Sara looked at John and nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
They walked back and Sara looked at Smothers. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Smothers nodded. “I didn’t want to bring out the big guns until you made up your mind. I wanted your decision to be yours alone. But I need to tell you that your father died a year ago. Automobile accident. But I have here,” he pointed to someone and waved his hand, “the rest of your family.”
Out of the restaurant came two more gentlemen in suits, escorting two women, one older, one younger.
“Mom, Carrie!” Sara shouted their names and ran over, tears already starting to run down her face, as she and her mother and sister hugged and cried.
Smothers turned to John. “John, you and your friends are quite resourceful. I want to thank you for this. I know this was not the plan, but for us it is very fruitful. I got two bad agents out of the FBI, I have another witness against Berenson and Montoya, and I reunited a family.”
“Thank you for reuniting Sara, or Linda, with her family. Is this the only time she’ll get to see them?” John was aware of the restrictions of witness protection.
“Well, in this case, the Marshal’s service tells me that that may not be necessary. They have captured all the folks associated with Montoya and many others. There should be nobody left to threaten the Conners. They can return home, but the Marshals will watch out for them for the foreseeable future.”
“And Berenson?”
“Well, I want to talk to you about him. We have cut him off from most of his network, and we believe he is now hiding on the French side of St. Martin. He has a large place there, which appears to be vacant, but a couple of his bosom buddies live down the street and people are living there. We haven’t been able to see him yet, but our intel leads us to believe he’s there. St. Martin is very friendly with us, and they have surveilled the place, but could not see him. I think he’s hiding out there until he can arrange to get out of there.”
“Okay. So what?”
“So,” there was a long pause, “I wanted to discuss using your agency to see if he’s there. We have no jurisdiction, and the local authorities can’t continue to sit on those houses to watch for him. Also, I know you have a vested interest in bringing him in. We would provide plenty of assistance.”
John stared at him. Since Berenson had escaped from Canada, John had been paying close attention to the news about him, and Yvonne was searching every day for some slip-up with some sort of monetary transaction. He wanted that man to pay. He had been willing to let the authorities handle it, but Berenson had escaped them. But was this a good idea? He wasn’t sure that seeing the man in person was a good idea, since he might just kill him this time.
Smothers could see him thinking, so he let it go for a while. Then he said, “I’ve got to go and get these other agents an offer so that we can get them to testify, too. Just let me know.” He waited a couple of beats to see if John would answer. When he didn’t, Smothers nodded and turned and walked away.
John went in and met Marty and George, who were at a table eating breakfast. Marty looked up and, with a mouthful of omelet said, “No breakfast before we left. Hungry.”
John joined them and passed along Smother’s offer.
George stopped eating. “I’m in. I want to get that dirtbag.”
Marty looked a little more circumspect. “I’ll have to check with Alison before I go galivanting off outside the country on a mission like that.”
“Not a problem. This is definitely voluntary only. I’ll call Craig to discuss it later.” While he was talking John managed to flag down their waiter and order his own omelet.
—————- Thursday, March 9, 2023, Seattle, WA ———–
It took them two days to return to Seattle. They were exhausted by the time they got back late on Thursday. Yvonne, who was waiting after hearing about the offer to get Berenson, met John at the door.
“Well? Did you think about it anymore?” She seemed to have too much energy and was a little hyped up.
John grinned. “I’m fine. How are you? Good to see you.”
Yvonne took a deep breath and smiled. “Sorry. I’m fine.” She stepped up and gave him a hug. “It’s really good to have you back.” She stepped back.
John moved into the apartment with the gear he had taken and went to the couch. It was only 7pm, but it felt later. “I don’t know if we should do it. After what he did to me,” he waved his hand toward her, “and us, then escaped from custody, I cannot guarantee that I won’t put a bullet into his fucking head at first chance.”
Yvonne sat next to him. He thought she was going to talk him out of it, but instead she said, “And that would be a bad thing?”
John laughed. “No, it wouldn’t. But I want to discuss it with everyone who might want to go so that we come to a consensus. We also have to discuss our method of entry and extraction. We will not be going in there unarmed and without a lot of very special gear.”
“Okay. I get it. Just so you know, I invited everyone over here tomorrow to discuss it. Oh, and you will have to cook some burgers.”
John looked down at her. “Have I told you how annoying you can be sometimes?”
“No. But, you have told me I’m really good in bed. Want me to prove it?” She stood and started walking toward the bedroom. She was taking off her clothes, not waiting for an answer.
John grinned and followed.