by Robert Boren
“C’mon,” Ted said. “Who else could it be?”
“I can’t believe you’d hesitate,” Malcolm said.
“All right, we’ll check on it,” he said. “Meanwhile, I got to take you two in for questioning. My SAC insisted.”
“SAC?” Malcolm asked.
“Special Agent in Charge,” Ted said. He sighed. “For how long? We talking a couple of hours?”
“Don’t know,” he said. “Oh, and give me your cell phones.”
“Why?” Ted asked.
“We don’t have to tell you anything,” Agent Williams said. “It’ll be better if you cooperate. Please?”
Ted sighed and handed his phone over. Malcolm did the same. “We following you over there?”
“No, you’re being taken in my car,” Agent Williams said.
“This seems kinda like an arrest to me,” Malcolm said. “We get a phone call?”
“Not yet,” he said.
Ted started to get his dander up, and Malcolm saw it. He shook his head no.
“What about my Jeep?” Malcolm asked. “I don’t want to leave it on the street around here.”
“Agent Weiss will follow us in your vehicle. Don’t worry, we have an office close by.”
***
Gabe and Dobie sat in the car, watching the house. It had been almost half an hour since the FBI stormed the house. There were agents sitting on the front porch, and people walking around inside the house.
“Think we should go in there?” Gabe asked.
“No,” Dobie said. “Let’s just wait. I haven’t heard any guns go off or anything.”
“Look, movement,” Gabe said. A large agent walked out the front door with Malcolm and Ted. They came down the walkway to the curb, where a black SUV was parked. Malcolm looked right at them and shook his head no.
“He doesn’t want us to follow him,” Dobie said.
“Crap,” Gabe said as he watched them get shoved into the SUV. It drove off.
“What now?” Dobie asked.
“Let’s go back to the RV Park,” Gabe said. “I’ll call George on the way.”
“Good idea,” Dobie said. He started the car and headed for the freeway as Gabe took his phone out of his pocket.
“George?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah, Gabe,” he said. “Anything wrong?”
“Malcolm and Ted were inside the house,” Gabe said, trying to stay calm. “The place got raided by FBI agents. We just watched them being taken away in one of those black SUVs.”
“Son of a bitch,” George said. “I was afraid of that. They didn’t call you?”
“No, but Malcolm made sure he made eye contact with us and shook his head no,” Gabe said.
“He doesn’t want you to follow him,” George said. “What are you gonna do?”
“We’re going back to the KOA we spent the night at. The fifth wheel is still there.”
“Okay, I’ll call Sam Hinton and see if he can help. Did it look like they were arrested?”
“They didn’t have their hands tied,” Gabe said. “Nobody had a gun on them.”
“Good, then they’re probably just being brought in for questioning,” George said. “Sit tight when you get to the park. I’ll call you.”
“Okay, thanks,” Gabe said. He put his phone away. “You got the gist. He’s going to call his buddy Sam Hinton. He said to sit tight at the RV Park until he calls us.”
“All right,” Dobie said. “I don’t like this.”
“Me neither.”
***
“We probably should find a place to stop,” Scott said. “We shouldn’t be on the road during the day, at least until we’re further away.”
“I’m getting tired anyway,” Cindy said. “I’ll look for a place.”
“Good. Let’s go to a real RV Park instead of boondocking this time.”
“You don’t think we’ll get recognized?” she asked.
“Nah, we’ll probably be okay,” he said. “There still isn’t a good picture of me out there.”
“If there were news stories, maybe there’s pictures of me. Wouldn’t they have found pictures of you?”
“Nah,” he said. “The conventional wisdom is that I’m dead.”
“You said you’d tell me who you are,” Cindy said as she studied his face. “How about now?”
“I guess I can trust you enough,” Scott said. “You did help me clean up the mess at the boondocking spot. Sure you really want to know?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Ever hear of the Nighthawk Road Killer?”
Her eyes got big. “I had a feeling it was something like that, when you mentioned Malcolm Davis. You sure you aren’t going to kill me?”
“Trust me,” Scott said.
“Heard that before,” she said.
“Really?” Scott said, laughing. “Name a woman who hasn’t heard that before. Anyway, it was a family thing. My dad started the killings, but I took over.”
“How many have you killed?” she asked.
“Lots,” he said.
“Who?”
“My most recent victim was the coed who got shot on the jogging path,” he said.
“But you just killed several other people at the boondocking place, and the people back in my town.”
“Those weren’t victims of the Nighthawk Road Killer. Those people were all victims of circumstance. I didn’t even mark any of those bodies.” He paused for a moment. “Maybe I can’t really count the coed, either. I didn’t have time to mark her. I just blasted her so she couldn’t identify me.”
“How do you mark?” Cindy asked, getting fascinated now.
“It’ll be easier to show you than to describe it,” he said. “Next time we snatch somebody, I’ll let you watch.”
She got a sick look on her face. “You think I’m going to help you with this?”
“Yeah, if you want to stay alive,” Scott said, a wicked grin on his face. “You’ll like it. I can tell. You’re a lot like Bailey. I wasn’t sure until you blew away that woman in the Class B. You didn’t have to do that. I saw the look on your face when you did it.”
“What look?” she asked.
“Glee,” he said, the grin back on his face. “You’re getting excited talking about this. I can see you squirming in your seat.”
She looked at him, her face flushing. Then she looked away.
“C’mon, admit it,” he said.
She was silent for a moment, then looked back over at him, her eyes dilated. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Good, glad we settled that,” he said. “No more secrets. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“Why do people think you’re dead?” she asked.
“My house was in northern New Jersey,” he said.
“Where the nuke went off?” she asked.
“Yep,” he said.
“But you weren’t there.”
“No, my wife and kids were, but I was in my second residence in Columbus, Ohio at the time. There was no record of me being there. I drove, luckily for me.”
“You don’t look too upset about your family,” she said.
“They were a front,” he said. “Things got too hot at my home base in Kansas, so I had a very public courtship and marriage, then moved to Jersey and got a job in New York City. Made a bunch of money as a stock trader.”
“Who was the other guy you mentioned?”
“Howard,” Scott said. “He was a friend of my dad and me. I recruited him to re-join the game. He was killed by a corrupt FBI agent in the basement of my place in Columbus.”
“You were running from there when you showed up in my town?” Cindy asked.
“Yeah,” Scott said. “I had a unit at that storage place. I saw your motor home for sale, and called you. That pretty much brings us up to date.”
They rode along silently for about ten minutes, Cindy looking more and more agitated.
“You okay?” Scott asked, watching her face. Am I going
to have to kill her after all?
She looked back at him, drawing a deep breath. “What do you do with your victims? The real ones, that is?”
“Use them for at least a few hours, and then strangle them and dump them with the markings,” Scott said. “When I’m at one of my home bases, I can keep them for days.”
Cindy shuddered, looking at him, eyes glassy. “I need to find a place for us to stop,” she said. “Now.”
“Why the rush?” Scott asked.
“Why do you think?” she said, a wicked grin washing over her face. She looked at her phone for a few moments, and laughed. “Oh, we got to stop at this place.”
“You found something?”
“Yeah, Uncle Jasper’s RV Park and Resort,” she said.
“You’re joking,” he said.
“Nope, and it’s coming up soon, too. I’ll call for a reservation.”
***
Frank and Jane watched out the front window of their rig, still enjoying the road trip. They were behind Jerry and Jasmine, making good time.
“I’m glad we’re able to take I-70 now,” Jane said. “Much better road.”
“Yeah, it is,” Frank said, watching the road as he drove. “How long should we go today?”
“I think we should be able to get to Grand Junction,” Jane said. “I’ll text Jasmine and see what she’s thinking.”
“Good,” Frank said. “I think it’s a martini night.”
“Well, it appears we won’t have to battle our way through this time,” Jane said, looking at her phone. “Good, Jasmine and Jerry think that Grand Junction would be fine.”
“Too bad we can’t swing by Gabe’s place,” Frank said.
“We couldn’t get there from I-70 anyway,” Jane said. “We blew up the bridge, remember?”
“Oh, yeah,” Frank said, chuckling. “They’ll have to replace that eventually. Any good parks by Grand Junction?”
Jane didn’t answer. She was looking at her phone, ignoring him. Then Jerry and Jasmine’s rig started to slow down.
“Uh oh, what’s happening,” Frank asked. “Trouble with their rig?”
“Road block,” Jane said, looking over, nervous.
“Shit,” Frank said, his heart beating faster. “Wish we could see around him.”
“They’re making everybody stop,” Jane said, still looking at her phone.
“Well, Jerry’s stopping,” Frank said.
“Maybe it’s okay,” Jane said, looking a little relieved. “They’re pulling people over to give them small pox vaccinations.”
“Oh,” Frank said. Then he saw two soldiers walking up, rifles in hand.
“What kind of uniforms are those?” Jane asked.
“Son of a bitch,” Frank said. “That’s the UN.”
“You think they’re just helping with the vaccinations?”
“I hope so, but I don’t like them waving their guns around,” Frank said. “I’m calling General Hogan.”
Chapter 7 – The Start of a Beautiful Friendship
Frank and Jane watched as the two UN peace keepers walked up to the driver’s side window. Frank opened it.
“Good morning, folks,” said the man with a Belgian accent. “Had you had your small pox vaccine yet?”
“Nope, not yet,” Frank said. “You guys doing them on the road?”
“Yep,” the man said, smiling. “Follow the rig in front of you, when the parking opens up, then go to the blue tent. You have ID?”
“Yes,” Frank said.
“Where you coming from?” he asked.
“Kansas,” Frank said. “Why are you guys doing this instead of US authorities?”
“We are US authorities,” he said, looking at him with a curt expression. Frank looked back at him, not ready to give an inch.
“There goes Jerry,” Jane said, trying to break the tension. “Pull up, Frank.”
“Okay,” he said, driving forward onto the wide shoulder of the road. The blue tent was beyond the shoulder, with a line people in front of the door. There was a line of cars going up the road shoulder in front of Jerry and Jasmine’s coach. The first few cars in the lineup were being searched by UN peacekeepers. Frank pointed to that, a grim look on his face.
“Where are the guns?” she asked.
“In the front bunk, but I’m not letting them search us,” Frank said. “Not a chance in hell. We still have a constitution.”
“C’mon, Frank,” Jane said. They left the coach, pushing Lucy back in the door as they closed and locked it.
“At least we’ll hear her barking if anybody tries to jimmy the door,” Frank said as they walked up and got behind Jerry and Jasmine.
“This is bullshit,” Jerry whispered as they got close. “See them searching those vehicles up there?”
“Yeah, I see it,” Frank whispered. “They ain’t searching us.”
“Can you get a small pox vaccination when you’re pregnant?” Jane asked.
“I think so,” Jasmine said. “Or at least I haven’t heard that I can’t.”
“Ask them when we get up there,” Jerry said.
The line moved quickly. Jerry got his shot and stood off to the side and waited.
“Please move out of the tent, sir,” a UN peacekeeper said.
“No, I’m not leaving the tent until my wife is done too,” Jerry said.
“I’m pregnant,” Jasmine said to the nurse who was administering the shots. “This going to be a risk?”
“No, it’s fine,” she said. “There are vaccines you have to be careful with, but this isn’t one of them.”
“Okay, thank you,” Jasmine said politely as the shot was administered. She joined Jerry and they left the tent as Frank and Jane stepped up. They each got their shots silently and joined Jerry and Jasmine outside.
“Let’s blow this joint,” Frank said. They were heading towards their rigs when a UN peacekeeper intercepted them.
“We’d like to search your vehicles,” he said.
“Fine, show us a warrant from a US judge, and we’ll let you,” Frank said.
“What are you looking for, anyway?” Jerry asked.
“Weapons and drugs,” the officer said, beads of sweat coming out of his forehead.
“Weapons are legal,” Frank said. “We have something called a Constitution in this country. Ever heard of the Second Amendment?”
Jane clutched Frank’s forearm nervously as the peace keeper studied them.
“That’s not a good attitude,” he said.
“What? This is America. I think it’s great that you guys are helping with the vaccine, but you have no authority over any American citizen.”
“That remains to be seen,” the peace keeper said, but the look in his eyes was one of resignation.
“You guys were told not to search anybody who resists, weren’t you?” Jerry asked, grinning. “We’re leaving. Our representatives will hear from us. We will not be bullied by foreigners. Didn’t you see what happened to the invaders here? Armed citizens took them out.”
Another peacekeeper got closer. “Are you going to let them go?” he asked in a French accent.
“Back down, Gerard,” he said softly. “We don’t have the authority yet.”
“Nor will you ever get it,” Frank said. “Our elected officials can’t just decide to tear up the Bill of Rights. You all have a nice day.”
The four of them went back to their rigs and drove off.
“That was scary,” Jane said, one eye in the rear view mirror as Frank followed Jerry and Jasmine down the road.
Frank was so mad his face was red. He looked over at her. “We need to talk to General Hogan about this. How much further to Grand Junction?”
“A few more hours,” she said. “You want to call him now?”
“No, I want to concentrate on driving and keep my eyes open,” he said. “If you see any military vehicles with blue insignia on them, say something.”
“Is this what the General was worried about?�
� Jane asked.
“Maybe,” Frank said. “They have zero chance of subduing the American people, though. There’s not enough of them, and the EU is under attack. I’m surprised they’re even over here.”
“I’m wondering about that too,” Jane said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
***
Agent Williams led Ted and Malcolm into a small conference room at the FBI substation. There was a rectangular table with beat up chairs around it. Agents Weiss and Simone followed them into the room and sat on the chairs closest to the door.
“Have a seat, gentlemen,” Agent Williams said in a businesslike tone.
Malcolm and Ted sat across the table from him.
“Why did you have to take our phones?” Ted asked.
“Even though I don’t believe you guys are involved with the murder of Agent Keith, my SAC wants us to go by the numbers. We don’t want you guys calling anybody to do crime scene cover-up.”
“I don’t blame you,” Malcolm said, trying to keep the meeting calm. “What do you need to know?”
“Where were you guys during the last four days?”
“The first two days of that period I was at the RV Park in Kansas, just outside of Sharon Springs,” Malcolm said. “I’ve got a number of witnesses, including a sheriff and an army general. Ted was there during the evening and second day. After that we were on the road to Columbus. We stayed at a place called Uncle Jasper’s RV Park and Resort night before last, and the KOA in Springfield, Ohio last night. Our associates are still there, in a fifth wheel trailer.”
“Associates?” Agent Williams asked.
“Yeah, two people from our group at the RV Park in Kansas,” Malcolm said.
“I see. You didn’t bring them to the house in Columbus?”
“They were out on the street waiting for us,” Ted said. “We didn’t think it was a good idea to bring them in.”
“Why?” Agent Williams asked.
“We didn’t know what we’d find there,” Malcolm said. “We had reason to believe that Agent Keith was setting a trap for us there after we learned of the events on that jogging path.”
“Why would he do that, Mr. Davis?” Agent Williams asked.
“Because of past incidents,” Malcolm said. “You guys know my history. Agent Keith tried to prosecute me for the Red Dagger incident and two other incidents after that. He used methods that were unethical at best, and got his wrist slapped as a result. He’s still angry.”