Just Once - Once Is All You Get

I smiled.

"Well. I am pretty sure that not only do we have the information on the accounts, we probably have the usernames and passwords as well. He is a meticulous record keeper. I am almost certain that he has all of those accounts cataloged with the usernames and passwords. He thinks that file is secure. I don't think he considered that someone with the resources I have available would be scrutinizing those files."

Daniel frowned.

"Would that be legal?"

"Well. Let's just say that since this is a community property state and his wife has access to the house, his office, and his electronics, she has the right to know what he is doing and the state of their finances. I also assume, like everyone else on that trip, he left a power of attorney in his wife's name. That should ease the legal issues."

Daniel was grinning.

"I like the way you think. Do you have suggestions?"

"I do. I don't see why Cici shouldn't open herself a couple of offshore accounts in her own name. Once that is done, she could easily transfer all of those funds to her account and leave just enough in them to keep them active."

I looked at Cici.

"I also suggest you find the nastiest divorce attorney you can find. I will give you my attorney's name if you want it. He will give you a list of things to do to prepare for this. I'll tell you both that I am taking a scorched earth approach to this situation. I mean to leave both of them with nothing."

Daniel seemed intrigued with the thought. Cici looked a little pained. It was Daniel who spoke first.

"Yes. Give us your attorney's name. What sorts of things do you mean by scorched earth?"

I chuckled.

"Well, for the first thing I spent the money to put every divorce lawyer I could locate that had any kind of reputation worth mentioning on retainer. My wife will have one hell of a hard time finding anyone but the worst ambulance chaser in the area to take her case. She will need to go at least 100 miles away to get someone that has a remote chance of any success."

"You are taking this to some extremes."

"You're damned right I am."

I looked at Cici.

"Pardon my language."

She nodded and smiled.

"I grew up in the military. I don't think you could come up with language that I haven't heard many times."

I nodded.

"I will have the details for you first thing in the morning."

Cici looked at her Dad as she was nodding.

"Do you think you could make time to help me with this? I am pretty good at the computer thing but this is getting above me pretty quickly."

I glanced at Daniel and again saw that almost imperceptible nod.

"Sure. When I get everything ready, I'll call you and we can get together."

She visibly brightened. I stood.

"I need to get back to my office and work on this tonight."

Daniel stood and moved close to me. He spoke quietly in a voice I recognized after so many years in the military.

"You take care of my daughter. If you need anything, you call me."

"Yes sir."

&&&&&

I worked until nearly 6 AM the next morning. It reminded me a lot of the times when a mission in the military would require an all-out effort to complete. The big difference? Instead of dealing with information that could mean the safety of the lives of the men who would be going into combat, this time I was intent on destroying the two lives that had done me horribly wrong. I had to admit that the satisfaction was almost the same.

I headed back to my condo to shower and change clothes. I stopped at the local diner and had a big breakfast. As I was dealing with a fresh cup of coffee, I called Cici.

"Good morning. Can we get together and talk?"

"Certainly. Have you had breakfast?"

"I just finished, thanks."

"Then come on over. "

It took me about 20 minutes to make the drive. The front door opened as I stepped up to ring the bell. Consuela was smiling as I stepped in."

"Good morning, Senor, the Senora is in the den."

I grinned back at the smiling Hispanic woman as I spoke.

"Buenas días, Consuela. Gracias. ¿Hay algún café listo?"

Consuela's face beamed at me.

"Si. Senor."

I headed to the den. Cici was sitting at a card table in one corner of the room. She saw me and leapt to her feet. I was startled when she grabbed me around the neck and hugged me tightly. She took my hand and pulled me toward the table. It was a folding style card table. I could see a large box containing a jigsaw puzzle sitting on the floor to one side.

"Are you a puzzle fanatic?"

"I do them to keep from going mad. You don't know what it is like to be kept in this house almost like a prisoner. Between the kids and Trey's almost insane jealousy, I very rarely go out."

I frowned but didn't say anything.

"What do you have for me?"

"She sat down across the table and took a folding chair. It was leaning against the wall. I sat and opened my folder. I pulled the top bundle of papers and laid it out on the table.

"Trey has almost $22 million scattered across 7 different accounts in four countries and 4 banks. I have found the passwords and usernames for every one of them."

Her eyes were big and I saw a flicker of anger cross them.

"Can you get it?"

I smiled deviously.

"I can't. But you can."

She looked a little puzzled.

"Why can't you get it?"

"Well, strictly speaking I could but it would be illegal. If you do it, as his wife, you have every right to move the money legally. From a revenge standpoint, wouldn't it be much more satisfying if you actually did the deeds yourself?"

Cici started to speak and then I heard another voice and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I had taken a seat with my back to the door of the room. That was so out of character for me that, when I realized it, I was surprised. I spun coming out of the chair in a defensive posture. Daniel was standing in the doorway. He put his hands up in front of himself in that universal sign that he meant no harm and had no overt intentions. I relaxed.

"Of course, she wants to do it herself."

He came on into the room and we shook hands. He unfolded a chair and sat down. I noticed that he took the side of the table where he had a view of the door. I was a little embarrassed at getting caught flat footed.

"Once Cici has the money in a safe place, what else do you suggest?"

"Get an attorney. Start the paperwork and get your local affairs in order."

"That will happen today."

"If you need help setting up offshore accounts, I can do that. I don't know enough about Cici's situation as far as the house, cars, and personal assets go to be of much use. Your attorney can help you more with that than I can. I must warn you. Everything I have been told indicates that this will be a nasty fight. Be ready for it."

Cici was solemn. Daniel looked at Rick again. Rick wasn't sure what was going on with that.

"I would like to coordinate with you on how this plays out in a couple of weeks. I will tell you that I have used Marcy's power of attorney to sell the house. Her car and my car were both under a lease arrangement through my former company. When I sold my part of the LLC, I had them cancel the leases and take the cars back. She makes more on paper than I do so alimony shouldn't be an issue. She may have a claim on my military retirement but since I am unemployed, I am hoping that the judge will see how disparate the circumstances are and leave that with me."

Daniel looked at me with a knowing smile.

"I am almost sure there is more to your plan."

"Of course, I will let you in on anything that will impact Cici in any way before it happens. Some of it may be better left unsaid."

Daniel nodded. Cici had simply stood, her head swiveling between us as Daniel and I spoke. She finally broke in.

"What is it with you guys? I hear the words, I seem to catch the meaning but I don't think I am getting all the information that is being passed around here."

I chuckled and Daniel reached over to put an arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"Don't fret. Men who share some common experiences can say a lot with a few words."

"I guess."

I took the opportunity as a way to graciously extract myself from the situation.

"I need to get back to the office. Get your affairs in order. I will be in touch a week before this comes to a head so we can make sure we are all on the same page. If you hear anything or find out anything, please let me know. You both have my phone number."

Cici nodded and Daniel removed his arm from around her and followed me to the front door. He came out and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you for taking my daughter into consideration. I know you didn't have to but it means a lot to me. She is a strong woman but you understand the emotions that she is dealing with on top of everything else."

"Daniel, I don't want any more collateral damage here than is necessary. There is going to be some blow back and you understand that. I know you have the wherewithal to shield Cici from some of it. I just don't want her to end up getting the short end of the stick, especially with those three kids."

"You are a good man, Rick. I would have loved to have you on my command staff when the shit hit the fan. But knowing you were watching out for us from up above was comforting at the time, even if I didn't know you personally then. How many missions did you fly during that engagement."

I grinned.

"One too many. Some of your guys from that forward outpost were fighting their way back toward the camp. They were about to be overwhelmed when my wingman and I showed up. In about 20 minutes we expended the majority of our ordnance. It gave your guys the chance to get their vehicles in the clear and put some distance between them and the hostiles. As we turned to follow, my wingman took an RPG from the ridgeline. Their copter hit the ground hard and started to burn. I spiraled down over the crashed plane hanging over the downed plane to see if anyone got out while we poured everything we had left onto that ridgeline. None of the crew seemed to be coming out. Just then, another RPG went off just under the plane directly beneath my seat. Those buckets under the seats are titanium. It stung like hell but I was busy. I learned later I had a bunch of shrapnel in my butt, thighs and feet.

The ground effect buffeted the chopper. We were having trouble maintaining altitude. We made it about another 6 clicks and the plane just died. I managed to auto rotate into a landing that we all walked away from. We saw a couple of technicals headed toward us from up the valley. Things got pretty dicey just after that.

We managed to put together a pretty spirited defense. My crew chief caught a round through the fleshy part of his lower leg. He was doing ok but bleeding a lot. Then some asshat got within RPG range and started raining explosives down around us. We were in pretty deep shit. My copilot took some shrapnel to his face that put him out of action. The crew chief had lost enough blood that he wasn't much good either. I was trying to stay busy on three sides but ammo was getting to be an issue. I was having very bad thoughts. Then, I saw four hummers coming down that road, hell bent for leather. The ragheads, being who they were, beat a hasty retreat back into the hills and up the road. We hitched a ride with your guys, the same ones we had been flying cover for earlier. They saw the first chopper go down and started back."

Daniel listened carefully to Rick's story. He was silent for a while.

"We lost a half dozen men trying to get back down that valley. We would have lost all of them if it hadn't been for you and your wingman. I am sorry they didn't make it."

I nodded, fighting tears at the memories. Daniel let me have the time to compose myself before he spoke again.

"I also remember your commanding officer calling me and asking what the hell happened. All he seemed to know was that two of his aircraft were down and only one crew came back. I sent him copies of the after-action reports from all the officers involved. I found out later that someone got a Distinguished Cross out of that. Was that you?

"Yeah, but I didn't deserve it. Chappy deserved it. He was my crew chief. He lost the lower end of his leg. My copilot, Benny, lost the sight in one eye and that was the end of his flying career. Both of those guys deserve that medal a lot more than me. All I did was get a butt full of shrapnel and had to carry a pillow around for the next two months to sit on."

Daniel squeezed my upper arm and I saw something new in his eyes.

"Go home. Have a drink. Get some rest. You know as well as I do that you deserve that medal. Take honor in it. I will be in touch in a few days."

I nodded and climbed in my old beat up 4 WD truck. I headed to the condo to take Daniel's advice.

&&&&&

Tomorrow would be D-Day (divorce day) minus 7: one week until the plane from Colombia was due to land. I still had not heard another word from Marcy since I had called the hotel and gotten through by way of Penny. That fact didn't do anything to ease my pain. In fact, it was just another slap in the face and gave me more confidence that I was right. She had planned this all and was done with our marriage.

I continued with my planning and preparation. My lawyer had all the necessary divorce paperwork ready. I had decided to have her served at the airport. I wanted all of her companions and workmates to know exactly what was transpiring. In addition to the divorce packet, Cardoza was going to get served with a lawsuit for alienation of affection. My lawyer told me not to expect anything but it would be a public sharp poke in the eye.

Packets containing all the evidence: recordings, video, pictures, and emails, were put onto thumb drives. A cover letter explaining my actions and my demands was prepared. The thumb drives would be delivered to the hospital, the office of Doctors Without Borders, and to the medical licensing board on Monday morning as the plane was landing.

Slightly different packets were to be delivered to the husband of every woman who Cardoza had enticed into a relationship, 18 different packets. There would have been more but some of them were already divorced. The board of directors of the Doctors Without Borders organization would each receive a packet of information. The same financial data was already in the hands of the FBI and, my understanding is, that warrant was to be served on Cardoza on his arrival alleging fraud, felony theft, and tax evasion. The FBI had already visited his home and Cici had almost cheerfully handed over all of his records, his laptop, and his cell phone.

The hospital would get its share of attention. We sued them for breach of contract for failing to enforce their policies on fraternization. I was almost sure that some of the upper management was well aware of what was going on. My attorney didn't think the suit would ever go to court. He was predicting a quick settlement to protect the reputation of the hospital. I didn't care. To hell with them all.

As for me, I had made arrangements to leave immediately after the first barrage hit. I wanted to be there to see the shell shock when the service was done at the airport. Oh, did I mention that a source was ready to leak the whole thing to the press the night before? I fully expected there to be lots of reports, video crews and maybe even some interested spectators.

D-Day - 5

I actually got a text from Marcy to tell me she would be arriving on Monday but wasn't coming straight home. She was going to overnight at the Airport Ambassador to rest and recuperate. She asked that I pick her up at the Ambassador on Tuesday morning.

D-Day - 4

My attorney called to tell me that everything was ready. The FBI was in touch to make sure everything went down according to the plan. I told him then that my plan was to leave town on Monday as soon as the show was over. I gave him the number of my new phone and told him I would stay in touch but I wasn't sure where I was going to land. He said he understood.

I used a burner phone later that evening. My first call was to Rhonda, our daughter. She was aware of the situation with her mother. I had intentionally not spoken to her for several weeks. Now I felt like it was time.

"Dad! Where the hell have you been? Kyle and I have looked all over for you."

"I am fine. I have had a lot of things on my mind and a lot of decisions to make. I didn't want to get you and Kyle involved in this mess."

"What the hell is going on with mom. I can't get in touch with her either. Is she still in Colombia?"

"Yes. She is due back in a couple of days. I want you to understand that your mother has been a good influence on you up until a few months ago. She has made the decision to forget her wedding vows and take a lover. They have been shacked up together for the last six weeks in Columbia."

"That damned Dr. Cardoza. I knew that he was trouble. The way she looked and the tone in her voice when she talked about him told me everything I needed to know. I am so sorry Daddy. What are you going to do?"

"First. I want you and Kyle to stay in touch with your mother. She is going to need a lot of support in the next couple of weeks and maybe longer. She was a good mother to you for most of your lives. Help her where you feel able and comfortable."

"Dad. What are you going to do? Are you going to end up in jail?"

"No Rhonda. I'm not planning anything like that. I am going to totally ruin both of their lives and probably a lot of others in the process. Suffice it to say, that once everything shakes out, your mother is going to be nearly destitute, homeless, and devoid of friends. You will be getting a lot of information in the next few days. You will need to make your own decisions about how to proceed with your mother."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to take some time for myself. This has been incredibly difficult for me. I need to sort myself out and decide how I want to restructure my life."

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Do we get to know where you are going?"

"Eventually. When I figure it out, I will let you know."

"Daddy. I don't want to lose you, too. Please stay in touch."

"When I have sorted myself out, I will let you know. If there is an emergency, get in touch with my attorney."

"Ok Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, Princess."

I immediately dialed my son's number. The conversation was about the same but he was much more hateful toward his mother. I tried to convince him to stay in touch with her but after I hung up, I had the distinct feeling that he was going to write her out of his life. Here was nothing more I could do at that point.

D-Day - 3

I called Cici and Daniel. Cici invited me over for dinner. I arrived at about 6 PM. Daniel was already there. I was sure that Daniel spent a lot of time at Cici's house with those kids. That was good. They were going to need a lot of good male support over the next few months.

Cici made Italian food. A huge pot of spaghetti and marinara sauce, a big salad, some appetizers, and bread. She was a good cook. We all sat at the big dining room table. Even the kids sat down with us. Spaghetti was a huge success but I think as much went on the floor and table as went into three little hungry mouths. The three adults chatted quietly but spent most of the time watching and listening to the kids chatter and giggle.

Consuela took the kids for baths and then to bed. When everyone was upstairs and tucked in, the three of us retired to the den. Daniel wasted no time.

"How are your plans coming along?"

"Locked and loaded. Most of it is on autopilot and I don't have to do a thing. I have a few phone calls to make early Monday morning but it's just a waiting game now. How are your preparations?"