The Lawyer and the Killer Ch. 07

Kim smiled, "Kia is Asian. She has a different look. They wanted to take her with them."

Shai spoke up, "They'll be back won't they?"

Kim answered, "I think not right away." He looked down at the dead boy, "We made an impression. I think they'll be back, but right now they have no weapons. We must destroy what we took from them, and hide our own. That is all our own weapons except for this one pistol."

Jesus spoke up, "These were irregulars probably supported by the Sudanese authorities I'm sure. I wouldn't be surprised if our next visitors won't be Sudanese soldiers. They'll disarm us. Take any money they find, and leave us vulnerable for our first friends' next visit."

Kim added, "The next time they come they'll take everything, medicine, supplies, equipment, and probably several of the women." He looked at Kia and Shai. "They probably won't kill anybody if no one resists, but the young women, and the pretty ones like you two are in great danger. To them you're booty to be used and then sold."

Shawn spoke, "No one's taking anybody."

Kim smiled and agreed, "Not while we're alive."

The rest of the day was given over to helping the people who needed care, but also in hiding most of the money, and all their weaponry except the pistol. Everyone was on the alert, tensions were high, but outwardly they pretended all things were normal.

They buried the boy Kim shot. They estimated he was not more than fifteen. They buried him outside the perimeter, and placed a marker on his grave. If he had any close friends or relatives in the region, and they were interested enough to take him home they'd know where to find him. Shawn doubted if anyone would ever come. He was just another orphaned child caught up in a world he didn't create.

Shai had gotten some of the refugee women together and they'd set up a little nursery center. Kia got the youngest children together and taught them little games. Shai found what little extra paper and pencils they had and started a little school for the older ones. She worked with the refugee women, most of whom were talented people. Someday this part of the world would be restored to sanity. Perhaps a future scientist or doctor was among these refugee children? Shawn watched all these things. They restored hope, not only for the people, but for him as well.

Three days later six truckloads of soldiers were seen driving up the road. About two hundred yards outside the camp they dismounted and took up positions in a circle around the site; a captain followed by two younger officers approached the main tent.

Kim saw them coming, and ordered all the women to hide. Then he, Amin, Shawn and Jesus went part way down the road to greet them.

The captain spoke first, "It has come to our attention this is an armed encampment."

Kim replied, "We have no weapons except for a few knives and a pistol I keep should a hyena or jackal approach too close."

The captain took a deep breath and stuck out his chest, "You're supposed to be a peaceful United Nations Aid Station. You're not supposed to an armed camp. We're here to confiscate any military contraband."

Kim responded by raising his hands above his head, "I have my pistol in a holster strapped to my back. Will you allow me to give it to you?"

The captain turned to one of his lieutenants and ordered him to disarm Kim. With the pistol in the Captains right hand he said, "You have no other firearms?"

Kim replied, "No sir."

The Captain asked, "You wouldn't mind then if we searched your camp?"

Kim answered, "We welcome it, but I have two requests."

The Captain smiled, "Yes?"

Kim, holding his hands palms upward, eyes slightly cast down implored, "After you leave would you leave behind four or five of your soldiers for our protection. We were accosted by some armed rebels a few days back. We managed to disarm them. Their broken weapons are in a pile on the edge of the camp. Your soldiers would make our lives a lot easier."

The Captain shook his head, "This is a United Nations camp. We're not supposed to interfere in what you do. Our presence here would give the wrong impression. What was your second request?"

Kim answered, "We have medicines here. As you investigate our camp, may we accompany you just to guarantee none of the more delicate containers are accidentally damaged or any of the rarer medicines by chance be contaminated."

"You think we're here to interfere with your work?"

Kim held up his hands in supplication, "No sir. We just know some of our medical supplies are very expensive and very rare." He hesitated, "Maybe we could pay you."

The Captain raised an eyebrow, "A bribe?"

Kim answered, "No sir, a gift, a payment for your hard work."

The Captain's face exploded into a broad grin, "American money?"

Kim smiled back, "Of course."

For about fifteen minutes the soldiers made a cursory search of the camp area. They spent little time checking the many containers and packages. Mostly they eyed the young women. The whole time the Captain and Kim sat in the main tent where Kim counted out several thousand dollars in American currency.

Armed with one pistol, a few boxes of bandages, and a shoebox filled with $100.00 bills the Captain and his soldiers left.

Shawn, Kim, and the others gathered after they left. Shai asked, "Will we see them again?"

Kim answered, "No. The next people we'll see will be the irregulars we drove off the other day."

Shawn commented, "Sounds ominous."

Kim smiled, "Shawn you know what's coming. We have to get everyone else ready."

-----------

Susan sat quietly in the restaurant at her table despondently punching a piece of lettuce with her fork. If she had been a smoker she would have said she was down to her last cigarette. All her help had abandoned her, and all her moneyed clients had found other people. She knew she'd been raided by her competitors; first they'd hired away her staff, then her former employees shared out all her clients.

She met one former employee and offered to mail her what remained of her files just in case they'd missed someone. Her former employee laughed. That was a good one she said.

The tabloids had enjoyed their moment. She supposed their ratings had jumped a notch, but since she was no longer being mentioned she guessed someone else's misfortune had claimed their attention. One of the tabloids wondered why she hadn't gone the libel suit route. They were daring her to sue. Susan knew better. She remembered her Alger Hiss stories, the one-time New Deal Democrat who'd sued to protect his good name back in the early 1950's. The newspapers had used it to sell copy. In the end Alger Hiss had been ruined.

That still hadn't stopped the Bar Association. Somebody had put a bug in their ear, and she'd been served notice there was some concern about her professionalism. They were looking into her situation, and there might be repercussions. Repercussions; she wondered what they had in mind. She doubted if it was the ABA. She had a hunch somebody else was pressuring them.

The local police certainly hadn't let up. That Seamus O'Hara; he had the tenacity of a Gila monster. The way he kept badgering her, one would have thought he was hot on the trail of Jimmy Hoffa or John Dillinger. He didn't get it. She was just some poor woman who'd been kidnapped and then rescued by a man whose identity no one knew.

Aside from the life growing inside her the only other redeeming event in her life lately had been her unexpected meeting with Todd Bitterman. Todd was a lawyer like herself, a nice guy. She'd run into him at a job fair. She was looking for a secretary, and he said he was looking for an experienced lawyer. As it turned out he was in need of a legal mind to work on a project that required an understanding of several European countries.

He and she had gotten on quite well, and in no time he was explaining the kind of person he needed. Several businesses in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and the Czech Republic were in the process of dovetailing their economic efforts in an attempt to become more competitive with bigger firms in Western Europe. All he needed was someone who could coordinate several businesses for him, while he concentrated his efforts on some other countries trying to do the same thing in the Middle East.

What Todd proposed sounded like a piece of cake; if nothing else, it might tide her over till her current difficulties abated. She and Todd exchanged information, and he agreed to get back to her within a week or two. The whole project didn't sound especially glamorous, but it might pay the bills for a while. At least it was an opening.

To Susan Todd was like a cool drink of reassuring water in a barren desert. With Shawn gone, her business in ruins, the police and ABA breathing down her neck he offered a glimmer of hope. They hit it off right away.

Todd wasn't married. He'd said, till recently, he'd been married to his career. He'd made a lot of money, but soon found money, though it was good to have, offered little In terms of peace of mind. The way he put it, money was a poor substitute for a warm smile or a gentle kiss.

Todd was lonely. She was lonely. They started dating.

Susan couldn't help comparing Todd with Shawn. Though she tried to deny it at first, Todd was the better choice. Todd was taller, more handsome, athletic looking, naturally commanding. Shawn was a poor second.

Todd had all the social graces. Shawn had a sarcastic mouth. Todd was polite, warm, gentle, and he was a good listener. Shawn she remembered, was cold blooded, not particularly sensitive. He had a ruthless streak.

Todd was caring. Todd was safe. Shawn had frightened her. Everything about him had oozed danger. Todd was considerate; he held doors, pulled her seat out in restaurants. He offered security. All she remembered about Shawn was handcuffs, duct tape, dark rooms, danger, and indifference. Todd loved putting his hands on her belly to feel the baby move. She doubted if Shawn really, she meant really, cared about children at all.

Susan could tell Todd was enamored of her. She knew he wanted her. She was convinced the only reason he hadn't suggested something was because of her condition.

She still had strong feelings for Shawn, but she had these nagging doubts. Had they really had that one night of true sexual love or had it been just an emotional release, some fantastic kind of post abduction infatuation.

Susan felt the pendant around her neck. Sure she missed him; she told herself that every morning. But she had no idea where he was, what he was doing, who he was with, or who he might even be thinking about. For all she knew he might be in some European discotheque whooping it up with some East European beauty. Did he even think about her any more? She felt the baby kick.

-----------

Early morning in the Sudan was always cold. There was no vegetation or bodies of water to retain the daytime heat. Kim looked out toward the eastern skyline. He tugged Shawn's arm, "They're coming. I hear them."

Shawn heard Shai in background singing to a child. She was always the first one up. He blinked as he tried to peer into the harsh early morning light, "You think it's the same irregulars as bfore?"

Kim replied, "More I think."

Shawn looked at his friend, "The army?"

Kim, "No but I hear an APC."

Shawn, "Armored Personnel Carrier?"

Kim, "It'll have a forty millimeter cannon and probably some kind of rocket launcher. We better get everybody up."

Shawn turned to go awaken Jesus, Amin, and Kia. He'd say something to Shai on the way. He checked his Timex. He bet Susan was still asleep back in the States. He'd been thinking about her constantly. He'd left her in a bad way; a baby, a confused abduction story, and God knew how many people trying to take advantage of her. He should have stayed back in America; gone public about himself, told the whole story, and then let them kill him. If he really wanted to rescue her that's what he should have done, that's what a man would have done. He'd taken the coward's way out. That's all he was, just a coward.

He tapped Shai on the arm. They'd been very close for weeks. She was so lovely. He knew she had feelings for him. It would have been easy to fall in love with her, sleep with her. Easy yes, possible no; his heart, his true love was thousands of miles away. He'd let Susan down. He was so sorry. God he prayed she was all right.

------------

Susan sat there, feeling the baby and twirling her fork through a half eaten salad when another man in a dark ill fitting suit approached her. She'd come to dread those slightly misshapen suits. It almost always meant a policeman.

The man walked over and stood at her table, "You're Susan Slattery?"

She gave him her best glazed over look, "So what."

He asked, "May I sit down?"

She gave him a less than friendly glare, "Why?"

He asked, "Have you ever heard the name Ophay?"

Susan's facial expression must have given her away because his next comment and action completely caught her off guard. He displayed a badge. It read Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The man turned to a dark corner and waved his hand. Three other men appeared from the shadows. The first man spoke, "Stand up please. Put your hands behind your back." He had a pair of plastic handcuffs, "You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and may be used against you." He went on with the Miranda statement, while he wrenched her hands behind her back and unceremoniously handcuffed her.

Dressed in a tightly fitting dark blue pin striped business suit with high heeled shoes, and a

soft white ruffled blouse Susan, excepting for the cuffs, was the epitome of femininity as she was jostled out of the restaurant. She was herded down the aisle as several newspaper people with cameras descended upon her. She was bombarded with a hail of questions, "Ms. Slattery do you have links to organized crime? Are you connected with the syndicate? Can you explain your disappearance now Ms. Slattery?"

Susan had been set up!

They walked her to a one of those vehicles into which they usually loaded large numbers of people after a raid. While one man guided her head another made as if he were going to attach shackles to her ankles. My God she thought. She was being treated like a common criminal, and she didn't have the slightest notion why, at least that's what she kept telling herself.

The man who had originally approached her got in the vehicle and sat down, "I'm Agent Mark Miller. I work for the FBI. You can make it a lot easier on yourself if you tell us what you know about Ophay."

Susan was surprised, but knew who he was, and she knew all about the code name Ophay, "Ophay? Ophay," she said. "Isn't that some bad word black people once used when they talked about white people?"

Agent Miller wasn't impressed, "You know who Ophay is. It will make everything a lot easier if you just tell us what you know."

Susan wasn't about to rat out the one man she loved, "I just told you what Ophay means. Now would you mind telling me what I'm being arrested for?"

Miller answered, "You've made claims that you were kidnapped. When approached by the local police you fraudulently misrepresented what happened. Then you lied when they questioned you further. You've made direct references to known syndicate operatives, but have refused to clarify what you know. That we call obstruction of justice."

Susan acted like she was totally confused, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Agent Miller reminded her, "I want to remind you, everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. We know you know a great deal, so don't compound your crimes by lying to us."

Susan wasn't going to be intimidated by this man. She'd been scared, raped, and terrorized by tougher guys than him, "I want a lawyer."

Agent Miller smiled, "Of course, you'll be able to make your telephone call when we get you to our destination."

Susan asked, "What's our destination?" She one upped him, "Guantanimo?"

Agent Miller smiled, "We're taking you to FBI headquarters."

Susan had nothing else to say. She didn't have anywhere to go. She had no clients, only a cat and an unborn baby. She knew where the FBI building in her city was, and she knew they'd be there in a few minutes. She'd get loose, make her call, and be home before Tom even knew she'd been gone. She held up her feet, "Well go ahead and chain me up good."

Agent Miller was taken aback. He thought for sure she'd crumble if he put a little jack boot to her. She wasn't a bit scared. He smiled, "I don't think they'll be necessary do you?"

Susan punched back, "I don't know. I'm a pretty tough hombre; a real modern day Bonnie Parker."

Agent Miller didn't take the bait.

The vehicle trundled along the road for what seemed like hours. It didn't take her long to realize they weren't taking her anywhere she was familiar with. It still didn't scare her. These were government officials. They weren't into hurting citizens, and she knew the accusations the idiot sitting beside her had made were a sham. He was an ass hole of the first degree.

She figured he was trying to scare the shit out of her, guessing she'd buckle under the pressure. She laughed to herself quietly; it didn't work with Shawn and certainly wouldn't work with this jackass. Once she got out and made her phone call she'd be home free.

Agent Miller had been tracking the killer Ophay for quite some time. He knew he'd been close just a few months earlier, but then things started to unravel. He picked up on this woman's circumstances almost by luck. He had little else to do so he peaked around in her file. There had been an unexplained disappearance, then reappearance, and then the garage abduction.

Slattery's unusual behavior corresponded almost exactly with the disruptions he'd experienced. He didn't think she'd committed any crimes, but he did think what had been happening to her was linked to the man he was after. He thought he knew how to handle this. Women like her were best managed by scaring the shit out of them. If he came up with enough really terrifying threats she'd wilt like a flower on a hot dry day. At least that's what he originally thought, but she wasn't complying.

Susan wasn't letting the asshole beside her get away with anything, "Hey!" She said.

Agent Miller looked up, "Hey what?"

She gave him what she hoped was the shittiest smile she could muster, "Before you load me into one of your black helicopters to haul me off to Egypt for some enhanced interrogation." She watched his facial expression change. She had him, and he knew it, "I think my water just broke."

Agent Miller looked at the floor of the vehicle, "Shit!"

------------

Oscar Camulos was on the phone, "You say you've made contact with our girl friend the other day."

Someone on the end of the line said something.

Camulos went on, "Good. Persuade her to believe all she'll have to do is coordinate some simple activities. We'll get her to sign a few benign looking documents, and she'll be mine, I mean ours."

Someone on the other end of the line continued to speak.

Camulos ended the conversation, "No you can't have her. Not right away anyway." He put down the receiver and chuckled.