did not recognize Sera from the morning since she was now wearing a blonde wig which did not match for olive complexion, hot pants one size smaller than they should’ve been, a much too tight blouse and high heels, she jogged their memory.
“I want to thank you for your help this morning and for not blowing it when the Chief gave you the bad news.”
Rene squinted at Sera. “What the hell were you using this morning?”
Sera pulled a gun from the desk drawer with a silencer attached placing it on the desk along with two clips of ammunition that were smaller than normal. “The gun is a Walther mini holding a seven round clip.” Sera pointed to the clips. “One clip is hot armor piercing rounds that will take on any body armor, and the other one is fragmentation rounds which is guaranteed never to pass through a human target but will generally cause the amputation of whatever it hits.” Sera did not want to give them time to ask their next questions. She scooped up the gun and the ammo opening the door that led to the back room. “We can talk in the back follow me and I will introduce you to your new boss.” Neither, Eve or Rene would have recognized her as the silent assassin that they met this morning. Sera looked like some mentally vacant gum chewing receptionist without a clue in the world.
“Tom, here are the new recruits that you hired to work with Randal. This is Eve Mendenhall and Rene Duda. Ladies if you will excuse me I need to go up front and be a ditz,” Sera said icily.
Tom shook his head, “Just lock the front door and come back here we can drop the act for a while.” Tom turned to Rene and Eve.
“I am sorry for the way things turned out today it was an error on our part. You are now employed by Four Diamonds Security. As rookies you were making $25,000 a year with benefits. After what you did for us I will bump that up to $35,000 plus benefits with an opening beyond simple patrol. You showed loyalty to the Chief today and we prize loyalty. Currently we are working in concert with the FBI. I promised Randal here some manpower. Your new duties will be at least somewhat more interesting than your former duties. You will be working with Arnold, Sera and Randal for your first assignment. I guess you better get on good terms with Sera.”
Eve jumped in, “You mean like capping those two rag heads?”
Tom continued calmly, “Those two ragheads were Saudi Princes. They were terrorists trying to plan a nine eleven type incident and those ditzy bimbos are directors with the international branch of our company. They hold several college degrees, speak at least seven languages and hold twenty-five percent of the stock between the two of them.”
A voice with a heavy French accent floated out from behind Rene and Eve. “Plus the three gentlemen in front of you will n
ot be asking for blow jobs. If Arnold does I will castrate him. Four Diamonds Security is an international company with a presence in more than seventy countries which is owned by Amazon Inn investments of which Layla and I are managing directors. We shot those bastards because they were planning to kill both of the hostages. The skinny one with the high pitched voice was a bomb maker who was wanted in connection with eight suicide bombings in Europe and Israel.” The girls had sunk as low in their chairs as Sera figured they could go. “Chief Martin gave us his highest recommendation for both of you. He has known Tom for several years and his word is golden with us. So the question is. Do you want to do security patrols or do you want to go swimming in the deep end?”
Eve asked, “Is there a life guard at the deep end or are we on our own?”
“There is a life guard at both ends and an instructor at the deep end even some floatation devices. I must warn you that the Chief may be joining us and he only swims at the deep end. If you take the deep end you will probably be working with Martin.”
Eve did not hesitate. “I can live with that. I am in for the deep end.”
Sera looked at Rene who blurted out her answer. “Let’s go swimming.”
Tom resumed the conversation, “Then you must disappear. We have two moving trucks to empty out your apartments after which you will come back here and get new identities. Sera will see to all of the changes and arrange for your training which will begin in two days when Ted and Nadia arrive. Tom, Arnold and Randal excused themselves and moved to the back of the room. Sera walked over to the computer pushing a single button causing a brief video to play on the screen. The video showed Eve and Rene walking down a hallway arms over their heads, middle fingers extended and screaming ‘cock sucker’.
Sera closed out the screen and led them out to the parking lot where two large trucks were waiting. “Rene, lead that truck to your apartment. Give the men your packing instructions and pack a bag for one week. Please don’t forget workout clothes. I will take Eve over to her place and get her out of the lease on her apartment then we will meet you at your place. We need to be back here by two for our meeting with Cherry.”