I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. Stumbling to the bathroom I did necessary things,and then found the aspirin and took four. Hoping that they would work quickly. I debated about what to do for breakfast. Then decided I needed sleep more. So, I went back to bed and slept for several more hours. About mid morning I finally woke up again. By now the headache was down to a dull roar. I managed to stumble to the the bathroom, A half hour later I came out feeling at least somewhat better. Now I was ready to eat. By the time I woke up mid-morning Brenda had waken up and was making me a late breakfast.
I’m not dressed until I have my usual setup on . Shoulder holster for the Colt, and belt holster for the Smith & Wesson. and a switchblade in my right hand pocket. First some coffee. By then the mail had come. The mail was mostly junk. As I drank my coffee, I filled Brenda in on my thoughts on the FBI agent, Steve Clark, and about them adventure tailing the car north of LA, and getting back too late to help at the bar. Brenda and I finished our breakfast and told her about the car sitting outside. She said she’d be careful. I looked out on the street outside. There across the street sat the same Chevy sedan I’d been following all day yesterday. The sight of it brought my mind to the matters at hand. As I drank a second cup of coffee I went over my notes. The woman Wanda Reed , who had tried to kill me, the FBI agent, Steve Clark who didn’t ring true, and being tailed, then tailing them to an old estate a two hour drive north of LA, and now my phone being bugged, and The same Chevy sitting outside again this morning. Slowly his headache begun to subside. But I knew my problems had just begun. By the third cup of coffee, I was ready to face the world.
I left my house though the back door. Stopping briefly to make sure Brenda locked the doors behind me. I knew she could handle a gun if needed. Wearing a new trench coat. Down the back stairs. I kept a close watch out for anyone who didn’t belong there. I decided to leave the car where it was. Going to the other side of the block, I flagged down a cab. I headed for the police station. As it happened I caught Robert coming out for lunch. I followed him to the dinner where he always ate. carefully watching to see if anyone was following him. There was no tail on Robert. Once inside the dinner we found a booth in the back with good line of sight to the door. I guess the look on my face told Bob it hadn’t been a good night.
“You Ok?”
“I’ve been better.”I replied. . By then the waitress brought us coffee, and took our lunch order. We both had coffee and BLT’s and a salad. We ate in silence for a few minutes,
“You find the bug in your phone?” I asked between bites of my BLT.
“Yep, It was there alright. We checked the rest of the phones in the office, None of them had a bug but mine.
“Interesting.” I Commented. as I reached for the last of my coffee.
Over the rest of the meal, I reported yesterday's activities in more details, including the fact that my phone was bugged too. It was clear that someone with a inside knowledge of the departments going ons, had a “in” Robert’s office. Or at least knew how to get someone into the office long enough to plant the bug in his phone. I asked Bob how the background check on the FBI agent Steve Clark came out. Nothing definite, but they were still looking. We agreed that keeping him out of the loop, and not telling him anymore than they had to, was a wise thing to do. Along with being very careful about our use of the phones, especially until we figured out who had them bugged. As we finished our lunch, discussions turned to our next move. The fact we had no solid leads to go on didn’t give us a lot of options.
“You know that FBI report listed a bunch of people Wanda was reportedly associated with, some here in LA. I can start hitting the streets and see what I can dig up on who she was working for lately.”
“Good idea Bob, I think I’m go go sit on our friendly FBI man for while and see what he's up to. “ I decided out loud as my finished the last of my coffee.
“Also another good idea, Just don’t let him see you. I don’t think he knows what you drive, but it wouldn’t be hard for him to find out.”
“Right”, I said as I paid for our lunch.
The two of us headed out the door. Robert started walking back to the police station. I waited a minute to make sure we hadn’t picked up any company. Deciding that I was alone, I flagged down a cab. I took the cab to the street behind my house. Once again I looked, Sure enough the Chevy was still there, in a different spot, but still watching the building. Going back to my house the way I’d left earlier that morning. Once inside, I found Brenda getting ready to go open the bar. I told her to take a gun. And Be Careful. She said she already had one. Opening her purse she showed me one of the revolvers from the gun safe. As soon as Brenda left and I was sure she wasn’t being followed I made my big move.
I decided it was time to lose the Chevy. I had to find out where Steve Clark lived, and start tailing him. I couldn’t do that with The Chevy on my tail all the time.
So I made a big show of leaving by the front door of the bungalow , and getting into my car, and taking off. Sure enough the Chey was behind me. I let the car follow me awhile, just to get them confident, that I didn’t know they were there. They were still lousy tailor, I easily spotted them, and barely stayed in front him at times it should have been easy to follow me. “Incompetent” Was was he thought to myself . Finally I decided that I had enough.
As I started out of stop light, I quickly accelerated, gaining half a block easily. By the time they were through the intersection, I was a block away from them. A couple of sharp turns later and I’d lost them. They couldn’t keep up enough to see my turns. Sitting in a parking lot, I watched them go past me. I waited a few minutes to make sure they didn’t double back, looking for me. Nope, they went on down the hill. Finally, I was able to relax for a minute, I headed back the way I’d came. The rest of the day I kept a wary eye on my mirrors, No Old Chevy. I found a drugstore, got some more aspirin and a soft drink to take it with, and a phone book. I remembered that Steve had mentioned generally were he lived. Sure enough he was in the book. A half hour later I was sitting across the street from the FBI agents home. Soon I was rewarded with my quarry coming home. “Kind early to be coming home isn’t it there Steve?” I thought to himself. So I waited waited some more. Resisting the urge to go in and ask him some very pointed questions. By now it was dark. I waited until the lights were off in the house. By that time Mrs. Clark had come home. Just as I about to call it a night and head for my place. I heard a door close. Watching carefully in the moonlight, I saw Steve Clark, head out again. So instead of heading home like I desperately wanted to, I followed Steve. Following the FBI agent in the dark was a challenge. but I managed to keep him in sight. Nearly an hour of following him lead me downtown LA. Turning onto a back street. The street was in the warehouse district. I knew the area well, he’d been there many times before the war. It not a fun place to be especially after dark. There were almost no street lights, and way too many places for a person to hide. I pulled my Colt from the shoulder holster. laying it on my lap, as I slowly went down the street , I’d seen the FBI agent go down. Lights off , to not be noticed, and let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Finally I noticed the open door at the end of the street. Light could be seen coming out of it briefly before the door was pulled closed. I debated what to do. This time action got the vote. Getting my car as close to the building as I dared, I shut it down. Carefully opening his car door. I didn’t close it it tight again. I headed for the shadows. Once safely against the building I looked around and found a window with a light coming from it. I decided to risk having a look. Climbing up on a crate, I was able to see inside.
Inside were about half a dozen men some in suits, and a couple in work clothes. All had guns in hand except for Steve and one other man. There a pile of papers, and money on the desk before them. They seemed to be talking about what to do with the papers. I couldn’t tell what they were. But they looked like official reports of some kind. I did manage to see a FBI logo on at least one of them. The pile of money was big. Probably more money than I’d ever seen at one time. Eventually a suitcase was produced. The money was tossed into the the case. The other man in the suit picked up the pile of reports, carefully collected them and put them in his own briefcase. The two men shook hands, I could tell it was an uneasy meeting. Clearly they didn’t like each other. Realizing the meeting was over, I quickly headed back to my car, with lights off, he managed to get in the shadows, and watch as the various cars left. I had to decide who to follow. I figured the FBI agent would return home, after his late night payoff. So following the other one seemed like the better option. I had to know who those FBI reports had been sold to.
Letting Steve go, I waited. About ten minutes later the garage door opened again. This time two cars came out. One was an old sedan, the other was a cadillac. As it passed by me, and went under one of the few streetlight, I wrote down its license number. and make and model, and year. Once the caddy was well up the street, I followed, still with my lights off. It was too open, it might be seen. Once they got back to main streets, and traffic and lights, I flipped my lights back on. Late night traffic was sparse, which made it a challenge to tail without being noticed. For over a hour I followed the caddy. It seemed to be headed north again. The landmarks looked different, but I did recognize a few. This was where I was yesterday, after the old Chevy. Interesting. I thought. Who had piles of cash to buy FBI reports? Who would want to buy a FBI report?, The obvious answer was the mob. Which made sense as they were into about every illegal operation in the LA area, and probably most of the state. While I dove I started to piece it together. But that didn’t explain, who or why they had put Wanda on me. That probably explained the bugs in the phone. This guy would have the money and connections to get it done. Whoever he was. That was a good question, and what was his connection to me? I didn’t recognize him back at the warehouse. I followed the caddy long enough so I was sure where he was heading. By now I was dead tired. And still had to drive back to my place. As I got closer to my area of LA, I had second thoughts about going to my house. That old Chevy would probably be parked out front waiting for me. At some point they may want to more than just watch. I was not prepared to deal with the possibility. So plan B came to mind. The bar. Still watching to see if I had a tail, I headed for the bar.
About twenty minutes later I arrived at the bar. It was way past closing time. Brenda had long since locked up and went home. I parked my car around behind the building, in the ally, pointed out for a fast exit if needed. Again being careful as not to attract attention to myself , I let myself in the back door of the bar. Going through the storeroom, and kitchen, I grabbed a beer, and the fixings for a cold sandwich. Once in the office I settled settled down to eat and drink. I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch with Robert that morning. It was now past three in the morning. I was dead tired on my feet. Once I ate, and cleaned up after myself and made sure the doors were locked, I headed back to the office. I called Brenda and told her I was staying at the bar tonight, and I’d see her in the morning and to be sure everything was locked up tight. The couch looked good. Not as good as my bed at home, but it would do. Taking off my jacket, and removing the guns from their respective holsters,I settled down on the couch to sleep. Sleep came. Surprisingly enough with no nightmares, this time.
I’m not dressed until I have my usual setup on . Shoulder holster for the Colt, and belt holster for the Smith & Wesson. and a switchblade in my right hand pocket. First some coffee. By then the mail had come. The mail was mostly junk. As I drank my coffee, I filled Brenda in on my thoughts on the FBI agent, Steve Clark, and about them adventure tailing the car north of LA, and getting back too late to help at the bar. Brenda and I finished our breakfast and told her about the car sitting outside. She said she’d be careful. I looked out on the street outside. There across the street sat the same Chevy sedan I’d been following all day yesterday. The sight of it brought my mind to the matters at hand. As I drank a second cup of coffee I went over my notes. The woman Wanda Reed , who had tried to kill me, the FBI agent, Steve Clark who didn’t ring true, and being tailed, then tailing them to an old estate a two hour drive north of LA, and now my phone being bugged, and The same Chevy sitting outside again this morning. Slowly his headache begun to subside. But I knew my problems had just begun. By the third cup of coffee, I was ready to face the world.
I left my house though the back door. Stopping briefly to make sure Brenda locked the doors behind me. I knew she could handle a gun if needed. Wearing a new trench coat. Down the back stairs. I kept a close watch out for anyone who didn’t belong there. I decided to leave the car where it was. Going to the other side of the block, I flagged down a cab. I headed for the police station. As it happened I caught Robert coming out for lunch. I followed him to the dinner where he always ate. carefully watching to see if anyone was following him. There was no tail on Robert. Once inside the dinner we found a booth in the back with good line of sight to the door. I guess the look on my face told Bob it hadn’t been a good night.
“You Ok?”
“I’ve been better.”I replied. . By then the waitress brought us coffee, and took our lunch order. We both had coffee and BLT’s and a salad. We ate in silence for a few minutes,
“You find the bug in your phone?” I asked between bites of my BLT.
“Yep, It was there alright. We checked the rest of the phones in the office, None of them had a bug but mine.
“Interesting.” I Commented. as I reached for the last of my coffee.
Over the rest of the meal, I reported yesterday's activities in more details, including the fact that my phone was bugged too. It was clear that someone with a inside knowledge of the departments going ons, had a “in” Robert’s office. Or at least knew how to get someone into the office long enough to plant the bug in his phone. I asked Bob how the background check on the FBI agent Steve Clark came out. Nothing definite, but they were still looking. We agreed that keeping him out of the loop, and not telling him anymore than they had to, was a wise thing to do. Along with being very careful about our use of the phones, especially until we figured out who had them bugged. As we finished our lunch, discussions turned to our next move. The fact we had no solid leads to go on didn’t give us a lot of options.
“You know that FBI report listed a bunch of people Wanda was reportedly associated with, some here in LA. I can start hitting the streets and see what I can dig up on who she was working for lately.”
“Good idea Bob, I think I’m go go sit on our friendly FBI man for while and see what he's up to. “ I decided out loud as my finished the last of my coffee.
“Also another good idea, Just don’t let him see you. I don’t think he knows what you drive, but it wouldn’t be hard for him to find out.”
“Right”, I said as I paid for our lunch.
The two of us headed out the door. Robert started walking back to the police station. I waited a minute to make sure we hadn’t picked up any company. Deciding that I was alone, I flagged down a cab. I took the cab to the street behind my house. Once again I looked, Sure enough the Chevy was still there, in a different spot, but still watching the building. Going back to my house the way I’d left earlier that morning. Once inside, I found Brenda getting ready to go open the bar. I told her to take a gun. And Be Careful. She said she already had one. Opening her purse she showed me one of the revolvers from the gun safe. As soon as Brenda left and I was sure she wasn’t being followed I made my big move.
I decided it was time to lose the Chevy. I had to find out where Steve Clark lived, and start tailing him. I couldn’t do that with The Chevy on my tail all the time.
So I made a big show of leaving by the front door of the bungalow , and getting into my car, and taking off. Sure enough the Chey was behind me. I let the car follow me awhile, just to get them confident, that I didn’t know they were there. They were still lousy tailor, I easily spotted them, and barely stayed in front him at times it should have been easy to follow me. “Incompetent” Was was he thought to myself . Finally I decided that I had enough.
As I started out of stop light, I quickly accelerated, gaining half a block easily. By the time they were through the intersection, I was a block away from them. A couple of sharp turns later and I’d lost them. They couldn’t keep up enough to see my turns. Sitting in a parking lot, I watched them go past me. I waited a few minutes to make sure they didn’t double back, looking for me. Nope, they went on down the hill. Finally, I was able to relax for a minute, I headed back the way I’d came. The rest of the day I kept a wary eye on my mirrors, No Old Chevy. I found a drugstore, got some more aspirin and a soft drink to take it with, and a phone book. I remembered that Steve had mentioned generally were he lived. Sure enough he was in the book. A half hour later I was sitting across the street from the FBI agents home. Soon I was rewarded with my quarry coming home. “Kind early to be coming home isn’t it there Steve?” I thought to himself. So I waited waited some more. Resisting the urge to go in and ask him some very pointed questions. By now it was dark. I waited until the lights were off in the house. By that time Mrs. Clark had come home. Just as I about to call it a night and head for my place. I heard a door close. Watching carefully in the moonlight, I saw Steve Clark, head out again. So instead of heading home like I desperately wanted to, I followed Steve. Following the FBI agent in the dark was a challenge. but I managed to keep him in sight. Nearly an hour of following him lead me downtown LA. Turning onto a back street. The street was in the warehouse district. I knew the area well, he’d been there many times before the war. It not a fun place to be especially after dark. There were almost no street lights, and way too many places for a person to hide. I pulled my Colt from the shoulder holster. laying it on my lap, as I slowly went down the street , I’d seen the FBI agent go down. Lights off , to not be noticed, and let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Finally I noticed the open door at the end of the street. Light could be seen coming out of it briefly before the door was pulled closed. I debated what to do. This time action got the vote. Getting my car as close to the building as I dared, I shut it down. Carefully opening his car door. I didn’t close it it tight again. I headed for the shadows. Once safely against the building I looked around and found a window with a light coming from it. I decided to risk having a look. Climbing up on a crate, I was able to see inside.
Inside were about half a dozen men some in suits, and a couple in work clothes. All had guns in hand except for Steve and one other man. There a pile of papers, and money on the desk before them. They seemed to be talking about what to do with the papers. I couldn’t tell what they were. But they looked like official reports of some kind. I did manage to see a FBI logo on at least one of them. The pile of money was big. Probably more money than I’d ever seen at one time. Eventually a suitcase was produced. The money was tossed into the the case. The other man in the suit picked up the pile of reports, carefully collected them and put them in his own briefcase. The two men shook hands, I could tell it was an uneasy meeting. Clearly they didn’t like each other. Realizing the meeting was over, I quickly headed back to my car, with lights off, he managed to get in the shadows, and watch as the various cars left. I had to decide who to follow. I figured the FBI agent would return home, after his late night payoff. So following the other one seemed like the better option. I had to know who those FBI reports had been sold to.
Letting Steve go, I waited. About ten minutes later the garage door opened again. This time two cars came out. One was an old sedan, the other was a cadillac. As it passed by me, and went under one of the few streetlight, I wrote down its license number. and make and model, and year. Once the caddy was well up the street, I followed, still with my lights off. It was too open, it might be seen. Once they got back to main streets, and traffic and lights, I flipped my lights back on. Late night traffic was sparse, which made it a challenge to tail without being noticed. For over a hour I followed the caddy. It seemed to be headed north again. The landmarks looked different, but I did recognize a few. This was where I was yesterday, after the old Chevy. Interesting. I thought. Who had piles of cash to buy FBI reports? Who would want to buy a FBI report?, The obvious answer was the mob. Which made sense as they were into about every illegal operation in the LA area, and probably most of the state. While I dove I started to piece it together. But that didn’t explain, who or why they had put Wanda on me. That probably explained the bugs in the phone. This guy would have the money and connections to get it done. Whoever he was. That was a good question, and what was his connection to me? I didn’t recognize him back at the warehouse. I followed the caddy long enough so I was sure where he was heading. By now I was dead tired. And still had to drive back to my place. As I got closer to my area of LA, I had second thoughts about going to my house. That old Chevy would probably be parked out front waiting for me. At some point they may want to more than just watch. I was not prepared to deal with the possibility. So plan B came to mind. The bar. Still watching to see if I had a tail, I headed for the bar.
About twenty minutes later I arrived at the bar. It was way past closing time. Brenda had long since locked up and went home. I parked my car around behind the building, in the ally, pointed out for a fast exit if needed. Again being careful as not to attract attention to myself , I let myself in the back door of the bar. Going through the storeroom, and kitchen, I grabbed a beer, and the fixings for a cold sandwich. Once in the office I settled settled down to eat and drink. I hadn’t eaten anything since lunch with Robert that morning. It was now past three in the morning. I was dead tired on my feet. Once I ate, and cleaned up after myself and made sure the doors were locked, I headed back to the office. I called Brenda and told her I was staying at the bar tonight, and I’d see her in the morning and to be sure everything was locked up tight. The couch looked good. Not as good as my bed at home, but it would do. Taking off my jacket, and removing the guns from their respective holsters,I settled down on the couch to sleep. Sleep came. Surprisingly enough with no nightmares, this time.