Justifiable Homicide: A Political Thriller (Robert Paige Thrillers Book 1) (42 page)

Ross exited the park, turned right and headed toward Biscayne Boulevard, one of the main streets in Aventura. It would be packed with traffic on a Saturday afternoon.

Santos turned toward Tomás. “Let’s get him before he gets to Biscayne Boulevard.”

“OK. Let’s wait until these two cars pass. Then pull up next to him.” Tomás was referring to the two cars coming toward them from about a hundred feet away. The street was a typical suburban street with one lane going in each direction and houses on both sides of the street.

After the second car passed, Santos zipped into the left lane and pulled up alongside Ross. The sudden movement on a quiet suburban street caught Ross’s attention. Cars don’t just accelerate and pull up next to you on suburban streets. Ross turned his head to the left and saw Tomás pointing a gun at him. He panicked and slammed on the gas pedal, causing his car to accelerate just enough that Tomás’s first shot missed him. The .22 caliber hollow point shattered the window behind him, missing his head by a half a foot.

“Shit!” Had Tomás squeezed the trigger an instant sooner he would have been successful. If he had used the AA12 shotgun with the Frag 12 rounds he would have been successful, but they decided not to use that weapon because of the noise.

Ross’s car was now well ahead of them, at least five car lengths and gaining distance. It would be difficult to catch up to him. They decided not to try.

Tomás turned to look at Santos and shrugged his shoulders. “Better luck next time.”

The fact that they weren’t able to kill him didn’t really matter. They had more or less accomplished their mission by sending a clear message that people who abuse the eminent domain laws would no longer be safe. They would have to call Wellington to tell him they had failed.

Tomás took out his cell phone and called Wellington while Santos continued driving. They needed to get out of the neighborhood. It would probably be a few minutes before Ross would feel comfortable picking up his cell phone to call the police, but it was best to get out of the neighborhood as soon as possible.

When they got to Biscayne Boulevard they turned north. In a few minutes they would be in Broward County, and presumably safe. If Ross called the police, it would likely be the Aventura police. The Broward County police might not be notified at all, or if they were, it probably wouldn’t be until long after Santos and Tomás had blended in with the Saturday traffic in Broward County.

“Hello, John?”

“Hi, Tomás. How ya doin’? Have any good news to report?”

“We weren’t able to get him. He got away.”

“Ah, that’s too bad.” From the sound of his voice, he seemed a little disappointed but not mad.

“We were able to squeeze off a shot but he accelerated and we missed.”

“So he knows he was being targeted?”

“Oh yeah, he knows, alright.”

“Well, that’s good. He got the message, although he doesn’t know what the message is. I’ll send out the announcement so the whole world will know. Good job, guys. You had a good day.”

Santos and Tomás were glad it was over. Assassinating people was always a risk. Although the odds were in their favor, there was always a chance that they would get caught, or even killed. Luck had been with them that day. But no one’s luck lasts forever.

Wellington had to edit his prewritten broadcast announcement. The original version he had prepared explained why Frumpton, Goldman, Rapaport and Ross had been executed. He would have to amend the statement slightly, since Ross was able to get away. Not a big deal. The message would be transmitted, and it would be basically the same message whether Ross were killed or not – that those who abuse the eminent domain laws would be dealt with severely.

One concern he had was how the Boss would take the news. In substance, they had accomplished their mission even though Keith Ross was still alive. The message they wanted to send to those who abuse the eminent domain laws would be received loud and clear regardless of whether the body count were 1 or 100. But the Boss was a perfectionist. If four people were to be executed, then four people should be executed.

Wellington made the edits and sent it out to all the radio and television stations in the Miami area as well as to various websites, both right-wing and left-wing, as well as a few blog spots. He wanted to make sure the message would not be suppressed. In fact, it would go viral, just like the earlier messages had.

Greetings from the Sons of Liberty. We would like to end the speculation surrounding the deaths of Daniel Frumpton, Jerry Goldman, and Jules Rapaport and the attempted killing of Keith Ross. We have determined that they are all termites who are eating away at the structure of American society. They and their ilk must be stopped. We are taking it upon ourselves to stop them. It is the patriotic thing to do.

The one thing they all have in common is their abuse of the eminent domain laws. These laws, which need to be repealed, allow individuals to abuse the Constitution by using the force of government to confiscate private property from the rightful owners and transfer it to people who are little more than thieves.

Daniel Frumpton was the worst abuser. He was the one who initiated the takings. Jerry Goldman was his attorney who handled the transactions. Jules Rapaport was the judge who put the stamp of approval on these thefts. Keith Ross was the local city official who supported their actions when he should have stood in their way. Keith, we are not done with you. Your day will come, at the time and place of our choosing.

Let this be a warning to anyone who uses the eminent domain laws to violate the property rights of the citizenry. We will get you. However, we will offer a reprieve to those who have abused the eminent domain laws in the past three years if they repent and compensate their victims. Those offenders who want to be crossed off our list must make a public apology and must fully and publicly compensate their victims for the full extent of their losses.

SONS OF LIBERTY

Within 24 hours after Wellington sent out the broadcast message, two Miami area real estate developers went on television to offer a public apology for their past actions and promised to compensate their victims within 30 days. The Dade County Real Estate Board held an emergency meeting and amended its Code of Ethics to list the use of the eminent domain laws as an unethical practice. Violators would be punished by the loss of their real estate license. The measure passed by a unanimous vote. The state legislature in Tallahassee planned to hold a special session to debate whether the eminent domain provision in the Florida Constitution should be repealed and made illegal in spite of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling approving the practice. John Desir, the president of the Haitian-American Bank, announced that his bank would no longer make loans to finance projects that involved the eminent domain laws. He also announced that he would make a motion at the next meeting of the Florida Bankers Association to list the financing of eminent domain projects as an unethical practice. Keith Ross went into hiding immediately after giving his statement to the police.

Sarah walked in the side door, carrying two bags. “John, I just finished picking up the food for the barbecue. I think I bought too much. Why don’t you invite Bob and Sveta? They can help us eat it.”

Now that Debbie, Frumpton and the others were out of the way it was time to take a short break before focusing on Steinman and his group. Sarah didn’t know John and his crew were taking a break. She just thought John wanted to have a barbecue.

“OK, I’ll give him a call. If he’s like most accounting professors, he probably planned on spending his Sunday reading financial statements just for fun.”

He thought about it and decided it probably would be a good idea to invite him. He could use the opportunity to introduce him to the other team members who would also be there. He perceived that Paige wasn’t fully committed to the Steinman project and that a little bonding with the other team members might serve to get him in line with the program.

Paige’s phone rang. He was having lunch with Sveta at Denny’s on Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach. Paige liked Denny’s because the food was decent and fairly cheap.

“Hi Bob. It’s John. How ya doin’? Are debits still on the left?”

“The last time I checked, but I haven’t read this morning’s newspaper. Maybe someone in Washington has made a new regulation.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. If the United Nations published a study stating that Western colonial powers were imposing their oppressive capitalist system on developing countries by insisting that debits be on the left as a condition of getting a World Bank loan, I’m sure someone in Washington would try to make a rule that any company having a government contract must have debits on the right in order to show sensitivity for local cultural values.”

Paige was pleased by Wellington’s response. It showed that even Commerce Department bureaucrats could have a sense of humor.

“Bob, Sarah and I are having a barbecue on Sunday. Would you and Sveta like to come?”

“Sure. What time?”

“Around 12, give or take. That will give you a chance to get back from church.”

“Yeah, right.” Wellington was busting Paige’s chops. He knew that Paige hadn’t gone to church in years. Wellington usually attended church on Sundays because Sarah insisted.

“What should I bring?”

“Sarah already has all the food. Maybe bring some potato salad. That way I’ll have an alternative to Sarah’s, which is based on her mother’s recipe, which I hate.”

“OK, John. Always glad to help where I can.”

Wellington walked into the next room. He didn’t want Sarah to hear what he was about to say. He lowered his voice as he spoke.

“It will also give you a chance to meet the team. They’re coming with their families. We’ve decided to put the Steinman case on the front burner.”

Paige froze in his seat. The moment he dreaded had arrived. He tried to maintain his composure and act normally.

“Will your Boss be there? I’d like to meet him. What was his name, again?”

“Very funny, Bob. No, he won’t be there. He likes to keep a low profile, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I think I understand. He can’t go outside until after sundown, right? Otherwise he melts or evaporates or something.”

“Something like that. See you then.”

After hanging up, Paige turned to Sveta.

“We’ve been invited to a barbecue at John and Sarah’s this Sunday. Can you make it?”

“Ah, sorry Robert. My sister’s family is expecting me for lunch. Tell John and Sarah I said hello.”

“OK. Will do.” He was glad that Sveta wouldn’t be able to come. He didn’t want her to be in the company of murderers.

One thing he was apprehensive about was meeting the members of the team, since some of them had killed Raul Rodriguez and his girlfriend in cold blood. Anyone who would do that kind of thing was not someone he would feel comfortable having a hamburger with. The fact that they could do it without a second thought sent chills up his spine. He wondered how many other people they had executed, since it probably wasn’t their first time.

He also wondered whether he would be able to take them out, if that was what he needed to do to foil the plan. It was the only option he had been able to come up with to save Steinman, but he couldn’t figure out if or how he could do it. They were all trained killers. Wellington was being closed-mouth about who his Boss was, and Paige was a neophyte when it came to actual violence. Competing in Taekwondo tournaments was one thing. Trying to kill someone who didn’t want to be killed and who could kill you was something else.

He was a fish out of water. Paige wondered whether he would eventually meet the Boss, and under what circumstances.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil, God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Totalitarianism must be stopped, whether it comes from the left or the right. It doesn’t matter whether the jackboot on your throat is a socialist or a fascist jackboot.”

Robert W. McGee

It took Paige a little less than an hour to arrive at the Wellington’s house a few blocks from the edge of the Everglades. It was Sunday and traffic was light. It was a pleasant drive, another sunny day in Florida.

He was more than a little curious to meet the other members of the team, but he was apprehensive as well. He liked hanging around patriots, but this group was misguided. They were actually the enemy because they were shredding the Constitution, all in the name of patriotism and national security. Assassinating radio talk show hosts, journalists and professors merely for exercising their right to free speech and free press could not be justified, although a case could be made for executing politicians and others who were trashing the Constitution and taking away the rights of the citizenry.

He suspected the team he was about to meet had been the ones who were exterminating the vermin that had been reported in the press, although Wellington didn’t quite admit it. The Boss had cut Paige out of the loop. Paige’s view of the team was based mostly on their plan to silence professors and journalists because they decided to exercise their rights of free speech and press in a way that the Boss found offensive.

He continued to think about his options for saving Steinman. The easy way out would be not to save him. Just let them kill him. Choosing that option would not require any effort or action on his part. It would be the safe option. It would allow him to maintain his relative innocence. The problem with that option is that he had ruled it out. Every fiber of his being told him that he must do something.

Another option would be to become a whistle blower. He could tell the authorities. But which authorities? The local police would be one option, but which local police? Each community had its own police force and none of them could be effective against the resources of the CIA, FBI, DHS or any federal agency, for that matter. Besides, he couldn’t prove anything and the police couldn’t do anything until the act had been committed, which would be too late. They probably wouldn’t want to stick their necks out to prevent Steinman’s murder anyway. They would be taking a risk by getting involved.