Latest from the Janitors, Asps, and Other Books - Baghdad Butcher (Janitors Series) - Jim sets about fooling those who have set a trap for him.

Today’s excerpt is from Baghdad Butcher, Book #1 of the Janitors Series. Wanting his enemies to think he’s dead, Jim puts his plan I motion.  Enjoy and have a wonderful day.

m.j.

 

       “Thanks.  Okay, Holly.  Here we go.”

That said, Jim handed Holly his Flasher and followed the drug dealer’s car past the semi.  He was not surprised when it started pulling out behind him to close off the only exit available.  In fast order, the lead car raced forward and stopped next to the limo.  As Jim drove up, several armed men jumped up and began shooting at his car.  Nearing the gunmen, Jim swung his car down the pier and slumped over in his seat, pressing the horn as he did so.  Racing the car while holding the horn down, he swerved back and forth as he headed for the left side of the pier, where he could see the small retaining log end was rotted away, as Billy had told him to expect.

Holly meanwhile put the headset in a baggie, put the baggie in the mesh bag, tied the drawstring, then did her best to pretend as though she was trying to grab the steering wheel from the now “dead” Jim.

When they hit the rotted beam at the end of the pier, they received quite a jolt.  Another sound jolt reached them when the car struck the water several feet below at a slight angle to the left.  Due to the extra speed Jim had put on as they raced down the pier, the car was only slightly nose down when they hit, and soon leveled out as they settled toward the bottom.

As the water started pouring into the car, Holly was surprised at how cold it was and also how fast the car was filling up.  Long before they hit bottom, she had her facemask on and was fingering her mouthpiece nervously, forgetting to unhook her seat belt as Jim had told her.

Jim took off his seat belt, put his facemask on, and grabbed the mesh bag.  When the car settled on the bottom, the water was chin high and Jim nodded.  “Okay, Holly, get ready to put your mouthpiece in.  Remember, breath nice and slow.”

Holly said nothing, but with growing dread, she slipped the mouthpiece in and started breathing.  When the water was over their heads, they both opened their doors.  Jim eased out, but Holly, having forgotten to unbuckle her seat belt, started to panic when she couldn’t move.  Frantically she tugged on the seat belt, losing all sense or reason.  The only bit of sanity still left in her told her to keep the mouthpiece in her mouth and breathe.  The more she struggled, the more desperate she became.

Not seeing Holly on the other side of the car, Jim looked back inside and saw Holly’s dilemma. With calm but slightly hurried action, Jim pushed the clasp button on her seat belt and gently pulled her out his side of the car.  Feeling her tenseness, Jim gave her a hug, rubbed her back a bit, and started swimming toward the pier, with Holly in tow.

When Jim felt Holly’s muscles loosen a bit, he turned her loose and she started swimming after him.  Holly, still quite nervous, but back in control, thought to herself, “This is the last time I’m going into the water in a car….ever!  What a stupid idea!  I ought to kill Jim—except, of course, he just saved my life.”

When they reached the pier, they made their way over to the ladder and surfaced.  Both spit out their mouthpieces and took off the facemasks.  Jim climbed up a few steps of the ladder and found it quite solid.  He then eased back down to Holly and whispered, “You okay?”

“Yes…now.  Thanks to you,” Holy whispered back.

Jim patted her on the back, winked at her, and reached into the mesh bag, taking out the baggie with the Flasher.  As soon as he had it on, he said, “Hector.  Report, please.”

“The limo is gone, Billy is following.  Most of the other cars are pulling out as we speak.  Three guys are at the end of the pier, no doubt looking for air bubbles.”

“That’s the nice thing about the re-breathers—no air bubbles.”

“Still a few coming up from the car.   I see you down by the ladder.  If you hold on a sec, all the rest of the cars will be gone.  The three guys at the end of the pier have their backs to you.  As long as air bubbles keep coming up from the car, they will probably keep looking that way.  But when the bubbles end, their attention may divert.  Okay, last of the cars are gone.”

“Thanks for the report, Hector.  We’ll start up now.”

Jim climbed up a few steps, stopped to take out the baggie with the silenced Walther, tossed the baggie, put the gun in his belt, and started up the rest of the ladder.  A step from the top he looked down and saw Holly a few steps below.  He then rose up and saw the three lookouts, with their backs to him.  As he eased up onto the pier, he gently set down the mesh sack and glanced down to Holly.  She had now reached the last step, so he helped her quietly up onto the pier.

Once she was up, she found the baggie with her gun and took it out as Jim slowly started walking toward the three men in front of them.  About twenty feet from them, with Holly about six feet behind and to his right, Jim said, in Arabic, “Okay, gentlemen.  Don’t move or you’ll die.”

Without a seconds hesitation, all three men turned and reached for their guns.  Jim got off three shots from his gun.  The first hit the man on his left squarely in the chest.  Since his bullets were hollow points, this shot blew the man’s heart to pieces and he died almost instantly.  The second shot took the man in the middle in the stomach.  The third shot hit the man on the right in his right shoulder.  That man’s gun fell to the pier and the man grabbed his shoulder, where blood was pumping out at a rapid pace.

Still speaking Arabic as he walked up to the two living men, Jim growled, “I have a helicopter flying overhead.  You can be in a hospital in about five minutes.  If you aren’t, you’re going to bleed to death.  If you think Allah can wait for you a while longer, tell me what I want to know, right now, and you may live.  Where is that limo headed?” 

The man with the stomach wound shook his head and glared at Jim.  Jim looked at the other man and hoped he wasn’t quite as brave.  As he did, the man with the stomach wound sat in a growing pool of blood and keeled over, obviously dead.

Jim tilted his head toward the now second dead man.  “Your time is running out, also.  Where’s the limo headed?”

Before he too died, the man told Jim what he wanted to know.  Since Jim still had his headset on, Hector, who by now was in his car, nearing the end of the pier, heard.  “Know the spot, Jim.  Hold on while I check with my pilot on my other communications set and see if the path of the limo is consistent with what this guy just told you.”

As Hector pulled up to where Jim and Holly stood over the three dead men, and got out.  “Jim, they seem to be headed in the right direction.  While you and Holly were swimming, I took the liberty of having one of my other two cars get behind the limo in a very loose tail, getting directions from the chopper pilot.”

As Jim said, “Good.  Billy, get the other car up for a closer tail and then get back here for us,” Hector got out two blankets from the trunk of his car and handed one each to the shivering Holly and to Jim.

Holly’s teeth were chattering, so she just nodded her thanks and grunted.  Jim grinned.  “Thanks.”

Billy responded, “On my way.  Hector’s car is in visual with the limo.  Should be there in about five minutes.”

Jim helped Holly into Hector’s own car, as his second car pulled up.  “Hector, please have your guys take care of that mess on the pier.  I need those three to disappear.  Now that I’m dead, I want to stay that way for a while.”

 

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