Our Only Hope Ch. 09

That was not part of the plan. Something major must have gone wrong, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I drove as quickly as I legally could down to the Venice Boardwalk and went up to the High Rooftop Lounge.

One of Sam's men met me at the top of the stairs and nodded his head toward the far end of the building. Sam was pacing back and forth and looking very displeased. "I should have caught it," he said angrily as soon as I arrived. "I should have caught it," he repeated slamming his fist on a table.

"How bad?" I asked.

Sam shook his head and said quickly, "Not what you think. Walter's on a plane to The Society's prison as we speak. The hostages are at the safehouse. No casualties. No collateral damage."

"Then what's wrong?" I asked.

"The Blue Deuce," he replied. "I didn't make the connection until I actually saw that blue two of clubs in the night sky. That's when it hit me." He shook his head hard, like he was making some huge effort... or perhaps holding back a terrible pain. "Weston Monty used to run a private security firm called The Black Deuce." He shook his head again. "Everybody was the black something back then. My firm was The Black Warriors." His voice became unusually animated as he continued. "But the Black Deuce was the worst of the worst... every atrocity in the book. The Black Deuce used that exact same logo, except it was black. Weston was convicted of war crimes in absentia. Supposedly he died in an explosion escorting a convoy in Afghanistan, but men like us don't die like that."

I waited for him to continue, but when he remained silent, I said, "And..."

"He's a cop now... he has to be... and he runs The Blue Deuce," Sam spat out. "He and his brothers ended up as just numbers within the foster system... brother number one, brother number two, brother number three. Wes was brother number two... so he started calling himself 'Deuce.'"

He was starting to wind down so I asked, "What do we do?"

"Is Boris still listening?" he asked quickly.

In response a voice chirped in my ear- and Sam's, "I'm here. What do you need?"

"The Blue Deuce," Sam said firmly and slowly, "has led a charmed life. Someone has been protecting it. Someone has squashed any investigation and warned Walter of any impending raids. That someone is a high-level cop and that someone is Weston Monty."

A female voice in my earpiece said, "Running an AI algorithm on it now."

"Thank you, Natasha," I responded.

We all stood there silently for what seemed like forever, but was probably less than five minutes. Then Natasha said curtly, "Got it. Captain James Montgomery Reynolds. Weston Monty was almost adopted when he was in the foster system. The family who tried to adopt him was named Reynolds. The adoption was almost formalized. They even had a new birth certificate prepared under the name James, but then Weston abused his step sister in some fashion. Except for a notation in the adoption process records, nothing was done, but the adoption fell through. Weston must have used that birth certificate to create a new identity. With his experience- and his behind the scenes contacts- he quickly rose to the position of Captain in the LAPD."

Sam looked at me and said slowly, "This one is mine." His face would now definitely scare away tourists or paparazzi.

"Alive," I said firmly.

"Don't worry," he answered. "Captain Reynolds will be on the next plane to the prison. Once the right people are made aware of who he really is, an acceptable cover story will be given to the press. But I'm taking this bastard down."

Sam Two Feathers and his men then strode out of the lounge area. I wouldn't want to be anyone who got in his way tonight. There was something very personal about Sam's anger. I would have to ask him about it some day, but tonight was not the time.

"Four down, one to go," Boris' voice said in my earpiece.

I took a deep breath and replied, "I need to speak with Master Tyrone immediately. Where is he?"

"Sam thought it best to get everyone out of town," Boris responded. "They are probably headed back east by now."

"Make arrangements for Master Tyrone to meet me at Shangri-la Three," I said. "Tell him that I know who the traitor is and it is time to bring the Inner Circle... and the Shadow Council together."

"Master Robert and Mistress Aleana are still unaccounted for," Boris said.

"I know," I replied, "but with Wyatt, Walter and Weston gone, I think that Master Robert will reappear. Tell Master Tyrone that I am suggesting you begin arrangements for the Inner Circle to meet in town."

"In town?" Boris sputtered. "Like in town, here?"

"Yes," I replied. "Give me five days to drive back... no make that six. I have to stop in Vegas and arrange to have something shipped back from the storage vaults there. And Boris..."

"Yes?" he answered.

"I need locations for charging stations on my route back."

He laughed and said, "Don't fall asleep with it in autodrive mode. I don't think you want to end up on YouTube."

"Duly noted," I replied. "Check Mister Guthrie out of the hotel. I will scrub the ID and retitle the car once I get back."

"Consider it done," Natasha responded. "Poopsie says to drive carefully."

"I will," I answered and walked down from the rooftop to retrieve my Mustang from the parking attendant. I figured I could get back to Vegas before morning and rest up before three-oneing it back to Shangri-la Three.

***

Master Tyrone was unusually pensive and Mistress Tenesha was skittish and overreacted to sounds or movements around her. Both were symptomatic of PTSD and understandable after what they had both been through. They probably needed time- and counseling- but it was not my place to suggest that. It was, however, the Shadow Council's place to rule on whether any or all of the Inner Circle was fit to return to run The Society's daily affairs.

Master Tyrone agreed with my recommendation that the Inner Circle and the Shadow Council meet together and appraise the situation. He was now back in full communication with both the circle and the council. Master Moreno of Argentina and Mistress Ingrid of Germany had both been abducted by contract dirtbags. They had not been abused during their time of detention and had been released unharmed as soon as the ransom money had been paid. Master Viktor and Mistress Luba of Russia, Master Li Qiang and Mistress Zhang Min of China, Master William and Mistress Ellen of the UK, and Master Joaquin and Mistress Pia of Chile had also been abducted by contract villains, but when it became obvious that the Monty brothers' war on The Society was going badly, they were released without payment of ransom.

Mistress Ramala of Africa was the one member of the Inner Circle who had avoided capture. Ramala means "Predictor of the Future," and Mistress Ramala was recognized for knowing things before they came to pass. She had a premonition of danger and went into hiding before her hired captors could strike. She had also tried to get a message to me from her place of hiding which said, "To find the blue, you must pursue the black." Like many such revelations, it would have been basically meaningless to me without Sam Two Feathers knowledge of Black Deuce Contract Services, but it was nice to know that Mistress Ramala truly had "the gift."

We each have a form of the gift. As I had accurately predicted, Master Robert Williamson showed up basically unharmed in New York. He and Mistress Aleana had been dropped off at the airport by what appeared to be a hotel limo. Mistress Aleana, unfortunately, was not in good shape and was currently in a psychiatric hospital in upstate New York. She would miss this special joint meeting of the Inner Circle and Shadow Council.

Staff at the Hilton Hotel and Convention Center must have wondered when an apparently continuous series of black vans, accompanied by black security SUVs, drove into the secure, inside entrance to the convention center. In all, thirty-six vans arrived and quickly left. Inside a large room that was often used for conventions or banquets, a large table square had been set up with forty or fifty chairs around it. There was a podium on one end, and behind the podium a large screen on which was projected a video of whoever was standing at the podium. For the moment, that person was Master Tyrone.

"Before we officially begin this joint meeting," he began, "I would like to acknowledge the magnificent work which Master W has done for The Society."

I felt my skin warm slightly. Evidently I could still blush a little bit and being called a Master by someone such as Grand Master Tyrone was an unexpected honor. When the applause had died down, Master Tyrone continued. "W has requested permission to give a short report to this joint meeting. Do I hear a vote of approval for that?"

There was a loud shout of "Aye!" and Master Tyrone gestured to me.

As I stepped into the podium, I looked around at the Masters and Mistresses who ran one of the most powerful organizations in the world. Individually, each of them controlled large companies or managed unbelievable wealth, but together, they controlled and managed much of the world. I took a deep breath and began.

"I am sure," I said, looking around the table, "that you are all familiar with the expression, 'The Devil is in the details.' It is the details which enabled my team to find and bring down those who had launched an attack against The Society."

I nodded toward Master Randolph and slave ines. "Slave ines gave me the letters CFD and that led me to Master Rodrigeuz in Brazil." An image of Master Rod in his devil Lucha Libra mask appeared on the screen behind me. "Two songs, sent through an unencrypted email system led me to little brother Wyatt Monty in Iowa." An image of Colonel Boogie's appeared on the screen. "And his bragging mention of his brother's place in LA led me to The Blue Deuce and Walter Monty." An image of Walter Monty taken from his club's web page now filled the screen. I continued, "Weston Monty's hubris use of his trademark deuce logo..." A split screen image of both the Blue Deuce sign and Black Deuce letterhead appeared behind me. "... led Sam Two Feathers to Monty brother number two."

I paused and looked around the room. A cadre of black-clothed security guards were filing into the room and taking up positions behind the members of the circle and the council. Four came and stood behind and beside me at the podium. Many of the Masters and Mistresses looked obviously uncomfortable- perhaps so did I.

"And a week's growth of pubic hair," I said firmly, "led me to Woody Monty." An image of Mistress Aleana's shaven cunt was now projected behind me.

"Thank you, Master Randolph," I said calmly looking slowly at the black-clad security force, "for arranging our security here today. Security has always been your responsibility in the Inner Circle and you have gathered together a special group of people fiercely loyal to you.. But these people who just entered the room are not the forces loyal to you. Your men and women have been replaced by teams from Sam Two Feathers."

Master Randolph started to rise from his chair and the two men behind him pushed him back down. "Mistress Aleana's crotch stubble," I continued, "showed me- or at least my expert, Boris- that she had been taken captive at least a week before any of the other members of the circle. ... And although other captives noted that she had been held with them for a brief time, no mention was ever made of Master Randolph."

A fanned-out stack of documents appeared on the screen. "After discovering that Weston Monty had assumed a new identity through an adoption process, my nerds went back and checked all records for any indication that Woodruff Monty had also been nearly adopted. Such a search is almost impossible... ... unless you already know the adopted name and are able to work from both ends."

I looked directly at Master Randolph. "You weren't nearly adopted, Woody. You WERE adopted by the Williamson family. And you grew up as Randolph Williamson. It must have been quite a surprise to you when I... and the Inner Circle... imprisoned your brother William. That was when you contacted your other brothers and began a plot to kill everyone who brought him down."

"This is preposterous," Master Randolph sputtered.

"No it is not," a feminine voice said from behind me. Mistress Aleana walked up to stand next to me. "When I discovered what you were planning," she continued, "I tried to notify the rest of the Circle. Before I could do so, you took me to Brazil and gave me to Master Rod. But first you tortured me and used me to entice W into what you were sure was a trap." Her voice became very hard as she said, "But it was you and your brothers who were trapped."

She walked around the huge square of tables and took a seat in the empty chair next to her husband. "I move," she said firmly, "that Woodruff Monty, also known as Master Randolf Williamson, be transported to The Society's island prison to await trial by an international court."

Mistress Tenesha stood up and said, "I second that motion."

Master Tyrone immediately said, "All in favor?"

A loud chorus of "Ayes" filled the room.

The two black-clad security men pulled Woody / Randolph to his feet. Sam Two Feathers had entered the room and now stood smiling at him. "You're coming with me," he said in his gravelly bass. "We've got a family reunion planned for you on a beautiful tropical island." I had never heard The Society's prison described that way, but I guess it was sort of true.

I turned to face the members of the Inner Circle and Shadow Council. "That completes my report," I said. "I will submit a more complete report including all expenses through normal channels."

I then left. Agent Sylvia, code name Pussy Galore, was waiting for me back at Shangri-la Three. She has been talking to poopsie and very much wants to experience making love under the stars with the traffic driving by on the highway below. I chuckled slightly as I silently accelerated toward the tunnel. I wondered if- when she was leaning out of the shack's window on the bald mountain with me driving into her from behind- she would become a screamer like poopsie.

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