B.A. Hammer Returns Ch. 03

B.A. Hammer Returns Ch 3

The next day I got a call from Brick. I headed for his office and settled into his couch.

"I saw Minton last night. Turns out he is concerned about his New York chief of staff. He showed me some papers that he found here at his New York office that he was not familiar with. He is no dummy. It was lunchtime and no one was there, so he copied a couple of them and took them with him. He gave them to me." Brick handed me a folder. "Take it with you and see if it is connected. I told him we would investigate his chief of staff."

"Okay, that may help a lot. Thanks." I took the folder and headed to my office. I couldn't wait to see what I had.

I told Stephie I didn't want to be disturbed. I sat down and opened the folder. I could see why Minton is concerned. This is a contract between someone named "Samuel Butters" and a company named "Better World Ltd". I picked up the phone and asked Liz to come in.

"Please add Samuel Butters and Better World Ltd to the list of people you are looking into."

"Sure boss." She wrote the names down and departed.

I can't believe Carrington would leave this in his desk. I called Brick to ask him a question. "Did Carrington know the Senator was coming into town yesterday?"

"Funny you should ask that. He specifically told me he did not tell anyone he was coming. He also went to the office at noon. It was almost as if he didn't want Carrington to know he was coming. I don't think he told Carrington he has keys to his desk."

"I believe it. He found papers of a business deal locked in Carrington's desk. It certainly looks like Carrington was branching out on his own. I'll investigate this."

Now we know the Senator isn't involved in this and Carrington is on his own. I'll bet Better World Ltd. is connected to Redthorne. This explains Carrington in the meeting. Now, why were they worried about the translator seeing him? There must be a connection we are not seeing yet.

The next couple of days went by quietly. Everyone was proceeding on their individual tracks. I still haven't figured out how to talk to Ahmad. I had asked Ike to have a man keep track of Ahmad quietly. He tells me nothing unusual has happened to him yet. I wrote a brief note detailing how we are advancing and asked Ike to have his man slip it to Ahmad. I told him to burn it after reading. At least that will let him know we haven't forgotten him.

After a couple of days, I got a text from Zorro telling me to meet him at a different location. I was there within the hour. After the normal procedure, I was standing in front of Zorro and a bank of computers.

"These people's books make the US government's books look normal. Hundreds of shell companies listed in dozens of countries. It will weeks to untangle this mess."

"Maybe I can help you thin the herd. Is Better World Ltd listed among the shell companies?" He ran his finger down the long list until he stopped.

"Yes, it actually is. You could have told me this sooner."

"No, I only discovered it yesterday, and I can't just call you up to chat. This should make it easier. Concentrate on any company or individual with a connection. I also have another name, Samuel Butters."

"Good, let me get on with this. I need to get this done with." I was dismissed.

When I got back to the office, I told Liz to drop her investigations. Let Zorro do that. Just concentrate on Samuel Butters. She nodded and I went into my office.

It was while was at lunch that the entire affair changed in an instant. While sitting alone at one of my favorite watering holes, I looked up to see Thomas Watters standing in front of me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Thor. How's the hammer swinging these days?" The sneer on his face told me he was enjoying this very much.

"Thomas Watters. What has it been, ten years?"

"I think eleven."

"It wasn't enough. You still hooked up with that private army outfit you signed up with when you were thrown out of the army?"

"You know I am. You keep enough track of us."

"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't seen or thought of you since we left Afghanistan. And it still hasn't been long enough. What do you want? I'm enjoying my lunch."

Watters sat down and leaned towards me. "Look, Thor. You had better leave AID and others alone. It could get very dangerous for you and yours."

I leaned even closer to him and whispered. "You had better pray to whatever god you trust that nothing happens to me or my family. You know I have Ike and a dozen of his men with me. We all know you. If anyone of mine suddenly gets a scratch, one of us will appear in your bedroom and kill you and everyone you know. And you know that I will do it. You know I've done it before, and it would give me great pleasure to eliminate you and Jake Jones, and your entire little pretend army. Your world will end." As I stared into his eyes, I could see the color drain out of his face. "Let's just say, you can tell your boss your message is delivered. Now get the hell out of here." He sat still for a second, then got up and left.

I called Ike when I got back to my office. I told him about Watters. He said he would put a woman he has on Mary and would tell his people to be careful.

I got a very surprising call the next morning. Stephanie buzzed in to tell me Jake Jones was on the phone. What would the head of AID want to do, reinforce his enforcer's warning. That seemed unnecessary.

"Hello Mr. Jones. This is unexpected."

"Come on BA. I know we haven't actually met personally, but our companies have met a time or two. I am calling to apologize for what Watters had to say. I have no idea what got into his head. I don't operate like that."

"Thanks, Jake. I've met several of your men over the years, most before you hired them. We both know Watters isn't the sharpest tool in your shed."

"Look, you aren't the first company to investigate our industry. I can promise you none of my people will go near your families or your personnel. The last thing I need is another trip in front of a Congressional hearing. If any of my people pull guns on you, defend yourself in any way you see fit. We provide a valuable service to our military and the defense contractors they hire. I know some things happen, and if you investigate any of that, okay. We can both do our jobs without anyone getting hurt. So, that being said, good luck, but I hope nothing comes of it."

"Thanks, Jake. I am really surprised at your attitude. I will let you know if I have difficulty with any of your people. Thanks for the call. Goodbye."

I called Ike. "You will never guess who just called me. Jake Jones."

"You didn't ever let me guess, but I never would have guessed him anyway. What the hell did he want?"

"He wanted to assure us that Watters didn't speak for him or his company. He assured me they would not go near our families or ourselves."

"That doesn't sound like him."

"I know. I half expected to hear America the Beautiful playing behind his speech. Something is definitely going on. He is backpedaling and stalling as hard as he can.

"Yes, speaking of which, I have heard from several of my friends around the world. AID is moving into the Ukraine in a big way. They have over 500 "advisers" there already. It's like an early private Vietnam."

"If they are there, we know Redthorne is there, too. Do you have any contacts in the shipping industry? We need to see if any ships have moved in that direction."

"I will work on that and let you know. Out."

Despite Jones' assurances, we are still going to be careful. On a hunch, I called Ike back and asked him to put a tail on his man watching Ahmad. If they are watching him also, which I would bet, maybe the second man could see the tail.

Liz came in with a report on Samuel Butters. "Boss, this guy didn't exist until two years ago. Now I can find a couple of general accounts that don't add up to much, maybe a couple hundred thousand dollars. I'm sure he has overseas accounts, but so far, I haven't cracked his highest level of security. I'll keep working on it with Homer."

"Thanks, Liz. You do that." Now we know how long Carrington has been dirty. We can look back on the last two years of Redthorne deals to see if there were any moves in the government concerning those deals. If there were government movement concerning any of those deals, it is likely Carrington assisted with them and was compensated.

I called Stevie and asked him to check the last two years of Redthorne's deals. I told him to look for any movement within the government concerning those deals. He agreed.

We are progressing. I settled into my "thinking" chair in my office.

1. Ahmad is still alive and apparently nothing has happened yet. They must know he is the reason I am involved now. Watters knew him well and would have guessed right away he would bring me in. Why are they leaving him alone?
2. Why is Jake Jones calling me to diffuse Watter's warning? I don't for a second believe Watters came to threaten me on his own. He is the "follow orders but don't think for yourself" kind of guy. Why would Jones have him threaten me, then make a big show of calling me to say it was a mistake? He is desperately trying to diffuse and delay us. It's almost like he just needs a little more time, but for what?
3. Does this have something to do with Rethorne's move into the Ukraine? I need to have Stevie look at other countries. Maybe we are just assuming it is the Ukraine. Redthorne has business all over the world. I will have to see what Stevie turns up to see if it is the Ukraine or somewhere else.

I went to the theatre to watch Mary in her show. She has decided to retire early and next week will be her final shows. Ester Blasingame has already announced to the world that next Sunday will be Mary's final performance in "Chicago". After all these years, it is still drawing very well. I am sure the understudy will do a wonderful job in the show. I am just glad to get Mary home where she can rest and stay out of this mess. I will still have Ike's bodyguard keep an eye on her. I decided not to tell her about this yet because I really don't think Jones will come after her first. It would not be a smart play at this stage of the game, and the one thing he isn't, it's dumb.

Now, I just need to wait to hear from my people. Everything is moving along nicely.

At least it was until late that night. I was awoken by a telephone call. It was from Ahmad.

"BA, I'm in trouble."

"What, where are you?"

"I'm in jail. I think I'm being arrested."

"What for?"

"The murder of Watson Carrington."