“Find anything, Babe?” Tommy asked, leaning over her shoulder, kissing her ear, cheek, then lips, as she looked around.
“A few,” she said between kisses. “How much do you want to spend?”
“The sky’s the limit. Your choice. Make it. I’ll be happy with what you decide.”
“Babe, I need a better car. I’d like to drive around and look at some of the houses. They don’t show much on these internet sites.”
“Let’s go buy you one then,” he replied. “What kind do you want?” he added, lifting her from the chair, wrapping her in his arms and hugging her tightly.
“You’d better stop if you’re really going to take me to buy a car,” she giggled, reaching down and rubbing his swelling groin.
“You’re right. I’ll spoil you first, then see what I get for a reward,” he teased, kissing her softly around her ear lobe, which he knew drove her crazy.
“Anything you want if you keep doing that,” she said, her passion rising.
“Let’s go then, so we can get back fast. I want to claim my prize,” he laughed, taking her hand and leading her to the door and out to his ‘02 Dodge Ram pickup.
As he backed out of the driveway, Austin Lake’s email arrived.
* * * * *
Cramer was dog tired and bone weary when he arrived at Dulles airport in D.C. He was ushered through customs and thirty minutes later was entering his hotel room and beginning to undress. After a hot shower he went to bed and slept like a rock. He awakened exactly six hours later fully refreshed and rearing to go. He felt he could conquer the world given a good enough excuse and a big enough army, his own private joke. He decided he would start by calling some old friends at CIA headquarters and mend some bridges that had long since quit smoldering. He had neglected them for the past five years, when he didn’t need them. Now, he did, so it was time to suck butt and call in some markers.
He decided to start with Terri Ashton. She owed him a couple of big favors. He had, at her request, rid her of a very troubled and troubling admirer.
Time to pay up, Terri, he thought as he dialed the number for the CIA headquarters and his still active code number.
“Central Intelligence Agency, Bradley speaking. How may I help you?” the female voice asked calmly.
“Terri Ashton, Anti-Terrorism. Niles Cramer calling.”
“One moment please, while I connect you, sir,” she replied, then was gone and elevator music took over babysitting duties for a moment.
“Ashton, Cramer, you son-of-a-bitch! Where have you been?” Terri asked, as she came on the line.
“Out and about, Terri. What’s cooking?” he replied, smiling, knowing he was in like Flint, if he wanted to be.
“Chasing the bad guys, getting chased by the good ones and getting caught by the fast ones,” she laughed at her joke.
“You lucky girl!” he said. “Listen, Babe. I need a favor.”
“Same ol’ Cramer, I see,” she laughed jokingly. “What is it this time?” she laughed again, knowing Cramer had never asked a favor of her, ever. She had been the seeker of favors; on several occasions. And Cramer had always come through for her.
“I need to locate an old friend. I knew him in Iraq and have since lost contact with him. He came back to the states with a bullet in his chest.”
“What’s his name?”
“Tommy LeSade, Captain, Army Ranger slash sniper.”
“Let me see,” she mused as she typed. “LeSade, Tommy. Army. Special Forces. Ranger-sniper. Iraq. WIA. 2003. Correct?”
“Yeah, that’s the scoop.”
“Okay, we’re in business. And it’s thriving. I have a Thomas Adam LeSade, 406 West Cherokee, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. There is no Tommy. I also have a Tom Clark LeSade, 123 Belmont, Richmond, Virginia...”
“Can you just fax me the list? I’ll call until I find the right one.”
“That would make it easier. What’s your number?”
He gave her the number to his PC.
“Okay, here it comes.”
“Thanks Terri. You’re a doll.”
“No problem,” she assured him. “Listen, if you’re in town, why don’t we get together later this evening?”
“No can do, darlin’ I’ve got to find LeSade. Maybe some other time,” he suggested, knowing he didn’t need to be bound, gagged, blindfolded and spanked pink while she devoured him, tonight. Even though she was very good at it. He knew from past experience. He was almost tempted, but no, LeSade and getting his money back were more important.
“Well okay, then,” she said, disappointment obvious in her tone. “But, call me soon, promise?”
“Promise,” he said. “See you later. Thanks again, Terri.”
“Anytime, Niles. Call me.”
“I will. See ya later.”
“Okay,” she replied and broke the connection.
Cramer put the phone down and picked up the fax. There were ten Tommy LeSades on the list, or variations of the name Tommy. This would be simple, he thought, as he picked up the phone and began dialing the first number.
He stopped suddenly and hung the phone up. Bad idea! he thought. They were far from ‘old friends’ and if LeSade knew he was coming for him he could prepare. A prepared enemy was a bad enemy. It was better to sneak up on him. Cramer smiled and began to pack.
* * * * *
Lisa chose a light blue Infinity after three hours of looking around several dealerships in Tulsa. Tommy told the salesman that if he could have the light blue one ready to drive in one hour, as well as a dark blue one, they would pay cash for both of them and pick up the dark blue one tomorrow evening, the salesman assured him he could have them both ready in an hour. Tommy told him he would need to leave his truck there overnight and was assured it wouldn’t be a problem.
One hour later Lisa drove them off the dealership property. Their first stop was a large ten-bedroom mansion on the south side of Tulsa. It looked like a three-story box. They passed.
“Why don’t we just have a house built the way you want it?” Tommy asked as they drove toward the next house on Lisa’s list.
“Really?” she asked in disbelief.
“Sure, why not?” he replied. “Then, you can have everything you want, just the way you want it. Plus, we can buy as much land as we want, to do whatever we want to do.”
“I always wanted to raise horses,” she said longingly. “They are so beautiful and graceful; like poetry in motion, set to music.”
“Ah! A lass after me own Irish heart,” he said in an Irish brogue. “So, let’s look for land! Where? Lake, ocean, desert, island? Your choice.”
“No lakes. No oceans. No deserts. No isles. What I want me fair haired lad, is trees. Millions of trees. Trees for miles and miles!”
“Here in Oklahoma?” he asked.
‘There’s no place in the world like it. So, I couldn’t live anywhere else,” she said turning serious.
“You’re the boss. My wish is your command!”
“You got that backwards, buster!” she laughed, seeing he was turning red.
“Just a little,” he agreed joining her laughter. “You know what I mean,
“Yeah,” she laughed. “How much land we talking?”
“I don’t know. How much does it take to raise horses?”
“Let’s ask the professionals. Know any?”
“I know a few around Tahlequah. They’d know what an ideal spread would be.”
“Well, back to Tahlequah then. Right?”
“Right.”
* * * * *
The drive home was filled with talk of houses, land, horses, what breed, how many, where, schools, shopping and a myriad other subjects that revolved around one thing, family.
Lisa and Tommy were so comfortable in each other’s company; it seemed they had been married for years. They seemed to see eye to eye on everything, as if they were a match made in heaven.
At home, one of the
first things Tommy noticed when he entered was that he had an email from Colonel Lake. He read it, and then answered it with his sincerest apologies for not staying in contact over the past several months.
Austin had been good to him since the AWOL charges had been dismissed. Lake blamed General Hawk for the mix up and still held a vicious grudge. They had no idea that the General was in fact dead in California and lying in the Malibu morgue. Tommy was glad the grudge was against the general and not him.
In his answer he didn’t mention his time in prison for several reasons; one, the records no longer existed. Two, it was all part of the ultimate plan to launch the Mistri Virus and three, Austin Lake had no need to know.
Instead, he told the Colonel about Lisa and their plans for their future horse ranch in Northeastern Oklahoma. He invited the Colonel and his wife to come visit anytime. Their door would always be open and their hearth warm and welcoming.
He closed the email with best wishes and sent it speeding on its way to Austin in Austin; both the man and the city. He thought how strange it would be to be named after the city in which you were born. He laughed. He didn’t think Sapulpa LeSade sounded very good.
“What are you sniggering about?” Lisa asked, looking up from the small local paper she was reading.
After Tommy explained, she agreed that Sapulpa was not a very endearing first name. But, it started a discussion about first names for both boys and girls.
“Lisa,” he said seriously, coming over and kneeling beside the sofa she was seated on and taking her hand in his. He looked up and into her eyes and said, “Since we are going to be together for the rest of our lives, why don’t we get married and make it honorable, and legal?”
“Are you serious?” she responded, big eyed and her fingers over her mouth, which was agape in awe as her eyes became watery.
“Yes, of course. I love you. What better rea...” before he could finish, she was off the sofa and in his arms, hugging him tightly and smothering his face with kisses.
“Is this a yes?” he asked between smooches.
“Yes! Oh, god, yes!” she sobbed beginning to weep. “I love you so very much, Tommy LeSade!”
* * * * *
Terri Ashton couldn’t believe her luck! After Cramer had called she decided to do a little checking on her own. Cramer, from what she remembered, was not the type to pay cordial visits to anyone! Much less ‘old friends’!
He had no ‘friends’ that she could remember, unless there was something in it for him. And the fact that he had called with that line about paying a surprise visit on an ‘old friend’ told her only one thing; Cramer was up to something secret! And she was going to find out what it was and cut herself a slice of the pie.
So, being the spy she was, she placed tracers on all of the LeSades on her list and monitored all of their telephone and computer transmissions going to, or coming from, each address.
When she intercepted an email from Colonel Austin Lake in Austin, to Tommy LeSade in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, she ran a check on the Colonel.
That was where she had been lucky. Colonel Austin Lake had served in Iraq as Commander of an elite Ranger battalion. Captain Tommy LeSade, a CMH awardee had served under him as a sniper. That is when Terri Ashton had dominoed! She put two and two together and come up with a nice new shiny four.
After some more checking and digging, she had learned that the captain had been reported missing/AWOL for twenty four hours and had been temporarily assigned to a CIA operative named Miles Cramer. Shortly after that Cramer had gone missing and the Captain had returned from his unexplainable absence. It was curiously strange to her and beyond coincidence.
Terri contacted a very close friend, Sandy Borne, in the FBI. She explained her suspicions about Cramer and her friend agreed to call another friend in the Tulsa, in the Oklahoma FBI office and ask him to drive over to Tahlequah and have a talk with Tommy LeSade to find out if there was a connection and a long lost friendship.
What was really strange and out of character for Terri was that she was not normally a suspicious person. But, Cramer’s unexpected and out of character call had set off alarms in her brain that she was not aware were there.
She was promised that if there was anything going on they would provide surveillance on LeSade. If Cramer showed up they would watch the two of them and find out what was really going on. Or, what the two were up to. And, best of all, if there was a bust, she would get the credit for the connection between LeSade and Cramer.
After she had hung up, she thought maybe she should have asked for surveillance on Lake as well. She quickly called back and made arrangements with the Austin, Texas office.
She felt she was in a win-win situation. If there was nothing there, she would get credit for being diligent in her job performance. If there was something in the works, she would get the credit for spotting the connection.
Win-Win! She smiled.
* * * * *
Colonel Lake read Tommy’s email with pleasure. He knew Tommy was alright, in love and as happy as a clam in wet mud. Plus, the idea for the horse ranch intrigued him to no end. He had been raised on a horse ranch in southwest Texas. He considered himself a professional when it came to good horseflesh.
He emailed Tommy and told him about life on the ranch. He also mentioned his credentials as such.
Later that evening he discussed it with his wife, Linda. She agreed that if an invitation was forthcoming he should go. If for nothing else, just to get out of the house and become active in something that held his interest. After all, she reasoned, there were jobs for registered nurses in Oklahoma. And probably in Tahlequah, in fact.
Tommy had mentioned in the past that Tahlequah had two hospitals. One was the county hospital for Cherokee County and the other was the Cherokee Indian hospital for the local Cherokee Indian population. Tahlequah was the tribal headquarters for the Southern Nation.
It would be nice to live on a ranch again, Lake thought, as he lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t sleep. He had spent the day napping off and on like a big pond bull frog. Now, he was paying the price for his laziness.
Linda had gone to work, where she spent most of her time. And like him, old habits were hard to break.
* * * * *
Cramer knew he couldn’t telephone any of the LeSades on his list. If one of them was the Tommy LeSade he was searching for, he would be alerting him that he was being sought by an old enemy. He would then be on his guard every second of every day and night.
Cramer’s intent was not to kill Tommy. Well, at least until he got his money back, anyway. Then all bets were off; Tommy LeSade was a dead man. The difference this time was that he would make doubly sure LeSade was dead. He had decided to go to every address on the list and visibly check each face and hope he could recognize LeSade after nearly six years.
He should be able to, he thought. Most people didn’t change that much in such a short length of time. They may gain weight, lose weight, change their hair style, grow a beard, or any number of other things, but they very seldom changed their face unless they were trying to hide from someone.
Tommy thought he would be a suspect if he had actually taken the money. If he didn’t, why disguise himself. If he did, then he was smart enough to know that Cramer would have to come to him face to face. Then, force him to give back the money.
The question was, how could he force LeSade to return the money short of killing him. If he killed him first, how would he get the money back? It was a Catch-22.
Leverage was the key. But what could he use for leverage? Unless LeSade had loved ones he was willing to protect for any amount of money. If he didn’t, no amount of leverage would be enough - he would have to resort to torture.
He really didn’t like torture. A man was willing to say anything when the pain became unbearable. How was the torturer to know when he had learned the truth? Besides, torture was chancy. Too much, the victim died or
went nuts. Too little, and the victim didn’t talk. It was a balancing act that he had no patience for. When the victim was a loved one on the other hand, the subject was more than willing to talk a blue streak and deliver the goods as quickly as possible.
Maybe he could use drugs, he thought, as he sped down the highway to the first address on his list. Maybe thiopental sodium (sodium Pentothal). Truth serum. Or maybe even nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Maybe even heroin or some other opiate. Get him hooked and strung out and he would talk for a ‘fix’. He’d do anything to get the dragon off his back. Even kill. He would give him the money in a heartbeat if Cramer could get him in a place where only he could supply what Tommy needed most of all.
Now that, Cramer thought, has possibilities. He would have to do a little searching. But, drug dealers were a dime a dozen in the inner city. What he needed should be easy to find, if he looked in the right place.
But, getting LeSade hooked would be a completely different story. Of course after the first shot he would be like putty to handle. But, how would he deliver the first shot? Maybe a tranquilizer gun, like they used on animals. He could shoot him, wait for him to nod, then take him anywhere he wanted to keep him until he was strung out like a picket fence.
Cramer’s mind zoomed through countless scenarios as he sped down the highway. His imagination traveled at the same speed as the Lincoln he was driving. He was happy and content to let it soar like an eagle. He knew what the final outcome would be. However he chose to do it, the end result would be the same. He would have his money back and Tommy LeSade would be dead!
* * * * *
Tommy lay on their bed, nude. Lisa sat beside him rubbing lotion onto his back. She was tempted to ask about the many knife scars, but had yet to build up the nerve to bring back all those bad memories. Tommy had never mentioned them or tried to explain them to her. So, she had left it alone, deciding that if and when he wanted her to know about his experiences in the war, he would tell her in his own time. Still, she wondered how he had gotten so many.
Tommy lay there thinking about the horse ranch. He had talked to three separate horse ranchers in the area and had learned a lot about what they considered a perfect set up would be. He also learned about a tract of land out near Lake Tenkiller. It was a little over four hundred acres. It had several spring fed creeks winding through it. One of which averaged three feet deep and had a gravel bottom. The water was crystal clear and ice cold.