We'll Always Have Paris Ch. 02

Then the trainees went through their graduation. At the end, I got to see something that the American military, as great as it is, just does not have: two thousand years of heritage. Those wooden Hebrew letters were set on fire, and the flaming words were burned upon all our souls:

"Massada shall not fall again."

Huge bucket list item crossed off. One of the few left: to walk my daughters down the aisle at their weddings...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Back at Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), we prepared to board our El Al flight back to America, with a stopover in The Netherlands. After saying our goodbyes to General Golan, with our thanks, it was time to say goodbye to my sister Elizabeth.

"You're not the only Paratrooper in the family anymore." she quipped. "Our father would be mortified."

"True." I said with a smile. "By the way, there's one other thing: in ancient Japan, extended samurai families had similar icons representing their clans, maybe the same symbol but in different colors."

I took out a small box from my pocket and opened it. Inside was a pendant on a necklace of silver. The pendant was a circle. Six blue diamonds radiated from a central point against a white background, with a blue circle around the edges. It was the icon of Clan Troy, but in the colors of the State if Israel.

I put the necklace around Elizabeth's neck and clasped it. For a rare change, my sister was speechless. She just turned and hugged me, and I hugged her back. Then I followed Laura out onto the tarmac to board the plane, knowing that this might have been the last time I ever saw my sister... though I had a sneaking suspicion that it would not be...

Part 8 - Home Spying

Thursday, September 6th. Teresa and Cindy were on the deck of the Cop Bar, sharing a pitcher of beer and feasting on beef nachos.

"Callie called, and said she'd be here in a few minutes." Cindy said.

"She better hurry." Teresa said. "I am starving, and I just might eat all of these nachos before she gets here."

"No worries, we can order more." Cindy replied. "So, long day at the office?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." said Teresa. "But there's a certain... urgency... in the Precincts. They're cleaning up, getting the Patrol cruisers in tip-top shape, and so on. If I didn't know better, I'd think Don called them and said he'd inspect them when he got back, and the winner would get some prize."

"I dunno," said Cindy, "they left so quickly..." She broke it off, realizing she'd said too much.

And Teresa did catch it. "It's not a vacation, is it?" she asked.

"Well, it is." Cindy said. "They flew to Paris, as in Paris France. But they're going to be doing some things while they're there."

Teresa peered at Cindy. "You know... Todd said he'd gotten word they were in Israel."

"Israel?!" Cindy replied. "Uh, I hadn't heard that one." She went into a reverie.

Coming out of it, she decided to change the subject. "So how's the new house coming? I know they broke ground up there."

"Yes, yes they did." replied Teresa. "And, wouldn't you know it, they blocked the road just as Don was coming out of the driveway in his Police SUV. And then, they started giving him some flak. Fortunately George, the contractor, got there and prevented a disaster."

Just then, Callie came up. "Hi guys." she said as she sat down next to Cindy. "Sorry I'm late."

"That's okay." said Cindy. "I'm happy you're here." Callie gave Cindy a loving smile.

"So, what have you been doing while Laura is on... vacation?" Teresa asked. The deliberate pause was noticed by the lovely blonde, who grinned.

"Dreaming." Callie responded, then flashed her beautiful smile again as she said "I wish Cindy would take me to Paris for a weekend."

"Eventually, my dear." said Cindy. "Eventually."

"To answer your question, Teresa," Callie said as Cindy poured her some beer, "I've been doing some research. 'Company' research, if you get my drift. I'm trying to find a thread on the whereabouts of Jack Lewis and Richard Ferrell."

"For Don?" asked Teresa.

"Yes, but more for Laura." replied Callie. "Don thinks that whoever tried to get Laura's medical license suspended and revoked was doing it to attack her, not him through her. She thinks that Lewis and Ferrell may have been behind it from their currently 'undisclosed locations'... or that they're in league with someone who was behind it."

"Ferrell has often been 'in league' with people, to do nasty things." said Cindy, making air quotes at the words 'in league'. "But why would either he or Lewis want to attack Laura, except to get at Don?"

"I don't know." said Callie. "What I do know is that Ferrell has been on the run for a while, so he's gotten pretty good at hiding. Lewis did not show up to teach his classes at Eastern State, so they're in the process of firing him for cause. They have no idea where he went to. His home has not been visited since he disappeared. His bank account, and he only has one that we know of, has not been withdrawn from. He left his car at his home. It's hard to believe in this day and age of the Government having access to huge amounts of information about every person in the country that someone could disappear so completely. Yet he and Ferrell both have."

"They have to have cash." said Cindy. "They have to buy food, they have to have a place to stay, even if it's a vehicle, and in that case they have to have gas money. And on top of all that, Ferrell is wheelchair-bound."

"Logically," said Teresa, "there are only three possibilities: one: Lewis had a bolt hole to run to, and transportation arranged to get there, stocked with food and maybe cash Two: someone is hiding them. And three: they're dead."

"Who would kill them, and why?" asked Cindy.

"Someone who'd been supporting them, and can be exposed by them if we ever catch them." replied Teresa. "And one reason why is because they are no longer useful to that benefactor."

"I can't see Ferrell being useful to anyone, except as a doorstop." Cindy said. "And Lewis... ohhhh, wait a minute..."

"Reverie time." said Teresa. "Runs in the family." She put some more nachos on her plate while she waited.

"Didn't..." Cindy started, then finished with a rush: "Didn't Katherine Woodburn want to revive a 'strong' SBI, with Jack Lewis as Director of it?"

"Yes, that's true." said Teresa.

"And that's been pretty much shot to hell, so Lewis has no value left for Katherine." Cindy said.

"Again, true." said Teresa. "So where did she bury the bodies?"

"I don't know," said Callie, "but it might be worth glancing into her and her activities."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Ah, there you are." said Maggie Ross as Callie and Cindy arrived back at The Cabin. "We've already had some supper, but there's leftovers in the fridge."

"I ate more than I realized at the Cop Bar." Cindy said.

"I didn't, so I'll get something." said Callie. "Did Carole leave me any stringbeans?"

"We didn't make any." said Phyllis, Don's mother. "Though Jim has begun figuring it out, and asks us to make them. He better be careful; Carole can plot revenge with the best of them."

Cindy shook her head. "And with her lineage... that girl is going to drive her dad crazy when she's a teenager."

"What makes you think she's going to wait until she's a teenager?" asked Phyllis.

"Hey Aunt Cin-dee!" came Carole's voice as she bounded down the stairs, followed by that most legendary of dogs, the redoubtable Bowser.

"Hey Carole!" Cindy said. She picked Carole up and gave her a big hug. "How was your day?"

"It was o-kay." said Carole. "But Jim tried to get Grandma to cook stringbeans. I'm gonna beat him up if he tries that again!"

"I don't think your mom and dad would appreciate it if you did that." said Cindy. "And we can always give your stringbeans to Bowser."

"Daddy said he would arrr-rest me and Bowser for desss-stroying ev-i-dence if I did that." Carole replied.

"I think he was teasing you about that." said Cindy. "Okay, why don't we go take the dogs out."

"It's Carole's bedtime." said Phyllis. "Why don't you and Callie take the dogs out, while we get Carole and her brothers ready for bed..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The dogs tore off and ran down their hillside trail as Cindy and Callie found seats in Don's metal mesh loveseat, pressing their hips together 'suggestively'.

"I see why Laura says she likes sitting in this chair with Don." Cindy said. "Nice and cozy."

"Yes, it is." said Callie. "Listen, there's some more more stuff I was going to tell you, and I didn't know if it was okay to say it in front of Teresa."

"It probably was, but go ahead." said Cindy.

Callie lowered her voice and said "I did look into Katherine Woodburn. I don't think she's the one. Laura said that Don's theory was that Katherine wanted to use Jack Lewis to rebuild his old SBI 'empire', for lack of a better term, and then she'd find a way to kick him to the kerb and install her own lackey as SBI Director. Laura and Don also think Lewis and Ferrell are both still alive, and that Lewis knows as well as anyone that Katherine would want to bump him off."

"So has Katherine given up her dream of an all-powerful SBI?" Cindy asked.

"I dare say she has not." said a voice behind them. They whirled to see Phyllis coming out, after having let the dogs back inside.

"I am so sorry to have intruded upon your conversation," said Phyllis, as she sat down in the chair to Callie's left, "but I am as worried about my son as you are."

"Of course... Widow Jones." Cindy said, teasing Phyllis. "So what are Woodburn's motives?"

"Oh, I would think they're the same as Captain Malone's were, but on a State level." said Phyllis. "Captain Malone used the Police Force as his 'enforcers' for drug trafficking in the County. Ms. Woodburn would love to have control of the SBI to do that, and probably a great many more things."

"Trying to make herself the next Westboro?" asked Cindy. "He was using the prison guards and the ex-cons as his source of 'muscle'. Is that Katherine's long-term plan?"

"Why, that's a very interesting idea, worthy of great thought." Phyllis replied. "As to that man Lewis, I would think he's keeping as much distance as possible from those odious men Ferrell and Ikea, don't you think?"

"I dunno, Phyllis." said Cindy. "I'm not sure Ikea is in league with them. He didn't go on the run when they did. At the least, he has to maintain plausible deniability. It's more likely he doesn't want to know where they are, just in case Don goes looking for him."

"Or if Laura and the Company come for him." replied Callie. "Not that 'not knowing' will save him from enduring some pain."

"And we may infer from that," said Phyllis, "that Don well knows that Ikea has kept himself out of that loop. Well, I need to be making sure that the kids are settled in. Good night."

"Night." said Cindy as Phyllis got up and went back inside.

"What just happened, there?" asked Callie.

"We just got steered," said Cindy, "into the truth. But we do need to check out Ikea. I know that he still has a house here. He lived with his parents until they moved to Florida, then he bought the house so it's now his. It's one of the older houses in Town, fairly small, and not handicapped-accessible. Ikea stays in Westphalia, sleeps in his SBI Chaplain office much of the time, as well. Maybe we should 'drive by' his home, see if any lights are on."

"Good idea." said Callie. "And we should surveil Woodburn's home and office here, as well. But we got off track about her. I was going to tell you that I've been looking into SBI loyalists of Jack Lewis. Leon Mills has vanished, and he may be in Southport or in one of the other States that border ours to the south and west. Robert Gaston and Ikea have been interviewed by the FBI, and say they have no idea of Lewis's whereabouts. The FBI also conducted what they called a 'training exercise', and used that to dig into the phone records of almost every SBI Agent on the active or retired rolls."

"Great!" muttered Cindy. "So much for prosecuting anyone, if the defense lawyers find that out."

"True." said Callie. "But they have to find out. My point is that Lewis, and Ferrell for that matter, have not been found, and Lewis may be getting help from someone else... perhaps someone not at the State level."

"Federal?" Cindy asked. "CIA? Someone in Washington?"

"Could be." said Callie.

"But why would anyone in Washington give a flying shit about Jack Lewis?" Cindy asked. "He ain't that big a deal."

"He must be, to someone." Callie said. "Unless he's dead already."

Part 9 - The Journey Home

"So," said Laura as we relaxed in our seats, "was our mission successful?"

"I think so." I said. "Except for the one small part we were both hoping to see: who is behind the surveillance on you and the attempt to revoke your medical license."

We were in first class, and there was almost no one else in the section. The business class was pretty full, mostly of young people that looked like techies. Laura and I talked in whispers as we discussed things.

"Yes." said Laura. "I just don't know if the CIA Director was behind that or not. I tend to think it wasn't him, that someone else was behind it. I can tell you this: Vassily Kurchikov is a very minor Russian agent, according to General Golan and the Mossad, but he's a close friend of President Putin. His presence in Paris suggests that something was going on that was of interest to the very highest levels of the Russian Government. I'm sure other Russian agents were around, and we didn't see them."

"We saw one of them... well, someone working with Kurchikov." I said. "Elizabeth."

"They were working together?" Laura asked, seemingly surprised.

"Well," I said, "it occurs to me that back in the day, Henry R. Wargrave was funneling arms into the Middle East and Africa. He'd sell arms to anyone, including to both sides fighting against each other."

"Then he was taken down." I said. "Elizabeth filled some of the vacuum created there, but only to Israeli-friendly groups. That left others selling to the Islamists. Sergei Molotov was one of those that was selling arms to the Chechnyan Islamists, and that and other pipelines were taken over by someone else after I removed Molotov's head from his shoulders." (Author's note: 'Her Last Bow', Ch. 02.) "That someone is now working for or with the current CIA Director to continue to arm Islamists, so that the Islamists can murder the Jews that the CIA Director so deeply hates."

I went on: "I think Kurchikov and Elizabeth were trying to flush out the same person we were trying to find, for their respective Governments. Mr. Putin does not want Chechnyan and other Islamist terrorists killing Russians, and of course the Israelis want to stop the enemies of the Jewish State. The current CIA Director and his minions must've found out about it, and went after Kurchikov... maybe to get Elizabeth to show herself. Well, it worked. They just didn't count on Elizabeth's dear baby brother also being there to beat the shit out of them."

"I'm not Jack Muscone, so I won't bet against you on any of that." quipped Laura, who then said seriously: "General Golan said he believes they mistook Kurchikov for an Israeli agent, but I like your explanation better. He also says that relations between the CIA and Mossad are starting to deteriorate, and badly. Some think that if this keeps up, it could become an... existential problem for Israel. I don't know if I'd go that far, but it is a problem."

I nodded. "By the way, I do appreciate you arranging the parachute jump and the Massada visit for me."

"What makes you think that was me?" asked Laura, her eyes showing that I'd hit upon the truth.

"You are not married to an Agency of the Weak-Minded, you know." I replied.

"Neither are you." said Laura. "Lovely pendant that you just happened to have with you for your sister. And a nice blue crowbar, too, that you suggested she keep."

My grin matched hers. "So..." I said, "how pissed is the CIA Director going to be at us for this?"

"I'd say pretty pissed." said Laura. "But he can't do much about it. His opinion is not the majority opinion in Washington. And Senator Bill Nunn is about to go after him for some things."

"Still, Don," she said, her tone of voice connoting warning, "you need to stay back. Concentrate on finding Jack Lewis, and local and State crimes. Let the Deputy Director and me handle the filth at the Federal level."

Nice try, I thought to myself. But being a smart husband, I let my wife think she'd won. "Yes, dear. I yam what I yam, but I will try." I said, in a scintillating imitation of the legendary 'Popeye'.

Then I took her hand in mine and said, "And... no matter what else happens... we'll always have Paris."

Laura smiled her most beautiful smile as she squeezed my hand and pushed her shoulder into mine. "Yes.. we will always have Paris..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Nope, nothing." said Cindy as they passed by the house. Callie was driving her car while Cindy used binoculars to get a closer look. The house was Steven Ikea's, and the windows were pitch black dark. Infrared in the binoculars did not reveal any heat signatures. "I'm tempted to go into the backyard, see what I can see in the windows."

"You're a Police Commander in this jurisdiction, babe." said Callie. "You can have 24/7 surveillance if you want. But don't risk getting caught looking like a thief in the night."

"True." Cindy said. "Let's drive by Katherine Woodburn's place. It's in the Heritage Cloisters subdivision."

They drove to the subdivision. The front gatehouse did not appear to be manned. Cindy had Callie punch in the numbers that she knew was Todd and Teresa's code, and the gate opened. They drove through.

"No wonder Teresa wants to move out of here." Cindy said. "There's better security at my mother's condo complex."

They drove along the streets, going by Teresa and Todd's home, and seeing a light inside. Then they went by Katherine Woodburn's home/office complex. The windows were dark, though outside lights were on.

"She's in Midtown, for the Special Session of the Legislature." Cindy said. "When she's staying down there, her staff is either with her, or they're at their own homes for the night. Doesn't look like she has any guests."

They continued driving around the winding road to get to the front gate. "Not a single Security vehicle driving around." said Cindy. "I'm tempted as hell to have you start driving like a maniac, just to see if anyone notices."

Callie laughed, then became somber again as she said "Yeah, it's quiet... too quiet around here..."

Part 10 - Wings Over America

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette from in front of the State Office Building on the north side of Courthouse Square, at 7:00am Town & County time, Friday, September 7th. "Fox Two News has learned that progress is being made in the Special Session of the Legislature!"

"Political experts are surprised," started Bettina, "but sources tell Fox Two News that an ad hoc committee known as the 'Gang of Eight' are hammering out a deal that will set the guidelines for the election of a new Lieutenant Governor after the assassination of Graham Collins. The four Democrats and four Republicans are said to be putting together a package that is a compromise of the positions of the two political Parties."

"But it's not all joy in Midtown," continued Bettina, "as hardliners on both sides have dug in to oppose any compromise measures. State House Ways And Means Chairman Wilson Hammonds, believed by experts to be the most powerful Republican in the State, has said that he and the Republicans will not support anything but the Parties choosing the candidates at a convention. However, Grassroots Conservatives such as Johnny Perdue and Billy Williams say that Hammonds does not speak with the voice of all Republicans."