The Librarian- Part 3
This is the end of John Dorne’s/Michael Starne’s odyssey. I apologize again for the time lag, but life sometimes interferes with your hobbies. Mrs. Bear thanks the several people who offered condolences on her sister’s passing. Marion was 82. She had a long, happy life.
This is Mike’s last chance at normalcy. I hope he gets it. I also apologize for the mix-up in the Lovebirds children. It should be three sons and three daughters.
Again, please enjoy.
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Stepping down from the cab, Mike surveyed the surrounding countryside. Rolling hills, pristine forests in the back ground running up to the foothills of the Northern Rockies west slope, and gently undulating fields were spread before him.
“It sure is peaceful,’ thought Michael. ‘Might be a good place to finally get lost in.’
Over the last two to three hours, Penney had been on her cell phone. They had swapped places and she was again back in the sleeper, so Michael couldn’t quite hear the gist of the conversation. She had been on the phone with her oldest son, Hiram Jr., a Highway Patrol Lieutenant, Jethro, #2 son, an Assistant District attorney for Shasta County, and ‘Doctor’ Penelope Sawyer, their daughter, a Nurse Practitioner at the local hospital asking them to come to the house for some counsel. She told them in no uncertain terms to ‘haul their backsides to the house ASAP; Daddy and she needed them and their ‘expertise.’ She had an idea. It would bring to a head the plethora of facts that were festering in her consciousness.
Mike worked his stiff muscles and turned to help Hiram with the cab. He pulled out the garbage bags and the ‘luggage’, such as it was, and drained the small onboard toilet. That had been an eye opener, as he didn’t realize that a sleeper had one, or needed it. He was familiarizing himself with the lay of things when he saw the approaching cars coming towards house. The first one was just large, nondescript looking SUV, a Chevy Tahoe he thought, blue with steel wheels. Nothing fancy.
The second vehicle, however, got his attention. A Ford Explorer, black front and back with white driver’s and passenger’s doors, with the markings of the California Highway Patrol. The brush guard front bumper and the light bar left no doubt. COPS. Actually, CHIPS if he remembered correctly.
SHIT!! he thought. He looked around and quickly estimated his chances of running to the trees on the far side of the lawn. Too late. Now what??
The small caravan pulled up and the Explorer’s driver door opened and a tall, younger version of Hiram stepped out, complete with stetson and boots. He grinned at his mother and swept her up into a warm hug.
“Welcome home, mom,” he grinned. He turned to his father and tipped his hat and extended his hand. The affection exuding to his father was unmistakable.
“Welcome home, dad. How was your trip? Did you behave yourself?,” casting a backwards glance at his mother. Penny blushed down into her cute cleavage, as her two daughters burst out laughing. His father grinned.
“Always, son. But your mother, well……..”
Choruses of ‘EEWWWW’ and gag sounds resounding from the two daughters-in-law and the gathering of grand children echoed around the group, while both sons roared in laughter and Penny continuing to blush even more, if it was possible. She stared at her husband.
“HIRAM LOVEBIRD, that is enough of your ribaldry. Just wait till I get you alone later,” she intoned with mock seriousness. All to a chorus ‘LA, LA, LA, LA’ from daughters and grand children who plugged their ears while her sons laughed even harder, and Hiram grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
#2 son, asst. District Attorney Jethro William Lovebird, stepped up and hugged his mother and kissed her cheek.
“It’s good to see you, mother. I’m glad you didn’t get arrested this time.” He turned to his father and shook his hand. “Thanks for taking care of her, dad, and keeping her ‘out of trouble’.” He was grinning stupidly and chuckling.
‘There a story there, someplace’, thought John.
Hiram was laughing and the beaming affection both sons lavished on their parents was something to be hold. Their two daughters-in-law were obviously included as one was hugging her father-in-law while the other was fussing over her mother-in-law who was cuddling a small infant.
John shifted his feet. “I thought you had three sons?”, he asked politely.
“That would be Micheal James. He works for Northern California Power and Light,” piped up Penelope.
This was followed by a chorus of, ‘He was a lineman for the county…’ amid squeals and roars of laughter. Obviously a usual occurrence when Micheal’s job was mentioned, as even the grandchildren joined in with a humorous rendition of, ‘Wa Wa Wa WA’.
Everyone was having a good time and I was a forgotten entity. Until Penney snapped everyone to the forefront and turned to introduce me.
“This is John Dorne. We ‘found’ John in Sturgis, and he followed us home. We are going to keep him, if he wants us.”
I was terminally embarrassed and the children and grandchildren looked at me like I was a ‘rescue dog’.
Hiram Jr. was the first to speak.
“Well, if mom and dad are willing to feed you, wash you and make sure your shots are up to date….” the Crowd broke down in gales of laughter and my embarrassment escalated.
“We had basically this conversation on the way here, and I see that my status has not changed- yet,” I said. Hiram looked at me.
“Told you you were toast. You just didn’t listen.”
We left for the big house with # 2 son saying he was hungry.
“Of course”, said his father, “as always.” More laughter.
A huge early dinner was set up in the huge eat in kitchen. I was immediately sucked into the family. The grandchildren were curious as to what I did for a living, what was I doing in Sturgis, did I have a motorcycle, did I have a family.
The two lovebird sons were silently checking me out. Ever wonder what it was like being grilled silently by a State Cop AND a prosecuting attorney? I volunteered innocent snippets of information. But I knew it was coming. And I was right. After the meal and the dish’s were being cleared, Hiram Sr. rose and picked up his Coors (YUCK) and led the way to the back door and onto the patio. Two large Northern Red Oaks, each about 40 feet tall, shaded the flagstones. We pulled up chairs and gathered around in a close semi-circle.
Let the interrogation begin.
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Meanwhile, back in Washington D.C.
Special Agent Lance Fresno hung up the desk phone and looked across at his two visitors. Alexander Colton and Timothy Ross were sitting across from the agent’s desk, drinking coffee, and waiting for the update on the Starne’s case, which was rapidly going- nowhere.
“Well, the ballistics report came back just as we figured it would. The gun used in the shooting of one Jeremy Hun Chang came back and there’s nothing. It ‘s not in any files or data bases. The ball gag and zip-ties are a bust. You can get them just about any where. They did find some DNA on the ball gag, but it was in conclusive. If you take the letter and DVD we got from Micheal’s attorney, it would appear that this is the one who killed Mike’s daughter. I have no reason to doubt it, but the evidence is pretty flimsy.
“However, the heroin found in his apartment and the hypodermic needles are a match and from the same batch as the ones we found in Samantha’s apartment. We sweated him and he folded. He rolled up on Lorna Duschense and her law firm and implicated the Chinese Embassy.
“Then he rolled on Jason Wilkes, but we already had the DVDS that Mike sent us and his grand jury testimony. Not that it did us any good, but it was just icing on the cake. But SOMEONE took Mr. Wilkes out. Normally I would be looking at the Chinese, but whoever it was didn’t get to him until after we had everything we needed. Unfortunately, the Asst. Attorney General cut a deal and he almost would have walked. Not that it will do him any good. He did give us enough to nail Lorna Duschense; she will not be getting a deal. Unless you consider being sent to Super-Max in Arizona a deal.
“So here we are, no closer to knowing what to do other than institute a nationwide manhunt for a broken man who I would consider a hero. The rifle used to take out Wilkes was a non-entity, untraceable. We don’t know where it had been the last 15 years. We have all Mike’s weapons, even his service piece, and nothing matches anything.
“What about the truck?,” asked Ross.
“What about the truck?,” said Fresno. “It’s Mike’s, alright. We went over it with a fine tooth comb. Nothing. Just what you would assume would be in a guy’s daily driver.”
Then the phone buzzed.
Agent Fresno, it’s Di Julio, line three.”
“Hang on, it’s the field team.”He picked up the phone and spoke.
“Yeah? There is, huh?… No go ahead and process it……. Thanks….. O.K., keep me advised.” He hung up.
“That was Adam Di Julio, one of my best.” He chuckled. “They found a hidden ‘cabinet’ if you will, behind the gun safe. Hidden by the safe. It was on an electric sled and was accessed by a switch on the bar. It appears that’s where Mike kept his ‘secret stash’. All that was left was some 50 cal ammo and some 380 rounds. He must have taken everything else.
“We looked at surveillance videos from the fast food restaurant and saw who we assumed was Micheal walking away from the truck, but that was it. We’re canvassing the area, but so far nothing.
“That’s not doing us any good. We know who, we just don’t know anything else. And quite frankly several of my agents are just going through the motions. Can’t say as I blame them….”
Alex shook his head.
“I understand their feelings, Lance, but this still a criminal investigation.”
He sighed. “It’s just one I wish we didn’t have to do.”
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Back in Palo Cedro
The ‘interrogation’ was just getting started. Hiram took the last sip of his beer (gotta get the guy some Bud) and placed the bottle on the ground next to his chair.
“All right, boys, I know you have questions. You get to ask them and John has to, or doesn’t have to answer them. This could get ugly, but it is the price for his continuing to live here.
“What he didn’t tell you in front of everyone else was that he’s the guy you’ve been hearing about on the t.v. I think, though, that there is more to it then meets the eye. Jethro, I’m sure you have a few legal questions, so it’s on you, son.”
His son looked at his glass of iced tea. Some how he figured he would need to keep his wits about him. His older brother was also drinking, but he too had a Coors. He also had a higher tolerance for alcohol but it was only his second one.
“Mr. Dorne, who are you, really. If you’re the man on the t.v., the name John Dorne has never been mentioned.”
“It’s Micheal Starne, isn’t it, Mr. Dorne?”. This from his older brother. “The FBI sent out a BOLO for Micheal Starne. Armed and dangerous. Approach with caution.”
Hiram Jr.’s eyes locked on mine, but no judgment-…yet.
Jethro’s eyes never left Mike’s face. Mike fidgeted and looked at the ground. ‘Right to the crux of it’, he thought. ‘There’s a cop over there and a D/A sitting across from me and I’m sure that there is enough muscle amongst the three of them that I’m pretty much screwed. Oh, well, I never thought I’d get this far. I did every thing I set out to do. I guess it’s over.’
He sighed and raised his eyes.
“You got me. Let me tell you my story and than you can arrest me.”
He spilled his guts and told them everything. His kidnapping, the torture (such as it was), Lorelei’s betrayal, her adultery, his kidnapping, the death of his daughter, the confrontation with Jeremy Hun Chang, his leaving him bleeding and possibly dying, and the execution of Jason Wilkes. As he spoke, he seemed to feel a weight lift. A peace descended on him. Hiram Sr. softened as his sons had never seen before. He leaned forward and grabbed the man’s arm and squeezed. He had seen this in ‘Nam before and it brought back memories.
Mike finished his tale with tears in his eyes. For the first time since he had looked down at his daughter’s face he was crying. “My baby!”, was all he said.
It was silent on the patio. Deathly silent. Hiram Jr. spoke first.
“For what it’s worth, Mike, Chang didn’t die. He lost both lower legs, below the knees, and both testicles, but the FBI got to him in time. He was arrested and charged and is in Federal custody. He seems to be singing, but according to what I learned, admittedly not much, he implicated the Chinese in his torture. Not YOU.”
“Don’t care,” I murmured.
Hiram Jr. resumed with, “Well, from what I can see, the only real crime is splattering shit for brains shit for brains all over that patio. That’s my opinion as a man, husband, and father. As a cop, murder is still murder. So that’s where we are. Now, we know who John Dorne is. So as far as I know,” sneaking a sideways glance at his dad and brother, “No harm, no foul.” He sat back and said nothing else.
His brother stared at him. ‘Thanks for nothing, Hi.!’ using Hiram’s nickname in his mind.
He turned back to their guest.
“My brother seems to be all right with the circumstances. And as a husband, father, and a man, I agree with him. To a certain extent. But as the Assistant District Attorney for Shasta County, I don’t know if that’s a viable alternative.” He stared at his father, then at his brother, then at Mike.
His father sighed, reached down for his empty bottle, and rose.
“I need another beer. Any body else??”
Hi held out his empty bottle and both Jethro and I handed him our glasses. He adjourned to the kitchen.
Entering the Lovebird kitchen, he encountered a group of women, four to be exact. His wife and two daughters-in-law had been joined by their daughter, the nurse practitioner. As he approached, what resembled a defensive huddle on 4th and 2 in a close game broke and confronted him. They were much better looking than football players, but the determination was the same. You get the idea.
Hiram continued to the refrigerator and got four more beers. Than he rinsed the two glasses, filled some ice, and refilled them with iced tea. He turned and found he had been hemmed in by four of his favorite women. ‘What did I do to deserve this, Lord? Whatever it was, I am deeply sorry, and I promise to never do it again’, he thought. He plastered a smile on his face and said, “Ladies? What can I do for you??”
His daughter, Penelope Anne, smiled at her father.
“Sorry, daddy, I got here as quick as I could. Mother says you have a surprise for us. What, or who, did you find on your trip to New York?”
Hiram studied his daughter and smiled.
“We are not through speaking yet. When we have this all hashed out, we will all sit down and it will all be explained. Until then,” and he fixed his wife with a severe stare, “let it be. It is for everyone’s good.”
His wife started to speak but the look on his face made Penney, for the first time in her life, stop and stare, mouth open in shock.
“NO, PENNEY, NOT YET!!”
He turned and went back out side.
Penney Anne shook herself and turned to her mother and sister-in-laws.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?? I’ve NEVER seen dad like this.”
Her mother turned to her.
“It’s a long story, dear. Let’s go and talk, girls.”
Meanwhile, back outside, the three young men were still sizing each other up.
Finally, Mike spoke, looking at Hiram Jr. and Jethro.
“Look, guys, I can’t put you in this position. I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t my intention. You have been nothing but kind to me without knowing what you were signing up for. Please, arrest me or let me run. You can still plead ignorance about who I am, even just denying that I was ever here.”
Jethro shook his head.
“Not my call. Dad will pass judgment. I’m not saying it won’t go just like you said, but it’s not my call. Hi??”
“He’s right, Mike. I’m not going to go against my father. Besides,” he shrugged, “something tells me even HE isn’t calling the shots.”
Jethro’s eyes widened.
“MOM??”
“Wouldn’t bet against it. I think when it is all laid out that she will still have the final say. I wonder if this is another ‘lost puppy’ situation? Mom loves those. Dad, not so much. If that’s the case, Mike, you may want to think about calling the FBI now, let Hi arrest you, I can call Virginia and get the extradition started, and you can ‘escape’ into custody unscathed.”
He was grinning as he said it and Hiram Jr. was covering his mouth trying not to explode in laughter. He was beginning to like this guy and he got a feeling his mom and dad too. His brother was having a field day, a lot like when they would gang up on their youngest brother when they growing up.
Not so much anymore as Micheal had shot up to 6′ 3 1/2″ and 265 lbs. And he looked it. But he was mild mannered and a push over. He was married to 5′ 1″ little thing of Mexican descent, Rosita, and they had three adorable children, and he would do anything to protect them. But enough of this.
Hiram Sr. returned with the drinks and regained his seat.
“O.K., fellas, what do you have? Any ‘earth-shattering’ insights as to what we should do? Anything I can use to save him from your mother’s nefarious scheme, and spare Mary from his clutches??”
Hi and Jethro recoiled and looked at each other.
“OH, SHIT!!” they both said at the same time.
“Yeah, your mother is scheming again. Our ‘lost puppy’ is your mother’s next project.”
He turned to Mike.
“Sorry, Mike.”
Mike looked at the three men sitting in front of him.
“Okay, level with me. Is this woman so bad, so horrible, so damaged that everyone is scared to death of the scenario?….OR IS IT ME??”
The three Lovebird men looked at each other and then Hiram Sr. shrugged and sighed.
“A little bit of both, Mike.
“Mary is cute. She is 31 yrs. old, 5′ 6″, brown hair, brown eyes.” He hesitated. “She lost one eye, her right one. She has a daughter, Jasmine. She’s 7 years. old, almost 8.
“The young woman is a rock. Slightly cracked in places because of her trauma, but surprisingly solid emotionally…….Most of the time.”
Jethro spoke up.
“She has been through a lot, Mike. The rape, the beating, the abandonment afterwards, but she put it all behind her and stormed through. Her daughter was her anchor. She lives here, on the ‘farm’ and she has a job in town. She is well liked, loved even. People take care of her.”
“What does she do?,” I asked.
Hi answered.
“She is the asst. head Librarian at the city library. My kids and most of the other kids in town think she is the greatest thing since P B and J,” he chuckled.
I thought for a moment.
“So here I am, a spy, a killer, and a Federal fugitive, and Penny is trying to fix me up with a SAINT??”
Hi laughed, Jethro howled and slapped his knee, and Hiram Sr. smiled.
“Like I said, son, you’re toast,” snickered Hiram.
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We sat for a while and commiserated on my state of affairs. I was beginning to wonder if I was better off staying free or not. My new friends were having a great time at my expense, laughing and joking at my plight, and finally subsiding into reflection on my status. Hiram Sr. brought us back to the reality of life.
“All right, guys, we need to figure out what we are going to do about Mike’s future.” He looked around at his sons and Michael and let his words sink in for a moment. He turned to Jethro.
“Jet, the man is an accused felon. He killed someone. Whether the prick deserved it or not, he killed someone. And I for one don’t condemn him for it. I probably would have done the same. But he broke the law.”
“Hi,” he turned to his oldest son, “What will the law enforcement community think? Will there be any blow back?”
His oldest son thought for a moment, then fixed Mike with a lawman’s stare. He mulled his answer for a while. Then he looked at his father.
“AWW, SHIT, DAD! I like the guy, But this will hang our asses out there. But as long as no one figures it out, I guess we could cover for him-….. for a bit. Then, if anything comes of it, we could deal with it then.” He turned and looked at his brother.
“Thanks, Hi, for nothing,” said Jethro. It made him think of the old adage- ‘A friend will help you move; a best friend will help you move a body; a brother will help you move a body- but you’ll hear about it for the rest of your life.’
He sighed.
“I like him too, dad. And I’m concerned for Constance and my kids. You and mom, too. But the truth is it doesn’t appear to serve any greater purpose to turn him over.
“Besides,” he chuckled, “Being at Mom’s mercy may be his divine punishment.” He looked at Mike.
“May GOD have mercy on your soul, friend.” His older brother laughed and raised the last of his beer to Mike.
Dad thought for a moment, contemplating his own Coors. Then he raised his eyes to Michael.
“Son, we’re going to take a chance on you. I’ll never live this down when Penney gets wind of our decision. But I’ll handle it.”
He held Mike’s eyes.
“Don’t make me sorry I did this.”
Mike choked up and swallowed hard.
“Thank you. All of you. I won’t let you down. I promise.”
Hiram Sr. drained the beer and rose.
“O.K., let’s go face the music.”
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The atmosphere in the Lovebird’s living room was electric. There was now Penelope Lovebird, their daughter Penelope Anne, Hiram Jr.’s wife Melissa, Jethro’s wife Constance, son Micheal’s wife Rosita, their two other daughters, Lucy, and Linda. Standing in the background was the subject of all the discussions.
Mary Louise Anderson.
Next to her was a petite young lady who appeared to be spitting image of Mary. They both seemed to be calmly observing everything about to go down. But the look on Mary’s face told Mike that she was very upset.
“Ladies,” started Hiram Sr., “This is Mr. John Dorne. He will be staying with us for a while.” His eyes sought out Penney’s and the silent communication between them spoke volumes. She surreptitiously nodded and looked to John Dorne’s face for some sort of response. Hiram Jr. looked at his wife and shook his head surreptitiously. He mouthed ‘later’ and turned back to the other folks. Jethro blew a kiss to his wife and winked and smiled at her.
Hiram Sr. continued.
“John, I’d like to introduce Mary Louise Anderson and her cute little daughter, Jasmine.
“Ladies, this is Mr. John Dorne.”
Mary came forward and extended her hand. John/Mike took the offered hand and shook it. He was taken with her presence. She WAS cute, and very well put together. He tried not to stare as her hair was cut so that it came down over her right eye and across her forehead and cheek. You hardly noticed anything wrong with her face and she didn’t appear self-conscious.
‘This woman appears to be very self-confident. I don’t understand what everyone is so concerned about.’ He realized he was still holding her hand and was just about drooling. She smiled and blushed and pulled her hand away.
“ERR, sorry,” he stammered.
Penney was watching the interplay and thinking,’YES! Nailed it. I KNEW they would fit together. Take that, you doubting Hiram you.’
Hiram was also watching.
‘Son of a Bitch’, he thought. He shook his head and harrumphed.
“Well, what we propose is that John works on the farm here and helps Mary and Jasmine get around and back and forth to work. Hi said there were rumors that the bastard-sorry, dear- who attacked Mary was seen in the area. They were never able to catch him and he vowed to come back and kill her and kidnap Jasmine.” He looked at the young lady that he thought of as his youngest daughter.
“I’m saying you seem to be capable, John, and we are trusting you to do this. Think you can handle it?”
Hiram watched John and waited for his answer.
John looked at Mary and then turned to Hiram and Penney.
“I think it depends on Mary and Jasmine. Would they be all right with this arrangement?
“They don’t know me. They are entrusting their safety to a stranger. It’s an enormous risk. I know I can do it, but would they be comfortable with me being responsible for their safety?” I turned to look at this young woman.
Mary studied the stranger. She was shook at the revelations. She didn’t know about the threats or the recent sightings. But Hiram Jr. had kept tabs on everything to do with his family and was privy to the investigation. He had become concerned because this scumbag was almost invisible and police were no closer to finding him then when the crime occurred.
Now, this.
“If what you say is true, I would welcome the security of an additional person. IF only for Jasmine’s safety. I don’t know who you are, Mr. Dorne, but if Penney and Hiram are o.k. with you, I trust their judgment.”
There seemed to be an audible exhaling of breath in the room as this was said, and conversation escalated to family levels almost immediately.
So I was sucked into the Lovebirds family circle almost immediately. Third son Michael showed up after being out on the high line — ‘Wa, Wa, Wa.’, and now I had met everyone. I shacked up in the ‘bunkhouse’ where seasonal help lived but I was alone. (There were no seasonal help at this time.)
What, you didn’t think I was going to move in with Mary, did you? I am NOT that kind of boy!! Unfortunately, she’s not that kind of girl, either. But Penney kept waltzing around with a poop eating grin on her face.
She was thinking it was just a matter of time.
We fell into a somewhat daily routine. I would drive her and Jasmine to drop off jasmine at school and then Mary to work at the library. We did it on random days, with no discernible pattern. On days when I didn’t drive them, I would discreetly follow them and then run errands, coming back to watch Jas walk from school to the library, then wait till they left to go home. Some times they would go other places before heading home, so I found time to tour beautiful down town Palo Cedro. Pretty scenery, but if you were ‘on assignment’, as I was, you had to say focused.
This went on for several weeks, and if I was not an ex-spy, I would have gotten bored long ago. Then, one evening, as we were coming home from girls shopping at the clothes store, and fast food to feed the two children, (I am a boy, after all. And Jasmine mentioned that I looked hungry. Ergo, burgers.), I was carrying bags into their house. As I climbed the stairs to the front porch, Mary spun and pushed me against the railing.
“How come you haven’t made a move on me? Am I really that hideous looking that I am not attractive to you??” she railed. She was furious.
I was stunned. I was so caught up in my ‘assignment’ that I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. Actually, I had started fantasizing about her every night. She really wasn’t too bad looking. And the legs! Oh, those legs. Her personality was dynamite, as they say. She was just a little paranoid about her scars. But he had no idea she felt like this.
‘I guess I’ve outlived my secret agent days’, he thought. ‘Maybe it’s best I was looking for a different line of work’.
So here I was pinned by the determined women with fire in her eyes demanding an explanation. What was I supposed to do?.
So I dropped her bags, grabbed her to me, and kissed her. Hard, passionately, with emotion, like a teenager. Get the picture?? About that time, Jasmine walked out and, without missing a beat, picked up my dropped shopping bags, turned and walked into the house. As she got to the door, she yelled, “About time,” and continued on. We broke the embrace and turned, stunned and embarrassed.
“Busted!”, I said. Mary dissolved into laughter.
“She has been onto me for a few days about hooking you. I think she likes you.” She stared deep into my eyes.
“Can’t imagine why.”
Summoning my best repartee, I answered, “Because I’m so likable??”
She dissolved again, grabbed my hand, kissed my cheek, and led me into the house.
We prepared and ate dinner. Burgers, fries, and cokes. After we did the dishes, with me drying and Jasmine walking around smirking and chuckling, we sat on her couch, ate popcorn, and watched a movie. I think it was the third “Die Hard” one. I realized that except for the first movie, John McLain never managed to reconcile with his wife. I realized that I had a sort of parallel with my life. I was not going to make the same mistake.
After the end of the movie, Jasmine jumped up and came over, kissed her mother on the cheek, wiggled her eyebrows at me, and said, in her best admonishing tone, “Behave yourselves!” Then she winked and flounced off to bed.
I my best naive tone of voice, I said,”Now what was that all about?”.
Mary turned and looked at me.
“Were you really a CIA agent? Because you sure can be dumb at times.”
OH, SHIT!! My cover was blown again! Do I have to kill her now? I haven’t had sex in a while so maybe that is possible, but I don’t want to.
“What are you talking about? CIA? ME?? Come on, really???”
She stared.
“REALLY. I have talked to Penney at great lengths. Do you think she would set us up if I didn’t know everything about you?”
What did she know? Did she even have a clue who I was or what I had done? Did she know what had been done to me?
Something in my face gave me away.
“I know you killed a man, and tortured another, for what they did to you and your family. I know what your ingrate wife did to you. I KNOW you are a good man. I’ve seen the way you look at me and at Jasmine, how you act around the other children here. I know you are human.”
‘I also know you make me wet when I think about you’, she thought.
“You know a lot about me. But I don’t know a lot about you,” I said.
I moved my hand to the side of her face. She freaked.
“NO. DON’T!!”, she exclaimed. I took her hand and gently moved it.
“Why not?”, I asked softly.
“DON’T!,” she pleaded, with tears in her eyes.
“Are you ashamed? Because I’m not. Of what I did. And I’m sure my soul is scared far worse than your face. So what have you got to lose? If you’re wanting to be intimate with a man who probably has VIP reservations in hell, then the least you can do is let me see who I’m going to make love to.”
“Make love? You want to make love to me?”
“I can go have sex anytime. I am very fussy who I make love to.”
She let go of my hand and started to hiccup, between tears. I brushed the hair off her face and for the first time in a long time, someone gazed at her face unobstructed.
The scar started at the peak of her nose and trailed down to her lower jaw. Right through her eye-socket. The flesh around where her eye had been was distorted. It was withered and puckered. Her cheek was sunken and discolored. Her face sagged just a little. Other than that, she was pretty. Cute. Even if she had not been scarred, she would never have been beautiful. But she would have been attractive. Hell, she was STILL attractive. He leaned over and kissed her scar, even as she recoiled. Then she melted into him.
“OHH, GOD, I want you so bad!!”
He may have been 42, but he was in good shape. He stood, scooped her into his arms, and carried her to her bedroom.
***********************************************************************************
O.K., one more trip to Virginia
Alexander Colton and Timothy Ross walked into FBI head quarters-again. This was getting old. They were ushered into Lance Fresno’s office and took seats. Lance smiled and said it was good to see them again.
“O.K., Lance what prompted this call? I just delivered the weekly briefing on our favorite cold case. The Director was not pleased. I’m sure your boss will be hearing from him.”
“Well, maybe we can change his demeanor. I think we caught a break. A small one, but something.”
He had Alex’s attention now. Tim just straightened a little more and decided to pay attention.
“We got a text from the Mississippi State Police. They busted a small biker gang for a liquor store robbery. One of the bikers was riding a 1982 Harley Davidson Super Glide II, Cobalt blue, with New Jersey tags, registered to a Mr. Richard Smith, Freehold, N.J.” Alex looked at Tim. He turned back to Fresno.
“SO?”
“Trouble is, he wasn’t Mr. Richard Smith. We had the Trenton Office check on Mr. Smith. Doesn’t exist. The address is in the Freehold Park Racetrack parking lot. N.J. DMV had no record of the motorcycle ever have been registered there.
“So the Jackson office paid a visit to Mr. Herschel Devers, aka Richard Smith, and had a little chat. We had the motorcycle returned to Quantico and the techs tore it apart. They also have Mike’s truck, which we located in a Long John Silver’s parking lot about 10 miles from his house. Oh, by the way,” he said, opening his desk drawer, “here’s your tracking device,” he said with great effort, pulling the magnetic attached tracker out of his metal desk drawer. He handed it to Tim, who took it and looked it with a grin on his face.
“So you found the truck??”, said Alex.
“Oh, yeah, we found ‘the truck’ alright. The truck this thing was attached to. When you gave us the info and the frequency that this thing was pinging on, we stared to trace it. After a few days, we expanded the search and, low and behold, there it was-in Key West Florida, attached to an eighteen wheeler in a seafood company parking lot!”.
Alex and Tim looked at each other.
“So we started to look for the truck back along the route the eighteen wheeler had taken and that’s where we found it. And it just so happens that there is a storage facility across the street from the fast food place. And while no one at Long John Silver’s recognized him, the manager at the storage facility did.
“It seems that Mike had a unit there for more than 9 years. Paid cash, on an annual basis to get a good rate. There is still 1 1/2 months left on the lease. So we got a warrant and opened up unit # 243. Inside, various items belonging to Mr. Micheal Starne. One of the things was a battery charger, 12 volt 4 amp capacity. Also, a half case of guess what? Anyone? Anyone?
“O.K., motorcycle oil.
“We went to the state prison outside of Goochland, the Virginia Correctional Center for Women, where Lorelei is being held.
“By the way, she’s a basket case since she got Mike’s letter. They are holding her there for psychiatric treatment.
“She said Mike bought a motorcycle about 9 or so years ago. He was real excited. Wanted to take trips together. She told him no; it was beneath her, not her style, and to get rid of it. He was crushed and she said he sold it and she never saw it again.”
“So this bike was probably Mike’s?”
“Probably, hell. We called Harley Davidson and the VIN # matches one sold to….. Tad Da, a distributor outside of Falls Church, who sold it to a Mr. David Wells. He was almost 70 when he bought it, and only owned it for about two years when his arthritis forced him to sell it. To a Mr. Micheal Starne.
“6 months later, according to a title on file in Richmond, he sold it to a Mr. Richard Smith, of New Jersey.
“Well, actually, he told the state and his wife he did.”
“So we talked to Mr. Herschel Devers and made a deal. He only sat outside at the gas pumps, waiting for his buddies to come out while they hung up the liquor store. But they picked the wrong liquor store. The owner tripped the silent alarm, pulled his shotgun, shot two of the perps, and held the other one at gunpoint till the State Bears arrived. They arrested all of them. So when we showed up and talked to the locals, they shrugged and said they really didn’t need him.
“So we made a deal with them, then sat him down and sweated him. He lasted about five seconds, and then he caved in- for a deal also.
“Seems like he arrived in Sturgis two days before it ended with some friends. No bikes, just a van. While walking around, he came upon the ‘parking lot’ of motorcycles. There were only about a dozen and half left. The Super Glide caught his eye, and, when he realized the keys were in the ignition and the bike was covered in dust and a few bird droppings, he decided to take a chance. He pocketed the keys and went and got a beer.
“Sitting at a nearby outdoor table, he watched the bike. He left about 10:00 p.m. and came back the next day and resumed watching. By 5:00 p.m., there were only two bikes left, a full dress Hog and the Super Glide.
“About that time, a big dude strolled up wit a waif, a thin blonde with pneumatic tits, who strolled up to the hog, and without a glance at the other bike, they mounted up, cranked it up, and left.
“He figure it was not or never. The ‘convention’ if you will closed that night, and tomorrow the city workers would be trying to put the town back together. So he walked over, put the key in the ignition, turned they fuel cock, and started it. He Said it was in ‘real good shape’ and lit right off. He left and ran into he other three outside of town and they hit it off. Next stop, Mississippi. He was waiting for them to get the beer when it all went to shit.
“So we sent a team from Denver to Sturgis to canvas. They found nothing. No one recognized him, even with the digitally modified photos. It was a while ago, and with the number of people moving through there, it’s understandable.
“They are widening the search but it’s not like there are many spots to look.”
Alex thought for a moment.
“So Mike takes the motorcycle to Sturgis, South Dakota, and disappears again. Damm, the boy is good.”
Tim covered hi mouth and smirked.
Alex looked at him and said, “Something you’d like to add, Agent Ross?”
“No, sir. Just coughing.”
Holding his stare, Alex muttered, “Didn’t think so.”
He turned back to Special Agent Fresno.
“So where are we?”
“UH, FBI Headquarters??”, said Fresno.
Alex scowled and stared at the FBI agent. But Lance wasn’t cowed.
“Nowhere, actually. We’re still looking, but so far, nothing.”
“Great; just great”, snarled Alex.
***********************************************************************************
Now, let’s get back to Mary’s bedroom
Mary was shivering. She started to sob as Mike stood her up at the foot of the bed.
“Please, I’ve wanted this for a while now and I didn’t know how to go about it. You are so fragile; I’M so fragile. But I want this. I want you.”
Mike was stunned. He had had feelings for Mary for a while, but they weren’t quite this strong. But then again, he hadn’t gotten laid in quite a while. He wasn’t quite sure whether or not it was love on this scale or strong sexual attraction. But here he was, in the woman’s bedroom, with an invitation to take her.
His hands went to her blouse and the buttons came undone. The bra revealed inside the blouse was lacy, but a demure white kind of sexy. Her breathing increased and she started to sweat. She began to hyperventilate. She closed her eye and moaned as his fingers caressed the sides of her breasts and moved towards her rapidly hardening nipples. Her hips snapped up against his pelvic region and she ground her mound against his hardened cock.
‘OOHH,’ he groaned, and knew that one way or another, he’d have his answer tonight.
She grabbed his face and kissed him like she hadn’t kissed anyone in a long, long time. Her hands went to his shirt and she wasn’t quite as gentle as he was as she ripped the buttons loose and pulled his shirt open. Her mouth latched onto his chest and she bit his skin and drew blood.
“SON OF A BITCH!!”, he screamed and his lips latched onto her shoulder and returned the lust. Her hands had migrated to his jeans and she manged to pull his belt open. How, she had no idea, but he might need a new belt. The snap and the zipper parted and they fell to the floor, followed by his Fruit-of-the-Looms. His exposed penis flexed and stared to look for a home.
Mary, with her eye closed, worked her hands back around by feel and found the object of her desire. And she definitely did desire this. Still working by feel, she slid her skirt down past her knees and it continued to the floor.
“My panties! Get my undies off me, NOW!”, she begged.
He hooked his thumbs into her panties and ripped downwards. Except for her bra, she was naked. And horny, to say the least.
She was magnificent. And she wanted him. So he obliged her, with a single powerful thrust. That thrust was what finally got her to open her eye. To the point where she gagged and stared dumbfounded, google eyed (with one eye) into space. He grasped her ass and stroked into her with more and more force, as she slowly refocused and lowered her eye to stare at him in wonder.
“OOHHHH, Fuck!!”, she groaned. “I didn’t think it would be this good. Don’t stop. Please don’t ever stop,” as she cummed on him. She had been leaking and spasming until then. As she orgasm-ed, she irrigated her nether regions. They were both soaked as he panted into her neck, bit her ear, and whispered to her, ‘I lied’.
She shook. “WHAT??”, she babbled.
“We have to have hot monkey sex before I can make sweet, passionate love to you,” I snickered, as my organ pulsed and unloaded into her pussy. He pulsed and dumped as I continued to drive into her. All she could do was moan, “OOHHHH GOD!, and lapse into unconsciousness. Slowly, I felt my cock ease and shrink. I laid her gently on the bed and looked at her. My organ shriveled in the cool air and dribbled on her legs. It added to the copious liquid deposit on my and her lower bodies and the bedspread.
I pulled the bedspread off, grabbed the blanket and snuggled in next to her.
‘I could get used to this’, I thought as I joined her in oblivion. My last conscious thought was of her wrapping her slick legs around me and cradling her head on my chest. I awoke hours later to her with her eye closed humming softly while she stroked my cock and sang to it, about how she had dreamed of finding someone to drive away the demons.
“My knight in shining armor. Thank you.”
I smiled and closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep again. When I awoke, we talked.
“I never thought I would find someone to love me”, she said. “I gave up hope of having a normal life.
“Then, YOU! I gad no idea who you are, or what your impact on me would be. I thought you were just another man. You would not be able to look at me with other than repulsion. I had no thought to any attraction to you.
“Boy, was I wrong. You wormed your way into my mind, my thoughts, my subconscious. I couldn’t get you out of my head. I fantasized about you, and it was over the top. Embarrassing, to say the least.”
“Thank you, darling. Thank you so very much.”
The next day, I moved in with her and Jasmine. We co-habitated from then on and Penney walked around like her poop didn’t stink. Jasmine cornered me three days later.
“You may be a bad ass, but if you hurt my mother, in any way, I will hunt you down and kill you. You may kill me, but I guarantee that you will NOT survive!”
And this little girl was only eight years old. Like I said, I need to find another line of work.
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
“You shouldn’t talk like that to the man who is going to be your father,” I said.
Her eyes widened and she stuttered. “FATHER?”, she gasped.
I was starting to enjoy this.
“That night when we watched the movie, and then I wound up after, err, ‘spending the night’ I had feelings for your mother. But she was way past that with me. In the course of our night, I became more attracted to her. When she invited me to move in the next day, I was very much enamored with her.
“Over the next two-three weeks, I was hooked. I have gotten a ring and was just looking for the opportunity to ask you and her to be mine.
“So, now that you have my attention, I can get one of my questions answered. How much do you know about me?”
Her face brightened as I talked. Then she sobered up, and stared at me.
“I know you are a former government agent, with somebody, and that you did some very bad things; not necessarily evil, but not on the up and up. I know my Mom is over the moon with you, as you old folks say.”
OOHH. That hurt.
“I know she is scared to death of loosing you. I’m pretty sure she loves you.” She cocked her head and looked at me.
“I don’t want that to happen,… Dad.”
Smug little bugger. I scowled at her. Then I softened and smiled. My tough guy demeanor hadn’t worked with Samantha either, when she was younger. I’ll have to work on that, too.
“Jasmine, I love your mother. But I’m much older. I hope she feels the same way I do, but I…..”
“OHH, She does. Trust me, she does!!”
“Yeah, well, o.k., I want you both in my life. Do you understand? You two are very good for me. I haven’t felt so at peace….since they took my daughter from me.”
I looked at her. Her eyes widened even farther.
“My daughter was killed by a man who was recruited to get information about me. Actually, to aid in blackmailing me. It didn’t work, but they didn’t know that, and by the time they found out, it was too late.”
‘For her’, I thought.
“I want a second chance. You guys are my second chance. The fact that your mother and I are, errr, compatible, is a plus. But I want you both on board with this. So if you are in any way hesitant about the proposed arrangement, then I……”
“ARE YOU REALLY THAT DENSE?? We BOTH love you. I have never had a father. I always looked on Hiram as a grandpa, and their sons as cool uncles. I need a father. I need discipline and stability. I need YOU”, she pleaded.
I gazed at the poor child and crumbled. Then I grabbed her and hugged her.
“I hope you don’t regret this. When I ground you for breaking curfew, when I take away your car for being late getting home, when I berate you for your choice of boyfriends? Can you handle that??”
She was beaming.
“NO”, she said, “and I am so looking forward to it.” She looked happier than I had ever seen her before.
“O.K., then, let’s go talk to your mother.”
The conversation with Mary didn’t go quite so well. When I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me, and offered the ring, she broke down in tears, sobbing.
Oh, she said yes, but there were still tears. It turns out some women cry a lot when they are deliriously happy.
We arranged for a simple religious ceremony, not wanting to chance official inquiries into my identity. I had Hiram Senior ‘dispose’ of many of my gold coins and I had a nice little nest egg. I bought some of Hiram’s and Penney’s property, and contracted for a set of blue prints. The Lovebirds offered us Mary’s cabin, but we wanted a little more privacy, slightly farther away. Penney made the comment that it was just as well, because there was an awful lot of ‘noise’ emitting from the cabin at night.
OOOPS!!
We became husband and wife, and settled into a routine as a family. I started looking for outside employment and found a job as a mechanic at the local Ford dealership, as a truck mechanic. We were happy and we were almost resigned to a normal, humdrum existence. Then Karma raised her ugly head.
I had no weapons, again other than the sheath knife I used to carry, and my grandpa’s pocketknife. Hi advocated against carrying a gun given my background. Jethro agreed and said if I was ever stopped for even a minor traffic offense, it could prove risky. Hiram put it in perspective when he said it might negatively impact my cover and the Lovebird’s involvement.
I agreed. I had a new wife and daughter to protect, but I felt capable of doing so.
***********************************************************************************
Our lives changed some four months later. My wife and I retired for the night after hearing from our ‘daughter’ that some strange noises emanating from our bedroom were keeping her up at night.
Stinker. She said it with a wiggle of her eyebrows, and a smirk on her face, caused me to gape and her mother to blush. Mary turned to me and said I would have to stop making noise.
Or stop making her make noise. She then told me the four worst words a man can ever hear.
“We need to talk”.
She leveled her eye at me, but she couldn’t hold it long. She burst out laughing at the look of incredible horror on my face. And here I thought we had a pretty good thing going.
“Micheal”, she started, “I’m 32 years old, and I know you’re much more mature than I am”, she smirked. “I would like to go off the pill. I want your child, and I didn’t want to ambush you with a ‘Guess what? I’m pregnant’ talk. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. After more than 8 years of hell, I have found heaven. It is your decision, but I want you to know that I would welcome it.”
“No pressure, my love. Take all the time you need.” Again, giggling, she looked at the non-existent watch on her left wrist, and tapped it.
“Tick, Tick”, she said softly.
Oh, great. What do I do? What do I say? I looked at her and an evil thought crossed my mind.
“Well, you know what THAT means, don’t you?”.
Her eye bugged, and she whispered, ‘What??”.
Now, recently, she had changed a number of things. One of them was she had gotten several different eye-patches. Her daughter thought they were cool. Some different colored, very sedate shades, some with small rhinestones in petite patterns. She wasn’t so sure, until, with Jasmine’s help and a reshaping of her hair style, she was a different looking person. When the Lovebird’s daughters and daughter-in-laws saw her, they dragged her into their parents bedroom and 30 minutes later, with a minimum of makeup, she emerged a changed woman. She was borderline stunning.
So this was a different, an even more confident woman that was telling me that she wanted to have children.
I looked at her. I was deeply moved that she felt this way about me, about us. Still….
“Baby”, I said, “I am broken. You know an awful lot about me. But you don’t know my soul. You don’t know some of the things I’ve done and most of them are not for polite company. I don’t know if I am a good role model for children. And my age….”
She gave me the dumb shit look. “Are you finished?” she said.
Humbly, I nodded.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, the ‘child’ you told about being her father is only eight years old. She may think and act like she is twenty-one, but she’s not. I think you are the perfect role model for our future and present children. So ‘You make the call’ as NFL films used to say and get with the program, mister.”
WHOA!!
I thought for a moment, and said, “Well, then, I guess we had better go and start practicing, Mrs. Dorne.”
She smiled.
“Thank you, darling.”
***********************************************************************************
So one day, we were out shopping. Mary had an Ob-Gyn appointment, and the doctor’s office was in the shopping center with the best Mexican restaurant in Palo Cedro. She went to her doctor’s appointment with jasmine, the two of the snickering and whispering. Trouble.
I went to the local Tractor Supply outlet and waled around, looking at all the neat gadgets til it was time to go back and get my girls. I arrived in time to meet them as they walked out of the Dr.’s office. They were laughing, and Mary was glowing. Like I said, Trouble, with a capital “T”.
We started to go home but Mary said she was hungry.
“Why don’t we go to El Palenque, for Mexican? I’m really starved.”
I’m easy. “O.K., El Palenque it is”, and I took their hands and we marched to the restaurant.
The owners there knew us. We ate there often. Pablo Cisneros greeted us at the door and led us to ‘our’ table. The girls sat down and started jabbering. The waitress came and took our orders — pappas nachos for me, cheese enchiladas for Mary, and chicken fajitas for Jasmine. Then it got serious.
“You screwed up, John”, said Mary.
HUH?? What did I do?
She grinned.
“You’re stuck with me now. I’m pregnant! Thank you, my love”. She smiled at me, and Jasmine was tic-toc dancing sitting on her chair.
Well, I have to admit I kind of saw this coming. Mary was beaming and babbling at the same time. There are very few reasons for a woman to go to an Ob-Gyn: breast exam, pap-smear, cervix exam, pregnancy. ‘Hmmm, I wonder….’
Suppressing a grin, I acted suitably surprised. Then I started laughing and hugging both my girls. I sat back down and waved the waitress back. I asked for a bottle of sparkling cider and three glasses.
“This deserves a toast. We’ll have champagne in, what, 8 months?”
She grinned and nodded her head.
“I love you, John Dorne.”
“And I love you, Mary Dorne.”
We were grinning at each other and Jasmine was beaming when our world imploded. The look on Mary’s face went from ecstasy to terror in a micro-second. She was looking over my shoulder when she froze, blanched white, and almost shrieked.
“HE’S HERE! OH, GOD, HE’S HERE!!”.
“He who, baby?”, I asked, turning.
“DIXON!!”, she quailed.
I finished turning and saw a man facing the bar, and two more walking up to it, straight to him. I turned back around and lapsed into kill mode. Or Dad mode. Take your pick, the result was going to be the same. I stared at Mary.
“Are you sure?”, I asked.
“I will never forget his face. Yes, I’m positive.”
Willis Dixon. Her attacker, and poor Jasmine’s biological father.
Command time.
“Jasmine, look at me. Take your phone, go into the kitchen, TELL Pablo to call the sheriff, and you call Uncle Hi and tell him who’s here and that we need him RIGHT NOW. Understand? Then you hide.” We had gotten Jasmine a simple phone and programmed several numbers into it.
“But DAD….”
“NO BUTS, YOUNG LADY. I SAID GO!!”. I softened, a little.
“Don’t worry, I will protect Mom. I promise.”
She didn’t hesitate. She crouched down and snuck away, towards the kitchen. Mary was almost hysterical. One down, one to go. I crabbed my chair a little more to the side, slightly closer to Mary but away on one side. And more out from the table. I reached into my pocket and managed to open my pocket knife. But before I could pull it out, the prick appeared along side our table.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the cunt! I’ve waiting a long time for this. First I’m gonna fuck you again, then hand you over to my two friends for sloppy seconds and thirds, then I’m gonna cut your fucking throat. Then I’m gonna find your your kid, OUR daughter, and sell her to a few of my Cartel friends in Panama. Then I’m gonna find…….”
“Your brains and balls, friend? Because there’s no way I’m going to let all of that, or even part of it, happen.”
He turned and stared at me like, ‘How dare you speak to me!’
“And just who the fuck are you, old man?”.
“I’m Mary’s husband, friend, and your worse nightmare.”
One of his friends sidled up to Mary’s side of the Table and leaned against the roof column behind her. The other one came up behind my left side and slipped his hand into his waistband, under his shirt.
‘Okay, so he’s got a gun’, I thought.
Dixon sneered and lifted his shirt, exposing the butt of an automatic.
‘Okay probably all three of them are armed. I’ve got to make sure Mary is safe. Looks like I may not make it out alive. I wish you’d hurry up, Hi’, I thought.
I sized up my opponents and hatched a plan. Probably wasn’t a good one, but my options were extremely limited. I turned slightly to my left and leaned on the table with my right arm, keeping my right hand moving slowly in circles and weaving gestures, all the while keeping my left hand perfectly still, and out of sight. No way I could get to the pocket knife in my right pants pocket, so it would be misdirection to achieve my goal.
“Now why don’t you just walk away and cut your losses before someone, namely you, gets hurt”, I calmly suggested.
He guffawed and threw his head back, then stared at me incredulously.
“Look, old man, why don’t you take your own advice and…….”
‘NOW’, I thought.
It all happened quickly. It would not be neat or original, but hopefully it would be effective.
My left hand whipped up and out, grabbed the guy on my left by his private parts. ALL of them. I grabbed, squeezed, and twisted. At the same time, my left booted foot snapped out and my steel toe caught Dixon in the right knee cap, shattering the knee, muscle, and tendons, and causing him to crash to the floor in pain. He had been attempting to pull his weapon and this caused him to lose it and send it sliding across the floor.
Meanwhile, the guy behind Mary had drawn his gun and was moving towards me. So I bolted up, unintentionally stepping on Dixon’s left calf with my right boot, and 265 lbs. of pissed off weight snapped his right legs smaller leg bone, drawing even louder screams. I lunged at fuck head
#3 and dragged the guy I still held in my left hand with me. I got so far when the guy in front of me snapped off a shot that came close to hitting me. A little low, though. Unfortunately for Dixon, he was a little low, too, laying on the floor. The first round came him in the chest. I was hauling a dead weight, so I dropped him on top of Dixon when I caught the second round in my left shoulder.
I pushed on and grabbed his gun hand with my left hand, much to the agonized pain moving down from my shoulder. As I lunged forward, I pushed Mary down and under the table, then brought my right hand up into his throat, as hard and savagely as I could. Unfortunately, he managed to cook off a third round, which caught me in the abdomen. As I caught my breath, I fell into the falling cretin and took him down. All I could hear was Mary’s screams in my ear as we hit the floor. I looked up into her face as she crawled to me and cradled my head and she was shrieking, “NO, NO, NO!!” to no one in particular. I smiled at her and said, “Mission accomplished, sweets. I love you.”
The last thing I remember hearing was Hi slapping through the door yelling, “POLICE! Drop your weapons!” Little late, bud.
***********************************************************************************
I awoke, if you could call it that, to soft beeping. Not necessarily medical equipment, more like video games. I turned my head slightly and sitting on the foot of my hospital bed was Jasmine, face buried in her dam cell phone, playing something or other. I realized I had a pain in in my lower abdomen and I shifted my body and moaned slightly.
Jasmine freaked and slid off the bed, dropping her phone.
“MOM, MOM, he’s awake. He’s ALIVE!!”
Mary was sleeping on the reclining chair in the corner. Turns out, she had stayed every night for the past five days and had them moved the chair in to stay there. It couldn’t have been comfortable. She Loves me!! AAWW!.
She was all over me while vying with Jasmine to kiss and hug me. The pain in my wounds led me to rethink whether they loved me or not.
“Oh, John, I thought I had lost you. I thought yo were gone. DON’T EVER do this again!” She was blubbering. But so was Jasmine.
“OH, Daddy, I was so scared!”
O.K., they did love me. What’s a little pain when you have the love of two pretty girls.
I tired quickly, so the next thing you know, I was waking up again to the probing and poking of a cute little nurse, followed by the doctor with my charts and a stethoscope. He poked and probed me and checked my albs and said I wa in pretty good shape.
“It isn’t everyday I get to take care of a real life hero.”
Uh, Oh.
“UHH, hero, doc?”
“Sure, you got wounded stopping a wanted criminal and saving two pretty ladies’, glancing at Mary and Jasmine and smiling, “And you put your life at risk. Makes you a hero in my book, as well as most other people in town.”
Whew, for a moment I thought I was exposed.
HE patted my shoulder and said I could stare eating ‘solid’ food again. Great, that meant mashed potatoes and tuna fish. Well, it was a step in the right direction.
I got visitors, Hiram, Penney, daughters, and friends. Hiram was smiling at me while Penney fussed at my blankets and wound dressings.
“Well, son, you’re one up on me. I never managed to get shot in ‘Nam, so that just makes you a bigger dummy than me”.
And flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. It seems I was a hero in a lot of people’s eyes. My boss from work and a couple of guys from the shop stopped by. Then Hi and Jethro along with Micheal stopped in. Magically, a couple of Big Mac’s showed up, too. Yay!!
Everything slowed down and I was working my way back to being ready to go home. That’s when my world flipped- again.
Mary and Jasmine came and kissed me, then sat and fidgeted a little. They were soon joined by Hiram Jr. and Jethro, and they looked grim.
‘This doesn’t look good’, I thought to myself. Then in walked-Alexander Colton and Timothy Ross. Alex came up to my bed, and extended his hand.
‘Oh, shit!’, I thought.
“Mr. Dorne. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. You probably don’t know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Mr. Alexander Colton, Asst. Director of Operations for the CIA. This is Agent Timothy Ross.” Timothy Ross, walking to the window, tossed a salute to me and leaned against the window sill.
I was so screwed, and here he was acting like I didn’t know who he was.
“UHH, pleasure to meet you, sir.”
He grinned. He was having a really good time with this.
“Mr. Dorne, we were out here looking into the disappearance of a federal fugitive, one Micheal Starne. You may have heard of him on the news. A dastardly fellow, who is hiding from justice. We had reason to believe he was in the Sacramento area, but that proved to be incorrect.
“While we were out here, we caught your story on the news, about your little exploit a few weeks ago, saving these two beautiful young ladies from a nefarious criminal, and Tim and I felt, as long as we were out here, we should come and meet you.”
He was really into it now. I tried to see a way out of here, but there’s a cop and two feds right there. I’m sunk. I was sweating bullets, and staring to panic.
He kept on.
“We’ve been here about a week now, while you recuperated, and we’ve talked to a lot of folks. Your lovely wife, your feisty daughter,” and here stared with a mischievous grin at Jasmine, “and your ‘sponsors’, the Lovebirds, the Lt., his brother the Asst. D.A., your boss at the Ford dealership, the guy at the corner gas station, even Pablo, who owns the restaurant where the ‘shoot-out’ took place.
“To a man, they all agreed you are the real deal, John. A true hero. So we had to come and meet the man himself.”
Alright, he had run the gamut. He stared at me and I wondered how he was going to drop the bomb on me.
‘This really sucked’, I thought.
“Well, anyway, we need to get going. We’re leaving for San Diego today. There’s a rumor that Micheal Starne was seen trying to cross into Mexico. We think we’ve got him.” He rose and again extended his hand. I took it and shook it again, feeling his warmth and noting his smile. I knew I should keep quiet. I had dodged a bullet. I should take the win and SHUT THE F_ _ _K up. But a bad case of dumb shits grabs me and I couldn’t resist.
“UHH, Mr. Colton, what does the FBI think?”
I noticed Hi blanch, and Jethro almost groaned. Mary shuddered, and Jasmine gasped. But Alex just smiled.
“Oh, they are sure he is in Southern California, someplace. That’s where they are concentrating their search”. He looked at me. “More power to them, I say. I personally think we will never find Mr. Starne.” His grin was confident.
“Come on, Tim. Let’s let these nice folks get on with their lives”.
Hi breathed again, Jethro blessed himself, Mary collapsed a little, and Jasmine exhaled and shook.
Alex moved towards the door, and Tim came towards me with his hand out. I automatically took it and shook. He stared at me, winked, and with a grin, said, “Good luck, Mike”. They left and the room swam and resumed normalcy.
If that was possible.
Jethro looked at me.
“Well, John, I think you’ve used up all your good luck for this life. You had better behave yourself.”
“AMEN!,” said Hi.
Mary came and hugged me. She looked at me, kissed me, and whispered in my ear, “Dumb-ass!”.
Jasmine was giggling and bouncing around.
“You’re stuck with us now, daddy. So you better behave.”
Yeah, I definitely need to find a different line of work.
Two days later I was discharged and went home. For good, I hope.
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Epilogue
It seems that Mr. Dixon went into the hospital in critical condition. Gut shot, broken leg, broken knee, crushed (a little) and was in intensive care. The three firearms involved were illegally obtained and found to have been involved with several felonies. The the individuals involved were also found to have parole violations.
Jasmine got a lawyer and had a swab test done, and it was proved that Dixon was her biological father. That solidified the rape charges and it would appear his goose was cooked.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, he took a turn for the worse and died in the hospital. Too bad-not.
Two weeks later, we received a large case, by Fed-Ex, from Washington. On opening it, I found all my confiscated firearms. I took the antique flint lock Brown Bess musket, and went to Hiram’s house.
The Man was working in his shop when I went in. I walked behind him. He turned, not quite surprised at my presence, and stared.
“So what, are you gonna shoot me?”, he asked.
I held the musket out to him.
“I want you to have this. Thank you for everything,..dad”.
I never seen the man cry before, but his eyes teared up and he sniffled. He hesitated and finally held out his hands and took the weapon.
“Thank you, son”, he quietly said. The tears came quietly and I got a hug. A small one but hey, it’s a start.
About two months after that, I was at work when one of the secretaries paged me and said I had a visitor. I walked out to the parking area, and there stood Timothy Ross, next to my old F-250 pickup. Next to him stood a petite blonde, looking to be about his age. In the bed of the truck sat my motorcycle.
I walked up to Tim and shook his hand. He smiled and handed me the keys.
“I’m led to believe this is yours, Mr. Dorne. This is Tawny Ross, my new wife. We’re on vacation and someone asked if I could deliver these things to you.”
I congratulated them and offered to put them up for a few days.
Many things came out in the course of the three days they stayed with us. Tawny and Mary bonded, along with Penney and the other Lovebird females. Jasmine was besides herself with all the attention.
It seems that Ms. Duschense rolled on quite a few ‘operatives’ in the D.C. area, and the FBI was able to roll up several minor operatives. She got a deal and was granted immunity. They put her in witness protection and relocated her to Maine, with an accounting job. Unfortunately for her, she was found dead in a parking lot outside a lesbian bar, of a drug overdose. Coincidence?? You figure it out. We had a nice visit and they left to continue their vacation.
Seven months later, just after Thanksgiving, Mary blessed us with 6 lb. 4 oz. baby boy.
We name him Micheal John Dorne. My son.
Life goes on.
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I want to thank everyone for hanging with me. I hope it was worth it. Like I said, I love happy endings.
Now, lighten up, as they say:
When a man looks at a woman, he looks into and sees her heart.
It’s not our fault that it’s right behind her breasts.
God Bless everyone. The BEAR