B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America) (16 page)

The shadow stopped, stretched upward, and then began slowly came back towards the front entrance. David’s hair stood up on the back of his neck. He decided that he would wait for the shadow to come close enough to the front door, so that he could jerk back the curtains with one hand, and open the door with the other at the same time. That way the distracted intruder would be off guard when David clobbered him with the club.

As he reached for the curtain, he heard an astonishing but distinct sound come from the direction of the shadow. “Meow!”

Instead of jerking open the curtain, he held it open a crack, raised the club with his other hand, and slowly peaked through. Sure enough, it was “Bart” the family’s fluffy gray Tabby fur ball.

“Bart! You scared me to death!” David felt ridiculous. He opened the front door as Bart easily jumped from the front window ledge to the front steps, and walked into the house. David closed the door, and looked down at the cat rubbing up against his bare legs. “How many lives do you think I have, you stupid cat? Don’t you ever do that to me again, got it?”

Bart looked up at him lovingly and let out a little “Meow.” David left the club against the couch and picked Bart up, “I suppose you’re hungry now too?”

David fed the cat, washed up his dishes, threw his dirty clothes in the washing machine, turned off the TV, then picked up the club and headed for the guest bedroom. He leaned the club up against the wall next to his bed and climbed in. The fresh-scented soft sheets felt good to his tired and sore body. Listening to the soothing sound of the washing machine off in the distance, David slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Bob had just started another pot of coffee when John and Florin joined him in the conference room. “We found a scent. It may be a little old, but it’s at least a trail. I’m not sure that you are going to like what we have to tell you though.”

“Well, don’t hold back. Out with it.”

“Leo has used his cell phone several times, but nothing recently. First he made several calls this morning locally, then made one to Amtrak and purchased a ticket from Portland to Sacramento on the Coast Starlight route, and from Sacramento to Chicago on the California Zephyr route. I verified the purchases with his credit cards. He also used four credit cards at the air terminal seemingly about the same time you and Ervin were there. He withdrew cash from his cards at an airport ATM and used the same credit card to buy the flight ticket and the Amtrak ticket.

That Amtrak ticket he bought was for a train that already left Union Station in Portland nearly nine hours ago. He could be anywhere by now. The California Zephyr route goes through several major cities like: Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Denver, Omaha, and Chicago. In fact he could get off the train anywhere else in between as well. If he’s on that train it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. We simply do not have the manpower to find him. I know you are just going to love the next part as well. He also used that same credit card to rent a car at the Hertz car lot by the airport.”

Bob grunted. “You’re right, I don’t like it one bit! What you are telling me is he really could be anywhere by now and we truly have no clue what his plans are!” He sighed, but did not wait for John to reply. Instead, he turned and addressed Florin. “You have anything better than what John just relayed?”

“I started at the first hotel he stayed at, but they have not seen him since yesterday morning. Next I questioned employees at all the cafés, restaurants, and fast food places I could find. Finally, a little hole in the wall café owner said a guy with a limp who fit Leo’s description came in early this morning. He had a long conversation with one of his morning waitresses. He suggested we come in and talk to her in the morning.”

“That’s the best you guys got?” Bob impatiently cut in, then calmed down and continued, “It’s old and not much to go on, but it’s all we have for now I guess. Let’s just call it a night and get some sleep, have breakfast at the café in the morning, and talk to the waitress and see if she has any new leads. Otherwise, we’ll head back to Boise tomorrow.”

John and Florin gladly obliged. Bob went to sip his coffee, but instead walked over to the sink and poured it down the drain. He secured the conference room, turned off the lights and entered his adjoining bedroom. He used the bathroom, undressed, set his alarm clock, and crawled in bed for some much needed sleep.

David was sound asleep and snoring lightly, lying comfortably on his back, when his own club hit him solidly in the stomach. His eyes bulged out in shock, and his mouth opened wide, gasping for oxygen.

He did not know if what he was experiencing was real or just a nightmare. He could feel the pain, but was still completely disoriented. Bright lights were shining in his face. He began to struggle, but realized that he was still under the covers. A second swift blow with the club landed low on his stomach, painfully close to his groin area. Now he knew for sure that the pain was real! He quit struggling, inhaled deeply, and said in a hoarse voice, “What do you want?”

A muffled voice responded, “Don’t move, fight, or struggle!” The blankets and sheets were suddenly pulled free from around his feet. Firm hands grasped his feet and began wrapping his hairy ankles tightly together with duct tape.

David grunted, “No!” Bending both legs at the knee, he kicked like a mule at the person attempting to bind him. The kick landed on his assailant’s mouth and nose. The attacker’s flashlight flew across the room and crashed into the bedroom wall, marking its resting place by an eerie stream of light illuminating the bottom of the bamboo wastebasket.

With both ankles partially bound, David rolled. The club came down again hard on his side and back, but fortunately the rumpled blankets partially cushioned the full force of the blow. Rolling towards the second light, he shoved forward with his left arm, smashing his fist into the solar plexus of the second intruder. Caught off guard, the man toppled over backwards on to an end table, smashing it with a loud crash. David slid off the bed on top of the floundering man, still tangled in the bedspread, and struggling to get his feet free.

As the beam from the first flashlight swung upwards, David knew it had been picked up and that he had little time left. The man under him was trying to pull himself into a sitting position, fighting David’s weight, though he was also getting partially tangled in the blankets. David slashed out with all his strength at the guy under him, connecting a glancing blow to the cheekbone. A second thud could clearly be heard as the back of the man’s head hit the wall behind him. The body beneath David went limp and quit struggling.

David turned to face his first assailant, but it was too late. A streak of light streaming through the air was the last thing he registered before total darkness took over.

When David regained consciousness, he was aware of two things. He was wet, and pain invaded every molecule in his head. He could not tell if the wetness was his own blood or if it was water. He could see nothing. Either his eyes were bound or swollen shut. Pain jackknifed through his arms, which were strained behind him and bound at the wrist. He tried to move his legs, but they too were firmly taped at the ankles. When he stirred he was jabbed in the ribs by a cold round blunt object.

“You awake yet?” a voice inquired.

David groaned.

“Pour some more on him,” a different voice suggested.

Cold water showered over his face and into his mouth and nostrils. David coughed, spit, and blew water from his nose.

“Good to see you awake. You know you didn’t have to make this so difficult. We’re not even interested in you, you fool. We just came for some information.”

David responded with “You are the fool; you must have the wrong address. I’m just house-sitting. I don’t have any information.” David felt his head floating. It felt like he was lying on an inflatable toy in a pool, gently rocking to small waves.

“You can make this hard or easy, it’s up to you. We will get what we came for one way or another! Where did Sarah and her children go?” the voice asked.

A silence ensued.

“Don’t play dumb. We followed you to the airport. I am sure that you don’t want your old roofing friend to accidently fall off his next project, do you?”

“Listen, I don’t know what this is all about. Sarah left on vacation. She went to visit her dad in Texas and then perhaps go to Mexico on a vacation with him and the kids.”

“What about Leo?”

“I don’t know, she only mentioned that he was on a business trip on the west coast somewhere. Why don’t you ask their office manager? She might know more.” David was glad that Sarah had insisted that he know nothing. He remembered her telling him specifically that if worse came to worse, to tell them anything he knew. She was right when she told him the less he knew the better off he’d be.

After a brief silence, the men in the room shuffled and made some noise. David flinched, expecting a gunshot at any moment, but nothing happened. He drifted in and out of consciousness, aware they were quietly talking to each other and moving around the house, but not completely aware of what was happening. Moments later, or hours later, he couldn’t tell, a vehicle drove away.

David wasn’t sure whether or not he should attempt to free himself. Sarah and Leo were right. There were bad guys! How had they gotten in? David thought back to his bedtime activities, tracing his actions in his mind. Did he engage the alarm system? After letting the cat in, he could not even remember locking the front door. How could he be so stupid, so vulnerable, even after Sarah’s warnings? Life was just too short for such difficulties. He had never been in a real fight in all of his life. He had always been able to walk or even run away. Now he had been fighting for his life. He had a lot to think about.

Oh, how his head ached! David began ripping tiny pieces of duct tape from his wrists. Each piece was attached to his thick, coarse arm hair and hurt intensely with each pull, tug, or rip. It would be some time before he could free himself. David was, however, a patient man. He continued the long, slow process of shredding the duct tape, piece by painful piece.

Sarah hugged her father good-bye. She had tears in her eyes as she reminded her father about his promise to schedule the surgery. Traykie seemed alert despite how early it was and how little sleep they’d had. The boys took turns hugging Grandpa and turned to enter the TSA security check point.

Sarah glanced over her shoulder to wave at her father, and saw him remove his glasses to wipe some tears from his eyes. She was nervous about embarking on this international journey without having Leo by her side. She took in a deep breath and let it out, purposely relaxing her tense shoulders, and then escorted the boys through the single file lines of the security check point.

They arrived at their gate with time to spare. Sarah was glad that they had checked most of their luggage in with the airline. She and the boys took turns using the restrooms, and bought some snack food and drinks.

They would switch planes in Miami, refuel in Rio, and have a layover in Pretoria, before finally arriving in Windhoek, Namibia where Joyce would meet them. It was going to be a long flight.

Bob answered the ringing phone. He hated having his sleep broken so frequently, but he knew he didn’t have much choice. “Hello.”

“Bob, it’s Carl. Sorry to call so late, but I knew you would want an update. We broke into their real estate office and put a tap on the phone lines. We made it appear like simple vandalism. We threw a rock through the glass door, finished our work, painted a few gang graffiti signs on the side of the building and scrammed unseen.”

“Good. What about the house guest?”

“Well, we paid him a visit too, but it was not particularly productive.” Carl answered.

“What do you mean?”

“He kind of put up a fight, and in the end did not know much anyway.”

“Well what did you find out?” As usual he was impatient. Not only was he tired and missing his sleep, but he hated playing a game of twenty questions. Why couldn’t his people just give him all the facts without him having to drag it out of them, like pulling teeth?

“All the house guest knew was that Sarah went to visit her father in Texas, and he thought that they were going on vacation to Mexico for a while.”

“Mexico? Is that what he’s up to? Well that could explain why Leo made a call to a residence in Texas last night. Is that it, or is there more?”

“Not much else to report other than our physical condition. Marcus has a broken nose and it’s still bleeding, and I have a nice shiner and a goose egg on the back of my head.”

“Were you seen?”

“No, but we left a lot of our own blood there. We tried to clean things up a bit, but there was no use, it was in the carpet, on the curtains, and the wall. We gave up and left without being seen.”

“Dang it! This whole trip has been one giant debacle. I’ll have you both transferred to another district by the end of the week. Did the house guest know anything about Leo’s plans?”

“I’m afraid not. Sorry. He told us to check with their office manager, as she might know more.”

“Okay. Carl, make arrangements to find another office, things are getting too hot. Make all necessary plans to change offices, fronts, phone numbers, and I’ll get you both transferred to another district as soon as I can. We should be back in Boise late this evening. I’d like you guys to move and transfer as much as you can in the meantime. Call me on my cell phone with the new phone number and address when it is set up. By the way, which district would you prefer to be transferred to?”