by Joe Corso
Both Angelo and Lee were riveted to every word he spoke. Angelo asked, “So what happened next, Mr. Christo? Did they get out of that prison?”
John nodded grimly. He explained how the old man spent three years digging his way into John W’s cell and then he went on to explain how they dug their way into the hidden room. He told them about the skeleton, the balloon, and how poor old Dutch Henry as he lay dying, handed the boy his map.
“He died in my arms.”
Lee looked up. “You? You were the boy who asked me to find out about his mother?”
John smiled. “Yes, that was me. And because of the kindness you showed me while I was in that rotten cell, when I got out, I tracked you down. I wanted to repay you for what you did for me.”
Lee actually blushed. “Shucks, Mr. Christo, I didn’t do anything for you. I didn’t find out about your mother for you.”
“I know, Lee, but you made an attempt, and you were fired because you tried to help me. Now understand this. You and yours will never want for anything ever again in this life. That I promise you.”
Angelo then spoke up. “So how did you find the mine?”
“Sam Reed helped me find it. He knew the mountains like the back of his hand and I was lucky to have found another honest man. When we have more time, I’ll fill in the blanks for you. It’s an interesting tale, but it has to wait. I’ll tell it another time. Now you both can understand why I’m doing the things that I am. I told you my story because I can’t do what I have to do by myself. I need help … your help. I do not like breaking the law, and I’m going to try hard not to break it, but I may have to bend it a little. I may do some things that aren’t completely legal. That’s why I wanted you to know my motives. Angelo, go with Lee. You’re gonna plant this package in Fancy Tom Jenkins’s apartment. If you have a problem doing that then don’t worry about it, Lee, and I will do it. Now, Lee, are you with me?”
“Mr. Christo, that bastard should pay for all the bad he’s done to so many people for so many years.”
“Good. Now, what about you, Angelo? Are you in or out?”
Angelo was silent for a moment. Then he said, “Well, this is not what I signed on for, but never let it be said that Angelo Muscano walked away from a friend.”
“I like that, Angelo. I like the part about not walking away from a friend, because you will always have a friend in me, and as I said before, I don’t have many friends except you two, Mr. Hayes, and old Persistent. I told you what happened to me. I was lost and buried in a dark hole away from every one I cared for . . . my mother, Mr. Hayes. My life was destroyed because of the greed of two men, who were helped by two other men. I promised Dutch Henry I would get the man who imprisoned him, Governor Wilson. I intend to keep that promise. Besides putting Dutch Henry in that prison, Governor Wilson had me imprisoned on phony drug charges, and because of them, I went to prison.
“While I was in jail, my mother died. Our land and home were stolen by Jack McCormack and Rutgar Kleinst.” He looked at Angelo. “Angelo, I’m telling you all of this because I intend to destroy those men, starting with Jenkins. He’ll be the first to go. But I don’t intend to rush the process. I want them to know what’s happening and I want them to squirm. Kleinst will go the same way as Jenkins. Governor Wilson will be disgraced while in office. He will be convicted of abusing his power and he’ll be found guilty of those crimes. I’ll see to it that he spends time in one of his prisons. That’s the promise I’ll keep to old Dutch Henry. McCormack will be convicted of misuse of corporate funds. All of them will wind up broke and they’ll face long prison terms.
“Lee, you have Jenkins’s file. When he leaves for work tomorrow, I want you to enter his home and plant this package in his attic, or under his bed, or in a closet. Put it somewhere where someone who was tipped off that there were drugs on the premises would find it, but with difficulty. Any questions?”
“Just one,” Angelo said.
“What’s the question?”
“How are we supposed to get into his house without breaking down the door? And what if he has an alarm?”
“Glad you asked, Angelo.” John reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a very expensive envelope for which he paid a rather unsavory but talented character. “Here, take this with you. It contains the alarm code and a key to his apartment. Make sure you put the alarm back on and lock the door when you leave. Any other questions? No? Alright, get going and call me as soon as it’s done.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
When Lee informed John W that the package containing the drugs had been successfully planted in Jenkins’s home, he made an anonymous phone call to the police. He gave them the name and address of a drug dealer who was selling drugs and targeting children. He said he decided to call them because he wanted to help stop the proliferation of drugs, spreading like a plague through this once quiet neighborhood.
Later that day, breaking news of the arrest of Fancy Tom Jenkins, a major drug dealer in Phoenix, was shown repeatedly on all of the major news outlets. The police told reporters they received the drug kingpin’s address from a tip by a concerned citizen who preferred to remain anonymous, fearing for his life. After obtaining a search warrant, the police broke into Jenkins’s home. After a thorough search, a large stash of drugs was discovered concealed under a tarp in a corner of his attic. Jenkins placed boxes over the drugs and covered the boxes with the tarp to make them more difficult to find. The police told reporters if it weren’t for a drug enforcement canine who located the stash, they likely wouldn’t have found the drugs. Mr. Jenkins was held in jail with no bail. Witnesses who bought drugs from the suspect came forth ready to testify against him.
John W had worked hard for months on his plan to frame Jenkins. He wore a disguise when he met with mercenaries in a rented warehouse. He thought of telling them about Jenkins and the crimes he committed, but then decided against it because he knew that all these men were concerned about was the money they would be paid for this job. One man raised his hand and asked what the job entailed and how much are they getting paid to do it.
“A reasonable question,” John replied. “I’ll pay each of you $50,000.00 up front and another $50,000.00 upon completion of the job.” The men raised their eyebrows and looked at each other, wondering who this man was that would pay so much money for so simple a job, and it didn’t even include murdering someone. “One thing, though.” He placed his attaché case on the table and opened it so each of them could see that it was filled with stacks of hundred dollar bills wrapped in $10,000.00 bundles. “I expect loyalty from each of you - at least until this job is completed. If I’m satisfied with your work, I’ll keep your name on file in case I have need of your services in the future. This simple job that I’m hiring you to do is important to me, so don’t fuck me because that would make me angry. You’ll be paid fifty grand now and in a few days when you complete this job, you’ll be paid the rest of your money. I think you’ll agree that’s a lot of money for so simple a job, but like I just said the results are important to me. So don’t fuck me; just do the job and come back for the rest of your money.” The men in the room were not men easily intimidated, but they made their living by working for men like John W. It wouldn’t do if their reputations or integrity became damaged by rumors that they were trying to fuck him. Theirs was a small fraternity, and if word got out that they took money for a job they didn’t complete, they would be blackballed. He looked each of them in the eye as he handed each his $50,000.00.
One of the men, Terry Crawford, who John thought must be the spokesman for the group, looked him in the eye as he received his money and told him, “Don’t worry about a thing, Mister-whatever-your-name is. Put your mind at ease; we’ll do this job for you and none of us will fuck you. But, just so you know it, you pissed us off by insinuating we would. I’ll call you when the job is done and we’ll meet you here for the rest of our money. But here’s a little advice for you. When we come back for the rest of our money, have
it, and don’t you fuck us.”
John got it and replied, “Sounds fair to me.”
Terry was the last man to leave. When the door closed behind him, John smiled, knowing he hired the right men for this job.
The mercs used drugs as bait. They started by convincing drug users to testify against Jenkins with the promise they would receive a large quantity of drugs of their choice in return, and it didn’t stop there. The men tracked down many of Jenkins’s victims from the list Christo gave them and most were anxious to testify against him.
“But, Mr. Christo, do you really think a jury will convict him?” Lee asked.
John W gave him a ghost of a smile. “Joe Stalin once said, ‘People who cast the votes don’t decide the election. People who count the votes do.’ Don’t doubt me on this, Lee. I’ve counted the votes and he’s going away for a long, long time.” Lee and Angelo looked at each other. They both realized that Jenkins’s fate had been decided long before they planted the drugs in his attic.
When the trial began, the prosecution called twenty-seven witnesses to testify against Jenkins. When it ended, he was found guilty on all charges and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
McCormack put down the paper in disgust after reading of the drug kingpin Fancy Tom Jenkins’s sentencing. He knew that Jenkins was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a drug dealer. Somebody had set him up . . . but why? Sure, Fancy Tom had a lot of enemies, but he had been out of the con game for a number of years now. He thought, Tom’s been working for me for how long now? Three years? That’s it. He’s been working for me for three years and I know for a fact that he couldn’t have been dealing drugs while he was on my payroll. He dialed the private line. The Governor picked up. “Holland, it’s Jack. Have you been following the Jenkins trial?”
“Yes, I have. Go figure. I never would have thought that the guy was into drugs.”
McCormack’s temper flared and he yelled into the phone, “He wasn’t into drugs, you fool. Get your head out of your ass and look at what happened. He was framed, plain and simple, by someone who wanted him out of the way.”
Governor Wilson was silent for a moment. “Framed, you say? But who would want to frame him?”
“I don’t know, but it worries me when things happen without a reason. I asked myself the same question, who would want to frame Jenkins? I can’t put my finger on what’s going on here, but remember this: what happened to Jenkins could happen to you or me. Look, we need to get Jenkins out of jail; he knows too much. Can you pardon him?”
“Are you crazy? If I pardoned him now, the voters would hang me. This isn’t the right time for a pardon, Jack. I would love to pardon him, but things have to cool down a little before I can even begin to think about it. Look, when things cool off, I’ll quietly pardon him. That’s the best I can do for now.”
“I understand. I’ll tell Tom what you just said. He’ll understand. He won’t like it, but he’ll understand. Now, how’s the funding for our project coming along?”
“It’s just about finalized. I should have a bank draft for you the day after tomorrow. It was a hard sell, but when the legislature realized the funding was for a partnership in the recently discovered Four Peaks Gold Mine, they approved the funding.”
“Good. Once we pay off that bastard Christo, we’ll control the mine. Then, when the mine starts to show a profit, we’ll repay the state and then we’ll both make millions.”
“Yeah. Heh, heh heh. That old stubborn sombitch, Dutch Henry, wouldn’t share his gold with me, and now he’s dead and I have it anyway.”
“Be careful what you say on the phone, Holland. Someone could be listening to us.”
“Don’t worry about that. This is a secure line.”
“Good. I’m glad to see you’re using your head. I gotta go now. Don’t forget. Send me the check as soon as you get it.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll have it the day after tomorrow. I want to send it to you as much as you want to get it. Talk to you then.” McCormack hung up the phone and sat, contemplating what had happened to Fancy Tom Jenkins.
“Did you get it all?”
“Yes, sir. When you’re tapping an encrypted phone line it’s a bit tricky, but I think I got it all. When you’re dealing with electronics, sometimes you get nothing.”
“I don’t want to hear that ‘sometimes you get nothing’ stuff. You’re the best and that’s why I hired you. I want to hear that you got it all. You did get it all, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir, I believe I did. I’ll know for sure when we replay the tape.”
“How soon will you be able to play it back for me?”
“It won’t take long. Give me a few minutes and you’ll hear everything that was recorded.”
John W listened to the conversation between the two powerful men, Governor Wilson and Jack McCormack. He took the headphones off and put them down. “You did a good job, Jerry. The quality of the sound is perfect. I could hear every word clearly. Make a copy and give both tapes to me later.”
Jerry Sutphin was an ex-C.I.A. expert and one of the best men in the business concerning surveillance and counter-surveillance. He had a backlog of clients to prove it and he hired out to anyone who could afford his exorbitant fees. John W read Sutphin’s advertisement in Soldier of Fortune Magazine, where Sutphin kept a yearly ad running. When John contacted him, Sutphin said he wouldn’t be available for six months. A moment of silence passed, and then John said, “Look, Mr. Sutphin, I have a job in Arizona that can’t wait six months. Whatever your fee is, I’ll double it, but you have to come now.”
“Look, Mr. Christo, I’d have to give up a lot of work to drop what I’m doing to do yours.”
“What if I tripled it? Would that make a difference?”
“Expenses?”
“I’ll include expenses.”
Money talks and bullshit walks because Jerry ‘Soldier of Fortune’ Sutphin put what jobs he could on hold, and the jobs he couldn’t he gave to an associate. He showed up the very next day at John’s office in Arizona with all of his gear, ready for work.
“Lee, I want you dig into Rutgar Kleinst’s past and find out all you can about him. Find out if he was ever in trouble with the law, especially when he was a kid growing up in Germany. He might have a record and if he does, I want to know what he was arrested for. If this is out of your area of expertise, I’ll get Jason Sweeney to do the job.”
Lee thought about Sweeney and partnering with him seemed like a good idea. “I think you should call Sweeney, boss. We could get a lot more done if we worked together on this. Call him and see if he’s available. I’d feel better having a partner with me in Germany. Jason may have more experience in this area, but my experience in other areas will compliment his and it’s better if we checked Kleinst out as a team rather than one of us going it alone.”
John W thought a moment. “You’re right, Lee. The two of you working together on this makes sense. I just hope he’s available and not working on a case.” Christo reached over and pressed a button on his console. “Monica, get Jason Sweeney on the phone for me. please. Thank you, Monica.” A few minutes later, his intercom buzzed.
“Mr. Sweeney is on Line One for you, Mr. Christo.”
He picked up the phone. “Jason, how are you?”
“Good, Mr. Christo, what can I do for you?”
“Are you working on anything right now?”
“Actually I am, but if it’s important I can have another agent complete this assignment. It’s a husband - wife thing . . . not very exciting. What is it you need me to do?”
“I’d like you to accompany Lee to Germany to check out someone’s background. You’d have to spend some time over there sorting through German police files. Is that a problem?”
“That’s not a problem, Mr. Christo. In fact, I speak a little German. I was with the military police while in the army and I learned German while stationed in Berlin.”
“Well, it looks like I called the right man then.
How soon can you be here?”
Sweeney thought a moment and then he looked at his calendar. My calendar looks good, but I’m putting you on hold a minute while I confirm it with my secretary.” A minute later, he clicked back on. “I can be in Arizona the day after tomorrow." My secretary will fax you my flight itinerary.”
“That’s great, Jason, I’ll have Angelo meet you at the airport. I’ll have everything ready so that when you get to my office, you and Lee can get started right away.” Knowing that Jason was on board took some of the pressure off. John leaned his head back on the plush cushion of his chair and turned to Lee, who hadn’t heard any of the conversation and was anxious to know what Jason said. “Jason will be here the day after tomorrow.”
Lee was relieved, knowing that he’d be going to Germany with Jason and he got up from his chair. “Since Jason won’t arrive for a couple of days, no sense in me hanging around when there’s work to be done. I’m going to my office and logging on to the Internet. I’ll see what I can find out about Rutgar, and while I’m at it, I’ll perform a police background check on him.”
“Good, that’ll give you something to work on until Jason gets here.”
One down, three to go, John W thought to himself. The stress of planning every move was weighing heavily on him and to relax a little, he emptied his mind and allowed his body to melt into his comfortable leather chair. He didn’t relax for long, though, because Rutgar Kleinst suddenly appeared in his mind, which pleased him. He thought, with a grim smile, You are next. Even if Rutgar were clean, John would make sure that he wound up in jail just like Jenkins. The thought of Rutgar in prison increased his smile. It would happen slowly, he mused. Revenge should happen slowly so it can be savored. The revenge of John W must happen slowly and when his revenge was complete, he would pick up the shattered fragments of his past and try to return to a normal life, maybe even with Virginia. She doesn’t recognize me right now, he thought, but maybe after I explain what happened to the boy she once loved and who loved her, maybe we’ll have a chance to start over.