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Starting Over Pt. 10 Ch. 03

Starting Over X, Part 3

This is the tenth section of the continuing saga "Starting Over".

In Part I, LTC (Retired) John Jackson had moved to Seattle after being widowed. He ran into some trouble and some decent people (okay, and a few strippers), while working towards getting his private investigator license. That took place between Sep and Dec 2012.

In Part II, he got involved in a ring trafficking in young women. The main perpetrators were captured, but the hired gun/enforcer slipped away. That took place in Apr and May 2013.

In Part III, which took place in 2013 and 2014, John managed to find the enforcer in Key West and was planning to kill him, but changed his mind. He really didn't know if he could kill someone in cold blood, but the man was living with a woman and had decided that he was retiring. John let him go with a promise to do intelligence work for him and returned to Seattle, where Maggie gave indications that she wanted a serious relationship. Then he used that enforcer from Key West to assist in capturing an assassin. The assassin had been hired to kill him and the detective who helped him break up a leg of a human trafficking chain.Starting Over Pt. 10 Ch. 03 фото

In Part IV, it's 2019. John and Maggie couldn't work things out and now John was working on a case that, at first, involved someone who had assaulted Luke's wife Maria. John then had two men try to break into his apartment to attack him. The authorities caught the two men by tracking them to a strip club, but John got beat up by them before the police got there. When he woke, he found that Vanessa, his waitress at the strip club, was an undercover officer. There were several events that were taking place and it was being done by an anarchist group. However, funding for these events was tracked to someone in human trafficking in Singapore by a hacker that John found through Bob in Key West. He returned to Seattle with the information on a thumb drive, and the FBI and others started tracking him. Finally, the master of the human trafficking ring had his son try to soft sell John's daughter into visiting Asia with him, primarily to kidnap her. John found out, he and his buddies stopped it, and then John, feeling the rage, flew to Singapore and, with the backdoor assistance of a government person, was armed and killed both the leader and his son of this trafficking ring.

In Part V, Yvonne, the young hacker came to live with John. She had nowhere else to go and felt so alone during the pandemic that she was craving human interaction. She also admitted that she was attracted to John, even though there was 19 years difference in their ages. A bad guy was hired to hit him due to his involvement in some operations being run by a rogue CIA manager and some disenfranchised CIA members. John and company got them in the end and Yvonne got shot in the leg. She decided to stay with John.

Part VI involved a woman, going by the name Julie, who had been "hidden" by a woman called a "guide". She had been given a new identity and moved to Seattle to get away from a potentially fatal relationship. That was back in Tennessee. This led to the woman's guide, Dani, discovering that the brothers of the husband that Julie had killed, were running meth labs out of the woods of the land that Julie and her husband had owned. They were worried about losing the land and the labs. This ended up with the labs being pointed out to the FBI, and then one of the brothers and one of their dealers coming to Seattle to get revenge on John and the FBI agent in charge of the case back in Tennessee.

Part VII involved John and the others getting involved with a Romanian gang out of Chicago. It turned out to be more than that, including Maggie and others getting shot. A party at the Bradford's was interrupted by gunmen shooting randomly into the gathering. Finally, in the end, law enforcement got the bad guys and the good guys got someone who turned evidence. Maggie was recovering quickly, and as summer arrived, John was hoping for good weather and a calmer life.

In Part VIII, John got involved in a kidnapping that turned into an international trafficking ring, and included a place where people could abuse young women. It was led by a billionaire, Lucas Berenson. John lost his wife, Maggie, when Lucas sent people to kill John, Maggie, and all the members of the detective agency John worked for. They tracked down Berenson in Canada and he was captured. Yvonne went to work legally and is living with John.

In Part IX, John and his partners are asked to protect a woman that Dani had hid, who had run away from one of Berenson's operations in Miami. Two bad FBI agents attempted to intercept them, but Deputy Director Smothers was ready. The two were captured, the woman returned to her former life, and John and friends got information that Berenson escaped to St. Martin. They followed him there, with assistance, and then to Guadeloupe to get the authorities to recapture him.

Recurring Characters

LTC (Retired) John Jackson, 5'11", 180, 57 years old.

Marie Jackson, John's dead wife, 5'8", 140, 44 years old, died 15 Jan 2012

Angelica Jackson (Angel), John and Marie's daughter, 5'5", 125, 30 years old.

Mary Bradford, bartender, 5'5", 120, 45 years old.

Margaret (Maggie) Bradford, Mary's sister, 5'6", 115, 45 years old, died.

Madeleine (Maddie) Bradford, Maggie's daughter, 18 years old.

Samantha (Sam) Walker, 5'6", 130 pounds, 49 years old, John's former neighbor.

Joyce Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 120 pounds, 29 years old, and now an exotic dancer using the name Lily

Marion Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 115 pounds, 27 years old.

SFC (Retired) Craig Smithson, 6', 190, 56 years old, NCO from John's Army unit.

Captain Jeff Smithson, 5'11', 185, 54 years old, SFC Smithson's brother and a captain in the Seattle Police Department.

Luke Cole, 5'10", 180, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Maria Cole, 5'6", 135, Luke's wife.

Jeanne (aka Jasmine) Welch, 5'5", 110, 31 years old, exotic dancer.

Olivia, 5'4", 120 pounds, 31 years old, called Livy, exotic dancer.

Max Meridian (real name Harold Johnson), Mark's lead kidnapper and enforcer. Now changed his name to Bob Thomas and is married to Susan. They own and operate a bar in Key West.

Susan Thomas, Bob's new wife.

George Watson, a new member of the detective agency.

Vanessa Williams, 5'6", 130, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Yvonne, 5'2", 105, illegal hacker who helped find the human trafficker who had funded the anarchists in Seattle.

Danielle (Dani) Parker, 5'8", 120, known as a "guide". She takes cases where an individual is in mortal danger and "hides" them by giving them new identities and teaching them how to lay low.

Benjamin Smothers, Deputy Director of the FBI.

Allison June, 5'7", FBI agent in Seattle.

---------------- Wednesday, Oct 4, 2023, Meridianville, AL -----------

John and Yvonne got to the airport early and were getting a little bite to eat when John's phone rang. He looked at the number, it was the FBI Deputy Director Ben Smothers.

"Hey, Director, how's it hanging?"

"Not well. Not at all."

"Uh-oh. What's up, and what does it have to do with me?"

"Well, we had a major problem with Chin Li." John sat up straight as Smothers continued. "We had him stashed in a supposedly secure location. The location was hit last night by about 12 armed men. They killed two of my agents and wounded another. My guys killed four of them, but they still got Li out of there. Here's the kicker. The guys my agents killed? We found that they are tied to the Sinaloa cartel. So, that means that we have verified the connection between the drugs that Chin Li is bringing out of Asia to one of the worst cartels. And, if they decide to come after you, they will come with overwhelming firepower."

"Well, shit."

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly. We don't know that the cartel is going to come after you for Li, or that Li will try to take you out again. But just in case, watch your back. I've contacted my folks in Seattle so that you will have some help initially, but I don't think we can do it for long."

"Okay, thanks."

"Well, I'll call later with more details."

"Roger. Later." John hung up the phone.

Yvonne looked at him questioningly. "Well?"

John relayed the news and Yvonne closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Their departure was being called, so they got up and marched toward the gangway like they were heading for a funeral.

---------------- Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

John and Yvonne were keeping a very low profile, afraid that someone from the cartel may decide to show up. But they had discussed the situation with Smothers and decided that there was really no reason for them to come after them. They had not delved into the cartel business, they had not messed with any of their distribution lines, they had not fucked with any of their guys. They were starting to believe that the cartel would have nothing to do with them. It was all about their Asian contact, who they sprung.

John was starting to feel safer about this and told Craig that he was ready to do more than computer security work.

---------------- Sunday, Oct 15, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

John and Yvonne were just starting to get ready to go out for breakfast when John's phone rang. He looked at the phone and it was Craig. He answered.

"Hey, John, I just got called by a student at UW. She said she got referred to us by Maddie. Evidently, this woman, Sheila, had her roommate go out on Friday night and not return. The roommate, Maria, told her she would be back late on Friday or early Saturday morning if the party ran late. She said she wouldn't be staying out, just going on a date with someone to a party in a rented house just north of the school. I'll send you particulars on the names and where in the dorms they are. You ready to go to work?"

"Absolutely!"

"Great. Later."

John hung up and he saw Yvonne raise her eyebrows at him questioningly.

"I have a job on a missing UW student. Wanna come along?"

"No. Let's have breakfast and then I'll do some digging online or try to track something once we get the particulars. I'm pretty backed up with work, so I will have to work on this missing student today."

"Okay. Craig still has to send the information, so we can eat and then I'll head over."

John and Yvonne had breakfast and then John headed over to the dorm address that had been provided by Craig. He met Maddie at the door, and the dorm was pretty standard, based on what John was familiar with. When they got to Maddie's room in the dorm, Maddie got excited. She was not just glad to see him, but also excited about possibly assisting on the case. John had to shut that down.

"Maddie, I know you want to help, but you should concentrate on school, and leave the detective work to me and the police, okay? Besides, it might be dangerous. We just don't know yet."

Maddie pouted. "Oh, John, I just want to help. You're no fun."

John chuckled. "I'm not trying to be fun here; I'm trying to work. Now, the best thing you can do is help me interview the missing woman's roommate, I think her name is Sheila."

Maddie smiled and got excited again. "Okay, I can do that."

Maddie led John down the hall two doors from her room, and knocked. John chuckled to himself as he went down the hallway of women's rooms. Unlike the movies, with young ladies wrapped in towels or wearing short sleep shorts and spaghetti strap blouses, all of the ladies were either leaving in jeans and coats or in sweats.

John watched closely as the woman who was probably Sheila opened the door. She got there quickly, so she was expecting him, and she was a little red-eyed, like she had been crying. She was dressed in some UW sweats.

"Hi, are you Mr. Jackson? I'm Sheila." She stuck her hand out and John shook it. She had nice, soft hands, light brown hair, and was fairly pretty.

"Yes, I'm Mr. Jackson. I understand from Maddie that you called, worried about your roommate."

"Yes, sir. Come in." She was being very polite. She turned and went back into her room and John and Maddie followed. Sheila sat on her bed, which was made, leaving two small chairs for Maddie and John. John took the one closest to Sheila. He noticed that the bed he guessed belonged to Maria was only partially made, with the covers haphazardly thrown back over the bed.

"Okay, let's begin with her mood and when you last saw her."

Sheila took a big breath. "Okay, she was in a pretty good mood. It was Friday and she had just finished some project that she had been crashing on. She was also going on a date with a guy called Brad Fisher. He was, in her words, 'a hunk'. She met him through another girl who was working on this project. She got dressed up pretty nicely, because they were going to a good restaurant, which is something special for some of us students. Then she went out to the street for him to pick her up at 8pm, and I never heard from her again."

"Is it normal for you to hear from her regularly?"

"Yes. We always had an agreement about sending a text at some point after we had dinner with a guy about how it was going, to verify that we were safe."

"Okay, so you texted? Called?"

"Yes, both. At first it was just texts. Then, I gave up and fell asleep thinking she was maybe, you know, busy with Brad. But, when I woke up yesterday morning and still hadn't heard anything, I got worried."

"What's her number?" Sheila recited it. John jotted down the number and called Yvonne. He gave her the number, the guy's name, and asked for her to do her magic, which involved using software to track a phone that most people didn't have access to and look up everything she could about Brad.

"Okay, so it's now Sunday morning and you still haven't heard anything."

"Correct."

"Why call me and not the police?"

"I spoke to a policeman, who asked a lot of questions that made me think he had already decided that she just went off for the weekend with her boyfriend. I remember Maddie saying something about you, so I asked to get in touch with you. On TV, they always say the first 24 hours are the most important."

"Okay. Let me call someone."

About that time, Yvonne called back and gave him some alarming information. "Here's what I found," she started, "Her phone was operational and it shows they went to some place on Lake Union just east across the water from Gas Works Park. Maybe Little Water Cantina. It's a little more upscale than most students go to and she may have been excited by it. The phone was still providing GPS at that point. Then, the phone stopped providing GPS at that location at about 10:30pm. It has never come back on."

"Shit. Okay, I'm going to call Luke. This is definitely a police matter now. There's no reason to think otherwise." He hung up.

"Oh, wait!" Sheila sat up and put her hand out, like she was stopping traffic or something. Then, she got up and rushed over to her small desk. She pulled open the middle drawer and poked around. Finally, she exclaimed, "Found it!" and held up a small slip of paper. She grinned. "I forgot that she said she had an emergency phone number to a phone that she kept in the bottom of her purse in a hidden pocket. She said she was terrified of losing her phone, but I think it was something more. She was always checking on where she was going and what was going on. She seemed a little paranoid and told me not to call the police for any reason. Anyway, here's the second number."

John took the number and called it into Yvonne. He told her to check the number while he waited on the phone.

Yvonne did her thing, while John and the two students sat there, staring at each other. Finally, she came back on the line. "Oh, boy, here we go. That phone headed east on I-90. It traveled along there until about Riverbend. At that point, it shows it stopping somewhere near Riverbend. Sound familiar?"

"Shit. Near where we found that terrible trafficking ring?"

"Pretty close. There's a lot of places to hide things out that way, it's just a coincidence that this person seems to have been taken near there."

"Okay, get the GPS coordinates and send it to me. Also, I need a good picture of Brad. I'm contacting Luke."

"Done."

John hung up and turned to the two women. "I'm calling a friend of mine who is a detective. He'll be discreet and we'll discuss it. I'll be right back."

John walked into the hall and called Luke. He gave him a rundown and Luke said he would get things together and be right over.

John went back in the room and talked small talk with Sheila. He steered the conversation around to Maria very nonchalantly, but tried to learn a little more about her. What he found out was that she had only dated rarely in the three years she had been at UW. Sheila knew very little about her past. Maria had just said something about a not great home life and wouldn't reveal any more.

He thought he had learned about all he could when Luke showed up.

Luke came into the room and introduced himself. "Hey, John, Maddie, and you must be Shelia." He shook hands with her. "You have everything you need, John?"

"Yes. Let's go. Maddie, you stay with Sheila for a little while. We're going to discuss what to do."

They stepped out into the hall. John explained everything he had learned and they went over next steps. Luke said he would have the police wait another day while he personally helped John check things out at the location where the other phone was. He would have the police open an official investigation on Monday. But, for now, he agreed with John that they couldn't wait any longer to at least check for the phone location.

John called Craig and explained what was happening. They then updated Sheila and Maddie about their plan to check it out and said they would let her know later that day what they discovered.

John led the way after picking up Craig. Luke followed. It was just past noon.

While they were driving, Craig read to John the summary that Yvonne had put together on Brad Fisher. Evidently, he was known as egocentric, was always flashing daddy's money around, and acting like a completely entitled asshole. His father had made a fortune in real estate. He was known around town as a womanizer and bully. He had been accused of several things like sexual misconduct and assaults, but most were settled out of court and sealed.

John listened and then said, "That doesn't sound good."

Craig agreed, and said sarcastically, "Sounds like a wonderful family."

It didn't take long on a Sunday morning to get out of Seattle, across Lake Washington and Mercer Island, and out to where they were going to get off I-90. The weather was not bad. There were some light showers in the forecast, but currently there were some breaks of the sun peeking out at times.

Within an hour, they were on the road that they believed led to where Maria's phone was pinging. They stopped just about 400m from where the phone was located and quietly got out of their vehicles. With John leading they headed through some woods directly toward the location.

The woods thinned about 50m from a small wood-framed house with a nice front porch. The three of them ducked down and watched the place for movement. They waited a couple of minutes and discussed how to approach. They decided that they would split up and move in from different directions, when suddenly the front door opened and out walked three young men. One of them was Brad. The three sat in chairs on the porch, looking like they had not a care in the world.

Luke looked at me. They had some music on in the background, so we could whisper without being heard. "John, I think you should walk up there from the right-hand side of the porch. We'll wait right here along the woods. Challenge them and see what happens. I have my handgun and Craig has the shotgun. We'll come out when they start acting like assholes, which I'm pretty sure will happen."

 

John grinned. He knew what Luke was referring to. He wanted to see what kind of folks we had here.

John worked his way a little further to his right, then stood up, holding his gun slightly in front of him. He walked out of the woods. "Brad Fisher, please stand and put your hands over your head. You other two, do the same." He used Brad's name so that they would know he knew who he was.

Brad stood. "Who the fuck are you?"

John continued walking toward them and brought his gun up. "I'm the man who's going to handcuff all three of you and get Maria Hernandez back."

"Fuck you! I don't know any Maria." Brad stood there, looking so haughty it shocked John.

"Do as I say, asshole."

Brad grinned. "You think you can handcuff all three of us while covering us with one gun? You must be out of your mind. Besides, you have to have a warrant to come on this property." The other two guys looked at each other, not as sure as Brad.

John smiled as he got within 15 feet of the three. "First, I'm not a cop. Second, it will be easy to do so once I shoot one of you. Now, is there anyone else in the house?"

Brad stood his ground. "Fuck you, asshole!"

John decided he had had enough. He put out his left hand and waved at the other two. Luke and Craig came striding out of the woods, weapons at the ready. "You see, I don't have to do it alone. Now, I've had enough. At this point, I want you to come down off the porch and lay on the ground, hands on your head."

Brad wasn't going to move, but his buddies both pushed around him and followed the instructions. Brad watched them, then finally acquiesced. He came down and got into position.

"My father and his lawyer are going to eat you guys for lunch."

John snapped the cuffs on Brad, rather harshly and tight, while Craig covered him. "We'll see, won't we, you little pissant. Anyone else in the house?" Brad just turned his head and glared at him. "Okay, we'll check it out."

Once the three were cuffed behind their backs and lying flat on their stomachs, John and Luke approached the house. They did so carefully, not sure if any of Brad's other friends were in there.

They cleared the first floor, reaching the last bedroom before they found Maria Hernandez. She was tied spreadeagle to the bed, naked, bleeding from her mouth, head, and parts of her body. She looked to be unconscious.

John rushed over and felt for a pulse. She had one and she stirred at the touch, coming awake, her eyes wide and blazing. John told her she was being rescued and Luke covered her with a blanket. John told her that they were there to save her and she started to relax, but barely. She was still reacting like a wild animal that was being uncaged.

Luke had gone into the kitchen and came back out with a knife. He started sawing through the ropes they had used. They hadn't tied them correctly either, so they may have cut off the circulation. John only hoped her extremities would be okay.

As the binds came undone, Maria seemed less ready to bolt. She didn't seem relaxed, just exhausted and beaten.

Finally, Luke finished the bindings and Maria slowly sat up and wrapped the blanket tighter. Luke called for backup right from there. John figured he did that so that Maria could hear it.

John went and got Maria a glass of water and helped her sit on the side of the bed. "Can you feel your hands and feet?"

Maria just nodded and kept drinking the water in big gulps.

"Take it slow, Maria. Don't drink too fast or it may come back up if you've been deprived of it for a while."

Maria finally seemed to be cognizant enough to talk and so she did, though her voice was raspy. "They gave me water. No food. They were going to kill me."

John patted her hand. "Okay, I'll get some food."

John went out into the kitchen and found some crackers, which might be best for now. He took them back in and told her to go slow, and she did.

A couple of minutes later, the cavalry arrived and the place started swarming with police. John and Luke went out and the new arrivals included some EMTs, who started taking care of Maria.

John watched as the local sheriff discussed things with Luke and asking him to tell him how he, John, and Craig came to be there. John could see Luke pointing back toward the woods and describing everything that happened. They were still discussing things when one of the local deputies came up to the Sheriff and started gesticulating toward the back yard and talking loudly. John couldn't make it out, but followed them around the side of the house.

When they got there, another deputy was crouching down, looking at something in the dirt. As they approached, they saw that he had put a shovel into the ground and found what looked like a body there. Everyone looked around the yard. The deputy on the ground pointed around the area. "There are several suspicious mounds of dirt back here. I found a body here. I pray these are not all bodies, but I'm not betting against it."

The Sheriff turned to Luke. "I think I'll let you guys take the lead on this. We'll assist as we can, but we don't have your resources."

Luke nodded. "Agreed. I'll contact my captain and get things rolling." He held out his hand. "Card?"

The Sheriff reached into his front shirt pocket and pulled out his business card. "Here's the official stuff." He then pulled a pen out of his pocket. "I'll put my personal cell on the back for you. Don't spread it around."

Luke nodded again. "Roger. Call you later."

Luke turned to John. "There are at least 5 sections of this yard with disturbed dirt. Could this group have already killed 5 women and planned on a sixth?"

John shook his head back and forth as his eyes wandered over the yard. "Let's hope it's limited to that and that there aren't more where the earth has recovered."

Luke looked at John. "Well, thanks for that cheery thought." He walked away and started making phone calls.

---------------- Tuesday, Oct 17, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

John and Yvonne were catching up on all the news about the house where Maria was found. The police and sheriff's departments had found 6 bodies in the back yard. The initial estimate was that they were placed there about two months apart.

John decided he would go visit Maria in the hospital to see how she was doing. She had been raped by all three guys and beaten several times. She had been moved to the UW hospital yesterday after initial treatment at the nearest hospital to where she was found.

John got to the hospital and security in the hospital was a little tighter than normal. He could see them checking him out as he came in, but they didn't stop him. There was a guard stationed outside her room, too, but John knew him from working with the police. The guard, Officer Williams, said hello and let him into the room.

When John entered, Maria was sitting up and watching TV. She had a few stitches over one eye, both eyes were black from being punched in the nose, and her nose was covered with tape, probably broken. He knew she had other injuries, but they were not visible.

"Hi, Maria."

Her eyes initially jumped to the door being opened, but as she recognized him, she smiled. "Hi. Thank you for finding me. I don't know your name."

John walked up next to her. "My name is John Jackson. I'm retired Army and work now as a private investigator. Your roommate called me when you didn't respond to texts and calls. The police were reluctant to open a missing person initially since you were a college student and they had nothing indicating you were missing. But Sheila was convinced and a police detective friend of mine came with me and a fellow PI out to where your second phone was indicated by GPS. Sheila told us about that."

Maria was grinning until that last part. Then she turned solemn. John could tell that that was something she was not ready to discuss. But he needed to know.

"Maria, I know you've been through a lot, but can you tell me why you have that second phone and keep it such a secret?"

She looked up at him. "How much can I trust you?" She looked scared and skittish.

"I will never divulge anything you don't want me to."

John watched as Maria mulled it over, shifting uneasily in the bed and looking around. Finally, she took a deep breath. "I won't tell you much, just that my father is into illegal things and I want nothing to do with the family. That phone is my way to reach my mother and sister without it appearing on my regular phone. I keep it off most of the time. I turned it on while in the trunk of Brad's car, just hoping that someone was searching for me that way. I haven't spoken to my father in three years."

John nodded. "Okay. I understand. We never have to discuss it again."

"Thank you."

"Do you need anything else right now?"

Maria looked at John and glanced toward the door. "Is that phone still in all my stuff that the police have?"

John nodded. "Yes, they might still have it. Or, it could be in the closet here. Sheila dropped off some clothes and the police might have put some of your personal effects in there." John walked toward the closet as he spoke. He looked through the closet, but there were no phones in there. "Well, I don't see it. I'll ask my detective friend."

Maria looked downcast. "Okay, thanks. I'm just missing my mother and sister at a time like this."

"I'll call him right now. Unless you want to use my phone to call them." Maria shook her head no, so John took out his phone and called Luke. He asked about the phone as Maria watched and Luke promised to get it to her tomorrow morning. He passed that on to Maria.

"Okay, thanks. I'll call them when I get that phone. I don't have the numbers memorized anymore and it's in Mexico, so I don't want to run up your bill."

"I wouldn't mind since I have global calling, but that's your decision. Anything else?" Maria hesitated and John continued. "Anything at all. I don't care what it is."

Maria grinned. "I could really use something sweet. They haven't given me anything like that. Candy bar?"

John laughed. "Coming right up." He left the room.

John went to the cafeteria since he didn't know where the vending machines were. He saw their lineup and got three candy bars; a KitKat, a Three Musketeers, and a Krackel. As he finished paying and turned to go back upstairs to Maria's room a man stepped up close.

"You John Jackson?"

John checked him out. Clean and dressed well in slacks and a dress shirt, slight Spanish accent, maybe a friend of Maria's? She was Hispanic, too. He didn't appear to be threatening. "Yes."

The guy took out a phone and handed it to him. "My boss wants to talk to you."

John looked at him quizzically as he looked at the phone. "Who are you and who is your boss?"

"Maria's father, from Mexico."

Okay, John figured he could deal with that. He could update the father that Maria didn't want to talk to. He must have found out about the abduction and wanted an update, but she wouldn't speak to him.

John opened the phone and pushed the button for the only saved number. It was answered immediately. "Hola. Is this John Jackson?"

The accent was much more pronounced with this guy. "Yes, it is."

"My employee there tells me that Maria is doing well and should heal up soon. Is that correct?" His accent was heavy, but his grammar was fine.

"Well, she's doing very well physically, but I can't speak to her mental state. She's been through a lot and will have to deal with it, maybe get some counselling. But she should fully recover. So, tell me, what's your name?"

There was a long pause before he came on the line. "I've had you checked out. I know that you are a trustworthy person, so I will tell you if you promise not to tell anyone. I'm afraid if it got out, that Maria might become a target to get to me."

John hesitated. Did he want to know if that was true? Would it interfere with feeling truthful with everyone? "Okay, I will keep it silent as long as Maria tells me to and does. If she changes her mind, I won't be held to it."

Another long pause occurred. Finally, he came back on the line. "My name is Victor Reyes."

John searched his memory for that name. He came up blank. "Okay, well, that doesn't mean anything to me, so it's easy to keep silent."

"One more thing, Mr. Jackson. As I understand it, you saved my daughter's life. If, at any time, you need a desperate favor, I owe you one. No questions asked. Anything at all. Just use that phone and call the one stored number in there."

John was taken aback a little by that offer. He knew that most families would feel that way, but the way Victor said it felt like it was more than what was normally offered. "Okay, thank you. I'll remember that."

"Well, I'm very busy, Mr. Jackson, but please pass along my love to my daughter."

"I will." And the line went dead. John pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it. That was a very strange conversation. He looked at the guy who had handed him the phone. "Who is he?"

The guy smiled. "Mi jefe es muy importante."

No translation required for that. John had heard enough Spanish to know 'el jefe' was the boss and 'muy importante' translated easy enough. He nodded. "Okay, thanks."

As soon as John said that, the guy turned and strode away. He shrugged. Well, time to get the very important candy bars back to Maria. He put the phone in his pocket and left the cafeteria.

When John got back, he found Sheila in Maria's room. He said hello and held up the candy bars. Maria's eyes lit up. She took all three, decided on the Three Musketeers first, and offered one of the others to Sheila. She declined and said she had to get back to school. She said good-bye and left.

John took a deep breath. "Maria, I just got a phone call from your father."

Maria stopped eating immediately and stared at John. "My father? He knows I'm here?"

"Some guy walked up to me in the cafeteria and verified who I was and then handed me a phone. Said your father wanted to talk to me. He asked how you were and said he owed me for saving you. Left me the phone with a pre-programmed number to call any time I needed a favor from him. Said his name was Victor Reyes. What does he do that you don't want anything to do with him?"

Maria sighed deeply. "Yep, that's my father. He's a senior enforcer for the Sinaloa cartel. When I was twelve, I saw him execute a man by shooting him in the back of the head. It was more than I could handle so I've prepared for leaving the family ever since. I got into the U. S. on a student visa, changed my name legally, which was pretty hard, let me tell you, and have only spoken to my mother and daughter once every few months."

"Well, obviously he knows you are here and what happened."

"Yes, I suppose it was inevitable that he would find me. He has a lot of resources and is the right hand of the cartel leader."

"Nobody else up here knows?"

"No. Only you."

"Yeah, he asked me to stay silent about it. I can imagine that if anyone were to find out, they might try to use you for leverage."

Maria nodded. She looked so sad.

John decided it was time to go and let her rest. "Listen. You are going to go through a lot recovering from this. Make sure you do your physical rehab and go talk to a professional for anything that bothers you mentally. What happened to you was pretty extreme."

"I will."

I pulled out my card and laid it on the table. "Here's my card. We'll stay in touch and if you ever need anything you let me know. I don't know that I'll ever take up your father's offer of a favor."

"It's best if you don't have anything to do with him."

I approached Maria, leaned over, and kissed her on top of her head. "You take care."

Maria gave me a sad smile. "I will. Thank you for everything."

---------------- Tuesday, Oct 24, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

It was a week later when John's doorbell rang. He and Yvonne had been discussing some new things happening for her at work and John was talking about how Craig had received a briefcase full of cash after they had saved Maria, presumably from her father. They were talking about the morality of keeping the money when the doorbell rang.

As he always did now, John checked his phone for the Ring doorbell video of who it was. He saw a large man, very well dressed, and a second extremely large man behind him. He didn't know who they were, but he was not taking any chances.

John gave the warning signal to Yvonne and she hustled into the other apartment and closed the door. He knew that she was getting her weapon out. He called out "Just a second", took his gun out of the small table right next to the entrance, and put it in the small of his back. He went to the door.

John opened the door, smiled, and said "Can I help you?"

The two men just walked into the room before saying anything. That was very aggressive, so when they turned to face him, he had his Glock out and pointed at them.

"I asked if I could help you. I didn't invite you in yet. Right now, you are trespassing, so be very careful about what you do right now."

The guy in the very expensive suit stared at him for a few seconds. Then he spoke. "My name is Bradley Fisher, Sr. My son is the one you guys grabbed last week."

John shrugged. "Well, he was committing a felony, so we thought it best to arrest him."

"You had no authority to arrest him!"

John grinned and said, "I didn't. The police did. You'd better get your facts straight."

John knew that that was poking the bear, so to speak, but he was already pissed off at these two.

"Well, we are going to sue your asses off and get my son freed. You violated so many laws that you will be lucky to keep your license."

John gave him a sly grin. "Look. You didn't need to come here for that. I would have found that out anyway. You probably came here because you thought you and your lackey there, might quote unquote, beat some sense into me. Well, threatening me won't do you any good. I'm going to see that your son and anyone else involved is put away. If you are involved, you will be arrested, too."

"Fuck you!" Mr. Fisher moved to the side a little and the two of them looked like they were going to spread out. "You're going to pay for this, one way or the other."

John grinned. "Uh, you two should stay where you are. If you think you can spread out and I can't keep both of you in my sights, then you should look over your shoulder."

They both glanced behind them to see Yvonne standing there, her weapon pointed at the lackey. John had his pointed at Fisher.

"Sorry, Brad." John used the shortened name and said it in a derogatory manner to continue to get under Fisher's skin. "I guess you'll just have to catch up to me another time. Oh, and by the way, all of this is recorded on one of my cameras, so you can be sure that it will be sent to the appropriate authorities." John then turned his look into a hard start. "Now get the fuck out of my apartment before I shoot you."

Fisher looked back and forth between John and Yvonne, and then moved toward the door. His lacky followed. Just as he got out the door he turned. "This isn't over."

John grinned, gave a little bow, and said, "I look forward to our next meeting." He slammed the door.

As soon as John watched them get into their car from the window and made sure they were leaving, he turned to Yvonne. "Get a copy of the video and let's get it to Luke and the police."

Yvonne set to work making a copy of the part of the recording that showed Brad Fisher and his goon and prepared an email to Luke. After she sent it, she looked up from her laptop. "Okay, sent that." She looked at the time on the computer. "It's only 11am. Wanna roll in the hay before lunch?"

John grinned. "Roll in the hay? What is this, some kind of PG Lifetime movie?"

Yvonne was grinning. "Okay, wanna fuck?"

 

John grabbed his crotch. "Absolutely."

After sex, they had lunch and continued with their normal day.

---------------- Wednesday, 1 Nov, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

John and Yvonne went to the courthouse where they were scheduled to get a restraining order on Brad Fisher, Sr. and his thug bodyguard. He had been identified as Chuck Walters.

They were in court with Judge Amy Thorsen. John and Yvonne sat on one side with their lawyer, Winston Garfield, and Fisher and Walters on the other.

Winston presented the video and the background on Brad Fisher's son. John then watched as the lawyer for the assholes, Walter Gorsuch, who looked like he stepped out of a catalog for men's fashion, tried to rebut all the information they provided. John just grinned as they tried to do so.

Finally, the judge had had enough and said so. She granted the restraining order and smacked her gavel down a couple of times.

Brad Fisher jumped up, "That's ridiculous judge. You can't keep me from going wherever I want."

The judge banged her gavel again. "Mr. Fisher, this hearing is over. Mr. Gorsuch, please remind Mr. Fisher that any continuation and he will be found in contempt."

Mr. Gorsuch tried to calm Mr. Fisher, but to no avail. Fisher turned towards John and Yvonne, pointing at them. "You two will get your due. I'll find a way."

The judge then banged her gavel again. "Mr. Fisher, you are hereby found in contempt. For continuing to threaten them, while still in my court, after the granting of the restraining order, I sentence you to seven days in jail." The judge was getting as worked up as Fisher, almost livid that he would do what he did in court.

But the judge wasn't done. "Mr. Gorsuch, $500 fine. Bailiff, take Mr. Fisher into custody and everyone else get out."

She smacked her gavel down as hard as she could and stood to leave the room. Fisher stood there aghast as the bailiff came towards him. He didn't resist, but once he was being escorted out, he shouted at his lawyer that he'd better get him out.

John and Yvonne were shocked at the proceedings, but John figured that Judge Thorsen must not like that sort of action in her court, because it didn't take much for her to throw Fisher in jail for a while.

---------------- Monday, 11 Dec, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

The trial started that Monday, and John was there dressed fairly nicely. The District Attorney, who was trying this personally, had told John to be ready late in the first day after opening arguments.

John was called about 2pm and took the stand. He was sworn in, and then the DA asked him about how John came to find out that Maria Hernandez was missing. John went through that, then the DA asked about how they found her in that house. John covered that, then the DA asked how the confrontation went, and how Maria looked when she was found. He was very by the book, and John gave him those answers in the same manner.

Now it was the defense attorney's turn. There were two attorneys there. Only Brad had elected to go to trial, the other two taking plea deals. There was a woman named Cindy Bowes and a man named Gerald Conklin. The woman stood to question John.

"Mr. Jackson, how to you know Madeleine Bradford?"

"She's my stepdaughter. I married her mother several years ago."

"Is her mother alive?"

"No."

"And how is it that her mother died?"

"Objection!" The DA stood up. "Totally irrelevant to this case."

The judge looked at Ms. Bowes and nodded. "Sustained."

Cindy grinned and proceeded.

"Mr. Jackson, why is it that you didn't call the police when you learned of her supposed disappearance?"

"Her roommate, Sheila, had already called, and they didn't show much interest because of the way college students take off on weekends. It had only been a short time, but in this case, Sheila said they always checked in with each other to be safe. However, I did call Sergeant Cole, to come out and consider it."

"And what did he decide?"

"Well, there was no indication of foul play at that point, so we decided to check for her ourselves, and he would file the missing person report on Monday."

"And how did you track Ms. Hernandez to that house?"

"We were able to track her cell phone signal."

"But I thought her phone was off?"

"Her standard phone was off, but she carried a second one."

"And what was that phone for?"

John could see that the defense was going to try to blame this problem with an enemy of her father, but he had to answer something. "She used it to call her mother and sister."

"Not her father?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"She told me that she didn't like her father so she only spoke to her mother and sister."

"Why didn't she like her father?"

John was stuck now. How to answer this? Hmmm. "She said that he was mean and that she didn't want anything to do with him."

"And did you learn his name?"

"Yes."

"And what is it?"

John stared at her for a few seconds and then looked at the judge. He took a deep breath and turned toward the judge. He covered the microphone in front of him and said quietly, "Judge, I don't want to say his name out loud. Can we discuss this, just us?"

The judge stared at John, probably shocked at this. It may have never happened before. John could see him thinking about it, then he banged his gavel.

"Counsel from both sides and Mr. Jackson, meet in my chambers. The jury will return to their deliberation room."

Everyone was a little shocked, but everyone did as they were told. Once they were in the judge's chambers, the judge sat and stared at John. "This had better be good, Mr. Jackson."

"Your honor. Ms. Hernandez's father is an enforcer for a drug cartel. She saw him kill a man when she was young, so she left as soon as she could. She came to the U. S. and changed her name so that she could get away from her family."

Before anyone else could say anything, Ms. Bowes rudely jumped in. "So what? You need to tell us in court. That's necessary for the defense."

John looked at the judge. "Your honor, Ms. Hernandez asked me not to reveal that for fear that she could become a target for leverage against her father and the cartel. She's taken extreme measures to hide her identity. I promised I would do that and I agree with her. I cannot reveal it in open court. In fact, I'm a little uncomfortable doing it to all these people. I know that in some cases names are not revealed, so couldn't that apply in this case?"

Ms. Bowes quickly spoke. "Your honor, he must reveal this in court. It's possible that Ms. Hernandez was taken exactly as she feared, to get leverage on her father."

The judge looked a Ms. Bowes with a look that should have knocked her back a few feet. "And what? They hired Brad Fisher and two college buddies to rape and abuse her? They didn't keep her somewhere so that they could contact her father to apply pressure. That doesn't sound like anyone who ever worked for a cartel." The judge thought for a moment and Ms. Bowes kept quiet after that scolding. Finally, the judge spoke again. "Okay, here's what I'm going to do. It's almost three pm. We will adjourn for the day and I want reasoned presentations on this matter, in writing, to me by 9am tomorrow. I will review them, make my decision, and bring the court into session about 9:30. Questions?"

Everyone looked at each other and after a couple of seconds, the judge waved his hand toward the door and everyone left.

---------------- Tuesday, 12 Dec, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

On Tuesday morning, John was called back to the stand, and the judge ruled that her father's name and her real name could be kept secret for security purposes. The defense was not happy, but it was done.

John finished his testifying with the defense just going over his actions leading to the capture of the three college students.

After he left court, John called Maria and told her what had happened. John figured she should know, and he also let her know that if it did come out that her father was a cartel enforcer, that there were only 5 people in that room besides him who heard that. She could bet it would be one of them.

---------------- Tuesday, 19 Dec, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

John went to lunch at a restaurant near downtown that day and was met by Marty and Carl, who were both working in Seattle after leaving the Rangers, and Luke.

The four were sitting there, about halfway through their lunch when Luke got a phone call. He nodded towards the restrooms to take the call and left the table. John was just finishing when he saw Brad Fisher, Sr. and two goons come into the restaurant. He knew this was not good.

"Marty," John said quickly, while Fisher and the two goons looked around to locate them, "take your phone out and put it on record. We have unwanted visitors."

Marty got it done just before the three assholes arrived and placed it on the table. John greeted Brad a little sarcastically. "Brad, so good to see you. Glad you are breaking the restraining order. Maybe you can spend some time in a barred room."

Brad sat in Luke's chair, not having realized that someone was sitting there. The goons stood either side of him, trying to look intimidating.

"Well, Mr. Jackson, the case has rested and the jury is deliberating. I should let you know that if my son goes to jail, I will find a way to make you pay."

"That's Colonel Jackson to you, asshole. Oh, and did you realize that you were sitting in the chair of a Seattle police detective?"

Brad looked around and Luke was standing about eight feet behind him, his gun in his right hand at his side, and his phone up to his ear.

Luke saw Brad look and waved with his phone. "No, no, please stay seated. I will just be a moment." He grinned and then spoke into the phone for a couple of moments. "Now, please stay where you are, gentlemen, until the cavalry arrives. Otherwise," he lifted his gun slightly, "things might get messy."

Brad looked around and then stood up. His goons turned toward him. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

Luke raised his gun and pointed it at Brad. He was now ten feet away. "Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head." He then waved it at the goons. "You guys, too."

There was momentary hesitation, and the goons looked at Brad, but slowly they all complied.

As soon as they had knelt, three uniformed policemen came rushing in. They took in the scene and Luke had them handcuff all three. Then he told them to take them in and hold them until he got there.

Luke sat down and looked at the rest of us. "Sorry for the interruption. Now, I'm going to slowly enjoy my lunch while those three cool their heels." He grinned at the other three and started eating again.

---------------- Thursday, 21 Dec, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

The jury came back with the verdict on Thursday. Brad Fisher, Jr., having been charged with kidnapping, rape, assault, and some other things with Maria, was convicted on all charges against her. He had also been charged with murder of one of the dead girls found in the back yard, since they found his DNA on her. However, the jury didn't feel that the proof showed that he had done the killing, so he was found not guilty on that charge.

However, the charges he was found guilty on were more than enough to put him away for a long while. John and the others were glad about that, but they all were going to be watching their backs for Senior and his pair of goons. They were also afraid that there were more. Brad Sr. was quite wealthy and was known as a complete asshole. There was no telling what he might try to do.

---------------- Sunday, 24 Dec, 2023, Seattle, WA -----------

It was Christmas Eve and John and Yvonne were heading to the Bradford house for a late afternoon meal when John noticed that they were being followed. He told Yvonne about it and to not turn around. He didn't want them to know that they had been spotted yet. He checked out the rear-view mirror whenever the other car approached closer for a slow turn, and could see at least one long barreled weapon being prepared for use to do whatever they wanted to do to him.

The Bradfords had a large circular drive and since John was driving a Jeep, he decided on a plan of action. He would accelerate to the top of the drive, drop off Yvonne, and then circle back around the drive and see what they were doing. Yvonne, meanwhile, called Craig, Mary, and Carl as quickly as she could to tell them what was happening. Craig and Marty were at home, but George, back to unattached, was driving to one of the few restaurants that were open. He said he could be there in 3 minutes.

John accelerated to the top of the drive and Yvonne immediately jumped out to head into the house. John continued around the drive and reached the entrance off the street again just as the car following them passed the entrance. He swerved onto the street and managed to catch the driver's rear quarter panel as they passed. The other car, which looked like a rental, was an average sized sedan. The driver saw him coming and tried to accelerate, but when John caught the back of the rear quarter panel, the driver lost control. After being struck, it glanced off a couple of parked cars on the other side of the street, then swerved and hit one head on, coming to a sudden halt.

John unbuckled his belt and leapt from his Jeep. In front of the rented sedan, he saw George pull up in front of them and do the same. They both pulled out their weapons and checked out the other car from afar. There didn't appear to be any movement, and the airbags had deployed.

George went to the passenger side and John to the driver side. They approached slowly and could see that there were two individuals in the front and both had apparently been knocked out or stunned into immobility.

Yvonne or someone must have called the police, because two cars from different directions suddenly arrived, and it had only been a couple of minutes since John had hit the other vehicle. The two skidded to a stop and, seeing them coming, John and George had pulled back to their cars and put their weapons away before the police got to them. It would make things easier.

The police were taking statements and had taped off the area when the two detectives arrived. It turned out that one of them was Luke. John grinned and shook his hand. "I'm glad to see you here."

Luke looked around grinned. "Just like you to ruin my Christmas Eve."

John pointed at the car. "Don't blame me, blame those two yahoos. They were tailing me and Yvonne over here and I could make out at least one long-barreled weapon as they were closing in."

"Okay. Let me check and see what all the statements say. The uniforms have had two people canvassing to see if any of the neighbors saw anything. You going to be at the Bradford residence for a while?"

"Yes."

Luke and John then turned to see the two individuals who were being removed from the cars. They were both Asian. The EMTs were waiting for the police to make sure they were safe.

"Who the hell are those guys?" John looked at Luke.

"No idea. I thought they would be those goons from Fisher, Sr. I can't see him using guys like that. He's pretty much a misogynistic, racist asshole."

John shook his head. "Who the hell is after me now?" He turned to walk into the Bradford residence.

Luke headed toward the two Asians. They couldn't be booked for just following John, but three weapons were found in the car, including a rifle. They had no permissions to carry the two handguns, and the rifle, while it could be claimed it was for hunting, was suspicious considering all the other factors. Luke shook his head and figured it was going to be a bad Christmas Eve for those two. He wasn't going to give up the rest of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for them. They were just going to have to sit in the county jail until the 26th.

Rate the story «Starting Over Pt. 10 Ch. 03»

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