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The following Monday, Lou Washington and his two new recruits, Warren Carter and Ted Levin, were in Lou’s two-year-old Chrysler van on Route 7 west from Tysons Corner to get their first view of Conrad Conner’s house and maybe the man himself, if they were lucky. Both Warren and Ted had been part of Lou’s surveillance team before he retired from the FBI. All three of them were in their sixties, in good health, and active. Like Lou, Ted and Warren were bored with retirement after the first six months. They kept waiting for it to get better and it never did. When Lou called with a job offer, they jumped at the chance, even before he told them they could make $250,000 per year with all expenses and good benefits. When Ted asked who they would have to kill, Lou smiled and said, “No one, but it can get rough. I took a lucky shot in my chest last year and almost lost a lung. My pay never changed and all bills, medical, and otherwise were paid. So I’m still working for the same guy, a Marine recon sniper and ex-homicide cop in Pittsburgh who has more money than you can believe. Lear jet, fantastic house, beautiful wife who is ex-CIA and very lethal. Everything is first class. Including the people who work for him. The rules are simple. Follow orders, keep your mouth shut, and keep no records. There are no second chances. Nothing bad. Just you’re fired. It’s all volunteer. Anyone can refuse any assignment with nothing said.”

“I like the sound of it but why is he doing this?” Warren asked.

“The quick answer is because he can. He’s a super patriot. Believes that in certain circumstances America is in danger because the current application of the law and order approach is too little, too late when it comes to terrorism, drug running, and human trafficking. He believes, and so do I, in many of these cases the bad guys shouldn’t have and don’t deserve the rights reserved for U.S. citizens. Also, his father was killed in his home by a team of well-armed men who were never identified. Jack believes they were terrorists seeking revenge on his father. That’s all I know.”

“Yeah. Good answer. I like being a good guy. It’s a habit I picked up. I always hated seeing the bad guys walk on some technicality. So I’m in and happy for the opportunity.”

“Goes for me too,” Ted added. “Thanks.”

“Okay. Let’s go to work.”

Warren turned to look out the window. “My wife loves Leesburg and was always dragging me out here to shop, search for antiques, and even to check out some real estate,” he said. “Great place to live but I couldn’t deal with the commute. According to our directions, this guy Conrad lives next to the Leesburg Shopping Center in one of those cookie cutter developments. Take the Route 15 Bypass north and pull into the shopping center on the far northern edge. We can get some coffee and then drive into the entrance of his subdivision, which is the first road after we pull out. He drives a green Chevy pickup truck and I see some kind soul has hacked the DMV to get the plate. So coffee, a bag of doughnuts, and we’re on our way. Feels good.”

Pausing at the stop sign at the exit to the mall, Ted said, “Look! That green pickup coming out of the development could be our guy?”

“Right on!” Warren said, checking the plate numbers. “The plate matches. He’s turning north.”

Lou couldn’t believe their luck. “What a stroke of luck! Maybe we’re just good. I’ll give him a big head start. He may be checking his six.”

Lou kept four or five cars between them and the pickup all the way up Route 15 to Route 70 where the pickup turned east. “It looks like we may be in for a long ride. Ted, pass me one of those doughnuts. Good thing I’ve a full tank.”

“You know if this guy goes north on Route 95 he could be going to see his buddy in Atlantic City,” Ted put in.

“It’s possible,” Lou responded. “Atlantic City is at least another three and a half or four hours. I’d better check in.” He took out his phone and speed-dialed Jack.

Jack answered quickly. “Lou, do you have anything?”

“Maybe. We’re following Conrad, or more correctly, his truck. Haven’t gotten a good look at the driver yet. We’re speculating he’s going to a meeting with his buddy Dom. If so, I believe we should follow Dom. Agree?”

“Yes, if he’s meeting Dom, it may mean that my friend, Jim Marshall, decided he had to warn his buddies. If so, both of them will be spooky. Better to lose them than be spotted. If you do manage to follow Dom, stay with him. I’ll come up with some help and bring some gear with me. I’ll get it ready now in case you call. Do you have enough cash?”

“We’re okay. He’s going north on Route 95. We may be in luck. Call you later.”

The next morning, Jack, wearing his hapkido uniform and black belt, addressed his students. “Today I’m going to introduce you to the art of fighting two people at once. Seldom will you have the ease of fighting one person at a time. We’ll practice a two-on-one attack. Don’t be misled by my statement about fighting two people at once. That’s not strictly true. What happens in a two-on-one fight is, you fight one at time, but the time space between your moves is so close that it appears to an observer that you are fighting two at one time. You can’t, except in rare or lucky circumstances, be able to attack two or more people at once. Yet your moves have to flow from one attack to another without a pause. You must always focus on the first move while you are setting up the second attack or third attack. For now we’ll keep the moves basic and slow down the action.

“First, the footwork. By now, you know that while the movement of the arms and upper body seem to the novice to be the most important and hardest to learn, it’s is really the footwork that’s critical, especially in fighting more than one opponent. We are going to practice at first as if our opponents are not trained fighters. Which is mostly a reality.”

Jack placed Kathy in front of him to his right and Kelly in front to his left. “This is a traditional approach when fighting two people. In this scenario, my objective is to attack Kathy, seizing her arm or shoulder and pivoting to my left to throw her in front of Kelly. If they both go down, I can either get away or move in and disable one of them, taking whatever opening I’m given. The basic approach is to reduce two attackers in two attack lines to one and go from there.”

For the rest of the morning, the two-on-one drill went on getting faster and faster until Kelly and Sally had a few simple moves down well enough for Jack to say, “Okay! Enough. Lesson is over for the day. Practice. We’ll fit another one in soon.”

Kathy met them at Dulles Airport in the Ford Flex she had rented. Shadow and Gideon were in the back. Kathy let them out to greet Jack and Kelly. She knew Gideon wouldn’t run off as long as Shadow and his human pack were there. Shadow ran up to Jack and stood on his hind legs. He knew not to jump on people. Jack stepped forward and hugged him while Shadow licked his ear. Kelly made a fuss over Gideon. Kathy said, “Lover, save something for me.” Jack gathered her in his arms. “The next time you go anywhere, I’m coming. I’m not good at this stay behind and worry stuff. And Kelly thanks for bringing him back.”

“It was more like him bringing me back.”

Kathy spun back to Jack and said, “Did anyone get killed?”

“The sniper and we didn’t do it,” Jack said defensively. “Kelly was dragging him to his feet when he was shot in the back. We didn’t fire a shot. What we both need now is a hot bath and something to eat besides trail mix or store-bought sandwiches on an airplane.”

“Get in the Flex. I can fix both of those problems. Storm and Lou are residing with us. They are a great example of a father and daughter sharing the same values and belief system. Storm runs the family. In fact she runs anything she touches. She has a rare sense of always knowing what to do. Her exceptional beauty with her Jamaican ancestral heritage helps her carry off her in-your-face presence when her blood is up. I have to watch she doesn’t cross Mrs. Minh.”

Jack laughed and asked, “How is Sally doing?”

“Sally is getting into her training program. She is good at hapkido. I went to practice yesterday and was impressed. You will be swamped with questions about the ins and outs and tradeoffs of the units you want set up. I told them beyond keeping it simple I wasn’t going to guess what you were thinking about.”

It was dark when Kathy pulled into the garage of the Brandon house. It was late but the Minhs had held dinner and all were seated around the dining room table. Turkish yogurt soup was the first course followed by an Indonesian curry and rice with several condiments. Dessert was fresh lychees served with strong dark Sumatran roast coffee. Over coffee Jack brought everyone up to date on the episode in Montana and the next phase to destroy the mob-run human trafficking activity.

“We can’t stop the crime of human trafficking but we can put this part of it out of business. Lou, the first action is for you.”

Jack went on to detail what he wanted. He asked Lou to survey Conrad Connors and Dom Salvatori, starting with Conrad, for just enough time to verify Jim’s story about where he lived, phone numbers, car plates, and movement patterns with photos. The next step involved the same kind of surveillance on Dom in Atlantic City. The surveillance on Dom would have to be done very carefully. “As a member of a New Jersey mob he will be aware of his surroundings and conscious of anyone following him,” Jack cautioned. “The intent is to gather enough information on Dom, to again verify Jim’s account, and to learn enough about his movements, associates, and living arrangements so we have the option of picking him up for questioning.”

Storm said, “What kind of analytic unit do you want?”

Jack said, “Small, responsive, and very smart. Almost no paper products. A number of briefings as needed by Lou, Kathy, or me. Kelly, if you or Sally need analytic support ask one of us. Storm, hire as many people as you need. There is no time for on-the-job training. They should have some experience in operational analysis and planning. Hackers are good. I do not want ‘think pieces’ or unasked for reports. Do not hire any analysts that think they know more than you. I’ve seen and used your work. You are very good. No analysts whose egos exceed their abilities. Kathy will give you the pay scale and benefits. There will be no leaking of information to anyone and no discussing of work outside our group. No second chances. All must agree to polygraph-supported interviews at any time. Surveillants and analysts will not be brought to this house or given this address. Use your cells for all calls. Have any and all bills sent to a P.O. Box. Lease or buy secure office space as soon as possible. Kathy will approve all office rentals or buys. Lou, make sure all your people have private investigator licenses and concealed carry permits. If they don’t have them now, get them started on the process. Use hotel conference facilities until you get into your own spaces. Lou and Storm, it would be good if you could have separate spaces in the same building. Include enough space for a small team of lawyers. If you have any recommendations for a lawyer you know personally, please tell Kathy. We’ll meet here at dinnertime for a couple of days until you have office space. The office space will be leased or subleased to you personally. We start tomorrow.”

Storm and Lou left to go to their rooms and start working on their plans. Kelly and Sally stayed behind. Kelly asked, “What about us?”

Jack answered, “Kelly, your role is cast. You can change it, but you’re very good at the hard stuff. Sally, continue with your training but at a less intensive pace. We need you to organize and run a comprehensive legal team, including real estate acquisitions. Kathy and I want to establish a trust fund to finance educations for people who are college material but need financial help. Kathy will go over the details with you. Remember these assignments all depend on your acceptance. And nothing is forever. Both of you will also be asked to work as a team with Lou’s people once in a while and more often with Kathy and me. You always have the right to refuse an assignment. No questions asked. If you have bad feelings about the operation or can’t support it fully, just opt out.

“Kathy and I will be your teachers for now. Kelly is proficient now with long-range shooting. She needs more work on short-distance reaction shooting with multiple targets. Sally, you need both. You will always be in some training phase. Kathy and I put ourselves through training exercises several times a year. We can all make improvements.

“Physical conditioning is a constant struggle for improvement. We’ll include training in the development of cover stories, the use of alias documentation, interrogation, and use of disguises. Doing what we do is very much like role playing on stage. You have to get into the part. If you don’t believe in your cover, you won’t fool anyone. We want the two of you to work as a team to take over for Kathy and me at times. Tomorrow morning a couple of hours after breakfast the four of us will work out in our Dojang. I want to see how the hapkido is coming along. Kelly, you’ll work with me. Sally will be with Kathy. So get a good night’s sleep.”

Jack explained the situation to Jim while he was cleaning up the areas he touched inside the cabin. Jim blanched when Jack told him that at the first sign Jim had contacted Conrad or Dom or anyone else, Jack would send his handwritten, dated, and signed statement to Dom and his boss. The same thing would happen if Bobby talked to anyone, including the law. If he kept his mouth shut, he would receive $10,000 per month, ostensibly for a share in his business. Jack told him he expected him to pay taxes on the money as a capital gain on the investment in his shooting camp.

When Kelly came in the cabin, Jack said, “I’ve told him the situation. Now Jim you should know that your walking is a close call. Kelly wanted to kill you now. The slightest reason we have to think you betrayed our trust, Kelly or someone like her will come to Montana to kill you and Bobby. You will never even see them. It will just be over. Understand?”

Jim nodded. Jack said, “I didn’t hear anything. Kelly, maybe we should talk some more about his cooperation?”

“Why talk? You know what I want to do with him.”

Kelly had her SOCOM out and wracked a round into the chamber. Jack said, “No! No! Don’t shoot him in here.”

Jim’s face was dripping sweat and he was trying to talk. Jack said, “Come on Jim, get it out.”

Jim said, “I’ll cooperate. You won’t have any trouble with me or Bobby.”

“One last point. Why did you tell me you might know the suspect in the artist sketch I sent you?”

“When I saw the sketch, it was so accurate, I knew someone would identify Jake. Then the investigation would eventually get to me. Conrad said I had no choice. I had to tell you and find out what the police knew. Jake was expendable. Always was. When you left, Jake would disappear and we would find another shooter.”

Jack said, “Kelly, let him live?”

Kelly said, “Okay. But no more casual responses. You’re in or you’re dead. I like dead better.”

It was starting to rain when they left. By the time they reached Jim’s Jeep, the rain was coming hard. Kelly drove them back to the camp and after a cup of coffee and a short good-bye to Jim, Bobby drove them to the airport. Bobby was sensitive enough to know something was going on but asked no questions. The plane was ready and they got a lucky break in the rain and cloud cover and were cleared for takeoff.

“There were three of us in Vietnam that were really close. All of us were sergeants. In the 82nd Airborne. We DEROSED about the same time and agreed to meet in Washington, D.C., on the first of May 1970. The peace demonstrations were everywhere. We were all bitter. None of us had much chance of getting decent work. We tried to think up something we could do together to make some money. We didn’t know much except military life and killing. Nothing came of it and we separated, promising to stay in touch.”

“This story better get interesting soon.”

“It will but I want you to understand.”

“Just hurry up!”

“A few years went by and Conrad Connor., the youngest of the three of us, called me and said he needed help and asked me to come right away. He said there would be enough money in it to pay my expenses with plenty left over. He knew I would drive and asked me to bring a couple of my rifles so we could do some shooting on a nearby range.

“I made my way to Conrad’s small farm house in Round Hill, Virginia. Just north of Leesburg on Route 15. He was renting the house and barely had enough money to buy groceries. We had a few drinks, catching up, and bringing back old times. Finally I asked him why he wanted me to come. He said Dom called him a few days back. Dom Salvatori was the third person of our group. Dom had family connections on a low level to gambling in Atlantic City. Dom offered Conrad $25,000 for taking out a guy the Atlantic City mob wanted to disappear. Nothing fancy, just kill him. Dom also said Conrad could contact me. If we did this job well there would be more work. Conrad and I talked it over for less than an hour and agreed it was no different than killing for the Army. We were still bitter at the government and the people in general. They sent us to Vietnam and let us dangle out there and didn’t care squat about helping us when we came home.

“We did two or three hits a year for Dom and his friends. The pay got better. Our lives improved. I bought my shooting camp with mob money. They thought it was excellent cover for us and we could do some spotting of other good shooters who needed money. We never knew much about our targets. Just a picture, an address, and some information about where they hung out. A year ago they asked me to recommend a shooter with no criminal background who was young and naive. The guy had to be responsible, follow instructions, and ask no questions. They didn’t want Conrad or me because the shooter they wanted would be expendable. After a period he would disappear and another similar shooter would pick up the business. We did not know about the kidnapping. You shook me when you told me about the young women being snatched. That’s all I know.”

“Kelly, see if you can find a tablet. Jim is going to write out his statement.”

“What are you going to do with my statement?”

“Keep it in case I let you live. If I even suspect you alert your friends or fail to follow my instructions in any way I’ll kill you and Bobby and leave your statement where it will be found. You should know that there are more of us than just Kelly and me. I’ll need more than you told us before I let you go back to your camp. So far you’re still a dead man. A warning: I’m going to untie your right hand, the other hand will be tied to the chair. Don’t even think about making a move. I will not be taking my eyes off you.”

“What else do you want?”

“We’ll need phone numbers, photos, or very good descriptions, personality data on Conrad and Dom, and a history of past kills.”

Kelly found a yellow pad and pen and handed them to Jack, using a paper towel to avoid putting her prints or Jack’s on the pad. As Jim wrote out his statement, Jack pulled her to the side and asked her for her thoughts on what to do with Jim, keeping his eyes on the big man.

“Kill him. It is too dangerous to let him live. I don’t trust him after he tried to kill us.”

“Hear that, Jim? Your information has to make her change her mind, otherwise it will look like you and Jake got into a fight and killed each other. Kelly has Jake’s rifle and you conveniently shot Jake with your rifle. Case closed. So you had better be convincing.

“Kelly, his cell is beside the sink. Go through it and see what you can find.”

When Jim finished writing his statement plus the information Jack wanted, Jack passed it over to Kelly to check what she could against data contained in the cell phone. Jack retied Jim’s right hand and motioned to Kelly to step outside. When she followed him out he said, “Anything in the cell’s memory that checks with his written information?”

“Yes, the names of his friends match, as do their phone numbers. His photo library is almost full. Very few captions or dates. Hard to make sense of them. No audio recordings. A list of recent calls and favorites. No music or videos and a few bookmarks of gun and outdoor sellers. Doesn’t look as if he does much searching on the Internet. Nothing on his cell relates to their hits over the years. Guess he was smart enough not to record any of them. Bottom line, alive, he’s a walking time bomb with our names on it.”

“If we kill him, I believe we could leave a plausible crime scene scenario but Bobby and others at the camp saw us with him and she knows we were going to see Jake carrying weapons. I’m not so tough that I could kill her in cold blood and I don’t want you to get there. So, if he dies, he is still a problem to us. If we let him live there is at least a chance he will not alert his fellow thugs. I’m thinking the same thing you are. This guy has killed several innocent people and counting up the ones Jake killed, the number gets into the twenties or higher.

“I like a combination of carrot and stick. Stick first. If he talks we send his statement to his mob friends. They will do the rest. Sending to the law enforcement types is a waste of time. The way the statement was obtained rules out its use in court. Every month we have no reason to believe he has double-crossed us, I’ll deposit $10,000 in his account. I don’t expect payments to go on for more than two or three months. I don’t think this guy believes he did anything wrong. He never even said he regretted trying to kill us. Whatever happens to him won’t keep me awake.”

Kelly said, “Something needs to happen to him. Let’s turn him over to Kathy.”

“What, you have no mercy?”

“Scum like Jim don’t deserve any mercy.”

“We have two choices. One is to move up the chain by grabbing Conrad or Dom. The other is to make Jim call Conrad and set up a meeting. I like the option of grabbing Dom the best. Conrad is just another Jim, a hired killer. Agree?”

“Yes, but only because killing Jim could cause complications for us. He doesn’t deserve to walk.”

“Jim’s days are numbered. The mob will figure out who fingered them and do their thing about cleaning up loose ends.”

“Who was the voice that called Jake to give him his schedule?”

“It had to be Dom Salvatori. Conrad and Jim are just hired help. Now we need to wipe the cabin clean of our prints without removing Jake’s. It’s okay if we miss some Jim left here. I removed the nylon line from Jake’s wrists before he died. I’ll check his wrists for marks. There will be none on his legs. There is a rainstorm coming soon. It’s clouding up now. Even a small rain will take away our tracks on the way in here. But the trail up to his body from the cabin will need checking. You check the path you and Jake used. I’ll clean up my marks at Jim’s ambush site. I’m tempted to leave any tracks or marks he made there for an especially sharp sheriff to find, but it is not good for us to have the cops question Jim. He’ll cave in a heartbeat. Meet me in the cabin when you’re done. Make sure Jake’s rifle and its position look like he was going up the slope when he was shot in the back. Jim’s car is probably on the fire road. When we leave, you drive and I’ll watch him. Once back at the camp our story will be that Jake wasn’t there. I’ll say we might try again next month. Jim can make sure Bobby doesn’t talk about us going to get Jake. Okay? Let’s get started.”