Red Horizon

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Benny waited for the ‘bangers because he knew this would have to be taken care of. Otherwise, kids at his high school, and innocent future victims of these vicious young thugs would be part of an unending list stretching into the future. Benny waited for them with relaxed patience as his new Dad had taught him. He knew the punks approaching couldn’t hurt him worse than he had been hurt in the past without killing him. He smiled and waved as they stopped in front of him.

  “Hi, guys.”

  Benny’s greeting, met with the clichéd derision of young male predators without guidance, honor, respect, or more importantly human compassion or empathy. It went on for a few moments of snickering laughs and hand gestures of dismissal. Benny waited with patience and awareness as taught by his Dad. He watched for disappearing hands or sudden motions with relaxed watchfulness.

  The leader of the underwear showing crew pranced from side to side towards Benny with shoulder popping smoothness, making condescending hand gestures at Benny. “I get it… I get it. You too stupid to know not to face up with us, Benny. We don’t make exceptions for retards. Your sissy ass ours now! I warned you!”

  Benny decided instantly there would be no avoiding of this interaction. “I have a tag name like you do now, Squiggy.”

  Hearing the laughs at his expense from his own crew, Squiggy denied and deflected as imagined. “Man… I ain’t no Squiggy, you cheap ass ‘ho! Shut the fuck up! I plan to make you scream, pussy!”

  Benny smiled without moving as the aforementioned Squiggy jived in front of him with arm, hand, and finger gestures gone wild. Benny held up his hands in a placating fashion. “Calm down. What is it you guys want anyway? I know you hate my guts for some reason. Let’s negotiate. I want to go to school and do well. If you let me, we can all just get along.”

  “See!” Squiggy stabbed Benny with a forefinger. “We told you to find another school, B! We don’t want your ‘stick up the ass’ shit in our school! You feel me, rocket?!”

  “My Dad wants me to go to school at Pacific Grove High School. My sister graduated from here.”

  “Too fuckin’ bad. We heard about your ol’ fuckin’ man. He supposed to be a bad dude. We got that covered, homey. We pop him like a bad pimple. You reported us. That means a death sentence!”

  Knowing you’re wasting your time reasoning with someone did not enter into Benny’s consciousness. He had no fear, and he had no hesitation to speak his mind. “My Dad would like you to also stop dealing drugs in and around the school. I asked him to let me convey the message to you so as to avoid violence.”

  It took many minutes for Squiggy and his gang to stop enjoying Benny’s declaration.

  “So…so… you come here to face off?” Squiggy launches into another snorting, jiving appreciation of Benny. “You stone cold dumb, B! You think you a loner bad ass, huh?”

  Benny shrugged. He gestured at the approaching people at his back. “I’m not alone. This is my sister Jean, and brothers Sonny and Quinn. That’s our dog Sammy next to her.”

  It was then Squiggy and his crew noticed the scarred blonde woman approaching with two huge guys bracketing her. A lean, white, longhaired dog strode panther like at the blonde’s side. Squiggy glanced back and nodded at one of the guys in the rear. He reached into his hoodie. The dog streaked into him, jaws clamping and tearing at the reaching arm, while crushing him to the pavement. Sammy glanced at Benny who held a hand in a leveling gesture. Sammy held in place.

  “Anyone else reaches, I pin their hand to their chest,” Jean said.

  “With what, bitch?” Squiggy reached.

  No one saw the knife emerge or take flight with power. Squiggy felt something thud into his hand. He staggered backward, glancing down to see a knife handle protruding from the back of his right reaching hand, pinned into his chest. He screamed. Jean strolled forward and yanked the knife free with a vicious arm and hand movement, leaving Squiggy to fall on his rear end in shock. Squiggy clutched the wounded hand in place at his bleeding chest. Jean, Sonny, and Quinn moved amongst Squiggy’s crew.

  “On your knees, kiddies,” Jean ordered. “We’re not the cops. Do as you’re told or we shoot you all in the head.”

  Quinn flipped Sammy’s takedown victim over as if he were a ragdoll and frisked him with professional thoroughness. Sonny threw other reluctant members of Squiggy’s crew onto their faces if they didn’t get on their knees. Jean focused on Squiggy holding his damaged hand tight against his chest wound.

  “We were asked by a police friend of ours to look in on your drug operation here at the high school, shit-for-brains. Our brother Benny attends here. My Dad wants this stopped. We’re going to call the cops to pick you idiots up. We’ll be filing charges according to what they find on you thugs at the entrance to a school.”

  Squiggy sat straighter, sweating and feeling the pain. “Bitch… you better-”

  “Shut-up, stupid!” Jean grabbed Squiggy’s hair, shaking his head violently. “Don’t make threats, shit-head! We take them personally. I’ll carve the nose off your face if you’re still stupid enough to make dumbass statements!”

  Squiggy saw death appear as Jean flipped open the knife that had taken him down. He began rubbing his inner right leg. “I…I’m done.”

  The fifty caliber hollow point slug splattered Squiggy’s compatriots behind him with blood, brain, and skull material. Jean straightened, her arms gesturing at the sky above. “What the hell, Dad?”

  “Check the inside of his right leg he was rubbing, Daughter of Darkness.”

  Jean’s mouth tightened as she stayed silent while checking Squiggy’s right leg while enduring her siblings’ suppressed amusement. “Damn it… I… oh crap.”

  Dead Squiggy strapped a hideaway .32 caliber automatic at his ankle. The .50 caliber shot had scattered the crowd forming to check out the confrontation. Squiggy’s crew knelt unmoving with hands locked behind their heads as ordered. The kill shot removed any rebellious behavior they had been contemplating. Jean frowned as her Mom’s chuckling enjoyment of the missed firearm sounded loud and clear over their networked coms.

  “You didn’t need a spotter for this, Dad,” Jean mumbled as they stripped weapons and drugs off the kneeling gangbangers.

  “Apparently, I did. I’m sure you would have beat him down before he shot you in the head, but I couldn’t take the chance,” Nick replied.

  “You were toast, you scarred up little turd,” Rachel zapped Jean. “What did you think the guy was doing, counting his toes?”

  “If things were like when I was a kid, Dad would be in prison, Trailer-trash.”

  “We wouldn’t take a gig like this under those rules of engagement, Viper,” Nick said as sirens sounded in the distance. “Neil will be there himself. The school’s been terrorized by those punks for a long time. We can’t have Benny caught in a crossfire at the school. Don’t forget to show your ID’s if Neil isn’t first on scene.”

  “We will,” Jean said. “Thanks.”

  “That’s why I’m here, kid. Good job.”

  Benny finished taking pictures and digital fingerprints with Sammy at his side. When the first police cruiser drove onto the scene with sirens blaring, Jean, Sonny, and Quinn had their FBI and US Marshall credentials out. The police were briefed about the operation by their Chief, but as Nick surmised, it would be a mistake not to make sure the first on scene police officers did not see any weapons in evidence. The two officers kept lights flashing but turned off the siren. The young woman police officer left the passenger seat, saw Squiggy’s corpse and went for her weapon. Jean sighed but kept hands in the air as did her companions. Benny kept Sammy behind him. The woman’s older partner, a man in his mid-forties, called out to her.

  “Suz! These are the FBI agents the Chief explained would be handling this sting. Don’t draw on them!”

  “This is nuts, Jim! They blew that kid’s head off! What kind of crap is that?” Suz moved around her door with weapon now pointing at Jean. “You four get on your knees.
I don’t give a shit what kind of ID’s you have!”

  Jim looked closer at the dead Squiggy before moving over to Jen with a cautioning hand. “They didn’t kill him, Suz! They have backup.”

  Suz glanced at her partner. “What are you talking about? They’re-”

  “We have a sniper in place, Officer Bently,” Jean interrupted. “The perp on the ground went for an ankle gun. Our sniper killed him. You know how dangerous this area is nowadays. We don’t take chances when asked in on an operation.”

  “Get on the ground.” Bently walked in on Jean.

  With a twisting hand grip move too fast for Bently to see, Jean was holding her weapon. Sonny made a calming gesture at her partner who nodded. Jean popped the clip and cleared the chamber. She then jammed it into Bently’s holster with attitude before handing the stunned officer the clip.

  “Put this in your breast pocket and don’t touch your weapon again.” Jean patted Bently’s shoulder. “I made a mistake today too. I didn’t frisk the dead guy like I should have. That’s why he’s dead. My companions and I are with a special branch of the Justice Department. We have credentials with the FBI and the US Marshal’s office. Your Chief knows us very well. Let’s wait for him, huh? I’m US Marshal Jean Salvatore. This is my husband, US Marshal Sonny Salvatore, and my brother, US Marshal Quinn McCarty. I’ve worked with you before, haven’t I, Officer Furlough?”

  “I think so,” Jim Furlough held out his hand to Jean who shook it. “The ‘Posse’ gang bust, right?”

  “That’s the one,” Jean acknowledged.

  “Your Dad… ah… Nick McCarty. He’s a good friend of the Chief’s and he’s your backup sniper, isn’t he?” Furlough turned to Bently. “Jean saved your life, Suz. Her old man holds badges with every agency in existence. He’s like his kid here, he prefers US Marshal McCarty. The ‘Posse’ drew down on us with automatic weapons. McCarty killed every ‘banger that reached. His two partners, Nason and Groves arrived with a woman they called ‘Cleaner’ to take the gang into custody. I think they were illegal aliens because I never heard anything about the gang after that. Did they get extradited?”

  “Ah… yeah, they did,” Jean lied. To hell maybe and Cleaner Cala’s freezer. “Listen, we don’t have to tell the Chief about Bently’s misunderstanding, right Jim?”

  A look of relief flashed over Furlough and Bently’s faces. “Nope. Thanks for your understanding, Jean. I see you’ve corralled this lot with weapons and drugs.”

  “They confronted our inside source, my brother Benny. He has all the weapons bagged with the drugs each perp had on him. They’ve all been digitally fingerprinted and recorded with what they carried along with their pictures. It’s all been sent to Chief Dickerson’s private e-mail file. Benny will testify at any trial if the DA doesn’t get them to plead out. We’ll back him.”

  “How do you people get away with this?” Officer Bently, still stung by the way Jean easily disarmed her, couldn’t let the incident fade. “You could be charged with-”

  “Shut up!” Jean held a cautioning hand in Bently’s direction. “A thank you would have been fine, but since you’re too stupid to put this into perspective, just hold your tongue until Chief Dickerson gets here. You’re beginning to bore me.”

  Red faced, Bently surged toward Jean. Her partner missed his holding attempt. Jean finger locked the officer to her knees, exerting pressure until Bently cried out. Jean smiled. She decided a more impressive lesson was needed.

  “Jean,” Sonny murmured quietly. Jean paused at the sound of her husband’s voice, but incrementally increased pressure while trying to calm the heat inside.

  “Daughter of Darkness!” Rachel’s voice ended Jean’s lesson. “She’s a cop. We don’t hurt cops, you ninny.”

  Jean released Bently and helped her up, wishing she could mouth about ten insults on her Mom while doing it. “Chief Dickerson will be here shortly. Go over by your patrol car, Officer Bently. If you stay here, I will arrest you for impeding a federal investigation and case.”

  Bently eyeballed Jean, rubbing circulation back into her hand.

  Sonny walked forward with a hand in cautioning manner. “Please do as Jean says. Your meat wagon and the Chief will be here shortly. We’re not your enemy. The only action Marshal McCarty had was to kill this young man before he turned his hideaway weapon on us. Quinn? Escort Officer Bently over to her patrol car.”

  Quinn grinned at Bently as he moved to do Sonny’s bidding. “C’mon, Suz. The only thing that could happen here is Jean kicking the crap out of you. We’re here to help, not get into fights with police officers.”

  Quinn’s voice had a soothing effect on Bently, who looked up at the six and a half foot tall Quinn’s lean features with an acknowledging nod. She let him lead her over to the patrol car. Furlough moved nearer the still kneeling gang members who Benny had motioned Sammy over to watch.

  Furlough gestured at Squiggy’s crew with exasperation. “This shit happens on an increasing basis here. Pacific Grove was a tourist’s favorite destination, where we literally used to only have a mild theft arrest or disorderly conduct charge. For the last decade gang intrusions mixed with the escalating terrorist refugee problems have turned a simple tourist city into a small war zone at times. Ah… here comes the Chief.”

  Chief Neil Dickerson had already left his vehicle and driver with the Monterey County Coroner’s vehicle and an incarceration arrest vehicle right behind it. Neil walked with an annoyed persona straight for Officer Bently, standing next to Quinn by her squad car. She straightened as Dickerson neared them.

  “What the hell didn’t you understand about aid and assist these federal agents, Bently?! Marshal McCarty called me on the way over here to let me know you aimed a weapon at his daughter. You’re damn lucky she took it off you before he blew your head off! From now until the end of time you make sure you follow my orders to the letter when I ask in a federal intervention. We have these scum now that have been terrorizing the school and surrounding area. Marshal McCarty’s son, Benny recorded the entire event as bait to draw this gang in front of the school with weapons and drugs.”

  Dickerson put a hand over his head in a thought gathering process while Quinn grinned at the mortified Bently. The Chief waved a hand finally in dismissive fashion. “How close, Quinn?”

  “With Mom spotting, probably a heartbeat. She doesn’t take kindly to Jean getting drawn on. I think Officer Bently understands we don’t exactly operate within local police guidelines, Chief. We all make mistakes. Jean didn’t frisk the leader, having already wounded him. Dad had to kill him. The little gangster went for a hideaway at his ankle.”

  “Oh shit! Rachel was spotting for Nick. Good Lord, Bently! I should put you on administrative leave. You’ve used all your luck up on this one. Stay here with Quinn until I sort the rest of this out.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Bently answered.

  Chief Dickerson walked over to the scene where the last of the gangbangers were being loaded into the detainee vehicle. The coroner worked quickly around the aforementioned Squiggy, completing his analysis quickly before his two assistants loaded the body for transport. The coroner, Donald Waverly, gave Dickerson a small wave of acknowledgement.

  “He’s dead, Neil.”

  Dickerson enjoyed that pronouncement for a moment. “Thanks Don for arriving so quickly. I’ll get the first responder reports and my own observations to you before the end of the day.”

  “No hurry. I’ve handled Marshal McCarty’s sniper backup operations before. A head shot with his .50 caliber M107 leaves very little need to puzzle over cause of death.” Waverly knelt next to Sammy, stroking the dog’s head. “Damn. I remember this big mutt when he was a small ball of fur yapping around your ankles, Benny.”

  “Yes Sir, Sammy’s all grown up and super-smart,” Benny said.

  Waverly moved toward his vehicle with a wave. “Good seeing you all. Tell your Dad and Mom hi for me, Jean.”

  “Will do,” Jean answered. “Tak
e care, Don.”

  “Take Bently and follow the meat wagon, Jim,” Dickerson told the officer.

  Jean turned her attention to the Chief then. She shrugged. “I screwed up a little, Uncle Neil.”

  “So I heard. Thanks for not ending Bently. I heard from Quinn it was close.”

  “Yeah… it was. The second mistake we made was not just following her order to kneel until you arrived. She pissed me off. I nearly got her killed and I did get Squiggy killed.”

  “The right one got dead, kid. I asked you all in on this. Thanks to Benny, we’ll be ending this damn invasion of the school. I didn’t know what else to do. Everyone griped and complained but no one had the backup to bring this bunch down. Did Gus and John observe?”

  Jean pointed over at a window tinted SUV across the street. The driver’s side window opened and Gus Nason waved at Dickerson. “Cleaner’s in the back too. We weren’t sure if we could pull this off the way we hoped.”

  Dickerson gave Gus, John and Cala a quick smiling salute before Gus drove away. “I will let your Dad know if the DA screws this bust up in court. Any ideas on your newest venture with Harding’s crew from the Bay?”