The Gravity of Anti-Gravity

by Tim Blagge

  “I’m fine,” Jerry answered.

  Rolf arrived ten minutes later. The five of us including Pops gathered in the house to talk. Rolf was introduced to Jerry and Pops for the first time.

  “Any news Rolf?” Stella asked.

  “I did find Joanna’s signal.” Rolf said. “She isn’t very far away. Let’s hope the kidnappers don’t find the tracking device. I fully expect them to call you Bill with some kind of demand. I am sure they will want to trade either you or your machine for Joanna. We need to get to her location now!”

  “Who’s driving?” I asked.

  “Bill, you need you to stay here in case the kidnappers call.” Rolf said. “Now don’t panic, just write down their demands and how they want to execute the trade. Then call us immediately. See if the FBI can trace the call. Even if they can, the kidnappers are probably using disposable phones and they will dump them as soon as they call. See if they can determine where the phones were purchased. That may be another clue. OK Jerry, you want to go save your girl?”

  “Oh yeah!” Jerry said, “Oh yeah.”

  Pops announced. “You are not leaving without me. It’s been a while but I am combat trained. I’m going too!”

  Agent Brown stepped up and also volunteered. “I’ll go too. I will give the group credibility. If anything ugly happens, it will be an FBI operation and you guys won’t end up in jail while the police sort everything out.”

  Jerry and Pops loaded the M-16’s and several boxes of ammunition into the back of Pop’s SUV.

  “OK, let’s roll,” said Jerry. “Some of my men are supposed to hit town today. I’ll call them on the way and see if they can rendezvous with us. We may need their help.”

  “Shut up”, the masked kidnapper yelled at Joanna. “As soon as we get your brother we’ll set you free. We are going to take your gag off. If your brother wants to talk to you, only tell him you are OK; nothing more. This will only take a few seconds. If you cooperate, you will keep that pretty little face of yours. If you don’t, you, your brother and your grandparents will die.”

  “Screw you, you son of a bitch,” screamed Joanna “When my boyfriend gets his hands on you, you’ll beg him to put you out of your misery.”

  The kidnapper slapped Joanna for her insubordinate tone and blood started to trickle out of the corner of her mouth.

  The kidnappers called Bill’s cell phone.

  “Hello” Bill answered.

  The FBI had connected a phone tracking device to the cell phone.

  “Is this Mr. Burton?” the voice asked.

  “Yes, this is Bill Burton,” I responded.

  “We want to make a trade Mr. Bill Burton. We want to trade you for your sister. We will call back in ten minutes and give you instructions. If you don’t follow them exactly, your sister will die! If we see any police, your sister will die!” The phone went dead.

  “Did you get a location?” I asked.

  “Yes,” the agent answered. “It looks like a park in San Gabriel. I’m sure they are in some kind of vehicle so they are most likely on the move now. We’ll send the local Police there. They will get there faster than we can.”

  “No, you can’t do that. They will kill Joanna if they see Police!” I said. “Let’s call Jerry and Rolf and tell them what we know.”

  I dialed Jerry’s cell phone. “What’s up Bill?” he asked.

  “The kidnappers just called. They want to trade Joanna for me. They called from a park in San Gabriel but the FBI thinks they will be on the move.” I explained.

  “Rolf is still tracking Joanna’s device and they are on the move.” Jerry said. “He expects they will park one more time and give you instructions on where to meet them. After you get the instructions, call us back and let us know the rendezvous point where the exchange will be made. We will go ahead and get set up there. Meet them wherever and whenever they want. Tell the FBI and police not to respond. Guys in suits or uniforms are a dead giveaway. They must stay away or Joanna’s in serious trouble!”

  “One more thing” Rolf broke in to the conversation, “If we feel that it is safe for you or Joanna or both of you to run, do it. If we have secured the area, either Jerry or I will throw a rock at or near the kidnapper’s vehicle. That will draw their attention for a moment and that’s when you make a break for it. Get behind a car or building; whatever is closest.”

  “I understand. And Jerry, don’t worry about me; just save Joanna,” I said.

  “Bill, these morons don’t know who’s on the case.” Jerry said “I don’t know where you found Rolf but he’s amazing. With his expertise and my training, we’ll get Joanna. Don’t worry Bill. Just call us back when you know something. We are still following Joanna’s signal but we are hanging way back at this point. I’ve also got some of my crew who just hit town, ready to join us when we get the location. We’ll have the world’s greatest private investigator, one FBI Agent, one ex- marine and four Green Berets on these guys before it’s over.”

  About ten minutes later my cell phone rang.

  “Bill Burton here,” I answered.

  “Mr. Burton,” said a man on the line in perfect English. “Meet us in the parking lot of the Bank of America on the corner of Las Tunas Blvd. and San Gabriel Blvd. in half an hour. It’s Sunday so no one will be there. Park your car and get out. We will have people watching everything with guns aimed at your head. A van will pull into the parking lot. The door will open and you will see your sister. She will walk away from the van and you will walk toward it. Get into the van. After you are in the van, your sister is free to run. If we see any police or other people who do not belong, we will shoot both you and your sister and then go back for your grandparents. DO NOT do anything stupid Mr. Burton. Your life and the lives of your family depend on it!” The phone went dead.

  I called Jerry and he relayed the information to Rolf.

  “Bill, Rolf says to go ahead and meet them according to their instructions.” Jerry said. “And don’t try to call us. Our phones will be off while we are getting ready. Just know that we will be there and we will get Joanna.”

  “I’ll be there in half an hour.” I said

  “Jerry, since your guys are in the area; have them meet us here,” Rolf said as he pointed to the map on the computer screen. “It’s about six blocks from the exchange point. I hope they have some weapons with them, knives in particular.”

  “Oh, yeah; and if I know my guys they’ll have more than that,” Jerry said.

  Within ten minutes, Agent Brown, Pops, Jerry and three of his Special Force’s men stood waiting for instructions from Rolf.

  “Men, we have a kidnapping and exchange to deal with. I expect the enemy will be positioned around the B of A parking lot about six blocks down. Our mission is to surround the area, find these men and neutralize them – silently. Does everyone have a knife?”

  Everyone did except for agent Brown.

  Rolf handed out several sets of the zip tie hand cuffs and duct tape. “If you can get close enough to knock these guys out and secure them, do it and tape their mouths. If not, you’ll have to kill them.”

  “Pops, your assignment is to stay in our vehicle with the rifles,” Rolf continued. “We can’t be seen walking down the street with rifles. When I give you the signal; park down the street from the B of A parking lot. When you see Bill go by, drive to the lot across the street. There is an ATM there. Get out and look like you are using it. When you see the van pull up, get back in the car and look like you are going through some papers but keep your rifle close. Don’t shoot unless it’s absolutely necessary. If the van gets away we will need the car to chase the van.”

  “Here Agent Brown; Pops said, since I won’t need my knife, you take it. It has served me well over the years and good luck!”

  “You three men need to leave right away. I’ll call you number one, you number two and you number three,” as Rolf pointed to the three military men except Jerry. “Go with Pops. He will drive you the long way aroun
d the area and drop you, number one, about four blocks past the parking lot to the east and you, number two, on the south side. Number three, you will approach from the north side. Jerry, Agent Brown and I will leave from here.”

  “As you work your way up to the Bank, do not let yourself be seen from the street. Watch for any enclosed vehicle like a van. It could be the one that has Joanna. Do not approach the vehicle and don’t let any occupants see you.”

  “Remember men,” Rolf added, “these people will not hesitate to kill you. They will be hiding behind a building or some other obstacle within site of the exchange point. There could be as few as two or as many as ten so do not let your guard down. You’ve all been trained for this type of operation so let’s go do it!” Rolf roared.

  Pops left with the three men, dropped them off in the designated locations and parked his car. Rolf, Jerry and Agent Brown closed in from the other side.

  “Brown, you go across the street.” Rolf ordered. “Stay behind the buildings and move forward and sweep that area until you are across the street from the parking lot. I’ll stay on this side of the street and work my way down toward the lot. Jerry, give us a three minute head start and follow us for back up.”

  When Rolf got near the edge of the lot, he spotted one of the attackers. He was hiding behind a dumpster at the edge of the area. His back was to a block wall that separated the parking lot from a residence on the other side. He had a short rifle in his hands.

  Rolf decided there was too much open space to go directly at the man so he backed up about 50 meters where he was able to scale the block wall without being seen. Almost silently, he jumped over the walls and fences that separated each house. He then got to the other side of the block wall behind the dumpster when he heard the man’s cell phone go off.

  “Yes” the man answered. “Yes we are all in position, spread out like you said. OK, Frederico, I understand, Myers saw the kid leave his house about twenty minutes ago and he should be here on time in about ten minutes. Like I said, we are ready so wait about two minutes after you see him pull in the lot and then come in.”

  Rolf decided he could wait no longer so he silently scaled the wall, jumped down on the man and hit him on the head with the butt of his gun. The man collapsed and Rolf secured him with the hand and foot cuffs and taped his mouth.

  Out of nowhere, another armed man who had seen his partner go down, had his gun leveled at Rolf. In an instant, Jerry jumped from behind a building, plunged a knife between the man’s ribs and covered the man’s mouth so he couldn’t scream. Jerry dragged the limp body out of site behind another building. Rolf gave Jerry a thank you nod.

  Rolf looked across the street to the east and saw the man he named Number One. He jabbed his pointed index finger backwards twice and crossed his wrists to indicate that he had secured another assailant.

  Across the street, Agent Brown advanced from building to building in a small strip mall. As he came around a corner, there was another gunman who turned around quickly and leveled his rifle at Brown.

  Bang! and a gun discharged. It was Brown’s and the man fell. “Damn it” Brown whispered. I’ve probably notified every other attacker in the area, he thought. He stepped over the man’s body and carefully advanced again.

  Brown turned past the next building he was directly across the street from the parking lot. As he looked up, he saw Bill drive by in his Saturn.

  Bill turned into the parking lot of the Bank of America and pulled into one of the marked spaces away from the Bank building. Within two minutes a van followed him in.

  The door to the van slid opened and Joanna was inside.

  “Are you OK sis?” Bill called.

  “Yes Bill but I’m really scared,” she answered.

  The kidnapper poked Joanna hard in the back with the barrel of his rifle indicating that it was time to get out.

  “Don’t forget there are lots of guns pointed at your head and your brother’s too. Don’t do anything stupid or you and your brother will die!” The kidnapper said menacingly.

  Joanna stepped out of the van and started to slowly walk toward Bill’s car. Making sure he didn’t make any sudden movements, Bill walked carefully toward the van with his hands up. When Bill and Joanna arrived side by side, a rock hit the windshield of the van causing heads to turn, distracting the kidnappers. Bill grabbed Joanna. They ran back behind the Saturn and Bill pulled her down. A barrage of quick shots from an automatic rifle slammed into the car. None hit Bill or Joanna. Immediately a huge hail of bullets slammed into the van from all directions. At least one bullet hit the gas tank and the van exploded into a ball of fire. The two kidnappers never made it out.

  Rolf ran up and waved to Pops to bring the vehicle over.

  Pops drove over and when he got out he said excitedly, “You know I saw another van parked three blocks over when I drove by to drop the guys off. I think there were people inside.”

  “I’ll bet that’s the escape vehicle.” Rolf said. “They drive around the corner put Bill and the other bad guys in the other van. They all escape in a vehicle that no one is looking for. I’ll bet it wasn’t white like this van.”

  “No it was red. That’s why I didn’t think anything about it at the time”. Pops commented.

  We started to hear sirens off in the distance.

  “We’ve got to go check out that other van,” Rolf said. “Jerry and number one come with me. Bill, you Joanna, Pops and Agent Brown meet the cops and tell them what happened. Number two and three, go get the hostiles that are still alive and bring them here and make sure they don’t escape. Agent Brown, get your people here too. They are aware of the situation and they can keep the police from making a complicated situation worse.”

  We will call you if we make contact with other kidnappers. We may need the help of the FBI. After it’s all over, call Stella for a ride. Your vehicle is beyond repair Bill.”

  “And good riddance,” Jerry yelled as he jumped into the car with Rolf.

  Soon one Police vehicle showed up and then another. A minute later a car with two FBI agents arrived. Agent Brown convinced the Police that this was an FBI matter.

  My cell phone rang and it was Jerry.

  “Bill, let me talk to Agent Brown,” Jerry said.

  Brown took the phone. “Brown, we left the parking lot and found the red van that Pops had mentioned. We parked about a block behind them and they just moved out. They have just turned the corner and are moving your way. Once they see all the commotion there, they will probably leave the area but you never know. They could start shooting so take cover. And if you have a free car, maybe some of your guys can help us chase them.”

  Agent Brown looked up and saw the red van moving slowly up the street toward them.

  “Everybody take cover!” Brown screamed.

  We think whoever’s in that red van is the enemy. We have no idea if they are planning anything but get ready now!”

  When the red van got about a half block from the corner, heading toward the Bank of America building, it accelerated rapidly. With squealing tires the driver turned right exposing the left side of the van with four rifle gun barrels sticking out. As they raced by, all four automatic rifles opened up on the people in the parking lot. A barrage of bouncing bullets ricocheted off the pavement buildings and cars. The two Green Berets and one policeman fired back with their side arms and Pops shot back with one of his rifles. The red van barreled up the boulevard with Rolf, Jerry and number one in hot pursuit. Both police vehicles ended up with at least one flat tire and couldn’t assist in the chase.

  “Anybody hurt?” Agent Brown yelled.

  “I’m hit” someone called out. It was one of the policemen. Jerry’s two men quickly looked for any more casualties and found an FBI agent down. He was unconscious and bleeding profusely. Number two bent down and tried to slow the bleeding as he yelled for anyone to call another ambulance.

  As the chaos had subsided, one of the police officers on the scene called in
a description of the van.

  My cell phone rang again and it was Jerry. “Bill, were any of our people hit when the van went by?”

  “Two Jerry, an FBI Agent and a policeman,” I answered.

  “We are pursuing the red van but it looks like we are going to lose them.” Jerry said. “We’ve already had two near accidents and had to run one red light but we are still falling behind. The license number is 4GHL 149. Have the police or the FBI put out an alert on this vehicle and obviously make sure they approach it with extreme caution if they find it. One more thing, Rolf told me that just before he put a large lump on the head of one of the bad guys, he was talking on his cell phone. The conversation sounded like you were seen by a man named Myers when you left your house. You’d better have someone do a sweep around Pop’s property too.”

  “OK, Jerry;” I agreed. “I’ll let everybody know and you be careful too. Call me if anything changes and I’ll do the same.”

  I met with the FBI and local police on the scene, gave them the license number, approximate location and told them to put out an APB on the van. I also gave the FBI the other information. They called their people at the house and relayed the information. My cell phone rang again and this time it was Stella.

  “Stella, how are things going at your end of the war zone?” I questioned.

  “The clean-up crews are still doing their thing and searching for clues. They will be here for quite a while. Rolf called and thank God you and Joanna are alright. I was so worried.”

  “Did you get the information that there is still a spy around the house?” I asked.

  “Yes, I heard some of the FBI guys talking about it. They sent the men they could spare to look around. He’s probably left the area now that he found out the transfer wasn’t successful.” Stella added.