“Fine,” she murmured and pretended to pout in her seat. “But, I’ll need to bring my secure laptop to the game and do the transfer from it. I can work remotely with codes, but only a company laptop will accept the codes,” Dawn lied. She knew that they would probably pat them down for weapons and wires, and by using her own computer perhaps it could be equipped with something that could record what was happening.
The mobsters looked at one another, and then each gave his assent.
“We will have to hold your computer for you until the game is over.”
She looked to Jack. He nodded. “That will be fine.”
The mobster continued. “Perfect. That is settled. We have a man waiting outside to take your pictures for your new identifications. Then Marcus will see that you get home safely.” Anthony smiled broadly. “Leo, you stay.”
“Thank you,” Jack replied as he stood, and then pulled Dawn’s chair out for her so she could get up easily.
“Yes, thank you,” Dawn repeated and allowed Jack to take her arm. The night had been productive, and, though terrified, she at least knew that tomorrow night it would all be over.
“Well, it has been our pleasure. Paul will see you tomorrow night. We wish you well, Jack and Dawn, in your future endeavors.” Frank lifted a glass to them.
When Marcus finally escorted them out of the room, Dawn couldn’t have been more relieved.
Chapter 19
‡
During the entire game, Dawn stayed back with several of the women. The barn had been transformed for the evening’s activities. The table that had been near the rear of the barn stood in the exact same spot but was now covered in a soft green felt for the cards to be dealt smoothly. Special lighting brightened the place. A bar had been set up along one wall, manned by a Santorini bartender.
The game began at nine PM promptly and originally had eleven players around the large poker table. By midnight the number dwindled to six, and Jack was doing well. The decks had been stripped of cards as each player forfeited his buy-in and lost too much money to be comfortable. When the group trickled down to four players, a new deck would be used and the two decks they played with originally would be tossed out.
Though Jack was gambling with government funds, Dawn hated to think of all the money he had lost to get to this level of play. Jack reassured her earlier that the funds would be recovered during the sting if he lost tonight, and the government used monies from old solved cases that was recycled for such activities. Getting these bad guys off the streets was their top priority. Dawn accepted his reasoning. Though she hadn’t seen any deadly crimes, these men had reputations that extended into the media and throughout their community. Getting them off the streets would benefit the whole state.
One of the men playing in the game was named Bruno, and his mistress, Martha, was in attendance. She was twenty years younger than the small-time mobster, and Dawn’s age. Dawn feigned interest in the bubbly brunette’s stories of her new apartment, new furniture, and made Dawn feel the ‘new rack’ that Bruno had purchased for her. At least talking to the woman kept her occupied. Five other women were in attendance. Two mistresses, two call girls, one of which was serving drinks, and one girlfriend. All of them were drinking heavily except her and the working girls.
When a short break was called, one of the working girls left with one of the gamblers out the front door. It looked like they were down another gambler.
Jack pulled Dawn aside and led her to the open door of the tack room. Assuring himself no one was nearby, he leaned in for a kiss to the temple, and asked her, “How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing okay. Just wish it was over with, already.” Dawn thought that was safe enough to say. Her statement could be construed in many different ways.
He felt the same way. He had considered losing and was still thinking about it to end things early but did not want to make it look too easy. He was waiting until at least one more player left before he made that decision. “Me, too, hon. But I’m doing well. The pot could get as high as a million.” By his count, there was nearly six hundred thousand in circulation. Half the buy-in went to the Santorinis, just over a quarter million, and the other half was the grand prize to the last man standing. This was indeed an extremely illegal game!
“That’s fantastic,” Dawn stated with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. They had agreed to play it cool and not take any chances by letting anything slip. Paul and Marcus were taking a turn around the barn, probably checking the perimeter. Leo was watching everything from the front of the barn. So far no one was aware of the FBI teams situated a quarter mile away, waiting for any signs of trouble. There were agents outside the homes of twenty-three mobsters tonight as well, waiting for their orders. Dawn’s computer had been worked on by agents that afternoon, and the moment the second transfer was made, all hell would break loose. It was going to be the biggest sting operation in Connecticut history since the early 1980s.
“Enjoying yourself?” Marcus asked as he passed by.
“Absolutely,” Jack smiled his answer.
Dawn’s simple, “Yes,” came a moment later.
“Great. Five more minutes, okay?” Paul, who had set the game up, warned.
“You bet,” Jack tipped his hat to the mobster.
The gangsters smiled and continued their perimeter check. Jack pulled Dawn into his arms and hugged her. “It won’t be much longer now.”
Dawn let him just hold her until it was time to go back inside; and when he sat down, she decided to join Martha in a drink. Just one. The bartender employed for the evening to keep the ladies happy and refill drinks from the gamblers hastily filled her order. She kept it simple with a Jack and coke. She needed the liquid courage and the warmth though several heaters had been dispersed about the barn.
She perched on her seat while Martha chatted on happily about her new wardrobe and shopping spree. Bruno took her yesterday, now that she was fully recovered from her breast enlargement surgery. “How generous of him,” Dawn encouraged while she watched the men play out of the corner of her eye. Another gambler threw in the towel, and they were down to four. It was half past midnight. The dealer brought out the new deck, showed the cards to the remaining players and let each take a turn at cutting before shuffling. Very professional. She wondered if the dealer tonight worked at one of the casinos. She didn’t recognize the older man from the Mystic.
Dawn noticed Jack began to lose. In fact, his and another man’s piles of chips were coming down. Fast. By one AM Bruno was out, and thankfully Martha of the double D’s left with him. Jack’s pile was now half the size it was when he started. He began to fidget, and she knew that was a sign of someone either about to lose it all or risk it all. She wondered what Jack’s hand looked like, but the women were not allowed to approach the tables during the game play except the last working girl. That was why the bar area had been set up about thirty feet back from the table.
To her surprise, when Jack laid his hand down to reveal his play, he had a flush to the queen of spades. He raked his winnings in as another man folded.
“You still in, Bernie?” Jack asked the sole remaining player. To Dawn’s delight the older gentleman shook his head.
“I think I am good, but I hope you will be invited next month, and I will get a chance to win back some of my money.” Bernie was a gracious loser.
“Perhaps. I hope so, too,” Jack stated politely. Bernie, he had been informed earlier, was one of the regulars. An old recluse with money to burn. The man was helped out of his seat by the last call girl and escorted out of the barn to his car.
The dealer began to pay out Jack’s winnings as Marcus came over with a small suit case. “Well, well, well. Beginner’s luck as they say.” He handed him the case with half of the buy-in. The dealer helped Jack put the winnings inside the case.
“Yes,” Jack declared excitedly, playing his role to the very end. The barn was clearing out quickly, and Dawn was relieved about that.
All that remained were the bartender, Paul and Marcus, and two other guys who remained by the door of the barn keeping watch. Jack knew there were probably two more men on the perimeter. That made seven people and he and Dawn. He knew that when the raid happened, his first job was to get Dawn out of the way if bullets flew. His plan was to take her out by the tack room door if they could make it in time. He’d noticed a break in the trees when they had been out earlier, and he would lead her there if need be.
Paul approached with Dawn’s laptop bag. He had taken it from her when she arrived, promising to return it at game’s end. He placed it on the table and called her over. She joined Jack, Paul, and Marcus at the table. Leo was still by the front door. Ever vigilant.
From his inside jacket pocket, Marcus produced a yellow envelope and handed it to Jack. Jack opened the package and saw new identifications. Patrick and Wilhomena Sanders. Dawn looked over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose at the name. “Wilhomena?”
Marcus just shrugged. “Couple died in Maryland yesterday. We have an in there, both were about your ages, and we got rid of the death certificates.”
Jack laughed. “I can call you Willow, or Mina.”
Dawn shrugged her shoulders and sat in the seat Paul pulled out for her. Taking out her laptop she entered her password, and then opened the site the agents had created for her to do the wire transfer. Real money would be moved because the FBI needed to be able to trace it to the Santorini family. They would also need to confirm their deposit before they gave her the second account number to transfer the remaining funds. The second transaction would alert the FBI to swoop in and begin the arrests.
Just as predicted, Marcus handed over one set of numbers. “Once I hear back from my guy that the money is where it is supposed to be, I’ll give you your account numbers and the location of the bank. A joint account was created in Patrick and Wilhomena’s names this afternoon.”
“Thank you,” Dawn replied as she placed the paper beside her laptop and began typing in the access codes and numbers. It took her thirty seconds to complete the transfer. “Done.”
Marcus picked up his phone and called a number already programmed in it. “She says it’s done.” They waited a few moments before Marcus smiled and handed her a second paper.
Once again, Dawn took just thirty seconds to type in the access code, and the account information. “Done,” she repeated the word.
She and Jack knew they had about one minute to take cover. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, and she felt nauseous.
Leo came over. He noticed the girl was green. “Hey now, I know it’s rough, putting the squeeze on your family, but sounds like they deserved it. You should feel great right now. You are a wealthy woman.” Then he addressed Jack. “I’ll miss having you at these games, Jackson. It was nice having some fresh blood.”
The men began to walk them toward the main entrance to the barn where they were supposed to get a lift back to the Mystic from either Marcus or Leo. The gangsters had insisted that each player be brought to the game. This was the tricky part. Jack’s adrenalin was pumping. He could not risk Dawn being out in front when it all went down. He looked back toward the table. He needed an excuse to go back. He and Dawn had it planned out. The ruse they were about to use. “Hey, shouldn’t we grab the computer, babe?”
“No, you don’t need it anymore.” Paul pushed them forward. They were about twenty feet from the entrance.
“Oh, shoot. I do need my purse though,” Dawn stated and started back on her own. She’d left her small purse at the bar on purpose. She sighed heavily and stumbled in her high heels.
“I’ll walk you, kitten. Those heels look killer.” Jack took her arm; and when it looked like the two gangsters were about to protest, he shoved his winnings at Leo. “Can you hold my winnings for me?” Jack asked as he handed over the nearly million-dollar payout.
“Um, yeah, sure.” Leo took the money and watched as Jack and Dawn made their way to the bar. Having Leo hold the money meant one less hand to fire a weapon.
When the first sound of a siren could be heard, Jack grabbed Dawn’s hand and ran. He knew he wouldn’t make it to the tack room, but if he could get her behind the oak bar for now, they would have cover.
“You fuck!” Leo screamed as he threw the briefcase at them. It popped open and money flew everywhere. He reached inside his jacket for his gun just as Jack pushed Dawn behind the bar and whipped around to block the path of any stray bullets if they whizzed past.
He saw that Paul already had his hands up, and the two guys at the front were nowhere to be seen. He heard bullets firing out front and assumed that gangsters were engaged with the good guys outside. Jack scrambled behind the bar with Dawn and pulled her to him to cover her body with his if need be, hoping and praying an agent with a gun arrived and got to Leo before he got to them. Glancing behind him, he saw a bale of hay and though it wasn’t much, he signaled to Dawn to hide behind it. He would need to get Leo’s weapon from him himself. It was the only way to ensure Dawn wasn’t hurt.
He was glad to see she understood and just as her feet scurried out of sight, Leo appeared with his gun trained on him. His smiled evilly as his finger twitched on the trigger. Swiping out with one long, lean leg, Jack used the momentum and power to sweep Leo off his feet; and before the man knew what was happening, Jack climbed on top of him, and they wrestled for control of the weapon. It took Jack at least twenty seconds to get it out of the mobster’s hands, and when he did, he threw the weapon into the hay on the floor of the closest horse stall. Leo wasn’t smiling any longer as Jack lifted his right arm and clenched his fist. “FBI, mother fucker!” It took just one solid punch to knock Leo out cold.
Jack rose as agents poured into the barn from all sides.
“Jack?” Neal called. “Where are you?”
“Behind the bar!” he yelled. “Is it clear?”
“We’ve got eight down in the yard.”
“That should be all of them, but I’ve got one more here.”
Neal appeared and handed Jack zip tie cuffs. Jack secured them behind the unconscious Leo. “Where’s Dawn?” Neal asked.
“Come out, baby. We are safe!” Jack called.
He watched as Dawn climbed out from behind the bale of hay and went to help her. She was shaking and he wanted nothing more than to hold her until she felt safe again.
“Never again, Jack.” She trembled violently.
“I promise, kitten. No more. We got them.”
“Yes, Dawn, we did,” Neal confirmed. He stopped and held his earpiece in. Jack got quiet until Neal pumped his fist. He was listening to something coming in through his headset. “All twenty-three arrests have been made. We got ’em.”
A cheer went up outside from the agents there, who had probably received the same message as Neal. Jack was proud. Very proud of the work his team did and all that they had done to make this happen. But looking down at Dawn and noting how scared she was twisted his gut. He never wanted her in this kind of danger again, her, or any future children they might have together. As he escorted her out of the barn when the all clear was given, he knew he had a lot to think about.
Chapter 20
‡
Relief swept through Tawny’s suite at Mystic Nights Casino. The entire family had been sequestered there during the evening. The FBI agents cheered as word came in that all the arrests had been made. That both Jack and Dawn were safe and being escorted back to the casino. Tawny stood with Senator Silver who gave her a quick one-armed hug, and both Tom and Chief Daniels took their turn hugging the very relieved matriarch of the Sassacus family. Tears brimmed in her eyes. Her baby was safe.
Jonathan pulled Aliya closer and kissed her on her cheek while she cuddled their infant son, and across the room from them Joseph held his pregnant wife, Jewel. Lucas and Eve shared their relief by the bar in a tender embrace of their own.
The hours had ticked by ceaselessly, and now it was finally over.
Agent Jones who
was in charge of the detail came to Tawny. “We’d like everyone to stay here tonight. The floor is secure, so if everyone wants to go to their own room, it will be fine.”
Joseph spoke from across the room for them all. “No. We will wait here for Dawn. Once we see her, then we’ll go.”
Nods across the room confirmed that no one wanted to leave until she was back. “Very good then. She should be here within the hour. Shusterman will, I’m sure, let her give her statement in the morning. I’ll leave you, but we will have agents at your door, Ms. Sassacus, until Jack and Dawn return.”
“Thank you,” Tawny stated as she shook the man’s hand. He then slipped quietly out the door with four other agents, leaving the family to themselves and their closest friends.
*
“I am so glad you are safe.” Senator Silver took his turn hugging Dawn. She’d already been hugged by her siblings and their spouses.
“Thank you for being here with Mom.”
“Of course, darling. I was glad to be here for her.”
“Yes, thank you, Senator.” Jack had heard the man was close to the family but had never met him in person. He was a three-time senator, former House of Representatives member, and incredibly popular in the state. “And you as well, Chief Daniels, Tom.” Jack included the other two men in his gratitude. His job had put all of them in danger; and although the FBI had been here to protect them, he never wanted to put Dawn or her family through anything like this again. All the way on the drive over, he’d been thinking about that. He hoped that tomorrow when he asked his future mother-in-law and Tom for a job working security at the casino, she could find a place for him.
He loved his career, loved serving others, but he wanted more. He wanted a family with Dawn and wanted to promise her the world, and part of that promise was that he would be coming home safely to her each night. His skills as a Navy SEAL and former agent could most assuredly be put to use at a grand facility such as this. It wouldn’t be as exciting, but if it made her feel more secure, then he’d do it. He planned to tell Dawn later tonight about his idea. He hoped she was agreeable to it.
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