Excess Baggage

by Pete Lister

  “No, he won’t, because he’ll never know about this. I’m not going to tell him, and neither are you. We don’t tell Shiv, we don’t even tell the other guys. We just tell them we had dinner and came back to the hotel. Tomorrow morning, we get on that plane for Chicago, like nothing ever happened. From now on, we’ll be packin’, and the next time we see those bastards, it’ll end just a little different. You guys okay to go?” Both men nodded.

  “Let’s get back to the hotel. If anybody asks about my voice, tell them I got a cold.”

  “Jack,” Mike offered, “When we get back to the hotel, try gargling with some saltwater. You know, that helps when you got a sore throat.”

  “I don’t have a sore throat, you moron. That bastard crushed my windpipe.” Jack rasped, as he started the car, and slowly pulled out onto the R566, wondering if saltwater might not help after all.

  § § §

  Cruising up the N70 to Galway, the Sherrys discussed that night’s excitement.

  “There has to be some way that they have police cooperation.” John was thinking out loud, now. “Maybe a copper’s on the take. If a cop had put our names into the Interpol database, or maybe through Homeland Security, the system could have spit us out when we used our passports.”

  “But what about the delay, Pop? If they were alerted when we used our passports, why did it take so long for them to find us?”

  “Ireland’s a big haystack to search for four needles. Can you imagine how many places they had to call before they got the right one? We don’t even know how long they were in Ireland, calling around, before they found us. I think from now on, when we go somewhere, we register separately, as single couples, maybe fifteen minutes apart.” John continued. “No one at the places we stay needs to know that we know each other. We just won’t eat meals at the hotels, either.”

  “Another thing,” Drew added. “I think that if we do this, again, we should fly into one country and immediately drive out to another. That way, they can call around all day and we stay safe. If we’d been staying in Scotland or England, those goons never would have found us.”

  “That makes sense,” Dianne said. “They had our real names, too, so, how do we get home?”

  “We march into Galway Airport and buy tickets on the first flight going to Toronto, an hour before takeoff.” Her husband told her. “Galway’s the westernmost airport in Ireland. We fly to Toronto, get our bags, and buy tickets to Detroit. Then, we get the van and it’s a leisurely drive back to Muskegon. And, we need to stop using the Buckley and Bolan IDs.”

  “But before we do that,” Drew interjected, “we should stop and get wigs. If by any chance, they find out we’re coming, they’ll be looking for the two couples they saw in Ireland. So, we don’t leave the plane together.

  “Pop, you should leave first. The rest of us will wait. When you get into the terminal, and you see that it’s clear, call me on my cell, and we’ll come out separately. I’ll come first, then the girls, a couple minutes apart. That’ll give us time to see if we can spot anybody watching for us.” Nods all around signified that everyone agreed with his plan.

  “Can we really afford to keep doing this?” asked Ashley.

  “Sure,” Drew explained. “As long as we don’t need the money for something else, we’ll be fine.”

  “But, on a one-off, we’re still okay.” added John.

  “You know, we still have most of the money to launder. How about we take the RV and tour the casinos out west?” Drew proposed. “As long as we keep changing IDs, it won’t get easier to track us, and I’ll bet they don’t know about the RV.”

  “I’ve been thinking about this.” John told them. “What if we found a piece of land, way the hell and gone out in the country somewhere? The kind of place that would make it impossible to sneak up on us.”

  “You know, that’s not a bad idea,” said Drew.

  § § §

  Their first stop the next day was a place called The Wig Clinic on Newcastle Road in Galway. They bought a brunette wig for Ashley, shoulder-length hair that ended in ringlets around the base of her neck. For Dianne, they found a business-woman’s cut, medium length, in auburn. John picked out a businessman’s cut that complemented Dianne’s, and Drew found a blonde, shoulder-length piece, pulled back into a ponytail. Drew’s was actually a woman’s wig, but it was an instant success.

  They took a pair of hotel rooms, leaving a wake-up call for three-thirty the next morning, then caught a five o’clock Air France flight direct to Toronto, relaxing in first class all the way. While they were enroute, they turned the front two seats around to make a conversation pit. They talked excitedly about John’s ranch idea through the entire flight.

  § § §

  Shiv was on the phone with Jack Paustian, right after breakfast.

  “Jack, I need you to change your plans. I’m flying into Detroit tomorrow to talk to a guy about distribution in Michigan. I want you and the boys with me. Where are you now?”

  “We’re at Kerry Airport, Shiv. We’re just getting ready to get our tickets home.”

  “That’s fine, but fly into Detroit instead. I’ll be comin’ in on Northwest around dinnertime. I’ll call you when we land. If you get there before I do, meet my flight.”

  “Sure Shiv, I’m looking at the board right now. Nothing flies out of here to Detroit. Let me see what I can do and I’ll call you back if there’s a problem.”

  “No problems, Jack. I need you in Detroit.”

  “Sure enough, Shiv. See you tonight.”

  Jack and his team got in line. There were only three people in front of him, so they waited patiently. With two clerks, the line moved fairly quickly.

  “May I help you, sir?”

  “I need to fly to Detroit, Michigan, USA, and I don’t see anything on the board.”

  “No, sir, not from here. But I can put you on a shuttle to Dublin. Air France has several flights daily to Detroit.”

  “When’s the next shuttle?” Jack asked her.

  “Just give me a moment to look…” He waited while her fingers danced over the keyboard. “Ah, here’s the next one. Leaves in thirty minutes. Do you have bags?”

  “Yeah, but they’re carry-ons.” Jack turned and waved the others to the counter. They came, bringing Jack’s bag with them. “I’ll need six seats to Detroit, by way of Dublin, then. Can you do that from here?”

  “Of course, sir, the next one leaves Dublin at six-fifteen tomorrows morning. Is that all right?”

  “No problem. Here, put them all on this card.” Jack handed her his American Express card and his passport so she could use it to enter his information. After he had his ticket, he stepped back while Pat stepped up for his ticket. Jack turned to the remaining four. “We’re going by way of Dublin. Shiv wants us in Detroit. We’re meeting him at the airport.”

  They were all used to Shiv’s last-minute changes, but he paid well, so there was no heartburn over this change. Jack stepped away from the crowd to make his call.

  “Shiv, we’re on the first flight we could get. We’re taking a shuttle from Kerry to Dublin, then Air France to Detroit. We’ll land at 6:50 tomorrow night.”

  “That’s perfect. My flight gets in at 7:20, so you boys got half an hour to spare. Meet me at the gate when I get off.”

  “See you tonight, Shiv.” When all six had their tickets, they walked together to their gate, stopping for snacks in the concourse. Remembering Shiv’s admonition, Jack picked up t-shirts for his kids, in case time was tight when they got to Dublin. For his older son, he got one that said ‘Sham Rock’, showing the neck of a guitar coming out of a shamrock. For Li’l Shiv, he got one with drawings of a round table with a couple of patio chairs. It said ‘Paddy O’Furniture”.

  § § §

  Toronto Pearson International Airport was crowded. It seemed like every school in Canada had sent their kids traveling at the same time, and they were all flying either into or out of Toronto.

  Deplaning as the
y planned, John walked off first, as Dianne, Drew, and Ashley stayed in their seats, waiting for John’s call. The coach seats were just starting to file out when Drew’s phone vibrated. Kissing Ashley, he stood up and slipped into the line of passengers moving forward.

  When Dianne’s phone vibrated two minutes later, she stood up, followed a minute later by Ashley. Ashley flashed a big smile at a couple of college students, and stepped smartly into the hole that had instantly appeared for her.

  The four of them, carrying their bags, walked quickly down to the Air Canada counter and got in line to buy their tickets to Detroit. John stepped up to the counter first.

  “I need four on the next flight to Detroit, together, first class, please.”

  “Let me see what I have available, sir.” Again with the flying fingers. John had taken typing in high school. He could touch-type, and he thought he was pretty fast, but these girls at the airport ticket counters flew! “Four first class together, eh? I can do that. Do you want to put them all on the same credit card?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Alright, sir, if I could just have your passports, we’ll have you on your way in no time.”

  “What time’s that flight?”

  “It leaves in one hour, and it puts you at your gate in Detroit right at 7:00 PM local time.”

  § § §

  Scott and di Stasio were sitting in Shiv’s office. It was just after lunch, and they had eaten well. It was warm in the office, and they were having trouble staying awake.

  “Hey! What the hell? You guys fallen’ asleep on me here?”

  “Sorry, Shiv. That was way too much food to let us sit in a warm room and stay awake. Can we step outside for a minute?”

  “Yeah, let’s go talk in the park.” Shiv stood up and the two cops followed him out the door to the park across the street. “Okay, so waddya think? They stayin’ over there or comin’ home?”

  “Well, I’d stay there, was it me.” Di Stasio told him. “I’d take the ferry, then drive across England, put my car on the Chunnel train, and ride to France. From there, I could go anywhere, and you’d never find me. You know, Shiv, they only really need their real IDs when they enter and leave Europe. Once they’re in a country, they can use their fake IDs for everything else. Worst thing is, they can travel between European Union countries without stopping at any borders at all. It’s like one country over there, now.”

  “So, you’re telling me that I gotta wait ‘till they fly home? And even then, I can’t be waiting for them, ‘cause you don’t get the word until the day after they clear customs. I got that right?” Scott and di Stasio nodded. “That’s absolutely the best you can do?”

  “Well, we got a guy at the Customs Service office, but he works days. The airlines have to give Homeland Security a list of passengers before the plane gets in, but with all the airports in the states that handle international arrivals, there’s no way we could be sure of having someone waiting, anyway. If our guy’s on the computer when they check through customs, and he catches it, he could call us right away, but they been flying in and out at night. Otherwise, he checks the overnight lists in the morning and calls us if they’re on it.”

  “Well,” said an exasperated Shiv, “I think you’re wrong. I think they’re comin’ home. Only problem is, we don’t know where the hell they’re comin’ home to. They ain’t been back to Milwaukee since they took off. Their utilities are on and bein’ paid. Their goddam lights even come on at night. But they ain’t been there since they left. Bastards are drivin’ me nuts.”

  “Listen, Shiv,” Scott tried to mollify the drug dealer. “We’re as frustrated as you are. But we’re doing everything we can, here. We’re staying on top of our customs guy. When we know something, you know we’ll call you, day or night.”

  “Yeah, I know that, Sonny. I’m just frustrated. Other than this thing, business is great. We’re going great guns. I had to add another truck to make rounds. I’m starting to grow in Iowa, now, but shit, there ain’t more than a dozen farmers in the whole damned state. I don’t know how I’m gonna make any money there. I’m talking to a guy in Michigan, tonight. But this thing, this goddam bus driver, fer Chrissakes, this sonuvabitch is killin’ me.”

  “We’ll stay on it, Shiv. If they come back, we’ll let you know immediately we find out. You need a ride to the airport, or you taking some boys with you?”

  “Naw, I’m meeting Jack and the boys in Detroit. I reserved the cars up there. They’re rentals, so they won’t be loaded like mine, but they’ll work for this. It’s just a meeting, and we’ll be back on the redeye tonight. I was just gonna have one of the boys drop me at Midway. I hate the crowds at O’Hare. That place is just too big for me. I ain’t comfortable there, knowatamean?”

  “Yeah, I know,” Scott told him. “But you never hear anything about Midway any more. It’s like it disappeared.”

  “C’mon, Shiv. We’ll take you out there, lights and sirens all the way.” Di Stasio told him.

  “God,” Shiv laughed. “I love that shit.”

  § § §

  After a flight of just over an hour, the Air Canada flight from Toronto taxied up to its assigned jetway on the lower level of the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metro. Again, they deplaned in the same order, with John leading. Within minutes, they were standing together at a bar table in Concourse A. They had stashed their passports and real ID in their carry-on bags, and pulled out the fake sets they would now be using.

  “Oh, shit.” Drew put his head down and turned toward the bar. “It’s them.”

  John was standing next to Drew and didn’t have to turn to glance up. He spoke quietly, but they could all hear him.

  “It’s them, all right. Don’t act strange. Remember, we don’t look like we did last time they saw us, and besides, they aren’t expecting to see us here. People see what they expect to see. Just stand here until they pass us.

  “Okay, good, let them get a hundred feet or so ahead of us, then we’ll follow them. We need to keep them in our sights, but we can’t walk together as a group. Drew and I will go first. We’ll stay toward the center of the concourse. You girls stay behind us. Don’t look like you even know each other. That way, if one of them looks back, they won’t see a foursome. Okay, let’s go.”

  John and Drew walked away from the table, making small talk, and occasionally laughing. Dianne and Ashley gave them several seconds to get away from the bar, then fell into formation, ten feet behind and several feet apart. Ashley stayed a step behind Dianne

  “Dianne,” Ashley asked, quietly. “Why are we trying to stay within sight of these guys? Three of them never saw us, but the three that did might recognize us, in spite of the wigs. Shouldn’t we be trying to get where they can’t see us?”

  “John always says that if we can’t see them, we don’t know where they are. Lee used to say that, too. That’s what caused our problem with them in Ireland. As long as we’re following them, we know where they are.”

  The four Sherrys followed Shiv’s boys up the escalator to the first level of the terminal. When they turned down the upper level, the Sherrys continued on to the center of the concourse. John looked over the board showing all the nearby hotels. Picking up the courtesy phone, he punched in a number and asked for two adjoining rooms.

  “We’re in. This should be a nice hotel.”

  “Where is it?” Dianne asked.

  “That’s it, over there.” He replied, pointing out the big front window. “We can catch the shuttle when we’re ready, and, somehow, I can’t picture those goons walking into the Westin. I’m guessing they’re here on business, and they’re going to want to get to it.”

  “Listen,” John said, “why don’t you guys go on ahead? I’d like to stick around and see who they’re meeting.”

  “Uh, Pop? I don’t think so. We’re all for one, one for all, remember? I think we’re smart enough to separate and stay within sight of each other. They won’t even know we’re here, but at some poi
nt down the road, it just might behoove all of us to be able to recognize whoever they’re meeting.”

  “You may be right, Drew. I don’t know where they’re from, but I’m guessing Chicago. I can’t figure a Detroit outfit operating in Milwaukee. Okay, let’s go find those guys. Same formation as before.”

  John and Drew started off. Drew looked down at Ashley before they left and smiled. “God, you’re gorgeous.” he whispered to her.

  “Thank you, sir. It’s all for you,” she replied. Stretching up, she kissed him gently on the lips. He felt a stirring, but she dropped his hand, and he and his father started down the concourse, walking where they had seen the six thugs go. After passing several gates, the girls spotted John and Drew sitting at a table outside a burger place. They were keeping their heads close, looking for all the world like a couple of guys discussing fishing.

  Dianne and Ashley bought a couple of drinks and took two separate tables, down from John and Drew. Dianne looked at John, who returned the look, and then glanced across the concourse at a gate diagonally across from them. The six men were standing, almost at parade rest, staring at the jetway door.

  They had been sitting there for no more than ten minutes when they saw the six men straighten up. A well-dressed man, about forty, came out of the jetway and stopped in front of the six. He said something to them and they all nodded. Three of them started off, with the newcomer walking behind them with one of the six. The remaining two covered the rear. The men walked right past without seeing them.

  John and Drew started down the concourse in the direction the group, now numbering seven, had gone. Dianne and Ashley brought up the rear.

  The seven men, followed by the four Sherrys, walked down the main passageway, past the security checkpoint. Two of them stepped up to the rental car counter. After identifying themselves and handing over a credit card, they signed the contracts, picked up two sets of keys, and turned away from the counter. The group then turned toward the front door.