The Victim and I Pt. 02

"There is another and larger reason I am so interested in the safety and integrity of this place, but before I can tell you what it is, I must know the answer to a very serious and important question that I need to ask you. Will you give me a truthful and honest answer?"

"Yes, James. I am like you in that I am truthful to a fault. Please explain or ask your question."

"Beverly, do you love me and could you picture yourself married to me and raising a pack of little troublemakers here?"

"James, is that a proposal?"

"It is a question I need answered. It is not a proposal, not yet anyhow."

"Yes, James. I have already given that very idea quite a bit of thought, and I found the idea very acceptable. I can see us married and living here on this place and raising little Jamses in the future. I do not know what I would do if you proposed to me today though. Another few days, weeks or months and I am yours and yours alone, forever. Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, yes, but that is not the main part of what I need to tell you. Would you like a drink?"

"No, I would like an answer, if you please."

"Okay. Beverly, I am the developer of various software programs that have sold well. I have also published a hugely successful bestselling novel and sold the movie rights to it. Then I sold my software company for a fortune, so basically, I am rich. Very rich. I worry about people wanting to get to know me or know my money would be more like it. I would worry about kidnappers being after my wife and/or children after I am lucky enough to have them. I wanted to know how you really felt about me before the discovery of my success and riches. I hope you understand where I was coming from. So, thank you, Honey. Thank you so much and I love you.

"I hope that eliminates some, if not all of your fears, but you were right to question me about it and please feel free to do so any time you have a worry or a concern. Now, let's make some coffee and we can make some plans. Deal?"

"Deal. Thank you for easing my concerns and I do think I am going to love you like there is no tomorrow."

"I never did like tomorrows. So, that goes for me, too, but I will hate the term 'no tomorrow' most of the time as I am going to look so forward to many, many tomorrows with you." And I pulled her in for a kiss just as the intruder alarm went off.

I immediately released Beverly and turned to a set of computer screens and activated them and quickly saw that 4 bodies were being illuminated by the infrared cameras near the fence at the lower end of the property and were making their way up the hill towards the cabin. Beverly asked what I was going to do and I said that I was going to watch for a bit and then decide but I thought these guys would be a statistic shortly. As soon as they got closer to the first video camera, the image cleared and we saw that the four men had shotguns ready and wore pistols on their belts so they were ready to do damage so woe be unto them and I set off the claymore they were passing. Good guys 4 and bad guys O, is what I thought and told Beverly to keep watch on the monitors while I took care of things outside.

Donning my winter coat and gloves and taking a shotgun, I walked down to where the bodies lay and after a quick search I recovered their wallets, cell phones, and anything else of value, especially the car keys. When I had it all, I walked on down to the road and found the black Suburban they had driven in and after donning my gloves I got in and started it up and drove up the hill to where the bodies were. Once there I loaded them into the back and then drove the car to a hiding place in the trees I knew of.

Once I had completed this task I walked back to the cabin and after getting a fresh cup cup of coffee, I gave Beverly a big hug and a soul searing kiss and then sat at the table and pulled out one of the cell phones and sent a message that stated 'Good guys 4, Goons 0. No! Let's make that 7-0. How many goons do you have that are willing to die for you like these morons did, Steflano? I hope a bunch because that is what will happen. This was fun. Let's play some more real soon now, ya hear? Oh, make sure each goon carries at least $7000 with them. That way they can pay for their own funeral and the country doesn't have to." And I sent it to every contact listed in the phone, knowing this was going to cause some serious heartburn to the Mafia types, like I cared. Let them come I thought.

I showed what I had sent to Beverly and she got a good laugh out of it then said, "You know you just started a war, don't you?"

"No, Honey. I did not start a war, they did. I just escalated it somewhat in an effort to bring it to a rapid end, rather quickly and decisively I might add."

"James, what about the FBI? Surely, they are not on the take like so many of our locals are, are they"

"I would sure hope not, but you can never tell until it is too late. Being as the bad guys know where we are, I think I will place a few calls to the FBI offices in several other cities and tell them the whole story saying that your Mr. Steflano has the local authorities in his pocket so they might be interested in making a whole bunch of arrests for a multitude of crimes after they investigate some. Could keep them busy for a few years. We will get addresses to email the tape you made and the phone number for a couple of the larger FBI offices.".

After they ate a lunch of sandwiches and chips, I got on my laptop and looked up various FBI offices and decided to call a couple 300 miles away in opposite directions to see what they might say when told the story of Beverly's kidnapping, the mob killing her boss in a try to take over his club and then the assault on the cabin.

After being routed to various offices I was connected to a senior agent who was very interested in the story I told and all its implications. The agent told me that he could certainly understand my reluctance to talk to the authorities and my mistrust of those same people due to the involvement of the local authorities in all manner of illegal activities. These activities would add conspiracy charges to most of them on top of other chargeable crimes. This would keep the US and States Attorneys busy for ages and look very good on their resumes at election time. The agent said he would bring a few other agents down and quietly start investigating these allegations before springing a wide-open investigation on everyone.

"If they attack our home we will use deadly force to defend ourselves, and nothing anyone can say will stop that from happening, so you may want to expedite your arrival and investigation for the sake of the local Italian population."

The agent was quiet for a bit and then said "Do what you have to do for you and Ms. Thomas to remain safe. I would not declare war on them and take it to them but if they come to you, you should use anything and everything at your disposal to fend them off. You will be all right with the law as you would be defending your life and property as well as that of a friend and guest in your home."

"Bring a bunch of body bags. The score is already us 7, them 0."

I told Beverly what the agent had said and told her that was more less what I had planned and that any more intruders would also be dealt with severely and quickly. Then I laughed and told Beverly about an old sign my grandfather had once had that said "No Trespassing. Survivors will be prosecuted" and I thought that saying was quite applicable here in this situation and I wished I still had that sign so I could post it at the gate.

"James, I trust you and your judgment in this so I going to plan on reaching that 97-year mark with my longtime husband by my side unscathed. Now, what do we need to do to be ready our surprise for our next visitors?"

"We are virtually ready right now, except for getting into out positions to greet them. They may suspect but will not know what happened to the first bunch so they probably will not come together like that first bunch did. I have no idea what they may try but we will be ready regardless of what they try. I need to replace that one claymore. It was in a pretty good spot it seems. We have more serious surprises for them when they do try to come up the mountain, so let's check the alarms and look at our fighting positons, and then try to get some rest. Deal?

"Deal. Let's go." And she donned her rucksack with the ammunition, water, and a couple of packages of crackers and cheese in it and picked up her shotgun and waited by the door for me to be ready.

I had prepared a similar rucksack and I donned it and telling Beverly to take my shotgun while I took three of the LAW tubes and my scoped rifle. I led Beverly out the door and into the rocks and boulders behind his cabin to a preselected spot that offered a number of spots where they could fire down on intruders with little exposure to themselves. Perfect, she thought.

I told her that we would stay there for the time being as it was a natural fighting spot and that she would be safe there. "When the goons show up, depending on how they try to come up, I may move to a secondary location so we would have them in a crossfire. They will not enjoy that at all and will certainly make them rethink their career choice."

Bev suddenly looked alert and up at the sky and asked, "Is that a helicopter I hear? Are we safe from an attack from above?"

"Not really, but we have a nasty surprise for the them when they get into range that they will not enjoy."

"You mention them enjoying themselves often. Are you concerned with their enjoyment?"

"No, not at all. Just stating a fact. You have heard about people not enjoying their jobs, right? Well. These people are going to realize that working for Steflano is no longer enjoyable, not it all. I am not concerned with even the first mafia goon, no matter what. They invited this upon themselves, and have enjoyed thinking themselves above the law, so let them suffer the consequences. You need to get down and into those shadows now as that helicopter is getting closer."

"What are you going to do?

"I am not 100% sure yet. I might put a round from the .338 magnum through the pilot's head making them crash, or else use one of the LAWs to blow the thing out of the sky. Depends on how close they get, I guess. Hate to use one of the LAWs but I will if necessary. They may come with several cars. We just need to be able to play it by ear as even the best plans fail as soon as contact with the enemy happens. Here he comes. I wonder who insures that helicopter? They are not going to like this, not at all. Golly, that looks like at least a 5 or 6 million dollar bird when new. Oh, well."

The helicopter came in over the property slow, evidently looking for targets as there was a man in each open door with what looked like an AK47 each. Damn goons, could not even buy American M-16s he thought. Serves them right. I took a rolled-up towel out of my rucksack and placed it on the boulder in front of me and then using it for a cushion, I laid the rifle on it and carefully sighted in on the side of the pilot's head through the glass of his window and carefully squeezed off a single round that pierced the plastic window and peppered the pilot with not only a high-speed bullet but shards of torn plastic. The helicopter quickly jerked over and then dropped nose down into the valley exploding on impact. So much for that threat I thought.

Taking out one of the goon's cell phones, i texted, "Sorry, Steflano, but your bird ran into a bit of trouble with flying metal pieces. I sure hope you had good insurance on it as you now need a new one. By the way, the score is now Good guys 10, and goons still a big 0. Let's keep playing. Golly, this is fun. How many more goons do you have before you have to get off your fat and lazy ass and come try your luck. Humm? Bye now and sweet dreams."

I showed it to Beverly and then hit send as she said, "James, you are rubbing salt into his wounds. You are waving a red flag at a raging bull. He will be positively seething and beside himself after that text. What are you trying to do, for goodness sakes?"

Exactly what we are doing, namely pissing him off greatly. The madder he gets, the more careless he becomes and the more mistakes he will make. That is what I am aiming for."

"Gee, I am so glad you have a plan and that it is working so well." Beverly said while laughing her butt off. "I cannot believe any of this. This is not me. This is not how I am supposed to be living, with a target on my back, a price on my head, and a bunch of loaded guns on me and me ready to uses them."

"I know, Honey, I know. And it is working. As soon as we can take them all down one way or another, preferable with Steflano dead and the others in jail, then no one will be after you or us because no one will be able to pay the bounty for our heads, and these guys do not work for free. Way to dangerous at times, as you can see."

"I see what you mean. What next?"

"Well, I think that now might be a good time to go down to the cabin and let you check with Clarence and let me check my emails and phone messages. It will also be a good time to eat something, just in case we get busy later."

When they entered the cabin, I noticed the message light flashing on the burner phone I had used to call the FBI. I quickly checked the message and made the requested call to the agent I had talked to earlier. I informed the agent that a helicopter that was apparently on a surveillance mission for Steflano had run into some flying insect problems and had crashed in a valley near my home. This brought a chuckle from the agent who said, "Crashed, egh? Is that the story you want to stay with, Captain?"

"Why not? It's as good as any and better than most. Now what do you have to report?"

"Have it your way then. We are getting a task force together to descend on your area mostly undercover to get things started. We are identifying suspects all the while as we speak. We hope to be able to wrap up in short order but you know how that goes."

"Yes, your guys seem to worry about job security so they take three years to do a two-week investigation."

"Ouch, that hurts. But it does seem to be true at times, I think. How goes things on your end?"

"Well, there is the rumor that one of Stefano's helicopter crashed in a valley not far from my place but I haven't been anywhere close to there so I cannot say for sure. Would serve them right, though. Other than that, nothing at all. I wonder how many soldiers he has to throw at that poor girl."

"Poor girl, huh? Okay, keep me posted and do not take the war to them, let them come to you and you will be covered by self-defense laws. Trust me on this one."

"How about some help from you guys to defend this place?"

"Just how large a place are we talking about, anyhow?"

"720 acres, one square mile and an 80, with the home almost in the center."

"Golly. Damn, that would take a lot of men. I doubt I can help right now."

"Then don't worry, I will have my own army, just bring the body bags and don't ask questions. Understand?"

"Whoa there, Horse... Let's not get carried away with the laws and such."

"You had your chance and declined, so consider it handled by the endangered residents of this property. Enough said. We will notify you when it safe for you to come in and gather the trash. Goodbye, Special Agent."

"Stop.... We need to talk about this."

"No! We don't either. Like I said you had your chance and said you could not do anything so I will handle things my way. There are maybe a hundred or more on Stefano's payroll, so you now know how many body bags you might need, unless you get yourself in gear and start making arrests. You have an eye witness account of the attempted extortion and the actual murder of Lowell Andrews and the kidnapping, assault with intent to do bodily injury, attempted murder and more, plus knowledge of numerous elected and appointed city officials that are guilty of a multitude of sins and crimes and you want to sit on your collective asses for some indeterminate time that those of us here do not have the luxury of having, so there will be no waiting, only decisive action, which has already started. We are keeping score, and not worrying about names. Goodbye. I disconnected before the agent could respond further. I looked up a couple of phone numbers and made the calls to check on the availability and status of a couple of my friends and former teammates and briefed them on the situation at hand and was told they would be on site the next day but that no one would know. They would be ready.

I was mildly concerned about the bodies in the car hidden in the woods up the mountain, but with the cold temperatures they would not decompose quickly, but I thought I should move the car someplace, preferably someplace belonging to Steflano. That should help stir the fires I thought. After dark, I might get Bev to drive my car and follow me as I returned Stefano's employees to him. Possibly dangerous but it would sure be effective. I wished I could drop the helicopter in front of Steflano's place, too. That would really get him. I knew we would have to be quick and get back out of the area as fast as we could.

Things went quietly for the rest of the evening and when I asked Beverly what she thought about returning the bodies she thought it was a great idea, as long as it could be done safely. As soon as it was near dark, I walked up the mountain to where the SUV with the bodies was parked and after donning latex gloves, a paper suit, and a surgical hair cover to keep any trace evidence from being left in the car I got in and drove down the hill to meet Beverly so she could follow him to town. As I was driving, I had the thought that I wished I had been dressed this way when I first moved the car and bodies, then remembered that I had been wearing a lot of winter clothes, gloves, and a hat so maybe I had not left anything.

I had told Beverly to simply disappear at the first sign of trouble and not to worry about me as I could take care of myself. I also told her that if she felt it necessary to leave the area, then to go to the barn and grab a bunch of cash, a big bunch, and go hide out. I told her to take the cell phone we used to talk to Clarence as I had that number and could contact her (if I was still alive, that is). Before leaving I got a can of white spray paint from the house so I could compound the aggravation of Steflano and we departed for town.

We made it into town with no trouble and quickly pulled into the parking lot of a bar owned by Steflano and I parked towards the rear. When I got out, I took the spray paint and painted the message "Steflano's goons 0, good guys 10" down both sides and then quickly got into the car with Beverly and told her to hurry but without speeding as every cops in the county was looking for her. We made it back to the cabin safely and I checked all my safety monitors and saw that no one had tried to enter, at least not yet.

We had a late-night snack and a quick but relaxing drink and after the requisite hugs and kisses went to our own beds for whatever sleep we might get. I had a feeling it might all come to a head tomorrow, or the next day at the latest as I figured the last insult to Steflano's pride and reputation might be the catalyst that caused him to make his fatal mistake.

I was already awake and dressed when the first rays of sunshine peeked over the top of the mountain, promising a beautiful day for all. I made coffee and was in the process of checking my monitors when the intruder alarm went off. A quick check of the monitor showing that area showed what looked to be 5 people had just crawled under or over the fence near the main gate and were making their way towards the cabin, but that would be a half mile uphill cross country trek. These idiots in their suits and slick soled Italian loafers were going to suffer before dying.