Cross Roads (26 page)

“Talking is for old people. Let's just bitch and moan and groan.”

“But, Annie, we really don't have anything to bitch, moan, and groan about. We have wonderful lives compared to others. We are so blessed, it would be sinful to complain. Annie, I want the truth now; how upset are you that Fish is part of whatever it is that's going on?”

Annie sniffed. “Well now that you ask, Myra…not one little bit,” she replied, laughing. “What upsets me is how obsessed he is with Hank Jellicoe. It borders on…way beyond unhealthy. Isabelle said she feels the same way about Stu. She also said it was over between the two of them some time ago, but she just couldn't get out of it. That's pretty much how I felt, too. Does that answer your question?”

“It does. There's no kick to this ginger ale, Annie.”

“What was your first clue, Myra?” Annie chuckled.

The two old friends continued to talk and laugh as they rehashed old memories and their newest memories, until Annie pointed to a large clock hanging from the thatched roof of the tiki bar. “In thirty minutes it will be five o'clock. Are you as excited as I am, Myra?”

“I am. This will be the first time we've gone on a mission not knowing the why of it. I hope it doesn't work against us. What do we do if we can't beat it out of Jellicoe? Does that mean we should have agreed to stand down until we figured out the reason for it all?”

“We'll get it out of him, Myra, one way or the other. Depends on how much he can stand. Fish and Stu are altogether different now. I'm thinking if Hank stays buttoned up, one or the other of them will spill what they know. We're pretty good at winging it, don't you think?”

Myra's phone chirped. Startled, she looked at Annie, who appeared just as startled. “You need to answer that, Myra.”

Myra flipped the cell phone and brought it to her ear. “Charles! Do you know what time it is?”

“Of course I know what time it is. I'm looking at the clock as I speak with you. My question to you would be, why aren't you sleeping? You need to be in top form for your ride down the Intercoastal, my dear. I am assuming you are sitting poolside with Annie.”

“You assume right, Charles. Why are you calling other than to wish us luck?”

“Because I know the
WHY
of it all.”

Myra's jaw dropped as Annie huddled closer to better hear what was being said. “Are you going to tell me, or are you going to make me guess?”

“Neither, my dear. Go inside to the office and wait for my fax, which will be coming through in about seven minutes. I also want to apologize to you, Annie, and the others for my misguided loyalty.”

“Where did you come by this information, Charles?” Myra asked as she scooted along behind Annie. She didn't know why she even bothered to ask the question, knowing what the answer would be.

“That, my dear, is something you do not want to know. Not now, not ever. It is completely on the up-and-up, though, as you will see when the fax comes through.”

“This is what is called taking it right down to the wire. Annie and I were just discussing what we were going to do if Hank refused to give it up. Do you mind telling me why it took so long to come by this information?”

“Because it was under seal. My informant's only condition aside from a boatload of money, which is seriously going to deplete Annie's coffers, was that he and his family had to be relocated and given immunity. That has now happened. Lizzie just put the deal to bed a short while ago. Good luck. Watch those gators.”

“You had to say that, didn't you, Charles?” Myra heard his chuckle as the connection went silent.

The pimply, spiked-hair desk clerk playing solitaire behind the counter looked up as Myra and Annie approached. “We're here to wait for a fax. It should come through any minute now.”

“There's a five-dollar charge for a fax and a dollar for each page,” he said, just as the fax machine came to life. “It says six pages are coming through. That's eleven dollars. Plus tax.”

“Just charge it to Room two-one-six,” Annie snapped, just as the first page rolled out of the machine.

If the clerk thought it strange that two old ladies were getting a fax at almost five in the morning, it didn't show. He tapped the charge into the computer, handed over the faxed pages, and went back to his game.

Annie and Myra literally ran to a far corner of the lobby, where there was a grouping of chairs and better light. They sat down together and read the pages. Neither said a word until Myra folded the pages into a tight square and stuck it in her pocket. She looked up at Annie, a wicked smile on her face. “I think this takes us out of the
obsolete
category, don't you? I say we keep it to ourselves and spring it on everyone when they least expect it. What say you, Annie?”

“It works for me. I have to tell you, Myra, that never would have occurred to me. You?”

“Never.”

“I think we should keep Charles on our payroll. It takes a good person to man up when all the chips are gone. Plus, he is your husband, and you're stuck with him.”

“There is that,” Myra agreed. “Come along, Annie, let's wake the girls. Suddenly I cannot wait to reach 123 Dolphin Drive.”

F
ifteen minutes later, the girls were in the Handyman Mike van and headed for John U. Lloyd Park. They dropped Kathryn off and waited until she picked up Murphy from one of her trucker friends who had elected to sleep in the back of his cab. Satisfied that all was well in that arena, Nikki drove off just as Avery Snowden and his posse of cyclists stood at attention.

“If no one has any questions, it's time to ride!”

The roar was that of a supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier as all seventeen Harleys came to life. There was a drill-like precision to their exit that even Harry marveled at. They were back at the Seashell Motel at 6:20 as scheduled.

“Good work, men!” Snowden said smartly. “Okay, Emery, you're up. You guys head down to the park and join the girls. Don't worry about the bikes. I have it covered. You'll see us when you see us.”

“Aren't you supposed to say, ‘Godspeed, boys, over and out'?” Jack said, straddling his Harley.

“No, this is where I say, ‘Your ass is mine if you screw up.'”

Jack made kissing motions with his lips and yelled to be heard over the roar of the Harley, “I just love it when you sweet-talk me, Snowden. Over and out, you asshole!”

With little to no traffic at that hour of the morning, the boys rode two across, with Espinosa bringing up the rear. They passed the four-truck convoy. Even over the roar of the cycles, they could hear Murphy's joyous bark. When Kathryn blasted the air horn, the others sounded off in sequence. Jack waved and forged ahead.

They arrived at the park just as the girls were pushing the Jet Skis away from where they were tethered. The boys parked the Harleys, tossed their helmets down, and leaped on the skis the girls were holding for them.

“Who's got the time?” Nikki shouted.

“I do. We're on schedule. Move, move! That means you, too, Harry!”

Harry moved. Not for the world would he admit he'd never been on a Jet Ski. Nor would he admit he was scared shitless of water because he couldn't swim. How hard could it be?

Sensing his distress, Jack brought his Jet Ski as close to Harry's as he could, and said, “Just do what I do. Turn the damn key, ease out, and stay right behind me. If you fall off, it shuts off. Just get back on. Don't worry, she thinks you're a pro. Besides, she's up front and won't see you making an ass of yourself. Don't let the gators get you. Look, it's a straight run. By the time we get there, you're gonna want to do this every weekend.”

Nikki and Alexis were in the lead, the others close behind. Eight minutes ahead of schedule, Nikki pushed in the throttle and roared past the dock at 123 Dolphin Drive. Four minutes later, she swung the machine around and headed back to the dock, the others so close she could smell them. She throttled back just as Bert slid off, dove underwater, and jammed a drill bit through the fiberglass bottom of the boat. He did the same thing three more times before he surfaced.

There were Jet Skis everywhere, bobbing in the furious wake that hadn't died down. One by one, their riders were hauling themselves up onto the dock. Jack had his arm braced under Harry as he boosted him up. “You owe me for this one, big-time.”

They heard the crash, then they saw the cab of Kathryn's rig sticking outside the back door of 123 Dolphin Drive. Then they saw Kathryn and Murphy streaking inside the wide gap the eighteen-wheeler had left. They followed, Myra and Annie in the lead.

“Surprise! Surprise!” Annie said, elation ringing in her voice.

“If either one of them moves, Murphy, bite his dick off!” Kathryn ordered as she raced to what remained of the steel front door. She waved, grinning from ear to ear to her trucker friends. When they waved back, she sprinted back to what remained of the kitchen.

“Grab those phones. See if they called anyone,” Nikki said.

Isabelle snatched them up, clicked and clicked. “They tried, but they didn't get through. Yay, Charles. Well, helloooo there, Stu! Imagine meeting you here.” In the blink of an eye, her knee shot upward and made contact with Franklin's crotch. He doubled over just as Isabelle's foot lashed out to strike him in the neck. He fell backward to land next to the passenger-side wheel of Kathryn's rig. No one rushed to his aid. Gasping for breath, Stu struggled to talk.

“I can't be sure, but it certainly sounds like he thinks you crushed his larynx,” Myra said.

“Thinks! He
thinks
I did that. I
know
I crushed it,” Isabelle said, giving his prone body one more vicious kick in the side. “Now I cracked your ribs. You won't have to think about it.” The Sisters clapped their hands in approval.

“Guard, Murphy. If he twitches, you know what to do. Doesn't matter whose dick you bite off. Show him those beautiful teeth, big guy.” Murphy let out a happy bark and planted his two front paws on Franklin's chest, his fangs bared.

“Weapons? Where are they?” Annie asked as she went nose to nose with Fish. “Don't even think about lying to me and my friends. You lie to me and I'll peel the skin right off your face.”

The group watched Fish's eyes narrow to slits as he tried to figure out whether or not Annie was serious. He saw something in her eyes that didn't sit well with his sense of self-preservation. “They're in every room in the house.”

Annie's arm whipped backward, and a second later Fish was looking down the barrel of the gun in her hand. “I know that. Be precise. Like in as when we find them, then we find one you forgot to mention, I start peeling.” To prove she meant business she stepped back, aimed, and fired, first at his right foot, then his left. “So much for those snakeskin boots you love and adore so much.”

Fish crumpled to the floor as he stared at the blood oozing from his favorite boots. He cursed loudly and often as he started to rattle off the places where the guns were. The boys moved like greased lightning as they gathered the arsenal of weapons and tossed them into Kathryn's rig.

“Annie, dear, I hesitate to mention this, but perhaps you should have aimed a little higher,” Myra said.

“Do ya think, Myra?”

“I do, dear. He can still crawl around. We simply cannot have that.”

“You are so right, Myra. What was I thinking?” To everyone's delight, Annie did a little jig, then lifted her leg, her arm, and gun straight out. Two rapid shots could be heard.

“You took his ear right off. Excellent shooting, Annie!” Alexis said.

“I do believe you shattered his left shoulder. That's really a lot of blood, dear!” Myra said.

“Fucking bitch!” Fish bellowed.

“You were ahead, Fish. You should have stayed there. Now I'm going to have to tell everyone gathered here for this soiree that you're addicted to Viagra. One more peep out of you, and I
will
peel the skin off your face.”

Bert's face was white as he stared at his beloved, who returned his look with steely-eyed amusement. Jack leaned against the front of Kathryn's rig as he waited for round two to get under way.

Espinosa was dizzy with delight as he snapped and snapped, then uploaded the pictures he was taking to Maggie Spritzer. Ted was so busy texting Maggie that he had trouble keeping up with what was going on. Harry went silent, his eyes on his wife. He smiled.

All eyes turned to Henry, call me Hank, Jellicoe. He looked just the same as he'd looked on the plane—the dreadlocks were in place, his skin was still dyed an outrageous shade of burnt umber, and he was in his boxer shorts and tee shirt. His feet were bare. And he was in the clutches of Yoko, unable to move.

“Well, hello there, Mr. Henry, call me Hank, Jellicoe. Or should I say Andy Graverson. Fancy finding you in John and Gertrude Solomon's home. How kind of them to let you borrow it.”

“You're good, I'll give you that!”

“Tell us something we don't know. Your turn, you piece of crap. We saved you till last because we've been fighting among ourselves. Each of us wants a piece of you. Guess who won the lottery?” Nikki said.

“You!” Jellicoe said.

“I wish. Nope,” Nikki said. “The little china doll holding you captive won the honors,” she said, pointing to Yoko. Yoko, embarrassed, bowed. Harry smiled.

“Whenever you're ready, dear,” Myra said.

“I'm ready, Myra,” Yoko said. Harry smiled.

“Well, if Yoko is ready then, girls, wire up Mr. Jellicoe!” Myra said.

They were on him faster than Typhoon Tillie. Off came his shirt, down went his boxers. Strong hands pinned Jellicoe's arms behind him. Espinosa clicked away as Ted's fingers started to blister. Harry smiled.

“Alexis, dear, the electrodes. I know, I know, it's flaccid, but do your best. Use the duct tape. Homeland Security recommends it so highly,” Myra said.

“You aren't saying anything, Mr. Jellicoe. Why is that? Girls, this man has been way too silent. Other than admitting we're
good,
he hasn't said a word, not even when we took out his two ‘best' men. I find that classification debatable, but that's for another time. I want him to talk.”

“Well, Annie, why didn't you say so?” Nikki singsonged.

Jellicoe lifted his leg to kick out at Annie, but Murphy leaped and sank his teeth into the fleshy calf. Jellicoe howled as Murphy hung on, waiting for the command he knew was coming. When it did, he relaxed his hold and went back to what he had been doing as he listened to the praise all around him. He let loose with two sharp barks to show he was grateful for it.

“Wow, there's a lot of blood flowing here,” Jack said. “You getting all this, Espinosa?”

“Every last drop!”

“Jack him up against the cab and tie his legs. The man, if you believe his press, can tolerate unbelievable amounts of pain,” Nikki said. “But everyone has a breaking point, so let's get to his so we can report back to the heads of the world's various intelligence and law-enforcement services, the very people Mr. Jellicoe decided to dupe into helping take a year and a half of our lives away from us. Not to mention foisting Stu Franklin and Fish on two of us. Those same individuals are anxiously awaiting results. Yoko, it's your call. Do you want to go to work on him or should we give him a chance to talk?”

Harry smiled. Yoko smiled at her husband, puckered her lips, then blew him a kiss. “He's not going to talk; he's stupid. I say you let me fry his ass right now, then if he wants to talk,
if
he can talk, we'll listen.”

Jellicoe slowly and deliberately looked around and said, “You're all dead. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but my people will take all of you out one by one. Guaranteed.”

“I don't think so, Mr. Jellicoe,” Myra said. “It was all a big hoax. I have to give you credit for conning the people who have contracted with us to bring you down. Your people are the ones responsible for the chatter that so wired them up. You couldn't make it stick here in America, though. You had us jumping through hoops there for a while, but we finally figured it all out. Would you care to expound to our little group here about what got your boxers in a knot nineteen months ago? No, I didn't think so. Yoko, he's all yours!”

“That's really pretty clever, don't you think, Bert? Who would have thought wiring some guy's dick, then shocking him to hell and back would make him turn white like that? I didn't know that, did you?”

“Jesus, look at their faces, Jack. They're
enjoying
this.”

“Yeah, they are. I am, too. I think the question is, why aren't you enjoying this?”

“Because, you dumb-ass, I can see Kathryn trying this out on me the next time I piss her off. You might want to give that some thought, Mr. Emery.”

“I prefer not to think about it, Bert. Besides, I'm married, and you aren't.”

“So?” Bert shot back.

“If you do it again, Yoko, I can catch him in midbounce even though he's tied. Oooh, that's good!” Espinosa cackled.

“Maggie said she doesn't think the
Post
can print these pictures because it's a family newspaper.”

“That's true, but she can put them out there on the Internet. For the whole world to download!” Annie said. “Honey,” she said, addressing Yoko, “ask him if he's ready to talk.”

Instead of doing as Annie asked, Yoko hit the plunger again. Jellicoe bounced in the air.

Then he sagged into a crumpled heap. The Sisters looked at one another, worried expressions on their faces. Jack leaned over and cut him loose. “He's still breathing,” Jack said, happiness ringing in his voice. “I don't think he'll ever be the same again, though.”

“Where's his computer, Fish?” Nikki asked as she pulled a piece of paper out of her wet suit. I'm going to relieve him of all his funds. As in like
now
!”

Curses, words they'd never heard before, rang out in the room as Jellicoe tried to sit up. “You leave my goddamn money alone. I earned that!”

“Sure you did, and now we're taking it.” Nikki laughed. “Fish?”

“Upstairs, middle room. Everything is password-protected.”

“Wanna bet?” Nikki laughed as Jellicoe attempted to lunge for her legs. Yoko was on him in a nanosecond. She yanked his head backward, her knee in the small of his back. She leaned over, picked up his head, and slammed it on the tile floor. “Don't worry, he's not dead,” she trilled.

Harry beamed with pride. His little lotus blossom had rendered the big bad wolf harmless.

“This is a real mess,” Jack said. “Are we sure we got all the weapons?”

“Got pictures of everything, Jack. We need to think about getting out of here and quick. We've already been here an hour. It's full morning; people start moving around. Someone is bound to see all those trucks out there, and this one in particular.”

Jack looked over at Kathryn. “Are you going to have any trouble backing this rig out of here?”