Starting Over Pt. 06 Ch. 04

This is the sixth section of the continuing saga "Starting Over". In Part I, LTC (Retired) John Jackson had moved to Seattle after being widowed. He ran into some trouble and some decent people (okay, and a few strippers), while working towards getting his private investigator license. That took place between Sep and Dec 2012.

In Part II, he got involved in a ring trafficking in young women. The main perpetrators were captured, but the hired gun/enforcer slipped away. That took place in Apr and May 2013.

In Part III, which took place in 2013 and 2014, John managed to find the enforcer in Key West and was planning to kill him, but changed his mind. He really didn't know if he could kill someone in cold blood, but the man was living with a woman and had decided that he was retiring. John let him go with a promise to do intelligence work for him and returned to Seattle, where Maggie gave indications that she wanted a serious relationship. Then he used that enforcer from Key West to assist in capturing an assassin. The assassin had been hired to kill him and the detective who helped him break up a leg of a human trafficking chain.

In Part IV, it's 2019. John and Maggie couldn't work things out and now John was working on a case that, at first, involved someone who had assaulted Luke's wife Maria. John then had two men try to break into his apartment to attack him. The authorities caught the two men by tracking them to a strip club, but John got beat up by them before the police got there. When he woke, he found that Vanessa, his waitress at the strip club, was an undercover officer. There were several events that were taking place and it was being done by an anarchist group. However, funding for these events was tracked to someone in human trafficking in Singapore by a hacker that John found through Bob in Key West. He returned to Seattle with the information on a thumb drive, and the FBI and others started tracking him. Finally, the master of the human trafficking ring had his son try to soft sell John's daughter into visiting Asia with him, primarily to kidnap her. John found out, he and his buddies stopped it, and then John, feeling the rage, flew to Singapore and, with the backdoor assistance of a government person, was armed and killed both the leader and his son of this trafficking ring.

In Part V, Yvonne, the young hacker came to live with John. She had nowhere else to go and felt so alone during the pandemic that she was craving human interaction. She also admitted that she was attracted to John, even though there was 19 years difference in their ages. A bad guy was hired to hit him due to his involvement in some operations being run by a rogue CIA manager and some disenfranchised CIA members. John and company got them in the end and Yvonne got shot in the leg. She decided to stay with John.

Recurring Characters

LTC (Retired) John Jackson, 5'11", 180, 55 years old.

Marie Jackson, John's dead wife, 5'8", 140, 44 years old, died 15 Jan 2012

Angelica Jackson (Angel), John and Marie's daughter, 5'5", 125, 28 years old.

Mary Bradford, bartender, 5'5", 120, 48 years old.

Samantha (Sam) Walker, 5'6", 130 pounds, 48 years old, John's neighbor.

Joyce Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 120 pounds, 28 years old, and now an exotic dancer using the name Lily

Marion Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 115 pounds, 26 years old.

SFC (Retired) Craig Smithson, 6', 190, 55 years old, NCO from John's Army unit.

Captain Jeff Smithson, 5'11', 185, 53 years old, SFC Smithson's brother and a captain in the Seattle Police Department.

Luke Cole, 5'10", 180, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Maria Cole, 5'6", 135, Luke's wife.

Marcus Candiotti, strip club manager.

Max Meridian (real name Harold Johnson), Mark's lead kidnapper and enforcer. Now changed his name to Bob Thomas and is married to Susan. They own and operate a bar in Key West.

Susan Thomas, Bob's new wife.

George Watson, a new member of the detective agency.

Vanessa Williams, 5'6", 130, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Yvonne, 5'2", 105, illegal hacker who helped find the human trafficker who had funded the anarchists in Seattle.

Danielle (Dani) Parker, 5'8", 120, known as a "guide". She takes cases where an individual is in mortal danger and "hides" them by giving them new identities and teaching them how to lay low.

Benjamin Smothers, Deputy Director of the FBI.

Previously

---------------------------- Friday, August 6, 2021, local restaurant, Seattle, WA -----------

Dinner arrived and they all ate and turned to easier subjects. At one point, John noticed Maddie and her friends taking turns heading to the ladies' room. As they passed a particular booth near the back, John could see that there was a single man, who was not eating, only drinking, paying close attention to them. He seemed to be appraising each one and either looking for one in particular or just any of them. John was always keeping an eye on his surroundings, and this was why. He leaned over and mentioned it to Dani, who was also facing that direction a little, and she quietly appraised him for a few minutes.

"He's scoping them out, for sure. He's up to no good. I don't like it at all."

John started to get up, but then a man dressed in a black suit came in and walked up to Maddie's table. He spoke a few words and they all got up and followed him out. John did, too, but only after the lone gentleman in the back followed them by about 10 seconds.

When John got outside, the suspect he was looking at was nearing a parked car about 50 feet away. All the girls had piled into a limo that her grandfather must have rented, and the guy in the suit was the driver. So, at least they were safe for the moment.

As they drove off, John had pulled his phone and waited until the car with the suspicious guy passed. He quickly got a shot of the car and license plate. He went back inside and sat down at his table.

"The guy was following them. The girls were all in a limo and he went to a car on the street and took off after them. I don't know what is going on, but I'm going to call Mr. Bradford and give him a heads up."

John still had Mr. Bradford's phone number and called him. He told him the situation and Mr. Bradford immediately ended the conversation. He said he would call the limo driver and make sure all the ladies were brought back to his house for safety.

John, Yvonne, and Dani finished their dinner and were walking out when John's phone rang again. He answered immediately when he saw Mr. Bradford's phone number.

Mr. Bradford was almost yelling. "They were on their way back, but never made it. I can't reach the driver, Maddie, or anyone else. Everyone is calling their daughter but getting nothing. I just called the police, but I want you to help, if you can. Can you help on this?"

"It's Maddie. Of course, I can help. I will be there in 15 minutes." John relayed the information and the three of them headed for the Bradford residence.

Currently

---------------------------- Friday, August 6, 2021, Bradford Residence, Seattle, WA -----------

When John arrived at the Bradford residence, the police were already there and the FBI was on the way. There were four girls missing from prominent families and the limo driver.

John had to wait to get in. There was a policeman standing out front who wouldn't let him in. John said he was there at the homeowner's request, but the guy was having none of it. John finally reached Detective Luke Cole on his phone to see who could get him in. Luke was actually heading the investigation inside. He came out to greet John.

"Hey, John." Luke waved as he walked over to the patrolman standing watch outside. "Let him in, Robertson." Luke told the guard. He knew the guy's name, but was not too familiar with him.

John got passed through and they went inside the house. It was about that time that the FBI arrived.

When the FBI walked in, John could see that the agent in charge of the office, Robert Farr and the guy, Jim Caruthers, who had gone with him to his apartment during the last fiasco, were in the group.

Jim nodded. "Hey, John, good to see this is not about you. That last one was pretty nasty."

"That's for sure."

The FBI got up to speed with the locals and then they started setting up.

---------------------------- Saturday, August 7, 2021, The Bradford residence, Seattle, WA -----------

It was almost 2am now. They were just finishing the setup on the phone and emails when an email came in. It only said that the girls could be found in a van parked near Pioneer Square. Everyone looked at each other with confusion. What? He just let them go?

The FBI had two agents pretty close and Agent Farr told them to respond with the local police. They were going to stay at the Bradford's until they got more information.

John and the others sat there for about 15 minutes. Then Agent Farr's phone rang.

"Yes? Okay. How long? Are you watching it? No traps that you can see? Okay. Let me know what the neighbors say and, when you are ready, get in there and get the girls."

Agent Farr turned to everyone else. "The police and my two guys are watching the car for anything untoward. They found a couple of neighbors who say it was parked there about an hour ago. They are canvassing for information on the culprit. They'll call us when they go in."

Everyone talked in small groups and John discussed it with Mr. Bradford. He was very worried. John finally asked. "Where's Maggie?"

Mr. Bradford sighed. "Maggie went on her first solo vacation ever. She's never gone away by herself, so she went to Europe to see some art galleries and some old cities on her own. She just left Paris for Vienna. I'm not going to call her until we know more. It's gotta be about noon there, but I can't remember the time change from here to Vienna."

John nodded and everyone was talking nervously while they waited.

It was 3:30am when the phone ran again. The FBI and local police had just approached the van, found nothing wrong, and opened it. The girls were in there blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their back. They were in their underwear, but unharmed.

The local police took the girls, covered them up, and transported them all to the Bradford's. By the time they arrived, all the parents were there and the FBI had set up a room for interviews. They needed to get some information out of them now so they could try to track the criminals.

The parents weren't happy, since it was closing on 7am, but the agent in charge and Luke tried to calm them down while the FBI did quick interviews. They also had a doctor on hand to check them to make sure they were okay and hadn't been injected with anything that could cause harm.

By the time the FBI finished the interviews, it was almost 9am. They were quick, but with four teenagers, it had taken a while for them to calm down and think clearly. The FBI and police released the four and three were taken home by their parents. Mr. Bradford insisted that Maddie stay with him until her mother returned from Europe.

By this point, almost everyone was running on fumes. John was preparing to leave when the FBI and local police both said they were packing up, too. John had a quick discussion with Luke to see if he understood what exactly was going on. Neither could make sense of a group that would kidnap the girls and then let them go.

Finally, about 10am, everyone started saying goodbye and heading for the front door. It just so happened that John was walking alongside a female agent named Allison June. John had joked with her earlier how her name was almost like the old movie star named June Allyson, only reversed. He liked her and she seemed very alert about all that was going on.

When they went out the front door, it was two large doors, but only one was open. John allowed her to step through first and then stepped up along side her. The sidewalk was very wide and everyone was starting to head down the stairs from the porch to the sidewalk in pairs, discussing what had happened.

John had just reached the bottom stair when a reflection a couple of blocks away caught his eye. He looked at the location closely and wondered what could reflect something like that. It hit him almost a second later. Scope!

"Gun!" John cried out almost at the same time as they heard the crack of the rifle and heard it hit someone behind him. John dove to the right behind a large, thick hedge and found Allison on top of him, scrambling to roll over to one side and get as low as she could. John could hear the other people scrambling and he looked around. He also heard the crack a few more times. They were supersonic bullets.

The hedge went all around the side of the house where the porch continued for a short way. Once there, they might be hidden from the shooter. John mentioned this to June and he started low-crawling to the edge of the house and around.

When John got to the end of the hedge, he could feel Allison right behind him. He got on his knees and knee-walked to the edge of the hedge. It was hidden from view.

John turned to Allison. "Okay, we are out of sight of the shooter, He is facing almost directly at the front entrance. I saw a reflection off his scope as he put it into position. He must have been waiting and didn't put it up into firing position until he saw we were coming out, because the sun angle is too much for me to see it otherwise. Anyway, if we run to the back of the property, we can get over the fence and make our way around toward his position. Ready?"

Allison looked focused. "Let's go."

John stood and took off for the back fence. He could feel Allison right behind him. He was always fast, so his age was either catching up with him or she was fast, too.

When they reached the back fence, they both launched themselves at it, getting about three feet up on the fence, and then levered themselves over. John turned as soon as he landed and Allison landed immediately to his left.

"This way." John sprinted toward the corner that he thought might give them the shortest distance to the culprit and still be somewhat safe.

When they reached the corner, John and Allison stopped just short and took a look around the Bradford residence corner fence. They could see that they were blocked from the view of the house where John suspected the shooter was, since it was on the next street over, so they took off through the yard across the street and had to jump two more fences to get to the next street. John was sure the shooter was on this street, so he stopped to assess it.

"This it?" Allison asked, panting to catch her breath.

"Yeah. I think it was in the fourth or fifth house down. But we haven't heard a shot in a little while, so he might already be gone."

"Only one way to find out." Allison took off up the street.

John shook his head and grinned as he took off after her. He liked bold, fearless people.

When they had passed three houses, the door on the fifth one up opened and a man came out, trying to look casual. But it was obvious he was trying to check out the entire street while not trying to look like his head was on a swivel. He was wearing a hat and carrying a case that was definitely made for a rifle.

Allison pulled up short, now only about 75 feet from the man as he came down the steps from the front door. Allison and John were on the opposite side of the street and almost to the house when she stopped.

"Freeze! FBI!" Allison had her weapon out and raised. John pulled his and watched from just to her right.

The man leapt over the last four steps and rolled out of sight behind a car. There was no sound for a few seconds, then he popped up and fired a shot quickly. He was lucky because he hit Allison with a shot that was wildly taken.

"Ahhh!" Allison went down on the ground.

John looked up and pulled her back a little, out of the line of sight. "Right shoulder?" He asked her even as he was ascertaining where she was hit.

"Yeah. Fuck! Get that son of a bitch."

John found where she had been hit on the upper right shoulder and saw that it was not too bad. He grabbed her hand and put it on the wound. "Right here. Keep the pressure on while I go after this guy."

John was just taking a peek when he heard an engine roar to life. He popped up with his weapon at the ready and saw the car pull out a few cars down on the other side of the street. He stood up and moved to the middle of the street. He checked it out as it pulled away and got part of the plate, but he also pumped three rounds at it. Nothing seemed to happen, but he couldn't chance more in a built-up area.

John then went back to Allison, who was still there cursing.

John pulled out his cell and called Luke. Luke answered immediately. "Luke, this is John. I'm one block over with Agent June, who is down. She was hit in the right shoulder, but not bad. We found the shooter and he took off in a grey Honda, first three letters of the plate were GQN. I'll stay here with Agent June. Send an ambulance."

"John, one of the guys here was hit pretty bad. He was wearing a lightweight vest, but it penetrated it into his right shoulder. He heard the word "gun" and turned to push Agent Farr out of the way when it hit him. The shooter shot a few more times and got one guy in the leg, but it's superficial. I'll get an ambulance there as soon as I can."

John stayed with Allison until the ambulance arrived. He told her he didn't think it was too bad.

"Tell that to my shoulder. Fuck, it hurts."

"And it will for a long while. I got hit in the left shoulder and it healed fairly quickly, but it was a couple of years before I would no longer get a twinge when I stretched it out fully."

"Well, thanks. That'll make me optimistic about working in the FBI!" She tried to grin, but it was more like a grimace.

When the ambulance arrived, they quickly got her secured and left for the hospital.

John went back to the house and talked to Luke. The FBI team was all gone save for one. He was packing up the equipment while some of them had gone to the hospital and others had gone to the office to work on getting this guy. John looked at his watch and said good-bye to Luke and everyone there; it was almost 3pm. He was heading home. He had given a quick statement and was going to go in the next day for the formal statement.

When John got home, Yvonne greeted him with concern. She had seen a lot of news coverage and John had texted he was okay, but she was still concerned. They talked about it and then John lay down for a while. He woke at 7pm after just a couple of hours sleep, but knew he needed to stay up now until his regular sleep hours.

Yvonne also told him that Dani had left. She wanted to be gone before all the FBI and police presence took an interest in who she was.

John decided to go to the hospital to check on Allison, or Agent June as he should call her.

When John got there, there were still a lot of law enforcement around. He asked about Agent June and one of the FBI guys who recognized him came over and told him he'd take him back to vouch for him to the officer at the door.

They got back there and Agent June was sitting up. They had only had to do minor surgery on her and she evidently had only been under anesthesia for a short time. She was just now coming fully awake and she was asking another agent standing there a lot about the investigation.

When John entered, she smiled. "Hey, John. It looks like I won't be too bad."

John chuckled. "I can see that."

"I'll be up and around, chasing bad guys again, very soon."

"I'm sure you will." That brought a smile to John's face.

"John, I need to ask you a question. I remember you telling me that you had been shot in the left shoulder. It wasn't until I was in here that someone told me your last name and that you had been in the Army. Are you the Lieutenant Colonel John Jackson who was shot while tagging along on a patrol in Afghanistan with the 101st in 2003?"