Curtis Woodman Ch. 03

When Lieutenant Carmichael spoke to him about who these people were, where they had ambushed Curtis and his wife, and the best way to deal with them, he had dismissed her original plan as nothing more than wanting revenge and was willing to hype up the Unit's credentials to make that happen.

Now, as he stood in the corridor, looking and even counting the holes and also the grouping, he had to admit that he owed her one heck of an apology. His own eyes took in the proof of what she had said to him ten days ago and that he had dismissed out of hand. General Brownlow's final thought just before he entered Freddy's office was that it was time to let these people loose. Then the office door opened.

He watched the three people that started all this. "I want the tape you made; I want the Prime Minister to see this. I think he's getting his money's worth with you people. As for me, you have my blessing. Get a plan together and phone me when it's ready. I can't have you wandering into Downing Street, so you are taking it to Chequers with you."

This time he looked directly at Freddy before saying. "And Freddy, from insertion to extraction, please."

JoJo stood and handed the General a copy of the tape. He looked really hard at her before saying. "You have my apologies, Lieutenant Carmichael. I should have realized that if you couldn't have done it, then the idea wouldn't have come out of your head."

General Brownlow nodded to all in the room. He left as they were all about to stand.

Three civilians came to the gates of Chequers two days later. Security was as thorough as always and a few minutes later they were escorted into the library. The Prime Minister stood, along with General Brownlow.

They all looked at JoJo, it was her operation, so she had the floor.

"The target was Ruth Woodman, Sir. Her family is old money. The men in charge marry off the women in the family almost like barter chips or leads into other businesses they want to branch into. Then Ruth was born. Her IQ is on par with many if not all of the heads of the family."

They experimented with her. She was an oddity and they wanted to see just how much they could heap on her before she broke, and she didn't break. Her college courses ranged from computer to business courses. By year three she was acing every course with an A and often with the words, 'Exceeds expectation' on her test sheets. By the time the senior members of the family took real notice of Ruth, she was worth millions and all her own money, none of it connected to the family. She made sure that every business she started had no ties to her families' companies.

It was then she committed the ultimate betrayal, she married outside the family influence. When the senior members decided it was time to pay attention, they zeroed in on her husband. To her, he was moving to the dark side, so she divorced him and the iron clad pre-nup came into force, leaving him pretty much with nothing more than his wardrobe and his car. Ruth of course kept Becky and continued to keep them both out of the influence of her family.

The Prime Minister was totally focused on JoJo. Although she kept to the facts, she also brought the dealings of her family into all this: but something was missing. After all they had left her alone all these years, so, why now?

JoJo next statement to the Prime minister answered his thoughts.

"It seems Sir, that Ruth Woodman, has been playing the long game. Her own businesses have been very profitable and yet she shows none of it. She re-invests and all arms of her business are up to date technology and staffing wise, but as soon as profits are announced and taxes are paid, the remaining profits are moved."

The people at the meeting reached the same conclusion just as JoJo announced it. The family elders finally figured it out before Ruth could accomplish her goal. She has been secretly buying shares in the family companies and doing it so slowly and through ghost companies and brokers etcetera, that no flags were raised.

JoJo closed the file in front of her and looked closely at the Prime Minister.

"Sir, she is days away from forcing a hostile takeover of the family companies, with the voting stock she has, she can remove all the old men of the family in one go. That's why she was the target."

Silence came to the room, only the guy mowing the lawn could be heard inside the Library. The Prime minister stood; everyone else did as well before he waved at them to remain seated. He walked over to the window and watched the gardener for a moment, his own thoughts on too many facts.

"Freddy, what's the status of Curtis's wounds?"

"Severe, Sir. Three bullets penetrated his leg, two into his pelvic, and one in the stomach. Had the fake officer used anything other than his handgun, Curtis would be dead by now. The shots went through the cars skin absorbed a great deal of the force of the rounds, and the fact that Curtis was returning fire shocked them so much that the rest of the rounds were just in the general direction while they all ducked for cover."

Freddy paused while he remembered his last conversation with the doctors. "They want to keep him in an induced coma. Although the doctors immediately went in and repaired the damage to his internal organs. They decided his leg wounds can wait until they have the abdominal infection under control. The induced coma will keep his extreme pain away and give his body time to fight the infection and help build up his strength to withstand the surgery on his leg. His body has been damaged many times before, so he heals a little slower and the risk of further infection is really high. From what I have been told, they want to take it one step at a time to get it right."

It was decision time, and they all knew it.

"General Brownlow has gone into detail with me about your plan; I've seen the video he came with as well. I must say I'm impressed, and for a civilian that's saying something. I've always left Curtis alone to do his thing, even when I've had to loan you all out on occasions."

The Prime Minister turned to look at them all from the window. "These people have to be stopped for so many reasons, other than the obvious ones."

His stare was on the man next to the seat he had just vacated.

"General, the Unit has my authorization. Please extend the Unit every support you can."

"Yes, Prime Minister."

"Thank you, gentlemen that will be all, and Lieutenant Carmichael."

"Yes, Prime Minister?"

"Thank you. Curtis has been right about you all along."

Unsure what to say, JoJo looked at Freddy for guidance, he just shrugged his shoulders. They left as a group, closing the library door behind them. His secretary came in moments later; she had been with the prime minister for years and knew the signs.

"Janis, please send flowers to the hospital, put my wife's maiden name on them please. Curtis will understand when he wakes up and reads the card."

A simple, "Yes, Prime Minister." Was heard a second before the library door was being pulled towards her.

Janis closed the door, made a couple of calls, and got the Prime Minister another half an hour he would have asked for. When the three civilians left, all walked to the car with purpose, they had been given the go-ahead.

*******

Every member of the Unit sat and waited for JoJo to begin. Each knew bits of the plan, and of course, rumor control was cranked up to maximum, but it was now time for JoJo to brief them all.

She stood ramrod straight, then coughed into her hand once, before saying, "Unaccustomed as I am to speaking...."

That blatant lie came straight out of left field and caught Freddy totally by surprise. He roared with laughter; the rest weren't that far behind. That one statement also had the desired effect that JoJo was looking for. It was now time to get down to business.

"These four men are the most dangerous people we are likely to meet in our time as the Unit. They are killers, born to it and thrive on it. They don't care about collateral damage if it means they can escape. Their loyalty is to themselves and no one else. That's why they are so dangerous. A human shield is nothing to these people."

JoJo clicked on her remote and all four faces of the men they were going to visit came onto the screen, she briefly went into some history of each of them and just as slowly each of the team realized that these men looked on the lives of others as a commodity and something to gain advantage from.

A building came onto the screen, then an aerial shot of the same building. "This is where they all live, it's a fortress. It would take many men and tanks to get inside, even then they would have to deal with the booby-traps. I managed to find a police report of a burglar who had delusions of grandeur and thought he could steal from the folks who live there."

JoJo stopped, waited for each of the people in that room to look at her and then clicked her remote again. Five bodies were in the picture, all of those in that room winced at the condition of each of the bodies.

"That's how the police found the burglar and his family the next day, his neighbors heard nothing, and it was warm that evening, so everyone's windows were open all evening."

She let the picture stand for only a few moments; the next picture was a field.

"This is their Achilles heel. Although they have a gym in that mansion of theirs, almost every afternoon they are home they take one truck to the middle of this field, and both sunbathe and do physical fitness exercises. The truck is bullet proof and also has its own arsenal of weapons."

Another click of the remote in her hand showed an aerial view of a vehicle in the middle of the field, four dots could be seen as well. JoJo's finger made a shadow against the white board she was using. Her finger went in a wide circle.

"They always pick the same spot. Not even the Villagers go there when they know the Horsemen are due. From there to any cover in that field is between eight hundred to a thousand yards of open field. They can enjoy their relaxation time and literally see anyone coming."

Again, she stopped, partly to let her information be absorbed and to see the lights come on, as one by one, they all now fully understood why Halo Two-Five was in on the briefing.

"They started small, but they are no longer small, they own the town they live in and also most of the officials that run it for them. They ship in women from the bigger cities, and between them and their flunkies, they have a ball that lasts between three to five days."

JoJo went on to add, that they don't muddy the water around them. The women folk are safe in the village, and all but the thief have been treated well. The thief and his family were the example. A case of 'leave us alone and we'll leave you alone'. They look after the village, so crime is now non-existent; they leave the population alone and pay the people in charge really well to live there.

"The downside of course is that any new folks that come to the village, they know about it almost instantly. This is the perfect hideaway for these people. They are untouchable and the folks look on these four as protection."

Her eyes scanned every single person in the room.

"We get one shot at these folks. If even one of these people survives, then each of us and our families will all be looking over our shoulder for the rest of our lives. When we step on the plane, it's going to be us against them; I know who I'm putting my money on."

The next hour JoJo went into detail on what the Unit needed to do on the ground. She then broke it down to individuals and then the extraction phase. Eventually, with every pertinent question asked and answered, Freddy dismissed the Unit, some stayed to talk amongst themselves, others left to go home and start packing. The wives knew, they could see it in their partners eyes as they came through the door.

Both Freddy and JoJo found General Brownlow resting on one of the chairs in Freddy's office. JoJo closed the door and Freddy went and sat behind his desk.

"I got here just as you started your briefing. I didn't want to be a distraction, so I waited."

His hand went down to the briefcase beside him, pulled out a file, and placed it on Freddy's desk.

"Your instinct came up trumps once again, Lieutenant Carmichael. A sister, she now resides in America, I've been in touch with a C.I.A friend of mine. It is a little complicated, so I suggest you read the file first. You have a video conference call with General Moore in three hours, so get what you can from the file first and then decide. If she's what you want and the General is onboard with this, then your flight leaves at six.

When the General handed her the file, JoJo immediately opened it, she skimmed through some pages and stopped to read in detail others. Finally closing it to read everything in full later.

Both could tell that the General had something on his mind; it still took a moment for him to say anything.

"JoJo, I've backed you on this mission with everything you've asked for; but, I still have my doubts about the Unit's insertion."

She nodded; to Freddy it was clear that these two had had more than one conversation about this. He watched as JoJo sat across from the General and then rested against the back of his own chair as she said. "It's the moons phase we need, Sir. We simply don't have time for practice drills on anything other than the stuff we have already done and our past training."

JoJo then turned and pulled a folder closer to herself, the same folder that she had used at the briefing. "We need to go on this full moon sir; after that we have to wait for the next cycle. In that time, we may lose them if they have another job planned. Getting Joan Hernandez involved will mean I have to get General Moore on board so I can get his authorization to finish her training early."

General Brownlow nodded but still pressed his point when he said. "It all has a sense of urgency about it. Don't get me wrong, the plan on paper has me convinced it will work, but it's the rush we are putting on everything that has me on edge."

JoJo wasn't slighted in the least. "With all due respect, Sir, between all three of us we have gone over this plan and know it in our sleep. The only thing I can think to say is what Curtis has said to me and I'm sure to others in the Unit from time to time."

What she said next made Freddy wince and the General look at her with even more concern. "There is a reason we are called 'the Unit', Sir."

*******

Joan Hernandez lead from the beginning, she had mastered every obstacle with relative ease. She was a full five seconds in front of any of her group as Joan crossed the line. She stood up-right, pulling oxygen deep into her lungs. Her instructor was there, she always was, but it was the woman standing beside her that intrigued Joan.

As more of the group crossed the line, the group's instructor directed them away from the two women that were now staring at each other.

JoJo turned towards Joan and said. "Come with me please."

The accent was New York; Joan had spent a year there when she came to this country. Yet looking closely at this woman had her own internal instincts screaming at her that something was off about this stranger.

She still stood her ground. "I've done nothing wrong."

JoJo continued to walk towards the vehicle parked at the edge of the assault course. She didn't even look Joan's way as she started the vehicle and as the vehicle moved slightly, ready to pull away. Joan panicked and looked at her drill instructor, who quickly tilted her head in the direction of the woman, she even pointed to the car.

Joan couldn't see much of her drill instructors face, but the tight jaw told her that if she didn't get to that car and outta here, her drill instructor would sure make her suffer for it. Joan ran in front of the vehicle, causing JoJo to slam on the breaks. The pause in action was barely seconds before JoJo felt the passenger door open and close again.

"And if I hadn't got in this vehicle?"

JoJo continued to drive off the training ground, pausing only to allow security to open the gate before pulling onto the highway.

"Then you would have missed the chance you've been itching for, for the last few years, to seek vengeance on the men who slaughtered your sister and her children."

The pain behind her eyes was real, from the day she escaped her home village and came to this country, running from the Four Horsemen, the dealers in death, the men who turned up at her sister's house and killed every living person there. Every day she thanked the gods that her bus was late, although she didn't feel that way when she turned the street corner as the Four Horsemen came out of her sister's house.

It was only that primeval instinct that was given to us while the dinosaurs walked the Earth, which made her immediately stop and step back into the shadows. She heard them laughing among themselves and then talk in a language she had never heard before that kept her against the shadows. Only when Joan heard doors to a vehicle close and an engine start did she look harder down the poorly lit street. The headlights came on and the vehicle moved away and in the direction of the old Foreign Legion outpost that the Four Horsemen had bought and spent so much money making it impregnable again.

Joan took a deep breath and hesitantly walked to her sister's house. The radio was still playing soft music, in contrast to the sight that Joan was greeted with. Manuel was laying face down in the hallway and Joan had to bite hard on her hand when the slowly swinging light in the hallway touched his beaten form. She leaped over his body and into the kitchen; the condition of the bodies of every member of her family would give her nightmares for months to come.

Even though her mind demanded it, her own heart knew it was a futile exercise in hope as she checked everyone for any sign of life in her sister and the little ones. After confirming that she was all that was left, Joan sat and cried. It still took her now damaged mind precious time to listen to that fight or flight instinct.

When the Four Horsemen found out that they had missed the one remaining occupant of her sister's house, she knew they would be back. The town was already in fear of the Horsemen; those they couldn't buy, disappeared. When word of this got out, and it would. The Horsemen owned the town; those that were in power were already being paid by them. Rumor was strong that the Four Horsemen had heavily bribed those men and put them in power to do the bidding of the Horsemen, over those that they had grown up alongside.

When her tears had dried, she packed just enough to travel very light. Joan took the money that her sister had put aside and also the money that Manuel had hidden from his wife, kissed each of the little ones and her sister. Kicking Manuel as she passed his body in the hallway for even thinking he could get away with stealing from the Horsemen.

When she managed to get to America, she found a job and kept away from any groups that would have once lived in not only her old country, but anything close to the village she had just run from. That one job quickly led to another and slightly more money, then another until she could afford to apply to be a citizen. She moved from New York and headed further into the country. She devoted any spare time to learning to be a good citizen, to be granted the one thing that would eventually let her be able to lower her guard, if only for a moment.

With her papers in her hand, Joan walked across the street and into the arms of a recruiting Sargent, handing him her papers and asking where to sign.

Joan watched the scenery pass them by as the car sped along the highway. Feeling the need to break the silence in the car, she said. "But, what about my training?"