by Joe Corso
“No I don’t. But my best guess is that they’re holding him at one of John Christo’s two buildings. One is in New York City and the other is in Phoenix. I’ve had a bit of a setback, fellas, so the sooner you can complete your assignment, the better it will be for me. Tell you what. Finish the job fast. Get these last two guys and I’ll see to it that you guys split a million dollars between you.” The two men’s eyes lit up. These men never showed emotion in front of strangers; it was a sign of weakness. The only time they showed emotion was when they were alone, but this caught them by surprise and it showed on their faces. McCormack couldn’t help but notice their reactions. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. Then he added, “There’s a catch to earning the million, guys. To earn it, you have to complete your assignment within two weeks. If it’s not completed by then, your fee will revert to our original agreement. I think that’s only fair. Don’t you?”
The men looked at each other then at McCormack. “It’s fair, Mr. McCormack, and we’ll do our best to earn the money.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Jerry Sutphin caught it all on tape and the men sitting in the room heard everything.
Jason Sweeney shook his head. “Whew, one million dollars to kill Lee and John Hardin. Hell, Lee, for that kind of money, I’d kill you myself.”
Angelo chimed in, “You’d have to get in line, Jason, because I think I’d get there first.” The men laughed as they listened to the tape. It felt like they were at the meeting and were part of the hunt. Only in this hunt, the hunted would set the traps to catch the hunters.
“Lee!” Christo called.
Lee turned to him. “Yes, Mr. Christo?”
“How many security men do we have on staff?”
“Four, besides me, sir.”
“Good. Call the men who aren’t working and tell them to report to work. I’d like to have as many men as possible working until the mercs are neutralized. The men you hired. Are they competent?”
Lee smiled confidently. “I hired ex-military. These men are tough, experienced soldiers. I must have interviewed one hundred men and I narrowed the field down to seven. I hired four men with the best qualifications and told them to report here Monday at 7:30 am. Times are tough now and these men needed a job. I would have liked to have hired all seven, but I couldn’t. Not right now. I did tell them that I’d put their names on the top of my hiring list and call them when openings became available.”
“Do your men have carry permits?”
“Not yet. I’ve sent their applications to the state and I’m waiting for their licenses to arrive.?”
“How about you, Lee? Do you have your carry permit yet?”
Lee smiled. “I sure do, Mr. Christo.”
“Don’t keep me guessing, Lee. Do you have a weapon on you?”
Lee pulled his jacket aside and in a holster on his belt was a new Beretta Px4 Storm pistol. He pulled it out and removed the clip, then pulled the barrel back to release a round from the chamber. He handed the empty weapon to John W. “This weapon is the most advanced expression of technological and aesthetic features in a semiautomatic sidearm,” he said proudly.
John W looked the weapon over carefully, examining every part of it. “What makes this gun so special, Lee?”
“Well, for one, I think it’s built around a modular concept that a pistol can be adapted to different needs and modes of operations, without compromising on the reliability and performance of the world famous Beretta reputation.” Lee held the weapon for all to see. “The Px4 Storm emphasizes power, ease of handling, performance and reliability. It comes in three calibers but the 40 caliber is my choice for this job. Look at the frame, it’s light, durable and is made of modern thermoplastic technology through the use of technopolymer reinforced fiberglass. There’s a lot more to this gun like the interchangeability of parts - but I’m not here to give you guys a lecture on why I chose this gun. Suffice it to say this is my gun of choice. I will say this though. The Px4 Storm is the ideal firearm for law-enforcement use, as well as personal defense.”
John W looked at Lee. “That was a very good explanation of the merits of this gun. Order one for each man. If they have their own weapons, tell them to leave them at home. They’ll carry this weapon as the weapon of choice for the men and women in the company’s security division.”
Jason asked to see the gun and Lee handed it to him. After examining it, he told Lee, “I like it. Could you order one for me and my men and we’ll pay for it out of the money due us?”
“Sounds good, Jason. Lee, include Jason and his men when you order weapons for our security people. And call the other three men and ask them to come in for another interview. Tell them that we may have a job for them. Then ask them if they’re willing to relocate. If we can’t use them here, we’ll send them to our New York office. The only problem I see is acquiring carry licenses for them in New York City. New York City is tough when it comes to guns and gun permits. I’ll have to see what our lawyers can do to expedite carry permits for our men. What’s hard about it is when Rudy Giuliani was mayor, New York had 600 persons with permits, when Bloomberg became mayor, people with carry permits dropped to 400, so getting our men carry permits isn’t going to be easy, but there has to be a way to get them. I’ll have Sutter look into it for us.”
Sweeney waited until John W was finished talking, then he said, “Look Mr. Christo, why don’t we preempt those two mercenaries?”
“Explain what you mean by preempting them.”
“Well, we know their plans - thanks to Jerry here. So why don’t we nab them at their hotel?”
“Do we know where they’re staying?”
Sweeney nodded. “Affirmative. I have one of my agents, Dan Harlbager, tailing them. He’s been on them ever since they left McCormack’s place. Dan checks in with me every hour.” Sweeney opened his attaché case, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to John W. “Dan took these pictures of the two men.”
John W looked at the pictures. “These are great pictures, Jason. It helps to know what they look like.” John passed them to Lee and told him to pass them to the others. As the pictures were handed around, John W’s intercom beeped. “Yes. What is it, Monica?”
“The security men you hired have arrived.”
“Give me five minutes, then send them in.” John turned to Lee. “Looks like the men you’ve hired are here. Is there anything you want to say to me before Monica brings the men in?”
“Yeah, there is. Do you want to use the new men with those two mercenaries coming for us?”
“They’re security men, aren’t they?”
“Yes?”
“Well, then, let’s use them even if it’s just to watch over our staff. I don’t want any of the girls getting hurt. They’re innocent bystanders, for god’s sake. Sure. Why not use them?”
There was a knock on the door and Monica escorted the three new security men into the room. Monica announced the men as they stood by the desk, facing John.
“Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce the newest members of your security team. Steve Daley, Anthony Armetta, and Tic Doosy.”
John W smiled at the men and shook their hands. “Welcome aboard, gentlemen.” He said to Doosy, “How’d you wind up with a name like ‘Tic’?”
Tic smiled shyly and said, “Got it when I was in SEAL training. I never realized it, but it seems that instead of being a chick magnet, I’m a tick magnet. Those damned ticks just love me. I think I kept them off every other trainee because it seemed like every tick in the jungle was attracted to me. They all loved me - even their relatives. Before you knew it all the guys were referring to me as Tic . . . and the name stuck - just like the ticks.”
Everyone who was in the room couldn’t help laughing at the amusing way he described to them how he got the name Tic. John W liked these guys and he thought that Tic and the other two would be a good fit in their organization. John turned to Lee. “Lee, why don’t you take the new men to
the conference room and tell them what they just signed up for?”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Harlbager arrived early in order to be certain that he’d find a parking spot close to the hotel entrance, but far enough away not to be seen by the two very cautious men. Dan watched as the two men exited the hotel and entered the hotel garage. He waited until their car pulled out, then he followed them at a safe distance so they wouldn’t spot him.
Being vigilant had kept them alive, and by force of habit, Burt, who was driving, checked his rear view mirror every few minutes. One mistake and it was over for them and they knew it. Burt always checked for the anomaly, the one thing that appeared out of place, the thing that shouldn’t be there, but was. “Eric, take a look behind us. See that Ford Escape about three cars behind us?”
Eric took a casual peek out the back window. “Yeah I see him. You think he’s following us?”
“Yeah, I think he is. But to make sure, I’m going to go around the block and let’s see if he follows us.”
Eric nodded in agreement. “Okay, do it. But if he’s following us, it means that our cover is blown. They know about us and if they know that, then they know we’re coming for them.”
Burt agreed. “Yeah, but if that’s true, then how did they find out?”
“I don’t know. But for a million bucks, I’m not gonna let that stop us. If we can pull this off, we won’t have to work any longer. With this million and what we’ve saved, we could retire and go to one of those islands that you read about in books and live like kings.”
“Yeah, but let’s get back to reality for a minute. What are we going to do about the guy following us, if he is following us. We don’t know for sure that he is.”
“We will in a moment.” Burt swung his car sharply to his right, made a right turn, and pulled to the curb. The two men watched as the car they thought was following them passed right by them and kept going. The two men looked at each other and then they both broke into grins.
“Guess I’m just getting paranoid in my old age,” Burt said.
“Yeah, well better to be paranoid than dead,” Eric chimed in.
Dan was watching their car for any sign that he was spotted and when he saw one of the men look out the back window he knew he’d been made. His suspicions were verified when the car lurched to the right and made a quick right turn. He was nervous when he made a right turn and followed them. His fears were realized when he saw the car pull to the curb. He had his confirmation and he drove right past them. Dan was a cool customer but these guys were pros and he knew he couldn’t tail them by himself. He needed a coordinated team effort to pull this off. Dan zigzagged his way out of the city, taking different routes to make sure he wasn’t being followed. When he felt it was safe, he pulled into a gas station. While he gassed up, he called Jason and explained the situation to him. “You fellas better be on your toes. These guys may be on their way there right now.”
Sweeney agreed. “Come on in, Dan, and we’ll plan something different. Maybe arrange a little surprise party for them if they do decide to drop by.”
Dan topped the gas tank off and then drove straight to the office without stopping for the cup of coffee he craved. The two mercenaries, if they were coming, hadn’t arrived yet. He stepped into the security office before heading to Christo’s office and poured himself a needed cup of coffee. “You have no idea how good this tastes,” he said. “I looked forward to a cup of good coffee all morning and never got the chance to have it.” He took a sip, and then being careful not to stain the gleaming wood finish on the new mahogany desk, he placed his cup on a magazine. Just as Dan was about to pour a second cup, John W, Lee, and the rest of the security team walked in, saving him the trip upstairs.
John W didn’t waste words. “Bring me up to date on what happened this morning.”
Jason explained everything, including his feeling that his cover was blown. “These guys are pros. I know they spotted me while I followed them. It’s just a hunch, but I’ve learned to trust my hunches.”
“I agree. We should have had two or three cars following with a different car taking up where the other left off. No matter how professional you are, it’s hard to spot a tail when you look in your rear view mirror and you don’t see the car you were sure was following. Well, that’s all water under the bridge now. Lee, have one of your men watch each entrance to the building.”
Lee shook his head. “Don’t have to do that, Mr. Christo. I’ve assigned two men to watch the monitors. Every entrance and exit can be seen on our security monitors, so anyone entering or leaving will be on camera and recorded.”
John smiled. He felt a little silly, not thinking of that himself. “Good work, Lee. I forgot about our security cameras. That sure as hell saves us a lot of wasted energy. We’ll camp out on the top floor. There’s no one else on the top floor now that I’ve moved there, except my office and my secretaries. Is your name and office number on the wall registry when you enter the building, Lee?”
“Yes it is, Mr. Christo. I had it put there this morning like you asked me to.”
“Good. Don’t alert anyone working that something dangerous might happen. I don’t want them to show any sign of nervousness or fear if these two guys show up. Sweeney, you’ll have to answer the phones for the time being, because I’m gonna send my secretary Monica down to the mail room for a few days to train our new mail room clerk. This’ll keep her out of harm’s way just in case something bad happens.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The following morning, two very well-dressed men walked over to the wall registry and looked under “F” for Lee Flowers’s name. “It’s on the top floor. Are you up for this?”
“Locked and loaded with a silencer.”
“Good! Me too. When we get up there, we ask for Mr. Flowers’s office. As soon as we enter his office, we cap him and then get out of Dodge in a hurry.”
“They’re here,” Lee told the men in the room. Two very expensive decorative screens were bought specifically for this occasion and placed on either side of John W’s office. The office had Lee Flowers’s name on the door. The two mercenaries missed this one important clue that could have saved them from misfortune. Lee Flowers’s name was on the wrong door on the wrong floor. Lee was in charge of security and should have been in his regular office on the main floor. That went unnoticed by the two men, who planned on killing one of the two men they were hired to kill. Greed placed a shadow over the part of their brain that signaled caution when something wasn’t right. They always listened to that warning, but today their judgment was clouded by visions of dollar bills, and topless girls wearing colorful thongs on a remote island paradise. They approached the pretty receptionist, giving her their most ingratiating smiles, and asked her if they might have five minutes alone with Mr. Flowers. The receptionist was Mrs. Susan Slay, a very capable operative of Jason Sweeney’s. When she asked them their business, they handed her their card, showing that they were security consultants. The card wasn’t their usual “Have Guns Will Travel” card. Instead, the one they handed her simply said “Security Consultants Inc.”
The receptionist picked up the phone. “Mr. Flowers, two gentlemen here asked if they could have five minutes of your time. They’re security consultants Mr. Flowers, and they said they have something for this company that they’re sure you would be interested in.”
Lee knew that this was a ploy and he went along with it. Behind each of the curtains, were two of the new security men Lee had hired. They were armed with the new Px4 Storm 40 caliber Berettas Lee had handed out to his security team at yesterday’s briefing. Lee and his team knew that as soon as the door closed behind the receptionist, the two men would start blasting away with silenced pistols. They also knew that these men didn’t want to alert the entire building that they had just assassinated someone, and that by using silenced pistols, that problem was solved.
Susan Slay ushered the two men into the office. “Mr. Flowers, these two men
would like to speak to you about security issues. I’ll leave you alone to discuss it privately.”
She looked at Lee, then she gazed at the screen on her left, which was in her line of sight, but she saw nothing. As soon as the door closed, Lee ducked as the two men whipped out their guns and were about to kill him, but instead were met with a fuselage of bullets from the men emerging from behind both screens. Eric was still alive but fading fast. He looked up at Lee without seeing him. He smiled as a beautiful girl in a colorful thong pranced seductively in front of him, beckoning for him to follow her. He looked out at the clear blue water and tried to follow her but his body wouldn’t comply. He was very tired. Probably the sun, he thought. I’ll just rest here for a while then I’ll go and find that pretty girl. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll just rest a while. Then his eyes closed and everything faded to black as his heart stopped beating.
John W pressed the intercom button. “Susan, will you call the police, please?”
Later that evening, a reporter for the local news channel reported the story. “The police questioned everyone on the top floor of the Christo building and were satisfied that this was a case of attempted murder. The gunmen were surprised by the alert security men who noticed two suspicious men entering the building on their security monitors. They followed the men to top floor and surprised them just as they drew their weapons. The security team was licensed to carry firearms, and they fired on the two assassins, killing them just as they were about to shoot Mr. Flowers. The reason for the attempted murders is not yet clear. But a possible reason is that Mr. Flowers is to be a witness in a very important trial in November. The police are investigating if his being a witness had anything to do with today’s attempt on his life. We will keep you updated and report the facts as they occur.”