When we got to the hospital, we went in and went to the intensive care unit. I checked in with them and little John told me he'd wait out in the waiting room.
I told him, “Go ahead and go on up. Send the limo back for me and I'll fly on out. There's no sense in you having to be waiting down here.”
“Ok, check in with me when you get home.”
“I'll do that, but you check in with my mama and check to see his room is ready. We'll be life flighting him out of here just as soon as possible.”
He nodded and left.
I went in to see Dave and got told by the nurse. “You can stay for ten minutes, but then you'll need to step out.”
“Is he stable yet?”
“No, far from it. He's got a lot of internal damage from the beating he took.”
“I know. That's a mistake that won't be overlooked again.”
“How'd it happen?”
“Someone got through security and did this with but a few hits.”
“They had to be a hired assassin in order to do this!”
“Well, they won't get that chance again.”
She gave me a look and said, “I'd hope not.”
“Is the doctor still in the building?”
“He's in a room down the hall sleeping. I'm to notify him if his condition changes.”
“May I speak with him?”
“I'll go see.”
I sat there and said, “Dave, you probably can't hear me but you can't check out now. I'm not telling you because I need you, but because it's not fair to Rose. You're the one person who can make her life from bearable to amazing. Think of that because she's putting you into her room up there when you get home.”
I felt his hand squeeze mine.
“Don't try to talk. They got shit down your throat that's deeper than what I'd even thought about. Just know as soon as I can, I want you to be transferred so you're up there protected.”
The doctor came into the room and said, “You're not Rhette Michaels!”
“Yes I am, who are you?”
“Nurse, get me the police.”
“Listen up motherfucker! For you to tell me I'm not who I am, you better think again.”
“I've met Rhette and you're not him.”
“I don't recall ever meeting you sir. When was it?”
“Ok, I'll tell you, but as soon as I do, you'll be going to jail. It was in Kansas City. Someone got brought in with massive head trauma and I was his doctor.”
“Oh my God, Dr Jenkins!”
“That would be my name, but you're not Rhette.”
“I'm Rhette, you saw me before all the plastic surgery. Take a look at my right eye and then take a look at my left cheek and ear. You can feel the skin and you'll see I am me.
The person you helped was Tony. I was his lover and Gino got you in to help him.”
“Oh my goodness, what happened!”
“I got beaten. The people were all caught. This happened two years ago. Please call the nurse off.”
“One moment.”
He went out of the room and came back in with the nurse. “Here, touch his face. It's scarred. Now you can see why I was mistaken.”
“Oh my dear!”
“Yeah, it wasn't fun on this end either.”
I turned to the doctor and asked, “Are you down from Kansas City?”
“I am David's private physician.”
“They allowed you to practice in this hospital?”
“With reluctance, but when a doctor is insisting and has the power of attorney papers for the patient, they tend to let me in.”
“Good. Now just as soon as he's able to fly, I want him brought up to my house. We have a room up there done like an ICU room.”
“I'll get him there, but his internal injuries were such I'm afraid to move him. If we have to go back to surgery, you won't be able to provide those facilities I'll need.”
“Ok, can you get him to the hospital up there?”
“Right now, I don't think he'll be able to make the flight.”
“Oh.”
“Son, I'm aware of what line of work you're in. I know this was the work of someone trained and he's a very lucky person to have survived. Had he not been better fit than the average person, he'd be most likely in a morgue right now.”
“Well, what I'll do is I'll get Rose down here then.”
“Who's this person?”
“They're seeing each other. He's said she's the person for him and she's just as set for him.”
“It's about time. I've told him many times he needs to find someone.”
“She's my mother in law.”
“You're married!”
“No, but in the eyes of this nation, you'd think I was!” I said chuckling.
“Ok, I'm not following.”
“Today, we had a big explosion up home. My lover is the Sheriff. CNN is really spotlighting him right now and needless to say, I was dressed in drag to be undercover for an operation we're doing. They kept the cameras on us and I got called Mrs. Jackson enough I'll be willing to bet everyone that is watching thought he and I were legally married.”
“Oh. I bet that puts you in a spot.”
“Yes, because it's rather touchy. He's going to be running for Governor and I'm wondering if I'll have to be the first lady of the state of something before this is over.”
He smiled and I said, “Don't be laughing. It might sound funny, but for us to be legitimized by a state, we'll have to do it lying to people. That's not right. Right now, his handlers of his campaign are wondering if it's good for us to come out of the closet, or if it's such a thing we can pull off.”
“If you want, I can perform the operation.”
“Not on your life! I'm gay. I have nothing against transgendered people, but there's not a thing I consider priceless enough to trade the family jewels.”
He laughed and said, “Ok, I was just wanting to make the offer.”
“I understand. What we might do is have you say we performed the surgery to get the birth certificate changed, but I'll tell you now I think we can get it changed without resorting to that.”
“So it'd be a sexless sex change.” He said with his fingers rubbing his chin.
'
“It's technically a sex change, but we're reassigning the wrong gender to the same gender and you're not laying a scalpel on my body!”
“Ok, I'll look into it. Who's your plastic surgeon.”
“Why?”
“I could use a time we said we did it and point at the time he's got you in for a surgery.”
“I've got three surgeries left. Two are oral maxophilial and the other is for my eye socket.”
“Let me take a look at that.”
He looked and said, “This is damned good work.”
“Yeah, that eye was hanging totally out It gives me migraines still but that's because the nerve was stretched. When you see him, you might have him tell you what all he did. I know my cheek bones are plastic as are my sinuses. He took the hump out of my nose and he's gotten everything put back to where it should be.”
“You look so much different.”
“The problem is I lost so much weight while in the hospital. I had my jaws wired for nearly six months because of the surgeries. Kevin, my ex, said it was the most peaceful time we had together since he'd known me.”
“Your ex?”
“Yes, we split up due to the lack of trust associated with the emotional side of it.”
“Oh, I can understand that.”
“I do to an extent, but I also am human and get emotionally attached in relationships.”
“We all do.”
“Well, you'll keep me informed?”
“Yes, let me give you my cell number.”
I programmed it in and said, “Here's mine. If he comes to, you put him back under until we can get him out of here. Under no circumstances is he to have anyone in here. I'll get guards stationed so he will be safe.”
“OK, I'll allow that. I know it's a wise choice.”
“Let me make that call and I'll get them here.”
I opened my cell phone and dialed. “Hi, I need David's guards to come to the hospital.”
“All of them?”
“No, rotate them every four hours.”
“I'll get them there.”
“Thanks.”
I turned to the doctor and said, “They're on their way. Now, is there a way we can video this room?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I don't trust anyone. I do trust video. It's nothing against you, but his guards I don't know, so I'll have that to use in case anything happens.”
“I'll get that done.”
“No feds are to be in here. Before they do anything, I'll trust you to kill him first.”
“You sure about that?”
“I love him enough to do that favor. He'd never see daylight again and what he knows would topple an empire.”
“Ok, I'll do that, but cover me on this.”
“I'll cover you and you can rest assured about that.”
“Good. You'll have my support.”
“When this is over, I want us to speak. I need you and you know why?”
“I'm already under you.”
“Not after this. This is the one favor you could do for me that rests on top of the other. For that, I'll not hold you to a thing.”
“You're paying my malpractice and keeping me covered. For that, I'm beholden because it's almost four hundred thousand a year.”
“Jeez, that's a lot.”
“It costs money to make money. Now you know why your hospital bills are so high.”
“Jeez, that's robbery on their part.”
“Yes, but there aren't many options.”
“I think there will be as soon as I can get to speak to a friend.”
“I know we'd appreciate it.”
“Let me see what I can do.”
He nodded and I said, “I'm flying back home. I'm but forty minutes away by air. If you need me, give me a call.”
He nodded and I went over to Dave.
“Hey, I'm going home. I'll bring her back down tomorrow. I love you and you get better, ok?”
I walked out and down to the front entrance. The limo was parked over to the side and I went and got in. When the door shut, the driver sat up straight in his seat.
“I'm sorry, you never called.”
“No, I forgot. That's my fault. If you would take me to the airport, I'd appreciate it. If I need you, I'll call and have you meet me at the airport. If I need you, I'm going to expect you to break every traffic law known to get me here fast.”
“I'll be prepared. Let's hope it doesn't come to this.”
“Are you our driver, or are you a service?”
“I'm yours now.”
“You need to get pledged. I'll be down here tomorrow at about four. When we get into the building, you park the car and I'll get you pledged. Now, I've a few questions to ask.”
“Ok, what would you need to know?”
“Did the men who were over Miami before go anywhere routinely?”
“Yes, they went here, to the house, and to the lab.”
“What's at the lab?”
“Nothing much except the lab.”
“Where'd they bank?”
“They spoke of an offshore account.”
“Who knew about
it?”
“Those three and that's it. I did because I overheard conversations.”
“Who are you pledged to?”
“You...or I will be.”
“Not Little John?”
“No, why? Am I supposed to be?”
“No, but he does have men working down here. If I find out otherwise, I'll be pissed.”
“I'm not.”
“Where's that account?”
“Luxembourg. It's transferred through the Bahamas to the Cayman and on out to Luxembourg. I know the password for the Luxembourg account if you need it.”
“Ok, I'm going to check to see what I'll need. Thanks for the offer.”
“Am all I going to be is a driver?”
“Were you promised something different?”
“Yeah, but I guess that doesn't matter now.” he said rather disappointedly.
“Well, let me tell you something, I'll promote you upwards providing I can get to those accounts. The position I've a mind to put you in doesn't apply now, but will be one of the most trusted in our organization down here.”
“What's that?”
“Ordinance manager. All they have right now is in the basement of that house. We're going to need a lot more than that to keep control. We've got jets and copters ordered and a lot of trucks are on the way. I'm going to need about five more warehouses just to store everything.”
“I'll sure be glad to get up out of this car.”
“You'll have a few tests to pass first, but I think you'll be able to do that.”
I sat back and said, “Guy, what's your name?”
“Dominic Mandoni”
“Ok Dominic, I'll keep you in mind for that position.”
He drove me on to the airport and let me out at the hangar. The jet was waiting and I went over to the office. There, I asked if the plane was prepped and was assured it was. I filed the flight plan and then inspected the plane. When I was ready, I fired it up and then pulled the doors to.
I tested the radio and got permission to taxi out onto that tarmac. During one of the rest periods for my turn, I called little John.
“Hello!”
“Where you at?”
“We're about to land.”
“Good. I'm waiting to take off. I'll be there like I was let out of a slingshot.”
“How's Dave?”
“He's in damned good hands. He'll be getting better, but he's not well. They'll transfer him just as soon as he stabilizes, but it's still touch and go.”
“That bad.”
“Yeah, now, here's what I need from you.”
“What?”
“Is Dominic Mandoni one of yours?”
“Who is that?”
“The driver for the limo.”
“No, why?”
“I want the man investigated to the depths he can be investigated. I even want to know the size of bowel movements on the man.”
“Why?”
“Let's just call it a hunch, but I think the man's a fed.”
“Oh Lord, what's the hunch?”
“The hunch is he knows the accounts and the password of where they put the money. If you knew those things, how easy would you let off the information?”
“Not on my life or yours.”
“The man's all too happy to give it to me. They promised him something and he wants out of being a driver. He never said what he was promised, but I think I was being played.”
“So they probably know Dave's in the hospital.”
“Probably, but I told the doctor to kill him if a fed comes close.”
“Oh jeez.”
“Yeah, but the doctor is good people. He's a part of us.”
“Good. What I'll do is I'll ask and I'll find out, but what I want is permission to blow that car if needed.”
“You've got it.”
“If I need it, I'll call you and give you a code name of Dorito. You just say yes and I'll expect you to call him and tell him you're on your way to the airport and you'll need him to meet you there. You file a flight plan and you fly out and you come on down, but the man will be blown.”
“Ok, what I expect is you to do it so there's no possible way anyone else is hurt and I expect it to be enough to totally obliterate that car.”
“We'll get it.”
“One second, I've got to move up here in line.”
I taxied up and then locked my brakes again.
“Ok, I'm back.”
“How many more before you?”
“A Southwest and a Delta. Then it's me.”
“Ok, about five minutes.”
“Yeah, they're really dragging ass.”
“It's a busy place. I wished you asked about account numbers.”
“They transfer to the Bahamas and then to the Cayman and then to Luxembourg.”
“Ok, that's a typical pattern, but not smart.”
“No, but I think they weren't really thinking about getting caught.”
“Who knows about the accounts.”
“He said the two guys and the head knew besides him. He did say they only went to the house and then to the lab and to the warehouse.”
“I'll have our guys go over to the house and get it gone through.”
“When you go through, look up under the coffee table in the living room.”
“Why?”
“It's the safest place in the whole house. When the police come in, the drug dog goes off on it. The cops think it's because of what was on top of it. Then, they see there's nothing there, so they start looking through the sofas and laying everything they find on that coffee table. Usually, not one time do they look up underneath it.”
“Smart.”
“I learned it in prison. When seven out of eight drug dealers say it's the safest place in the house, then I believe them.”
“Ok, I'll do you the favor and look there. If I don't find anything, I'll say it was a cherry turned over. If we find something, I'll tell you poptart.”
“Is there a reason you're going all codeword on me?”
“Yes.”
“Someone with you, or do you think we have ears.”
“She's enjoying the trip and looks forward to it. She said her husband spoke of you in the highest regards.”
“You think he's a fed!”
“No, She's doing well and said she was doing plenty fine by herself but appreciates the sentiments.”
“Oh! Ok. Let me speak with her and get her to have a glass of tea tomorrow. We'll find out what she knows.”
“No, I'll speak to you later. We're getting ready to land.”
“Ok, I'll see you when I get there. Leave my copter at the airfield.”
“Will do and if it's not there, I'll get it there.”
“Dave said we have a lazy copter and we need to have it gone through. Would you get your men on it?”
“Ok, if it's not done yet.”
“Bye now.”
“Bye. Land safely.”
I rung off and taxied up into position. The Delta began to taxi out on and I stayed clear of its jet wash. The whole time I sat there, I thought about all I was involved in. Me knowing I had over thirty seven thousand men that counted upon me was a bit overwhelming. The thought I'd soon have over a hundred thousand was daunting.
It became my turn to taxi out and I rolled onto the runway. As I got permission to takeoff, the entire instrument cluster began to smoke. I attempted to get a Mayday out, but all I received was static. I hit the engine kill switches and got up to run to the door. I still heard the hum of the engines and knew the switch hadn't worked.
Knowing if I stepped out the door, the suction of the jet would take me in, I quickly looked around the cabin for something to use to get the engine to fuck up. I saw seat cushions and gathered them. In the cockpit, I grabbed a flotation device and then I saw the emergency life raft! I brought it into the cabin and then hit the expansion ring. As it expanded, I shoved it out the door and sent everything else out.
I heard a whumm wamm wamm bump. I still heard the other engine, but looked out and saw the engine was on fire. I jumped out and ran as fast as I could. About twenty seconds later, the entire plane went up in flaming black smoke from inside.
I opened my cell phone and called little John. “Hello!”
“My plane just caught fire. Get me a Citation X down here!”
“What the
fuck!”
“The dash caught fire. It's now at the end of the runway burning.”
“I'll get you my jet down there.”
“No, call someone and get me a Citation. I want the fastest and lightest they have.”
“I'll see what I can do.”
“Fuck it, I'll call the company myself. The sons a bitches are under me out there, so they can get me something to fly.”
I clicked off and called Vinnie in Kansas City. “This better be good or your ass is mine.”
“You don't want it Vinnie, besides, your wife would kill both of us.”
“What the hell!”
“Vinnie, look at your caller id.”
“Holy Shit!”
“Yeah, now what I need is a Citation X down here. Dave's just caught fire. It's out on the runway as we speak burning.”
“I hear the fire trucks.”
“I'm in Miami. Tell them I want something now!”
The fire trucks rolled over and began hosing foam onto the plane.
The red car came over and parked by me. “You ok?”
“Yeah, the dash caught on fire.”
“It looks like the engine was on fire to me.”
“I hit the kill switch and it never shut off. I put the life raft and all the cushions in it out the door and let it suck them in to get it to stop.”
“Smart thinking as little as you are.....hey, you're that Sheriff's old lady.”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“I recognize you from CNN. You're having kind of a bad day aren't you.”
“Yeah, could you give me a ride back to the terminal. I'm supposed to have a Citation X coming.”
“At this time of night!”
“I called them and told them this one was burning and to get me something down here I could take home.”
“Man, you must have pull!”
“Let's just say if I let them know I'm looking at a Russian plane, they'll shit all over themselves to get me one free.”
“Whoa!”
“Well, that's a fifty million dollar piece of toast! I can get one over there for eighteen and get it in no time. They better never tell me it'll take three years to get one from them.”
“I'll give you a ride.”
I got into his car and he did too. “Be thankful you weren't in the air.”
“You telling me!”
“You'll have the FAA investigating.”
“Nah, they'll see it never left the ground and it'll be labeled as a taxiing accident.”
“You been through this before?”
“My first jet, I ran into the terminal with it. It clipped off most of the right wing. That was when I was getting my license.”
He chuckled and said, “You drive cars like this?”
“No, that's the first fire I've ever had...hopefully it'll be my last.”
“How can you afford a jet on a Sheriff's salary?”
“It's not his money keeping me happy. Do you see those billboards that have the ads which look like they're stalking you?”
“Yeah.”
“For each set of six billboards, they pay me four hundred grand for my program. Now, think about how many billboards are using those around the country and know I can afford it.”
“Man, you've got to be cleaning up!”
“Yeah, they just started publicizing the things and already we're at over fifty million in sales in the past six months.”
“Jeez, how long will that stay at that level?”
“Probably for the next three or four years. I figure by then, I won't have to worry about it. My cost to make the things is about four dollars. From the time they get the disk, it's pretty self explanatory. The first few, I sold them a server to use with it to attach to the billboards, but they quickly told me they had their own and didn't want them.”
“You down here in Miami selling them?”
“I had a business meeting for some investments, yes.”
“Nice city down here, but the place needs something for drugs.”
“I imagine that will happen. I know it would if Steve were Governor down here.”
“He going to run up there?”
“Honestly, I don't know. I'd love for him to run, but he wants to take some time to travel with me. I've told him we can travel and see the state on a campaign, but he says he wants to see the world.”
“He's too young to retire.”
“I tell him that, but he thinks otherwise.”
“Well, I know the country's rooting for him. I imagine that had to be a surprise.”
“Yeah, it blew windows out all over town. Well, you saw how many trees the shock wave knocked down. It's like that even over on Bull Island which is to the Southeast.”
“They're not reporting that.”
“I think they should.”
My cell phone rang and I answered it.
“Hello!”
“They'll have one there in fifteen minutes.”
“Ok, I'll be at the fire personnel office filing papers. Tell them to bring a truck and get this motherfucker.”
“The new one doesn't have those engines.”
“Tell them I'll expect them to get me those engines on it or I'll go with the Russians. They'll know what I'm talking about. I'll get off here and thanks.”
“No problem.”
I clicked the cell phone shut and said, “Fifteen minutes is how long it'll take.”
“They must have one flying in from someplace. It'd take longer than that for them to get preflighted.”
“Yeah, they're probably getting me a leased one.”
“What about the engines.”
“The engines on my plane are an experimental version for fighter jets. The current version will get about five hundred and twenty five miles an hour. The ones on mine took it up to about nine hundred and sixty.”
“Damn!”
“Yeah, the way I figure, if you're going to spend that much on a jet, why the hell not spend another ten mil and get something that's damned fast. The difference is worth it and it's not going to matter if I crash at a thousand miles an hour or five hundred. The only thing is one will have my ass buried into the ground and the other will have me spread out all over the top of it.”
“Boy! It guess that's one way to look at it!”
“When it's your time to go, it's your time.”
We pulled up to his office and I said, “What paperwork will I need to fill out?”
“I've got it in here. I'll need your flight plan if you have it.”
“I threw the clip board into the engine too.”
He laughed and said, “Well, it worked.”
“Beats me going in!”
“Well, we'll have the one we've got here someplace.”
“I hope you're not going to make me wait until you get the thing!”
“No....no....I'll find it.”
“Good. Because I told them I'd be home in a couple of hours and as trying as this day has been, I don't need to add to the problems.”
“You been together long?”
“A few weeks. It's one of those things that when it's right, it's right.”
“You look good together.” He paused and said, “I'll need your pilot's license.”
“Which one. I've got the helicopter one and the jet. Someplace in here, I've still got my prop one.”
“The jet will be fine.”
“Be advised it doesn't have my current address. I just moved to that area. That's how we met.”
“How's that?”
“I got into it with a real estate man. He left me at the house and then called me in as a trespasser.”
“Oh, I bet you never bought the house.”
“Yeah, I did...just not from him.”
“I don't blame you there.”
He took my license and photocopied it.
“It says your a male here.”
“Probably.”
“You're gay!”
I looked at him and thought, 'well, here goes everything!', “Yeah, but CNN learned and they're keeping it on the down low. When I got off the plane, I was in disguise because where I was at previously I needed the protection. CNN ran with it and never pulled the cameras off. When they found out, it was pie in their face, so they're keeping it quiet.”
“What about what you said about having babies?”
“We can adopt.”
“Does he know!”
“Yeah, he knows. It doesn't make him do his job less effectively.”
“Well, we'll probably have to stay here until the FAA gets here.”
“Let's see...you're finding offense in me being gay and you're going to harass my ass.”
“I don't like thinking one thing and finding out another. I wonder what your state will think about that.”
“Let's see...you were wanting him to run for Governor until you found out he was gay. Now, you're harassing me on your job because of it. I wonder what the airport manager will think of that.”
“I don't know, why don't you call him at home and see.”
“One moment, I'll do that.”
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed little John.
“Yeah”
“The fire chief for the airport is now harassing me because I'm gay. We'll be waiting until the FAA shows. See what you can do about him finding different employment.”
“Where's your protection?”
“I don't need it to fly.”
“I'll have someone there soon.”
I got off the phone and said, “You'll be seeking new employment and the airport is now going to be getting a lawsuit filed. Your holding me here without placing me under arrest is considered false imprisonment. Let's see how fast that terminal manager can make his golf cart scoot.”
“If you have those connections, then it's worth my job.”
“I certainly hope so because you have no clue the connections I've got.”
We sat there for ten minutes and I heard the jet taxi up.
“I'll go out and sit in my jet.”
“You'll stay right there.”
“Ok, gladly. You do realize this just went into civil action.”
“I can deny the whole thing.”
“We'll see about that.”
The terminal manager came screaming up on a gator. He stormed into the office and said, “What the fuck's the problem!”
“This fag thinks he can intimidate me and make him let him get out of here.”
The man looked at me and said, “I'm sorry Mr Michaels.”
“That's ok, your airport can stay open. I know that's what you were told. Do you want my voice recorder for your reports on terminating him?”
“I'll take a transcript, but you go ahead and go. If you go out and taxi to the other end of the runway you were using, you'll be able to take off. I'll radio the control tower to give you immediate clearance.”
“I appreciate it. Is there any other paperwork I'll need to file?”
“No, I'll take care of it.”
“I will trust this man will be terminated, otherwise, this airport will be locked down as soon as I find out.”
“No! I'll take care of it.”
“See he doesn't get another position in any airports stateside. I know I'll be making phone calls myself requesting that. And, whatever you do, don't tell the dumb fuck what my connection is to this city. He's thinking he's got a news scoop already. If he gets the other, I'll have to see his physical being isn't one which stays alive.”
“If you've got that power, you little faggot, then by all means do that!”
“JOHN! You don't know who he is! HE WILL do that!”
The guy looked pissed, sick, and surprised all at the same time as I slowly pulled out my cell phone. I hit speed dial and said, “Would you find out who this dumb son of a bitch is and speak to all of his banking concerns to pull all of their extended credit back?”
“On top of that.”
“Thank you.”
I got off the phone and said, “Sir, I could have your legs broke. I could do a lot of things. What I've chosen to do is have your house foreclosed, your credit cards shut off and any car loan you have shut off. When you see how I just fucked your world, you'll wish you'd had a few of my fellas work you over. Now, you're not going to be able to get a place to live when you get that other employment.”
I turned and walked out.
I heard behind me, “Who the fuck was that!”
“Believe me, you don't want to know.” I said over my shoulder.
I went out and got on the jet. The pilot said, “Mr. Michaels, the makers of this plane want me to inform you this one is complimentary. We'll make any adjustments you need.”
“Tell them I'll expect those engines from the other one put on this one, or ones just like them. And tell them while they're at it, I'll take three of them. I could buy three Russian planes for the price of one over here.”
“I'll tell them that sir. Would you like for me to fly you to where you're going?”
“No, I can do it. Just be sure to get that jet loaded and gotten out of here. I'm not sure whose name it's listed under.”
“What happened exactly?”
“If you have the time, you can fly up with me and find your own way home. If not, it's on the report in there.”
“Ok, Thank you sir.”
“No problem. I'm sorry for being so short with you, but I've been inconvenienced enough and now I'm going to be seriously late for my arrival where I need to be.”
“Fly safely sir.”
“If I could get the damned thing off the ground, it'll be a lot more than what we have with the other one!”
I hit the button to shut the door and then went up front. I'd not preflighted, but my flight plan should be the same if I radio in my planes numbers.
“This is Action Jackson 41009er radioing tower for clearance.”
“Your clearance is approved sir.”
“Use my pre-existing flight plan and change the plane's numbering to correlate with this one please.”
“I'll make you a flight plan that gets you up in the air sir.”
“Thank you.”
“Go to the northern end of the runway and know you're cleared for immediate take off.”
“Thanks.”
I taxied out and then got into position. “You're green AC41009.”
“Roger”
I took it up in the air and then eased forward with the throttles. I don't know whose plane it was, but the speed they got it to me was amazing. The glass cockpit was nicely laid out and all the instrumentation seemed to be working beautifully.
I got up and got my heading. They took me up to my ceiling of 45k and I let the throttles go to the full forward position. Checking my fuel weights, I noticed they were pulling from both tanks evenly. I put it on auto pilot and then went back to check out the cabin.
On the seat was a note.
To whom this may concern;
Please enjoy the plane with our compliments. If you find things unsatisfactory, please call and we'll make them corrected.
Most Sincerely,
Ron Poppoff
I called the number and it went to voicemail.
“Ron, This is Rhette Michaels. The plane will be fine. I've requested three with the engines of the one which burned. What I'd like is you to contact me for the interior and exterior specifications I require. I'll fax them to you when I receive your call.”
I snapped the phone shut and had no sooner shut it when it began ringing in my hand.
“Hello?”
“Rhette, CNN just contacted me and notified me the man you pissed off down there attempted to contact a news source down there.”
“Ok, What's my contact number down there?”
“Here's the number.”
He gave me the number and I called it.
“Yeah, this is Rhette, I need that man brought into the warehouse. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Put him in the freezer with those bodies for fifteen minutes nude and then pull him out for five minutes. Do this for three hours and go get a jacuzzi rented. At the end of the three hours, begin putting him in the jacuzzi for five minutes and then putting him in the truck for the fifteen minutes. I want him to know his life just turned into hell froze over.”
“Will do boss.”
“Hey, don't ever call me boss. My name's Rhette to my friends. If you can't call me that, then little Gino will do nicely. Ok?”
“Sorry bo.....umm Rhette.”
“When you're doing that to the man, you tell him Mr Michaels sends his regards. I want him so damned dead tired he's having to be thrown into each.”
“Gotcha! We'll get it done.”
“When you do it, record it and then have a copy of the DVD on hand for me.”
“All the time?”
“No, just the first twelve hours.”
He chuckled and said, “It'll only record for so long.”
“I know that. That's why I said I wanted it for that long. IF you fill the thing with his pain and misery, then I can use it for training purposes. Make sure all the new guys get a chance to be in on it. I want them to see what I do to people who piss me off.”
“Anything else?”
“No, you can leave the electrodes off of him. I think this will do nicely.”
“Holy shit!”
“What? You've never tortured someone before?”
“No, not with that measure!”
“Well, it's effective. I want that fucker so contrite when I get back down there, he's begging me to leave him alone.”
“Do we need to dispose of the body?”
“No, we're not going to kill him. We're just going to make him think that's our purpose. While you're at it, get a portable sauna from the rental place and have it on hand. I think I'll speak to him in there.”
“He'll have pneumonia for sure!”
“Yes, and when he goes home to find his wife and family don't know who he is, he'll wonder what powers I have.
That will be all.”
I rung off and then called little John.
“Yeah, I can hear you're in the jet.”
“Yes, but it's a loaner.”
“No, that's yours.”
“I'll give it to Tampa. Mine aren't going to be this color inside and out.”
“Oh, well, they'll appreciate it.”
“I'll be there as soon as possible. It's not that fast.”
“You flying in over the ocean?”
“Yeah, I don't want to get into any problems with the military flying over their airspace.”
“My guys are getting that other plane. It doesn't sound right. The dash shouldn't catch fire.”
“Me neither. If things had been normal, I'd been up and to where I couldn't have gotten out of it. What irked the shit out of me was the engines wouldn't shut down.”
“Did you hit the emergency shut down?”
“Yeah, it didn't do anything.”
“That's on a separate control. It should've. How'd you get it shut down?”
“I took cushions from seats and the emergency life raft and blew it up and shoved it out the door so it'd go into the engine.”
“Smart thinking.”
“The man who is the fire chief is going to be seeing what it's like to piss me off.”
“What'd he do?”
“He looked at my license and then thought he could hold it over my head that I'm gay and he was thinking I was a woman from seeing me on CNN.”
“Did you call in help?”
“Yeah, I called and got the terminal manager down there and then the guy thought he could continue making threats.”
“What did you do?”
“In front of him, I called in all his banking loans and his credit. He was told then he would be looking for another job and another house and not have any credit to do anything.”
“You should have done more.”
“I am. I got a call he tried contacting a news service and that's getting him pulled in. Until I'm back down there, he'll be dunked in a jacuzzi and then into that freezer. I want him to have walking pneumonia by the time I get there. Then, I'm going to take him into a sauna and have a talk with him. I want him to wish he were dead.”
“You're a whole lot nicer than me. You throw in a lot more torturous things than me. I should probably learn from you.”
“I need to teach those guys down there and yours what it's like to do so when we need it done, they've got experience.”
“Did you learn those things from Gino?”
“Gino's guys did a lot, but by the time I came on the scene, he was mellowing out. I learned what they did through scuttlebutt from the guys. Down in one of the tunnels is a torture room they used. Instead of a freezer, they'd dip the guys in cold water and then into the hot water and before each, they'd hit them with a cattle prod. What's bad is they'd kill them too fast with the prod. With me, I'd rather have them wishing they were dead a long time before it happens.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
“When the feds go out to that lab, they'll find his sorry ass out there. It's going to be hard to have him deny he was not involved if he's found guarding the place.”
“He'll probably make a run.”
“No, we're going to have the guard dogs outside the place making sure he doesn't leave.”
“Shrewd. I might have a few people in there myself.”
“You're welcome to it.”
He chuckled and said, “You know, you're teaching me a lot about things and yet, you're teaching me you're more than able to handle things.”
“After I got off the phone while I was in line, I got to thinking about the number of men I'll have under me. A big part of me is feeling overwhelmed, but another part has admiration for your position. You probably don't look at the numbers and think how many you have, but for me, I looked at the numbers and found it a bit amazing.”
“With me, I look at them as under you. If I looked at them as being under me, it'd be too much. Even my guys up here I look at as being under my leaders and not as being under me.”
“I understand. I'll have to start doing that too, but I want everyone to know they can call and get me.”
“I like that part of your operation. It has them thinking they can talk to you and get things done.”
“Yeah, I'll probably have to delegate it back down, but if I am the one delegating it then the problem better be taken care of.”
“Just make sure your leaders know they've got that responsibility. That one guy down there I don't like.”
“Me neither, but you never know how useful he might be. I think what I'll do is put him over the bar guys. We're going to need someone in there who's an asshole to deal with those guys.”
“You're right, but I think you and Dave need to get a clear understanding with the business owners that your guys aren't to be running off customers.”
“Oh, we will. That's why I'm going to be going in and having people watching the men. If they think I won't pull them out of there to walk a dock, they're nuts.”
“Speaking of the docks, what are you going to do with them?”
“We'll run them like San Diego.”
“You need to make time to go see La Don.”
“I will.”
“Like soon.”
“I know. Don't ask me how I know, but I know.”
“I was wondering. He needs to know you know indirectly.”
“He's going to feel so lost. Hopefully, this cure will work.”
“I think it's too late.”
“We'll see. From what I heard, this cure makes it look like the person is really sick before it makes them better. The reports I've had, the people were about to give up hope of even taking it, but they kept on taking it and it made them better.”
“It's probably got to do that to kill off the cancer.”
“Yeah. We all think we're indestructible, but when it's time, we know it.”
“You've had that beating to make you realize more than I have.”
“Yes, what's strange is waking up in a hospital and not knowing why you're there. It's the one thing that really sends you reeling.”
“I understand. Just thinking of it would make me wonder. You really should do something more than what you're doing.”
“I'm doing it my own way. Let me do it my way.”
“You're going to have to start having your security around you a lot more.”
“I don't trust them. When Gino and I were together, I realized he ran around with a whole entourage and thought he was safe. I got to thinking about it and realized one bomb could take out everyone. To me, it's not safe thinking I'm safe and not be.”
“If anyone wants to get you, they can get you.”
“Right, that's why I figure I can go it alone and get by a lot easier.”
“You're going to have to have security. Just as soon as we call those guys from the St. Louis group to the table, they're going to try to whack you.”
“No, I'll make it clear the moment they do, even if they succeed, I'll have people in place to take not only them out but their whole families. That is when you can say I did it too nice.”
“Between you and I, you're doing it too nice with them now.”
“I've got more tricks up my sleeves with them. Things which when you see what I pull, you're going to wonder where I come up with this shit. I think one of them will find himself down in Miami before this is over. That one will probably be Michael. He's got the charisma and the charm to get things done.”
“Just make sure you're not one of the things that gets done. I think he's stuck on you as much as you're stuck on him.”
“He's got a wife and nine babies!”
“Doesn't matter, everyone sees it. You are attracted to that, I think.”
“I'm definitely attracted to him. The man leaves me weak in the knees, but there were those like that in prison I learned how to manipulate and I have a strong feeling Michael's not going to know what's hit him when I'm done.”
He chuckled and said, “I imagine you're right. Just be sure he's not thinking you're giving him the city.”
“No, he's going to know it's mine, but he'll probably be led to believe had it been another place and time, he'd gotten that and more.”
“And he'd be wrong.”
“You're damned right. A whole lot of life is selling the fantasy. If he has his, then he'll bust his ass to show me it's still possible. He has no clue I'm not resting on someone who has nine dependents to support who wants me to be a secret. No. I'm above him now and he'll realize any fantasies he's got are fantasies. I've got who I want.”
“Make sure you keep that part of you a secret. It's going to be hard, but I think you're too bright to let them get to you or to Steve.”
“No, Steve's content with the security. I think he understands it's a part of the game for him. For me, it's not a part of the game. When we reach a point, it's beyond being a part of the game. You're at that point and so am I. The moment someone thinks they can rise into power by getting rid of us then that's when they need to know that's not how the game's played.
Dave is my right hand man. I put that on the table. He's down right now, but he's not out. He'll come back and then when he does, he'll still be there. Right now, I'm still undecided about number three. I think Alex is a good one for the job, but I've got to test him. If he can pull St. Louis in, then a large test is accomplished but the other part is him getting his strength and leadership under control. Hell, I'm not even tested under that guideline, but Dave sure is.”
“Yes, you're correct. You will be too. What you're doing so far is amazing. You're gathering your strength down there and you're making people think you're not all about much. However, I'm seeing what you're doing and I know just as soon as you're through with this part, you'll have more happening down there than even I can imagine.”
“The next part of this thing is to turn the tables. When Gino and I would play chess, we did something that made me learn a whole other facet to the game. We'd turn the board so we were facing the sides and then look at our strengths and weaknesses. Then, we'd play the other man's pieces for so long. If you do that enough, you learn it's a part of this game we're playing in life. We need to look at the game through our opponent's eyes and see if we can find weakness. That's why I never fully trust someone I've got on my side because I know when the tables are turned, they can be used against me.”
“Smart. I've never thought of that.”
“Now you see why I never placed too much stock in this swearing in ceremony tonight. It's just words and it's just a rite that someone can use to get in and make himself inside. You've demonstrated none of us are safe from having your men in amongst us. My test will be when I've got to pull my men back out of there and see what they do. What I think is I'll have them watched and I'll have them really thinking they're safe for a year and then I'll do a switch and pull all my guys out of wherever I am and take them down there and pull them out and put them in another town. Those that are insecure because they're suspect will not want to leave the part they're taking money from on the sly. What's their downfall is my guys will report to me anyone trying to pay them something they're not entitled to.”
“Smart!”
“Yeah, it's a part of the testing of the loyalties. If I can discover the flaws then they better know they'll be brought to trial. When that happens, they'll have to answer to me and will find I'm not about to forget the disloyalty.”
“Did Gino do that?”
“No, because he had such a strong base already in place. On top of that, Me-maw had ears in places he could only wish to have. Those old women all told her what was going on.”
“She was a lot stronger than she let on.”
“I saw that strength in the hospital room with Tony. She laid out to me where she had ears and how she got those ears. Gino was more direct and in the front door with men. Me-maw would cultivate people's household staff with her staff and get them to talking amongst themselves. Then, they'd report to her. If something was happening, she was the hotline to contact and she'd get to Gino with it. That's how she knew what they were planning before it ever got accomplished. Before that would happen, she'd have Gino counteracting and pulling their actions into his strengths.
That's why when I used the banking thing tonight, I knew it would work. It'd been tried with me by Tony's family. What Gino did was he went in and paid off all my bills before they had a chance. The banker was sitting there with a stunned look upon his face wondering how he was going to explain it to Tony's dad. By that time, Gino had a few phone calls made and he was making them play dodge ball against cannons.”
“Is that why you got everything you did?”
“Yes. From the first moment, Tony's dad was evicting me and then he wanted me to turn over my car. I drew the line at the car and burnt the son of a bitch in front of the tow truck operator. Then, I told the man to take it to his dad and dump it. That pissed the old man off. He knew I had one thing and that was my credit cards. We went and paid those off and then opened a joint account with Gino and I's name on it. He told the banker, 'You try shutting this one off and I'll have you so far on the bottom of the river, even the fish will be above you.' The man never tried anything.
That's when Gino went and started burning paper mills and doing work stoppages. Then, Gino told the man he'd start hitting closer to home for every thing the man did. Tony's dad tried putting an arson charge on me over the car and Gino burned Tony's mom's real estate office. Gino called him and said, “One more thing and your office tower burns with you in it.” and the man had balls enough to tell him to try it. Not fifteen minutes later, the office tower was on fire and Gino was on the phone with him telling him how he was going to have the whole family killed.”
“What was this over?”
“The family owns an insurance company and yet, they wouldn't pay a policy with me as beneficiary to bury him. I put that funeral on credit with me being the one to pay. I attempted to collect and they refused to pay citing it was his suicide. Well, we'd arranged with the doctor to keep him alive until his death couldn't be deemed a suicide. They had to pay.”
“Oh. So it was the principle of the matter.”
“Yeah, but Gino tacked on all sorts of things. I was to get the deed to the house and I was to get a new car every year for ten years and I was to get the insurance. By the time it was over, Gino added on the trust fund just to make them know I wasn't going to be fucked with. The man gave us everything.”
“Good.”
“Now he's dead and his brother wants Tony's body. I'll give them that as long as I can see.”
“His brother thinks a lot of you.”
“His brother knew me and knew my love for Tony. I took him to the grave and he saw the extremes I went to in order to keep his family away.”
“What are you going to do about that now?”
“We'll have a talk. Soon, you're going to see that company up under us. I imagine I'll be on the board because of two reasons. Tony would be there now and there are some who have long memories. Tony's cousin is on the board as is Douglas. We'll put me on the board so I can have a say in things... in his memory.”
“You've not had it easy with men.”
“No, but it's getting better. It took changes on my part and I've made them. Now, I'm more independent than I've ever been and a large part are the changes I made. I think that's a huge part of what Steve likes about me is that independence.”
“He should, he's not got anything if he doesn't.”
“You're right. Well, I'm about to land, so I'll see you in a moment.”
“Land safe.”
“I'll see. I think I'll have to see how these brakes are. This is a totally different plane than I'm used to flying.”
“It should be fine.”
“We'll see. I'll be there in a moment.”
I got off the phone and then landed. There was a heavy cross wind, but it landed like a dream. When I got through I put it over in a hangar and then went over to the helicopter. One thing immediately made me feel uneasy was where the skid was sitting. When I had landed, I landed it with the skid running down the line of the H they had painted on the tarmac.
I stepped away from the chopper and called little John. “I'll need a car. This chopper isn't parked how I parked it.”
“No one here has flown it.”
“Well, it's been moved.”
“You sure?”
“Get me someone here to pick me up. I'm not flying it. If you want, you can bring one of your guys to be blown all to hell, but I'm not getting in it.”
“I'll have my bomb people there and have someone come get you.”
I stayed back away from the chopper and waited. When the chopper flew in, I went over to the guy and said, “I parked it with that skid running along that H. It's a trait of mine I always do. You can see how it's sitting. Get fingerprints from the stick and the door handle to see whose they are before you mess with anything but I want a complete report.”
I went over and got in the other helicopter. It was my pilot.
“How's it going?”
“Not well, but everything's going great. How are you liking the new ones?”
“It flies like a dream. We've got that one torn down, but it looks like someone put a plate under the fuel injector plate so it wouldn't breathe as good as it should.”
“Is that normal?”
“No, the others didn't have it. It's not hooked to anything, it's just strange they'd do it.”
“Well, see if you can hook a nitrous plate to it and see if it will make it scream. If it does, then I'll use it.”
He chuckled and said, “You're really something with the aerobatics, aren't you!”
“It's something I found I was good at and the thrill of it makes me want to do it. I'll have to watch it while I'm training Steve.”
“I heard about your jet burning. I've never heard of one burning before.”
“Me neither. We're going to take it and see what caused it. The emergency shut off for the engines didn't work either.”
“Oh man.”
“Yeah, so I'm thinking someone did it. That and this one really is getting me irked like hell.”
“I'd say you need to put guards on them.”
“I'll be doing that, but they'll have shoot to kill orders. This is pissing me off.”
“I don't blame you.”
We landed and I thanked him.
When I went across the yard from the side gate, someone opened the door and let Gypsy out. She came running and I picked her up. She gave me lovings and I carried her on in.
In the living room, I saw everyone still sitting and visiting. Steve came over and gave me a huge hug and kiss. “Hi babe. You had me worried.”
“Not half as worried as the person that did it.”
“You think it was someone?”
“If it was an isolated thing, I'd be suspicious. Now, we just found that helo at the airport moved and I'm really thinking we've got someone that wants me dead.”
Mom heard the conversation and asked, “What are you going to do?”
“First thing I've got to do is get a guard on that jet at the airport. Then we're going to guard the hangars from here on out. If they think they've gotten to me, then they'll find out I'm about to get to them.”
“You're not happy. I can tell it by your eyes.”
“No, I'm not. There's not much I can do but be on the defensive but I'll find out who it is and it'll be taken care of.”
Kevin and JT were sitting over together. “How's things going?”
Kevin smiled and said, “Things are going wonderfully. I'm really liking him a lot.”
“How are you doing JT?”
“I'm really liking him more than I thought I would.”
“Good. Just keep each other happy is all I ask. IF not, then try to work through things.”
Rose came over and said, “We just got a call they're taking Dave back into surgery.”
“Ok, I've not been called. I'm glad he informed someone.”
“Tomorrow, when you go down, I'd like to go too. By then I'll have the funeral plans made but I'd rather be there with him than up here.”
“Sure, let's make sure the plane's safe and then I'll fly you on it. One thing that's going to change is we're going to start having a helo flying us to the hospital and the penthouse.”
Mom asked, “You're getting a penthouse down there?”
“Yes. Hopefully, it'll be like La Don's out in San Diego. I want it to overlook the docks and use it for a base of operations plus somewhere to stay. It'll be big enough for you guys to stay down there if you want.”
“Is Dave going to stay down there?”
“Her asking this told me she'd overheard someone speaking.”
“Yes, but it's going to be a base and not his home. To me, his home will be across the way as soon as it's built. One other thing I want everyone to know is we're going to have a fleet of jets at our disposal. I'm making it so whenever you want, you can fly to Las Vegas and stay in my suite. I've asked for a suite to be made so it's mine all the time. Until Dave's better, I'll have to be doing the circuit and making sure things are operating.”
I looked at Mom and said, “When you've got a few moments, I need to speak to you privately.”
“Sure hon, what's going on?”
“It's private.”
“Ok, let's go in here so we can speak.”
We went into the kitchen and I said, “Lance has cancer. You might want to let La Don know you're supportive of them. Don't let him know we know because it's a secret Dave wasn't supposed to let others know.
I'll be going out and being there, but I won't let them know I know. I figure if they want me to know, I'll be told.”
“Oh Lord, how bad is it?”
“It's bad. But, Dave has gotten him an herbal mix which is supposed to be amazing. One of the parts of the mix is a tea from Great Britain and another part of it's from China. There's a third part and when it's done together, it's supposed to be amazing.
From what Dave's said, he's trying that, but I don't know how long he's been doing it or anything.”
“Ok. I'll call and start making him on my weekly call list.”
“I'd appreciate it. He needs to know we still care and we're there for him.”
“I'll keep this under my hat. If we do that then we'll be giving them both support.”
“I need to make a call. Someone's been in my helo at the airport up here. It's been moved and after the fire down there I'm going to have guards all over the place.”
“Are you in over your head with this?”
“Mom, right now I'm swimming and keeping up with the current. It's going to be ok.”
“Don't let it drag you down.”
“I'm not. I'm needed and I think if I stay in good communication with Steve, we'll be fine. I'm staying mum in front of Kevin because if he and I were together, we'd be at each other's throats over this. I'm glad I'm not with him right now because of that.”
“Things work out for a reason.”
“He's happy?”
“It appears so. Everyone's so nice and Steve is a complete doll. I think I was worried over how he and Kevin were going to be, but they're really hitting it off.”
Good. To me, that means a lot. I think I was worried about that most. If he can be happy, then I know something good can happen between us still.”
“Honey, he really is sorry for what happened.”
“Mom. Dad was sorry every time he hit you too. How many times does it take for someone to pull up off the floor to realize sorry is another word for bullshit.”
“Honey, maybe this is best. A big part of things is forgiveness.”
“I was forgiving to a fault. I forgave the first time he screwed around and he did it again. I attempted to forgive him for the second and then I got cool cocked. I'll be damned if I forgive that to find it happening again. However, with me stepping back, he has a chance with someone again. BUT, if he does it again, he'll have to find away to make me not cut his arms off so I'm assured it doesn't happen again.”
“Honey, let him live his life.”
“I am, but I assure you I'll be there to see it doesn't happen again. He'll not cause an embarrassing situation more than once in this family.”
“Maybe you shouldn't have introduced them.”
“If he's going to do it again then he shouldn't have been introduced. If he can live decently and normally, then he should be able to be trusted. He has the one time to fuck up.”
“He has pressures and issues just like anyone else.”
“You're going back into the battered wife mode of making excuses. I'll tell you now, millions of people face issues without beating the shit out of the people they love. That's a cop out and you know it. How many times has dad raised a hand to you in this marriage?”
“Not one ever.”
“See. So, you think about that because I sure am. A man will get by with what he can but when he knows his balls are in a vise, they'll say what they can to get out of it. Well, his balls are released to find we're going about this differently. I love him and always will, but I'm not going to be a punching bag no more.
Let's go back into the living room. I'm really glad you guys came.”
“I am too. Rose is such a strong woman.”
“She is. I love her to bits.”
“She loves you too. It's amazing how how deeply she thinks of you already.”
“It makes it nice. I'm glad we have the closeness we do. I only wish Kevin's mom had been as close.”
“She's a bitch hon. I don't even call her a mother. A mother will stand with her kids. That one stood just far enough away to say she was there but that was it.”
“Well, when the chips were down, she wasn't there.”
“We need to talk about what she said to him when he went back down there after you broke up.”
“We've got time now.”
“She let him in the door and told him he had to get his own place to stay. Mind you, she's got three extra bedrooms in that house.”
“I'm aware of that. He and I bought them the house.”
“Well, he wasn't welcome to stay in it.”
“She should have. We pay the bills.”
“Well, he's paying the bills, but had to stay in a motel.
When her husband was there, Kevin had to be elsewhere. He wasn't allowed in the house to visit.”
“Well, that'd only happen once with me. They'd get handed the deed and told there are the bills and good luck on paying the property taxes.”
“Why?”
“The house is in a subdivision like mine here. The neighborhood association fees are what the man makes a year. He'll have to have a second job just to cover bills and taxes. It's way too much house for them, but it was beautiful, so we got it for them.”
“That was sweet.”
“Well, I was hoping things would be better. I guess they won't be. The only attachment I see she has with him is she gave birth. If you were the same towards me, I'd cut the cord a long time ago and not looked back.”
“I think he seeks approval where none comes.”
“Yes, but even a blind man can see it's not going to happen. Hopefully, on her death bed, the bitch will say something nice. I imagine she'll probably take that time to tell him what a disappointment to her he was.”
“Probably.”
“When that day comes mom, I'm going to be there so I can tell the woman a piece of my mind. She'll be told she was the disappointment and people saw through her.”
“I can't believe the things she done.”
“Yes, there is pride, but there's stupidity in record levels. She sailed right through pride to severe stupidity long before we even knew. At least he now knows her true colors.”
“I think he got a taste of it.”
“But, is it enough for him to stop paying the bills? I doubt it. She'll probably be on his payroll as long as he has one.”
“He's selling out. He's told me that.”
“Well, I'm willing to bet he's going to keep paying her bills and her care.”
“Probably. We can't fault him for that.”
“Well, it's only an emotional attachment and that's it. I've given up on him seeing the light.”
“He has those attachments....even with you.”
“I know that. The thing I do is I give back more than I get. The moment he thinks otherwise, he needs to think about who really owned that business and who was stupid enough to sign over half.”
“You loved him.”
“I hoped it would make it better. He used it as a springboard to do what it took to get me to break it off. Now, I'm leaving it be. I've got too many other things on my plate.”
“One thing I do know is it's going to be hard for them to form a life with all those guys in that house.”
“Tough shit. They're not paying a thing for that house. If they can't live with them while they are there, then they can find their own. The guys will be out ASAP but I'm not going to have good men sleeping on the attic floor when beds are available.”
“I understand. Now, how far are you in?”
“I'll let you know when I get there. Right now, I'm in too deep, but I'm going to be deeper by the time this is through.”
“What's that mean?”
“Mom, you are aware of what little John is. Well, I'm right there neck and neck with him. Today, I got Miami and Missouri. Now, I'm going to be getting Ohio and Texas and Arkansas. Basically put, Florida is under me with the amount of territory I've got along with a guy I'm to mentor, so things are adding up and increasing.”
“What will it mean for you?”
“A whole lot of work until I can get people I can trust to manage things. Steve's aware and he's also going to let me have my space.”
“If this comes out, he'll be ruined.”
“Yes, and fortunately, we're covering our tracks as fast as we're making them. It's not fun, but what happened in Miami is really getting under my skin. I've a feeling someone is trying to get rid of me and when I find out who they are, I'll be less than kind.”
“Keep your hands clean.”
“I will, but just today, I've broken more laws than is enough to put me in a prison.”
“Be careful. If I didn't think it was worth it, I'd not be supportive.”
“I know. The good thing is I'll be getting things cleaned up and we can know that's not under me any more.”
“What won't be under you?”
“Drugs. I don't like them and I won't have them under me. If this is what these threats are to my life are about, then whoever it is will find out I'm not going to take it lightly.”
“Let's get back in there. You just make sure you're taken care of.”
We went back to the living room and I made light conversation. One of the bits of conversation was the CNN reports. We watched them as they had them interviewed. To me, I looked like an idiot. Everyone else seemed to think they went over really good and Steve was tickled pink about what we'd gotten across.
We sat there watching and he had his arm around me. When each point got made, a cheer would go up like it was a score and they were watching a football game.”
Steve soon yawned and I said, “Guys, we're going to go up and go to bed. Does everyone have a place to sleep?”
Mom said, “Yes, your guys were very nice.”
“Good.”
Rose smiled and said, “I'll be up for a while. I want them to call me and let me know what's happening.”
“Let me call down there and see what's happening.”
I called and spoke to the nurse. “Honey, he's still in surgery.”
“How bad is it, honestly?”
“He's got swelling in his brain. The doctor said it's like a boxer.”
“Ok, what could be the side effects of it?”
“A lot of things, but we'll have to wait and see what there is.”
“OK, I just wanted to know. You have Rose's phone number, don't you?”
“Yes dear.”
“Well, be sure to give her calls and updates. I'd rather she be called and told there are no changes than to have her up here worried.”
“I'll start
calling her every hour.”
“I'd appreciate that. If there's anything significant, let me know. I never got a call he was going back into surgery.”
“I was told your plane was burning out on a runway and your hands were full at the moment.”
“They're never too full for him. Yes, I had a jet burn but that's a part of life. I've got a new one now and things are still not so busy I can't pick up and get there.”
“You might come down as early as you can make it.”
“We have a funeral to plan and then we'll be down. I'll make it as soon as I can.”
“Let me know when you're in the building.”
“How about me letting you know when we're flying in because I'll be arriving by helicopter from here on out.”
“Ok, I'll let them know.”
“Tell the
administrator we'll be making sizable contributions when this is
over.”
“He's already been made aware of that.”
“By whom?”
“Your friend.”
“Dave?”
“No, the man who was with you.”
“Ok, I'll have to thank him. Thanks for telling me.”
“No problem dear.”
I rung off and told Rose. “You'll be getting hourly phone calls from here on out.”
“How soon do they want us down there?”
“She said the sooner the better, but I told them we had a funeral to plan.”
“Ok, just as soon as that's done, I'll want to go.”
Steve stood up and said, “Hon, I'm going to head up.”
“I'll be there in a moment. I'm going to say good night to everyone.”
I turned to everyone and said, “Thanks for coming. I'm sorry things are so hectic, but I really appreciate you coming. Your support has been amazing.”
Mom handed me a note and said, “Little John wants you to have this.”
I opened it and it read, “Your families cars are waiting for them at home. Don't think anything of it. J”
I smiled and said, “It says your cars are waiting for you when you get home. That's how fast this man works.”
A cheer arose and I said, “Guys, the one thing I won't do is put gasoline in them. I'll insure them and I'll take care of the maintenance, but all the gasoline is yours that goes in. Use them and know they're a gift from me.”
Brent and Ash stood up and hugged me. Brent said, “Rhette, thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. Let's try getting things closer between us and you guys know I'm but a phone call away. I really do appreciate you coming.”
“You've got an awesome setup here. Mom made us aware of what's happening, and you need to know you've got us behind you.”
“I appreciate it. It's not something I'd normally do, but it's something that's got to be done.”
They nodded and Ash said, “Rhette, I've told Brent and Mom, but we're going to be having a baby soon. When it's born, I'll want you there.”
“I'll be there. Hopefully, you guys will let me know when you're having the shower so I can send a gift or two.”
He smiled and said, “Send Pampers!”
“You'll have them, but I'll want something else for the baby to have besides those.”
He smiled and I said, “Guys, the same goes for the jets. Use them to do whatever you want and don't think about the costs. That suite out in Las Vegas is going to be empty if you're not using it. Just check with everyone else and find out if it's being used. If not, then know you're not going to have to share.”
“We'll do that.”
I hugged them and then went over to Kevin and JT. “Guys, I hope things are going well. I'm sorry I've not been a better host.”
Kevin rolled his eyes and said, “Rhette, we're fine. We know you're busy and I'm glad we're here in a little way for you.”
“When are you coming back in?”
“Monday, I've got closing on the business. On Monday afternoon, I'll be closing on the properties.”
“You got my stuff out?”
“Yes, they're aware your program isn't a part of the deal. I did give them the franchises on the signs which are up now.”
“That's fine. Are they to know my half of the profits are until June 1?”
“They're aware. Mine are too. We're closing, but until June 1, they're not taking over. They're fine with that arrangement.”
“Ok, you getting me a jumbo sent out?”
“Yes, it's ordered.”
“Ok, if you can figure out how we're going to get it into that house, let me know.”
“It's coming over here and going down in the breezeway. Steve and I decided we'll watch football on it over here.”
“Ok, that's fine. We'll get it hooked up.”
“They're putting in a lot of sliding doors down there. Two of the sets aren't going to be put in until the jumbo goes through. With the house being lifted, it should make it so we can put in one of the 11'x23's.”
“That's going to be too big!”
“No, it's a new one that's going to be able to be hooked up and not be too bright.”
“Ok, but that's too much tv for a house.”
“We figure it'll be about big enough for us to watch several games at once and really razz each other.”
“Did you have plenty of time to get to know each other?”
“Yeah, he's a great guy.”
“I think so.”
JT stepped forward and hugged me and then Kevin did. When he backed up, he said, “Rhette, sometime I need to speak with you.”
“IF you fly down with us tomorrow, you can, but other than that, we'll have to do it on the phone.”
“It's something I've decided about my mom. It can wait.”
“Ok, I'll support you on whatever, but just know I'm not a member of the woman's fan club.”
“I know that.” he said with a smirk.
“Well, good night.”
I turned and went out the door to the main hallway.
Little John was sitting there. “Rhette, we need to speak.”
“Ok, what's going on?”
“I've got news and I've got news.”
“What's the news.”
“I need you in the office.”
“Ok”
We went in and he said, “Dave's coded twice on that operating table. It's not looking good.”
“Ok, I spoke with the nurse, but she didn't tell me that.”
“Now, the other news is there was an incendiary device set up under the dash of the chopper. It would have went off in two minutes and yes, the emergency kill switch was deactivated.”
“Ok. Find out who it is that put it there.”
“It's already known.”
“Who?”
“You're going to be pissed.”
“Not until I know who it was.”
“The fingers are pointing back to Tampa.”
“Why?”
“It seems he knew more about that lab than he's telling. I know he's been receiving payments and it's his guy's fingerprints they lifted from the door of that chopper.”
“Oh my God. He's been feeding Gypsy!”
“With your word, I'll have him taken into trial. I've got enough to bury him.”
“No. Put him and his wife on that plane and fly them out on a trip that won't come back. Can you get a guy to fly it and bail and then make it go straight up?”
“I'll get it done.”
“I want the fucker to know what it's like to be on one when it's out of control.”
“How about if I get an older one for that purpose.”
“Ok, but get it done. It's a whole lot tidier than going to trial and it will give him the chance I had to live. Apparently, he knows more than he's letting on about flying.”
“No, it's his guy that moved that copter.”
“Ok, let's get him killed and have it done after that fucker's out of here. Now I'm going to have to worry about getting our guys fed because I'm not going to trust a thing that man feeds.”
“We'll have a new man in place by the morning.”
“Have him get new food. Who knows what's been done to the other.”
“Anything that's still sealed I think will be safe. You might watch your dog. I doubt if he's that devious.”
“Well, take him into custody and that man too. This is pissing me off.”
“Rhette, I think he was expecting me to give him the territory.”
“Well, that was your decision. Now, I'm glad you didn't because he would be continuing to put the drugs out of the lab.”
“Let me check on a few things. What would you say if we tagged the lab to him?”
“With him alive, I don't know. He could turn witness. I'd rather have him dead.”
“Ok, you bring up a point I hadn't considered. We'll do it your way. I'll have a jet in here to get him out and then we'll have that problem taken care of.”
“Who are you putting in over them?”
“Why?”
“I'd like to meet
him. If he's going to be under me, I'm going to need to get a rapport
with him.”
“I was thinking about putting you over it.”
“Ok, but I've got to find some more managers.”
“The problem you'll have is finding people to manage. He's only got like ten thousand men over there.”
“How come so few?”
“A lot went to prison but more of them just died of old age.”
“I've a thought. What happens to all the older ones when they come to Florida?”
“Nothing much, why?”
“Do you think there are a few that would want to get into the management down here?”
“I'll check. I've never thought of it.”
“To me, it's a resource of experience we can use. I'd rather have some experience than no experience.”
“The problem with that is the old style of thinking. It's not going to be the new style.”
“Maybe we can retrain them. I mean, they are used to the thought of them being put out to pasture and no one wanting them. So, when we have some interest, that's going to seem strange. They're going to most likely think things are imploding in upon themselves. If I can show them how to manage the new way, then we'll have a bunch of the old heads supporting what we're doing and saying it's a good thing.”
“You're smart about this.”
“Not really. This stuff is just coming to me. Believe me, I've had to start winging it pretty good.”
He chuckled and said, “I know how you feel. I've been doing it amazingly well for the past ten years.”
“Well, we'll wing this together and any ideas we can't come up with, we'll figure something out.”
“I'll call some of them tomorrow and get them down to meet with you.”
“I'm going to go up and go to bed. You do that too. It's a big day for us.”
He smiled and said, “I'll give you an update if I hear it.”
“I'm supposed
to receive one also. It's really bugging me that doctor is getting
word to everyone but me.”
“I'll tell him.”
“No, right now Dave's life is in his hands. I sure don't need him pissed off at me, but when this is over, I'll put him down here and as far away from me as he can be. If his loyalty is to me, then he needs to remember it. It's my money that's paying the damned bill.”
“I'll make mention of it. What was the other instance?”
“I wasn't notified he went back into surgery. I had to hear it from Rose. The reasoning was my plane was burning....well dammit, I was down there then. I could have ran back across the city to the hospital.”
He nodded and said, “That wasn't right. I'll speak with him.”
“Is he under you?”
“No.”
“Then let me handle it.”
“NO! The man needs to know he's got you upset.”
“Little John, the reason I owe that man something is over what he did for us with Tony. I'm hanging onto that compassion the man showed, but this has me banging on the drum to get him out of here.
Now, I'm having issues with you wanting to speak to him when he's under me. It's my problem, don't subvert me and make it a bigger problem.”
“I wasn't. Umm, well, I guess it would look that way, but that wasn't my intention. I know you're hands are full and I was hoping was it would help you.”
“I understand. It's something I've got to handle though. What you could do is you could get the leaders from St. Louis down and we could have them go through the ceremony tomorrow. If not, then they can freeze as far as I'm concerned.”
“I'll call them and get them down there. That's a good plan.
With them seeing the guy getting hustled from freezer to Jacuzzi and seeing that stack of dead bodies, they'll know you're about business and don't really care if they live or die.”
“A huge part of me wants you to have Michael strip down so I can see him in the altogether, but we'll do it the right way.”
He chuckled and said, “You really have the hots for him, don't you.”
“The man is hot. He's still hot. He's got enough status of being out in the public, I can see him from afar and know how he's looking. That is one man I can say I've looked at through the years.”
“You're smart to stay away from him.”
“Yes, although he's got a whole flock of kids, I do know he's a devoted family man.”
“He's going to take it rough he's having his title stripped from him.”
“It's a mere formality. If it means so fucking much to him, I can put him in over Tampa and then demand instant results.”
“That's not a bad idea. If you did that, you could show him the new management style.”
“I have a feeling he'd bring a bunch of goons down from St. Louis.”
“If he did, that'd be his mistake for which you could take him to trial. It'd be pulling men from your known area and be doing so without your permission. If he said he didn't do it, we could say he knowingly didn't send them back when he knew they were down there. We could get them in on the trial and either testify against him, or have him testifying on your side to tell you he told them to go home. Both ways, it's enough to really have them in a bunch of hot water. And, it'd be a good way to establish your authority over him.”
“Ok, we'll do that. What I'll also do is I'll pull in little David for this area.”
“Do you think that's wise?”
“It can't hurt. He's going to be out of his element and he's going to have a real problem of it. What I will know is if he's as good as I thought he'd be, or if he's no better than his family.”
“You really hate the Michaels, don't you?”
“I'll tell you why. There were strong reports and I mean really really strong reports the take over attempt in Kansas City was stirred by Jimmy. There were enough reports Gino damned near brought him to trial over it.
At the time, Gino didn't have enough evidence. What he had was testimony from men who would be dying. You know as well as I that never works out when someone's at trial. They'll lie because they know they're dead. What happened is later, Gino got the evidence he needed.”
“Why didn't he bring him to trial then?”
“He figured he'd let sleeping dogs lie and not seem to be grinding an axe. One thing I made it a point to do was carry that grudge. Now, I want them to know they're excommunicated.”
“Oh.... that's going to be rough.”
“Yes, but I can get you that evidence. We can try the fuckers and then have them killed... if you want to go that route, but to me, I'd rather have them publicly embarrassed.”
“We'll go that route.”
“Which?”
“The public embarrassment. If they come bitching to me, then I'll tell them I've got the evidence and they should thank their lucky stars you're not looking for an execution.”
“Ok, but tell the men if they come gunning for me, I'll kill anyone from that bloodline all the way back to the crib. Then, I'll raise those from the crib hating that blood.”
“Holy shit! You'd do that too.”
“You damned right. They'd see my last name and think I was related and not have a clue. I'll tell you now that's the extent I'll go with this. They sure as shit were going to go that far with Gino.”
“But you want little David in, right?”
“Yes, but you make sure he knows any and I mean ANY communication with his family, then I'll put him out just as much as the rest of them.”
“Why do you stand for him?”
“Here's why and it's a small small thing.”
“What's that?”
“One day, down in the city, I had one of those days which was a stellar bad day. I had a flat tire and then I put on the spare and it was nearly flat. I drove it to air it up and then blew the spare up. In the process, my ring from Gino got broke. I was beside myself with what to do when I looked across the parking lot and there stood little David. He smiled and waved and I asked him if I could get his help for a moment. He came over and heard about my day and then saw the ruined ring laying on the ground. The tears in that man's eyes were enough to make me feel bad.”
“What happened?”
“He took me over and bought a new set of tires for my car and then asked for the ring.”
“You didn't give it to him, did you?”
“Yeah, he said he was going to have it repaired. He did and that's why it's around my neck now instead of on my finger...because they could fix it, but the design is such that once it broke, the pressure of me wearing it would break it again. The jeweler said he was surprised I'd been able to wear it for as long as I did because all the others were had been returned and replaced years previously.”
“Oh man, so he knew who you were and helped.”
“Yes. Now do you want to know what I thought when I looked across that parking lot?”
“What?”
“There's a man with a great ass. I wonder if he'll help me!”
He laughed and said, “OH man, you are so wrong.”
“Yeah, but when he turned around and I saw it was little David, he helped and didn't pry one bit about what was going on in my life or anything.”
“I bet that made you feel good.”
“Yeah, because I needed the help and anything else would have been a hassle.”
“Ok, I'm understanding now. I'll tell him why he's being spared and why the rest of them are being taken out.”
“You tell them if
they do not like the way things are, they will face my wrath and they
sure don't want to do that. I've still got the evidence and would
rather bring dead to the table to testify than them.”
“Would you get me that evidence? I'd like to have it for my files.”
“I'll copy everything for you. You do realize we're having Michael sworn in under me when he's sworn to you.”
“Yes, but for him to take Tampa, he'll have to formally renounce St. Louis which will renounce his being under me. The deal's sweeter for him because he gets three cities.”
“Yes, and a whole lot better climate. Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning.”
“I'll get him out of here.”
“His wife too.”
“You do realize she's the spookier of the two. That woman hates the man enough she freely told me what he was doing.”
“And everything checked out?”
“Yes.”
“Ok, keep her alive. She told you and that's what matters. Her loyalty is stronger than his.”
“I never thought of that, but you're right.”
“Well, we'll find someone for her maybe. I'd rather pay survivor's benefits than have her die for being loyal.”
“You're decent, you give a person a chance.”
“She might be needed. I bet if we speak to her and have her work as a house servant for Michael, she'd tell us what's going on with him and what he's doing.”
“That's shrewd.”
“Yes, because I don't trust him. He's pretty to look at, but he's sure someone I don't want to trust standing behind with with any cutlery.”
He laughed. “Get yourself on up to bed. I'll see you in the morning.”
I went up the stairs and went into the bedroom. Steve was up sitting with his back to the headboard.
“I'm glad you're up here. I was getting lonesome.”
“I'm sorry. A whole lot of catching up to do after a day like today.”
“What all has went on for you?”
“Let's see. We went to Miami and on the plane, I got given the Missouri territory which includes St. Louis. Then, we get down there and the Miami guy completely self destructed, so he died and it got given to me. Then, I come back do the appearances with you and then find out Dave was beaten.”
“He going to be ok?”
“I don't know. He's back in surgery and they've coded him three times.”
“What's going on?!”
“His brain is swelling and he had internal injuries. The best I can describe it, is he had what boxers get with his brain. His head went East to West and his brain didn't follow fast enough. It never broke his neck, but things sure got scrambled.”
“Oh man. Does mom know?”
“She and little John have been knowing more than me. When he got taken back into surgery, I was out at the airport with a jet on fire trying to save my own life.”
“Was it that bad?”
“It was sabotage. We know who did it now, but that's even scarier than everything else.”
“Why?”
“It's the Tampa guy who is the one feeding all of our men and Gypsy her treats.”
“He's got to leave.”
“He's going to be gone as soon as little John can get it taken care of.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“Let's just say if I had been up in the air with that jet, I'd be dead. Instead, I was sitting at the end of the runway. Then, I get back here and land the new jet and saw the helicopter I'd flown to the airport here had been moved. So, I called in our guys who found the same thing was done to it that was done to the jet. This time, finger prints and the man's wife both told little John it was him.”
“What you going to do?”
“He's going to be taken out in a plane and then the pilot's going to bail. It will have done to it what mine had done to it. If he makes it back, it'll be a miracle because A:) he doesn't know how to fly, and B;) he pissed off someone who definitely has the right people behind him.”
“So what else is going on?”
“Well, I had to take the trip to Miami. Part of that was to see Dave, but a lot of it was to get the guys down there to swear loyalty to me so we can stop a war. Now, we're facing war with St. Louis if we don't play our cards right. Tomorrow will be stacking the deck to keep that war from happening.”
“How you going to do that?”
“We're bringing down the head of St. Louis and swearing him to me. Then, we'll put him in over Tampa with the former head's wife being a house servant for the new guy. She's loyal, so she'll tell us what's going on.
The whole reason I want Michael in down in Tampa is to get him out of his element in St. Louis. A major part of that is to get him to screw up so we can put him up for trial so he gets a public demotion. When that happens, it'll be made so he's never able to run another family.”
“Sounds complex.”
“Hon, I'm flying by the seat of my pants.”
“Remember we have that lunch tomorrow.”
“Oh jeez. Shit, I forgot. Well, I'll stay here for that, but then I've got to scoot down there. Is that going to be ok with you?”
“Yes.”
“Tomorrow, you have to find time to speak to Andrew and tell him he's got to find you on camera Monday and whisper to you about the grow house. That way you can bust it on Tuesday.”
“I'm not understanding that.”
“Ok, I'll explain it to you. With CNN, it's news today and old news tomorrow. Since you're a hot topic, it'll run itself out by Wednesday. With the finding of the grow house, it will ignite the cooling embers so you're hot news again.”
“Why are we doing that?”
“Honey, how long are you in crisis when a hurricane hits?”
“The first week.”
“Right. Now, if I give you a crisis that lasts a week where you're doing everything perfect, you can use it in your campaign with the caption of “For six days, the people of Sheriff Steve Jackson's people needed him. He rose to the occasion and what did our Governor do?”
“Oh, ok. That's good.”
“Yeah, Now, with that appearance today, we had spots we can use for all sorts of things. We can use the spots for a lot of your campaign. Kids, elderly, veterans, and with what you'll be doing on Wednesday about the roads on that dozer, you'll have that lead in too.”
“What are we going to do about you?”
“Little John is going to be speaking to all the press about not running anything about our personal lives, so there's not going to be any mention we're gay. The fortunate thing is the sex of the Governor's partner isn't brought into question normally. So, what they don't know won't hurt them. Everyone seems to think I'm female, so I'll run with that. What I've got to do is I've got to keep my head up and pull for you as hard as I can.”
“What are we going to do about our getting married?”
“I'm thinking about that. I've not gotten that far.”
He laughed and said, “It sounds like you're winging it.”
“I am. Now, what went on about your deputies.”
“I spoke to Andrew and then spoke with JT. JT got me the report and little John got me the telephone records for Dan's phone. Don't ask me how he did it, but the man has connections all over the place.”
“He does. He has connections even I don't have yet. So, he found the phone calls on there?”
“Yes, to the kids who did the beatings. What we did was we got Dan called in and the kids too. We're going to sit on this until Monday, but then I've got to go and make the deals with those kids. Your idea will work like a charm.”
“I want Andrew to get the credit for that grow house. It's going to be a thing where he'll gain some esteem back in this town. Yes, a lot of the younger ones will be harassing him, but with his body guard, they'll make it fine.”
“Who is that body guard?”
“He's one of my guys from Kansas City. Alex recommended him, so I trust him.”
“The guy's a looker.”
“I thought so too. It's nice to know you'll tell me about people you find attractive.”
“I hope you will too.”
“I will. I'll tell you now, the one I'm worried about with me is the guy I'm putting in at Tampa. Michael is a fine fine dude. He's as nice as you are in the looks department.”
“Should I have concern?”
“No, he's married and he's got nine kids. He's fine but he's a family man. What I don't know is how he is with manipulation. If he chooses to use it against me, then I'm in deep water.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. I mean I won't do anything sexually with him, but it could jeopardize my authority. My best bets are to keep people around me who will keep me focused and sure of myself.”
“Then do that. I do the same thing, so I know where you are. Now, what about everything else?”
“It's catch as catch can. Little John's already told me I'll be getting Ohio, Texas and Arkansas under me, so I'll have to be building up a power base there too. That's why we're getting a fleet of jets. What I need to tell you is for a little while, I'll be flying during the day time and visiting places. It'll be like I'm a corporate head while I'm getting things built back up so I can delegate authority.”
“Sounds like you'll have your hands full.”
“Yes, but what my goal is will be to have this all in place so we can go into your campaign and I'll be on the trail there with you. I can get that done, but I also need to let you know I'll be doing these other things until then.”
“What about the drug sweeps?”
“My guys here and little John's will both be running those. Between the two, I don't think anything's going to be able to move. With me being over Miami and Tampa, nothing's going to move from that direction. Yes, there's a chance it will move from Jacksonville, but a slight chance because I think little John's going to have things tightened down for you tighter than a church house rat's ass.”
“What's he going to get out of things?”
“It's complex, but I'll tell you what he's getting out of it.
Right now, the world is operated out of Italy. Little John has to go to Italy to get things done. The man over there is really slow about getting him things done. What he has with me is an out. I'm not sworn to him and he knows it. Everyone thinks I'm sworn, but they've never witnessed anything, they're just assuming.
What they're doing now is they're seeing me gaining territory because of the management styles I use. They can't argue with things when they see me going into places and getting a harmony with business and getting increased profits. My money comes from those profits, so they'll see me getting richer and richer.
What we're going to do is we're going to bring the rest of the families in on things and get them to increasing their profits. If they don't agree, then we go in under them and yank their power and get the new heads sworn to me which slowly but surely moves the power base over into my hands.”
“So you'll be the head of it?”
“Yes, but I'll be delegating things. My hopes are we get things going so I'm hands off. Right now, little John goes in and gets things quelled, but as soon as he leaves, they're back into a bunch of shit. He's tired of it and he's wanting to run things as good as Kansas City has been operating. For a large part, we had a lot of hope things would run great with Dave in the picture, but you see what happened there. Now, he and I are working very closely to get things built so it still looks like Dave and I are still doing things.”
“That's got to be hard.”
“Damned hard. It's taking everything I've got to keep things going. I have to think things will get easier, but when it comes to business, he's got the head for it and I don't.”
“I wouldn't say that. I think you're being tested now and I have confidence in you.”
“I'd like to think that, but it's rough. I'd love to think he's going to come out of it fine and be back stronger than ever, but what I've got for power bases are now going down and it's damned tough.”
“Well, you've got your power out in San Diego running, right?”
“No. Lance has cancer. Dave told me today. They're holding firm, but it's everything they can do to deal with that and I've got to find time to be there for them.”
“Oh man. Those poor guys.”
“Yes, so what I've got to do is act like I don't know, and yet, be there to support them enough for me and for Dave now. That's why I went into the kitchen with Mom because I told her to start calling him and making it not so obvious that she's there for them.”
“That's a tricky tight rope to walk.”
“Yeah, because if they suspect, it all points back to Dave telling people and it will look bad for him.”
“Ok, what do you need for me to do?”
“I'd love for you to be able to pull along side me, but I can't do that. You're needed here and what we've got to do is have you pull tough and run with the program.”
“I'll do that babe.”
“What I need is a good shower. Do you want to take one with me?”
“Sure. I'll never refuse you that.”
“How're things going here?”
“We've got a strange situation. We've got a disaster scene with no victims. The only victim we have is that dog.”
“How's he doing by the way?”
“He's hanging in there. The vet said he's really amazed at him surviving long enough to make it to surgery. His ribs were really broken up. He said it's a miracle it lived.”
“Well, I'll pay for that dog. I'm hoping he'll be good with kids, but even if he's not, we'll find a place for him to live out his years without issues.”
“That's another thing. The way you did things was really amazing.”
“I'm sorry for how it went. I know it was all about me in there, but I think I've got enough to get you the women's hearts.”
“You do realize we have a blockage put on the phone now, don't you?”
“No, why?”
“All the frigging phone calls. All those people saw you speaking and they started calling. Fortunately, they called the phone company and they're rerouting the phone calls to a call center to take the requests for me to run for Governor.”
“Oh man, I never saw that coming.”
“Me neither. It's a question of ask and you shall receive, but what we're getting is a lot of people all over the country wanting me to run for their Governor too!”
I chuckled and said, “Damn, I left my clone kit at home!”
He laughed and said, “It'd come in handy. I'll tell you that! You could start by cloning yourself because after today, every man in the country wants you for a wife!”
I laughed and said, “ I think some of them would be turned off by the equipment.”
“Not in their minds.”
We stepped in to the shower and turned it on. “Oh man, that's nice. Remind me to tell them I want a sauna and a Jacuzzi.”
“What I think we're going to do is take two rooms and make it one for us. You're going to have clothes as I will and we're going to have to have our space.”
“It won't always be like this.”
“Keep telling yourself that. Look at what we'll have between us. You're going to have security and I will too. Then, we're talking about throwing kids into this and I'm all for that. You'll have security on those kids like white on rice and then the security across the road is going to be too much.”
“Hon, I'm thinking about that. All I want in this house are nannies. The way I see it is we can build a place down at the entrance for the security. It can be a combination guard shack and barracks. With this place being secure, we shouldn't need them up here except doing patrols.
Yes, I do want them doing patrols and possibly fly overs, but I'm not wild about us giving up our privacy for a lot of security men.”
“Ok, I can understand that, but our lives are going to be busy. Our kids are going to probably fly all over the place with you until they get into school, and you'll have all those towns to keep happy. Don't think because you're delegating authority they'll not have problems and issues...believe me, I know how that goes. Look at what I've got and then think how much better off I'd be if I trusted less.”
“I understand. I'm thinking of that because I am going to do a lot of teleconferencing with all the managers or heads each morning. Those that have issues can bring them up and we can resolve them in that manner. IF they don't, then they've got a problem.”
“So you're going to run it like a mega conglomerate corporation.”
“Yes. What you don't know is I'm already the largest staffing agency in the world. I'm about to go one step up and you're going to see some really incredible things happening with health care in the states we're going to be operating.
With little John signing on board, we'll have it so we've got our people covered and having some really amazing things happening. Where I'm going with it is we're going to be expanding into areas where we normally don't have members.”
“What do you mean?”
“Women are going to be brought in and we're going to be bringing in other races and ethnicities. What you don't see already is we're providing jobs which are way over the thousands and into the tens of thousands. In the next expansion, we're going to be over a hundred thousand. We're near that when you count all the jobs out in Las Vegas, so it's going to be a feat to find insurance.
What I'm thinking about is going into self insuring and starting an insurance company where average people can get affordable insurance that's not affordable by an insurance company's opinion, but for an average worker.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Well, look at what we've got now. We've got corporations under us. We're providing a lot of jobs to them. As we start going more and more, we're going to be making money like you won't believe. Already, Dave is to the point he can't ditch money fast enough. What I don't think he's done is I don't believe he's been buying hospitals. With enough hospitals, we can start providing care to everyone and getting costs down. With insurance, we can have clinics where the doctors aren't gouging the patients.”
“What are you hoping there?”
“In a nutshell? I'm hoping to get it low enough we can get states to start signing on. When we provide the services they need lower than what they're getting it for now, then we're in there. The plus side of it is it's one more legitimate corporation under us which we can ditch money.”
“Ok, so it's a money laundering scheme.”
“Yes, but no. With money laundering, it's to benefit the families. With this plan, we're doing it to benefit everyone.”
“What's the plus side of it?”
“I'll tell you the plus side of it. Currently, you've got a society which knows if they go to enough doctors, they're going to find someone that will find them able to get a check for some reason. I don't mind people who deserve checks getting them, but if Jack from across the street is claiming a bad back and is getting a check, then he best not be out working under the table carrying in refrigerators for an appliance company.”
“Does that happen?”
“Honey, you'd be amazed at the things which happen. My brother down there is a Chiropractor. Ask him how many times a week he has people coming in to his office trying to get him to sign off on them getting disability. He's able to forward them to a specialist, but if the truth be known, it's a farce and there's so many doing it it's not even funny.”
“How they getting it pulled off?”
“Ok, one reason is the doctors don't communicate. I know a woman that put her kid on two different kinds of barbiturates from two doctors. Then, she took that kid to another doctor who ran a motor skills test on him and found him mentally deficient. Low and behold, that kid's now getting a check and she's got him getting that check until he's twenty one. She gets a check because he needs a care giver.”
“That's crap.”
“Yeah, but when they stopped mothers from getting welfare, it didn't stop the need for the money. It's just made them a little wiser to how to go about it. The shell game began and it's not stopped.”
“So what do we do?”
“We start getting the doctors to sign onto the service that all the patient's records are in a database. Not just some, but all. In order to get care from a state, you have to submit approval to get those files. Now, since social security numbers are a dime a dozen, what we've got to do is start with a thumbprint registration. You might say your social security number is one thing, but if your fingerprint comes up with a different, then that's going to slow the system down a whole bunch for you.”
“What they going to do?”
“First of all, it's going to suspend checks until an audit is done. I'll tell you now, the system is going to get pretty clogged and people are going to bitch. Rightly, I don't care. If you're trying to get into my pocket for bullshit, I'm going to sort through all the other bullshit already out there until I know if you need money or not.”
“What happens if you find fraud?”
“Then I turn it over to Social Security to prosecute. They'll definitely go after people when the proof is in the pudding.”
“So that's going to bring legitimacy to your group.”
“Yes, but think of it because I'll ask you. What's the biggest lobbying agency in the world?”
“I don't know....OPEC?”
“No, the government itself. In order to keep that money flowing, the politicians are called by agencies to increase their funding. Well, social security is in dire straights right now. You and I will never need it, thank God, but if you think we've got problems now as a government, you ain't seen nothing yet when we start defaulting on all those checks and more and more are all signing up.
Right now, health care and medicine aren't getting cheaper. What that means is doctors are passing the burden along. Those who have insurance are paying a bigger and bigger chunk because the government is telling hospitals and doctors they'll only pay so much.”
“So what would you do?”
“First of all, what has to be done is the cost of health care has to go down. The cost of a Tylenol is fractional. I don't care how you slice it, dice it, cut it, or chop it, it's still a part of a bottle that's not seven hundred dollars for one tablet. If the bottle costs five bucks at the store, then the wholesale cost of that thing is probably about fifty cents. I'll tell you now, the patient should only be charged at most, for a bottle. Between you and I, most hospitals have dispensaries and that guy's splitting open bottles and really making them a lot of money. That's job one.
Now, I don't care how you see things, men don't get pregnant, so there better never be a rape kit or a pregnancy test kit that's charged to a man. They do it every day.
Another thing is the cost of bandages and cast material. Do you know a cast for an arm cost almost seventeen hundred dollars?”
“No!”
“Yeah, my best friend's daughter broke an arm and that hospital bill was almost forty thousand dollars. And that was her getting a ride by private vehicle and being seen and x-rayed. It was a clean break, so all they did was put a cast on her arm and sent her home with some Tylenol for pain. She was out of the hospital in about four hours.”
“Why so long?”
“It seems they had three back pain patients that needed seen too.”
“That's a bit steep. You sure you want a brood of kids?”
“Yeah, but I'm also going to make sure we can afford them. Where you have a problem is when the insurance companies get to the point where they start putting pressure on the hospitals and stop passing along the bills to the patients. I'll tell you now, if the companies start going beyond an HMO and telling the hospitals they're going to only pay so much, then the hospitals will sit down and shut up. What they'll most likely do is attempt to tell the patient they won't accept that insurance. What happens when all the insurance companies do the same thing? and it's me they're going up against?”
“They'll sue the patient for the costs.”
“That's where they'll screw up. I'll be in with a battalion of lawyers fighting on behalf of the client suing the hospital for inflated costs. But, if it's my hospital, then the cost will be down and the patient and the doctors are going to be working in conjunction. More and more hospitals are suing patients and I'll tell you now, when this nation becomes a hospital run state, there's a problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hospitals are suing poor people who can't afford lawyers and then they're attaching liens on houses. Those people are to either pay the bill or get stuck paying it when they sell their houses. One thing that's really slick is when it's an old person, the family goes in to inherit a house and gets stuck paying the hospital in order to get the house. Most of them are walking away saying a sixty thousand dollar house isn't worth five hundred thousand dollars that's on the lean.”
“That's crazy.”
“Yeah, tell that to the blood suckers. They attempted that bullshit with me over my face. Fortunately, I kept records and I am really fastidious about the bills. I found more shit attached to my bills than you'd believe. I'm allergic to barium, so why was I given a barium enema? Why was I charged for a rape kit? And why was I charged three times for one operation? I started asking questions and then, I sued back. When I got done, the hospital backed the fuck off with an apology about “clerical errors”. They got their money due to them, but my insurance company took a helluva bite.”
“Who covered it?”
“Because we never had a suspect, the company had to pay. Our insurance paid because it happened upon our parking lot. Now, I'm going to need to contact them and tell them I'm going in to sue that chief of police for all my bills and then have them go in and sue the city as well.”
“Do you think they'll pay?”
“It was malpractice of justice upon his part. I'll win in a civil suit because he ordered the hit. The city is liable because they employed the bastard.”
“Do you think you'll recover?”
“I don't know, but I'll tell you now, I'll own that son of a bitch's house before it's over and I'll certainly garnish anything he's got coming in. What I do know is he's going to have no retirement benefits, so he's going to have to work if he's set free. Until then, I'll have him being sued so his personal property goes to me.
Let's get off this subject. The way I've feeling, if I scrub you with this wash cloth, I'll take skin and all.”
He chuckled and said, “Babe, I missed you today.”
“I missed you too. I need to tell you something.”
“What's that?”
“If I ever go down for this, I'm going to do what I can to distance you from it as far as possible. I'll tell you right now, I broke enough laws today I could be put away for life.”
“Honey, I'm going to tell you one thing and you take that to the bank.”
“What's that?”
“Little John and I have already spoken. He's made the agreement with me all of your dealings are going to be outside of my jurisdiction. He's already told me he's only putting you into areas where he knows you'll not have to face scrutiny. If you fall, I'll be there to hold you up, but I'm expecting him to be there too. The moment he's not, then I want him to be held accountable. If he's not, then that man better never think about coming to where I've got an ounce of power.”
“Ok, I'll trust that. Thanks for looking out for me. I just want you to know I'm doing a job and trying to do it the best I can.”
“I know that. Somehow deep within my soul, I know it. I don't like what you do, but I also know there's a need for it, otherwise it'd not be there.”
We grew quiet and began lathering each other up.
“Honey, let me show you something I learned today. It's one thing I'm going to want in our new bathroom suite. This woman washed my hair and the scalp massage she gave me was so relaxing, I was nearly asleep. I want one of those wash basins so we can do that for each other. Another thing I'm going to want is a shower wand rather than this head. This thing is too intense.”
“We'll get you what you want.”
I washed his hair and he said, “Oh man, that's nice.”
“Yeah, it's way better when you're laying back with your head in the basin, but this is how she did it.”
“You can do that all the time.”
“Well, it's one thing I'd like returned. I think if we do these sorts of things for each other, then we'll do fine. By the way, when we make a store list, we need some oil of Olay or at least some Vaseline Intensive Care. I've got to start doing some skin care on you.”
“Why?”
“Today, when you were under pressure, your eyes were squinting. First of all, that means you probably need glasses, but it's also going to give you some wicked crows feet if you're not careful. One thing I'll tell you now is you need to look into contacts rather than glasses, because people psychologically trust people who don't wear glasses more than with. I don't know why, but we need to give off that presence.”
“I'll try not to squint.”
“It's a thing you do under stress. What I do like is you kept your back held straight, so you gave off a sense of power, but it was something that I noticed. I don't care how you get, we're not going into this office with you looking young and then have you leaving office looking like an old man. You need to give off the persona of a breath of fresh air. Maybe if we hit a rough patch, we'll have you show a little gray, but until you leave office, you're going to keep your hair without gray, ok?”
“You pay attention to details too much. I'm not a spring chicken!”
“No, but you're not
going into it to add fifty years to your age either.”
“What are you going to do? You still going to run with me?”
“No.”
“Why not!”
“I'll tell you why not. The moment I fill out a piece of paperwork which says what my sex is, then the cat's out of the bag. I'm not going to do that to you. What people think is what they'll think. I'm not going to drag you down.”
“That's their problem.”
“Not if it carries over to a voting booth. I'll tell you now I'm not going to be that source of worry for you.”
“You worry too much.”
“And you give too much credit to people. Little John told me today if he polled people, he'd get a 100% return on everyone thinking I'm a woman. That's an asset to you now. What happens when we lose their trust?”
“Do you think they'll turn that fast?”
“Look how fast they turned onto you. Do you think it's because they think you're gay and are doing a fine job? Or, do you think they see a man that's a powerhouse with a potential fiancée that's what they want?”
“OH!”
“Yeah, so as long as we can continue the charade, we're going to play it. I don't like it, but it's not an asset and it could cost you more than what it'd gain.”
“So we never get married?”
“I don't know. I know under your state's law, we can't and I'm thinking there's going to come a time when we're going to be discovered. Hopefully, it'll be in your final term.”
“What if I want to run for Senator?”
“Then we'll run. I'll stand behind you all the way.”
He smiled and said, “Honey, I think if we show enough, we can get it.”
“I'll stand beside you on whatever you decide. Just know I'm going to fulfill my end of the agreement.”
“There's no agreement. That's what you're not getting!”
“Ok, then where are you wanting to go with this? Because I thought it was until death do us part.”
“Well, that's an agreement, so I guess we've got that.” he smiled.
“I thought so. Now, between you and I, I think there's going to come a time when we really have to think about things. One of those is going to be adoption papers. Some of those are going to be able to be gotten with FOIA Freedom of Information Act.”
“They're sealed until the kid turns eighteen.”
“Let's hope. What I'm thinking is you adopt them all in your name. You have the clout and I am a ex con. It's best if you go that route.”
“Honey, you worry about too much!”
“Honey, you think you're in a field smelling wild flowers? I'll tell you now, there are mines out there in that son of a bitch, but you won't believe me until one goes off. All I can hope is we've got some people who can falsify public documents like you wouldn't believe and can get it so we don't have issues. But, you do know when it happens, we're going to have a major hurdle to overcome.”
“I don't like all this lying and deceit.”
“I don't either, but there's a huge stigma attached and I don't think you'll get elected if we don't.”
“Have you ever thought it might not be worth it?”
“Why?”
“I don't want to build things up just to be knocked down.”
“What happens if you do a lot of good for a lot of people and those changes can't be changed? Will it be worth it then? I mean, we're not doing this for ourselves. Your rich and I am, so to me, it's not about us. I look at raising kids and I want them to know we did something for them.
I'd love for our grand children to come in with a history book and say, “Man, the world used to be messed up until you came along. Why were they so stupid?”
“Do you think we'd make that much of a difference?”
“We won't know until we try. I sure know we won't if we don't!”
“Ok, tomorrow I'll make my announcement.”
“Wait until Monday.”
“Why?”
“I'm not going to be there tomorrow. On Monday, I will.”
“Ok, but you do realize we've got to do this and then you're planning on me doing a drug bust on the day I'm burying my dad.”
“Yes, and I know that's a high price to pay. What we will give is a statement to the effect that while the Governor wasn't able to make it, Sheriff Steve Jackson took time from his personal life to go perform his official functions before he buried his father. Everyone's going to be so humbled by that they're going to really wonder what you can't do.”
“I'm beginning to wonder that myself.” he said with a smirk.
“Hon, what we've got to do is keep up the pressure. Between you and I, I really think the Governor has been told to stay the fuck away. If someone has that much on him, then he's not that good of a leader anyway.
One thing I do know is you're going to be at the grow house for a photo op and that's about it. All the thing will be basically is a carry out. Little John can give you the amount of plants and everything. ”
Steve nodded and said, “Rhette, what's going on down in Miami?”
“Which part? Dave's laying in a hospital bed and I got the territory.”
“Why'd you get the territory instead of someone else?”
“Between you and I, it was because I got slighted up here. All the way down there, we were going to divide up assets. Then, we got in at the airport and the dumb ass slighted not only little John, but me.
Whenever we meet each other in the family, it's a hug and a kiss to the cheek. Most likely, it's the right cheek, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is that it's done. That fuck and neither one of his guys didn't do it which amounts to a silent slap to the face!
Then, during the ride in, the guy admitted all with an air which challenged little John and lied, lied, lied. On top of that, it came out that lab he built down there is in Tampa's territory.
We later found out the Tampa guy was getting a cut in it but he lied and said he wasn't which is a slight if he hadn't been told. BUT, he wasn't paying little John anything.”
“So, what happened?”
“What happened is we got to the warehouse and I was pissed enough I was ready to take the guy to trial right then, but little John kept me in the car with him. The guys got out and the Tampa guy took care of it.”
“He killed them!”
“If I tell you, then it's me being an accessory to murder. I'm not going to do that.”
“Ok, you answered my question. You actually saw these guys murdered?”
“Steve, I'm not going to answer that! Let's just say between you and I, there are probably going to be times when I'm going to be involved in these things. Jeez, you're asking me to implicate myself in something which will get my ass locked away forever!”
“Rhette! Damn!”
“Steve, I'll tell you things but I'm not going to put my ass away by telling you! You need to know there are going to be times in this that people are going to die. Believe me when I tell you I'm doing what I can to make it not happen, but there aren't alternatives sometimes.”
“Ok, I can deal with that. I think we're at a stalemate here and as much as I don't like it. I can understand. I just hope some day you can be more honest with me.”
“I'll make that deal some day. Right now, I'm telling you that with you being Sheriff, I don't trust you to not get pissed off and to hold my personal confession against me. So, let's just agree to disagree and let it rest.”
He smiled and said, “I do love you. If you don't trust me, I'll allow trust to build.”
“I doubt if I ever trust you enough to not get pissed off and lock my ass away. Just know we have jobs which attempt to help people. At times, there's going to be lines drawn we can't ignore. Those guys didn't die because they just pissed a person off by not kissing someone on the cheek. In our organization, there are codes we live under and when someone blatantly goes out and disregards them, and then slaps others in the face with them, they have to go.
You may not like it and you might think prison is the answer, but believe me when I tell you that even in prison, the fuckers are still a threat. When that threat is dissolved, then we rest easier. Dave's laying in a hospital bed because someone got through our security. That guy that did that died too. I didn't order it, but if I had been there, I would have done it myself. Now, you might not like it, but that's the way it is.
We take care of our own, but we also get rid of our own. We don't have our own prison. We're clean about that. At other times, we choose other options like having people found in compromising situations or them leaving and never returning like what's going to happen with the guy from Tampa.”
“What's that mean?”
“The guy from Tampa is the one that is responsible for burning that plane. He's also the one that put the device in the helicopter today to have it burn with me in it. I would have crashed and probably would have died. So, he's going to go up in a plane with one of those devices under the dash. It's going to burn and the pilot is going to bail. He'll be left to see what it's like to deal with it as he would have done me.”
“That's premeditated murder!”
“Steve, yes it is. Now, do I report it to you he did that and then let you try to gather evidence? OR, do I take care of the matter myself in a way that gets the guy his comeuppance and gets him away. I'll tell you now that your way takes too fucking long. Your way gets an investigation done in which all hell breaks loose for us. Your way gets other people arrested and your way threatens everything we're doing that's good too. My way is fast, easy, and doesn't bring about problems.”
“Rhette, I can see what you're saying. Please don't involve yourself directly with murders, ok?”
“I can't promise I won't order them. I will promise I won't kill anyone directly if it can be helped. However, there's probably going to be a time when it has to happen. It's happened before and it's likely to happen again. I will agree not to let you know about them.”
He smiled sickly and said, “I'm sorry we got into this conversation.”
“You want truth and I want it too. There are parts of your job which I'll not like, but I know it's the best way for you to go about them. That's the way it's going to be for me. Let's get beyond this and not let it come between us.”
“Ok, let's let this rest and you tell me what you want about it and I'll tell you what I want about my job.”
“OK, now, if you ever feel like I am crossing a line into yours, let me know. If you think it's going to cause an argument, we can create a code word or something where when we hear it, we back off and get into a safer area of conversation.”
“No, I'm happy with what you've done so far. I will tell you what you guys did with blowing that lab was a lot better than having a whole swarm of people up there and then it being blown up in our faces. I know you tried to do it so people would be safe, but I also know it wasn't possible. We're now dealing with it, and it's going to be excellent.”
We got done with out shower and got out. He began toweling me.
“I love your body.”
“I love yours. Damn, you've got so many muscles.”
“You're hot stuff yourself. You say I have muscles, but yours aren't bad. I think what you say you like about mine is something you don't realize you have yourself.”
“You've got bulk. What's neat is you can see Kevin and know your own body.”
“He's bigger
than me.”
“No, you're about identical.”
“If you say so, but I think he's bigger than me.”
“Some day, we'll have photos taken of you side by side. I bet you'll not be able to tell the difference.”
“All his tattoos are a turn off for me.”
“That's the prison mentality. He got all those before he met me. The piercings I did.”
“Why?”
“He wanted them.”
“What I do like is he's not done them in bad taste.”
“No, that's what I
like about them is he's got some really beautiful tats. The tiger he
has is awesome.”
“Where's it at?”
“His whole right shoulder and upper pec. What's nice is it's not so dark that when he wears a white shirt it can be seen through it.
Damn, I bet he's not thought about having to resign from the city council before he moves.”
“He's on the city council?”
“Yeah, we found out there's not a guideline against someone with a felony running, so we ran him. When he was running, I didn't think he'd get elected, but he won by a landslide. Since then, he's done a lot and one thing I really like was he wasn't afraid to stand up and speak his mind when he thought the council was rubber stamping something that was foolishly wasting money.”
“He might be able to run here. We need someone like that.”
“We'll see. Technically, he's not even a property owner here yet. I imagine he will be, but not with my house.”
“You giving it to them?”
“I'm giving it to them to live in, but I'm keeping the deed. They can live there for as long as they like, but I'm not signing over the deed.”
“Why not?”
“Because nothing between us is etched in stone. You've got this place and the moment we don't see eye to eye, you can always tell me to get gone. Without my name on the place, I've got to go and you know that. So, I'll have that place to go to.”
“We'll get that changed.”
“I'm not pressing.”
“No, it's your right. We're in this for the long haul. It's strange because I'm seeing a lot of ways you're not trusting me yet.”
“It's not you. I'd do that for anyone. You need to know it's baggage I carry. I've had too many times when someone has pulled rank and tried to take where I live away from me.”
“Well, this won't be one.”
“Ok, but I don't want to live in a house divided.”
“It won't be, so don't worry.”
“I'll trust that...for now.”
“You're hard headed as hell on things!”
“I'm not trying to be. It's just...well....it happened with Tony's family and then it happened with the big house with Kevin and I. Rather than live like that, I got the fuck out of dodge.”
“Is that why you really came here?”
“The reasons I came here are many. I'm not going to deny that. What I will say is I'm happy here, but I won't be happy if I have to get up and get out for either us splitting up or you wanting to press charges upon me for what I'm doing.”
“Ok, let's call it a truce on that. I don't want you upset.”
“Thank you. Now, tomorrow is a busy day. What's on the itinerary so we can be brought up to speed with each other?”
“Well, we've got to go plan the funeral. We've got that lunch with those kids. And, I'd like to make a few photo ops. Then, you've got to get Mom down to Miami so she can see David.”
“....All without getting CNN on my ass about why I'm down there.”
“Do you think it's going to be a problem?”
“No, little John got it stopped, but my problem with the guy at the airport down there tells me it could pop at the least inconvenient time.”
“What happened?”
“The fire chief down there wanted to cause some problems over finding out we're gay. Then, he wanted to be a horses ass and play like he was the police and hold me. Little John called the man who runs the airport and told him we'd shut that fucking airport down if he didn't get over there and get me happy. He did, but the guy lost his job. He was told to leave sleeping lions rest, but instead he decided to see how loud I could roar by calling CNN to try to get the scoop. Now, he's going to be dealt with.”
“How?”
“Let's just say when the feds find the lab, he'll be guarding it. If he escapes their investigation, he'd going to go home to find out his entire family doesn't know who the hell he is and is going to find out they've no recollection of him being in their lives.”
“How are you going to pull that?”
“What's happening is his wife is going to be called in and she's going to be spoken with. She's going to be shown what life is going to be like with him in the picture and then, she'll be shown what life is like without him in it. The man's going to be shown that if he wants to fuck with me and mine, I'll fuck with him and his. She'll make the decision which will best affect her and hers.”
“That's playing God a bit, isn't it?”
“Would you rather he disappear? Because it can and will be arranged. What I will state is there's not going to be an opportunity for him to fuck with us simply because he's a bigot.”
“Is that what it's about?”
“Steve, let me say this. That man took one look at my pilot's license and saw I was a Male. From that, he wanted to play God himself. Then, he chose to continue that when he was told to leave it the hell alone. He didn't, so now he's got to have a choice of whether he can be forgetful and not continue to go down that path.”
“Why don't you lay it out to him and show him what life can be like and then leave him alone?”
“Ok, here's the problem with that. First of all, that's like taking a Cobra and moving it to another location when you've stepped into it's territory. The nature of the beast is he's going to go back and he's going to strike with just as much venom as what happened the first time. You know as well as I do that if you let a drug dealer free, he's going to go back to what he does best with the clientèle he has, not go on down the road of life and be merry. So, what do you think we should do?”
“Why don't you show him what life is going to be like and have him listen in on the conversation with his wife. Then, why don't you let him make that decision?”
“He had the decision. He was told to leave it alone! He chose to not do that. That was after I called in all the man's banking...his home loan, his credit cards, his car loans...etc...etc...were all going to be taken from him. He was told he would have to find another job and relocate without that luxury of ever receiving a loan to get the job done. It's possible, but you know as well as I do it's damned tough.
Now, he chose to continue to cause problems and use that information. What I'm doing is I'm putting the fucker in a freezer and then pulling him out to be dunked in a Jacuzzi and then, he'll go back into the freezer for another fifteen minutes all night until I get there to deal with him.”
“That's torture!”
“Yes, and it's a sure sign someone's pissed me off! He'll live, but I imagine he's going to be really miserable by the time I get there and speak to him in a sauna.”
“You'll give the man pneumonia!”
“Yup. I imagine it will happen. Won't it be tough to treat when he goes to the hospital and has no health insurance? Won't it be a little tough to do when he's going to be locked in a drug lab with guard dogs outside. Yes, he can get away, but not before the dogs get done with him.”
“Rhette, that's not like you.”
“Yes, unfortunately it is. Unfortunately, that's my option of letting the fucker live. The other alternative is to see how good he swims when he's dropped out in the Gulf from a helicopter. I'll tell you now, he'll get tired a whole lot faster than he thinks and he'll drown. So, one way, he's implicated in a drug bust and faces that. Which would you rather choose?”
“I'd rather see he's let go and told to leave us alone.”
“Well, he was given that option. He chose not to do that. It won't take long before he does contact a sympathetic reporter and gets the story out. Then, you'll be facing that. Do you think you want to trust it not to happen? Or, do you think he won't.”
“I'd like to think he would choose not to mess with us after what you've done with him. Why don't you give him that option?”
“Because that option takes at least three men to guard him. It takes having surveillance on his phone lines and someone who's trained in picking up cellular conversations so we're assured he's not attempting to reach out to get that story out. Then, while we're at it, we're going to have to put people on his entire family so they don't get that story out either. By the time we're done doing it that way, it will be taking ten guys who are skilled to assure me the story won't get out. That's what it's going to take to let that guy live.”
“Oh man, this is awful.”
“Not really. You make decisions every day which are just as precarious. I don't step in and say, 'Hey, let that drug dealer walk. He'll not do it again!' Your business is to get them off the street. I know that and I know you'd not sell out on it. What you're doing is jeopardizing yourself to get that guy to live. I admire it, but I also can see rather than taking care of the problem, you're hoping it will go away. I'll tell you now, it won't unless it's dealt with and dealt with so it's a real certainty.”
“What makes you think he won't tell the Feds what he knows.”
“The Feds in this instance work for us! They're there to get a drug lab. They're not going to take the guy's word for shit! He works at one of the busiest airports in the world which receives all sorts of air freight shipments. So, what they're going to see is him working in the lab and having that ability to get the drugs out on shipments to all parts of this country. I'll tell you now as soon as they find him, he's going to be looked at as being really really dirty.
If he does manage to go home, which I doubt, then his wife is going to wonder what she did and didn't know about him. She's going to suspect all those nights he said he was at work and wasn't. She's going to wonder where the money went and she's going to wonder where the money he got things for came from. I'll tell you now, she's going to wonder a whole helluva lot.”
“Man, that's shrewd.”
“Yeah. It plays people's emotions because of the assumption he's guilty. It's hard to refute being found in a compromising situation when he's found.”
“Ok, that will keep the guy alive, but it still stinks.”
“Yes, but those are my options. Yes, I'm a devious motherfucker, but in this game I've got to be. Otherwise, we are sunk down the tubes and we're exposed. I don't like it because it makes what we're doing suspect. Rather than doing that, I'd rather have people reaching forward and getting something better.”
“Rhette, I can see it's in your heart. What I'm also seeing is the extent you'll go to achieve it. I'll tell you now I'm not willing to go that far. It makes me dirtier than my daddy ever was.”
“Ok, I'll tell you what. I'll shut it down tomorrow. The mafia will just go away and you can do it how you wish. The explosion will become old news and we'll deal with it. I'd love nothing more than to be a quiet home body, but I don't think we'll do that.”
“Is that sarcasm?”
“Steve if you want to argue then you're really building up one. What I'm saying is you call the shots. Without help, it's not going to happen your way. I'd love to say politics doesn't make for some bedfellows which stink, but I'll also tell you now I'm not going to be able to get out of this until Dave's well. It's a bed that's been made for me, but I'll not walk away from him, or that obligation. If it splits us up, then so be it, but my loyalty does weigh in and I've got that to contend with.”
“I want it. I guess what I need to say is we need to not discuss this again. You've got a life I know nothing about. I'm sure in politics, I'm going to have a life you know nothing either. What I want us to do is to make the agreement you leave it as a job and not bring it home.”
“That's a bit hard. What I'll say is I'll do that but it's hard to ignore we've got an encampment out on these grounds now which isn't going to just disappear.”
“Those guys are here to help.”
“Yes, but it's brought it home. I'm sorry it's happened as it has, but I didn't ask for a lot of it to happen. This thing has blown up way larger than I ever thought it would, but it's happened.”
“I know that. I also know when it's over, it will go away.”
“Yes, but you have my apologies. Let's get the good from it and use it for what we can. What we have to know is there's a price to pay and I'm paying it. You'll get your governorship, but I'll also have a leadership role in the organization.”
“Do you want that?”
“That's a hard question to answer honestly. Do I want it? No. Do I have a choice? Yes. Do I see they need me? Yes. Will I excel in this? Yes. I've got something to offer, but I think when it's all said and done I'll be so entrenched I'll not be able to easily walk away. Do I have a choice? Yes, but to get you what you want and to get things to be so we can give the most to the citizens of this state, I have to do it. Fortunately, I think I'll be helping way more than the people of this state in doing so, but it's coming with a price.”
“Hon, I'm not against this. I do want you to know this. What I'm against is people dying. I don't want you to get so callous with it that any obstacle we meet has you getting people killed.”
“No, it's not that. In politics, there are going to be debates and there are going to be issues. I understand that. What I don't want is our personal life to become an issue. I don't want to have me being a liability or an embarrassment to you.”
“If it does, then I'll confront it head on and tell the state I'm gay and won't renounce you. If that day comes, then I'll tell them to weigh what good I do versus what I do in my personal life. I think people will see I am me and the job is getting done.”
“Yes, but I don't want to have someone sabotaging that because it's sport to them.”
“I understand that, but what happens when someone looks into your past and decides to use it?”
“Hopefully by then, those records will be so hard to find it'll be nearly impossible to discover.”
“How?”
“Records and databases can be changed if you know the right people. I'm sure you could even change some things yourself. What we can't change is not much...given the amount of people and the right motives. Will I do that? Oh hell yeah. Will it be so it's so you're not embarrassed? Double hell yeah. What I can't and won't change is my sex which has been insinuated more than once. It might be a convenience, but I refuse to go that far.”
He chuckled. “You'd make a sexy woman!”
“Yeah, and you'd make a rather interesting one. The second mine goes, yours does to. You remember that!”
He laughed and said, “Ok, I'll remember that!” He paused and then said, “I want to thank you for being honest with me. Although I don't agree totally, I know you were as honest as you could be. In regards to you ever being turned in by me for what you're doing, don't worry.”
“Ok, you say that, but remember your words no matter how pissed you get at me. And, remember I'll hold you to that when this blows up.”
“It won't if we're careful. I think it's interesting the man would choose to attack us on the gay issue rather than the ties you have.”
“He probably would have went there if he'd gotten a chance.”
“What are you going to do about him?”
“What I said. I'll leave it be once he's in that lab and is secured.”
“How are you going to keep him there?”
“They lock them in. It's not nice, but even with that lab over there that blew up, they knew they were locked in and they knew their job was to blow it if the police showed. That's the game and those are their rules.”
“How do you know that?”
“I was in prison with enough people who knew and talked. The people I was in with you'd be amazed because of the scarring on their arms from just cooking the stuff. That stuff bubbles and boils up and gets on them and eats their skin. To them, that's the price to pay to make money. Unfortunately, the money is good enough and the highs they achieve from the stuff make it worth it to them. I pity them, but I don't.”
“I've not dealt enough with those people. Maybe it was because that one lab never got caught. Maybe that's what I'll be dealing with because that lab blew, I don't know.”
“No. If it is, it's from amateurs and not from those that are that well organized. I do know an organization such as ours won't be doing it and you can have my word on it. I can't say others won't but I sure don't think it'll happen here.”
“Why do you think it happened here?”
“Because your focus wasn't on looking for it. For that matter, the Feds focus wasn't on it either. What I do think is it will probably wake a lot of the federal agencies to looking a lot more at hot spots and seeing where they are. I'm amazed they never saw it, but in a way, I'm not. I'm sure in a lot of nice suburbs and subdivisions across this country, there are places just like it. One thing I imagine will be a lot more busts and probably reports of labs that blow. Unfortunately, that's the price which will be paid by innocents and by the feds.”
“Let's go to bed. I want to lay with you and not discuss this. Do you realize our time we have for each other isn't ours because of these topics?”
“Yeah, and it sucks. I'm also realizing your personal life has been taken over by it and it bugs the hell out of me. This should be a time when your family can have peace. Instead, it's a turmoil which I think rather stinks.”
“The good thing that's come of it is I see how your family gathered to be with you.”
“Yes, and it's bad because they came and I was so busy I never got to spend time with them which was quality time.”
“Well, let's use the time we've got tomorrow for personal appearances. Do you think it'd hurt if your family did that?”
“I don't know. It might be a wake up call for the local media back home to do some investigating and start reporting I'm really a man instead of what CNN is reporting.”
“Oh”
“Yeah, they'd start in on doing a story to publicize a local girl doing good and getting national exposure and end up finding out otherwise. Who knows, they locals back home are probably already running around and talking about the stunt I'm pulling.”
“Do you think?”
“My face isn't that well known. I mean it's changed in the last two years and the only people who really know me are my close friends and employees. What I do know is I never got in front of the cameras at the city council meetings and the only references to me on the web are about my stories. I'm told that's because Dave has already done a scour and gotten things pulled to keep my name off the web. However, if one takes the time to read my stories, they'll get the whole rundown on me.”
“Do you think people will do that?”
“Fortunately, no. Here's what I think. Right now, on CNN, everyone's been referring to me as Mrs. Jackson. I love the sound of that, so I'm not going to scream to them about putting my real name up there. Let them believe what they want and let everything else slide.”
“Do you think it'd hurt if I casually mentioned tomorrow I proposed and you accepted?”
“Don't do that yet. I'd love you to do that, but here's why. Your dad just died. It'd look like to the world you waited on him to die in order to propose which would get the conspiracy theorists all into hyper mode. As good as your intentions were, I think it'd open the can of worms we're trying to keep shut.”
“Ok, I never thought of that.”
“I know. You're heart's in the right spot, but you need to know what the other side will do when you do something.”
“I'm glad I've got you to tell me the other side of the coin before I do things.”
“Hon, you'll learn. It's bad to say, but I had to learn those lessons in prison and to think things through thoroughly before I acted upon them. Had I done that before prison, I'd not have went, but fortunately, I learned. Life isn't about the easy choices we want to act upon, it's about the decisions we make having repercussions. Even the best of intentions can have bad results.”
“Ok, what are we going to do tomorrow?”
“Well, first things first, we've got to send that fucker from Tampa on his journey of no return. Then, my beautician is going to come out and she's going to work on that food buggy. We've got to get us a cook in there who knows how to feed an army. Then, we've got to get around and go make appearances. I can do that while you, JT, and your mom go do funeral preps, but then we've got the meal at McDonald's. As soon as that's over, we've got to do another press appearance and then you've got to make a statement about there being not casualties except for the ones directly involved.
Now, here's what you're not prepared for so I'll let you in on it.”
“What's that?”
“Be prepared for a battalion of lawyers in tomorrow from the homeowners who have damages. What we need to do is you need to have your guys go around and take reports of the damages and what I'll do is I'll have our guys go and repair windows and any damages. As far as anyone's concerned, a generous benefactor from a leading aircraft manufacturer donated the money for that to happen.”
“You sure you want to do that?”
“Yeah. What it does is it give CNN something to report which is a feel good story. It'll show some corporations have a heart and it'll get people off the bad of the situation. Now, here's the next thing you're going to have coming at you.
With the lawyers, you're going to have a lot of sightseers and probably have some vandals who think they can break into places. With the good, you've always got the bad. I hate to say it, but that's what happens.”
“Ok, so my guys are to be vigilant on that happening.”
“Yes.”
“I'll tell them to be prepared.”
“What else we'll probably face is a lot of people who have had time to go home and get really cynical by talking to everyone at home. They'll have had time to think it over and the shock will have worn off. What I propose is you drop a bombshell tomorrow afternoon about knowing at least one corrupt individual in the local political machine. It'll divert attention and it'll use that forum to get the focus onto them.”
“Wow”
“Yeah, little John will have enough information by then it can be done. I don't propose you say any names and you don't do anything tomorrow, but we'll save that for a headline on Monday.”
“You're really shrewd.”
“Well, it's a game. You feed the machine and it gets you results. The key to feeding the machine is you divvy it up so it stays hungry. If you feed it too much, it will choke and will think you're covering. If you act like it's a natural course of action, then it's going to stay believing and happy.”
“You're right!”
“Yeah, it's sad, but human nature can be predicted. The key to it is staying with the machine and keeping it on your side, otherwise it doesn't care who it chews up and spits out.”
“Ok, well I'll make sure it's not us.”
I leaned over and kissed him. Our kisses broke off conversation and led to a make out session which left us both wanting more. Sometime later, we ended up spooned and asleep.
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