Demon (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 1)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Gail clutched his free hand. “What is it, Mike?”

  Mike shrugged. “Tom and his partner took the wives up to Lake Tahoe. They received some well deserved time off after the Manjetti rescue. I have an idea if you’re all with me on this. I won’t lie to you. The idea is a conglomeration of about five different TV show plots.”

  “Go on,” Dan urged. “We’ll never get the other cops to help us. They’ll call Laura’s parents and the parents will tell them the Mahmouds are working it out with their daughter. Besides, only Tom would move fast enough to actually help.”

  “If Denny can keep them on watch, we’ll use three cars to follow them to the first rest stop they use. We all know Laura can’t make it long without stopping at this point in her pregnancy. They can’t drug her without risking the baby’s life. If we can stay close enough to their car by alternating tails, we may be able to set up at a select rest stop before they get there. That’s where Jan, Connie, and Gail come in. You three will be in the women’s restroom with stun-guns and pepper spray. Once Laura enters, you three hold onto her no matter what. The rest of us have to get the Mahmouds and the bodyguards. Dad, you, Stan, and Jerry need to shield off the Moomoos. D and I will take the bodyguards who will be tasked with escorting Laura. Denny goes with me. Mr. Corbett goes with Stan, Jerry, and Dad. Mom drives the third car with Joanie, Connie, Jan, and Gail. We’ll have enough synched in iPads to stay in constant touch.”

  “Let’s do this,” Steve Corbett affirmed. “I got nothing better, and I have a daughter that if anything similar happened you bunch would be my first call.”

  After brief loud affirmations, the group split up with Mike, Demon, and Denny in Mike’s Chevy, and the other groups split up into Steve Corbett’s Nissan Altima, and Jenny with the girls in the Rawlins’ Equinox. With Denny directing the three vehicles, they followed the Mahmoud GMC heading East on Interstate 580 toward the connection for Interstate 80 East at the Carquinez Bridge.

  “They picked up traffic in Berkeley,” Denny announced to the others on conference. “We’re only a couple miles behind them. We’ll probably be on their tail after the toll booth at the Carquinez Bridge. Please acknowledge so in case we lose someone’s connection.”

  “Ten-four, Super Denny,” Jerry spoke up.

  “By your command, worm,” Joanie added.

  Denny muted the connection momentarily, chuckling at the offhand humor even with so grievous a situation facing them. “You have quite a crew, Mike. It’s a good thing the airports are so tough to fly out of these days. I bet they would have taken a chance of drugging Laura for a flight otherwise.”

  “You’re probably right. I figure they’re not even going to take a plane when they go all the way East. I’m betting they have it in mind to go by ship from one of the damn Eastern ports they control. I’m surprised they didn’t go for one of the ones Saudi Arabia controls in Louisiana or Texas. What’d they choose, the Newark port?”

  Denny looked up from his notebook computer with admiration. “Yep. You really did your homework on this.”

  “Ever since I found out about Moomoo, I’ve been digging into all known escape routes other than by air,” Mike admitted. “I’m not too crazy about waiting for shit to get dumped on me out of nowhere.”

  “Arf!” Demon added from between the seats.

  Mike noticed Denny’s hands moving over the keyboard on his laptop with blinding speed. “What’s up, Denny?”

  “I’ve been trying to hack into a Jamil phone and I’m… almost… yes!”

  Mike heard voices inside a car speaking Arabic. He glanced over at his companion with undisguised wonder, as startled voices came over their open conference call.

  “Damn, partner, is that the Moomoo’s voices,” Stan asked.

  “That’s them,” Denny acknowledged happily. “Oh… ah… listen, when and if we’re able to detect a stop coming up, the girls will have to zoom ahead immediately with the rest of us following. Their taking of Laura will be crucial.”

  Hushed acknowledgements answered Denny’s directions.

  “That was tight, Denny. Thanks.”

  For the next twenty minutes silence dominated every vehicle, some listening intently, and others remaining silent by choice. Laura’s voice came on clearly.

  “I have to stop,” Laura said plaintively.

  “You go girl,” Janis’s voice spoke up immediately.

  Voices ordering her to hold on for a while were met with escalating complaints from Laura. Finally, the trailing vehicles heard Farris Jamil order the driver to stop at the next rest stop. Connie immediately chirped in.

  “The next one is Pitt School Road! We’ll have to gamble on which one they choose.”

  “Take a guess Connie,” Mike urged. “Don’t worry if you’re wrong. We’ll play catch up no matter what.”

  “I’d pick the Chevron Station,” Connie replied. “There’s a store there and single bathrooms. We need to move now to get ahead of them though.”

  “Go for it,” Mike said. “Is it a communal bathroom or only one at a time.”

  “It’s one at a time, Mike,” Connie answered.

  “Okay, change of plans if Connie’s right. Get moving and streak ahead of Moomoo. All of you girls get in there in line to go. When Laura approaches, let’s hope she’s smart enough to play along. You bunch will be the front line. Are you okay with this?”

  “Hell yeah!” Gail answered immediately with backup yells of affirmation from even Mike’s Mom.

  Ten minutes later, after the trailing vehicles surged ahead past the Mahmoud GMC and set up with Jenny, Joanie, Janis, Connie, and Gail waiting inside the store near the bathrooms, Mike waited tensely for the Mahmoud arrival. A sigh of relief went up as the GMC Denali pulled into the parking area at the side of the store, ignoring the gas pumps.

  “We’re golden. Connie was right,” Denny exclaimed, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

  “Dad, you, Jerry, and Stan stay with the Moomoos. D comes with me. We’ll will take care of the bodyguards that remain outside. Unfortunately, the ones escorting Laura will be the girls’ target.”

  Quick affirmations acknowledged Mike’s directions. He watched as three bodyguards exited the GMC with Laura in a tight grouping. “Shit! They have three escorts. Okay… only one is going with Laura. D and I are on our way for the ones waiting outside. Mom, take the prick down as soon as Laura is clear!”

  “On it!” Jenny’s voice came over loud and clear.

  “Stay here and don’t move, Denny,” Mike ordered as he exited with Demon.

  Seeing Denny’s head nod, Mike continued toward where two of the Mahmoud bodyguards remained outside, playing a game of nonchalance with Demon, slapping his leg as if drawing Demon toward him. The moment one of the men from the night’s confrontation past showed signs of recognition, Demon moved. He launched into the one on his right, carrying the shocked man to the ground, Demon’s teeth hovering at his throat. Mike struck full bore with a sidekick that spilled the bodyguard on the left to the ground in agony. Mike followed his attack with a smash to the man’s left temple, leaving him incoherent at best. Rushing into the store he spotted his female wrecking crew in happy celebration. The store employees raced around, trying to decipher what had happened. Mike calmed them, urging their cooperation in a kidnapping attempt. He welcomed their 911 calls out for police before joining his Mom and friends at the back restrooms. The bodyguard escorting Laura lay unconscious at the feet of Gail, who watched him without looking up.

  “Where’s Laura?” Mike asked, moving into the hallway containing the entrances to the single occupant bathrooms.

  She had to pee, Dempsey,” Janis answered with a chuckle. “How are things outside?”

  “The Mahmouds are with us,” Jerry replied, hearing the question over his synched iPad. “They aren’t happy.”

  “Well, wahhhhh!” Gail commented to laughter from her cohorts. “I think we better join this enterprise into a tight grouping, Mike.”


  “Yep, I think you’re right,” Mike answered, hugging Laura as she emerged from the bathroom.

  Nearly twelve hours passed before authorities in the nearest city of Vallejo ascertained the details of the attempted kidnapping. Laura’s parents arrived to express outrage as to their being duped in Laura’s relationship to Mahmoud. It was a jubilant group that met tiredly in the early morning Friday hours after intense interrogation at the Rawlins’ house. Laura had remained with her flabbergasted parents, suffering from a guilt trip of monumental parameters. The Mahmouds and their bodyguards had been released to the FBI’s custody. Mike made sure the rather unconcerned agent sent knew he would be hounded to doomsday, if the case was not acted on properly.

  “Well, I guess the latest disaster has passed,” Dan announced as the group sat at breakfast in the Rawlins’ house, with Jenny, Mike, Gail, and Joanie working on the serving chore. “Anyone want out of this fiasco before we start earning the fifty grand to visit the USS Hornet?”

  A raucous chorus of no’s issued forth from the happy group.

  “D?” Janis called out, prompting the paranormal pup to look up from his celebratory bowl of beer. “What’s chances of you going on the wagon before we take on the Hornet Haunts?”

  Laughter erupted as the low toned snarl issued from Demon as he launched at Janis, nipping and driving the screaming Janis to the floor, her hands trying to ward off Demon’s calculated admonishments.

  Mike drank a gulp of his coffee as bedlam ensued near him, smiling with satisfaction. Look out haunts, he thought with anticipation.

  The End

  Thank you for purchasing and reading Demon. If you enjoyed the novel, please take a moment and leave a review. Your consideration would be much appreciated. Please visit my Amazon Author’s Page if you would like to preview any of my other novels. Thanks again for your support.

  Bernard Lee DeLeo

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