The Spirit Survives (24 page)

When I responded to his question, telling him my name, he looked temporarily stunned. He hesitated and in that instant the Russian dropped him with the butcher knife. As the Russian turned to face me, I delivered a side pivot kick to his groin. Normally, if I were healthy and at full strength, this blow would have kept a normal man down for a long time.

I wasn’t at full strength and this was not an ordinary man. He went to his knee but was up quickly. I swerved to the left and sent a straight right hand to his nose. I felt the bones crack as my knuckles connected solidly. With blood flowing from his broken nose, he kept coming. I tried another side pivot kick to the groin, but he grabbed my leg and hurled me to the ground. His raw strength astonished me. I rolled to my right, evading his foot as he attempted to crush my head with his heel. I was able to get to my feet, but he was instantly on me. As he grabbed me, I pointed my index and middle fingers and speared him in his left eye. I knew I had blinded that eye, but he kept the bear hug and threw me to the ground. His face looked grotesque with blood spilling out of his broken nose and his left eye bleeding and almost out of its socket. He pounced on me and I felt his huge hands closed around my throat. His anger had his adrenaline flowing at maximum levels as he attempted to squeeze the life out of me. I had nothing left in me to fight him. Things were going black and my life began to drain out of my body.
 

Then a gunshot brought me back to consciousness. I felt the Russian’s brains’ splatter on my face as he slumped forward. I gathered all the strength I had left in me and shoved him to the side and off my body. I pushed with my right hand and sat up. The man, with the knife still poking out of his chest, sat there with the smoking gun in his hand. I thought for a moment that he was going to kill me too. However, he dropped the gun and fell backward.
 

I got up and rushed to his side. I kicked the gun away sat down beside him. He eyes were open and he was breathing heavily He was trying to speak to me, but he had trouble shaping the words. He grunted and pointed to his back pocket. I think he wanted me to take his wallet from the pants. I carefully lifted him and pulled his wallet out and opened it. On the left side of the wallet was a picture holder revealing his driver’s license. I looked at it with astonishment. The name read, Francis Stephen Harris. He was my father. The man who had abandoned me and my mother and who had caused me nightmares over the years had just saved my life. I looked down into his eyes. “Oh Dad.”

He was still trying to talk, but the words came out as a whisper, I bent down and put my ear to his lips.
 

“I know I’ve let you down”, he said in a halting, whispering breath. “I’ve thought of you often but didn’t want to confuse your life by coming to see you. Please, forgive me, please.”
 

“I forgive you, Dad,” I whispered in his ear. He smiled and reached for my hand. He squeezed it.

 
“I’ve got to go get help for you,” I said.

“No need,” he whispered, “I’m done. I love you, son.”

I wept as I heard the last breath leave his body. I said, “I love you too, Dad,” but he didn’t hear me. I sat there holding his limp hand thinking of the relationship that a boy always wished to have with his father—that I never had.

He had forever redeemed himself by saving my life and sharing that one moment of love with me. As strange as it sounds, I will miss him.

Chapter 55

The Federal Bureau of Investigation contains a division that is responsible for the investigation of organized crime in the USA. Drug cartels and the various Mafia groups are the principal focus. Ahalya Verma Singh joined the FBI two years after obtaining her American Citizenship and had been a trusted agent for five years. Her Indian heritage and her uncommon beauty were extraordinary assets in her current assignment as an undercover agent inside La Cosa Nostra. She successfully penetrated the group and was used extensively by Mario Bastone, who was a principal in the largest Chicago Mafia family. The FBI was very familiar with Bastone, but the primary target was a man known only as the Benefactor. They were hoping that the relationship between Ahalya and Bastone would lead to the discovery of the identity of this kingpin. The Benefactor appeared to have a web of controls over the drug cartels and a strong connection with La Cosa Nostra. He had connections in law enforcement and a network of associates. However, no one knew his name.
 

Ahalya was a loyal agent and a loving daughter. All of her family, except an uncle, still lived in India. Her family was of modest means, and she sent money to them monthly. Even though her father was in the lower middle class, he was still heavily involved in regional politics. Mr. Singh fought tirelessly against corruption in his government. His opposition was so intense that soon he was considered an enemy of the state and arrested. Since he had very little money, he had no means to fight this unjust arrest. He required a team of the finest lawyers in India to assist him but that would cost thousands. His family was devastated and penniless when they turned to Ahalya for help.

There was only one way that she could come up with that kind of money, that path was to turn and become a double agent spying on the FBI for La Cosa Nostra. In her mind, there was no choice, her family came first.
 

Ahalya revealed her true identity to Bastone and cut a deal. She became his most valuable asset for obtaining inside information from the FBI. After this turn, Ahalya decided that she would do what she had to do regardless of what Bastone wanted her to do. She learned to use her beauty and sex to get whatever information Bastone required.

To keep her identity secret from the other members of La Cosa Nostra, she was only known as Macy. Her ultimate goal was to connect with the Benefactor through the Italian.

Macy sat alone, sipping her white wine, as she waited on Bastone at Grazie’s Italian Grill in Green Bay. She was a little pissed that he had selected an Italian restaurant, but she would make do. After a short wait, she saw Bastone enter. She beckoned to him and he proceeded to the table and sat down. The server immediately came to the table with a pair of menus. Bastone requested a Bourbon and water and began studying the menu. He had yet to greet Macy. The waiter returned with the bourbon and Bastone took a long pull. He handed Macy a thick envelope and she opened it and inspected the cash inside.
 

“Okay, what did you find out about the Fixer?” he inquired.

“His name is Francis Ford Harris. His current address is in Chicago. I ran an FBI check on him, and he is a minor felon. He only hit the big time in the crime scene in the last ten years, although the Bureau hasn’t been able to pin anything on him. It’s believed that he does exclusive work for the drug kingpin known only as the Benefactor. He has one son from a prior marriage, and from here it gets interesting, the son’s name is Ben Harris, who coincidently is the name of the man who was recently rescued from a cave that was collapsed by the tornados. He is the sole witness to the murder of Veronika Ivanova, who was the daughter of the Russian Mafia figure, Sergey Inanova. All this information is confidential and is only known by the FBI and certain members of the Chicago police department.

Bastone exhibited no visible surprise at the information. He calmly gave her additional instructions. “I want you to contact the Fixer again and spend some quality evening time with him. If you’re able to get the Benefactor’s name and address from him, it’s worth, $50,000 to you.”

Before she could speak, the server approached the table, “May I give you today’s specials?” he chirped.
 

Bastone cut him off with a brisk, “No, bring us another round of drinks and an order of Bruschetta. For my entrée I’ll have the Sea Food Piscatore.”

“Bring me the Spicy Curried Chicken with no sides,” Macy said. She stared at Bastone. He was the only man that she had been around who had not undertaken to get into her pants. “What is your damn problem?” she snapped at him, “Have you never been told that ladies order first.”

Bastone gave her a cold stare, “You’re no lady to me, Macy. You’re just another cop on the take.” With that said he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. He stayed on the phone until the server returned with the entrees. They both ate their meals in silence.
 

Macy vowed to herself,
He’ll pay for this disrespect.
However, she just nodded and looked away. “I’ll call the Fixer when I get back to the hotel and set up a date. I accept your offer.”

Chapter 56

I gently laid my father’s head on the ground and rose to my feet. I looked around at the gruesome scene. Petrov lay in a pool of blood with half for his head blown off. My father matched Petrov with the amount of blood surrounding his body. I walked over to the side and vomited. There wasn’t much in my stomach, but whatever was in there came out.
 

I glanced at my watch, and it was 1:00 a.m., only four hours until I had to meet with the man who was holding Leah. I went to Petrov’s dead body and rummaged through his pants until I found my car keys. I trudged up the hill, got into the car and drove to the convenience store. Along the way, I passed a white compact car parked along the side of the road, which I assumed belonged to my dead father.

When I arrived at the convenience store, I proceeded inside and straight to the restroom. I scrubbed my face and cleaned up as much as I could. I picked up a six pack of bottled water, a box of saltine crackers, paid for them, and went back to my car. I sat there drinking water and eating saltines, trying to settle my rebellious stomach. I didn’t have time to go anywhere to try to get some sleep, so I decided just to wait for my rendezvous with the kidnapper.

At this stage, the only person I knew that I could trust was Rex Herns. He had given me his cell number during our conversation at the hospital, and I had programmed it into my cell. I grabbed my cell, scrolled to his name and pushed the button. I realized the time of the morning, but I had no alternative.

On the seventh ring, a faint voice said, “Hello.”

“Hi Rex, this is Ben Harris. I’m sorry to call you at this time of the morning, but I have an emergency.”

“Where in the hell are you, Ben? I went to the hospital to see you, and they told me you just left. Are you nuts? You’re in no shape to be out of the hospital.”

I took a deep breath, “Listen Rex, someone has abducted Leah, and I’m trying to meet his demands and get her back. It’s a very complicated situation, and I don’t have time to go into details. I needed to report to you that there are two dead men at Lookout Mountain. They’re located in a small valley, across the road from the first observation point parking area. One of them tried to kill me and the other one died saving my life. When this ordeal is over and I have Leah back, I’ll give you all the details.”

Rex bellowed, “Ben, let me help you. Tell me where you are. I can be there within an hour and we can work this out together. Don’t try to go it alone, that never works out.”

“Sorry Rex, I have to do this my way. I don’t want Leah harmed.” I hung up. I hated to do that to Rex, since he had been such a good friend, but I couldn’t take the chance with Leah’s life.

I slumped down in the car and nodded off to sleep. About an hour later I was awakened by the sound of sirens. I looked out the window and three police cars were entering Lookout Mountain. I assumed that Rex was in one of the cars.

Within minutes my cell phone rang. It was 4:30 a.m. The familiar voice of the kidnapper shouted, “You son of a bitch, I saw the police cars going to Lookout Mountain. You called them and now your sexy girlfriend is a dead woman.”

“Wait, Wait,” I screamed into the phone. “They’re not here with me. I’m alone in the parking lot at the convenience store per your instructions. I did not betray you. Leah is far too important to me!”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he replied, “Okay, but our meeting place will change. I want you to leave your location now and drive to the Residence Inn in Green Bay. I’ll be watching you and when you drive into the parking lot, I’ll call you with more instructions. If I see any sign of the police, she’s dead. No more reprieves.”

“Just don’t hurt her, I‘ll be there as soon as I can,” I said.

In my exhausted state of mind, I didn’t think that the kidnapper would be watching. I instantly cranked the car and sped off to the Residence Inn.

Chapter 57

Following the meeting with Macy, Bastone promptly drove to the Residence Inn to resume his surveillance of Bo Lopez. On account of the meetings he held with the Fixer and with Macy, he found it essential to ask Lon Esponsito, a local Mafia underling, to observe Lopez during that time and report to him. Bastone instantly recognized Esponsito’s grey Honda when he pulled into the parking lot. He parked beside the car and got in. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Lopez did make a trip early this morning,” Esponsito responded. “He drove to the Lookout Mountain area at about 3:00 a.m. this morning and parked in the back corner of the parking lot at the store near the entrance to the mountain. He appeared to be waiting for someone. A couple of other cars entered the parking after that. After about an hour of just sitting there, several cop cars, with sirens screaming, entered Lookout Mountain. As far as I could tell, Lopez made a call and left. I guess the cop cars scared him. He drove straight back here to the hotel. He did go out to the Denny’s restaurant earlier and brought back two bags to his room. That’s the extent of his movements.”