Honor Thy Mother & Thy Father Ch. 24

*******

"How the hell did that happen, Alan?"

"I don't know Michael. We checked their chains when we gave them dinner. Everything was fine when we left them, and went to see Sarge and Cassandra. When I went out there this morning, to let them use the bathroom, they were all gone. Their chains were unlocked, and they were gone. They did not try to get into the house, or anything; they just disappeared into the night."

"Someone must have helped them, or someone else may have kidnapped them. Have you spoken with William Zabo recently?"

"Of course, I have. I had to tell him what was going on with Patty. I thought he was going to have a stroke when I told him about the second attempt on her life. When I told him that you told her to run and hide, because your men had not shown up yet, he could not breathe. To add insult to injury, he found out she was flying an airplane, without a pilot's license. I was sure he was going to wind up in the hospital. Thank goodness for Jemma; she was able to keep him calm enough so he didn't get ill. He felt much better when Patty called him from the aircraft, told him that she was fine, and said she was going to be with Victoria on the Army base. He was on the phone with her for almost 30 minutes."

"Do you know where he is now?"

"I would suspect he is at home. It's only 7:30 AM here."

"Okay, I'm going to give him a call, and see if he's heard from Patty again."

*******

Jemma picked up the phone. "Zabo residence."

"Good morning Jemma, this is Michael Free, of the FBI, can I speak to William please?"

"Is it important Michael, because that sleepy head is still in bed?"

"Yes Jemma, it is very important that I speak to him now."

Michael listened as Jemma walked through the house to the bedroom, opened a door, and started to awaken her husband.

"Hey, sleepyhead, you have an important phone call. It's Michael Free, from the FBI."

Michael heard William say to Jemma, "Did something happen to Patty?"

"I don't know, he asked to speak to you directly."

"Hello Michael, is Patty alright?"

"Good morning William, she has 60,000 U.S. Army troops surrounding her. I doubt anyone could get to her through that screen."

"In that case, could you call at a more decent hour of the morning, and not scare me to death the next time."

"I had to speak to you urgently, to advise you the men that were after her escaped last night from Alan's barn."

"What; how the heck did they do it? Those chains were brand new, and half inch thick. The locks were tamper-resistant. I bought that stuff myself. The only ones that had keys were Alan and Sergeant. I trust those two men with my life."

"Alan said that the locks did not look tampered with. It had to be a professional job. They must've had outside help. It may have happened when Alan, Susan, and Callum were over at Sarge's house, or in the early morning hours. I will know more when I get there."

"Michael, I normally don't ask for permission to get involved, but Patty asked me not to, because she doesn't want me to get in trouble. However, I know a lot of people, and I'm asking you, 'Should I get involved?'"

"William, don't do it. The FBI, CIA, Treasury, and Secret Service, are working on this jointly. We have everything covered. We are going back six months to check on any illegal transfer of funds, from countries and companies worldwide. Whoever put these people up to it had to have a tremendous amount of cash to spread around, considering the amount of people we have seen so far. We have pictures of all these men thanks to Alan. They have to be in someone's databank, either from the military, deep cover agency, or the Boy Scouts. We will find them, and we will get to the bottom of this. The President has given us one week to do it. If we don't, I will call you back, and ask for your help."

"I can live with that Michael; just make sure nothing happens to my daughter in the meantime. Bruno's funeral will probably take place in New York. She will be wide open for many hours. I will not allow her to be harmed."

"I agree. The President will have my balls on his keychain if anything happens to her. I will take care of all the arrangements for her protection, at Bruno's funeral."

"Michael, don't leave me out of the loop. I want to know what's going on. Jemma, Junior and I will be flying to New York tomorrow morning. You know how angry I will be if you hide something from me."

"William, I love your daughter as if she were my own. Once I know anything, you will know it. Have a safe trip home."

******

100. Caving In

Each of the seven men was chained individually into a bolt behind their back and into the floor. They had less than 12 inches of wiggle room in either direction. They could not reach the man to his left or right, and what they were looking at straight ahead made them queasy. Their captors were not like Alan, Sergeant, and Susan. These men were just like they were. These men were professionals, and they knew they were in trouble.

Then, this little fellow walked in, and all their captors stood at full attention.

"My name is Colonel Lucius C. Canyon. 93rd Army Rangers Retired. You can call me Colonel, or Sir, you call me anything else, and you will fear me more than you fear your God. Do you wonder why this pig is hanging upside down, with its head 1 foot above this fire? Let me tell you why. Some warlord in Africa came up with this torture, I can't pronounce his name, never could, but I love what he came up with. The fire is not really that hot, but over time it cooks the brain but doesn't kill you. What it does is swell your head, until your skull bursts open. That's when you die. I did it to a few Serbs, and I must admit I was a lot younger, but after I saw what they did with infant Croat babies, I really didn't care what happened to them. I really don't care what happens to you. You will not leave here unscathed, that I can promise you. However you can leave here alive, and able to lead a prosperous life with both arms in both legs. You will have learned a valuable lesson in who your friends should be and who they should not be. I hope you have your money well hidden and what you are about to experience makes it worth your while. Before we pick one of you to start, does anyone have anything to say about who hired you and for what purpose? You have five seconds."

"Sir, I have something to say."

"Philip we will mark this boy down as number one."

"Yes sir."

"Boy, I don't care about your name rank and serial number, if you don't give me what I want, you will be hanging upside down next to that pig."

"No Sir, I had just retired after 20 years with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. I don't think I was to my bank yet to deposit my last check, when a man from the Executive Protection Agency handed me his card, and asked me to be at his office the next day for an interview. He said it would be very well worth my time."

"Son, this is all very interesting, but would you get to the point please."

"Yes sir. In his office he told me they were looking for a man and a woman who had stolen corporate secrets and were trying to patent them as their own. They were very well protected, and the company was putting a team together to go get their programs back. I asked all the appropriate questions, he gave all the appropriate answers, and then he gave me the one answer I couldn't refuse, but should have. One job, $300,000.00 cash; I should have run away as soon as he said cash, but considering what I had in the bank after 20 years with the government, it sounded very good. I took the job. Eight other men and I went out to reclaim the company's property."

"What were your orders?"

"Don't let anything stand in your way; just get those 4 boxes."

"Your employer knew there were exactly 4 boxes?"

"Yes sir, we were told to bring back 4 boxes."

"You received no instructions as to the people who invented these programs?"

"No Sir, I did not."

"Philip, remark our friend here as number 7."

"Yes sir."

"Do any of you have anything to add to this gentleman's story? Don't be shy, because we will have corroboration of everything he said, before sundown tonight. If he lied to me, he's going to have a hard time picking up pennies, without thumbs."

"Okay, there appears to be no more volunteers. Jack get the nail boards, and make number two available for training."

Two boards, 2 inches thick, and 14 inches long, with nails 4 inches long driven through them were presented to the men.

The Colonel said, "I am sure most of you are familiar with these, but for those of you who are not, let me explain. These boards will be strapped to your feet and held fast by a pulley. Every time I ask a question, and I do not receive a satisfactory answer the strap on the pulley will be tightened, first on the left foot and then on the right. After 20 questions, the nails will have penetrated your foot completely. If you think it was painful going in, pulling them out is 100 times more painful. You will never walk properly again. Philip is number two ready?"

"Yes sir, he is."

"Son, do you have anything to say before I begin."

The Colonel received no answer.

"Philip one turn please."

The other captives watched in horror as the nails penetrated the bottom of number 2's flesh. The scream that went along with it, made them nauseous. They wanted to turn away, but their guards made sure they continued to watch number 2 suffer.

The Colonel did not hurry with his questioning. He let his prisoner think about his pain before he went with the first question.

"Who hired you?"

"Fuck you."

The Colonel looked in number 2's eyes and said, "Pray to your God, sonny, because you have no idea what hell is on earth. Philip two quick turns on the right."

The nails penetrated a quarter inch into number 2's right foot, causing intolerable pain. He nearly passed out, but a guard put amyl-nitrate under his nose to keep him awake.

One of the prisoners said, "Sir I have something to say."

"Sonny, I am not through with this man yet. He insulted me. When I am finished with him, you can tell me what's on your mind." The Colonel did not finish with number 2 for another 90 minutes. He was alive, but he wished he was dead.

*******

"Sir, we have what you want."

"Great work Colonel; are you going east or west?"

"We are processing that information now sir. If I am traveling east I will give it to you myself. If I am traveling west, I will call you."

"Will my daughter be safe in New York?"

"I am uncertain at this point, sir. From what we have gathered here tonight, there are still two teams unaccounted for. There were a total of 26 recruits. Four teams were trained: two four-man reconnaissance teams, and two nine-man assault teams. It was generally believed among the captives that the second assault team was to be at Reagan National Airport to take the Computer Programs after the aircraft landed. One of the men here swears he was never told to kidnap any of the people on that aircraft. Several others say otherwise. It could have been a security protocol, because he was new to the team."

"What is the condition of the hostages?"

"Six are in good health; the seventh should not have insulted me."

"I will inform the FBI six of the prisoners are back in Alan's custody. It is too bad about the seventh; he got lost in the desert and could not be found; ever again."

"It will be my pleasure sir. I should have confirmation of the whereabouts of the tip of the spear, within six hours. I will give you that information, as soon as it is confirmed."

"Thank you for your fast work, Colonel. There will be an extra million dollars in your account."

"It is always a pleasure working for you sir."

*******

101. Aftershocks

"Congratulations Alan; you do great work."

"Thank you William, what did I do this time?"

"You were out hunting, and you caught six of the men who escaped."

"Do you really believe anyone is going to buy that story?"

"I can guarantee you the six men who are going to return to your care will back you up 100%. They saw what happened to number seven, and they are so happy to be alive they would nominate you for president if you asked them."

"What time should I call the Feds?"

"8 A.M. your time should be a good hour."

"You do realize Michael is going to chew my ass off, while you are all safe and sound, in New York."

"Yes, isn't that wonderful."

"I will get even with you for this William. The next time we should have a barbecue, I'm going to make your ribs so hot you going to breathe fire."

"I will look forward to it, Alan. Just as a heads up, however, I am told there are two more teams on the loose. One four-man team and one 9-man team. They are believed to be on the East Coast, but you can never be too careful, until the Feds take these men off your hands."

"I think I'll go hunting with a group of friends. It will give Sarge and me a little backup."

"Whatever you need Alan, just be safe."

******

"Amanda, let me speak to the idiot please. I'm sorry, may I speak to Sheriff Idiot, please."

Amanda said, "You are learning, Alan, let me see if the idiot is available. Elmore, you idiot, are you out of the 'john' yet?"

"God dammit, Amanda; a guy can't even read his magazine in peace around here."

"Alan needs to speak to you again. That means you going to play with your gun, your other gun."

"Very funny, Miss Secretary, very funny."

"When was the next time you expected to see a paycheck Elmore?"

"I swear I'm going to get the Town Council to fire you."

"I swear, Elmore, I'm going to let Joe fit you into a tiny box."

"You are going to rule this town until he dies."

"Elmore, have you seen the size of our son?"

"Oh shit, I forgot about him. I give up; waiting you out is a lost cause."

Alan yelled, "Did you two forget about me?"

Elmore said, "We tried, but apparently we failed. What do you need Alan?"

Alan told him that they were going hunting, and they were going to return with six of the men who had escaped from his ranch.

Elmore said, "No shit, how do you know that?"

"Just trust me, we are going to do that, and I need you and a few others as backup, until we have them safe and sound in the barn. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Are they going to escape again in the near future?"

"No, the Feds should be here in the afternoon to take them off my hands."

The next morning went like clockwork, because the six men were anchored to a tree. Colonel Canyon told the men if they tried to move one of the sharpshooters covering them would kill them. After what they witnessed the night before, these men had no doubt he was telling the truth. By the time Alan and the Sheriff's men showed up, the Colonel and his men were long gone.

They captives walked away quietly with the Sheriff, while Alan and Sarge brought up the rear. They were never so happy to see ordinary people in their lives.

Susan and Cassandra had water and food in the barn waiting for these men. They didn't know what their condition they would be in, but they knew they had not been treated very well.

As soon as the men were chained to their posts, they dug in to the food, and drank water as if they had not had any in days. They could not consume enough of it. After they had taken their fill, they lay down in the hay and went to sleep. None of them had been asked any questions, and none of them had offered any information.

Alan opened his cell phone and dialed Washington. Michael picked up the phone and said, "I'm sorry Alan, we have no new information yet."

"I have information for you Michael. We found six of the escapees wandering in the desert. They were half starved and totally out of water. They are back in my barn."

"Did you talk to any of them?"

"They were so hungry and thirsty they didn't say a word. After they finished eating, they lay down and went to sleep. No one has said or word either way."

"I am going to have some men come down from Flagstaff, and up from Phoenix. Don't let them near the prisoners until they talk to me. They do not see them, until you get my okay Alan?"

"I understand Michael."

"I am going to send a small passenger jet to Sedona. Put everyone on it and it will bring them to Washington. They will be questioned here. We needed a break in this case. We only have four days left."

"I have a feeling this case is going to break wide open very soon. I think these guys know something, I hope it wasn't the seventh guy who was the key to all of this."

"I am with you on that Alan. I'll keep in touch."

******

Two hours after Alan spoke to the Director of the FBI eight agents were at his home flashing identification. Alan had Michael speak to one of the agents to verify his identity, and gave him his marching orders for the remainder of the day.

Soon afterwards, a nondescript Boeing 717 took off from Sedona Airport, with the prisoners secured inside, and guards watching every move they made.

Bob Brooks and Michael Free had an intense argument over where to interrogate the prisoners. Finally, Michael said, "Bob, I know you are on the clock, but these men are U.S. citizens. Their crimes were committed on U.S. soil. They belong to me. You and your men can watch and suggest lines of questioning, but you are not going to touch these men. I don't believe Alan's hunting story for one minute. How do 7 men escape, and two days later be found in the middle of a desert area, with no food or water. What do you hunt in the middle of the desert? Someone has already interrogated these people, and number seven is in a hole in the ground that we will never find. Let's see what we get from them, before we have to use harsher methods."

"Michael, if the President kicks me out, I'm going to suggest that you be my replacement. You have a very calm, analytical mind, when all around you are going crazy."

"If you do that Bob, I will shoot you in both feet."

"You see Michael; you couldn't even threaten to kill me."

*****

At 8:30 PM, all six prisoners were secured in separate interrogation rooms, where they were informed that they were being videotaped and recorded. They were then Mirandized, and asked if they wanted a lawyer present before they were questioned.

Each of the men declined the help of a lawyer.

The first question from each of the interrogators was, "Has any member of the FBI, or any government agency, harmed you physically, threatened you with physical harm or torture, denied you food or drink, injected you, or forced you to swallow any drug, before this questioning began?"

Each of the men responded with the same words. "No Sir, I have not been harmed in any way."

Michael looked at Bob and said, "Holy shit, I don't know who got to them, but these guys know better than to lie to us."

The interrogations lasted into the small hours of the morning. Each agent varied their questions, but when they were checked, one against the other, the answers was always the same. It led to a country, and a powerful Italian Mafia family no one ever thought of, or considered a possibility in these events. They had to find out if this Family was only the shaft of the spear, or the point of it.

Michael was sick to his stomach as the words poured out of these men's mouth. If he were wrong again, Congress would be all over him. He looked at Bob Brooks and asked, "How good are your sources in Northern Italy?"

"Are you kidding me; that family runs Milan. If we ask one question, Don Joseph will know about it in 10 minutes."

"In other words, we are fucked."

"Yeah, and we weren't even kissed."

"Wait a minute, Roberto is in Brooklyn. He bought Mancuso's cement business. He is on the fast track for citizenship because of it. We could bring him in for questioning."