Unhappily Ever After Bk. 01 Ch. 05

"Anyway, she's a lawyer in her own right, not to mention that she works for a large law firm. Why wouldn't she get one of her fellow partners to act on her behalf?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said, trying to hide a grin. "They might also be looking for support and may not be in a position to represent anyone. I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be too busy trying to negotiate their own deals.

"But that's just a thought. What would I know about these things? I'm just a dumb carpenter. I build houses. I don't know the first thing about the law.

"I don't have to. 'Cause my best friend's a damned good lawyer," I said as we stood to leave.

We gave each other a man-hug as we left the pub. It was a few minutes before midnight. We waved goodnight to the publican as we moved towards the front door.

"Where's your car?" I asked as we stepped out into the street.

"Back in the office carpark," he answered." I couldn't find anywhere to park nearby, so I decided to run it in under my building.

I suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Leave it," I said. "Jump into my car. I'll take you home. You can catch an Uber to work in the morning."

"Nah," he answered, "The walk will do me good."

"Just do as I say," I ordered. He heard the steel in my voice and suddenly realised that this was one of those occasions when he should do as instructed.

"Well, okay," he answered. "If you're going to get all snarky about it."

He might have been trying to laugh off the sudden change of plans but knew better than to argue. He also knew that my nose and gut had helped us to avoid quite a few dangerous situations in the past and that it would pay to follow my lead. Most of all, he knew I had sensed danger.

I hit the door opener and watched him climb into the passenger seat. After ensuring the doors were locked, I moved into the shadows and called Tommy.

"Just listen," I said as soon as he answered. "My gut tells me there's an ambush set up between the King Alfred and Brad's office building. Whoever it is is not after me. They're after Brad. That tells me this isn't a Kingston job. I've got a sneaking suspicion it's Manyweather's op. It would be just like him to go after my friend in payment for rejecting his cream pie offering and throwing Charlie off my place this afternoon.

"I'm assuming someone has eyes on me?"

"Yes," he answered, "Two sets. One ahead and one behind."

"Do they have night vision?"

"Affirmative."

"Okay," I said. "We're safe where we are for the moment. So have your people.... Who are they, by the way?"

"Donk and Spearman."

"Good. I'm guessing there'll be a driver and a shooter. They will probably have been following him around all night. I'd say the only reason he's still alive is that they couldn't find anywhere to park. Brad tells me the street was pretty crowded when we returned from the cop shop. Apparently, I was lucky to find the only available parking space.

I need to know who they are and who sent them. I want to know where their bivouac is and as much as they can tell us about their operation and their fellow soldiers. I also need photos. Before and after would be nice. I'll leave the rest up to you.

"Oh, and I need a weapon. The one the shooter was going to use will be fine. I suspect it's one of mine, anyway. All the better if it's fitted with a suppressor. I also want his spare magazine, if he's carrying one. I'll be watching over Brad in the pub, but if one of the lads could leave it on top of my off-side rear wheel before they get too involved in their interrogation, I'd appreciate it.

It might also be a good idea to get in touch with your friend to confirm that he can have a security team in place tomorrow morning. I'd hazard a guess that I no longer have a security unit. And I'll bet the bastards will have taken their company-issued firearms with them.

"There's nothing I can do about that tonight. I'll report them as stolen first thing tomorrow.

"And please let the lads out at the property know what's going on. Tell them I'll probably stay in town tonight - I wouldn't put it past the Nazi boys to set up an ambush somewhere between here and home for me, as well. Let the boys know I'll come out tomorrow to pick up a few clothes.

"Is there anything I've forgotten?"

"No," Tommy said. "I think you've covered everything. We'll talk about your meeting with my friend's friend tomorrow. I'll text you when it's safe to move."

"Roger," I responded.

After walking back to the car, I unlocked it and opened the passenger door.

"Come on, My Brother," I said. "Let me buy you another drink. We're going to be here for a bit longer. It's time to bring you up to speed with what the fuss is all about."

'Thank the gods for late closing,' I thought, seeing the pub lights were still on.

---oooBJSooo---

The publican was surprised to see us back.

"I thought you blokes would be home and tucked up in your beds racking up zeds by now," he said. "What'll you have?"

"Just a couple of double single malts, thanks, Bill," I said, "both over ice.

"Yes, we thought we'd be home by now too. But Brad's had a bit of car trouble. I thought I'd wait with him while it was fixed."

"And what's this car trouble I'm experiencing?" Brad asked as we sat at what was becoming our regular table.

"To be honest," I said. "I don't know. But do you remember back when we were in high school, we'd be walking down a street, and I'd suggest we cross over to the other side? You got to the point when you'd never argue. You'd simply follow my lead.

"Do you remember how often we avoided trouble by listening to my instincts? Do you remember how many times those instincts saved us from having the shit beaten out of us by the school bullies or the local gang?

"Well, taking heed of those warnings saved my life so many times while I was in Iraq and Afghanistan that I learned never to ignore them. I got that same feeling as soon as you said you were planning on walking back to your office building to get your car.

"I hadn't needed them for years, but they came back to me on Friday night. They're what made me take the stairs down to the hotel's underground carpark rather than taking the elevator. I had no idea what or who was waiting for me down there, just that someone was waiting; and they meant to do me harm.

"Charlie once called them my spidey senses.

"Tonight, I knew someone was waiting. But I also knew they weren't waiting for me. They were waiting for you. And they meant to kill you."

I saw Brad's shoulders shake as a shiver ran up his back when I said that. He had suddenly realised how close he had come to dying that night.

"But who would want to kill me?" he asked. "What have I ever done to anyone for them to want to do that?"

"Apart from being a lawyer?" I asked with a chuckle.

He gave me a dirty look.

"You're my friend," I responded seriously. "They thought they could punish me for rejecting Charlie by taking away my closest friend. This isn't Kingston we're dealing with here. This is Manyweather. And he doesn't think like other people. He's a psychopath.

"The thing that really worries me - in addition to confirming my belief in Charlie's total betrayal - is that he wouldn't have known how close you and I were if she hadn't told him.

"My plan was to get Kingston out of the way before turning my attention to Manyweather. But as Mike Tyson reputedly said, "Everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the mouth". This is just the punch in the mouth I needed to transform me from being a peaceful carpenter to the merciless soldier I once was. Until tonight, I was trying to work with my conscience sitting on my shoulder. She's now been put in a box, replaced by the merciless man I once was.

"We've never really talked about what I did when I was in the Army because I'd hoped I had put it behind me. But the truth is that I was a long-range assassin. And Todd-fucking-Manyweather has just loosed the fourth apocalyptical horseman.

"I can't tell you the number of times I've heard the words coming through my headset, "That'll be Stoney. And he's riding a pale horse", immediately after I'd taken out a Taliban or ISIS leader from a thousand yards away.

"This mad wannabe Führer is about to learn what that means. But this time, I'll be looking him in the eye when I pull the trigger. Before it happens, though, he'll understand what the expression, '...and he rides a pale horse', really means."

"Or, '...and he drives a pearl-white Chrysler'," Brad said, quickly recovering from his shock and regaining his sense of humour.

"What can I do to help in this little war?"

"The best thing you can do is to get Lisa and yourself out of the firing line for a few days. It's almost Christmas, anyway, so no one is going to kick up a stink if you shut your office a few days early.

"I know it's getting a bit late to start planning anything too extensive, but three or four days in our... my cottage up in the Sunshine Coast hinterland would mean I wouldn't have to be worrying about you while this is being sorted out. That'd take a load off my mind and would allow me to focus on the job I have to do.

"And you're only a phone call away if I need to talk to you.

"What do you say?"

"I say you sometimes talk a lot of sense. I'm in," he answered.

It was just before two o'clock on Thursday morning when Prancer's text came in, telling me it was safe to retrieve Brad's car.

"To me when finished. Camp here. Lengthy discussions needed," the message continued. "Come thru back door. Txt when near."

After loading Brad into my car, I had a feel around under the car's right-hand rear wheel arch and came up with a fully-loaded 9mm Glock 17 fitted with a four-inch silencer. It had two spare magazines sitting on top.

I picked it up using my handkerchief and, after wrapping it, climbed into the driver's side of the Chrysler. I placed the pistol down beside my seat.

---oooBJSooo---

...Continues, Part Five.

Footnotes:

Brass Razoo is a term coined by Australian soldiers during WW1, referring to a non-existent coin of trivial - or no - value. Equivalent to an America Plug Nickel.

'Phooey' refers to the main character in Charlie Chaplin's 1941 film spoofing Adolf Hitler, The Great Dictator.