There Must Be a Mistake Ch. 05

"Who are you marrying the pilot?"

"No, her name is; no you don't deserve to know her name."

"Uncle Even, if you want to live to say the words 'I do', you better give me some information, or never step foot in the state of Colorado again."

"I'll think about your threat and call you back."

"Uncle Even don't you do this to me. Who is she?"

"Are you going to be nice to her?"

"Of course I'm going to be nice to her. I may kill you for torturing me this way, but I am going to be nice to your wife."

"She is a great mother, Delicious; and a really wonderful woman. I met her on my way up to Fairbanks. I fell in love with her when I looked into her eyes. She has a four-year-old son named Gordon. Her name is Jennifer Stars. She lives in Brighton, 45 miles northeast of Denver. I'm sure you'll love her, and Gordon is a real trip. We were sitting in the aircraft and Gordon stands up, looks me straight in the eyes, and asked, "How much money do you make?" Jennifer was aghast at that statement, but it was fun. We wound up having a very good time."

"What does she look like?"

"She comes straight from heaven. Her hair and eyes are as black as coal. Her skin is as white as snow. She is about five foot seven, with a very nice figure. I kissed her tonight."

"That is wonderful Uncle Even, absolutely wonderful. When are you coming home?"

"I want to wait to see what happens with Michael. I hope to be able to leave sometime tomorrow. I'm going to rent a private jet to take us directly to Denver if one is available."

"Would you like me to make sure one is available for you?"

"Yes Delicious, do that for me. If you have to, have one sent up from Seattle. It doesn't matter what type of aircraft, just have a jet here for me tomorrow, and tell the crew we may be delayed a few days before departure."

"You got it Uncle Even. I am so happy that you are alive. I just won another $100."

"What sucker did you take it from this time?"

"Director Meil."

"Wow that was a good win. That $100 should cover part of the tirade you had last week, or did you remember to put that money into the pretzel jar, as you were honor bound to do, the moment you walked into the house."

"I wasn't thinking about the pretzel jar when I walked into the house. I was thinking about my missing uncle."

"You have to get your priorities straight baby girl. Money always comes first, then water and food. After that you can think about relatives.""

"Uncle Even, you are so full of shit."

"That will be $10 please."

"I hate you when you trick me into doing that. It's just not fair."

"Would you call Father McAuley for me? Ask him if he has time available to perform a wedding this weekend? I want to be a daddy as soon as possible."

"You don't have to be married to become a daddy."

"Yes I know, but I would like to do it the right way the first time around."

"Doesn't she have to come off the pill and wait a while before she can get pregnant?"

"No, Jennifer is like Rosalynn. She has never used any type of birth control. We are going to have more children then Roz and Rod have. We are going to start building an extension to the house immediately."

"Hold on for a moment Delicious; the Doctor is here."

I shook hands with Doctor Reed. "How is Michael doing Doctor?"

"You were correct Doctor Luck. His fibula and tibia are both fractured and broken. Two of his ribs are broken, and one is severely bruised. He was bleeding inside his leg because of a crushed artery. We were able to seal that off. The big problem, as you said, is the leg. We don't have the type of equipment here to do the kind of surgery he needs to save it. He doesn't have the insurance or the money to pay for the transportation to get him down to Seattle or Portland to get the proper care."

"Doctor, money is the least of his worries. Whatever he needs, I will take care of it."

"We need to get this infection under control, before we can do anything else. As soon as that happens, we have to get him to a good Orthopedic Hospital. I have never seen a leg that mangled in all my years as a surgeon."

"Do you have a hospital in mind?"

"No but I have a doctor in mind. Let me find her and if she is a reasonable distance away, she would be Michael's best chance."

"Doctor Reed, spare no expense. Michael saved my life. I want him to be able to fly again. He can't do it with one leg. Find that Doctor, and find her soon, please. Bribe her, if necessary, but ask her to take Michael as her patient."

************

"Delicious, are you still there?"

"No, I'm on my way to Bermuda."

"So that's why you bought those bikinis."

"Yes and the giant size tubes of sunscreen. What would you like me to do Uncle Even?"

"Do you know how to use a computer?"

"Do you want me to burn this one down?"

"It's okay with me, it's insured. The work that's inside it is in the safe. I'm sure there are many young women in jail that would love to make your acquaintance."

"Are you running out of things to say to me Uncle Even?"

"I guess I'm lonely. I haven't had a good argument with anyone in over a week. I miss it."

"Don't run away next time. I made the mistake not you."

"No Delicious, the only thing you did was hurt my pride. I am the great and powerful Even Luck. No one can break my ciphers; no one can break my codes. No one that is until you entered my life. I reacted like a three-year-old and ran away screaming, 'I don't love you anymore'; when what I really meant to say was, "I couldn't love you anymore if I tried. You mean the world to me and I acted like a fool. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me first Uncle Even."

"Gee whiz, those cameras they put in our house are really good. I can see that thing just above your pubic..."

"EEEEVVVVVVVVVEENNNNNNN..."

**********

19. BUYING A 'BLOODY RING'

"Hello Jennifer, it's me Even."

"Hello Even, what did the Doctor say?"

"I am fine, but Michael is really messed up. They are trying to find an orthopedic surgeon, who is the best in the business. Once they find her, I'm going to fly him to wherever she is and have her take care of his leg. Doctor Reed said it is his only chance of keeping it."

"Does that mean we're not going to Denver tomorrow?"

"I am picking you up in the morning at eight sharp. If I have to carry you and Gordon away in a sack, you are coming with me. If we have to make a detour to Seattle to drop off Michael we will. However you and I are one from tomorrow morning on. What size is your ring finger?"

"I think it's a 7 or 7 ¼."

"Would you like to pick out your diamond, or would you like to take 'Pot Luck', and wear the one your future husband picks out?"

"Even, a girls' best friend is a diamond. You can hardly go wrong buying one."

"Baby, a diamond is a piece of coal put under intense pressure for a long time."

"Even I see what you mean about not being ordinary. Do you want me to walk around with a piece of coal on my finger and wait for it to turn into a diamond?"

"No, I'm sure I'll find a stone you will like."

"I am positive you will. I have more faith in you then you have in yourself."

***********

"Shelby would you mind driving me around for a little while?"

"I know a nice diamond store about 5 miles from here. They have a good selection of loose stones they can mount in about an hour. You want a platinum setting with at least five prongs. You also want a wedding set that it will fit into."

"Were you listening into my conversation?"

He pointed to his ear and I saw the little bud sitting in his canal. "Why did you think I offered you my phone Even? The director wants to know everything you say and do, while you are up here."

I laughed. "So you are trying to get back to civilization by using me as your magic carpet?"

"Even do you know how cold it gets up here in the winter?"

"Do you remember I was up in Point Barrow for 5 months, from December through May? The average temperature was 22 degrees below zero, and I think that was inside the trailers. My toes didn't talk to me for 3 months after I returned to Colorado."

"Let's go shopping Even. I don't want to think about temperatures that low."

********

We walked into the diamond store, and every alarm in the store went off. I raised my hands above my head so they could see I did not have a weapon. However, the two guards with shotguns were not impressed.

They yelled, "Get on the ground with your hands and feet spread."

I didn't have to be asked twice. I was the most cooperative person they had ever seen.

All Shelby could do was laugh.

The guards asked him what he was laughing about.

Nonplussed he said, "If I wanted to, both of your asses would be dead, because of the way you reacted to this incident."

The owner of the store came out from the back not at all pleased with what Shelby said. He wanted to know why his guards had failed at their jobs.

Shelby responded, "I took an innocent civilian off the sidewalk and put him in front of me. I walked him into your store, and your alarms went off. Your guards came out and pointed their weapons at him. Meanwhile, I have my .45 automatic in my right hand. I take down both guards as they kill the civilian with their shotguns. I rob the store and walk out the back killing you in the process."

"What should my guards have done differently?"

"You should always have one guard in the front of the store, behind the counter where the door opens. The other guard stays in back. This way you have eyes front and back, plus you can see everything with your cameras. Two guards in the back do you no good, unless they are playing cards."

The owner said to the guards, "Do it."

The guards didn't question the owner. They split up and took their new positions.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?"

"My friend is getting married. He would like a 4 carat, or larger VVS1 blue white diamond, round preferably, anything but square or rectangular. If you have, he would like a wedding set included."

I looked at Shelby as if he was a gift from God. I had no idea what he said but it sounded wonderful.

The owner asked us to follow him into the back so we could enter the vault. All his large stones were there.

Diamonds were not the only thing in his vault. He had a few million dollars in cash in a cage, and he had gold: gold nuggets, and gold dust in another cage. Prospectors brought it to him. He assayed it, paid for it, stored it, and twice a month shipped it to dealers in San Francisco. He was a middleman. He made a profit buying from the prospectors. He made a profit selling to the dealers. There was no downside for him. If the price of gold went down too much, he held onto it, because gold is one of those rare metals that everyone has to use. From pharmaceutical companies to rocket makers, gold is a necessary evil, and there is a limited amount of gold to go around.

The owner took out a tray of diamonds, and I understood why women drool looking at them. They flash under the lights. They sparkle, and they show off every color of the rainbow.

Shelby pushed me out of the way. He put on a pair of white gloves and started pushing the diamonds around. The owner put a black mat next to him, and he started putting stones on it. In all he put seven stones on the mat and told the man these would do.

He asked for a jewelers loop and looked at each one individually, like a doctor surveying an x-ray. He found one and put it aside. He took off the loop, and set it down. He grabbed the owner by his tie, and pulled him to his nose.

"What are you doing with a Blood Diamond?"

The owner replied, "I don't deal in illegal diamonds. All my diamonds are laser tagged."

"Then you better explain this one to me."

The owner looked through the loop, and it was not tagged. He started to sweat. He said to Shelby, "I'll give you this one for free. Just don't tell anyone about it."

Shelby said, "You just made the biggest mistake of your life. If I find another illegal diamond in there, you are going to federal prison for the rest of your days."

He handed me his weapon, and told me if the owner made any suspicious moves to put one bullet into the middle of his chest, then he would take the gun back and kill him."

Shelby started looking through the diamonds, and started separating the legal ones from the Blood Diamonds. Within 5 minutes he had more than 20 of them selected. The owner looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Do you want to tell me anything, before I read you your Miranda rights? Remember I can't promise you anything, but it may help you, if you help us."

The owner said, "I can give you the suppliers in San Francisco and Miami."

"Who are they, who do they work for, and how do they move the stones?"

"If I tell you all that now I will have nothing to bargain with later."

"Do you see this man sitting here? His name is Doctor Even Luck. Before we leave here today you are going to make him a diamond ring for his fiancée. You will sell it to him at full price and give him a receipt. It will prove that he has been here and you have spoken to him. Your lawyer will be able to put him on the stand. He will bear witness to the fact that I spoke with you, and you gave me these people's names and other information. You will have been a helpful witness for the federal government. You will have helped us put criminals behind bars. The judge will take this into consideration and so will the federal prosecutors when it comes time to make sentencing recommendations. I will speak to them on your behalf personally."

For the next 15 minutes the owner of the store laid out the entire sequence of events that led from the diamond mines of Nigeria to Miami, Texas, San Francisco, and then the West Coast, from Los Angeles to Fairbanks. It was a tale worthy of a James Finder novel.

Shelby made three phone calls. One was local to other agents. Then he called the local police. The last was to Director Robert Meil.

"Good afternoon director, I have him by the collar."

"That's what I pay you for."

"Is that what you call that thing I get every month: pay? I think it's an insult to anyone's intelligence."

"Who said you were intelligent?"

"My mother did."

"Then go back to her."

"I can't you divorced her, and she won't talk to me anymore, because I'm a man."

"Is that my fault?"

"Well it certainly not mine."

"Why are you calling me besides that you have Even on a leash?"

"Blood Diamonds. We have a trail from Fairbanks all the way back to Nigeria. You are not going to believe who the head of it is in San Francisco."

"Who is it?"

"I'll tell you when I get back to Austin."

"You are not getting off the hook that easily."

"I called you what you are; a cock-sucking son of a bitch and you know it. You piss everyone off to keep them afraid of you. It's no way to run a company. It is no way to garner respect or loyalty. If you want to fire me, fire me. I am not staying in Fairbanks one more day then I have to. I like the action of looking for crooks and spies. If you don't want me doing it under your aegis, I'll go to the other company and do it for them. Dad get your head out of your ass and run this company correctly before you have to revolt on your hands and everyone goes elsewhere. We are the best undercover people in the world, because nobody knows we exist. Don't blow it."

"I have been waiting for you to grow a pair of balls for eight years Junior. I believe it has finally happened. How long will it take you to wrap things up?"

"There's nothing big up here. Probably a few days of paperwork that's all."

"Finish what you're doing and get down here. You will be my assistant for the next few months, and then I will retire. This company is yours to run as you see fit. I'm going to love it as you ass spreads like mine did. I liked the hunt, but there is more than footwork involved to keep our country safe. It's finding the right people for the right job, and keeping them on their toes. It's a big responsibility, because we at war with these people every day. That's why we have to stay invisible, and have to continue that way. Don't you ever forget that when you're sitting in this seat. The day you sit down, it becomes your seat, and the sign on the door means what it says: The Shit Stops Here."

"I quit. I don't want your job. I don't like your job. I will not take your job. I don't like paperwork. Mom will laugh at me if I take your job. You had this planned from the very beginning didn't you?"

"Listen to me Shelby; you have 2 months to get your act together down here. Then your mother and I are going on a cruise to Greece. Don't you dare fuck up those plans. She will kill you."

"You two are divorced. Why are you going on a cruise together?"

"Who told you we were divorced?"

"You did. Mom did. You both did. You told me you were divorced. You argued all the time when I was home. It was so bad I move out of the house."

"We finally got you out of the house didn't we?"

"You prick. You tricked me just to get me out of the house?"

"You were 26 years old. You had worn out your welcome. It was time for you to spread your wings and live on your own. We did it for your own good. How much longer was your mother going to wash your shorts? We haven't had an argument since the day you left."

"You are the perfect spymaster dad. I never had a clue. I will never be as good as you."

"You don't have to be as good as me. You have to be the best that you are. The men and women around you will keep this company Invisible."

"Okay Mister Director, I'll see you in a few days."

*********

"He is your father?"

"Is it that hard to believe?"

"Yes it is. You were always civil and brilliant. He was always rude, and grumpy."

"I guess after 22 years in that job it wears on you. Now, suddenly, it's mine."

"Apparently he's been grooming you for it for many years, and waiting for you to grow up."

"How did you hear that?"

I showed him a small piece of paper shaped like a megaphone that I had placed in my ear."

"Come on Even, your shiting me."

"You used high tech; I used low tech. However, while you were talking to your father, I got Jennifer her diamond ring."

"Did you pick it out, or did he."

"He did, but he showed me the laser tag engraving before he mounted it."

"How much did it cost?"

"$53,350 including the insurance and the certification."

"How large was the stone?"

"The stone was just over 5 carats and he threw in the setting for free. He didn't have a wedding set to go with it."

"I would ask to see it, but it's wrapped too pretty to open it."

**********

Shelby's friends showed up shortly after his phone call and seized all the diamonds in the store. They counted each one, and then recounted them. The local police arrived to find out what was going on. Shelby advised the Sergeant that they had impounded every diamond in the store because many of them were illegally imported Blood Diamonds. He needed the vault inventoried, sealed, and guarded, until the contents were taken away by an armored car to the federal building. Every video recorder was to be kept running 24/7, just in case someone with sticky fingers got tempted to walk away with some merchandise.

I told Shelby I would be fine, and he should take care of his business. I was going back to the hospital.

***************

20. A DINNER PROPOSITION

I left the store and walked towards the hospital. I was mulling over the events that occurred in the store, when someone beeped, and pulled up alongside me.

Jennifer smiled. "Hello stranger you look lost. Gordon wants to go to Wendy's for dinner. Would you like to join us, so I can tell you where to go, and how to get there?"

"As long as you are going to do it nicely, yes." I slid into the front seat of her Tahoe, and kissed her. Then I said hello to Gordon.