Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 10:19:02 -0800 (PST)
From: taarob <taarob@yahoo.com>
Subject: Protecting David-Alex's Story 18

This is a work of fiction.  I love getting email so if you
would like to contact me you can at taarob@yahoo.com or if
you'd like to see some other things that I've written you
can go to my web site at http://www.mygaystories.com .

From the previous chapter:
I walked over to the living room window pulled the heavy
drapes back a bit and looked out.  It was a cool misty early
December evening in northern California, the streets were
shiny from the light rain.  I thought of Alex and what he
must be thinking, what he must be enduring.  I closed my
eyes and tried to tell him that we were coming.

Samantha came up beside me and spoke softly.  "Sir, you
shouldn't be in front of the window."

"They won't hurt me, Samantha.  They haven't been paid."


                    Protecting David-Alex's Story 18

                            Tuesday, early morning.

                                  Washington, D.C.

                                     Mark

David, Mr. Tam and I spent most of late Monday night and
early Tuesday morning formulating a plan.  Now that we knew
that Bonurato had ordered the kidnapping and we knew his
whereabouts we at least had the basis for doing so.

We knew that David would be contacted soon giving him a time
and place to drop off the money but we had no way of knowing
if that would be negotiable.  Of course we didn't want to
turn over the money until we knew that Alex was and would
remain safe but we also knew that that might not be an
option.

Mr. Tam's men had begun to close a noose around Bonurato's
family, his actual family.  No one wanted to use them as
hostages but it might be necessary.  Mr. Tam had also been
having his people slowly and quietly taking Bonurato's
employees and associates out of the picture.   Minor
functionaries were being drugged and put out of commission
in a variety of ways.  The one that I thought was the most
ingenious was food poisoning.  One drop of a witch's brew of
bacteria onto the plate of food of a foot soldier could put
him out of business for the couple of days that we needed
and could do it without raising too much suspicion.

Bonurato had six lieutenants, one each for, the city of San
Francisco, the east bay, the south bay, Reno/Tahoe, the
northern part of the state and one for everything from Chico
to Modesto in the valley.  Each of them had four to eight
primary musclemen and anywhere from an additional four to
twenty thugs.  The majority of them were in the bay area and
that meant up to a hundred and fifty major players to be
dealt with just in the immediate area.

On the other hand Mr. Tam's warriors were a curious lot made
up of teenage girls, little old ladies, buff recruits from
all of the world's armies and just about anything else you
could imagine.  Nobody is looking for trouble from a little
white haired old lady using a walker and they combined with
the teenage girls wearing low cut jeans and skimpy tops were
the most effective at food poisoning but all were capable of
killing without a seconds thought.

So far eighteen bad guys had bit the dust, three were dead
from neurotoxins administered by a heat treated steel six
inch razor sharp hair pin plunged into the back of the neck.
Another six were in the hospital with food poisoning and the
rest had either "tripped" and fallen or had been involved in
automobile accidents.  Now that Mr. Tam's troops were
getting into the swing of things Bonurato was loosing about
a man an hour.  But we still hadn't been able to discern a
pattern to the movements of his men and were coming to the
conclusion that wherever Alex was being held his location
was isolated from the rest of the organization and he
probably was being guarded by the same people all the time.

My end of the plan was going to be a bit more complicated
and that's where Emma came in.  I called her and told her
that I needed to see her immediately and then called Jeff
Collins and told him about the manpower that I needed.  Jeff
ran a sort of clearing house for SEALS and Special Forces
people who, for one reason or another, weren't in the
military any longer but still enjoyed using their special
talents.


                    -----------------------


She sat on a settee in her bedroom facing the huge arched
windows that dominated one entire wall and looked out onto
the vast back garden and beyond that the city that she and
her husband had so loved.  Her gray hair was combed back and
her face was gaunt with just the barest touch of makeup.
Her skin was drawn tight over her cheekbones.  She was
wearing a Chinese dressing gown of robin's egg blue silk
with various oriental landscapes so delicately embroidered
in pale gold silk that they only became visible in the
correct light.

Emma turned to look at me and while she seemed unspeakably
frail her eyes were as sharp as flint.  She held out her
hand.  I took it in mine kissed it and then gently kissed
her on the cheek.  I knew that Emma was tough, lately though
she just seemed to be waiting for death, I was just hoping
that she was even tougher than I thought.

She looked at me and simply said, "You didn't sound good on
the phone, Mark.  Tell me what's wrong."

I knelt down in front of her so that our eyes would be on
the same level.  I'm sure that my voice was strained and
that my eyes were moist my voice was soft.

"Alex has been kidnapped."

There was the slightest gasp but her expression barely
changed, she inhaled and was silent for a moment and then
softly said,  "What would you like me to do?"

I explained that we were prepared to pay the ransom but we
also wanted to insure Alex's safe return and that the man
who had ordered the crime was on a yacht off the coast of
California.  I didn't have to explain that most kidnap
victims were found dead.

"Emma, I need a Navy ship to officially stop that yacht and
put me and my men on board her then wait until we signal
them and before they sail away.  They don't have to do
anything but look official.  Me and my men will be in Navy
uniforms so the ships crew doesn't even have to know that
were not Navy personnel."

She started to ask, "What are you.......?  No, I don't need
to know that."  She turned her head and looked at the large
clock on the far wall and then picked up the telephone.

"Robert, I want you to get me Charlie Evans, he'll probably
be in his car."  Emma had everyone's phone number even the
Secretary of Defense.  "Thank God the mans a politician or
we wouldn't stand a chance."  She smiled grimly.  "At least
not with him."

There aren't many people who can pick up a phone and call
the Secretary of Defense but I heard her do the same thing
with the President and a lot of people on down.  In politics
the important thing, some would say the only important
thing, is to get reelected and as far as that goes I believe
that it's true but more fundamentally the more important
thing is to get power and hang onto it which of course is
what happens when you do get reelected.  The thing is that
Emma always had power because she had the power of money and
that's something that solves many of a politicians problems.

Emma's, family fortune was founded in the late 1700's by an
ancestor who believed that land was never to be sold and
that if you controlled the flow of money a lot of it was
gonna rub off and linger.  Along with her nephews, nieces,
and various in-laws she controlled the country's second
largest bank and third largest insurance company.  The real
estate she owned in New York City alone would have made
Donald Trump gasp.


"Emma!  How are you?"

"Charlie!  I'm just fine thank you.  It's kind of you to
take the time to speak to a lonely old lady."

The Secretary laughed.  "Somehow, Emma, that makes you sound
more forlorn than I could ever imagine you being."

Emma spoke with a smile and lilt in her voice that I knew
she didn't feel.  "Well, Charlie, now that we've gotten that
out of the way I need you to do me a favor.  A minor thing
really."

Evans laughed.  "Emma, darlin you have never asked for a
minor thing in your entire life!  Who I gotta kill?"

"My Lord, nothing like that, Charlie!  I just need to borrow
a small Navy ship for a few hours.  I'd appreciate it if you
could send me one of those admirals that you seem to have so
many of and I'll fill him in on the details."

There was a stunned silence.  "Emma, you've gotta be
kidding!  Surely you know I can't.....what the hell you want
it for anyway?"

"Well, Charlie, you know that I'm not gonna hurt it and
those boats are doing nothing but sailing round and round
anyway."

"Emma both the President and the Congress'd have my ass."

Emma's voice changed and became very business like.
"Charlie, first of all I can handle the congress and you
know that that's true.  Secondly you and I both know that in
the President's benchmark speech at Annapolis he swore that
he was gonna push through another carrier group and we also
both know that you don't have the votes, even in your own
party, to do it.  Charlie, we also both know that I can give
you those votes.  I want a small Navy ship to take eight men
and put them onboard a private yacht that's off the coast of
California.  They don't have to do anything to anyone and
there's not a reason in the world that it even needs to be
recorded.  And in exchange for that you get your carrier
group and your boss gets to keep his promise."

There was a long silence and then the Secretary said, "What
if this gets out?"

"Charlie, I'm taking much greater secrets than this to my
grave, some you know about, many you don't.  No one will
hear it from me and I know that the Navy can keep a secret."

She sighed, reluctant to discuss her private affairs but
knowing that it was inevitable.  "Charlie, the man that owns
that yacht ordered the kidnapping of someone very close to
me and I promise you that this will get done.  The only
remaining question is will it be done with your help and
will you get your carrier group?"

The Secretary said,  "I need cover."

Emma's voice was soft, calming.  "The father of the boy
who's been kidnapped represents several important suppliers
to the Department of Defense.  He's filled to the brim with
top secret information and while it hasn't happened yet what
if the kidnappers demanded information about advanced weapon
systems, information that could be sold."

"Is that all true?"

"Yes."

"Why not call the FBI?"

"We'd like him back alive and the man on that yacht is well
connected."

"So this could be a national security issue."  It was half
question and half statement.

"Certainly, Charlie and it isn't unreasonable to use a small
ship that's in the area anyway to perhaps neutralize a
potential threat.  And it isn't like you're being asked to
do this by someone unknown to the congress, the FBI and the
CIA.  They all know me, Charlie.  No one in the congress is
going to give you a hard time about this even if they found
out and no one will find out from me.  Can you rely on the
Navy to remain silent?"

"How big a ship?"

"Smallest one you've got."

"There's some small coastal boats out there.  That be big
enough?  The crew is maybe thirty guys, easier to keep
thirty guys quiet than the crew of a damn destroyer."

"Charlie, you could even say that I had given you a tip that
the yacht was transporting terrorists.  Hell, if ya get into
a corner tell em anything you've got to.  I'll back you up
you've got my word."

"Emma, I gotta tell the boss' chief of staff, it's too
likely that the Navy will let it slip, maybe on purpose and
if he hears that way the shit'll hit the fan big time."

"That's not the problem you think.  Just be sure that you
tell him that it's for me and don't tell him until ten
o'clock this morning."

"Why then?"

"My bank will be announcing a proposed acquisition that will
please him."

He laughed.  "So his brother in law is finally gonna unload
that bank?"

"He will if I get my ship, Charlie."

Thirty minutes later Admiral Harold Carver was introducing
himself and his aide Captain Milo Harman.  Admiral Carver
told me that Captain Harman would be going with me to
California and running interference with the local powers at
Naval station in San Diego.  He explained that the Navy had
a couple of coastal patrol boats that were about 170 feet
long with a crew of twenty-five.

"These are scheduled to be turned over to the Coast Guard
for the Homeland Security Department but they needed an
overhaul and they're on shakedown cruises now which is
perfect for you because that consists mainly of cruising the
coastline."

We were standing at the far corner of Emma's huge bedroom
while the Admiral talked quietly with Emma, no doubt with
dreams of promotion dancing in his head.

"Captain, I still don't know what time I'm going to need to
be aboard that yacht so I'm hoping the crew will be a little
flexible about their schedule."

He laughed.  "The CNO was calling the ship's captain as we
were leaving.  I think he'll do pretty much anything you
want.  There's also a C20 sitting at Andrews waiting for us.
You got your guys ready?"

"Yeah but we're taking a Falcon 900 out of Dulles."

"You sure?  The C20 is free."  I was thinking about what
we'd be transporting and about the records being kept.

"Yeah, at this point the money isn't an issue."

Just then my cell phone started vibrating and I stepped out
of the room to take the call.

"Jeff?"

"Mark, I got your SEAL's for ya.  Three are here in D.C. but
four are already in the San Diego area."

I sighed.  "Thank God!  Jeff, I need em at Dulles at noon
and Jeff I need enough semtex to sink a good size yacht.
We'll be using a private plane so if you've got semtex in
your stock here that'd be handy. We can carry it with us."

"Not a problem.  How big a bang you want?"

"Just enough to sink her.  The quieter the better...oh and
we'll need timers too."

"No problem there either.  I'll have em with me at Dulles as
long as we're not flying commercial."

"You're coming yourself?"

"Yeah, no charge, I wanna be in on this.  I hate it when
people fuck with my friends."


                     Tuesday morning

                    Palo Alto, California

                         David

I spent the night, or rather what was left of it, in the
condo across the street from Alex's.  It was full of Mr.
Tam's people but his granddaughter gave me an Ambien so I
was finally able to get a few hours sleep.

This would have been so much easier to live through if
instead of hearing Mark on the telephone I could have him in
my arms.  I needed to look into his eyes and know what he
was thinking.  I needed him to love me.  Not that I doubted
his love I knew that was forever but it was easier to
believe with his arms around me.  Then there was the whole
matter of the killings that I had endorsed, endorsed hell, I
had ordered them.  I knew going into this that there would
be deaths and I was praying that Alex wouldn't be one of
them.  I thought back to the beating that I got in high
school and how I had eventually forgiven the man that did
it.  I knew that this was different and I was determined not
to allow my family to be victims.  I shuddered at my own
feelings.  If Alex died so would they all.

At eight o'clock the next morning I walked across the street
to Alex's condo and had a cup of coffee with Bob and Jack,
Larry was in the shower.

I took a sip of my coffee while I looked around the condo
and then at them.  "There's no way that the boys are gonna
want to stay here is there?"

Bob sighed and said, "I can't imagine it.  How could they
ever walk to class again and not relive the whole thing?
It'd make me crazy.  Actually it'd make me crazy just
knowing that they were here doing it."

Jack had been staring at the floor his coffee mug held to
his chest.  He didn't look up but simply said, "He's right.
And I'd be damned uncomfortable knowing that they were
here."

I said.  "Alex, if I read him right, will go wherever Larry
wants to be.  Do you guys think he'd want to go back to the
Denver area?"

Bob said.  "We can ask but I think that he would."  He
smiled.  "I've got a client with a gorgeous house on forty
acres only a few miles from Becky and me and only ten miles
from Jack.  The guy really needs to sell and the market has
softened, you could probably get a deal on it and Larry is
in love with the place, at least what he's seen of it.  We
used to drive by the place all the time.  The house is very
contemporary with hard angles and balconies hanging out over
space."

"Have you seen the inside?"

"Breathtaking!  But were talking some major money."

"If you're sure that Larry would like it make them an offer.
Call Joan at my office and tell her how much you need.  I'll
email her and let her know that you'll be in touch with her.
I really do like the idea of them being near to either Mark
and I or you guys.

Jack put his hand to his eyes and Bob said, "But what.....?"

I interrupted him.  "We'll find Alex alive!"

The DVD was delivered by USPS special delivery around nine
o'clock.  It was addressed to me in care of Alex at the
condo's address.

Larry came running out of his room as soon as Alex's voice
was heard.  He dropped down onto the sofa and stared in
stunned silence at the television as Alex, wearing shackles
and in a cage of some sort, said that he hadn't been hurt
"yet" and read off instructions that gave us the time and
place were we were suppose to leave the money.  Obviously no
one intended to allow negotiation.  Alex looked to me like
he had been pushed mentally about as far as he could go.  I
just hoped that he didn't do anything stupid.

Larry face was contorted with frustration but he didn't cry
and he didn't explode his body was shaking and he just
seemed to collapse leaning over sideways until Bob was
holding him.


                          Tuesday morning

                                West of Modesto, California

                             Alex

I didn't sleep very well, like maybe an hour or two near
morning.  Some time during the night I heard cars leaving
and then the house was pretty quiet.  Arnie was still
apparently here but the television set went off eventually
and then there was silence.

I woke up with a start the next morning and I thought for a
moment that I had heard a loud noise but when I listened
there was only silence.  Then I looked at the door of the
cage, it was open.  I drew in a sharp breath and looked
around the room just moving my eyes there was no one there,
there was no sound.  I got up slowly trying very hard not to
make any sound and edged carefully towards the doorway.  The
shackles attached to my ankles made a scratching metallic
sound against the concrete of the floor.  The chains
attached to my wrists would only allow me to go four feet
and I stood there in frustration looking at the open door.
I walked to the wall of the cage and looked closely at the
connection of the chains to the frame of the cage, they were
welded.  I didn't have anything that could conceivably be
used as a tool or for that matter a weapon.  The chain
wasn't all that thick but it was thick enough.  I pulled on
it.  That was useless.  I reached up and grabbed an overhead
beam and hit the weld with my heel.  Nothing.  Except.....

"Stop that!  Stop that!"  Arnie ran around the cage to the
side and yelled at me.  "You fucking faggot you're gonna get
me in trouble!"

I was still hanging onto the beam.  "You left the door open.
I thought maybe everyone had gone."  Looking into his eyes I
knew that what the other guy had said was true.  This guy
was nuts.  I dropped my hands.  If I could only get this guy
and put him out of commission, somehow I'd break these
chains and get outta here.

"Get back in your bed!  You're making me very angry!"  I
wondered if I could make him so angry that he'd come into
the cage.

"Fuck you, Arnie!  I'm breaking these chains!"  I grabbed
the overhead beam and started kicking with a vengeance at
the piece of chain that was welded to the side beam.

Arnie was going into orbit now.  "Stop that!  You're not
supposed to do that!  Stop!"

I just screamed back at him.  "I'm fucking breaking this,
Arnie!  I've had enough of this shit and I'm leaving!"  Well
that was overly optimistic.

Arnie took off running up the stairs.  I figured he was
gonna call his bosses but I really didn't give a shit.  I
was a dead man if I didn't do anything so if the most that
they could do was kill me it didn't seem to make much
difference.  I kinda felt dead already.

I heard him running back downstairs and glanced towards him
over my shoulder.  He was carrying a black thing but it
didn't look like a gun.  And then it all just happened in
slow motion.  I saw these silvery things with the wires
looping out behind them and realized too late what it was.
Taser.

I couldn't remember anything and I didn't seem to be able to
move my arms or legs and then felt the strain on my arms.  I
looked at my arms and followed them up.  The chain went up
at a sharp angle to the wall of the cage and my arms ached
and tingled at the same time.  I was lying on the floor on
my stomach and my arms were stretched out.  I tried to move
my legs but that just didn't seem to happen.  But strangely
nothing seemed to hurt.  But then it hurt a lot.

The blow knocked my head down through my arms and my face
hit the concrete floor.  The blood just seemed to erupt I
felt dazed but conscious and I could feel more blood running
down the back of my neck and the sides of my face.  Looking
down I seemed to be lying in a pool of it.

Then he began rhythmically beating me with something.  The
first shot caused incredible pain more pain than I had ever
imagined and then the hits just kept coming.....but I left.
In my mind I walked into Larry's arms and while he held me
tightly he whispered that loved me and that everything would
be okay.


                    Late Tuesday evening

                    San Diego, California

                                 Mark

We were in my room at the Hyatt hotel in San Diego.  Captain
Harman unrolled a chart on the table and pointed with his
pen.  "The bad guys yacht is here, roughly twenty-five miles
west of Carmel."  He moved his pen.  "Our ship is here,
about a hundred miles north of Santa Barbara.  I thought of
having her just move on to Monterey and having you board her
there but that isn't normally one her stops and it's the
kind of ship that people would remember."

He stood up and looked me over.  "Don't take this wrong
because you look like you're in fantastic shape but can you
go down a rope onto the deck."  He held out his hands in a
calming motion.  "I know, I know, you were a Ranger but that
was a while ago.  If you can still do it that would be the
cleanest way for a lot of reason all of them having to do
with keeping this whole thing quiet."

I must have been giving him a dirty look because he said,
"Don't look at me that way.  I couldn't do it myself.  Hey
the heaviest thing that I lift these days is my dick."  He
laughed.  "Ahhhh, forget that I said that will ya?  It's
just being away from D.C., I get so tired of all that polite
conversation."  He sighed.  "The thing is that if you're not
sure that you can do it twenty miles from land is a lousy
place to find out that you were wrong."

I took a sip of my drink and said, "I can do it."  I smiled.
"Really!  I can do it.  I wouldn't put all this at risk if
there were the slightest doubt in my mind."

Captain Harman sat down and said, "As it stands now the Navy
is gonna stop this boat and put you guys aboard.  Then they
wait until you fire a flare and they take off.  Right so
far?"

I nodded.  "Yep, you're dead on."

"I don't wanna pry and I sure as hell don't wanna know more
than I need to but I'm assuming that you've got getting back
covered.  I mean you haven't said and I don't really care
how you do it I just wanna make sure that you're covered."

"It's covered." Milo was nice guy and someone that I really
thought that I could have a good conversation with but what
he didn't know he couldn't report or testify to.

Milo got up and grabbed the garment bag that he had brought
with him and pulled down the zipper.  "Here's your uniform.
The nametag says, Captain John Cannon."  He smiled.  "You
actually outrank the skipper of the ship, except of course
when you're on the ship."

"So we need to fly to Monterey in the morning now that we
know that you have to be on the yacht by 12:30.  Mark, is
your plane still available or do you want us to fly you and
the guys to Monterey?"

"It's ours for as long as needed."

"Good, then let's figure that we'll leave tomorrow around
nine just to give us plenty of time.  In Monterey you guys
will board a helicopter that will take you to the ship.
You're sure you don't want them to hang around in the area
after they split?  They could just drop back a few miles."

"No, Milo, it's best that they move away at full speed."

He downed his drink and then smiled grimly at me.  "Right."

I lay down on the bed and punched a preset on my cell phone.
When David answered I simply said, "I love you."

I could hear his voice choking up as he said, "Me too you."
He sighed heavily.  "How the fuck are we all gonna survive
this?"

"We will, David, we all will, including, Alex."

"What if he's already dead?  I dunno what I'd do."

"Baby, it's gonna be okay."

"I hope so.  I hope that you're right.  I gotta believe that
you are cause I couldn't go on otherwise.  I don't wanna
find out what I do if he's dead."