Honor Thy Mother & Thy Father Ch. 23

"Don't you start with me Patricia; you will get it in the end."

"You said not until I was ready, and I am going to hold you to that."

Susan put her arms around Patricia, and said, "After a while darling, it's like falling off a log. You get used to it, and you really get off on it."

"Susan, you have no idea how big he is."

"Patty, you are in a room of very big men."

"You mean they're all that size?"

"Hell no, some are small as a pimple and some are as large as a tree. Apparently, we have three trees in this room."

Patty grinned. "The blonde tree is mine."

"Patricia, don't start with me."

She walked over to him and said, "I've never kissed a blonde before. May I kiss you?"

"If you don't, when we get home, you will wish you had."

They were in the middle of a kiss, when Alan said, "Okay, let's get on the road."

"Steph, I'm not fooling around when I say, please come back to me. I will never forgive you if you don't."

"Didn't your mother say we would have a long and happy life together?"

"No she didn't, she just said we would be fine. I want to fine to be for a long time."

"Okay, in that case I'll come back, but you have to promise me that you will learn how to take a joke, and not hit me when I tell one."

"I will work on that, I promise."

"Are you two newlyweds finished yet? We have to get going."

Stephano asked, "Can we use a bedroom for about two hours?"

Susan said, "Two hours, what takes two hours? Alan is done in three minutes."

Alan looked at his wife. "I think your egg timer is broken. I will buy you a new one after I whip you with a paddle."

"We don't have time to lovers' quarrels. We have to get on the road, children. Kiss and makeup, and get your asses in gear."

"I'll see you in about four hours Suze."

"You'd better, or I will send Callie after you."

"Ah, a fate worse than death."

Alan got into the driver seat of the Range Rover, as Stephano slinked into the passenger seat. He kept low, approximating Patty's height. They turned north on 89A toward Sedona at 45 mph. They passed a car on the side of the road that took note of their passing.

As planned, Sergeant, driving Alan's truck, turned South on 89A heading towards Prescott at 60 mph. The tracking device was working perfectly, and as he passed the tracking car. It turned onto the road behind him, and followed him a discreet distance.

The passenger in the chase car called the men in the second chase car, on the north side of Alan's home. He told them they was heading towards Prescott.

The leader said it made sense. Patricia's aircraft had been moved from Sedona to Prescott. They must be loading the materials onto the aircraft there. He informed the first car to get to the airport before Alan did, and set up surveillance of the aircraft. He would keep track of him from behind.

Sergeant saw the headlights trailing him steadily about 500 yards behind. Suddenly, the car put on a burst of speed. He reached for the Beretta, and 20 seconds later the car sped by him, doing at least 100 mph. It did not make the least bit of sense to him, until he noticed another pair of headlights tracking him from the same distance. He called Felix to give him a heads up.

"Why is it every time you call me there is trouble?"

"Your life would be dull if it wasn't for me."

"My doctor says I would live longer if I lead a dull life."

"My doctor says excitement is good for my cardiovascular health."

Felix laughed. "I think we should have our doctors meet, so they can get their acts together. What do you have for me, Sarge?"

"Dark colored Chrysler 300, just passed me doing over 100 miles an hour. It was trailing me for over 5 miles and then took off like a bandit. I now have another car trailing me by the same distance. I don't think it's coincidental."

"Were you able to get a plate number?"

"No, he went by too fast."

"They may be trying to bracket you, or get someone to here ahead of you. Don't take the shortcut, stay on the main roads. My men will be watching for you."

"You know I have to make a detour."

"Yes, just be careful while you are out of touch with us. If anything happens, try to get to the high ground and get a cell signal."

"Will do Felix, stay safe. I will see you in a few hours."

At the first hairpin turn, by the Jerome Historic Park, Sergeant increased his speed to 80 miles an hour, and then slowed back down to 60.

When the chase car came into view, they returned to their normal spacing. At the second hairpin turn, by the Gold King Mine, and Ghost Town, Sergeant increased his speed to 80 miles an hour, again. As he came out of the turn, and entered the straightaway, he brake quickly, slowed to 20 mph, turned off his lights, and left the highway. He turned onto a dirt road slowing the truck even further, without using his brakes. He watched in his rear view mirror as the chase car flew by him. He backed the truck up to the roadway and stopped. He took the transponder and threw it across the highway. He returned to the truck turned on his headlights and proceeded on a circuitous route to delay the men following him. He drove the 5 miles into the Badlands; and back his truck behind a large outcrop of stone. He took the rifle, Beretta, and ammunition, walked up a steep embankment. He found a great defensive position, in an outcrop of stone, just under the top of the hill. He took a drink of water, waited, and waited. It took his pursuers almost 40 minutes to find his position. Actually it was he who found them. They were driving with their lights on, following his tire tracks. Sergeant sighted in their left front tire, with his night scope, and blew it out with a single shot. As they tried to retreat, he blew out the rear tire. Their car was now disabled. The two men got out of the car, with their automatic rifles. They stayed behind the doors, and looked for a target.

Sergeant shouted out, "You are under arrest. Drop all your weapons, and move away from the car. One false move and I will put a bullet through your chest."

His answer was a fusillade of bullets, from the automatic weapons. They didn't come close to his position. He waited patiently, until one of the men made a mistake. He stuck his head up to take a look around. He received a bullet to his head instead. It was a glancing blow against his right temple, but his head bounced back against the solid doorframe, and it killed him instantly."

Sergeant yelled out again, "You are under arrest, unless you want to make the same mistake your friend did. Throw down your weapons and move away from the car.

He saw a shadow move stealthily towards the rocks. He yelled out, "So, a city boy wants to play hide and seek, with a country boy. Okay, I'll play along. I hope you have good shoes on, otherwise these rocks are going to cut your soles to shreds in a matter of minutes."

From his perch, he had only one vulnerable side, and that was from his left. The perpetrator had gone to the right. The guy couldn't get to him from above right or below, and because of the loose rocks; he heard every step the idiot took. He listened closely, and the man was still quite a ways off. He decided to move from his perch into a gully 50 yards to his left. If the man knew where he was, he would be concentrating on that area alone and not looking anyplace else. It was a chance, but not much of a chance, at all. He would still hear the man coming, but this time he would give him no warning.

It was a moonless night, and after 10 minutes, the noise stopped. Sergeant did not move; he barely breathe. Moments passed to minutes, and then he saw why there was no sound. The man crawled on top of this smooth rocky outcrop. He was attempting to slide down to the vulnerable left side of his hide. He did not have his automatic weapon with him, only his 9 mm.

Sergeant took a shallow breath in, breathe out, and gently squeeze the trigger. The man never knew what hit him. He fell to the ground, still holding his weapon. Sergeant approached him warily. The guy was not dead, but he would be soon. He kicked the gun out of the man's hand. "Who the fuck do you work for?"

The man coughed up blood. He said in a fading voice "ah company."

Sergeant grabbed his chest, and said, "Who?" The man did not answer

, because he was dead.

Sergeant screamed at him. "God damn son of a bitch, what did you mean, 'ah company.'

Sergeant picked up the man's 9 mm and put it in his belt. He had no ID on him. He walked down the mountain to the other man, did the same thing, with the same results. He would leave the forensics to Felix and his crew. Altogether, it was a shitty night.

He returned to Alan's truck, and put the automatic weapon, and the 9 mm's in the back. He started the truck and began to retrace his steps to 89A. He was thinking about what had happened, when he hit a deep depression in the path and broke the trucks axle. If he was in a piss poor mood before, he was absolutely irate now.

He refused to take off his body armor just in case the men in the other car came looking for their friends.

He slung one of the automatic weapon over his arm, took the rifle, the Beretta, and ammunition. He took a leak, and began the long walk towards 89A. It was at least 3 miles away.

The two men watching the Challenger aircraft had not been in touch with their leader for 40 minutes. They knew something was wrong. They left their position and headed back towards Cottonwood to see what had happened to them.

In Cottonwood, Cassie was at the end of her three-hour limit. Patricia went to her house to babysit the quads, as she went to find her husband.

In Prescott, Felix was looking at his watch and wondering what the hell happened to Sergeant. He ordered two unmarked patrol cars to search for him in the area of the Gold King Mine. As they were proceeding northwest, the dark Chrysler 300 that Sergeant reported earlier went past them at a high rate of speed. They called Felix to see what he wanted them to do.

Felix told them to pursue, but do not intercept, unless they stopped. "Use extreme caution; they are armed and dangerous."

Sergeant kept checking his cell phone for a signal, but it kept fading in and out. He had not walked this far in a lot of years, and he swore he would never do it again. Finally, he saw headlights passing in the distance, and he knew he was getting close to the highway.

He was within 50 yards of the pavement, when he heard tires screeching to a halt. The dark blue Chrysler came into view and a man got out on the passenger side, looking for something. Sergeant realized he was looking for the homing device.

He moved off the trail and into a little brush that had congregated there. Suddenly, two police cars surrounded the Chrysler, and uniformed officers, with their weapons drawn ordered the man in the car to get out, and the other man to keep his hands in the air

Sergeant got up and started walking towards the roadway; when Cassie came screeching halt, in her truck. It distracted the two policemen. It was all the time the two men needed, and they tried to disarm the officers.

Sergeant yelled, "Cassie, get in the fucking truck, and get out of here."

"But..."

"Move it."

She got into the truck and sped away, not knowing where she was going.

He raced across the street, with the Beretta in his hand. As soon as he cleared the Chrysler, he shot both men in their legs, incapacitating them.

"Thanks Sarge, that was close," Officer Timmins said.

"Much too close, if you ask me. There are two more bodies across the way. You will need the M.E. for them."

"Read these two their rights and then I want to ask them a question."

Officer Josephs said, "You have the right to remain silent. If you give up this right, anything...."

"Do you understand what the officer just said to you?"

No one answered.

Sergeant said to the two officers, "Isn't the moon wonderful tonight?"

As the officers looked into the sky Sergeant kicked one of the men in the ribs.

The man screamed in pain and said when his friends got here they were going to fuck him, his wife, and his children, until they were dead.

Sergeant replied, "Thank you for that information, and now I know you speak English. Do you understand your rights, or should I go to the other side, and see you speak any other language."

Timmins said, "Sarge, you can't do that with us here."

"You two aren't here. I shot them, and I and private citizen. As far as I'm concerned you haven't shown up yet. In a moment you can have your handcuffs back, because they are going to be dead."

Sergeant looked at the two men and said, "I am going to ask both of you one more time, "Who do you work for?"

They gave no answer.

Sergeant asked the other man, "Who do you work for?"

There was no answer.

"One of your friends said, before I killed him, he worked for 'ah company.' What company?"

Timmins said, "Sarge, did he say 'a company' or 'The Company.' If he said 'The Company,' that's the CIA."

"Sarge, this one's eyes just opened wide, what do you think that means?"

"I think it means we have to call the Feds, and get Howard and Patty out of here. These assholes are not supposed to work inside the U.S. They are not going to a hospital; they are not going to jail. They are going to disappear into the desert, after we take them to Susan's for a while. She has a barn just the right size for these animals. I'll make some phone calls.

*****

Alan and Stephano had no problem at their end. They went to the cave, put the boxes into the Range Rover, and drove straight to the airport. The Gulfstream had one engine running, and the cargo bay open. The four lead lined boxes were put in, tied down securely, and the bay was closed. On board the aircraft were the three lawyers, and four of Celeste's guards, and the newlyweds.

When Captain Grison asked why Payne wasn't piloting this flight to Washington, he was told that Dycke and she were going to take a long awaited vacation. They would be here for two weeks. The aircraft was to be taken to Grumman for a maintenance check, and the crew would be given 10 days off with full pay.

No further argument was heard from any member of the crew. They started taxiing out to the runway, when the captain received an urgent call for them to return to the terminal immediately.

When he arrived and lowered the stairs, there were blue lights from police cars everywhere.

Alan ran up the stairs and straight to Harold and Callie.

"You don't know how I wish I was joking with you now, but I'm not. You are both getting off this airplane. Harold your life is in danger. Sergeant just called, and he believes the people who tried to steal what you and Patricia have worked so hard on, were members of the CIA. If it is true, they will stop at nothing to kidnap and/or kill you both. We have to get you two to a safe place. We are calling the FBI. I swear this is not a joke."

"Harold get out of your seat and move. He is telling the truth. Let's go with him now."

Stephano ran into Cassie's home and grabbed Patricia as if that would be the last time he would ever see her.

She smiled. "What is the matter with you? Did everything go all right at the aircraft?"

"Everything went fine, except for one major detail. You are in trouble again. The people who tried to track Alan and the programs were members of the CIA. They tried to kill Sergeant and two police officers. Sergeant was able to get one of them to talk before he died. You have to call Michael, and tell him we need his help, and we need it quickly. Sergeant is not taking the two captives to jail or to the hospital for treatment. He is bringing them here. Ted will fix them up, and we will hold them incommunicado, until Michael figures out what to do with them. Harold and Callie are on their way here now with Alan."

*****

The phone rang in Alexandria, Virginia, and for some reason, the twins yelled, "It's Patty!"

It was in 80° day in Washington, and Michael said, "Yes, and they are going to declare today a snow day."

"Hello."

"Hello Michael, how are you today?"

Michael frowned as he turned to his daughters. "Today's a snow day."

Melody and Harmony yelled, "Hello Patty!"

Michael took the phone away from his ear so Patty could return their salutation.

"What's wrong Patty, I don't like the sound of your voice?"

She laid out the events of the day, and Michael sunk down in his chair.

"Are you sure?"

"How can I be sure Michael? Four men, two rented cars all cash with no drivers licenses. They were carrying automatic weapons and side arms. If it had not been for a third officer, two police officers would have been dead. These were trained killers, Michael. Just before one of them died, Sergeant asked him who he worked for. His response was, "a company." Considering he was dying, 'ah company' and 'the company' sound an awful lot alike. We have two programs that can change the world, Michael. Someone doesn't want it to happen. Who will gain, and who will lose; that is the question. At 9 AM this morning, your time, those programs are going to be presented for Patent in Washington. If what happened out here is true, I would make you a bet another attempt will be made on them before they get to the Patent Office."

"When and where is your aircraft scheduled to land?"

"It is supposed to land at Washington National at about 8 A.M."

"Get me the airplanes tail number and call me back."

*******

"Michael the tail number member is 652 Papa Sierra."

"Patty I have to ask you a question; 'Are you going to cause me a problem this time?'"

"No Michael, I can't, because I'm pregnant."

"Good for you Patty, congratulations to both you and Stephano. Let me take care of the four of you and everything will turn out fine. I will get to the bottom of this quickly. I am not going to go through channels. I'm going straight to the President with this."

"Thank you Michael, I can't tell you how much I thank you."

"652 Papa Sierra, this is Washington Center, turn left heading 090, radar vectors to Andrews Air Force Base, which will be your final destination."

"Washington Center, 652 Papa Sierra's final destination is Washington National Airport."

"652 Papa Sierra, as a matter of National Security your new destination is Andrews Air Force Base."

"652 Papa Sierra, turning left heading 090, new destination Andrews Air Force Base."

Captain Grison advised passengers of their change in destination, and everyone surmised something was very wrong on the ground. Harold and Callie had been rushed off the aircraft, and now they were not allowed to land at a public airport. This could prove to be a very interesting day.

Ted looked at Tom Shackleford and said, "You said I get paid from the time I leave my desk to the time I sit back at my desk. What happens if I get killed? Do I still get paid?"

"I'm going to be standing right beside you, Ted. Chances are if you get killed so will I. I won't be around to answer that question for you. You will have to ask Jim that question if he is around. I am sure Celeste will make Trudy a very wealthy widow."

The aircraft touched down at 8:06 A.M., and it was led to an area reserved for VIP aircraft. Six armored FBI Yukon SUVs drove up to the aircraft to meet it. Michael Free got out of the second vehicle and introduced himself to the three lawyers. The four guards were frisked, and relieved of their weapons, temporarily. The four boxes were removed from the belly of the aircraft, and were put in the back of the second, third, fourth, and fifth SUV's. They had a police escort in front and behind them. They took Interstate 95 to the Washington Beltway East to U.S.1 and then south to the Department of Commerce Building at 14th St. and Constitution Avenue.

There was a crowd of people waiting to get in. When the FBI agents drew their weapons, and told them to move aside, they did so without question. The guards inside the building opened the doors and closed them as soon as the contingent was inside. The three lawyers went in first, followed by agents carrying the boxes containing the Holy Grail for future generations. When they arrived at the fifth floor, the double doors to the Patent Office swung open admitting them. They were closed and locked behind them.