Monster

by Bernard L. DeLeo

  Hearing some of the parents mentioning McDaniels by name, Reskova silently cursed the newspapers and local television stations which had made his Senate confrontations a daily lead for three days after his testimony. She looked around uneasily, knowing anything could happen out in the open if the Russians were still keeping tabs on her whereabouts. Rasheed had set up traps to try and draw them out, with Donaldson watching every angle from the rooftops in her neighborhood, without a response. Rutledge had managed to uncover the likely apartment the Russians had used to watch her. She made sure the building manager would from then on report new tenants to their office.

  Reskova stopped scanning her surroundings. She turned toward McDaniels from where she had been kneeling. Dino licked her face, causing a bout of spitting and wiping. Dino closed in on her, pushing Reskova onto her back. Reskova twisted and turned, trying to stop laughing, but pushing Dino away at the same time. She could hear McDaniels and the kids laughing at her predicament. McDaniels whistled. Dino immediately sat down at attention. McDaniels helped Reskova to her feet.

  “Did you have to wait until he fouled my whole face before calling him off?” Reskova asked sternly, drawing chuckles from the kids still surrounding them.

  “You are the Cold Mountain, aren’t you?” One lady asked who walked over to get her daughter.

  “My name is Jeremiah.”

  “I told you it was him,” a man whispered to his wife. “It’s good to see you, Colonel. My wife and I saw you handle that drunken parasite on television.”

  “My cousin was on the flight you handled those Syrians on,” another woman spoke up. “She said you saved them all.”

  “I wasn’t alone, Ma’am, but thank you.” McDaniels guided Reskova toward her apartment with Dino prancing along at his heel. “We have to go. Bye, kids. Thanks for playing with me and Dino.”

  The chorus of farewells from both the kids and their parents were a pleasant change for both McDaniels and Reskova.

  “Wow, this is like hanging out with a superhero.” Reskova hugged McDaniels’ arm, overplaying her tone of awe.

  “Turn that record over, Red.” McDaniels nudged Reskova off balance. “I told you my chances of being undercover in this country were slim. Our stint as a Russian couple will probably be the last undercover mission I’ll ever pull off here. If you like though, we’ll fit into the group as Superman and Lois Lane.”

  “I’d like that. Who will Tom and Jen be?”

  “They can be Mike Hammer and his secretary, Velma,” McDaniels suggested.

  “Jen will never go for that.”

  They walked in a comfortable silence to Reskova’s apartment building, holding hands. Inside the apartment, Dino jumped around until McDaniels filled his food bowl. The phone rang and McDaniels picked it up.

  “Cold Mountain residence, Cold Mountain speaking,” McDaniels joked, knowing from the caller ID screen it was Rasheed.

  “Very funny. Gather Diane and come over now, Cold. Mehmed has been in touch. ASAP.”

  “Be there shortly, Kay.” McDaniels set the phone aside and went into the bedroom.

  McDaniels halted abruptly, his heart in his throat. Reskova lay across the foot of their bed in a black negligee, stockings, and high heel outfit he had never seen.

  “Oh my God,” McDaniels whispered.

  “Who was on the phone?” Reskova asked, pleased with the stunned look on McDaniels’ face.

  “Uh…uh…”

  “C’mon, Cold, spit it out.”

  McDaniels stuttered unintelligibly for a moment. “Give… give me a second. It was Kay. We have to go over to his house right now.”

  “Right now?” Reskova murmured, twisting slightly.

  McDaniels scooped her up as if she were a small child, engulfing her in his arms, drinking in the scent of her perfume. He kissed her gently at first, and then with an ardor which provoked a moan of rising passion from Reskova. McDaniels pulled away. He pitched her on the bed again. His chest heaving, he grabbed a pre-packed bag from their closet as Reskova protested.

  “Get dressed, Red. We have to leave like right now. Mehmed came up with something important. God, you look fine.”

  “This better be good,” Reskova mumbled under her breath as she slipped off her negligee.

  * * *

  Rasheed met them halfway up his driveway, Donaldson trailing a step behind.

  “We tapped the jerk’s line Mehmed busted up today,” Donaldson said quickly. “As soon as he returned from the hospital he called Kojovich and demanded the Russian meet him.”

  “We thought Kojovich and Romanko were in hiding,” Rasheed added.

  “I’ll call Tom and meet him and Jen at the office. We’ll coordinate from there.” Reskova turned toward her car.

  “Diane.” McDaniels walked over to her. “Go back home. Let us handle this. Sorry… I should have driven over alone.”

  Reskova started to protest but squeezed McDaniels’ hand instead. “Okay, but if you need anything, don’t…”

  “Of course, Red,” McDaniels cut her off. “I’ll be home later. I love you.”

  “You better.”

  McDaniels watched her drive away before turning his attention again to Rasheed and Donaldson. “Please tell me you know where this meeting will take place. I don’t want Mehmed’s tailing this guy to give us away.”

  Rasheed clucked his annoyance at McDaniels’ tone. “Give us some credit, Cold Mountain. Mehmed tagged the kid’s car the moment he went in his house.”

  “The meeting is in two hours, Colonel,” Donaldson said. “I’m sorry they didn’t mention a specific location. On the other hand, it means they’ve met there before.”

  McDaniels nodded. His body and face betrayed an uncharacteristic tenseness.

  “What is wrong with you, Cold?” Rasheed picked up on his friend’s body language. “Are you mad because I thought at first you should bring Diane?”

  “No. Kojovich supervised the Hughes brothers’ kidnapping of Diane. She needs to be ready anyhow until we figure out what needs doing.”

  “He won’t be alone, Colonel,” Donaldson said.

  “John Hughes told me he always had two bodyguards with him. If he meets the kid alone, I need you guys to take care of his comrades. If they go in with him, what we do will depend on the meeting place.”

  “We will take my SUV.” Rasheed tossed the keys to McDaniels. “One other thing, the kid’s ID is a phony. He lives by himself. He moved into the place Mehmed is watching only two months ago. The other young men he came into the store with have legitimate backgrounds. Put your stuff in the SUV while Pete and I get our things.”

  Donaldson sat in the rear seat, his laptop on his knees in front of him.

  “Has Mehmed said anything?” McDaniels twisted around in the front passenger seat.

  “Not since you asked me two minutes ago, Colonel.” Donaldson smiled up at McDaniels’ scowling face. “The kid’s car hasn’t moved yet.”

  “Let’s go over and pick Mehmed up.”

  “Too risky, Sir,” Donaldson replied. “We’re only two blocks away. Mehmed knows to stay in place once the… wait one… here we go. Start it up, Kay. Let’s swing by for Mehmed.”

  “You get that, M?” Donaldson spoke into his lapel transmitter. “M’s waiting for us. The kid just drove away.”

  Rasheed drove the SUV toward where they would pick up Mehmed. Donaldson tracked their target car, making notes as to how he would guide Rasheed after they picked up Mehmed.

  “Were you guys able to pull anything useful off the database with that fingerprint?” McDaniels asked as they drove away.

  “Not yet, Sir. I went international with it. That will take time,” Donaldson explained. “He’s not on any watch lists.”

  “He’s probably like Mehmed, fresh from some place no one is likely to have heard of.”

  Donaldson made room for Mehmed to jump quickly into the backseat.

  “What’s wrong with you, M?” Donaldson asked, seeing the grim
look on the young man’s face.

  “When we are done with this man, you must let me kill him. I…I entered his house while he was still away and…”

  “You what?!” Rasheed yelled as Donaldson called out directions.

  “Easy, Kay,” McDaniels said. “Go ahead, Mehmed.”

  “I thought to bug the inside of his house. It was completely empty except for a table and chairs in the kitchen. He had only a fold up cot with blankets. I heard noises from the basement.” Mehmed paused, taking a moment before going on. “I…I checked in the basement. He has two young girls chained and gagged down there. I should have… done something, but…”

  “You did right, kid,” McDaniels broke in. “Don’t think no more about it. We’ll make sure this guy never gets back to that house again.”

  McDaniels took his cell-phone out and called Reskova. She answered on the first ring.

  “Cold?”

  “We have more going than we thought, Red. Take down this address.” McDaniels gave her the address Mehmed had been watching and a brief outline of their predicament.

  “Son-of-a-bitch!” Reskova exclaimed. “Here’s how we’ll do it. I’ll call in Tom and Jen to go with me. We were following an anonymous tip and are now investigating who is responsible. I’ll take Dino in case the bastard has an explosives factory on the premises too.”

  “Good thinking. Don’t worry about the occupant surprising you but he may have friends we don’t know about.”

  “We’ll be careful. Tell Mehmed I said great job.”

  “I will, Red, bye.”

  “AD Reskova said great job, Mehmed,” McDaniels turned in his seat to tell him. “She’s taking Tom and Jen with her to take care of the house.”

  “I am sorry I snapped at you Mehmed,” Rasheed apologized.

  “I should have called in before doing it. I saw a way to get into the house unseen when I checked it out. He had left a second floor window partially open. They do such things in Syria, even today. This thing he does in the basement is not legal here, is it?”

  “No,” McDaniels replied solemnly, “but it happens.”

  “We will kill this monster,” Mehmed stated. “I am glad we do not turn our heads and look the other way when this happens.”

  “I guess we should have been more specific in going over our laws,” Donaldson said, after telling Rasheed to turn right at the next light. “You did so well on the testing series we gave you, Kay and I assumed too many things. I’ll go over more basic stuff with you from scratch.”

  “I should have known this could not be sanctioned here,” Mehmed replied. “I did nothing when al Zoubi did much the same thing. He… he made me ashamed to be a man.”

  “I checked on our accommodations at the old warehouse before you came over, Colonel, in case we get the two of them alive.” Donaldson put a reassuring hand on Mehmed’s shoulders. “The minefield of course has been cleared, but everything else is in place. They have the gate locked. I have the key.”

  “Are you sure you guys want to go that far? We can work this another way.”

  “If these guys think they can do this stuff and all they get is their rights read to them, we might as well paint bulls-eyes on our backs, Colonel,” Donaldson replied. “We need an object lesson.”

  “I agree with Pete,” Rasheed spoke up. “If we do nothing but arrest them, I will have to go into hiding with my family.”

  “I am with you, Cold Mountain,” Mehmed added.

  “Just so we’re all on the same page. It seems I’ve managed to turn a whole section of the FBI rogue.”

  “As you explained to me,” Rasheed replied, “we were not put together in this group to play with the computers. This route looks very familiar. We’re heading toward Nancy’s old apartment.”

  “They’re going to the restaurant we first followed Nancy to,” Donaldson agreed. “It will be nearly impossible to grab them from there.”

  “If Kojovich meets with the kid inside and leaves his men waiting in their car we can be waiting when he comes out.”

  “Not bad, Kay.” McDaniels smiled over at his friend. “He’ll probably have one of those tinted windowed Lincoln Towncars or something like it.”

  “What about the kid?” Donaldson looked up from his screen. “What’s the name on his license, ah…”

  “Abdur,” Rasheed said. “Abdur Hamdan.”

  “I will take Abdur,” Mehmed spoke up.

  “Use this.” McDaniels removed a Taser gun from his bag and handed it to Mehmed. “Do you know how to use it?”

  “Yes, Sir. Agent Donaldson gave me extensive weapons training.” Mehmed accepted the weapon and put it inside his coat. “I was hoping to just beat him senseless and stuff him in the trunk of his car.”

  McDaniels laughed with the others at Mehmed’s offhand remark. “It’s broad daylight. Wait near his car. Zap him as he gets in. Pete will climb in on the other side. If he spots you before you can Taser him, you’ll have to do it the old fashioned way. He cannot get away. I don’t care if you have to open up on him. Make sure he goes nowhere.”

  “I know how to beat these guys over to the restaurant,” Donaldson chimed in. “Turn left at the light, Kay. We’ll be in a position to see what they’re going to do.”

  Ten minutes later, the agents waited as Hamdan parked his car in the small lot next to the restaurant. Kojovich then arrived in a black Mercedes Benz with darkly tinted windows. McDaniels exchanged satisfied grins with Rasheed. Kojovich exited the rear of the car quickly and entered the restaurant. The Mercedes moved to a space at the curb past the Restaurant. McDaniels motioned for Mehmed to get into position.

  “Pete will join you as soon as we make sure of taking his people in the car. If Pete can’t join you, I leave it up to you how to proceed,” McDaniels told Mehmed as he opened the rear door. “Take no chances with him.”

  “I will not fail, Cold Mountain.” Mehmed closed the rear door and jogged across the street to the restaurant parking lot.

  “Do you have any ideas on how to approach the Mercedes, Colonel?” Donaldson asked.

  “Yep. Kay, circle the block. Double-park right next to the car. We’ll take them the old fashioned way and knock on their window with our badges and ID’s out. Once we have them stashed in our SUV we’ll wait for Kojovich in his own car.”

  Rasheed nodded his agreement and started the SUV. As Rasheed pulled away from the curb to bring them into position, McDaniels noted Donaldson had greeted his idea with silence.

  “You’re not happy, Pete?”

  “I… it’s just that…”

  “You wanted a gun battle in the street so we could kill the guys in the car fair and square? I thought you understood there can be no survivors from this little action.”

  “I did, Colonel. I mistakenly separated the collateral damage in my mind from what we were doing to Kojovich and Hamdan. I know those guys in the car ain’t innocent bystanders. It just takes a few moments to…”

  “I’ll handle Kojovich’s men,” McDaniels interrupted. “I need you to concentrate on taking them down quietly. This has to be completed in a couple of minutes. I’ll show my badge to the driver and get him to roll down his window. I’ll zap him with my stun gun while you get the drop on his partner through the same window. We hit the door unlock switch and Kay takes the passenger. If you can stomach going that far, Pete, I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Sorry, Colonel, I’ll get it done. I know what’s at stake.”

  Rasheed parked alongside the Mercedes. Moments later, McDaniels stood at the driver’s side window with his FBI identification pressed against the tinted glass. Rasheed moved around the SUV from the driver’s side to reach the passenger side of the Mercedes from the rear. Donaldson slipped over to the left of McDaniels in time to hear the men inside the Mercedes cursing. The driver’s side window rolled down.

  “What the hell do…” the driver began. McDaniels’ stun gun crackled loudly as it pinned the driver’s left hand to the doorframe.


  Donaldson covered the stunned passenger with his 9mm automatic while reaching in to click the door unlock switch, allowing Rasheed to pull open the passenger’s door. Before the passenger could look around, Rasheed stunned him on the neck, causing the passenger to pitch forward into the dashboard of the Mercedes. Donaldson threw open the SUV side door as McDaniels gripped the driver by the lapels. He dragged him out of the driver’s seat. Without pause, McDaniels threw the driver into the back of the SUV.

  Leaning into the vehicle, McDaniels reached across the console, gripped the moaning passenger, and dragged him across from the passenger seat. McDaniels repeated what he had done with the driver. Donaldson had already plastic tied the driver and gagged him with duct tape. While Donaldson turned his attention to the passenger, Rasheed re-entered the SUV’s driver’s seat. They were moving away from the restaurant in seconds.

  Rasheed parked the van down the street. The three men rushed back to the Mercedes with Donaldson continuing on to join Mehmed in the parking lot. After a quick glance around to see if they had drawn any attention, McDaniels sat in the back of the Mercedes. Rasheed took the driver’s place, started up the Mercedes, and drove around the block. He parked next to the curb less than half a block up the street from the restaurant and shut off the engine.

  “Ah, Cold, that was very good,” Rasheed stated with satisfaction.

  “If our luck holds, Kojovich will jump right in the back and away we’ll go.”

  Chapter 57

  Full Circle

  Inside the restaurant, Kojovich joined Hamdan at a booth the younger man had picked out. Kojovich accepted a menu from the waitress who appeared at the table to take their order after Kojovich was seated. Kojovich ordered coffee and the restaurant’s lunch special. Hamdan had already ordered. After the waitress returned to fill their already present coffee cups, she left them alone. Kojovich looked at Hamdan expectantly.

  “Well?”

  “I had trouble.” Hamdan held up his plaster encased wrist. “Rasheed was waiting for me. There were three other men and a woman. One was the young Syrian I warned you of. He…he broke my wrist and they took our identification. One…”