Later after a shower and a quick romp in bed, Peter called his office. It was four thirty pm east coast time and the secretary who answered was pleased to hear from him. She said wait a minute and in rapid time a voice he knew said hello and how was Peter doing. Peter told him he was fine and enjoying the warm weather of Mexico and came straight to the point by saying, “Sir, I understand you want me back in the office post haste and what is so important I need to cut short my vacation?”
“Peter the attorney general wants to see you soonest. My advice to you is getting your fanny back here on the next flight. I can’t say anymore than that at this time, but it is in your best interest to say bye to your redheaded girlfriend and come home,” he chuckled with the last comment making Peter blush a little and Peter was glad he couldn’t see his red cheeks. Peter told him he was on his way and hung up.
Toni was combing her hair and ready for dinner, but not before he told her what had transpired with his office. Peter told her almost verbatim what was said and she grabbed his arm pulling him to the door.
The next morning Peter was ensconced in first class headed for Washington and Toni spent the time shopping and bought tons of stuff to send home to her parent’s surprise. The day after Peter left Toni flew to Oregon and retrieved her motor home and headed east up the Columbia River on an early spring day. She felt all was well and nothing would interfere with their relationship as she marveled at the giant river and steep mountains covered in a blanket of green. By the time she reached the east side of the Cascade Mountains the desert took over, but it too was green from the rains and the sun. Early yellow wild flowers dotted the freeway and after a stop to fill up the motor home in a cowboy town known as Pendleton, she once again drove up the Blue Mountains towards Idaho. Toni was on a high like never before and her CD player pumped out old rock and roll, with Rod Stewart croaking out his best songs.
58
Peter landed in DC just after noon to a waiting car and driver. Peter was whisked off not to his office, but when he realized making the drive towards the White House, his boss was serious that the attorney general wanted to see him. Peter had a lump the size of a tennis ball in his throat when the driver let him off at a parking lot never seen on TV. Peter was escorted, after a pat down and a walk through a metal detector to an elevator. There were two beefy secret service agents one on each side of him as the silent elevator rose for what seemed only a few seconds. The doors slide open and they quickly walked down a silent carpeted hall way to a double door where one gave a quick rap on the door. Peter knew a camera was scanning them and after a few seconds the door automatically sprung open to a large room where a black suited man sat a desk pretending to look busy. Peter was instructed to take a seat in a most comfortable sofa where a glass topped coffee table had the latest in mags from weekly business, golf and even gardening books laid out like a deck of cards for the reader to chose from. Peter looked around and saw the usual prints on the baize walls depicting various sites around Washington and the ubiquitous large copy of the current president sat atop the head of the young man who shuffled papers around the desk like a pro.
After ten minutes or so a light blinked on the desk phone and the young fuss budget picked it up and listen, said not a word and hung up. He looked at Peter like he was a piece of shit and nodded to him to go through the door to his left. Peter rose and with head held high, opened the door into a large rectangle room with grey walls and blue carpeting. What a dismal room he thought, as he walked towards the head of the conference table where three men sat quietly talking with stacks of files sitting in front of them. The current attorney general, a slick looking Harvard man, with a plastic smile and grey eyes only a mother could love, stuck his hand out and introduced all who were now standing smiling their own style of tolerance of a underling. Peter didn’t know where to sit and finally one of the men pulled out a chair next to his. Peter sat down and made eye contact with the AG.
The AG had Peter’s file in front of him along with a six inch stack of who knew what. The AG said, “Peter would you be so kind as to walk us through from the beginning to the end with what you know and what you did with the group known as the VO headed up by a captain in Miami and other captains across the states to the west coast. But first let me qualify a few things here, complete amnesty has been granted by order of the president.” He pushed a copy of a document over to Peter and he quickly scanned it seeing it was official and signed by the president.
Peter looked up and the AG continued, “Now if all is satisfactory with you please tell us the story how you came about to locate and expose the group.”
Peter looked at the three men and cleared his throat and began his story from receiving e-mails from an unknown source and using logic that at some point in time all of the sites of the murders were scattered across the country. He made light of a convention and drudgingly came up with a captain’s convention in Atlantic City. From there he went on to try and locate the captain in Miami as it seemed like that was where it began along with the LA hits on the drug dealers. He told the AG how he spent his time in a library as the FBI thought he was part of the bad guys and used computers and more logic to find his man. After he knocked on the captains door at home, they had a four hour visit as the captain who was past retirement age, told him the whole story. Additionally he went on to tell Peter that a detective in Seattle had discovered his captain was involved. By then it was time to give it up as exposure would soon hit the newspapers. Peter sat back and sipped some water waiting for the questions to come pouring forth, but to his amazement, the AG excused the two other men and Peter and the AG were left alone.
“Peter,” the AG said, “I know this has been a rough go for you being suspect and all, but they were only doing their jobs. Now having said that, here is what I want you to consider. We are going to make some major changes in prison sentences for repeat offenders and new laws will be passed for drinking and driving. The White House has been flooded with calls and so forth and even though we are not condoning the methods used by the VO group, we need to stop this type of action before it get way out of hand. As you are aware of there are many thousands of cases of these types of criminals such as sexual predators, vehicle homicides and one that hasn’t been addressed is gangs in our cities in conjunction with illicit drugs. Now, here is the point I’m trying to make. We are forming a new branch of authority separate from the other agencies, to oversee and recommend past and present justice to repeat offenders. We need to channel the court systems around the nation to see exactly what and who needs replacing and policing the judges and to make sure the sentencing is fair regardless of who has money for slick lawyers or not. This will be a long process and we want you to head it up.”
By now Peter’s head was spinning and the tennis ball returned like a rocket from Borg of old. The AG was watching closely the actions of Peter and from his point of view; this young man had what it took to produce the results needed. Now Peter, with a bug gulp of water said, “My answer is yes of course and forgive me but I have many questions and I doubt if you have the time to answer them. One question is who do I report to?”
“You will report to me or one of my assistants if I’m not available. You can hire who you want and an office of your choosing as long as it’s reasonably close to the White House. I would suggest a non-descript old house where we can provide security and no one will know of its use. I think you need that redhead I’ve heard so much about. She is almost too good to be true when it comes to computers I hear.” Peter saw the smile and then he nodded his head.
“Sir, what is my budget?”
“You tell me and I will authorize any amount you need for startup operation, salaries and I can see down the road you need field operators who can sniff out the problem areas. I might think some of the past VO people might be tempted, like the retired captain and others who might prove useful.”
“I’ll start right away sir. I’ll need some time to do the logistics and so forth. I’ll
send in a report keeping you updated as I go along.”
“Fine Peter,” as he stood up. “Just send in your vouchers to this office and to this person,” as he handed Peter a slip of paper, “and I wish us a lot of success.” He shook Peter’s hand and Peter followed him out the door. Peter was driven to his old apartment and the first thing he did was e-mail Toni.
59
By the time the train had reached LA, all three, Joy, Pect and Robin had compared notes about their exploits with the VO organization. All marveled at the efficiency of each other’s accomplishments. In addition, they had received an e-mail notifying them of the end of the operation and a bonus was in their bank accounts. Even Brian down in Belize received word of amnesty and he was free to come back if he so desired.
Robin asked Joy and Pect to hang out at his house if they wanted to until such time as they made a decision as what or where they wanted to do. They took him up on his offer and no sooner had they settled in an e-mail came through asking them to come to DC for a meeting with a special person. Both Robin and Joy made contact with their original recruiters and found out it was safe and they had nothing to fear. Joy said, “Well boys, what do you think? We have lots of money in the bank and we could do some traveling or should we see what lies in Washington. Personally my woman’s curiosity is pulling me back east. I have nothing on the horizon at this time and who knows, maybe we are being offered a government job with all the benefits like retirement and an expense account,” as she rolled on the floor laughing.
They were drinking beer and a little high from the knowledge of freedom and the results of being offered amnesty for the past couple months of a wide spread killing spree. By now, the media reported judges, lawyers and all past criminals were on the hot seat knowing and fearing they might be next. The news reported DUIs were markedly down; judges were handing out stiffer sentences; lawyers were cautious of defending known or powerful offenders of any sort. It would seem the vigilante organization had been successful in many respects regardless of the unlawful way of taking the system into their own hands. Certainly history has a way of repeating itself, and history has a way of a guiding light. No longer are there Judge Roy Bean’s dishing out sentences without logic, but still in all, what it proved was that if you break the law, written or otherwise, you must pay the piper.
Corruption and power mongers both must not be beyond the laws both written and within social norms. It was time for the power brokers to pay their dues if stepping outside the social arena. If not, by their own choosing, then step forward like a stand up person and take your medicine. The idea, for example, of a class three sexual predator that time and time again has strayed down the wrong trail, why should he be set free? Can one believe a social person that he has reformed? Get real people, just letting the neighborhood know he lives in the area is not going to mean it is safe for a child to walk home feeling safe in his or her neighborhood. What do we do with them? Professionals and others alike have struggled with this question since who knows when. If you compared the cost of incarceration versus a child’s life, money doesn’t support the complex issue.
If the richest nation on earth can spend billions fighting a no win war, like in the Middle East, it would stand to reason a few billion could be spent locking these offenders up for life. It brings back the memory of the Devil’s Island location for England’s criminals not so long ago in human history.
Joy was tired of listening to the news and inside her head about the difficult issues facing the court system and society. Simply put, she thought, mete out punishment so the fuck heads won’t do it again. Now she was getting hot under the collar thinking about it. Here she was still able to have kids, not bad looking and where was her life going now? She looked at Pect and knew he wasn’t the answer and then gazed at Robin who after he told his story of his wife, felt the need to mother him a little. He was simply a nice looking man and when he showed his killer eyes, she realized that behind the façade, lurked a warm human being. She asked Robin, “What will you do now Robin?”
He looked around his shabby house as if to take stock of him and then cast his eyes on Joy and replied, “I don’t really know. I deplore the thought of going back and changing tires and doubt if that is in my future. I don’t know about you guys, but I think I will answer their call to Washington. Nothing else to do and who knows, it can’t be worse than changing tires and staring at the drab walls of this hole.”
Pect jumped in saying, “I for one will listen to what they have to say and then let’s see what happens after that. I’m kind of bored with jungle fighting and those Arabs dudes are crafty and the weather is not to my liking either. I say we hit the first class cabin and rub some shoulders with the big wigs in Washington.”
Joy e-mailed their acceptance and in an hour they had reservations for Dulles and a meeting with Peter and of course, unknown to them at the time, their original sender of orders Toni Tether.
60
Brian Refuta had received the message in Belize. He sat on a bar stool under an awning sipping his favorite drink. Since his arrival in the lovely tropics he’d found to his satisfaction life here was nothing short of wonderful. A month had gone by and he never missed the fast lane in Miami or the life he once lived. He’d called the captain and he’d explained the whole demise in detail including the amnesty part. In the end Brain was told of a meeting in Washington, but no details. He sat struggling with the thought of staying or flying back to the land of politics and cold weather. He decided to give it a few more hours and as he’d met a local expat who fancied his charm, he could easily leave her for god and country as he smiled at that thought.
***
At the airport in Washington a car was waiting for the three former operatives of the VO group. The driver loaded their bags in and on the way told them he was just hired as a driver a few days ago. He was dressed like a young yuppie, but his conversation bordered on a preppy just out of college; which was in fact true as they came to know the young man as Eddie.
None of the occupants of the car, save the driver knew where they were going. Joy was a little familiar with Washington and knew they were not far from the capital. Soon they pulled up in front on an old three story home in a swank neighbor hood the reeked of money and power. Glancing at some of the doors with brass lettering depicting law firms, and other power brokers, they entered an anteroom where a security guard hardly glanced at their IDs. In a few seconds Peter strode up with Toni in tow introducing him and Toni. Toni quickly told them who she was and all the others quickly relaxed. Peter led them up to the second story into a large conference room decked out in plush splendor. Thick carpet and a new mahogany table with comfortable chairs to match. Plain walls of light hardwood paneling were bare as Peter quickly explained they had just moved in a few days ago. Peter made no apologizes and asked them to sit down where they liked.
Peter sat looking at the three assassins in awe of what he saw. Yes, they looked a bit rough around the edges and wondered what drove them in life. The woman with eyes of steel looked like she could devour him for lunch and never bat an eye. She looked late thirties or so, but underneath the stoic look, she had just a smidge of being feminine. Toni sat to his right and the two men sat opposite the table with Joy alongside the heavy muscle man that looked like a weight lifter who might own a gym. The other guy was the scary one as he was big and mean looking. He never took his eyes off Peter and Peter was guessing he wondered what the hell he was doing here.
Toni was talking mostly to Joy explaining her role in the operation and how she come to meet Peter and filled them in on his background with the FBI. Then she spoke of her background and of course they accepted she was a computer nerd of the first degree.
Peter had a yellow legal pad in front of him and a pencil in his hand when he said, “I’m happy you came to hear what I have to offer you. I’ve been authorized by the attorney general to create a new agency of the government to deal with current and past offenders along the same li
nes as you followed with the VO group. I’ll cut to the chase here and tell you exactly what we want you to do. If you accept my offer you would be field agents making the rounds of the states seeing to it that none of the former offenders slip through the cracks so to speak. Let me give you an example. Say that a repeat drunk driver who would usually get off with his power or money hiring a lawyer with a renown history of getting light or no sentence for a DUI, you would make yourself known and record the information to put in our files. Your ID would give you access to any courtroom or for that matter any place you wanted to go. A hotline is set up for obstacles that stand in your way. We want you to whisper in their ears and that includes judges, lawyers and criminals. Your reputation will precede you. Now, Toni will be working out of this office and like before, computers will be used for weapons instead of knives or hand guns. You will receive a message like before, take any method of transportation you like, visit the site, be it a court room, apartment, house or whatever to deliver the message that what he/she has done will not be repeated. Meanwhile I’m assured that new laws of sentencing and such things will be signed and enforced for the future. Benefits? Well, as I understand it you received a very generous cash deposit for each of your hits. Unfortunately, we can’t provide that kind of money, but by today’s standards the AG has suggested around two hundred thousand a year plus expenses and so on. Now are there any questions.”
Peter looked at each one and their expressions never changed from the beginning of his report until now. He waited in silence and all you could hear was the forced air heater blowing warm air in as the outside temperature was hovering around freezing with big soft wet flakes of snow falling on the city. Once more Peter looked from one to the other and finally Joy said, “I for one need to think about this offer and if that is okay with you let’s meet again tomorrow after sleeping on it. By then I will have some questions for you.” The other two guys nodded their agreement to what Joy said and stood up to take their leave. Peter shook hands again and said as they left, “Tomorrow would be fine and may I extend an offer for dinner tonight?”
Justifiable Homicide Page 18