I do not own the characters from Scarecrow & Mrs. King.

This is a sequel to Dead in His Tracks. I have lived in NW Ohio for the last 19 yrs. and have taken many vacations to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; both places are beautiful and I do not mean to offend anyone with descriptions of these areas

Chapter 1

Fri. June 14, 1987 Café Beignet New Orleans, LA

A gray haired man in khaki pants, a polo shirt, and a fedora hat sat at a table outside of Café Beignet located on Bourbon Street, which is in the heart of the French Quarters of New Orleans. He was eating a beignet and sipping coffee, while watching people walk by, as he played the part of a German tourist. He had visited Paris before and had tasted their wonderful pastries, but these American donuts he could do without. He had been surprised then that he had liked the beignet, which is a cross between a French pastry and an American donut; but he had to admit that these golden squares of pastry dusted with powdered sugar was a delicacy and the Cajun's rich coffee was very satisfying.

He had been in the United States for over a month and was ready to get back to Germany, but he knew at the moment that was not an option. After fleeing the mountains of Virginia he and his companion (funny now he thought of him as a companion and not his minion) had made their way to New York. Bob, his American companion, had insisted that New York City was an easy place to disappear. After being there a week the enormous crowds and incessant noise was more than he could take. Bob on the other hand had enjoyed every moment of what the night life in New York City had to offer.

While he had thrown soirées and balls in his chalet in Munich, he strongly disliked clubbing. It seemed to him New York City really had no character with their skyscrapers and modern architecture. After enduring another week in New York at Bob's endless begging, Von Eiger in no uncertain terms told Bob that it was time to move on. In reality he was afraid New York City was too close to DC for comfort. He had this gut feeling that someone was watching him.

Bob suggested that they head to New Orleans, where his buddy had went fishing before. He had also told him that a man could get lost in the bayou; which after getting here and seeing the bayou, he knew a man could do more than get lost and this caused him not to trust being in the mosquito infested swamp.

While Bob spent his time fishing, he himself enjoyed the early morning time of the French Quarter. The "Cajuns" are a unique people group, he thought; as he watched a beautiful dark haired woman saunter by and give him a sultry smile. He took another bite of his beignet and a sip of coffee, while he seriously contemplated that it was time to move on. Even though he had grown a full beard and colored his hair completely gray he didn't want to get into too much of a routine. While it was only the middle of June, the weather was already hot and humid this far south; so he felt he needed a milder climate. He also wondered if he went north if he could sneak into Canada and get back to Germany. It was time to have a talk with Bob.

Same Day Le Pavillon Hotel New Orleans, LA

"Good news Baron, I just talked to my buddy from Ohio and he says that we can use his cabin in the U.P." an excited Bob said.

"The You Pee?" a confused Von Eiger asked.

"Yeah the U.P., never been there myself; but my buddy says it's beautiful. Some of the last wilderness in the Contiguous US he always says."

"Okay, where is this state located?"

"Oh Michigan is in the northern US, surrounded by the Great Lakes and is a neighbor to Canada;" Bob explained as if he was reciting a geography lesson, while putting lotion on his mosquito bites.

"Let's get packed up and as you American's say 'Let's hit the road!'"

"Let's get a fresh start in the morning."

"No, let's get as much time in tonight as we can because even though your country has been more beautiful than I originally thought, I really want to go home," Von Eiger explained as if he was addressing an eight year old.

"Well, there are airports around here that will take you back to Germany."

"I can't leave by plane inside the US, you idiot!"

"Why sure you can, we have international…"

Von Eiger hotly cut in, "There will be people looking for me to leave by plane, boat, or any major way out of your country."

"I don't really understand, you got in okay," a confused Bob stated dejectedly. He was really starting to enjoy the Baron personally, especially his money, and it was nice having a paid vacation for once and he was not ready for it to end anytime soon.

"When you kidnap US Federal Agents and torture them for information, the American Government usually doesn't make it easy for you to leave their country," Von Eiger calmly stated. He then continued as he moved to the hotel door and opened it, "I concur with you and let's leave at first light in the morning, but for now let's get a bite to eat and get to bed early."

* * * * * * * * Sat. June 15, 1987 Von Eiger's car Huntsville, AL

Since the Baron had made them leave at five o'clock this morning and insisted on driving first; this left Bob with plenty of time to think. He always felt like people never took him seriously while he was growing up; like they overlooked him. He didn't have an important job or a family of his own besides his mother. He thought that he had proved them wrong when he had met the Baron. His buddy, who he now figured had probably died in the cabin fire while in the Virginia Mountains; and himself, had taken a trip to the Nation's Capital. While they were there the Baron approached them to see if they wanted to make some easy money. They thought their luck had changed for once, especially Bob; All I had to do was hold a gun and watch for anyone snooping around, he thought.

After fleeing the mountains of Virginia, the Baron said he needed a place to hide. Bob had always wanted to go to New York City, so he suggested there. At first he had been scared; but then it was like living in some novel with partying all night, having girls hang on him, and all the shopping for the nicest clothes. It was definitely the life! When they had to move on, Bob immediately thought of New Orleans where his fishing buddy, Dave, had told him about.

The last month had been like a paid vacation; but for the first time, Bob felt terrified. I can't believe that I was part of kidnapping a Federal Agent!" he thought again. Well you moron, you know those women didn't come there on their own, he chided himself inwardly. Kidnapping Federal Agents is something the government puts people in jail for. Bob felt like crying, but grown men don't cry! His implication in this event was starting to weigh on him like a ton of bricks. Rodney was most likely dead. What am I going to tell his mama? Bob wondered anxiously. He hadn't thought of Rodney for the last month. He and Rodney had grown up together as neighbors, school mates, and fishing buddies. I guess he was my best friend; Bob thought and decided he needed to see his own mama.

While Bob was lost in his musings, Baron Von Eiger was having some of his own. He had been put into prison back in 1984; after the American Agent Lee Stetson had arrested him for the attempted murder of the US Goodwill Ambassador to Germany. Since he hadn't actually murdered the Ambassador, Von Eiger was paroled after two years. It was in prison that he had meet Ahab Habib, an Arab that had been put into prison for trying to buy an American Agent. Von Eiger had been shocked to learn the agent, whom Ahab had arranged to buy, was Amanda King, who was the partner of Lee Stetson codenamed Scarecrow. But Ahab's story went further. His brother, Armen, who was in a maximum security prison serving twenty years without parole in East Germany; and himself had worked together and was a source for the head of the Karbala terrorists group, Addi Birol. Birol was serving a life sentence at the same facility as Armen in East Germany. It had been through exchanged letters between the two brothers that Von Eiger and Birol had been introduced. No one would be able to connect Von Eiger and Addi Birol since the letters were all in code and addressed between the brothers.

Birol wanted his terrorist group, Karbala, to reunite since it had disbanded with his arrest. Upon the Baron's release, Birol had hired him to capture Amanda and interrogate her to see what Scarecrow knew about the ex-members of the Karbala cell. Von Eiger figured the task would be simple; but he hadn't counted on the fact that Amanda was a trained agent instead of an American housewife. Boy she was good at her cover, the Baron thought.

Von Eiger had not counted on his little assignment going array; and now being on the run. When Bob had mentioned that Michigan was a neighbor to Canada, Von Eiger saw a chance to get back to Germany. Once he made it to Michigan he would start formulating a plan to return home.

Glancing over at Bob, Von Eiger noticed that he had finally gone to sleep. "Good get some rest so that you can drive in a few hours," Von Eiger muttered to himself. He had been able to get word to Birol that things had not gone well, but of course he hadn't been able to receive any word back. I never should have gotten mixed up in this, he thought and sighed. I should have just gone back to my luxurious life; but no reeking revenge and havoc on Scarecrow and Mrs. King had sounded too good! When he got back to Germany he would get word to Birol that he wanted out.