Mindy's Muse Ch. 03

"You'll be surprised at how many areas I have myself spread into. Like in the Godfather, I could be 'legitimate' at any time I wanted to."

"Then why do you keep on with the drugs?"

Pain laughed, a huge belly laugh, which showed Mindy the rolls of fat, bouncing around on his stomach.

"It's where my roots are, I started as a delivery boy, nobody would think the little fat kid would be involved in anything. I watched, I listened, at each delivery, I found who was in charge and watched his every move and listened to every word."

Mindy listened to his story, how he clawed and scratched his way up the chain. How it turned violent, and how he was able to get followers to do his bidding. How he got financial advice and turned his drug profits into real estate, manufacturing, retail stores, and restaurants. He had his fingers in so many pies, he said he couldn't even tell her all the things he and his money was involved in.

But she was worried, she wondered if Dirk was able to follow her. She knew most of her tracking devices were gone, and hoped the pill was working. They had been in the car for a long time, but she couldn't see out the tinted windows so she had no idea where they were.

** * * **

Seventeen to Top Cat, come in Top Cat."

"Top Cat here, Seventeen, what do you have?"

"We are on I-5 traveling north, we still have visual contact with the limo, but he has an entourage of at least eight other cars virtually surrounding him. They also must have some ahead and some behind, that keep coming up and back checking out the vehicles around the limo. I think we can take the next exit and go on the parallel highway and be out of their site for a while. Can you get one of the other cars in place to keep the visual?"

"Can do Seventeen. I also have had my financial investigators going over his holdings, especially in real estate, we think we have an idea where he is headed. It was like a maze trying to go through all his company fronts and back door financing. I'll send up the coordinates on your screen. I have a squad already set up trying to get inside the property. He has a very sophisticated alarm system so going is slow. There are also reports of quite a few men standing guard with high power automatic weapons. It is going to be a bit dicey trying to get him and save the girl."

"Seventeen to Top Cat, I don't want to hear 'dicey', there will be no movement that could endanger her. We will get a plan, put you and your best help on it. Get the aerial views and see what you can. See if your ground control can get any brand information on any of the alarm stations."

"Got it going already Seventeen, but remember, getting Pain is the goal of this plan, and always has. We want him alive so he can be interrogated."

"I realize the goal of your plan Mar... Top Cat, but we have another top goal, to keep Muse safe and returned to her family."

"Of course Seventeen."

Jonathan was beside himself, he had been watching all the tracking screens set up in their non-descript (from the outside) car. He was terrified that they had removed all the outer devices, and was very afraid that the limo had something to jam the signal from the pill Mindy had swallowed. He listened to all the back and forth between Dirk and Martha, and was worried, Martha would not be afraid of losing Mindy to get Pain.

"I'm going to pull over and let you drive for while Jonathan, I want to study these maps they are sending. I don't want Pain to be able to get into this property. It looks like a veritable fortress, with a huge security force. I think once inside, it is going to be tough to get Mindy out."

They pulled over, Dirk got out and walked around the car as Jonathan slid over to the driver's seat. As Dirk got in the passenger's seat, he immediately had his face in the screens that were showing their suspected destination for Pain and his entourage. Dirk's brain was reeling, for he knew he had to figure out a way to stop Pain from entering his property.

** * * **

"Hi Dirk, oh excuse me, Seventeen, I've been listening on the radio setup you put in place for us and had a thought, if you are in a place to listen to ideas."

"Go ahead."

David and Mia, were over at the foundation, with Christine and the girls, and Kory. They were all still sitting around listening to the plan unfolding, and Mindy's abduction. There were many frightened and concerned faces in the meeting room. Everyone was very quiet wanting to hear what was going on. The only one missing was Tiara, as she was the spy Pain had talked about. Vivian found her upstairs on her cell phone talking about what was going on as she heard it on the radio. Luckily, Vivian had heard early enough in the morning, and had confiscated Tiara's phone, and put her under 'house arrest', basically, locked in one of the medical exam waiting rooms.

"So, Vivian found the leak, and we have her detained, so you don't have to worry about that. I was thinking though, if you could take command over a powerline crew with a boom truck, there might be a way to get to them before they get inside the compound."

"No need for more, great idea David, I'll take it from here."

"Seventeen to Top Cat."

Dirk and Martha were able to find a couple of electrical company trucks close enough to be able to be at the front of Pain's property entrance before his limo and crew arrived. Dirk and Jonathan were going to be able to join the State Patrol crews that were going to be part of the electrical crew. Dirk had Martha radio the State Patrol to give them the license number and the description of the car they were in so they could speed ahead of the limo go meet the forming group at the planned meeting place to set up the electrical 'work party'. They got the extra coats and hard hats from the workers, and then they explained what they were going to be asked to do. None of them had a problem, and they all got into place.

** * * **

Mindy was still trying to show interest into what Pain was presenting. She wondered what she would have done if he had laid this all out for her before she entered the Foundation and fell in love with Jonathan.

She had dreamed of her own dress/fashion line for a very long time. To see it in print, with her designs in magazines and pictures of them in the department stores made her so want to really have that.

To have her surgery taken care of by supposedly the best surgeon in the States, and then to have twenty-four hour nursing care at her disposal was also very tempting.

But the thought of being Pain's woman made her stomach tie up in knots and she because very nauseous. She shook her head a bit to return to the present. She could see Pain staring at her, so she wanted to continue making him think she was actually giving all his proposals some thought.

Pain's cell phone rang and she was a bit disheartened when she heard him happy with the news that the police were following the helicopter. He belly laughed at hearing about all the cars with sirens blaring following it on the ground, as well as it being tailed by the original police helicopter and then how two more had joined in. Of course the helicopter was leading everyone south as they headed north, and Pain looked very proud of himself. He felt his plan had worked and gave the order to his driver to go ahead and take the exit to get to his property. His whole entourage took the next exit and started on the windy two lane road that led to his luxury compound.

Mindy wondered if Dirk and Jonathan had been able to see through the ruse that Pain had set up. She had to believe they were somehow following her.

** * * **

Dirk and the State Patrol got their plan together and had all the vehicles in place in front of the gated entrance to Pain's property. They had two boom trucks, four electrical crew trucks, and four unmarked Police vans from the neighboring city. Luckily, part of Martha's plan had been to alert all the law enforcement agencies along the I-5 corridor of the possibility of having to quickly mobilize to help capture Pain. By so doing, she was able to get quite a group together to help out Dirk. Between the two of them, they had put together a plan that made the most sense. They had one of the boom trucks in place directly across from the entrance to Pain's property. They had the boom raised and two sharpshooters in the bucket pretending to be working on the wires on the telephone pole. One of the men had his binoculars trained on the road in the direction Pain and his group would be coming from. It wasn't long before he gave the signal that the limo was in sight.

His description of the entourage worked well within the guidelines of the plan Dirk and Martha had worked out. Four of Pain's men's vehicles were in front of the limo, and four were behind it. The men in the second boom truck readied themselves to floor it as soon as the limo passed, hopefully to cut of the four rear guard vehicles. Two of the unmarked and bullet proofed vans would pull in behind the four lead guard vehicles as they pulled into the driveway, the other two would position themselves in front and behind the limo, as close as they could. The four electrical crew trucks would position themselves so as to block the roadway in each direction from any unsuspecting vehicles entering the possible 'war zone'.

** * * **

Mindy was fidgeting, they had been in the limo for what seemed like forever, and still no sign of any police activity to stop them. She was pulling at the hem of her skirt when she felt the hardness in its hem and remembered the garrote that Martha had sewn in there. She thought back to how they told her of the special rip away hem and how she would be able to remove it quickly. She wondered if she actually wasn't alone and hoped she didn't have to use it, but went over the instructions in her head in case it came down to that. She remembered them telling her about its special construction. Several strings of hardened plastic, woven together, to give the strength of the regular metal garrote, but without any metal that could be detected.

She felt the limo slow down and heard Pain say, "We're here, wait to you see this place, it's built on a cliff overlooking the Sound and the view is spectacular!"

'God, he is so fucking proud of himself' Mindy thought.

Then she felt the limo brake suddenly and heard Pain's driver shout "What the fuck!?" She heard the squealing of tires and what she thought were gun shots. She saw Pain reach under his seat and pull out his semi-automatic pistol and start reaching for the door.

The two sharp shooters in the raised boom truck's bucket were able to keep Pain's men at bay, they had hit two of them as they jumped out of their cars, and the others, seeing that played it a little more carefully and stayed behind the reinforced doors. In the meantime, the unmarked police van's back doors flew open, and six shield wielding officers ran out of each van to surround and take over the guards in the limo's entourage. This plan worked well, as most of the men had seen the proficiency of the sharp shooters in the boom truck's basket and were not ready to lay their lives down for Pain.

Dirk had told Jonathan to sit tight and let the policemen do their duty. Jonathan did his best to comply but was straining his neck to get a good look at the limo itself. He thought he saw the passenger door open slightly and readied himself at the doorway of his car.

Pain roughly reached over and grabbed Mindy's hair and started dragging her over to him. He was going to put her in front of him, with his gun to her head, and try to make his getaway. Mindy could sense what was in store for her and she ripped the tear away hem of her skirt to get the garrote in her hand. She knew Pain would be looking outside and not at her so she got the garrote ready and waited for her chance. As he tried to pull her over to the doorway so that he could lead with her, he found his girth made that plan impossible. He pushed Mindy out first, and in trying to stay behind her, ducked out of the doorway.

As Jonathan saw Mindy pushed out of the limo, he got out and rushed the limo, "Mindy! Are you alright? I'm here, we're going to save you!" He said as he ran towards the limo.

Pain saw Jonathan running at him and with a grunt pushed his large body out the door and tried to take aim with his pistol at the unprotected Jonathan, and in so doing lost sight of Mindy for a split second.

Mindy saw her chance and with the best jump she could muster, threw herself up and onto Pain's back and in the same motion, threw her arms around his head and deftly applied the garrote around his thick neck. She let her body slide down his back while keeping firm hold on the garrote's handles. This put the pressure of her entire (yet demure) body weight on her application of the weapon. He thrashed around, dropped his gun trying first to get his hands between the garrote and his neck, and being unsuccessful at that, flailed his arms to try to get ahold of Mindy at his back. But once again, his girth worked against him, as he was not able to reach her, as she held on for dear life. Each of his exaggerated movements made the hardened plastic cord of the garrote slice deeper into his neck, cutting off his air supply. He started feeling a bit weakened and before he could decide his next move Jonathan had made it across the street to where they were and with a flying tackle to make any NFL defensive back proud, crashed into Pain, sending him and Mindy to the ground.

Dirk was right behind Jonathan and pulled him and Mindy off of Pain, relaxed the garrote, all with his pistol to Pain's head. Pain was in no shape to fight, and in a matter of seconds, his arms were behind his back with his hands cuffed. As a group of policemen began to escort the cuffed Pain towards one of their vans, he spit out at Mindy, "I was trying to give you the perfect life, and this is how you repay me? I will make you pay for this!"

Dirk let out a loud chuckle, "No you won't Pain, we have enough on you to put you away for a very long time."

"Seventeen to Top Cat, suspects in custody. On their way back downtown, please make sure the basement entrance is cordoned off, we don't want any problems now."

"Good work Seventeen, Federal Building Jail entrance in secured and ready for our new clients. Top Cat over and out."

** * * **

Two weeks later, Mindy and Jonathan found themselves at David and Mia's house. Along with Dirk and Christine and Vivian and Kory. David and Mia had put out a totally delicious spread of David's barbequed salmon, with all the accoutrements of a gourmet meal. They were all out on the deck sipping cups of coffee and going over the events of Pain's capture.

"With all the stuff we found in his buildings, and especially at his compound, Martha said he will be getting at least three back to back life sentences for his deeds. She got her promotion by the way."

Everyone shared a laugh, "Why didn't you get one?" Jonathan and Mindy asked simultaneously (which created a giggle from them both).

"I don't want one, I like it right where I am," he said looking longingly into Christine's eyes. She smiled and blew him a kiss.

"He actually got a few offers once the story of Pain's capture made it around the law enforcement agencies, but he turned them down to be here with me," Christine smiled as she followed her blown kiss with a real one, making Dirk turn all shades of red.

"Well since everyone is here, we have an announcement to make." Mindy and Jonathan stood up, raising their left hands in the air.

"Jonathan asked me to marry him and I said yes!" Mindy squealed.

Everyone cheered and clapped and came over to give the couple a big hug. And check out their rings.

"So when is the wonderful day?" Mia asked.

"Well, my surgery is scheduled for next week, thanks to you Mia, so we are going to go for two months from tomorrow. We've already rented out the same place you two got married, because we loved your wedding so much."

"That's fantastic, so we have a lot of planning to do!" Christine said as she came over and took Mia's hand.

"Maybe we could look into the possibility of a dual ceremony." Christine looked over to a still reddening faced Dirk, who was smiling through his embarrassment as everyone cheered.