But Nobody Wants To Die

by David M George

  “Help me with this one,” I said, and together we picked up Alphonso, and drug him to the rig. Alphonso started coughing, but offered no resistance as we placed him in the last remaining bin and slammed the door. Carlos raised a quizzical eyebrow when he saw that Alphonso’s hands were still tied but said nothing. Double D was rolling hose like a madman and Carlos went to help him pick it up and throw it in the bin. As I jumped in the rig I looked up and saw Bobby splashing through the water coming towards us at a trot past the overhead door. Carlos and Bobby got in and Captain Robert was already backing up as Bobby came in through the last remaining open door and slammed it behind him.

  He shouted, “Let’s roll,” and the rig quickly picked up speed and once we hit the street, the Captain put it in gear and we left like we were wanted in five states. The guys started whooping and hollering when we turned the corner and I had to admit it went so smoothly you would have thought we spent six months planning it instead of drawing it up on a chalkboard the day before.

  Bobby was saying how the mob guys said they heard a bang and all of a sudden what had been a friendly card game turned into complete chaos. The smoke poured in through the ductwork and they told him they were lucky to have gotten out alive. Once they quit coughing and realized they were going to be okay they started arguing about who owed who money and the once friendly card game turned out to be not so friendly after all. Bobby said they never said a word about anybody else being in the building and I was enraged that they were so ready to give up the lives of the hostages rather than admit they were there.

  I would have liked to have joined in the celebration as we drove back to the station house but I was more concerned about where my Dad was and how I was going to explain the one hostage who not only had his hands tied but most likely was not going to be happy about being ‘rescued’.

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  THE GENERAL MAKES A CALL

  L ieutenant General Li Chen tossed Sgt. Wu’s report on his desk in disgust. General Li had been in the Chinese Army a very long time and, by necessity, had become a political creature. One does not rise to such heights unless they are able to discern which way the wind is blowing. And in this situation the wind was now blowing in his face, carrying with it the smell he remembered from the days of his youth, the stench of the manure pile on his father’s farm in Fujian Province. Li Chen had joined the Army to escape the drudgery of manual labor that farm life entails. And while the Army was no picnic, at least there was opportunity, and Li Chen had made the most of it.

  And now, despite Colonel Yeung’s recommendation to send a small cadre of his best men to assess the situation, he was reluctant to send anyone from the Persistent Threat Unit to the United States without justification. With his luck, it would blow up in his face and cause an international incident. The worst part, the part causing him sleepless nights was that he was the one that made the recommendation to the General Counsel to approve this entire operation. His new wife had approached him, telling him that her favorite cousin, and her best friend growing up, Mae-Ling wanted to return to China, and her husband had devised a plan to carry it out.

  Li Chen agreed to listen to the details of their plan but upon hearing it, proclaimed it nonsense and said he thought it was the worst idea he’d ever heard. But the Chinese proverb, ‘The man may be the head of the household, but the woman is the neck,’ was made clearer to him each day. The head cannot turn if the neck stiffens and he soon realized that instead of sleeping alone night after night, perhaps he should listen to the plan again, that surely he had missed something the first time.

  While doing nothing while 200,000 RMB a day was being taken from the back pocket of the Dear Republic was not a small offense, it could be explained that he had merely erred on the side of caution, wanting to gather more information before acting. But having Alphonso sabotage the entire plan that he recommended for approval from the General Counsel could seriously jeopardize his long-planned comfortable retirement. There would be no generous pension, no subsidized apartment, and no life-long free medical care for him and his family. What there would be was scandal and disgrace and no chance to marry off his hideous daughters, one by one.

  If he sent anyone to America it would be that idiot Lt. Shen, and then leave him there. Let him earn a living rather than just marrying into a wealthy family and having the scraps from the table fall into his waiting mouth. But perhaps it was best to be prepared for any contingency. He called Colonel Yeung and told him to place his six best men on stand-by alert and arrange all the necessary details so that they would be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

  Ping Chou, the Deputy Counsel-General at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco owed him a favor, several favors in fact, and it was past time to collect. The last time he saw Ping Chou he was surprised at how fat he had become. Obviously the Deputy Counsel-General needed more fresh air and exercise, and Chen was sure an excursion to Las Vegas would do him good. He found the number he wanted and picked up the phone.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  WE RAISE HELL BITCH

  A s we rode back to the station I considered my options. Palm Alphonso off as my Dad, tell everyone thank you very much and ride off into the sunset? Let Alphonso get a good look at the men who had risked their careers by helping me, putting them in even more jeopardy? I was probably going to take a lot of heat for taking him in the first place, which was well deserved. The smart play was to have just left him on the floor of the warehouse; admit that even rescuing three out of the four hostages alive and relatively unharmed was a good day at the office. If rescuing the hostages was kicking the anthill, taking Alphonso was pouring gasoline on the anthill and setting it on fire.

  The flimsiest truth is stronger than the sturdiest lie. And the truth was that the only way I was going to get my Dad back was trading him for Alphonso. I hoped they would understand that. Their understanding why I did what I did was the key to obtaining their forgiveness. I reluctantly decided I needed to speak up now before I had the chance to change my mind. If they wanted to give Alphonso back, make amends before it was too late, they deserved the opportunity to do so. I owed them that. I thought about what I had to say and then stood up, grabbing the overhead strap so I wouldn’t lose my balance, cleared my throat and asked if I could have their attention for a few minutes.

  “First of all,” I said, “I want to thank you for risking your lives, your careers and your paycheck from the City of Las Vegas doing a job you love. I am honored to have had this opportunity to have worked by your side, even if only for the last 24 hours. Your professionalism, courage and skill is something that I had to see to believe, and I will be forever indebted to you. Thank you. Thank you for what you have done this day.” I looked at the faces spread before me and swallowed hard.

  “That was the easy part. Thanking you for a job well done. Now comes the hard part. I’m afraid that I’ve put you at risk. One of the hostages now riding in the storage bin is not a hostage at all. But is the man who ordered their capture and held them against their will. I put you in danger because I made a split second decision to take him with us because I thought the only way I could get my Dad back is to exchange this man for him. I did this without asking you and I’m sorry. I’m telling you this now, so that if you feel the danger is too great, we can return him, give him back with our apologies and I’ll tell them I made a mistake. They know who I am. And if they’re unhappy about it they can come see me. So please, take a few minutes, discuss it, and I will do whatever you decide.” I sat down and lowered my head. It wasn’t exactly Mark Antony’s speech at the death of Caesar but it was the best I could do on short notice. I’m sorry Dad I thought, I’ll have to find another way.

  It was Filthy Frank who spoke first. “They can’t threaten us. They don’t even freaking know who we are. Unit #43 doesn’t even exist.”

  “Hell, Hurricane,” Double D said, “just blindfold his dumb ass as soon as you open the bin and he’ll just think he traded one wareho
use for another.”

  But it was Bobby who saved the best for last, “If it was my Dad,” he said, “I would have done the exact same thing, except I would have jammed my fire axe up his ass first.”

  “The mob can’t screw with us,” Filthy said, and this was met with more cheers and catcalls and I would have shed tears of joy right then, except I didn’t want to cry in front of these brave men. I was starting to understand what camaraderie was, what it meant, and why men have willingly bled and died for each other for thousands of years. And if this is what the men of the United States Marine Corps had, what the Navy SEALS had, and even what the ancient Roman Legions had, I now gained a small measure of insight into why they were regarded as the finest military organizations in the world. And not even Filthy leading a rousing rendition of, “We Raise Hell Bitch,” could dampen my enthusiasm for being a part of it.

  We rolled into the station and the door closed behind us. Everyone jumped out. Bobby quickly brought me something I could use as a blindfold.

  “Hell,” he said, “take that sonuvabitch out last. Say hello to your friends first, make sure they’re okay.”

  “I will Bobby, thank you.” I gave him a big hug. And just for the record, I no longer felt tainted when I touched him. Bobby was still Bobby, but I wasn’t the same. I’d grown so much in just 24 hours.

  I found Jamie first. “Are you okay?” I said.

  “I think so,” she said, her face smudged with smoke. “I’m not sure how I got here, things are a little hazy.”

  “I’ll try and explain everything later,” I said. “I need to make sure everybody is okay first. Why don’t we look for your boyfriend,” I said. We found Rick with a surprised look on his smoke tinged face. He was coherent enough to immediately hug Jamie so I figured asking him if he was okay was unnecessary. Mikey was behind door #3.

  “Are you okay?” I said.

  “Yeah, I’m okay, what in the hell happened?” he said.

  “I’ll explain later, I promise. Where’s my dad?”

  “Alphonso had Fagamo take him to Global Entertainment about twenty minutes before the fire broke out. He told Fagamo to put him in the dungeon. Alphonso stuck around to interrogate me, because he wanted to find out where Melinda was. He was in the room with us when the fire broke out. I don’t know if he made it out,” Mikey said.

  “He didn’t,” I said. “But we were kind enough to rescue him.”

  Mikey just shook his head, looking at me and grinning,

  “He’s here? You are one crazy broad,” he said.

  “Yeah, I know, and Melinda is fine by the way. You can see for yourself in about half an hour. She’s the one who figured out where you guys were. She’s been a big help to us,” I said.

  “She’s here?” he said. “I told Alphonso that as far as I knew she was in Rehab somewhere in Phoenix. I’ve had plenty of time to think about her, about us, about our future,” he said, a sheepish grin on his face. “I’m going to ask her to marry me,” he said.

  “I think that’s great,” I said. “I’m so happy for the two of you, giving him a hug. I’ll be back, I need to talk to somebody, okay?” He nodded his approval and I quickly found Carlos working on his gear, trying to get it clean.

  “You’re the one I really need to ask for permission,” I said. “If we keep Alphonso at your apartment until we can make the trade, you’re the one in the most danger.”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head, “that’s not true. We’re the ones in the most danger.”

  “Oh, so now it’s ‘we’ huh?” I said.

  “That’s right,” Carlos said, “any objections?”

  “None that I can think of,” I said. “But I’ll try to come up with one later.”

  It was Mitch who saved me from making a complete fool out of myself, coming up to us just in time to ruin my spot on impersonation of a love sick teenager. I gave him a hug. “Thanks Mitch, without you, none of this would have been possible. I owe you,” I said.

  “I’ll remember that,” he said. “Come say thanks to Captain Robert and you guys can get out of here. And don’t worry about the rig, Bobby and Filthy volunteered to return it tonight.”

  “That’s great, that way I don’t have to worry about Carlos running over any more civilians. Thanks again,” I said.

  We found Captain Robert sitting in his office. I thanked him for all his help. He responded by saying that if I ever wanted to become a firefighter in real life, that he would be more than happy to give me a recommendation. I thanked him again and grabbed Carlos’s arm and walked over to the last occupied storage bin on Unit #43.

  “We should decide on how we’re going to do this. My thinking is opening the door with you standing to the side,” I said. “I don’t think we should take any chances with this snake. He’s had all the time in the world to untie himself and could be carrying for all we know. You still have that pea shooter you’re so found of?”

  “The M-11 Sig Sauer? I got it right here,” he said, reaching for it.

  “Alright, my idea is that you keep him covered while I open the door; making sure his hands are still tied,” I said.

  “That’s good,” Carlos said, “But maybe the best thing to do is start from square one. Tell him to step out of the rig, turn around, we’ll blindfold him facing the rig and then retie his hands, make sure they’re secure. Then we’ll frisk him while we’re at it, make sure he’s clean. Maybe take everything out of his pockets, collect his wallet, keys, cell phone, anything he could use against us”

  “Good idea,” I said. “You ready?”

  “Ready.”

  “On three, one, two, three,” I grabbed the handle and pulled, stepping to the side, out of the line of fire.

  “His hands are tied,” Carlos said. “Step out and turn around!”

  Alphonso was in no hurry. He blinked into the light trying to see as much as he could before I grabbed his arm and pulled him down out of the bin and turned him around. “You must be the girl that wouldn’t die,” he said, implying that my current status was subject to change.

  “Open your mouth again and I’m putting a sock in it,” I said.

  I blindfolded him first and securely retied his hands behind him, then cut away the pieces of clothesline I used at the warehouse. Carlos handed me the pistol, and he patted him down, going through his pockets, piling his possessions on the concrete floor. We got a towel, placed everything inside and tied it like a hobo’s sack. Carlos gave the keys to his car to Rick and when he pulled the car into the station we put Alphonso into the back seat between us, said our goodbyes, and drove back to the apartment.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  LET HIM EAT PIZZA

  W e tied Alphonso securely to a dining room chair and went out on the front porch of Carlos’ apartment, closing the door behind us, so we could talk without having to worry about being overheard.

  “I want to be real careful about giving Alphonso any information that could come back to haunt us,” I said. “They don’t call him Big Ears for nothing. The Mob is not exactly a live and let live organization. You cross them and there’s a price to pay as they are big believers in retribution. So I think if anyone has anything important to say it should either be said in private or out here on the porch.”

  “But they already know everything about us,” Jamie said.

  “Maybe,” I said, “but they don’t know who Carlos is, or where Alphonso is, not to mention our plan to trade Alphonso for Dad.”

  “Uh and just what plan is that?” Jamie said.

  “Well I’m not sure,” I said, “all I have so far is that it would involve disguising Alphonso somehow so we can sneak him back into the Global Hotel and Casino and then rescue Dad. Maybe Fay and Phyllis would be willing to help us.”

  “What makes you think they would be willing to help?” Jamie said.

  I didn’t want to throw Rick under the bus so I tread lightly. “They know me and Rick,” I said “and they helped us before so I’m thinking it
wouldn’t hurt to ask if they’d be willing to help us again.” I decided it best not to mention they knew Rick in the Biblical sense of the word.

  “What about your Dad?” Rick said, anxious to change the subject.

  “He’s in the dungeon, I bet,” Mikey said.

  “And what is that exactly?” Jamie said.

  “Every casino in Las Vegas has its own version of the dungeon,” Melinda said. “In this case, the dungeon at the Global Hotel and Casino is a windowless, concrete block holding cell buried deep in the basement. It’s a place where they can interrogate card counters, cheaters and other hustlers without attracting any undue attention.”

  “Isn’t the mob going to leave no stone unturned in order to find Alphonso?” Rick said. “If they go public with this thing it will put so much heat on the Fire Department that the City of Las Vegas will be forced to open an investigation.”

  “I don’t think that they’re going to go public,” I said, “because sooner or later it would come out that they were holding you as hostages. They certainly don’t want any negative publicity. And besides, we’re going to call Fagamo first, let them know that Alphonso is safe and sound and that we want to make a trade. That way we’re sure they’ll want to keep this whole thing under wraps.” Everyone murmured their assent, so I went on to the next topic.

  “Fay and Phyllis work the third shift,” I said. “Jamie, if I can borrow Rick for an hour or so, maybe we’ll try and catch them when they come to work, try and set up a meeting.