The Line

"That depends. How well guarded are these people?"

"Three of them are armed all of the time and two of them aren't. One unarmed man lives out in the boonies near Smithton, the other is a college kid. I need solid kills here! How much?"

"Ten big ones each ought to cover it. After all, the more sniper attacks with the same caliber weapon, the more it is obvious that these are not random events. Guns like my sniper rifle are not that common. However, I like to take the target out from about a quarter of a mile away. I'm less likely to be noticed that way."

"O.K., you've got it. Now grab a pencil and paper. I'll give you the names of the people who need to die."

"I'm set. Give me the names."

"The three armed men are John Hughes, Jim Wood, and Mark Fabrizzio. The student is named Luke Slovenski and the other man is Peter Slovenski."

"You must be desperate to take out three cops! When do you need this done?"

"ASAP! There's an extra five thousand each if it is within the next twenty-four hours."

"I'm on it. Good night judge."

"'Night Ted."

*********************

Detective John Hughes got the call at four a.m..

"Sorry to interrupt you sir, but we've just been informed that Mark Fabrizzio was murdered about half an hour ago."

"What? You mean Detective Fabrizzio was killed? How?"

"Somebody really wanted him dead, sir. From the wound the army medic who was in one of the squads on patrol says he's seen this type of wound before. It has all the earmarks of a .50 Cal BMG cartridge. The soldiers indicated that there was a second or two's delay between the detective falling over and the sound of the gun shot. The hole was beautifully centered in his head. That's a kill at over two thousand feet! Somebody has had some very good training. That also matches the ammo that was used to take out attorney Moore and Chief Riley. I think we have one shooter involved."

"O.K. make sure that Jack Frazier, and the Slovenskis are warned. I'll call the hospital and warn Lt. Moore about a long distance shooter. I understand that they are moving Mary Wright and Jeff Smith into private rooms today."

"Will do, sir."

**********************

As soon as Pete Slovenski was warned, he called Luke to warn him as well.

"Pete, I think I know the answer to this, but......What do I do if someone corners me and tries to kill me?"

"Use your best judgment Luke. In an extreme emergency you can kill if you need to. If it is the guy who has been killing these other people I would immediately assume that it would be justified to remove him from the gene pool."

"Thanks, that is what I thought you would say."

**********************

As Detective Hughes' call reached Lt. Moore at the hospital he was taken aback by the greeting.

"How did you find out so fast sir?"

"Lt. you have me at a loss here. How did I find out what?"

"That Jeff Smith was killed by a bullet that came through the window in his new hospital room. The bullet was energetic enough to go through the windows, Jeff Smith's head, the wall into the hall, another wall across the hall and embed itself in the far wall. The round looks like it's from a .50Cal Browning Machine Gun cartridge."

"I'm too late, damn it! I was calling to warn you about a long distance shooter that we have on our hands. Make sure that Mary Wright is fully protected. If we need to, see if the national guard will pick her up by helicopter and transfer her to a more secure hospital."

"Yes, sir! I think we can make her safe here. They have an older operating room that is no longer used. Something about not meeting the modern codes. It is poured reinforced concrete. We'll build a bit of a bunker out of it.."

"Very good, keep on your toes. I don't want any of our men hurt."

**************************

"Hello, may I speak with Luke Slovenski please?"

"Yes, I'll connect you to his room."

"Hello, this is Luke."

"Hi Luke, I need to tell you some bad news. There has been an accidental shooting and your brother Pete has been killed. I couldn't reach your sisters, so I'm contacting you. Can you meet me on old route 6, about halfway from your dorm to your brother's house?"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes. How will I recognize you?"

"I'll be in the Sheriff's car that is at the scene of the shooting."

"I'm on my way."

*****************************************

Luke immediately called his brother's unlisted cell phone number.

"Hello, Pete Slovenski."

"Hi Pete, it's Luke. I just received a call telling me that you had been killed by an accidental shot. There's a sheriff's deputy who asked me to come out to meet him. He's going to be about half way between here and there. That's a lonely stretch of road. How should I handle this?"

"You and I both know that we can't be killed with lead or copper based bullets. I'm sure the bad guys aren't using silver bullets. Why don't you go meet him and get what information that you can from him? This may well hurt you a bit, but you'll heal before he can speak his first sentence."

"O.K. Pete. I'll talk to you later."

************************

About 18 minutes later, Luke stopped his car behind the sheriff's patrol car on the side of the road. He got out of his car and walked toward the sheriff's car.

"Hold it right there Slovenski."

The deputy was standing across the road, and pointing a pistol at Luke.

"Good, now walk over to the path that is just on the other side of my car. Don't make any funny moves, or I'll kill you."

Luke followed the directions as they were given. He also spoke to the deputy.

"I'm surprised you didn't use your rifle on me. Are you tired of that weapon?"

"Shut up, kid. You don't know what you are talking about."

"Do you want to bet? I may know a lot more than you do about what has been happening."

They walked silently for another three minutes.

"We're far enough in so that the sound of a shot will be muffled. You're a dead man, Luke. You have people who don't want you around."

"You mean like the judge?"

At this Ted Smith did a double take and blurted out, "How did you know about the judge?"

"Just a hunch. Do you realize that he has led you into a trap? He needs to get you out of the way. After all you are a witness to what he has been doing. Wouldn't you want to remove witnesses if you had committed murder?"

Ted looked a little pale.

"Just words, you're only trying to spook me."

"Maybe so. Do you remember the gang of kids in the park, and how they were hurt? What makes you think that you aren't in the same danger. After all, one of those thugs had a pistol just like the one you have aimed at me."

Ted Smith looked uncertain.

"Do you need some proof that you need to give up on this?"

"Yeah, what do you have in mind."

:Luke held out his left arm.

"Do you think you can put a bullet through my hand from where you are?"

"Sure, anyone could do that."

"Then take your shot, and watch carefully."

There was a loud 'crack". followed by a distinct sound like "thwack".

Luke stood there with a hole in his hand. "Keep watching deputy."

It took a minute for it to happen. The wound stopped bleeding, and by the end of two minutes the hand looked good as new.

"So, deputy, do you see what you are up against? Your bullets can't kill me. But, if I want to, I can kill you very quickly."

Ted was almost in shock. "I know karate and judo, do you think you could take me all by yourself?"

"Let me take my shoes off." At that Luke kicked off his shoes.

"Now watch." He said this as he willed the change. Within one minute the deputy was looking at a gorilla sized creature of mixed black and brown fur with terrible fangs and claws..

"The creature spoke. Are you sure you can defend yourself from me?"

At that instant Luke made a mighty jump, landing lightly behind the deputy. As he landed he reached around putting the claws of his left hand at the deputies throat. "Shall we play, deputy?"

Deputy Smith, fainted. When he regained consciousness he found himself handcuffed and in the back of a squad car. Luke and Peter Slovenski were talking with Jack Frazier and some forensic people. The forensic person was speaking.

"I can't swear to it, but the rifle that Ted had in the trunk of his squad car certainly looks like the type of gun that has killed those people. I wish he were in his right mind. He's obviously been through a grave mental shock. His babbling while he was out was very interesting. I got most of it on tape. He kept talking about judge Goodwin, and contracts for murder, and about Luke here suddenly turning into a monster. He even seems to think that he shot Luke in the hand and that he healed immediately."

At this, Luke held up both hands. "See, no scars or cuts, or round holes. He has to have lost his sense of reality. However, I'd bet that he will be very interesting to question."

Pete Slovenski spoke up, "I would suggest you bring him to Captain Henry Murphy. He will be much safer in the custody of the State Police. After all, we don't know who the real bad guys are. I suspect that this character", he pointed at Ted, "is nothing but a tool used by the others."

Jack Frazier thought for a moment and shook his head in agreement.

"You know, Pete, your idea of thinking of the Middle Ages was a very good suggestion. This almost sounds like a story from that time. It's a shame that certain other people haven't suffered from the same hallucination."

Pete and Luke just smiled, beneficently. Jack shook his head, with a grin on his face, saying "I don't want to know. I didn't understand what I just saw. Be careful, and thank you for the help."

"You're welcome, deputy. Be careful to keep on your guard. There are still bad folks out there."

*************************

After handing over Ted Smith, his rifle and a box of .50Cal BMG cartridges to Captain Murphy, deputy Frazier went back to his office to fill out a report. The report was handed in forty-five minutes later. Fifty minutes later, the judge was being told the bad news.

"You mean to tell me that they have Ted Smith, and he's talking?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. He's also hallucinating, but they have his rifle, and bullets. They also have one of the bullets from the kill of that kid in the hospital. It's only a matter of time before they realize that Ted was working for you. How are you going to fix this?"

"I don't know. Let me think for a bit. I'll get back to you."

Judge Goodwin left the courthouse early, and headed to his home. When he got in, he closed all the drapes and blinds. Locked the doors, took his phone off the hook, and poured himself a stiff drink. He didn't hear the steps on his beautifully carpeted floor. As he rested his head back and closed his eyes he suddenly felt a grip like iron holding both of his arms. He was immediately awake. He couldn't speak! There were four animal things with vicious fangs and claws. The biggest of them was huge. Then, the big one spoke.

"Hello judge, I've been wanting to talk to you. You won't believe it, but your hired gun, Ted Smith, wasn't hallucinating. Nobody will ever believe him, but he was speaking the truth. You now have a horrible choice to make. I have a video camera here and a large display "atomic clock" that will be in the picture. You are about to tell the story, starting with the mugging of those two poor kids in the park and then the attempted mugging of that Luke kid. If you don't, I think we can persuade you to."

At that one of the smaller monsters reached out and flexed his enormous claws. The judge looked like he was going to pass out.

"Now, judge, we can visit you any time we want. We live for a long, long time. You will see us in your dreams, you will see us standing in your bedroom waking you up at three in the morning, you will wake up and find claw marks across your stomach, and maybe even a bite mark or two. Would you like to make a recording now?"

The judge spoke for close to an hour. As he finished, he was handed a glass of water to drink. In moments, the judge was asleep. The tripod, video recorder, and clock were removed and his house was left empty save for him and his stuff. The Slovenskies all remained totally out of the picture.

****************

It was the next day that the envelope arrived on John Hughes' desk. It had a simple typed note that the enclosed DVD should be played. John paid rapt attention to the disk. It was wonderful evidence. It was also not enough evidence to prove that the mayor, the sheriff, Frank Lisk, and Bud Lisk's gang were guilty of anything. After all, it was the judge's word against theirs. The judge was also not going to seem overly sane at any trial. There was more work to be done.

John immediately called for members of the State Attorney General's office and upper officers in the State Police to come and watch the recording. They all agreed that they needed more evidence before they asked for arrests warrant for any people except the judge..

The arrest warrant was sworn out that afternoon. People were surprised that Judge Goodman was being so cooperative. It almost seemed he wanted to be locked up in a jail cell. He also seemed a bit incoherent at times. Talking about monsters that talked and such. Just like ex-deputy Smith.

John pondered what his next move should be.

Two days later, John called Pete Slovenski. Pete invited Jack Frazier and John Hughes out to share a pizza, some coffee, and a discussion. They gladly agreed.

*****************************

As they were enjoying the pizza and a nice hot cup of good coffee Jack Frazier made an unusual comment.

"You know, your suggestion to think about a Middle Ages solution was brilliant. I still don't believe in magic, but it is obvious that the judge and ex-deputy Smith think that they have seen something magical. They are waking up screaming at night, and that is with some good sedatives. They describe seeing monsters. We have kept them apart from each other but their descriptions are almost identical. This is very unusual. ........ We really appreciate your help in this Pete."

Pete's response was nonchalant, "I didn't do anything, guys. It must be some form of psychosis or something. After all, the kinds of things that the judge and ex-deputy were talking about probably never existed. They probably live only in the imagination. Now, what is the problem that you are facing?"

John Hughes spoke first; we have all the evidence we need to convict Ted Smith and Judge Henry Goodwin. But, the only evidence to prove the involvement of Sheriff Matt Damon, Bud Lisk and his gang, or Frank Lisk. is the word of the judge. Now, he has been so badly shaken that he will not appear overly sane when he is in court. We need more evidence but these crimes were so compartmentalized that none of the other players knows what the others were doing. In fact, Frank Lisk doesn't know the mayor is involved. The mayor doesn't know about Bud Lisk's gang, and none of us know which people were involved in the murder of the policeman and burning of police headquarters. At this point, we're not sure what should be done to move this case forward."

"Hmmmmmm, I see your problem; but no simple cures come to mind. Which of the people do you consider the most dangerous at this point?"

"Well, Pete, I would have to say Bud Lisk's gang. After all, according to the judge, they are the ones that hit the armory and got the explosives that were used to destroy the state police barracks, they are the ones who have been beating up people in the park, they have many downtown business men afraid to report anything that the gang does for fear of reprisal. Most of all, we don't have any identification for most of them. We need to find a way to get them to trip up."

After several moments in thought Pete Slovenski spoke up. "I need to get some other people here before I tell you what I have in mind. What I'm going to suggest will floor you; but it's the only plan that comes to mind. Can you hang on for about an hour?"

Both John Hughes and Jack Frazier agreed. Within the hour, Pete, John, and Jack had been joined by Luke Slovenski, Irene Slovenski, and Agatha Slovenski.

Introductions were made and Pete turned to Jack and John. "Gentlemen, I think we need to set a trap for Bud Lisk and his gang. I think that there is a way to get Frank Lisk and Mayor Talbot at the same time. However we are faced with two major risks. One, there may be violence, and we will need to share some information with you that puts my family at risk. I need to shake hands with both you John, and you Jack."

Pete stood up walked around the table and shook hands with each of the other men. He then returned to his seat at the table. I noticed that both of you are wearing rings with the square and compass. Too many people just buy a ring and pretend to be brothers. Your grips tell me that you have done some traveling. Do you remember your oaths?"

Both men said yes.

"I am then going to remind you that a secret shared by a brother, in the order, is to be kept regardless of any normal circumstances. Can you both live with that?"

There was a pause, and John and Jack looked at each other and then almost in unison said, "yes!"

"Here then is my plan. I am going to suggest that Luke, Agatha, and Irene visit mayor Talbot tomorrow evening. The mayor's house is almost as rural as mine. After a brief discussion with him; he will phone Bud Lisk and tell him that Luke, Agatha, and Irene are at his house with him. He will indicate that they are telling him details about the gang's activities and are planning to go to the state police. That should be enough to get Bud and his gang to come out and obtain the retribution that they probably are seeking. When they are there, we aren't sure how they will react. I want to make an video recording of what is said at that meeting. I also want to edit the tape before you can have it. It will contain certain things that you do not want to see or hear, but will not involve any physical violence unless Luke, Agatha, and Irene need to defend themselves. Can you be nearby with some trusted men so that you can move in when the dust settles?"

"Yes, but won't your brother and sisters be in grave danger?"

"No, John, they won't. Our family is an old family and has some unusual traits that make it very difficult to harm us."

Jack Frazier spoke up: "You are probably all going to think I am crazy but here goes......would I be correct in thinking that you would be worried if they had a gun that fired bullets of a certain precious metal?"

Pete, and his siblings, looked at Jack for a few moments of strained silence. "You are very insightful Jack. We would not wish to meet such a weapon."

John Hughes spoke up; "What are you all talking about? What's this stuff about precious metals and bullets?"

"Nothing John, it's sort of an inside joke. We're thinking about "The Lone Ranger". Don't worry about what we were talking about."

Pete turned to his siblings and asked them; "are you willing to do this?"

They all agreed.

********************

Mayor Lawrence Talbot was sitting in his den, enjoying a glass of brandy and a good cigar. He felt relatively safe. Nobody had even hinted that they thought he was involved with the Judge and sheriff's deputy Ted Smith.

The mayor had never married. He didn't see a need to. He had a young housekeeper who not only took care of cleaning, laundry, and cooking. She also took care of the mayor's other needs. This particular night she was not at home.

The sound of the phone stirred him from his comfortable chair. "Hello."

A beautiful sounding girl's voice said: "Hello, is this the Talbot residence?"

"It is...... what do you want?"

"I'd like to talk to you about a matter of mutual concern. It involves the attacks in the park and Bud Lisk."