by Noah Rea
“I think you guys work for me as a citizen, and there are laws preventing you from taking what doesn’t belong to you. The people who brought the helicopter and SUV here gave them to me. They brought them over here and said I could have them. I would call them up and have them verify it but they are dead.”
That gave everyone in the family a good laugh but not so the officers could hear it. Otis’s family had all heard this or heard about it if they were there. They were telling it pretty often because even over time it was still funny to them.
Otis’s timing might not have been the best in the world, but he stood his ground, and they were really angry but not winning.
“If you have the title for one of them, Officer, then just let me see it and I will help you find it. Or if you guys have a warrant or court order, then maybe we can find one of them.”
The trooper said everything at the crime scene and involved in a crime could be taken by law enforcement.
Otis said it was only true if the landowners where the crime occurred didn’t object. Otherwise, they had to have a title, warrant, or court order. The trooper said he needed the location of the two properties, so he could get a court order.
“I am not giving you the location or address. If you can’t get an address, how do you expect to get a court order?”
The officers knew it was true. And they weren’t going to find them unless they got multiple orders to search everyone in the family.
The officers clearly had been very upset, but they’d had nothing more to say. They’d told the driver there was nothing for them to haul and then had left burning rubber all the way to the street, throwing gravel on the front of the building.
Otis looked down for a moment. “The next part could get interesting. I’m sure they’ll be back with court orders to look in several barns and shops owned by different family members.”
The equipment was not on family property, so they had some time, but it would be hot around there for a while. And they’d likely see a lot of warrants to look in a lot of buildings. So Otis and his family would be moving a lot of other stuff they didn’t want law enforcement to see.
“But here is the deal,” Otis said. “We want you to get a place here and stay. We are already family and as best we can tell close to the only family you have. At least as good of a family as you have anywhere else. We’ll make it happen if you agree.”
I had gotten Deb’s consensus that we would always try to get all the facts before making a decision, but I was already pretty sure we were going to take Otis up on his offer. It wasn’t as if we had a lot of good choices. When I looked at Deb, she nodded “yes”.
“But the FBI found fingerprints here belonging to the guy from Fairfax accused of killing his wife. Won’t having me here complicate things a little?”
“We will all have to be careful.”
I told Otis about our consensus and that we needed more information, but we probably would say yes.
He said that was a good decision. “First of all this briefcase is yours.” With that, he dropped it on the table next to me and asked me to open it.
It was full of money, which he told me was $100,000. I turned the briefcase so Deb could see it. Our jaws dropped.
“This is your cut so far of what we have sold of the equipment out of the helicopter or SUV. It’s tax-free income because nobody will be filling a 1099 on you. That is, unless the owners come to claim their equipment, and they could file. Hah!”
Otis shrugged. “If anyone asks, it won’t be any of their business, unless they’re the owners. In that case, it would be their business. And even then, I will say you loaned me $100,000 several years ago on a handshake, and there is no paperwork. It’s not income but repayment of a loan.”
Deb was the only one who knew for sure I was or had been a CPA. I knew I wasn’t any longer. Anyway, it took several seconds for this new information to soak in.
Otis broke in on my thoughts. He moved pretty quickly for an old guy. “The money is yours, and we have no secrets in the family. Everyone here knows your share, and I will tell you what each got if you want to take the time. It isn’t a secret.”
I shook my head “no”.
Otis closed my briefcase and put it on the floor next to Deb’s chair. “That’s the way life works. The men make the money and hand it over to the women.”
“Now,” Otis continued. “This is your cut of what we’ve sold so far. If the troopers wait too long, there won’t be anything left. We have the helicopter stripped to the frame, and we are selling some stuff and keeping some. Those full auto rifles they brought us will be a little harder to keep because not just anyone can possess those. Several of the veterans will be applying for class III licenses and that will be easier.”
“The rest of the parts are hidden or sold or laying around in plain sight. The troopers saw a radio over there on the back shelf and didn’t think anything about it. It’s somewhat common but is for aircraft communication. We don’t need the radio, so we’ve sold it. It was a cash deal with no warranty and no paperwork. The buyer may show up today.”
I inquired how they would know the buyer was not law enforcement and was told they normally can tell a cop a mile away undercover or not, but they already had the buyer’s picture and a photocopy of his driver’s license. They’d checked him out. Besides, they had a system that changed depending on circumstances.
The buyer would come in and look at the radio, or whatever equipment, to be sure it was what Otis said it was. Once they were satisfied then they’d be given a security label to write on. They would sign their name or whatever they wanted on the label and place it on the equipment. They’d take a picture of it so they would be able to tell it was the same equipment. Then they’d go down the road to where Grandma Moses lived and give her the money. If things went bad, no one would likely put a ninety-five-year-old in jail. At least not for long. And of course, there were armed people around to take care of her and keep anyone from trying to get “her” money.
Then the buyer would come back to the truck stop to get his equipment. Since there would be no paperwork, it would be unclear as to what was going on. Were the guys taking the equipment going to turn it over to the FBI? Were they going to repair it? Or were they going to look at it and return it or use it?
“It’s very unclear, right?” said Otis.
It was a little confusing.
“Got it,” I said.
“Now,” said Otis, using one of his favorite words. “Since you have agreed to stay here, we have a deal for you. In the family we own most of the land between here and the mountains you see back behind your truck. They were in some of your wedding pictures. We want you to pick ten acres or so, and we will give them to you so you can build a house. We can take you around and show you what we think are some of the best places. Or you can borrow a jeep and drive all over it yourself. It’s your choice. Everyone will be excited to have you here and will be glad to deed the land over to you.”
“Second, we all think you need to get off the road. The boys who showed up here are not nice. If they catch you out somewhere, it won’t end like this last little dance. In fact, we are preparing for another visit from them now. We don’t think it will happen and certainly not soon, but we do think it could happen, so we’re getting ready. But what will you do if you’re at a truck stop where nobody knows you? Where you and Deb are the only shooters on your side? And you don’t have thick walls to hide behind. It won’t turn out the same way. We ambushed them last time, and won’t be able to do that again.”
“If you have passports we think you should fly out of here and take a long cruise somewhere to the Mediterranean or Alaska or something. Be gone for a while. The FBI is looking for you all over the US and especially in Arizona.”
Then I noticed they brought my drink in a paper cup and Deb’s in a regular glass like they normally used.
I pointed at it and he nodded. “Your flatware will get extra attention as well. We will take care of you, but
you have to take care of yourself. An eastern Caribbean cruise can take some time, so go have fun. Do you want to pick your land now or when you return?”
It was interesting how Otis made plans for others, but he was probably right. I asked him if he made plans for his grandkids the way he did for me, and he nodded his head, while a number of them nodded their heads “yes” while they were looking at us. I told him his offer was probably too good to turn down, but I needed to talk to management before I could give him an answer.
He laughed and answered in the affirmative. “Meeting is over!”
With that everyone cleared out, and in a few seconds we were by ourselves.
I looked at Deb and shook my head. “Is this amazing or what?”
“Management, huh! Or were you talking about someone else?”
She knew I was talking about her. I told her I thought I should get Jim’s advice about taking a vacation, and she agreed. We walked outside and made the phone call. I didn’t tell him anything about Otis but simply said Deb and I were considering it.
Jim agreed and then added that the timing should be real good. He was putting out fingerprints of Bentley Raines that were not like the ones out now, and he already had them in the FBI main server with Ben’s name. Then the ones that had been in there were put in another place, and all this would at least cause confusion. So if anyone tried to match Ben’s fingerprints with Sam’s there would at least be confusion in the short run and later be totally different. He also had put in an updated photo. Deb and I didn’t think it looked like me so we were really happy about that.
I told him I bet that took some doing, and he said I had no idea the favors he had to call in. But he said there is a growing number in the bureau who believed Ben was innocent, and now they felt the shooters in Arizona were connected somehow to the murder of Ben’s wife. Wow, the “murder of Ben’s wife” seemed so surreal, and yet Rebecca was someone I still loved.
Deb sensed my emotion and asked how I felt about Rebecca now. I told her I would always love Rebecca, but she wasn’t here any longer.
I said my loving Rebecca didn’t diminish my love for her in any way. I wanted to know how she felt and if she believed me.
She said she did and she was OK. As I had said, Rebecca wasn’t here any longer. Then she said something that made me feel good, but more important, told me she was dealing with it well. She said if Rebecca came back, somehow she would have to find a different man because Deb had taken over as my woman and would not be giving me back to her. I loved that answer.
Chapter 11
Vacation
OK, we had a decision to make, decisions. I asked Deb what she thought we ought to do, and she said what I thought too. We would leave as soon as we could get a good vacation planned, and we would work the land choosing around that. I would work on getting money issues worked out including the briefcase and credit cards, etc. She would borrow a computer and try to make reservations. She asked me to give her my preferences in order from first choice to last.
I thought the Mediterranean sounded best to me with the eastern Caribbean next and then Hawaii or Alaska next. As long as I got to sleep in her cabin, it really didn’t matter to me. I told her she should get something she liked and book it without double-checking with me.
I went to look for Otis. I told him about our decisions, and he was glad.
“Since we’ve gotten into the habit of bringing problems to you,” I said, “I want to continue that tradition.”
He laughed and told me to lay it out.
“First, we have no way to easily get money on Deb’s debit card so we could pay for the vacation and get money as we needed it. We could take the briefcase or a part of its contents but didn’t think it would be a good idea to carry a lot of cash.”
“I agree and have already foreseen some of your difficulty and have some answers.”
He handed me a truck stop company card. “This is yours. Now that you have accepted our offer, you will get a new one later with your name on it just below the company name. There is a $10,000 monthly limit on it right now. Keep up with what you spend, and I will put more on it as you need it, but since the limit renews every month, you may not ever need to make that call. Once you are on the cruise, as you know, most everything is free. You will be able to get cash at any teller machine.”
Otis paused. “When you have time, I can make other arrangements to help you get whatever else you need. But the deal is this: Use the card whenever and wherever you wish as a loan, and we’ll settle up later. And if you want, I will keep the briefcase safe and sound for you. But I am not keeping it for insurance on your use of the card. So put it wherever you think it is safe.”
I couldn’t think of anything we needed right then other than the card and the arrangements relating to it.
“The card has been active for about a week,” Otis said, “since we expected you would accept our offer. We had intended to make you an offer you couldn’t refuse, and if you had been really smart, you would have held out for a better deal.”
“I don’t think there is such a thing as a better deal.”
He laughed.
Then I told him I was concerned for him and especially his younger ones. He said I should be, but they were not novices either. They were potentially outgunned, but they were taking precautions.
“I’m concerned about a few of your family being ambushed, as you called it, by several of them.”
“We’re talking about all kinds of things that include shutting down the truck stop because we’re not willing to get anyone even hurt let alone killed. We have some friends who’d stand with us, but that won’t substitute for being wise and cautious going forward.”
I agreed.
“Besides,” he said, “those who sent the black ops guys will be busy for a while. They will be doing damage control and trying to figure out what went wrong. Those guys are covering their tracks and trying to make sure nothing is traced back to them. No one wants to claim any association with them right now.
And whoever does know who sent them has a credibility problem. Someone somewhere is of the opinion they aren’t good enough to handle the job. Those guys who died here had a boss somewhere who has to do a lot of explaining, including how he will replace a very, very expensive helicopter and SUV. Also it will be interesting who informs the next of kin. You might want to ask your FBI friend about it.”
“How did you know about my FBI friend?”
“You have an expensive phone with you few people have. We also have the capability to listen to your side of the conversation with long-range microphones built into the building, but we’ve long since quit eavesdropping on you.”
I told him my next concern was about the younger ones being called up, that is, reactivated to something really dangerous. The black SUV people had political connections in Washington, and they might want to hurt somebody in his family.
“Betty’s husband is a lawyer, and he’s already working to prevent that possibility. What we found out so far is one couldn’t be called up by himself without a somewhat unique ability. A person’s whole unit would have to be called up because of the classification he had. And one had just returned from his fourth tour. Since the US was out of Iraq and winding down Afghanistan, it would be very unlikely their unit would go in place of a unit with fewer tours. The biggest problem we foresee would be a short tour in some new hotspot somewhere. But Democratic presidents don’t very often put boots on the ground in new conflicts.”
I asked him if he trusted Democratic presidents more than Republican.
“A good one wherever they could find one was what we need, but one of the criteria would be to keep us out of war. Our wars these days should be short. We should get in, break things, kill people only if we have to, and get out. Democrats want to spend money like its water and threaten our enemies but in the last analysis not do anything. The Republicans want to fight somebody for decades like war is good for business.”
“I think you’re on the right track. I don’t like taxes that much but like war less.”
“Because we have the best military in the world, some think we have a mandate to use it on someone. Both parties are like kids in a candy store. The Democrats and some Republicans too don’t mind spending money on anything as long as it isn’t their money. Republicans want to use the military as if it is a big expensive toy. We want the strongest military in the world, but we don’t want to use it much. We don’t need hundreds or thousands of all the new stuff somebody can make all shiny for them. We need to run this place with the people in Washington remembering who’s boss. That Texas governor said something a lot of us my age like. That is to make the federal government as insignificant in our lives as possible.”
Deb nodded. “Otis, you’re making a lot of sense.”
“Also the Democratic Presidents won’t take care of their people in harm’s way. That is, when we have a Democratic President, then it’s every man for himself overseas. If someone attacks us, the Democrats will threaten and strut and send out dire warnings. But in the last analysis, they won’t do anything.”
“Oh, by the way Deb,” Otis broke into his own rant. “Can we rent your semi while you’re gone? If we lose it, tear it up, or get it dirty, we’ll make it right.”
Deb said sure but wanted to know what they were paying and how many miles they’d put on it. She and Otis did some tough negotiations and settled with the miles being unknown but not too many, and the pay would be $10,000 as a flat fee. She had tried to get a cut of the loads, but Otis said she would come out better with a flat fee.
She said it was probably true, but the flat fee he wanted to pay was way too much money. She wanted to be paid five thousand. I couldn’t believe this. It was like the seller of a used car arguing with a buyer, and the seller saying they wanted less and the buyer saying he wanted to pay more. I needed to keep the two of them apart. Life was not normal when they got together, and I told them so.
That got a good laugh, and Otis put $10,000 in her hand and asked for a set of keys. He told us we could use a jeep he owned and suggested we go stay in a motel until our flight left, even if it was a couple of days. He said we’d be safer somewhere else, and they’d be safer if we were somewhere else.