Starting Over Pt 08 Ch 05

Starting Over VIII, Part 5

This is the eighth 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.

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.

Recurring Characters

LTC (Retired) John Jackson, 5'11", 180, 56 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, 29 years old.

Mary Bradford, bartender, 5'5", 120, 44 years old.

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

Madeleine (Maddie) Bradford, Maggie's daughter, 16 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.

---------------- Saturday, November 12, 2022, Seattle, WA -----------

The three got back to their Jeep about 4pm, having taken their time and eaten lunch along the way. When they got to the Jeep, John remembered to call Yvonne, too. She might be able to find out what happened to them and where the helicopter had gone. Carl drove since John appeared to be exhausted by the loss of their prey. All the way home, all John could think about was failing to avenge Maggie.

---------------- Sunday, November 13, 2022, Seattle, WA -----------

The group had driven until they got to John's late last night, and everyone went home. John had made his way up to his apartment, where Yvonne was still up waiting for him, and she helped him undress, clean up a little, and crash. He was beat physically, and felt mentally defeated.

When John awoke the next morning, Yvonne was making some breakfast. He slowly got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and then walked into the kitchen in a pair of boxers. Yvonne was cooking waffles and humming.

"You seem quite happy this morning." John tried to grin at her, but could barely raise the corners of his mouth. He was still quite morose.

"I am. I am very, very happy. I've been having behind the scene talks with your contact in the FBI, Deputy Director Smothers. If I go to work as a consultant for them and the NSA, and perform no more illegal computer activities, they will expunge my record. And I get a consultant contract that pays me a lot of money, but legally."

John stared at her. He was sad over losing his wife and then seeing the man who gave the order get away. He was in a terrible way after all that, and she was happy that she could work legally? "That's great for you."

Yvonne could feel his anger under the words. She knew it would start this way, but she had an ace. "Thanks, I think. You didn't sound very happy. I know you are still suffering from the loss of Maggie. However, my first mission working for both of those agencies is to find Lucas Berenson. The FBI has forwarded a list of charges and warrants for him to the Canadians. Now, of course they don't know where he is right now, and there are hoops to jump through for extradition, but they think Canada is going to be very cooperative when this guy is found. So, do you think you can be nice to me for a while?"

John sighed and sat down, putting his head in his hands. "Sorry. I know my troubles are not your problem. And I really am happy for you to become legal. I'm still just a little down right now."

Yvonne put two waffles onto a plate for John and sat it in front of him. "I know. And don't worry. I'm going to find him so they can arrest him. The Canadians won't let him out on bail for this and he will stay in jail until the USA can get him back."

"Yeah, maybe. We'll see."

Yvonne nodded. "Now, I have some questions. First, I need to know if I can stay here and, if so, find out if we can bump up your internet speed. For now, I'll be working on the unclassified side, doing work for them. At some point, they will want me on the classified side and will arrange for me to use a secure room down at Joint Base Lewis-McChord."

John shrugged. "Sure, no reason you can't stay here."

"Okay, the next question is rather personal."

John had been cutting up his waffles and stopped to look up at that. "We've always been very open with each other."

Yvonne took a deep breath. She "Right. Well, I know you are still getting over Maggie. She was a beautiful, caring person. You know I liked her, too. But I was wondering if I could still sleep in your bed."

John raised an eyebrow. He was getting his humor back. "I think I might be able to put up with that." He grinned at that.

Yvonne laughed. "Welcome back, John. I knew the real John was in there somewhere. So, listen, I just mean that I love sex and you know I'm very physical. Since I am living here, maybe we could have sex?"

"Oh, so you just want to use me for your carnal desires?"

Yvonne grinned and walked around next to John. She gave him a hip bump. "Is that really going to be a problem? Am I going to have to go out and pick up strays?"

John put his arm around her. "Look, Yvonne. I understand what you are saying. I would love to help you with that, but I'm not positive I can, okay?"

"Well, as long as you don't mind, I'm sure I can work some magic eventually."

John shook his head. "Yeah, I bet you can." He turned to face her directly. "Okay, Yvonne, we can work on my getting over Maggie, and then I'll be your boy toy for the next few months, okay?"

Yvonne grinned and nodded. "Perfect. Now, eat those waffles before they get cold."

John realized how hungry he was and attacked the waffles.

Yvonne watched and hoped that she could be the woman in his life before too long. She had really fallen for him.

---------------- Saturday, November 19, 2022, Seattle, WA -----------

John and Yvonne continued to sleep in the same bed, but John had yet to feel like he could let go of Maggie's memories and do anything. Yvonne kept quiet and just snuggled when she was cold. She didn't push or anything.

Yvonne got up early that morning and looked closely at John. She was patient and could wait. But she was getting very horny sleeping naked next to a naked man. She was always a very physical person and enjoyed her sexuality. She thought back to her first meeting with John and grinned. She had researched him before she met him to take the job and everything pointed to him being a good man and lover. She had seduced him, if you call it that, by just saying that she wanted to have sex with him and starting to strip. It had turned out well. At least the reviews she had found on him had been correct. He was a caring and attentive lover. But that's all it was at first, just sex.

John turned over a little and Yvonne watched closely. She knew that by the last time they worked together that she was in love with this guy. He was everything that anyone she knew growing up, was not. They had had very good sex a couple of years ago. She wanted to jump his bones, but it was just reaching two months since the loss of his second wife. He lost his first to cancer and the second to being shot. He also felt guilty about Maggie being shot. She would just have to be patient a little longer.

Later that day, Yvonne was working in the second apartment where she had set up a work area with a couple of large screens, high speed internet directly to her computer, and everything she needed to sustain herself over there. She had even purchased an espresso machine because she loved having one first thing in the morning.

Yvonne was following up on something when a small detail hit her. She had been working with the NSA on finding anything that might lead to Lucas, when something caught her attention.

A couple of the men on the ground in Canada had been asking about vehicles and lodging for the three who had disappeared. They had filed a report about the purchase of a used vehicle for cash, $2500, that seemed suspicious to them. Yvonne immediately went over all the details and started searching for any possible cameras that she could ask for access to.

Yvonne looked at the map and then thought about where someone could go in a used vehicle. She looked all over and started calling some folks who were in the home and condo rental business. She assumed they would want to lay low where they could be incognito for a while. She worked most of the day on it and got nowhere, but Yvonne had intuition when it came to this. She could feel that she was on the right track. She was sure that this was going to get them to Lucas and his two guards. She could only imagine what he had promised them to get them to go along.

Yvonne looked outside. It had been clear for a week, but was now a little cloudy. Winter was coming and she was looking forward to more cuddle-time with John. She figured eventually, at least his body would be ready for sex sleeping next to a naked woman. The rest would come later.

Yvonne went next door and found John just finishing his core muscle exercises. She told him about the purchase of the used car.

"Two of the Mounties we doing searches and moving around and asking questions along the border and found that a used car had been purchased for cash, $2500, in Cranbrook, British Columbia. It took a while to find out, because it was a personal sale, not from a used car dealer. They only found out by asking some folks in a café while they were looking at personal postings in the newspaper and someone piped up about it. It was just luck that the seller was standing there getting a coffee to go when someone said something like 'Hey, Thomas, didn't you just sell your car?'

"At first, he was wary since the Mounties are their national police and also the police for some of the provinces, but then they reassured him he wasn't the target and got the information. Thomas, or whatever his real name was, sold it to only one guy, but he fit the description of the former military guy. The Mounties forwarded it to us, but were not too sure if it was important. They said the guy used Canadian money and they were unsure if the three would have had Canadian dollars."

John was listening carefully. "Of course they would. If Lucas had been planning this, he would have had money in several currencies. I also wonder if he has another passport. Someone with his money can always find someone to make up something."

"Well, I'm on it, and so is the FBI at this point. They are communicating with Canada and I'm sure any picture that shows up like him is going to be flagged. Right now, I'm trying to see if I can find that vehicle anywhere. I have to go by the make because I'm sure they would have changed the plates by now. There aren't many cameras available in that region, but I'm looking closely at what they will let me see.

"The real question will be: where would they go? Come to my computer." Yvonne led him to her two big-screens set up in the apartment. A map of western Canada was displayed and Yvonne pointed as she talked. "If they go west to Vancouver, they might have a hard time getting out of the country, and a different passport would help, but not make it certain. If they went east, then we are talking a very long way by car to anywhere. So, which of these? What about if they went somewhere they could lay low for a while and see if we get tired of chasing them? They would need someplace where they could stay for a while without having to go anywhere, maybe ordering groceries and meals, with a garage to stash the car." John stopped and was rubbing his head.

"Okay, which do you think?" Yvonne was getting impatient as John sat there thinking.

"Okay, follow this logic. Say they don't have good enough passports to get out of the country. They want to wait and make other arrangements. Lucas has enough money to do that, but he needs to let things cool down before he arranges a private jet or something. Canada will be checking those, too. So, in order to wait for things to cool off, they find a place where Lucas knows the owner, or where they can break into a place that has nobody there at this time." John looked up suddenly at Yvonne and pointed on screen. "What about Banff? It has a large ski area nearby, plenty of seasonal housing, and strangers come and go all the time. It's probably not unusual for folks to order all their groceries and stay in the condos and places that get rented for weekly ski trips and other events. What do you think?"

Yvonne thought for a few seconds, pondering the logic. "It's one logical choice. I'll start poking around with what I can find out, and I'll also pass that along to my contact in the Mounties. The main part of the snow season is not here yet, so there would be plenty of places to stay."

John grinned. "Mounties. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Are they still called 'Mounted'? I guess with all the wilderness they have, they still have plenty of those."

"Yes, they do. They are a pretty good police force. I'll call my contact."

"Okay, keep me posted. If they think there's anything at all there, I can run up there."

"Probably not a good idea. You have no business or authority in an investigation in Canada."

John shrugged. "So?" And he walked out the connecting door.

---------------- Saturday, November 26, 2022, Seattle, WA -----------

Yvonne was up early and finishing up another search when she got an email. It was from one of the people she contacted about cabin rentals. In the email, she described someone who had contacted her on 5 Nov. The name he gave was Devon Johnson and he wanted the cabin beginning 10 Nov, just before they left Montana. He had wired an amount to reserve the cabin they desired for 4 weeks, and to have to completely stocked with food. She thought this was the only person that Yvonne could be interested in. She had never met them, just reset the codes on the electronic locks and sent it to Devon. She attached the location.

Yvonne stared at the location. It made perfect sense for this to be them. It was in the middle of nowhere, but had a back road out of the place as long as a heavy snow hadn't come yet. It was not on a ski slope, but a couple of miles away, and it was the last cabin on this set of them that was built along this road, so there was no traffic. It had to be them.

Yvonne had tried to get the woman to provide information on the wire transfer, but she wouldn't do so without the Mounties providing her a warrant. She was a stickler for that.

Even without that, Yvonne immediately went and woke up John. He had been finally sleeping in until 7am after weeks of not being able to sleep much at all. When he was awake and up, Yvonne described the facts as she knew them.

John was instantly wide awake. "This is the best lead we've had, right?"

Yvonne nodded. "It has all the markings of a great place to hide out. And it was requested to be stocked with food. There is no traffic near it, foot or car, it's the last cabin in a group of cabins from the main road, and there is an unimproved back road out, so I think this is them. The reservation was only made and paid for on 5 Nov. Lucas knew they were in danger by then and could have made this backup plan. They have the cabin until 10 Dec, and then have to move on. The agent I talked to said it had been reserved starting 15 Dec by another couple."