A bang-Up Vacation

He stood, frozen in time, staring out the plate-glass window. It was raining with such intensity that Don Bryant could barely make out his car parked in the driveway. 

Carol came up beside him and gently put a hand on his arm. She spoke in a low, commanding voice. "I don't like it, Donny love. Will we be able to complete the contract in time?"

"Don't worry, dear. The car is packed and the gear is oiled and ready." He smiled, reached over and patted her hand with authority.

"We have never done a double job before and it worries me," she responded. "You have no experience as far as I know using electrical devices. Let's get the hell out of here."

Kailani Ang entered the living room and clapped her hands to get their attention. "Dinner is ready. Akeno has prepared his famous tempura shrimp with sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and special treats. Please eat while it is hot." 

Don turned, smiled and nodded to Carol. "We can't wait," and followed Kailai into the dining room. The Ang's house was not large, but was artistically decorated with an oriental flavor. Akeno was smiling his usual broad smile as he brandished the bottle of wine Don had brought for him. "Château de Sancerre. I have never tasted this wine but I'm sure it will go splendidly with the dinner. Please be seated." He poured the wine as they took their seats. "Dig right in. We don't bother with grace in this household. Tell us where you folks are off to this time. With my job at the high school and Kailani working at the zoo, we have limited vacation days. Seems like you guys are going somewhere intriguing every month."

Don nodded his head in agreement. "We do like to travel, but it's not strictly vacation. A lot of my time is devoted to my online business. Sometimes our travels take us to exotic places like Thailand, the Greek Islands and one of our favorites, Costa Rica. We have to be more careful now days since some of the South American countries have become quite dangerous. He looked at Carol and chuckled. This is a domestic trip. We are traveling to the mountains of North Carolina. We are taking videos wherever we go and Kailani is putting together a travelog. When it's completed, we'll get together with you folks and view it. Akeno, the meal was delicious.  We regret to have to run, but with weather like it is, we will have to take it slow. I have an appointment to make and can't be late."

"Oh, that's too bad," Kailani said. "There is a great game on tonight. Green Bay plays Minnesota. Carol said you were a Packer fan. We hoped we could watch it together. We have a big screen television in the game room."

Carol gave each a hug. "I'm terribly sorry. That would have been fun. Thank you again for looking in on our dog. We have a dog door and a fenced-in backyard. All you need to do is check his food and water. Here is the key to the back door. We should be home in three days, four at the most. Thank you guys again."

Don started the car and headed for US 23 south to Toledo and then 24 west to For Wayne. "We should be there in less than three hours, even with this inclement weather." He reached over and gave Carol a reassuring pat on her knee. "You realize this judge is as crooked as a snake? The cops planted drugs on the wrong fellow this time. Judge Dixon was in on it. I'm not saying the victim was a saint. Far from it. The thing is, the kid they set up was the son of a high-ranking mob boss in Detroit. He ran an auto repair shop in Fort Wayne which laundered his dad's money. Our mark will be returning from a legal conference in Chicago. The plan is to shoot him when he stops at his daughter's place to pick up his wife. My information says there is good lighting on the porch. The storm should have passed by then. When he steps onto the porch, I'll take him out. If we park less than a block away, I’ll have a clear shot. Sound good to you?"

"I suppose," Carol responded. It's the second job that worries me. Tell me again how much we get for each job? 

"Twenty-five K for the first one and forty for the second one. Seems fair to me. The second one is a bit tricky. Here's the scenario. After we get the judge, we skedaddle south to the small town of Markle. I made reservations at Hotel Z. It doesn’t have a five-star rating, but it’s the best I could do. We don't want to be on the road when the cops are on the lookout for the shooter. The next morning, we should have a nice, relaxed drive through the back country to Richmond. We can eat lunch there. Then head on to the small town of Madison, Indiana, that borders the Ohio River. I booked us at the Clifty Inn. Looks like a nice place overlooking the river. We get an early start the next morning and make our way to Louisville, Kentucky. The man we are looking for this time is a degenerate. He oversees a smuggling ring that imports young girls into the US from Europe and South East Asia. The bastard has made billions off the suffering of innocents. He lives in an exclusive development on the northeast side of Louisville. There are bodyguards that travel with him, so he’s difficult to approach. He is a high-end car enthusiast and has a large garage behind the house. He parks there and enters his house via the back door. Like clockwork, every morning, he drives to his favorite restaurant for breakfast and returns by ten. I just have to climb the low brick backyard wall surrounding the backyard and plant the bomb under the porch. It's a rather fancy back step, built with a roman style arch. Plenty of space to plant the bomb. You can see through the bricks in the wall the way they are constructed. I’ll wait until he grabs the handle on the back door and press the activator button. Doesn't matter how many bodyguards he has with him, they all go up in smoke. We hit the major highways home and count our dough.

Carol fell asleep on the trip to Fort Wayne. The sun was up when Don nudged her awake. The rainstorm, as he predicted, had blown over. They arrived at the Judge's daughter's house and sat in silence, waiting for the judge to pick up his wife. They had almost given up hope when they saw the judge's car pull into the driveway. Carol moved over to the driver’s seat. Don moved to the back seat and rested the bolt action sniper rifle on the open window. The judge hurried up the steps and reached for the doorknob. Don pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. He cursed and opened the chamber. There was no cartridge. "Holy hell. I forgot to load the gun after I cleaned it. Don't panic. I'll catch him as he walks through the door." He reloaded the rifle and sighted back on the front door. The door opened, and the judge appeared. He caught his foot on the threshold and fell just as Don pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the judge's wife, who was a step behind him in the chest, knocking her back into the hall.

Carol stepped on the gas and headed out of town. “Jesus Donny. What do we do now? You killed the judge’s wife!” 

Don climbed into the front seat, a pained expression on his face. "Tell the truth, I guess. The clumsy bastard fell just as I shot. How was I to know? We won't get paid for this one, but maybe they will want me to try again sometime down the road."

They spent an apprehensive night worrying that any minute the cops would burst through the door. They skipped breakfast and hit the road. The drive was a pleasant one through farmland and scenic, small old towns. Their room at the Clift Inn was marvelous. Their spirits were uplifted and after spending an enjoyable evening, they had an early breakfast and took to the road again. They arrived at the mobster's house with time to spare. They watched him depart for the restaurant in the morning, accompanied by two bodyguards. Don handed Carol the control box, along with the set of emergency instructions. He scaled the wall and carried his package under the porch archway. Carefully placing the bomb on the ground, he inspected it to see if the wires were all still secured. A red wire and black wire were dangling loose. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he wondered what to do. He waved to carol. "Bring me the instructions." 

Carol scaled the wall and ran across the yard, carrying the instructions and control box. "What is the problem?"

Don pointed his forefinger at the loose wires. "Let me see the diagram. I have to be sure I connect the wires to the correct poles." He studied the diagram. "Okay. The black one goes here and the red one is right here. He wiped the sweat from his brow and stepped back. Carol was looking over his shoulder and he stepped on her left foot. She stumbled backwards. The control panel flew from her hand and bounced off the archway. Don made a magnificent leap sideways and caught the box before it hit the ground. The only fault in his otherwise super acrobatic catch was the middle finger of his hand pressing down on the red button.

Kailani was sitting on the back steps, petting Carol and Don’s dog. Akeno came out of the house and sat beside her. “I looked around the house and can find nothing that suggests where they went on their vacation. I found one phone number on the desk with a Chicago area code. I called and some gruff sounding fellow answered. I asked if he knew Don Bryant and he hung up. Guess it was a wrong number. It has only been a week. Let's give it a few more days before we notify missing persons.”

"I suppose you're right. If we go to the police and make some big fuss, and I know Don. He seems quite sensitive about anything involving the police and might blow up."

The End