Chapter 32
“Good-afternoon, officer.” Susan said into the cell phone. “I would like to report two suspicious characters who have been parked in my neighborhood all day.” She paused as she listened. “Yes, sir. I understand there is no law against sitting in a car, but I'm an elderly woman by myself, and I've been watching them through the window. They seem to be observing my house and have been for hours.” She paused again. “My name is Susan Jenkins and I live at 7453 Broadway. They're parked a few houses up from me. Could I request an officer at least check into it.” She listened. “Thank you very much, officer. I would be relieved if you did.”
“With that call”, Susan said as she clicked off the phone, “Spike should know where we are in the very near future. It's the red flag they've been waiting for.”
“I would bet that the surveillance team”, Brad said nodding towards the downhill street, “are Spikes men. He will call them as soon as he gets the word, and tell them that we're here, but we might be done before that happens. It has to come to the attention of the mole, then go to Spike and then these guys. I'd say we have fifteen minutes to a half hour to pull this off.”
Brad and Susan stood on the opposite curb from her house. They had moved just far enough to the peak of the hill to see the SUV without exposing their bodies. They watched a police cruiser come slowly up the street and stop next to the SUV. The officer got out of the cruiser and strolled over to the two men and bent down to speak to the driver. A hand came out of the drivers window with a flopped open billfold. The officer studied it for a moment, nodded, returned to his car and drove away.
“Shit.” Brad said as he watched the cruiser turn and go back to Main Street. “They've got I.D.'s. Probably FBI or DEA – something that would send the local cops away.”
He paced up and down the sidewalk, one arm folded over the other as he stroked his beard in thought. “Okay.” he said decisively. “The point of least resistance would be the guy in the back. There's only one of him and he's focused on your house, rather than checking out everything that moves like the two guys in front are doing.”
“I agree.” Susan said. “I assume you would like me to walk down the trail behind the house, creating a focal diversion for him while you take him out from behind.”
He smiled. “That's right.” Still looking at her he said, “Finishing school instead of the Marines, huh?
She laughed. “No. I didn't really go to finishing school. I was just trying to make a point to Ted. My two interests then were dance classes and karate.”
“Well, my dancing Ninja, assuming we live through all of this, we should take the time to talk more about our lives.”
“I'd like that.” she said. “But meanwhile, I don't think we've got much time left.”
“No, we don't. We have to move fast. Give me a couple of minutes to get around behind the guy in the woods, then start on down the trail. When I see you, so will he. I'll move on him then.” Brad turned and ran across the street, disappearing into the woods that bordered the sidewalk in between two yards.
“Okay, Recon.” Susan said, “It's our turn.” Holding Recon's leash, Susan also crossed the street and followed the foot trail that went up the side of the forested patch and turned, leading down the hill directly behind the houses. Though she still wore her wig, sunglasses and hat, she now walked briskly with Recon trotting at her side. There was no time left for play acting, and the fact that an old woman was moving like a young one would definitely get the surveillance man's attention, and that's what she wanted, his total attention.
Redwood forests, pristine ones, don't usually have much ground growth. They're covered with fallen debris and pine needles, which offer little movement noise if the walker is paying attention and not snapping branches with his feet. Brad moved with a stealthiness that would have impressed an Indian scout from the Calvary days. By the time he was in position, about twenty feet behind the back yard observer, the man had moved from his well hidden position, exposing himself as he craned his neck, apparently already noticing Susan and Recon walking towards him on the trail. As she got closer he inched back towards his hiding spot behind the tree. The sound of his own movements covered any that Brad made, as he quickly came up behind the man, kicked him behind the knees. As he dropped, Brad slammed the butt of his hand into the man's temple with such force that the man's head snapped to the side as he fell in a still heap. Brad picked up the two way radio and silenced pistol that the man had in his hands when Brad dropped him.
As Brad ran down the hill, Susan opened the gate to her back yard. They both slipped in and closed the gate quickly. Susan pulled the semi-automatic from her belt holster, realizing as she did that she was getting used to carrying a gun. She expertly flipped the safety and chambered a round before rushing across the yard and taking a position on one side of the house while Brad made the same move to the other side. They inched towards the centered back door, checking out the room interiors as they passed each window. Susan slipped a key into the door lock and quietly opened it. They moved into the kitchen, sweeping it through the sites of their guns. They separated, each heading towards different rooms, making sure that the house was empty. The house was as they had left it four days before, everything turned over and tossed. They moved into the bedroom, Brad going to the window where he could observe the SUV through a crack in the curtain while Susan took out the memory stick of the birthday party of her friends eight year old son out of the false bottom of the jewelry box and replaced it with the one given to her by Ted.
“I hope that you're real close to being done.” Brad said, still looking out the window.
“Why's that?” she asked as she tried to manipulate the false bottom back into place.
“Because one of these guys outside is on the phone. I think they just got the call saying we're here.” A moment later a voice came over the two-way radio that Brad had lifted off the guy in back.
“Bill. I just got a call. They're here. Go into the house. We'll meet you inside.” There was a silence before the man said, “Do you read me, Bill? Give me a confirmation and get the hell in there.”
“Time to go, Susan.” Brad said anxiously as Susan snapped the false bottom into place and turned the box over on the dresser next to the items from it that were scattered across the dresser top. “Here they come.” Brad said. She heard two doors slam shut. Their time was up. They had seconds to get out before the two men came thru the front door.
All content - poems, posts & images - are ©2010 by John Evans. No permission is given to post, share, copy, print, e-mail, reproduce, distribute or link to. All Rights Reserved. Please contact John Evans at JohnEvansPoet.Com for licensing inquiries.
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