But Nobody Wants To Die

by David M George

  “We will arrive at the apartment complex at 2330 hours, change clothes and ready our equipment in order to conduct a commando style raid at midnight, which should make it easier to neutralize Carlos, the ex-Navy SEAL, catching him, Katrina and anyone else at the apartment asleep. We believe that since the apartment is listed in his name, he will be in the master bedroom,” Captain Lung said, as he pressed the remote control. The floor plan is shown here,” he said, as the next slide came into view.

  “Carlos is our initial target; Captain Tsang and I will be responsible for securing him. Our point of entry is the sliding glass door on the balcony. We will have glass cutters and masking tape to cut the glass undetected so we can unlock it and gain entry. Any questions so far?”

  “I am happy to report that we will go ‘full ninja,’ when we change in the parking lot,” Captain Lung said, to which the room erupted in cheers. Full ninja being the nickname the men had given to their 07 Special Forces camouflaged uniforms. Captain Lung smiled broadly and even the Colonel had to grin at the response. The men had been training in that gear twice a month ever since their arrival at PLA 61398 but no one ever got to use it. This was a welcome first.

  When the room quieted down, the Captain continued.” Each man will have four sets of restraints to subdue the occupants of the apartment, leaving them where we find them. We will rescue Alphonso Vietri and take him with us back to Van #1 and find out what he has to say about the diversion of funds. Sgt. Wu will be responsible for seeing these funds once again flow to the Bank of China.”

  Obviously, time is of the essence, the sooner we are in and out of the apartment, the less chance someone will discover there is a disturbance and call the police. Our goal is less than three minutes from the time we unlock the back door to the time we exit the same door with Alphonso Vietri.

  “Now are there any questions?” Captain Lung said.

  “Will we have weapons?” Corporal Ling said. “Each man will have a standard issue knife and be armed with the QSZ92 pistol with fifteen 9mm., rounds, with silencer. We do not, repeat do not, want to use them, they are for defensive purposes, only. Unless you believe your life is in imminent danger you will not be allowed to draw and fire your weapon. So life threatening situation only. Is that understood?” Captain Lung said.

  “Yes sir,” came the chorus of a reply.

  “And speaking of weapons, request your gear at Supply prior to 1600 today,” Captain Lung said.

  “Keep it with you at all times. Bring it to work, take it to the park, and put it next to your bed when you go to sleep at night. It should be immediately available to you always.”

  “Captain Tsang do you want to add anything?” Captain Lung said.

  “Yes, thank you captain,” Huang Fu said. “I wanted to add that active duty military personnel may transport firearms on commercial aircraft in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only. So when you draw your gear from supply, make sure you receive a locked hard-sided container as well.”

  “Thank you Captain. Are there any additional questions?” Captain Lung said. “No, then let’s go to lunch, or at least what passes for lunch at the cafeteria.” Captain Lung said.

  The men were exuberant as schoolboys going on extended leave, excited at the prospect of going to America on a secret mission. But Jian had been to Las Vegas once before and was not excited at the prospect of having to see it again. It was all bright lights and glitter, full of empty promises, much like this so-called mission.

  Corporal Ling fell in alongside him on the long walk to the cafeteria. “Captain,” he said, “the QSZ92 fires both 5.8 and 9mm ammunition. Is there a reason for us using the 9mm?”

  “The 9mm is a common caliber, used throughout the world, the 5.8mm is used by very few. If they pull a 5.8 mm round from a corpse, we don’t want anything that screams People’s Liberation Army, do we Corporal?” Captain Lung said.

  “No sir,” Corporal Ling said.

  “Request 9mm rounds,” Jian said. “I imagine even the Cosa Nostra, the Italian Mafia has gone to the 9mm. It has more stopping power and is more effective at close range than most other ammunition.

  “Yes sir,” Corporal Ling said, as he sped off to join the others.

  No one came up to him on the way to lunch to say their wife was sick, or their sister was getting married; no one else was looking for a way out. That meant that he was the only one who didn’t want to go.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  FAY, PART II

  C arlos and I got to The Beat just after 8:00AM. I ordered a smoothie and got a table while Carlos looked through the stacks of old LP’s, being careful to keep me in his line of vision. The place wasn’t much to look at, which was maybe why Fay suggested we meet here, as it was not likely that anybody from the Global Hotel and Casino was going to show their face.

  Fay walked in just before 8:30AM, sat down across from me and said sorry she was late. I told her no, you’re early. She smiled, said that was unusual, and that she would get something to drink and be right back.

  She returned a few minutes later with a large iced coffee and sat down. “I’m sorry about last night, seeing the two of you threw me, I guess I didn’t want to be reminded of my past sins,” she said.

  “You don’t have anything you need to apologize for,” I said.

  She shrugged. “Turning forty has been hard for me, the realization that all the big dreams I had when I was young aren’t going to come true. I started drinking, too much, and did some things I’m not proud of. I’m on the wagon now, if it makes any difference.”

  “It makes all the difference in the world,” I said. “You’re still young, good looking, and obviously an outstanding judge of character if you’re willing to help us.”

  She laughed. “You’re just like your Dad,” she said, “a real charmer.”

  “Growing up,” I said, “I always thought my Dad was as charming as a starving Doberman on a short leash. Please believe me when I say that charming is not a word I would use to describe him.”

  “I know your Dad has a fierce bark,” she said, continuing the dog analogy, “but I always thought he had a soft heart.”

  Looking at her it was easy to see that almost any man would be putty in her hands, even Dad.

  I smiled. “So how do you know my Dad?” I said.

  “We met a long time ago one night after work, I was a showgirl then. A showgirl with a sad story as I recall and your Dad was willing to listen. He helped me when no one else would and we became friends,” she said.

  I nodded, it was no surprise that Fay had been a showgirl; she was insanely tall, with legs for days and nights, shapely, with big green eyes and a take no prisoners smile. What was a surprise was that she was working in housekeeping. I wanted to ask, but wasn’t sure how to approach it diplomatically. She must have known what I was thinking and filled in the blanks for me.

  “I met Alphonso when I was a showgirl,” she said. “I should have known better, but I was young, naïve, fresh off the farm, a small town girl seeking her fame and fortune in the big city. I didn’t get any of those things. What I got was pregnant. And when I refused to have an abortion I lost my job at Global Entertainment.”

  “I eventually got married,” she said, “and moved away, out of state. We came back to Las Vegas just over three years ago. When the marriage fell apart and our divorce was final I needed something steady.

  Because of the lousy economy and hit or miss child support payments I applied for the job in Housekeeping. I’m a supervisor now, on the payroll under my married name, mostly to keep Alphonso off track in case he ever decides to look for me.”

  “That was smart,” I said.

  “And speaking of Alphonso, I heard he disappeared,” she said, looking right at me, “something about a fire.”

  “That’s the same rumor I heard,” I said, looking right back at her, both of us as honest and forthright as any pair of used car salesmen in Las Vegas.

  “I know where your D
ad is,” she said as she raised one eyebrow, “Just in case you know somebody who wants to make a trade?”

  “He’s in the dungeon right?” I said, dropping all pretense by the wayside.

  “That’s right and I think I may be able to help you get him out,” she said.

  “That’s an even better offer than what I was hoping for,” I said.

  “What kind of offer were you hoping for?” she said.

  “I wanted a housekeeping uniform big enough to fit Alphonso, maybe a wig, and some help returning him sight unseen to his office,” I said.

  “And just what were you willing to offer in return?” she said.

  “I thought I’d let you swing by his office while he’s tied to his chair and kick him in the balls, two, maybe three times,” I said.

  She laughed. “That is tempting,” she said, “but if you can somehow pull this off, manage to trade your Dad for Alphonso, that would be just the same as kicking him in the balls, but much harder, wouldn’t it?”

  I nodded, “He’d have to unzip his fly just to spit,” I said.

  She laughed again. She had a great laugh. I was really starting to like her.

  “So when did you want that uniform?” she said.

  “Would it be okay if I could pick it up later today?” I said

  “Sure thing,” she said. “Got something to write with? I’ll give you my address.”

  I handed her a pen and some paper I had in my purse. She wrote her address and slid it across the table. “It was so very nice meeting you at long last,” she said. “If you don’t mind I’m going to go home and go to bed. Can you come about 4:00PM?”

  “I’ll be there,” I said.

  I went to shake her hand but she gave me a hug instead.

  “This is going to be so much fun,” she said.

  “Oh,” she said, “I almost forgot there is something I wanted to ask you. You have something Alphonso wants very badly don’t you? You have Melinda.”

  My look of surprise must have given everything away. Even though I didn’t say anything, I didn’t need to. The expression on my face must have said all that Fay needed to confirm her suspicions.

  “In some ways,” Fay said, “Las Vegas is a very small town.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

  HIGH NOON

  C arlos and I got back to his apartment around 9:30AM. Mikey and Melinda were sitting out on the front porch drinking orange juice, enjoying each other’s company. Rick and Jamie were feeding Alphonso the last of his breakfast pizza, which looked a whole lot like the pizza he had for dinner the night before. He scowled at me when he saw me. I ignored him and motioned for Rick and Jamie to join us on the front porch when they were done.

  When they came out and settled in, I said, “I need to call Fagamo in a few minutes, so I wanted to discuss our plan. Actually, to be honest, it’s not much of a plan, in fact, I would be overly generous even calling it an outline, but I want to share what I have so far and discuss what I want to tell Fagamo when I call him.”

  I looked at Carlos for support before I continued, “It should come as no surprise,” I said, “that we need to use subterfuge to pull this off. After all, that is the only reason we’ve been as successful as we have. What I want to do is convince Fagamo that we want to make the trade at noon in the middle of the casino with everybody watching, the more witnesses the better. As if we think the more people watching, the more honestly we’re going to get treated. But in Las Vegas, the odds always favor the house, no matter who is watching, so we want them to think we’re going to do one thing when in fact we’re going to do just the opposite, maybe even up the odds a little. So I want to tell him noon, when in fact I’m thinking midnight, twelve hours prior. I want to sneak Alphonso in wearing a housekeeping uniform and a blonde wig on the midnight shift and then I want to sneak Dad out.

  “Fay, in housekeeping has agreed to help us, says she has an idea. I’m meeting with her this afternoon to hear what she has to say. If we like it, fine, we’ll use it, if not, we’ll come up with our own. As of right now, I’m telling him noon, so just over 48 hours, but I’m telling you tomorrow night at midnight. Can we be ready by then?” I scanned the faces before me, looking at each one in turn.

  “Yes,” Rick said.

  “Hell yes,” Jamie said.

  “To infinity and beyond,” Mikey said.

  “Let’s stick it to them.” Melinda said.

  “Lock and load,” Carlos said.

  I pulled up Fagamo’s name on Alphonso’s cell phone and pressed the button. “Fagamo,” I said, when he answered, “this is Katrina, do you know who I am?”

  He said he did.

  “Do you know the movie, ‘High Noon,’ the one with Gary Cooper?” I said. “Well, it’s one of my Dad’s favorite movies and that’s what we want to do, we want to trade my Dad for Alphonso at high noon, just over 48 hours from now, in the middle of the casino. If you try and double cross us we want the whole world as witnesses. Any objections?”

  “What?” I said, “Grace Kelly? You don’t say? Okay, just over 48 hours from now. Right, just in front of the blackjack tables. See you then.”

  “What did he say?” Jamie said.

  “He said, ‘Did you know that Grace Kelly played Gary Cooper’s wife in ‘High Noon’?’”

  “He must like old movies,” she said.

  “I guess so,” I said. “As easy as we are trying to make this for them to get Alphonso back with them just giving us my Dad in return,” I said, “they may want to make it even easier by finding out where he is beforehand. So, everyone please, stay close, no trips to the store, around the block or even out to the pool. Let’s stay alert, okay?”

  “Yes mom,” said Mikey and Melinda

  “Yes mom,” said Rick and Jamie.

  I could only shake my head in response as Carlos and I walked back inside, past Alphonso and down the hallway towards the master bedroom. I closed the door behind us so we could talk. “Well,” I said, “what do you think?”

  “I think we’ve been doing so much for so long with so little there’s no reason to think we can’t do the impossible with even less,” he said.

  “I hope you’re right,” I said.

  “I’m always right,” he said, grinning.

  “I’m starting to worry you’re too much like my Dad,” I said. “Two alpha males in the same room is usually one too many and besides the only sailors he regards as equals are the Corpsmen who served with Marines. To him the world is divided into Marines and non-Marines and guess which side of the equator you’re on?”

  “I’m not worried about your Dad,” he said.

  “Which means you have even less sense than I thought,” I said, “Please tell me why you’re not worried.”

  “Because.” he said, “I’m going to treat his only daughter with so much love and so much respect that when he sees how happy she is he won’t care if I flunked out of the boy scouts.”

  My eyes filled with tears as I went to him and pulled him tight against me. “Not to sound like a cliché,” I said, “but where have you been all my life?”

  “I was behind the counter in the bakery,” he said, his voice breaking, “waiting for you.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

  TIFFANY AND SAM COOK BRING IT ON HOME

  T iffany heard the doorbell and looked through the peephole to make sure it was Ping Chou. A girl can’t be too careful, and even in broad daylight, Las Vegas was not a place you where you could grow old by being stupid.

  “Come on in,” Tiffany said, as she opened the door. Ping looked pretty much the same, but paler than she remembered, “Don’t they have sunshine in San Francisco,” she said, as Ping crossed the threshold, giving him a perfunctory hug.

  “Not much,” Ping said, returning her hug, “Rain, what they have a lot of is rain.” Ping noted that Tiffany’s apartment was nicely decorated with several ornate hand-carved pieces of Asian furniture, and smelled faintly of incense. He had never been to her place u
ntil now. All their previous meeting had been in restaurants, and later, in motel rooms.

  “You need to get some sun,” Tiffany said. Picturing Ping in a speedo lounging by the pool, made her want to laugh. At least it was better than picturing him naked.

  “Not much time for that, unfortunately,” Ping said, “I have an appointment with a Mr. Fagamo at the casino later today.”

  Tiffany nodded, “Something to drink?” she said.

  “Tea, would be fine, if you have any,” Ping said. Ping had met Tiffany at the Chinese embassy one cold wet afternoon when Tiffany was attempting to obtain a Visa to visit her dying grandmother in China. Ping was returning from lunch and on the way up to his office when he noticed a very striking tall girl looking distraught. His offer to help with the paperwork was the start of their relationship.

  Tiffany remembered Ping’s preference for green tea, and thought to buy some during her last trip to the grocery store. “Green, right?” Tiffany said.

  “Yes, please,” Ping said, “if you have any.”

  Once they were seated in the living room, Ping took a sip of his tea, looked up and said, “So, what were you able to find out?”

  Tiffany looked at him and smiled while rubbing her thumb and the first two fingers of her right hand in a circular motion, “Sorry,” she said, “but my Mom always told me to put business before pleasure.”

  Ping took an envelope out of his inside jacket pocket and showed her the stack of hundred dollar bills inside. He laid the envelope on the coffee table between them. “Your mom taught you well,” he said.

  Tiffany reached for the envelope. It was heavy. Tiffany had been a showgirl for over twelve years and wasn’t getting any younger. This would make a nice addition to her retirement fund.