Phoenix

by Roy A. Teel, Jr.

  Jim nodded and said, “Chris and I will clear hotel staff and others from the area. How are you going to get the canisters into the room and set them off?”

  Just then, Lance walked into the armory and asked, “What do you need from us?”

  John threw a duffle bag to him and said, “I need you and Philly to go to the Ritz. Sam is there with Judge Robinson, and they can show you where the event is going to take place. Dress as hotel maintenance staff and set the gas canisters under each table. I have already equipped them with remote detonators.”

  Philly was in the room now and said, “No flash grenades or gun fire? Jesus. The Eagle is losing his flair for killing with flash and variety.”

  “None of it is needed. The Eagle has a captured audience. I want you two to make sure that all exits are sealed, and that at eight thirty p.m., the fire alarm goes off in the hotel to clear guests. After the gas has been released, I will neutralize it with the fire sprinklers in the ballroom once I know that everyone is dead.”

  Chris asked, “And how is it that John Swenson will survive a sarin gas attack?”

  “Who says that he’s going to?” You could have heard a pin drop in the room. John laughed and said, “Swenson will be out of the room when the gas goes off, plus I will have Chris set off even more distractions that will require hazmat. Even Sam and Larry will have to gear up to haul out bodies.”

  Jim looked at John and asked, “Are you out of your goddamn mind? You think you’re going to pull a fuckin’ Houdini with over a hundred people?”

  “I don’t think, I know. Jade and Jessica will be there, and there will be several large vans from hazmat that I have procured for this event.”

  Jim shook his head and said, “There is no way you are going to pull this off. And even if you get the bodies out of there and no one sees it, how the hell are you going to explain the disappearance of the most powerful legal assholes in LA?”

  John handed another duffle bag to Lance and said, “You let me worry about that, Jim. Just be prepared to move really fast with everyone else in clearing the room. Sara and Karen will be waiting for all of us down at the boat dock.”

  Jim just shook his head as the rest of the equipment was being loaded out of the room and said, “I know I have seen the Eagle do some incredible shit before, but I have to tell you, John, I don’t see how this is going to work.”

  He patted Jim on the shoulder as he handed him a duffle bag and said, “You have to have faith, man. The Eagle’s imagination is on fire!”

  Jim looked at him and the very unusual smile on his face and said, “Why is it that my skin is starting to crawl?”

  John shrugged his huge shoulders and said, “I have to shower and dress. You take this gear back to the hotel and stow it with the Eagle’s guests. You will know when it’s time to pull the gear and enter the ballroom. Trust me.”

  John walked off, and Jim stood holding a bright yellow bag with a hazmat logo on it. He started for the lair exit and said to himself, “Why do I think that this is a night that is going to go down in Los Angeles history?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Besides, I want to look at the

  faces of the future dead.”

  It was half past seven when Judge Alice Walker and her escort Paul Green arrived at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The valet was packed, but Alice had the forethought to rent a limo, and the two walked through the entryway into a large room off the lobby where drinks and hors d’oeuvres were being served. It was a litany of who’s who in Los Angeles legal circles, from judges to lawyers, all mingling about chatting and greeting each other with fake kisses and pretentious handshakes and pats on the back. There was a waiter walking around with glasses of Champagne. Several of Alice’s acquaintances commented on the fact that the Champagne was Cristal and the caviar was Russian Beluga.

  Paul took a small plate and piled it with crackers, crème fraiche, chopped eggs, shallots, and a healthy dose of caviar. Stuffing the cracker into his mouth, he said, “You know what they say, ‘when in Rome!’” He laughed as some food spilled out of his mouth onto the floor. Alice looked away in disgust as she scanned the rest of the room.

  “Well, Your Honor, don’t you look ravishing this evening?” Alice turned to see Gene Raskin, one of the most powerful entertainment lawyers in Los Angeles, staring down at her ample cleavage in the black evening gown that she was wearing.

  Alice shrugged him off and said, “Why Gene, you don’t know how surprised I am to see you here. I was under the impression that you had been disbarred and were serving six years in Boron at a minimum security federal prison.”

  He smiled politely and said, “Oh now, Alice, is that any way to speak to the man who got you elected to the bench and will be involved in your confirmation hearings should the president choose that ninth circuit gig that I understand you are at the top of the list for?”

  The two laughed, and Paul just looked at Gene, who was holding two glasses of Champagne, and asked, “Hey, Mr. Pretentious Schmuck … are you a raging alcoholic, or can I grab that extra glass from you? The drink guy just left.”

  Gene handed Paul one of the glasses and looked at Alice and said, “Well, I see as always you are just surrounded with educated and cultured people.”

  Alice laughed as he walked away, and she looked at Paul and said, “I see why Aston kept you working for him for so many years. You’re an educated prick.”

  He laughed and said, “Yes … yes, I am, Your Honor, but I’m not on the take by every cock in this room now, am I?” He was leaning in close to Alice’s ear as if whispering sweet nothings, but there was nothing sweet about anything that he had to say.

  The top floor ballroom of the Ritz was empty except for the staff putting the finishing touches on the tables as Lance and Philly set up the gas bombs. One of the heads of catering approached the men and said, “Excuse me.” He had a name plate on his jacket that read, ‘Manuel,’ and he asked Lance, “What are you two doing in this room?”

  Philly looked up from underneath a table and said, “What the fuck do you think we’re doing? Working on our tans? We’re making sure all of the table leaves are in place. You got a room full of lawyers coming in a few minutes. If just one of those fuckers drops and gets hurt, they’ll sue the hotel and YOU… dumb ass.”

  Manuel looked down at him then said, “Of course. Please continue.”

  Philly knelt down and said, “Have I ever told you that you’re sexy when you’re being a smart ass?”

  Lance laughed and said, “You can show me later. Right now, we need to get these fuckers set up and get out of here, so the Eagle can kill him some lawyer meat!” Lance laughed and crawled under the second to the last table and set the last few devices.

  Jim was in full dress uniform and was walking the ballroom off the lobby, making small talk with a few people, when John Swenson walked into the room. All heads turned as John walked through the crowd and right to Jim, who had a scotch in hand.

  John looked at him and said, “I thought you were working with the guests?”

  Jim looked at him and said, “Hey … I get the chance to make a few of these last appearances before I hang up my gun and badge. Do you really think I’m going to miss out? Besides, I want to look at the faces of the future dead. I’m doing the math in my head, man, and I don’t see how you’re going to pull a Houdini with all of these fuckers. Jesus Christ! Look at those fat fucks over there. Three attorneys and two judges, and you have to have ten tons there.” He laughed as people milled around.

  John looked around and spotted Alice Walker in the distance with Paul Green. He leaned down to Jim and said, “You’re too short to see what I see, but Judge Alice Walker is here and standing right next to her is Paul Green.”

  Jim got a strange look on his face then looked up at John and said, “Oh, fuck me … the media’s fuckin’ nicknamed Phoenix �
��fire starter.’” John shrugged and walked off. He was greeted by several partners from Koswick, Harold, Parody, and Swan, and he chatted with them until the lights dimmed for the second time, and one of the men asked John to follow him to the green room.

  Larry Robinson stood amongst the several dozen guests in the presidential suite of the Ritz. There were questions as well as allegations and threats of litigation of every kind. Chris was sitting with Larry as was Sam as they waited for their sign to begin removing corpses. Larry had been quiet for the hour and a half that he had been in the suite. The group was moved from a small ballroom to the plusher accommodations by several sheriffs in full riot gear through a service elevator. Larry had handed out the protective order that he had executed on behalf of the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but it was not sitting well with all but a few people, and those people that were quiet were usually the ones screaming the loudest about injustice.

  One of the guests, a husband and wife legal team, who was well known in business circles in Los Angeles, started yelling threats at Larry, which only raised his anger and brought his wrath upon the group. “You bunch of low life bastards. You’re alive right now because someone in law enforcement actually gives a damn about you and your pathetic practices. You curse me for agreeing to protect your pussy asses and then threaten to bring me up on charges and complain against me to the California Department of Judicial Performance? Well, fuck the whole bunch of you. I’m retiring next year, and if I had my way the bunch of you would be dying with your more corrupt counterparts.”

  Silence fell on the room full of people, and Susan Right, the head of the Los Angeles Lawyers Association, stood up and said, “I think there needs to be some calm, and we need to ask His Honor to be more specific on just what it is that he is protecting us from.”

  Larry looked at Susan and laughed and said, “How diplomatic of you, Ms. Right. You want these dumb asses to listen? I have had every one of you in my courtroom at one time or another over the course of my career on the bench and listening is not one of your strong suits. Law school trains it into you, and then somewhere in the process and through the years, you lose that skill. You pretend to listen and perhaps you do listen, you just don’t hear. So, I will say this only once. Hear what I am going to tell you.

  “A motion was filed with me this morning for protective orders for each person in this room individually based on credible evidence that the Sheriff’s Department has of a threat of harm to your lives. Unless you have been under a rock over the past several days, everyone knows that there is a killer stalking the law offices of Cohen, Miller & Hyde and that Howard Cohen committed suicide in the presence of parties that the court will not release. You are all here because your names appeared on a list of attorneys in Los Angeles along with a target list of corrupt Los Angeles lawyers and their law firms. I am not at liberty to release any further information on the subject of the evidence, and before you all start shouting at once, I am more than certain that you will ALL understand the true scope of the goings on of this day in short order. Which means, by sunrise, you’ll all be damned grateful for the inconvenience that you have suffered today. Now, when the smoke clears, if you still want to file your complaints, knock your fucking selves out because I have already stated if I had my way you would be heading down the road that your colleagues are heading right about now.”

  John sat alone in the green room looking at his tablet and watching the red dots as each of his people moved to their locations for body retrieval after his talk. He had a slight smile on his face as he watched the movements and then pulled out his satellite phone and dialed Chris.

  “There are two guests that will be coming up to the dinner and talk I’m going to be giving that I don’t want to make it in the room.”

  He was looking at his tablet as he spoke, and Chris said, “Will I know them by sight?”

  John said, “Probably not but you know one of them by reputation. Where is Jim?”

  Chris looked over at Jim, who was stripped down to his tighty whities, and said, “He’s in a T-shirt and underwear trying to pull on his hazmat suit.”

  John laughed and said, “Tell him to put his uniform back on. There isn’t much time. He needs to point out Judge Alice Walker and Paul Green.”

  Chris looked at Jim and said, “John says put your uniform back on and point out some people to me.”

  John said, “Judge Alice Walker … the current head of the Los Angeles Superior Court and short list candidate for the ninth circuit, and Paul Green.”

  “But why, John?”

  He laughed and said, “Because she and Mr. Green are the arson killers.”

  Chris just nodded his head slowly then asked, “And what do you want me to do with them?”

  “Sedate them and put them in the back of my truck. I have plans for them.”

  Jim was about dressed in his uniform and looked at Chris and said, “Tell that asshole that I am at the end of doing this shit for him.” Chris smiled and told John he would take care of things and hung up the phone.

  Alice made her way to the elevator with Paul right next to her. When the doors opened near the top floor ballroom, she said, “I need to use the bathroom before we go in. Are you going to follow me into the stall? It might be just a wee bit eye catching, if you know what I mean. There are several ladies in line.” Paul moved away, and as he did, he took a hold of Alice’s arm and pulled her gently toward him and kissed her on the lips. She pushed away and asked, “What the hell was that all about?”

  Paul whispered, “Don’t worry. It was a mere distraction while I slipped a small incendiary device into your bag. Just a little insurance that you will come back to me when you are finished in the bathroom.”

  Alice glared at him coldly and said, “Can I lift my dress or set down my bag to go to the bathroom?”

  “You don’t want to put down your bag. It would be … explosively bad for anyone in a fifteen-foot radius.” Alice walked on and got in line as Paul went on to the men’s room. He showed Alice a small black object as he walked away, and she nodded, knowing that it was a remote that he could use from a great distance.

  Jim spotted Alice right away and pointed her out to Chris. He said, “You need to get her into the stairwell next to the bathroom without a lot of attention then sedate her.” Chris nodded and was about to leave when Jim also spotted Paul Green. Jim grabbed Chris’s arm and said, “Just hold your fuckin’ horses, Mantel. I have a feeling that Ms. Walker and Mr. Green aren’t friends.”

  Chris saw the device in Paul’s hand and said, “Well, I can tell you that isn’t a cell phone. It’s a remote detonator, and by the look on Ms. Walker’s face, she is on the receiving end of whatever that remote controls.”

  Jim nodded and said, “Fuck. Why is it that nothing the Eagle is involved in goes easy?” Chris stood watching Green enter the men’s room as Jim scanned the rest of the crowd milling around. He was about to say something when he saw Philly and Lance in hotel uniforms amongst the crowd. Jim looked at Chris and said, “There is a God…”

  He waved for Philly and Lance to come over. Philly walked up and asked, “What’s up?”

  Jim said, “You see that little guy with the black cell phone in the air?”

  Philly nodded and said, “That ain’t no cell phone, that’s a remote detonator … and if he presses that button, there is a pretty damn good chance that fucker could set off the gas not to mention whatever he has that unit set to.”

  Jim said, “You two need to take him down then meet me and Chris in the stairwell.” The men nodded and walked off.

  Philly and Lance entered the men’s room behind Green. Chris and Jim made their way to the emergency exit, and Jim stood conspicuously near the ladies’ room, chatting with some other attendees as Chris slipped into the side hall and opened the stairwell door. Jim lingered for several minutes until Alice appeared from the
bathroom then excused himself and walked over to her.

  “Good evening, Your Honor.”

  Alice turned to see Jim’s smiling face and said, “Why do I have the sinking feeling that it is not going to be good for me?”

  He laughed and nodded slowly then pulled her near and said, “I know that you have something very, very dangerous in your little bag or on your person, and you don’t want what you’re carrying, do you?” Alice looked at him. Her eyes filled with fear, and she was holding back tears and nodded. Jim said, “I didn’t fuckin think so. Would you follow me, please? I have some folks who can … relieve you of your burden.” Jim walked off without looking back at Alice, who was walking slowly behind him through the people and into the stairwell as attention was being called for all attendees to please take their seats in the ballroom.

  Paul Green was leaning against a post near the top of the stairs in between Philly and Lance when Jim moved into the hall with Alice behind him. She looked at Paul and said, “Jesus! Is he drunk?”

  Jim laughed and said, “Oh no, Your Honor, just a little … tired … well, shit, he’s fuckin sedated.” Alice opened her mouth to scream when a hand came from behind her, covering her mouth, and a muffled shot could be heard in the stairwell. Alice began to fall into Chris’s arms as he held his hand over her mouth, and the tranquilizer dart began to take effect. He lifted her in his huge arms, and she said in a groggy voice, “Who are you people?”

  Chris smiled and said, “We are the assistants to justice, Your Honor. We are all assistants to justice.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Then, how is it going to get out?”

  The ballroom was quiet as the guests observed a moment of silence in honor of Howard Cohen. The black tie event brought out the elite of elite in LA lawyers as well as judges and others in political circles.