Gunslinger Bink
Chapter 49: Forced Confessions and Bad Math
Hondo continued to watch and wait. He had his laptop up with him, to keep an eye on the security cameras, but was not much interested in it. His mind wandered back to those poor kids, gun-slinger girls they were called.
Hondo thinks, "What an awful thin' for a youngster. I'm a gun-slinger by choice, more like destiny, a lose canon out to help those in need, but these kids were forced into it, at such a young, critical time in life, too. I'm glad we're helpin' Bink, but what of the others?"
Hondo pondered further, thinking about the success rate of an extraction of the others, not too good, who would be against them, the many and the enormous fire power they would go up against, but only one answer could he reach in his mind.
"We have to rescue them! If I've t'do it myself, without Fernando. I do believe though that he is thinkin' the same about those little gals, but ifin he thinks he is going to leave me out of it, he has another thing comin'!", Hondo thinks.
Hondo resolved to get all of them out or die trying.
"If they get away with this it will not stop. We must cut this at the source or it'll spread and no place will be safe for any child in the future!", Hondo thought to himself.
As the sun starts to slide down the western sky Hondo get ready for the meeting. He sets up his laptop in remote user mode and sticks it out of the elements. With his weapons ready, Hondo starts a slow circling process. He know he will be looked for around the hotel.
Hondo, using the evening shadows to hide in, makes his way to a spot, well hidden, opposite of the Hotel and fountain. He then resumes the task of watching and waiting.
Fernando and Tammy finishes up their conversation, about a half hour before they leave to see Hondo.
Tammy asks, "You've been blind that long? So tell me, if I can ask, what you find attractive in a woman? I mean, how do you find it in the first place..."
"Well, I've been partial to red heads. With Green Eyes. I like green eyes. And Whiskers! Long Whiskers!", Fernando says.
"Lets change the subject. You have not answered my question.", Tammy says.
"Its not an easy question to answer. Looks have something to do with it. But so must her voice, and her scent. Most of all, her personality. She must like me as much as I like her. But all those things I can not describe, and are all different to every lady I ever gone out with.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "What about Aiesha's mom?"
Fernando asks, "Lets not talk about that. OK?"
Tammy asks, "Why not?"
"What happened then was something that should not have, and her hiding the baby from me for 19 years, is something I would not have done to her.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "So tell me, what happened?"
"I'd rather not. In fact, if I were you, I'd leave it alone.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "And if I don't?"
"This mission is over.", Fernando says.
Tammy sits there and stares at him in shock and awe, not believing what she just heard.
"You ladies pride yourselves in having a couple of skeletons in your closet, we men have a couple of secrets we have to live with. I don't pull out your skeletons and dance with them, you don't with my past.", Fernando says.
After a while of gathering herself together, Tammy looks up at Fernando.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to pry into your past.", Tammy says.
"Just don't ever do it again.", Fernando says.
"I promise I won't.", Tammy says.
"Good.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "Just one question?"
Fernando sounding a bit annoyed, asks, "What is it?"
Tammy asks, "Were you ever married?"
Fernando gets up and fills the coffee cups with the last of the coffee in the pot, not wanting to answer that question.
Fernando asks, "How old are you now?"
"Just turned 20.", Tammy says.
Fernando asks, "You have a boyfriend, a guy you go steady with?"
"No, no one there.", Tammy says.
"Well... Once a upon a time, I was married; we just turned 20, and it lasted for six months...", Fernando says.
"You married too young.", Tammy interrupts him.
"I did not finished. She died 6 months later, killed by a government operative, its a long story which I would not want to talk about. But unlike what you think or say, those were the happiest 6 months of my, make that our life. It would have lasted forever if given the chance. Look Tammy- marriage is for those who are ready for it, not for those who think that they can do so and try to work on it. Yes, you have to work on all relationships, but its a lot easier when you and your other self are ready to take on those challenges.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "Why you never remarried?"
"For me to put that much trust into another person, would mean that I would have to lower my standards.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "Lower your standards?"
"Trust. Faith. Hope. Understanding. Least of all Love. Its a heavy investment for me to give that much again to a person who does not exist.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "What if she does exist?"
"Believe me, she does not.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "What if I were the one?"
"Trust me, you're not the one.", Fernando says.
"Yeah, you're too old for me.", Tammy says.
"Love has no age, no face, no race... When you find that Mr. Right, and your heart goes to him, remember what you just told me.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "Why do you ask that?"
"You'll understand when that day comes. Until then, you won't.", Fernando says.
"I've been in love before...", Tammy says.
"Little school girl crushes don't count. Believe me, when its for real, you will know.", Fernando says, interrupting her.
Tammy is unsure what to say, because for every statement, comment or question she throws at him, he sends it back.
"Its getting to be that time to go.", Fernando says.
Fernando gets up and puts his hand in his sports jacket pocket, finding the Phoenix hearing aide there. He slowly pulls it out and looks at it in his hand.
Tammy asks, "Whats that?"
"Its one of the girls' hearing aids. But it is and is not a hearing aid.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "Then what is it?"
"Its a Phoenix Hearing aide with a FM receiver, used in schools by deaf students. They give the teacher the FM transmitter and the teacher is supposed to talk to into it for the student to hear it. But in this case, its being used for the girls to listen to orders at long range from their handlers.", Fernando says.
"I see.", Tammy says.
Fernando continues to look at the hearing aid.
Tammy asks, "Whats the problem?"
"She gave me this for a reason. As dealing with most deaf kids when I taught, if you're not careful, you can easily loose them. Problem is, its too small for me to wear.", Fernando says.
Fernando then looks at Tammy.
"But not for you.", Fernando says.
"I'm not wearing that thing.", Tammy says.
Fernando asks, "Trust me, OK?"
"You've been saying that all day.", Tammy says.
Fernando hands the hearing aid to Tammy.
"Just put the hook over the back of your ear and loop it over the front. Then put the plug into the ear hole. Its uncomfortable, but you'll get used to it.", Fernando says.
Tammy looks at it. Then she puts it in her pocket. Fernando signals to her to give it back if she's not going to wear it. She complies and he puts it back into his pocket.
"Lets go.", Fernando says.
Fernando takes his keys and presses on button on the small box on his keys. They then walk to the car. Fernando gets into drivers side and signals to Tammy to get inside the passenger side; opposite as to where they were before.
"You can't drive, remember.", Tammy says.
"I can with help from Aisapi.", Fernando says.
"Oh, I forgot.", Tammy says.
Fernando turns on the car's ignition. After voice verification, Aisapi asks for directions and programmed driving mode. Fernando tells it, "AI Assisted Driver Controlled."
"Put your seat-belt on, girl.", Fernando says.
Before Tammy could reach over and put on the belt, Fernando whips the steering wheel around and floors the gas pedal, spinning the car full 180 degrees before hitting the streets, with gauges arching up to the vertical position. Tammy manages to put on her seat belt, and just in time as they entered the highway as Fernando downshifts the transmission from fourth to thirrd, letting the engine rev high and then slam it into fifth gear. The car lurches forward and the speedometer seemed to have skipped from 100kph - 60mph to 180kph - 90mph, pinning Tammy to the back of her seat. Fernando looks like he been possessed by some demonic force, but it is just the way he drives when he can get away with it.
The trip going to the hide out was about 45 minutes. Going back to the hotel took 15 minutes, as Fernando pushed the Jaguar past 240kph - 140mph. Another five minutes was spent putting the car away in the garage.
Fernando helps a very shaken Tammy out of the car, shaken because she remembered what he said... "its like flying in a cloud... You're doing 600 mph and you hope really hard that nothing's in front of you.", and realizing that he could not see 3ft beyond the front of the car, yet managed to drive it in the maniacal way that he did.
Tammy takes a few seconds to recompose herself before they continued onward to the fountain.
Though early, Fernando and Tammy made it to the fountain in front of the hotel; established meeting place with Hondo. But yet Hondo was not there to be found. Fernando figure that he has to be nearby, eying the place.
The city seemed a bit more active than usual: more police and ambulance sirens, people more of a rush to get where they are going, businesses closing earlier than on previous days. If Fernando did not know better he could have sworn he just heard a volley of gun fire in the back ground in rapid secession.
Tammy asks, "Here we are, now where's Hondo?"
"Sometimes you have to wait, he's probably not that far away looking over here to see if we had arrived.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "How long are we going to wait?"
"Considering that we are early, I'll give an hour.", Fernando says.
Tammy sits by the rim of the fountain.
"That's a long time just to wait for somebody.", Tammy says.
Fernando reaches into his pocket and pulls out a smaller set of keys.
"Here, go into my room and get one of my laptops from the secure travel trunk.", Fernando says.
Tammy asks, "Must I go?"
"It will keep you from getting bored.", Fernando says.
Tammy takes the keys and leaves to retrieve the items asked for.
As soon as she enters the Hotel, Hondo makes his presence known.
"Hello Fernando.", Hondo says.
Fernando asks, "Anything new?"
"According to Free European Union, BBC Shortwave, there has been several more assassinations of top level crime figures. They believe it to be some kind of Mafia war.", Hondo says.
Fernando asks, "But you and I know better, right?"
"There's also been a several police officers killed and many innocents, and that's just here in Milan. Rumor has it that a part of a military based was bombed by some pizza delivery boy.", Hondo says.
"Sounds to me that things are about to bust at the seams.", Fernando says.
Hondo asks, "You think? I think it already started."
"Lets not argue over semantics.", Fernando says.
Hondo pauses for a second.
Hondo asks, "Is it true that you're going to try to save the other girls?"
"I'm not going to ask where you got that information from, but yes.", Fernando says.
"Count me in then.", Hondo says.
Fernando asks, "Why?"
"Because you're right. The higher ups may not agree with you, but no child should go through what these poor girls are going through right now. And in that, they must be saved from who ever is controlling them.", Hondo says.
Fernando asks, "The SWA?"
"From who ever it is in their bowl of alphabet soup of agencies.", Hondo says.
"The problem is, if in rescuing them, the CIA will want to sink their claws into them as well. Figure out their programming, see what makes them tick, try to copy them onto others, that I don't want.", Fernando says.
"I understand fully.", Hondo says.
Fernando asks, "OK then. Now, what's keeping Tammy so long?"
Hondo asks, "Where did she go?"
"To my room to get my laptop.", Fernando says.
"You didn't", Hondo says.
Hondo starts running back tot he Hotel. Fernando quickly follows, and decides to fly up to his balcony instead. Fernando land a floor short of his window and must climb up the missing distance, more than what Hondo had done, as he enters the building. Unfortunately, it takes Fernando just as much time to scale up the side of the building as it does for Hondo to run up the stairs, with both being equally tired when they arrive to the room.
Fernando climbs into the room, finding that it was still untouched, as if she never arrived.
Hondo start to throw himself against the locked door, trying to break it down.
"Hold your horses, will ya!", Fernando says.
Fernando walks over to the door and opens it, letting Hondo in. They head back to the main area. Fernando takes his trunk from under the bed, and opens it, finding the laptop still there, along with other important items. Taking a spare set of keys from with inside, he hands them over to Hondo as he removes a couple of more items before locking up the truck.
"There's an ambulance in the basement parking lot. Take the trunk and secure it there. Just press the button on the box and wait for the headlights to flash twice. If they flash once, press the button again.", Fernando says.
"Just like your typical car alarm, I see.", Hondo says.
"Actually, its not your typical car alarm, but it seems to work that way. By the way, it's the only ambulance there. You cant miss it.", Fernando says.
Fernando pulls the rest of the trunk from under the bed. Pulling on a couple of levers on the outside of the trunk, a handle and wheels pop out for easier transportation. He lifts it up and rolls it next to Hondo.
Hondo asks, "And what will you be doing?"
Fernando asks, "Thanks to you, I can access the hotel security camera logs, what else am I going to do?"
Hondo takes the trunk and starts heading out the door.
"I'll be back in 5 minutes.", Hondo says.
Hondo leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Fernando turns on his laptop and starts combing through the security camera, and their logs. First with finding Tammy entering the hotel, walking through the hotel lobby, and entering the elevator with several people. With the elevators unnumbered, Fernando goes through each and every of the 12 elevators that was there. After going through each of the elevator video logs, only one was found with a dead camera. The one Tammy went on.
Going through the elevator lobby logs again, he noticed that it seemed like Tammy was deliberately herded into that one elevator with the dead camera. Another thing that struck him as off were elevator operators in the two elevators, telling Tammy where to go.
"There are no elevator operators in this hotel.", Fernando says to himself.
Tammy was last seen going into an elevator with two men and what appears to be a young looking woman in her teens. Continual search of the the floors finds nothing. Fernando does back to the main elevator lobby and and looks at the elevator floor indicator carefully. Though it was blurred, one can count the number of flashes for each floor.
"1, 2, 3, wait, it did not stop on 4, it past 3, but not to 4, wait, there it goes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, ", Fernando says to himself.
Fernando scans through the video logs of the 8th floor, finding nothing.
"Wait, if they did not get off on 8, then they had to have stopped the elevator between the 3rd and 4th floors and sent it down. That would put them on the second level of the parking garage.", Fernando says to himself.
Fernando connects to the video cameras of the garage, finding that half of them were not working as well.
"Figures, I'll bet the hotel security staff is on this as well. How else would you have half your security cameras not working, and yet no one complaining.", Fernando says to himself.
Going through the camera logs, Fernando finds that the garage entrance camera has a peripheral view of the exit. Going through the video logs, Fernando sees a black car slowly driving out and then rush into the street. It was the only vehicle to enter or leave within the last hour.
"They got her, who ever they are.", Fernando says.
Fernando locks up his laptop in a small carrying case, and takes it with him out the door. Hondo was just entering the room when he was about to leave.
Hondo asks, "Where are you going?"
"Tammy's been snatched.", Fernando says.
Hondo asks, "I could have told you that. But do you know by who?"
"It seems that you're not the only one with access to the security cameras. Many were knocked out of action, but it leads a trail to the parking garage where a car left several minutes before you went down there.", Fernando says.
Hondo asks, "And where were you going?"
"A place this secure can not have so many broken camera, I was going to have a talk with Security, who else.", Fernando says.
Hondo asks, "Alone?"
"If I must. You're welcome to come along.", Fernando says.
"You're not leaving me out of the fun.", Hondo says.
Together they walk down to the lobby, past the registration desk and down to the security office. Walking inside, Fernando nods to Hondo, who locks the door and props a waiting room chair against the handle. The secretary was about to ask the nature of their business, only to have Fernando point his gun at her face. She freezes in place, like a scared deer staring at a pair of incoming headlights. With items found in the room and a rippped out telephone cord, Hondo ties her up. And together, they walk into the executive security officer's office. The head of security remains frozen at his desk with a pair of guns pointed to his head.
Fernando asks, "Where is she?"
The head security officer rambles on in Italian.
"Look you idiot- I know you can speak English, because we spoke the other day about securing a few important belongings of mine. Now start speaking or start bleeding!", Fernando says.
"OK, I'll talk! Just put away the guns!", Head Security Officer says.
Fernando reaches over and grabs a fist full of shirt, pulling the executive security officer out from his chair and slamming him on the floor away from his desk. He then plops a knee hard to his chest and the gun to the temple of his head. Hondo starts to ransack the desk drawers, pocketing various items and documents which may look important. Found was a small gun locker with keys, two 9mm automatic pistols inside, and a folder containing files and pictures of Fernando and the group.
"Where Is She!", Fernando says.
"I don't know who you are talking about!", Head of Security says.
"Tammy- the red head squirrel! She was taken no more than 30 minutes ago!", Fernando says.
Head of Security asks, "And how would you she was taken?"
"Its in your video logs!", Fernando says.
Hondo walks into a closet and finds a couple of servers inside, labeled video 1 - 25 and 26 - 50.
"Hey, these look like important computer stuff.", Hondo says.
"Just find a handle and pull until something rips out of them!", Fernando says.
Fernando turns back to the security officer.
"Now you idiot. No way a place this secure can have so many broken cameras, which leads a trail to the subbasement garage. You must know something as to why they are broken. I want names, places, and who's in charge.", Fernando says.
"You're Not going to get away with this!", Head of Security says.
"By the time they find out what happened, there will be one dead head of security. Now Start talking!", Fernando says.
Hondo steps out of the closet with a pair of hard drive drawers.
"You should tell him everything that you know. Last person I saw him this angry at, they had to use DNA to figure out who it was, from a large smear of body parts that they found of him.", Hondo says.
"They are going to kill me if I say anything!", the head of security gulped says.
Fernando asks, "And you think I wont if you don't? You have a choice- don't say anything and die now, or sing your heart out to me and then leave the country and hope they don't catch you."
"I'd choose singing my heart out to him, preferably in opera.", Hondo says as he searches the room.
"OK, They Got Her!", Head of security says.
Fernando asks, "Who's they?" I Want Names!
"The RF.", Head of security says.
"Who's Their Leader!", Fernando says.
"I Don't Know!", Head Of Security says.
Fernando belts him hard with his left.
"Names!", Fernando says.
"Shes some young looking woman, calls her self Anne.", Head Of Security says.
Fernando slowly gets up.
"Hondo, help this gentleman onto his feet.", Fernando says.
Hondo asks, "Fernando?"
"Just do it. I got my answer.", Fernando says.
Hondo asks, "But what about where they had taken Tammy?"
"I got enough information to know where she is.", Fernando says.
"I don't know about this.", Hondo says.
"You're not going to get away with this!", Head of security says.
Fernando spins around hard, giving a round house kick to the jaw of the security officer, breaking it. He falls flat on the floor out cold.
"Now try to say something with a broken jaw. Hondo, lets get out of this stinking place.", Fernando says.
Together they leave into the waiting area, and then to the lobby. A minor security officer stand by the door as they open it. Fernando grabs the officer by his arm and hauls him in, taking a Thorazine dart from his pocket and jabbing it into his back. In seconds, he falls flat on the floor, not knowing what just happened.
Hondo has his own trick up his sleeve, fighting with the door knob for a few seconds before they walk out. They take the stairs to the parking garage.
Fernando asks, "What did you do up there?"
"Oh, nothing major. Just crazy glued the locks, that's all.", Hondo says.
Fernando. Good. I like a man who can think outside the box.
Hondo asks, "Where are we going?"
"We're going to move a few cars around, and then we are going to rescue Tammy.", Fernando says.
Together, they walk to a group of cars and the ambulance.
Hondo asks, "You know where she is?"
"I've been down this path before, and some people are just too stupid to change their patterns of thinking, so in that case, yes. You take the ambulance, and follow the GPS to a hideaway we have. I'll take care of the rest of the cars.", Fernando says.
Fernando presses the button on the box on his set of keys. Several cars blink their headlights twice, including the ambulance. Then he walks over to the Jaguar, and starts it. After voice authorization, Fernando gives Aiaspi commands to release controls of the ambulance to Hondo, and set the GPS navigator to the hideaway. He also sets the hideaway's security system to turn off when Hondo gets there. He then rolls down the window and tells Hondo to go ahead of him.
Hondo step into the ambulance and drives away.
"Aisapi, Convoy mode with the other vehicles. We're moving out of this place.", Fernando says.
Aisapi asks, "This place has gotten too dangerous for mission objective?"
"Yes.", Fernando says.
"Convoy mode set. Destination Coordinates inputted into nav-con computers. Ready when you are.", Aisapi says.
Fernando set the car into gear, and starts slowly to drive away. The other cars, a Porche 911, a Ferarri Dino, Rolls Royce Silver Wrath, and a couple of Crown Victoria limos line up behind Fernando. Once in position, they start to drive off, with as little as 6 inches between them. The train of cars follow the Jaguar down the streets of Milan and onto the highway. Keeping the drive there slow as to not cause an accident, they arrive at the hide away in about 40 minutes. Fernando drives into the drive way and to the rear of the house. There, the cars park themselves. In a couple of minutes, Fernando walks inside, finding Hondo raiding the frig.
"I doubt you'll find any roast beef in there. As much as I ask for it, they simply wont send any.", Fernando says.
"You know how they are. Budgets, limits, nothing to the mission at hand or to the safety and comfort of the agents at hand.", Hondo says.
"Same excuse as to why they wont bulletproof the Porches. Too much money!", Fernando says.
Not finding much good to eat, Hondo grabs a wedge of extra sharp cheese, a hand full of jerky and a beverage that looks like it should be highly caffeinated. He hangs his coat on a chair and plops down on the couch. Fernando grabs a bit to eat as well and goes and sits in the easy chair. Hondo eats his food and waits for Fernando to give his plan.
"Now we have to rescue Tammy, too. I hope they didn't find her gun.", Hondo thinks to himself.
Hondo pulled out his palm pilot and used the remote function on his laptop, that was hidden at the hotel still. He checked the cameras to see the chaos that was reigning at the Hotel.
"Well, the Party's in full swing.", Hondo says.
Hondo looked up at Fernando, who seemed to be ready to speak.
Hondo asks, "Well, let's hear it, boss squirrel. What your plan for cheatin' the grim reaper this time?"
