Pyro started to laugh
‘What exactly do you find so funny?’ barked the Chief.
Not answering him directly, Pyro shook his head and in a low voice said ‘Aaron, Aaron, Aaron. You crazy fool.’
The words were spoken over a large smile. No hint of sarcasm but a large amount of admiration. Leon realised this immediately, walked past the Chief and stood up in front of Pyro.
Looking directly into his face Leon asked, ‘What else do you know?’
‘I know everything and nothing all at the same time.’ He replied.
Turning to face Chief Edwards Pyro said, ‘You wanna know why I left? The Desert Lion’s whole being is wrong. We were never working in the interests of America. We carried out missions to increase Camistock’s grip on the world. I know they only kept me alive for their own sick reasons. Every day I woke up, I wished it would be the day I met my creator. You on the other hand…’ Pyro paused to let out a sly chuckle, and then said ‘You on the other hand sold your soul TO THE DEVIL.’
Chief Edwards did not reply. Just heaved a sigh, gently pushed Pyro out of the way so that he could face Leon straight on,
‘Nate, believe me,’ he said. ‘As a loyal American I used to think Camistock had our best interests at heart. They were the ones who set up NATO, the UN. For Christ sake the words “National Security” was penned by them. But after they…’ The Chief stopped talking halfway through his sentence when someone started to knock on the warehouse door.
The Chief, Leon, Jay and Pyro all turned towards the entrance of the metal building and saw Carter, dressed in the same Black tactical fatigues as the other men.
‘Carter… !’ Jay exclaimed. ‘What’s he doing here?’
The Chief replied, ‘He was with me when Leon’s father called.’
Pointing in Carter’s direction Jay said ‘I don’t trust him Chief.’
‘Who do you trust Dean?’
‘I used to trust you.’ Retorted Jay sarcastically.
‘Well, you better start trusting me again.’ replied Chief Edwards.
By this time Carter was within five feet from where they were all standing.
‘Chief, I don’t want to rush you…’ Carter said politely. ‘But if we want to keep this on file as an O.T.O (Official Training Operation), we really need to get out of here and have the guys get back to base.’
The Chief did not reply verbally but fulfilled Carter’s request by taking hold of Pyro’s arm and leading him towards the warehouse door.
‘Chief, wait.’ Jay called. ‘So what happens now?’
The chief stopped walking, turned around and said ‘We stick to the mission as planned.’
‘What!’ Leon exclaimed. ‘After everything you’ve just said. You can’t be serious?’
‘As serious as a heart-attack…’ he replied dryly.
‘Fuck you Chief! You can’t expect us to continue with this.’
Chief Edwards cut him off, ‘Look… If you don’t go to New-York, Black will contact H.Q, which will then send alarm bells all the way up to the Board. Trust me, we can’t afford that, none of us can…’
Giving Pyro a slight shove in the back he then said, ‘Not even you. So come on. We need to get you two patched up and off to New-York in just a few hours.’
Without saying another word the Chief turned back towards the door leading Pyro outside.
Carter followed behind with what Leon noticed to be an uncontrollable smile creeping across his face. He wanted to say something but he was just too tired.
Jay walked over to his partner and rested his hand on his shoulder.
‘This shit seems to be getting deeper and deeper huh?’
Leon nodded his head in agreement.
‘So what you wanna do dawg?’
Leon pondered the question for a moment then said ‘The old man saved my life. Our lives. If he didn’t call the chief when he did we would not be here right now. I need to meet him. I need to know everything.’
With that Leon made a slow 360 degree turn so that he could take in the whole interior of the warehouse. Apart from the two metal chairs he and Jay were tied to and a few other chairs placed intermittently around the covered area was empty. With a long sigh Leon shook his head from side to side.
‘What you thinking?’ asked Jay, standing at a distance.
A few seconds passed before Leon replied ‘I’m not sure. Everything I guess.’
Jay did not want to push Leon for an explanation. He could only imagine what his friend must have been going through. He gave Leon a few more minutes before letting out an exaggerated yawn followed by what could only be described as an exasperated sigh.
‘Are you two coming?’ he asked.
Leon was about to answer but noticed Carter had returned and was standing in the middle of the doorway watching them.
‘What is wrong with that guy?’ mumbled Jay.
Sensing Leon wanted a little space Jay gave Leon a pound of the fist and said ‘I’ll see yah outside.’ Within a few seconds Jay had exited the warehouse, bouncing Carter out of the way, just like he did earlier that day.
CHAPTER 12
Apart from the mumbled voices outside the warehouse, Leon embraced the few moments he had to himself. After taking in a few deep breaths Leon started to go over the events that had just happened and all the new questions that were raised however before his mind could run away with him Kerry’s face appeared in his thoughts. Reaching down to his shoes Leon removed a passport size photograph from inside his right sock. After looking at the face on the picture, he took another deep breath and walked out of the warehouse.
By the time he had entered into the open space outside, all of Pyro’s men including Cinnamon and Chocolate had been loaded up into two black Mercedes Minivan’s. Parked up next to his bullet filled car was a navy blue unmarked Crown Victoria; in which Pyro sat in the back seat looking very uncomfortable with his hands still cuffed behind his back. Jay was also in the back - behind the passenger seat, slowly rubbing his head with a dazed look on his face. As for the Chief, he was sitting in the driver’s seat looking very impatient.
‘Leon!’ He shouted. ‘We need to get out of here.’
Leon took his few remaining strides a little quicker and got into the front passenger seat. Once inside he turned in his chair and looked back over at Pyro. Without saying a word he leaned through the space between the passenger and driver’s seat and placed the photograph he was holding onto Pyro’s lap, - facing up. Pyro looked down at the picture in silence. It was clear to both Leon and Jay he did not realise who it was at first, but after a few moments something about the persons face kicked his memory into gear causing him to blurt out, ‘Is that my little girl?’
Leon nodded.
‘Is she in Miami?’
Leon nodded again.
‘You bastard!’ Pyro shouted.
Everyone in the car knew who he was referring too. But no one answered, not even the person the statement was addressed. The Chief put the Crown Victoria in drive, locked the steering-wheel to the right and stepped on the gas. As they exited through the electrical gate Pyro kicked the back of the driver’s seat and spat into the back of the Chief’s head.
‘You told me she was dead, you piece of shit… !’ He shouted. ‘. . . Why would you do that?’
‘It was my job.’ replied Chief Edwards, wiping the saliva from his hair.
Leon was in shock. His mouth fell open but nothing came out.
‘Your JOB… ?’ questioned Pyro. ‘. . . That’s my daughter!’
‘You think I don’t know that?’ replied the Chief, ‘I’ve regretted it for the last twenty something years. But what did you expect. You knew the risks.’
Pyro did not respond and the car fell silent. Jay picked up the photo that had n
ow fallen off Pyro’s leg onto the seat and handed it back to Leon. Without turning around Leon said, ‘Kerry is fine. She’s a nurse at Florida Memorial hospital…’
Pyro cut in, ‘She’s fine huh… ? And you know this how?’
Everyone except for Pyro was hoping Leon would lie but instead he said ‘We live together.’
Surprisingly Pyro did not respond and so once again the car fell silent.
They drove that way for another ten minutes with the two Mercedes Mini Vans still following behind. Leon looked at the time on the dash and it read 4:57 am. He was about to ask the Chief a question but Jay beat him to it.
‘So Chief… ?’
‘What?’ replied Chief Edwards wearily.
‘I have some questions?’
The Chief knew what was coming. So with a sigh and a slight heave of the chest he replied, ‘Please… Not now Dean. Look, I will have all the answers for all your questions but for right now we all need to concentrate on the situation at hand…’
Pyro interrupted the chief by stifling a chuckle. ‘And what would that be my friend?’ he said.
‘Well first…’ The chief paused for a moment and then said ‘We’re going to have to get you out of sight. As far as anyone else is concerned you have been captured however as of 5' o clock this morning after your attempt to escape you were shot dead.’
Jay Leon and Pyro were all frowning, confused by what the Chief had said but no one took the opportunity to question his statement. A few minutes passed and they took the next exit off the I95-South and slowed the car down to almost a crawl. The first of the two black mini vans following behind them flashed its lights and passed on by with the second Mini Van - which had Carter at wheel, - following close behind. Once both vehicles reached the junction they individually turned left and headed back to H.Q. As soon as they were out of sight, Chief Edwards stepped back on the gas and instead of making the left towards FBI Head-Quarters, turned right and then the immediate left onto 2nd Avenue.
‘Where are we going?’ enquired Leon.
‘We… ?’ Replied Chief Edwards ‘. . . No, no, no. WE won’t be going anywhere. You two are still going to go to New-York like I SAID. I will take care of Pyro.’
Passing on the real question he wanted to ask Jay said, ‘And how will we be getting there?’
‘A private G5 is waiting for you at MIA.’ The Chief replied.
‘Don’t you think we should at least change first?’ responded Jay.
The Chief flashed Jay a disgruntled look in his rear-view mirror and then in a dry tone said ‘Change on the plane.’
The Chief approached a set of traffic lights and started to apply the break. When the car came to a full stop, he looked over at Leon and in a genuine caring tone said ‘You going to be ok?’
Leon raised his head and blankly stared out the front windscreen.
Chief Edwards repeated his question, ‘Nathan, are you going to be ok?’
With his eyes closed Leon replied ‘Do I have a choice?’
Chief Edwards replied ‘Yes’ verbally, but simultaneously shook his head from side to side in way that not only contradicted his words but indicated the negative was the only true answer.
The lights changed back to green and the Chief applied pressure to the gas pedal. When the car had covered the full length of the intersection the Chief continued, ‘. . . I was very surprised to get the call from your father; however I’m glad I did.’
Leon did not reply however the Chief could tell he was interested by the expression on his face. Leon’s raised eyebrow was a dead giveaway.
With a slight smile on his face, the Chief shuffled in his seat a little then said ‘Your father said if I was able to get you out. He has a plan that would help me wake up from this nightmare and get my life back…’ he paused for a moment then said ‘. . . Well, a part of it anyway.’
Leon cleared his throat and sat up straight.
‘What are you trying to say?’ asked Leon.
‘I’m saying I’m taking your father up on his offer. I’m going to be 67 next month, but I got as good a body as any 30 year old and possibly the mind of someone younger.’
Pyro chuckled. He had been surprisingly quiet for some-time but he could not help but laugh at his old friend’s statement.
‘My friend - I think you may be older than you think. You sound senile.’ He said smiling.
Jay laughed, but Leon was silent and serious. He did not think anything was funny. He raised his finger and pointed ahead so as to direct the Chiefs attention to another set of red traffic lights coming up ahead them. Annoyed, the Chief huffed and then reluctantly proceeded to slow down.
‘What else is there? Spit it out Chief…’ urged Leon. ‘. . . the airport isn’t that far away. What’s the plan?’
The Chief brought the car to a calm stop at the lights, took his hands off the steering wheel and clenched them repeatedly. From the back Jay yelled ‘Yeah, foreal! What’s the plan Chief? You’re starting to confuse me. Are we turning rouge or what?’
Once again the Chief refused to answer Jay’s question however he turned in his seat to face Leon and said ‘When we spoke on the phone your father reminded me of something and it made me realise what’s important. I gave up a lot and the Agency still took more and now I want it back.’
From the rear-seat, Jay interrupted with ‘So…’
Directing his answer to Leon the Chief replied, ‘So, the answer is… I’m no longer with the Agency. Or should I say. We are no longer with the agency.’
‘Now that’s what I’m talking about… !’ shouted Jay. ‘. . . Wait. You’re not messing with us are you? You’re being serious?’
Without hesitation Chief Edwards replied, ‘Deadly.’
Looking up at his rear-view mirror the Chief caught Pyro’s reflection staring back at him.
‘Sorry about what happened back there…’ he said. ‘. . . I had to make things look as real as possible.’
Feeling the pain in his arm, Pyro did not reply.
Still looking at his friend’s reflection, the Chief continued ‘Aaron told me I should make it look as real as possible. He said I can’t trust anyone and since Carter was the one who prepared the extraction team I figured I should play the role until we were all together and away from everyone else.’
Pyro was listening but had decided he was not going to speak for now. He wanted his old friend to sweat a little while longer. Despite what had happened earlier, Pyro had a lot of respect for his old comrade. Times had changed for sure. Now he had more money than he could spend. He wore nothing but the best clothes and could afford to do a lot of unsavoury things and get away with it. But the truth of the matter was that he lived a confined life. He knew that if he was not taken out by some other drug Lord, it would only be a matter of time before Camistock felt enough was enough and did the job themselves. Time was against him in a big way. So if anyone could devise a plan to get out from under the grasp of Camistock, he knew it would be Aaron. Pyro could still remember him saying “It’s all about future planning soldiers.” Pyro smiled at the thought. He was definitely on board. So if it took a dislocated arm to make things look real; so be it.
Pyro smirked as he watched Chief Edwards struggle to find the right words to pacify him.
‘Once we drop Leon and Jay off at the airport I’ll have someone take a look at your arm ok.’
Jay thought the Chief sounded almost human however Pyro just shrugged his shoulders and held onto his silence.
‘Look! I know you don’t have any reason to trust me…’ stated the Chief, over his shoulder. ‘. . . but I am sorry. If I could take it all back I would, but I can’t. However we can at least try to get back what they took from us.’
To that Pyro smiled, looked over at Jay and Leon before replying ‘So what’s your pla
n?’
With a sigh of relief Chief Edwards smiled at Pyro’s reflection in the rear-view mirror then said ‘Well it’s not my plan, its Aaron’s.’
Hearing that, Pyro’s smile became more pronounced. He adjusted himself in his seat so as to relieve some of the pressure on his arms and wrists before mumbling ‘That’s more like it.’ And then with an almost reminiscent tone said ‘No one could put a plan together like Aaron.’
Pyro started to laugh. Chief Edwards let out a chuckle and then both of them at the same time said, “You can’t get anywhere without future planning soldiers . . .”
Still smiling, Chief Edwards turned to his right and said ‘Yes sir. That was your father alright. He always had a plan.’
The light finally turned green and they crossed the intersection and made the immediate right onto the slip road that joined the free-way. Pointing to the glove-box in front of Leon the Chief said ‘Take out the black wallet.’
Leon complied and out of the glove-box removed a black leather-bound wallet, one of those binder things, that doubles as a diary and organiser. It was old; Leon could see were the leather had started to stretch and crack. The logo and words printed on the front had almost faded away completely however Leon could just make out the words: “The Desert Lions Code”. The logo was a shield with a single human eye centred at the top and in the middle a lion standing with his feet and tail wrapped round a scroll like a chameleons. The Lions head was facing outward and Leon could see what looked like a pyramid in its mouth.
The unmistakeable ‘shook-look’ took over Leon’s face for a few seconds however that was all the time needed for Jay to notice something was up. So he asked, ‘Dude. What is it?’
Leon did not reply, just stared at the Chief in silence.
‘Yo… What’s good dawg?’ Jay repeated.
Directed at the Chief Leon said ‘Is this shit foreal?’
The Desert Lion's True Colours Page 15