Thanks for the reviews, and all the alerts on this story. It's really a pleasure to read all of them Keep them coming !
My so huge thanks to The_Dog_In_The_Manger for her beta skills on this story !
Who said we would get rid of Betty Sue? Not me!
Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Black Friday – Chapter 11. Honolulu, we have a problem.
Honolulu International Airport – 5:45 pm
Claudia Mulliez was pissed off. First, her morning flight had been canceled on short notice, meaning she woke up at 5:00 am that morning to not-take a flight to Los Angeles where she had planned to stay for the remaining four days of her United States trip. Then, instead of having arrived in the City of Angels, she was still seated in the airport, on this island. She had planned to take her breakfast and lunch on the plane, for free, and hadn't eaten at the B&B she stayed at on Oahu, unwilling to pay for it. And now, Claudia was starving.
She had been pacing the airport for hours now, not wanting to go back into town, because it would cost her too much for the time she intended to stay. So she stayed here, pissing everyone off, because she insisted on telling the airline customer service agents that it was their obligation to her as a customer, to provide food and beverage at their cost.
To say it plain and simple, she was being a pain in the ass.
And to add insult to injury, a group of geriatrics was booked on the plane she would have to take at 8:40 pm. They were all wearing Hawaiian shirts, smiling, chatting, and taking up all the seats at the gate, which pissed her off even more. She should have been in L.A. now, not sweating in this airport, listening to this stupid Hawaiian music. She went back to her seat, putting on her iPod, trying to block out the surrounding world and her gurgling stomach.
-o-o-
Betty Sue McCausland had had such a good time in Hawaii that she didn't want to leave the little island of paradise. She didn't want to face reality or go back to Mesquite that was so far away from Cincinnati, where Louis was living. They had exchanged phone numbers and email addresses, and maybe something would come out of it. But this wasn't the time to feel depressed. This was the time for sharing the last moments with the group – they all had spent a week together and there were still a few people she didn't know… And she was thinking about all the things she would tell Lynn tomorrow… about Marshall and his new girlfriend! She was beautiful, this Mary, a real woman, not like any of those skinny models that she saw on TV every day. There was something odd between them, a complicity that shouldn't exist after only a few months of dating, and she intended to find out why... maybe there was still a chance for Alice to go back to her former flame after all. Betty Sue had decided to make sure Marshall came to his high school reunion, even if it meant dragging Mary along, so that her daughter could have one more chance with him. They were such a lovely couple back in the day.
Sighing a little, and smiling much more, she turned to her neighbor, a sixty something woman who was there with her husband and granddaughter, and she held her hand out to her. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth... So how did you like this trip?"
-o-o-
On the way to the airport; 7:15 pm
In the black SUV, the air was tense. Marshall's plan had been approved, but the risks were so high, the four marshals in the car were even more stressed than usual. Mary, riding shotgun, was checking her weapon, making sure it was completely clean and ready to use. She knew that Marshall, sitting next to their protected charge in the back, was running through all the details of his two insane plans, ensuring one last time that he hadn't forgotten anything. This was his way of handling the pressure. She knew he had thought them over and over, trying to find a better solution – but there was nothing else. Hawaii was an archipelago, Oahu an island, and there were no other means to leave than flying, which meant they had to go through the airport.
And they were all sure that they would be expectedat the airport. Mary and Marshall felt it in their guts.
The drive between the Marshall's building and the airport was made in complete silence, all eyes on the buildings, streets outside the vehicles, checking for a sniper. The driver turned took turns hazardously, to make sure they weren't followed.
"We're not followed," Mary said matter-of-factly.
"No we weren't. You know what it means." Marshall's voice was louder than usual, a sign of tension Mary knew oh too well.
"I know. It's gonna be hell at the airport." Mary sighed, checking her Glock once again, her extra ammo, and finally putting on a blue cap on her head.
"We're nearly there, Marshall."
"We are indeed."
-o-o-
Yoni Taro was sitting at the Starbucks counter in the airport. He was waiting patiently for the girl to arrive. Kone had been perfectly clear that he wanted the witness dead. Nothing less. Not left injured, but dead. Plain and simple. And all the middle men knew better than to contradict a direct order from Kekuhi Ailani Kone. No one was fool enough to disobey. The gang's source within HPD was able to obtain the pictures of the US Marshals, who were escorting the girl, and these pictures were now on the smartphones of the six men in the airport. The men knew the marshals were to depart on 8:40 pm flight to Los Angeles. Everything was ready. Today, there would be blood in Oahu.
-o-o-
7:30 pm.
Claudia Mulliez looked at her iPod. Out of battery. Of course, these damn things could not stay charged for too long when they were needed. She immediately heard the laughs and giggles of the seniors sitting nearby, chatting, and sharing photos of their trip. It was disgusting. How could you be old and want to be seen in a photo? Claudia was amazed. No way she would let her body fall apart like that when she has grown older.
Sighing, she looked at the departure screen to see she still had time before boarding. Her stomach was aching now, and she knew she still had to wait to eat. Grabbing her bag, she decided to go to the Ladies' room to at least get a drink of water.
-o-o-
The team of Marshals arrived at the airport on due time. They knew they had to hurry to take their witness inside the boarding zone and on the plane as soon as possible. The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:40 pm leaving them a little more than an hour at the terminal. Due to the heightened security measures, there was little chance that the armed gang members would be able to get through security into the boarding area, but the Marshals were resolved to stay on guard nonetheless. The hardest part was getting Lucy from the car to the boarding zone. A little less than half a mile was the longest stretch for the three of them.
Mary was the first out of the car, donning her aviators and cap. The vest she was wearing under her long sleeved shirt was itching her a bit, but now wasn't the time to think about it. She looked around carefully, taking in the people passing by, looking for suspect behavior. Once satisfied, she came to the back door of the SUV and opened it, still checking carefully all the surroundings, her right hand under her leather jacket, close to her Glock. She felt the bad guys were lurking around, and it was up to Marshall and her to find them before it was too late.
Marshall came out of the car, his hand on his hip under his cowboy jacket, also sporting his aviators. He was on the other side of the vehicle, making sure a sniper would not get a chance to shoot at Lucy. Satisfied with his security check, he returned to the car, and helped the young girl out. She was wearing a vest too and a cap, hiding her blond hair. The three of them moved quickly to the airport entrance, with Mary and Marshall looking around to spot eventual danger.
-o-o-
Taro saw them approaching. "They are ridiculous", he thought, "they might as well have a sign saying "We're US Marshals with a witness", they would be much more disguised." He quickly checked on his phone if the man and woman matched with the pictures he had. Satisfied, he sent a text to his guys, spread out the ground floor of the airport.
"Entrance B. 2 USMS. Girl must not make it."
He grinned at how easy this job would be. He could feel the cold steel of the gun on his back, under his Hawaiian shirt.
Taro finished his coffee, never losing sight of his target. He knew Watanabe and Mueller would come from the left side of the airport, McGregor and Chin from the right. He would be the backup with Quinn and Leary. Seven of them versus two little marshals. Piece of cake.
He saw his men quickly coming towards the marshals, meshed in the crowd, with a small smile on their lips assessing too how easy this assignment would be.
-o-o-
"Marshall." Mary's voice was calm, soft. She moved to position herself in front of their witness, protecting her.
"Yep. Seven of them. Are we ready?" Marshall's voice was as calm as his partner's. They had been anticipating this, had known from the start the trouble would come at the airport. It was easy to leave the premises in the chaos that would follow the gunplay.
"Hell yeah. Always ready for a good gunfight. On your count?"
"Yep. After they shoot her, we're all in. Be ready, Mare."
-o-o-
Betty Sue heard the screams of the crowd, before the gunshots ran out. Just like everyone else, she ran to the glass doors, trying see what had happened downstairs. She saw two silhouettes on the ground, bleeding, a woman and a man, holding their ribcage, and two other people, giving them CPR.
A tall blond woman distinctively made a "no" with her head; leaving a small body on the floor, with her leather jacket covering the body. When the woman turned, Betty Sue recognized Mary, and her eyes went to the other person administering CPR – Marshall.
Clamping her hand over her mouth, she realized that they were not what they pretended to be. They were Law Enforcement Officers, on duty. "Then," she thought, not caring in the slightest for the people who were likely dead, "he's still free for Alice!"
-o-o-
Everything happened quickly. Mary saw a tall man aiming at them. He was the first to get a shot straight into the girl's chest. Blood reddened the girl's pink shirt, and she collapsed on the floor. Marshall instantly took out the shooter, hitting him in the left shoulder. Taro fell to the floor, but yelled, "Tell Kone it's done," to his men before passing out. The six middlemen didn't stay long at the entrance, hurrying out of the airport.
Mary was already giving first aid to Lucy, who was pale, lying on the ground. With both hands on the girl's chest, Mary tried to prevent too much blood loss to save her. Marshall dialed 911, and the first aid units from the airport were already coming to their rescue.
He turned to the man, lying on the floor, and made a compress from a scarf he found nearby to try to stop the bleeding. Taro regained consciousness, his eyes opened.
"You can have me, she's dead!" laughing hard.
"You are under arrest for the murder of Lucy Reed and the attempted murder of two US Marshals. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" Marshall asked.
"You can't arrest me, you're not the police." Taro laughed in the marshal's face.
"I'm a US Marshal, I have jurisdiction in all 50 states plus territories. And as far as I remember, Hawaii became the 50th state on August, 21st, 1959. Thus, I have jurisdiction. And you are under arrest."
The airport police was soon at the scene, taking custody of Yoni Taro, and leaving Mary and Marshall to deal with the dead body of their witness.
"You call Stan?" Mary asked, and Marshall nodded, while Mary made sure there were no more gang members around, Glock still in her hand, her marshals' star in plain sight.
The lights of the ambulance flashed through the glass windows, and the paramedics took Lucy's body away, as Taro was escorted by policemen in another ambulance.
Mary and Marshall climbed into the ambulance with their witness.
The incident had lasted less than five minutes.
-o-o-
Claudia came out the women's rest room to see that her flight had been delayed, again, without any notice.
"Putain, mais quel pays!" she shouted, more than pissed off.
Can you believe it if I tell you the character of Claudia Mulliez is based on one of my co-workers? Yep, people like that DO exist. Kind of freaking, isn't it ?
What did you think of this chapter? How will Mary and Marshall deal with the death of their witness? Click on the review button to let me know!