Todd pushed himself away from the window as the pain eased. Victor had disappeared again, and Todd feared the organization holding him were taking out their frustrations on him.
“You okay there, Fella?”
Todd swung around in shock. Standing in front of him was the man he was looking for. “Louie?” He blinked, running a hand through his hair and then massaging the back of his neck. It took a moment to find the words to continue. “I thought you were dead.”
“Man, I told you I was a tough old bird. After you left the dock that night, I spotted a couple of guys in the shadows. When they started moving towards me, I recognized them as the ones that took those shots at you. I figured they weren’t going to just shake my hand and offer me a coffee when I saw the guns. I couldn’t get past them, so I did the next best thing. I just dove into the river and swam down. Gotta tell you, them bullets came awful close, but this old vet was too smart for them. They didn’t know I still had your vest.” Louie walked farther into the room and looked around. “So it’s true. You really are Todd Manning.”
Todd felt uneasy. After the revelations of the last few days, he wondered why Louie had suddenly reappeared. “Where did you go after that? I gave you the gun to turn into John McBain. Why didn’t you do it?”
Louie looked at Todd for a moment. “Oh, that. You see after I knew those guys had given up, I swam to the dock. I was having trouble climbing back up when a hand came towards me. Startled I dropped back into the water. A guy was kneeling at the edge looking down at me. He offered to help me out. I was hesitant, but he claimed he was with the CIA. He even showed me his credentials and said he had seen what went down. He said he could get me some protection.” He moved over to the window and stared out as if curious to see the view.
Todd studied Louie, he looked like he was in pretty good shape, but Todd found himself edging away, as Louie approached the window. Everything was happening too fast. He had anticipated trouble finding the man and instead the guy was right beside him. “You just let him help you. What if he had pulled out another gun?”
Louie shrugged.“I wasn’t worried. If he made any move to hurt me, all I had to do was pull him in the water with me. I had to do it several times back in Nam, it’s surprising how water can be an equalizer. Anyway like I was saying, he helped me out. I told him I had planned to leave town after I turned in your gun and he said he could arrange everything. He would see that the gun got turned in, and I wasn’t to worry. I figured what the heck, a trip courtesy of the government, one in which I didn’t have to do any fighting, why not take him up on the offer. I let him have the gun, and he got me out of town for a while....” His voice trailed off as he watched Todd move to his desk.
Todd wasn’t sure what to feel at that moment. Louie was standing in the room as big as life, talking about some CIA guy. Was this Louie the one Victor had overheard? Could he be part of Victor’s kidnapping? Todd poured himself a glass of scotch to steady himself, rubbing his side absentmindedly. “So you just left and gave the gun to someone else. What made you trust this guy? I mean, you said someone had just tried to kill you. What did this other guy look like?” He turned and stared at Louie. He had trusted the guy because he had saved his life. Had his instincts gotten so rusty? “My brother died that night. That gun is proof I had nothing to do with his death. The man you gave it to can help me.”
Louie looked at the man standing in front of him. There were dark circles under the eyes indicating he hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep. He had noted the pain that had flashed across his face when he had spoken about his brother. This man is not a cold-blooded killer. You’re a fool, old man. They fed you lies. You can fix this and stop them. You made the right decision to come here. Louie removed his hat and clutched it in his hand. “Look, I’m sorry. He said it was a question of National Security and that you were as dangerous as the men who tried to kill me. I remembered how you initially reacted when I called out to you that night in the rain. You swung and pointed that gun at me like a professional. Then you seemed confused. When I heard about your brother, I couldn’t help wondering.”
“So that‘s why you’re here. To ask me if I killed my brother. Go ahead, you won’t be the first. You’re right, I was confused that night. I hated my brother because of what he had taken from me. But I can tell you with certainty that I didn’t kill him. Please, tell me about the man, There’s so much going on that I can’t explain right now, but I need to know who took that gun.”
Louie looked at Todd for another moment and then turned and stared back out the window. “I don’t know? I....”
Todd was frustrated. “What’s the matter? Why are you here? Answer me.”
Straightening his shoulders, and taking a deep breath, Louie turned back around and faced Todd. “I came here today to help you. It’s tough, I’ve always prided myself on being loyal to my country. They fooled me. I really thought they had turned the gun in. I found out yesterday that they hadn’t. The man who took your gun was Tomas Delgado. After helping me out of the water, he took me to his superior and then left. I haven’t seen him since.”
“I knew it. The son of a bitch has been trying to railroad me for something he did. I have to ask. You said you came to help me. You didn’t mean, to give me Tomas’ name, did you?”
Louie moved to join Todd at the desk. He glanced at the decanter sitting on the desk. He licked his lips. “That looks like something that could warm these old bones of mine up. I need something right now stiffer than coffee. I ain’t never betrayed my country and I can’t help wondering if I might be getting ready to do just that. What I’m about to tell you is going to change your day. It’s already changed mine.”
Todd poured a second drink and handed it to Louie and gestured for him to take a seat. “You have no idea how much mine has changed already. What I have to tell you is even more fantastic than the story I told you when we met. But let’s hear your tale first.” He took a sip of his own drink and walked to the other side of his desk and sat down waiting for his friend to start talking. Judging by what Louie had just revealed, Todd was now certain his friend was the one Victor had overheard. It was imperative to hear Louie out and then get his help contacting the ones who held his brother.
****
Blair paced her living room. Todd had dropped her off to get some more sleep but she was too wired. She didn’t like Todd’s plan, but she had been unable to talk him out of it and he refused to let her go with him. She walked over to the pile of photo albums, her thoughts going back to the night Todd had looked at them. He had been so angry that night. Everywhere he turned there were signs of his brother’s role in their lives. She had tried to keep him calm, but his anger had gotten the better of him and he had decided to go after Victor. That was when she made her mistake. “Great move Blair, you had to show him the gun, then you didn’t even put it away properly. Look what happened. Stupid.”
Now Todd was getting ready to go against Calmar and Tomas and whoever they were involved with. He refused to get Bo involved, and she couldn’t really blame him. Bo felt Todd was the villain all the time and never really gave him a break. Blair felt a chill come over her, something bad was about to happen, and she prayed Todd was okay. Blair poured herself some water and tried to calm down, the rest of the family would be waking up soon. They had no idea what had transpired the night before, and she didn’t know how she was going to break it to Sam and Jack, that Victor was still alive.
The doorbell rang, and Blair jumped, dropped the glass of water, and watched it shatter at her feet. She jumped back to avoid the water and glass. “Damn! Get a hold of yourself, Blair!” She looked at the mess, it would have to wait, the constant ringing of the doorbell took whatever patience she had left. “Alright, I’m coming. Hold your horses, there are people sleeping here.” Blair opened the door and saw a uniformed officer standing in front of her.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Blair Cramer.” Said the officer.
“That’s me. What can I do for you? Blair looked him up and down there was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t place it.
“The commissioner sent me to get you. He said there were a few more questions about last night he needed to go over.”
“Oh, okay, but we need to make this quick, I should be here when my sons get up.” She grabbed her purse off the foyer table, and the officer stood aside to let her pass. “I don’t understand what more I can tell him, that he doesn’t already know...” She paused as she saw the car they were headed for and noted it wasn’t a patrol car. She stopped beside the car and slowly reached into her purse. “You didn’t tell me your name. It’s Officer...?’
“Fish, Mam, Oliver Fish.”
“Liar!” she swung around spraying her can of mace in the direction of the officer’s eyes. Some of it caught him in the face, causing him to react in pain, and she used the distraction to try and run back to the house. She just got the door opened when he caught her from behind. Blair tried to scream, but he clamped his hand over her mouth.
His breath was labored as he was still in pain, then he whispered in her ear. “That wasn’t very nice. I had hoped to do this without hurting you, but you give me no choice.” He slammed her head against the door.
Blair was stunned and could feel herself losing consciousness as he swept her up in his arms and carried her back toward his car. She looked blearily up at his face and then realized where she had seen him. He was the security guard she had seen through the rain. “I know yo..,” she was unable to finish as darkness swallowed her.
****
Louie finished his story. “So you see, I knew something wasn’t right. I found out Calmar was holding someone. They said it was 'need to know', but I didn’t like it. I think it’s in connection with your brother. After finding out they still had your gun, I figured maybe there was more to your brother’s death, and I thought you might want to know that.”
“Oh, there’s definitely more to it. That man, you said they’re holding, is my brother. He’s not dead.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I got proof last night. They staged the whole death, and they’ve been doing everything to make me look guilty for it. They have some reason for hanging on to my brother, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with the same thing the organization held me for. That “it” item I told you about.”
“Man, you’re kidding me. I knew something was wrong. What are you going to do? These guys have some powerful connections. I was leery of crossing them, but I felt you should have a heads up.”
“I need your help. Can you take me to this place where they’re holding my brother? I want to try and deal with these guys.”
“You think that’s wise. These guys want you in jail from the sounds of it. What can you bargain with? You told me you had no idea what they wanted when I pulled you from the river. Whatever it is, is pretty important to them.”
“I know what it is now. My mother told me before she died. It’s a microchip. Something on it was very important to her, and I’m guessing she held onto it because it gave her power over the guys you know. I’m going to offer them the chip for my brother.”
Louie looked hard at Todd. “You mean you have this chip everyone is looking for?”
Todd started to say yes and thought better of it. “Well no, but they don’t know that. All I want is my brother free. I told my mother she was at fault. All her drugs and manipulations wiped the memory from my brain. I have no idea where the damn chip is, but I do know neither does Victor. According to my mother, I’m the one who took it from her, so Victor is innocent in this. He doesn’t know anything except what my mother told him.”
“How can you bargain then?”
“I think I can make them believe my memory has returned, and I found the chip. I’ll promise to not give them up to the authorities. I just want my brother free, and I want to get on with my life. Let them have their conspiracies.”
“Let me get this straight, you’re going to bargain with a bogus chip. Why will they believe you?”
“I’m going to bluff them. I don’t have the chip, but I think what I found last night might have something to do with the chip. I’m going to talk about it and hopefully, they’ll think I have the real thing. Louie, what choice do I have? If I don’t do something soon they might kill my brother for real and then you watch, that gun will surface for sure.”
Before Todd could say anything else his phone rang. He looked at it and saw Blair was calling. “Hello. Hey, I thought I told you to get some sleep.”
“Oh she’s asleep Manning, and you’ll do as I tell you, or I’ll make sure she never wakes up,” said Blair’s attacker.
Todd felt cold. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
“Listen, don’t bother with the threats. If you want her back alive, you’ll go to the commissioner and confess to the murder of your brother and say you staged the fake body to hide your crime. Once Tomas is released and you’re in custody, then Ms. Cramer will be sent home. If you don’t want to leave those boys without a mother, I suggest you follow my instructions.”
Louie piped in. He knew from the conversation that Todd’s woman was in trouble. “Whatever he’s asking you to do, don’t!” he whispered. “They’ll never let her go. After what I’ve found out in the last couple of days, I know these guys are ruthless. Tell them your bargain. Make them take it!”
Todd straightened his shoulders. “No, you listen to my terms instead. I have what you’ve been searching for, and I know what it contains. You’re going to release my brother and Blair Cramer to me, or I’m going to make sure that the whole world knows what your little organization has been up to. By the time I’m finished there won’t be a place any of you can hide on this planet. Tell your boss my conditions, and if you make any attempt to harm me before we can make the exchange, you should know the information is already set to be leaked to the world and only I know the password to stop it.” There was silence on the other end, and Todd held his breath waiting for an answer.
Suddenly another voice spoke to him. “ Monsieur Manning, I believe we can come to a mutual understanding. What proof do I have, that you have what we’ve been looking for.”
Todd took a deep breath and rattled off a serial number and waited.
“I see. Yes, it appears you have us over a barrel as they say. Very well. I’m willing to make the exchange, but how do I know you won’t release the information anyway if I give you your brother and Ms. Cramer.”
“You don’t, but if you kill them, it definitely will get released. I guess you’ll have to take my word that I won’t give it to the world as long as my brother and Blair Cramer come back to me unharmed any further. What do you say, Calmar, do we have a deal?”
“Hmm. Yes, Mr. Manning, we have a deal.”
“One more thing, Calmar. You make no attempt to free Tomas Delgado. He takes the fall for all of this. Do we understand each other?”
“But of course, Mr. Manning. Such is the life of an operative. One is always expendable. As to the exchange, in light of this new development, I think it should take place somewhere wide open. I dislike having authorities messing up the works. Shall we say the end of the runway at the Pine Valley airport? I’m already picking up another parcel there. If you cross me. You’ll get back your parcels quite dead. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, don’t worry, I’m not very fond of the authorities anyway. The sooner this exchange is made, the sooner my life can get back to normal.”
“Excellent. I shall meet you there in two and a half hours. Don’t be late.” Calmar hung up.
Todd turned to Louie. “They accepted my offer. I need you to do me a favor. I need you to go to the police station and give John whatever information you have on the organization and where it’s located. Do not say anything about this exchange.”
Louie looked at Todd suspiciously. “But you don’t have anything to give them, or do you? Where did you get that number you rattled off?”
“I lied Louie, I do have what they want. I wasn’t going to give it to them, but they’ll kill both Victor and Blair now. I don’t have a choice. I took it long ago to protect my family from my mother and her organization, but this is bigger than I realized. I lost eight years of my life, I’m not losing Blair all over again.”
“Todd, you can’t do it. I heard you tell them they wouldn’t be able to hide anywhere in the world. Whatever is on that thing must be pretty important, the government should have it.”
“Don’t you get it, Louie? The government already has it. They’re just trying to shut down the leak. As far as I’m concerned this will shut it and take me off their radar. Look, you wanted to help, go send the police after the bad guys. They’ll get whoever is at the compound right now, and I’ll have time to rescue my family. Will you do that for me?”
Todd waited as Louie debated with his conscience. If he had read the man right, Louie would help.
“I’ll do it, Todd. If what you say is true, then we’re just shutting off a leak and netting some government people who have stepped outside the law. You go get your family. I’ll go see Detective McBain.”
Todd put out his hand. “Thank you, Louie, I already owed you my life. Now I owe you for helping me save two more lives. If you still want to go to Arizona or New Mexico and start over where it's warm. I’ve got you covered.”
Louie smiled his generous smile and shook Todd’s hand. “I think I’ll do just that when this is all over. See you soon, Fella. You be careful, now.”
“Oh, I will be. Remember, I’m a survivor.”
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