Chapter 9
At the First Sign … Leave
(Ó
2010)
It was a plan that began to take shape almost four years ago, right after the completion of his mission on the tyrannical gang leader known as “Gem P” and his two top enforcers of the street gang known as the South Side Stone Soldiers, or 4-S for short. It was a plan that he went over in his mind every day and night, going over each step, and reviewing every change. He had escape routes, train schedules, plane schedules, moves and counter moves all committed to memory.
Throughout his lifetime, Logan had grown to despise something even more than the criminal element; even in his time as a Legionnaire, and that was corrupt politicians. The two men that he punished for the rape of the young girl … that was just coincidence, (even though he felt “something” ). His mission to stop the young Bartholomew man, even though it too started as coincidence, had helped to discover so much more. His surveillance of the young Bartholomew had led him to the Divic man, for some time then, Logan watched them both. Logan discovered that there was more to this Divic than just his selling of young boys to Jared Bartholomew. For one evening, as he had the home of Gregior Divic under his surveillance, there too quite by coincidence, did he see a guest of Gregior Divic that looked very familiar.
It was a summer evening, and Logan watched the Divic home from his spot in the forest preserve behind the house. Gregior Divic was sitting in his living room with the curtain open. Logan watched him with the aid of his monocular. Divic was sitting on his sofa with his back to the window watching a program on his wide screen television. Logan was just there for a routine surveillance, making note of the floor plan of the house, making note of Gregior Divic’s habits, but above all, studying the behavior of the large dog … Bodo.
As he watched Divic he heard then the sound of the dog barking as if someone were at the front door. He then saw Divic stand from his sofa and shouting a command to the dog. “Bodo! Quiet! Lie down!” Logan then observed as Divic stepped to his front door and answered it. In a few seconds Divic came back to the living room with his guest, a black woman wearing blue jeans and a tattered long sleeved t-shirt. The black woman was wearing large dark sunglasses. He hair was worn straight down, it was shoulder length and unkempt. The woman was also wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball cap. Logan first did not pay attention to the woman, for she looked as if she was a cleaning lady or laborer of some sort. Until the woman removed her sunglasses. Logan saw the woman’s face through his monocular and immediately knew that she was familiar, he had seen her before. He could only see her face for a few more seconds, for Gregior Divic then came to the back window and drew the curtains. Logan then placed his hand with the monocular on his lap, trying to remember where he had seen this woman before. In a matter of seconds it came to him. He always sees this woman on the local news and in the newspapers. This woman was Dee Dee Stillwater.
Logan knew that one need not be a mathematician to make this equation. A politician plus a man that sells young children can only equal corruption; and political corruption was the first thing that he noticed as he first arrived in Chicago. He learned of the city’s long history of it; and of how it was basically made into an art form here. It was so blatant that it was a comedy, and it was so much a comedy, well, the citizens just accepted it as normal and the way of life here. Logan that night decided that he would start to put Dee Dee Stillwater under surveillance.
His shadowing of Dee Dee Stillwater led him to Gem P and discovered her connections with him. Logan now was perplexed. What could he do to bring down this Stillwater woman? Organizing and executing a mission on her was completely out of the question. He does not attack women, no matter what they may have done. He needed some other way, he needed some other person to somehow bring her down. Then … it came to him. Those two police officers that were looking for him. He could get them to do it. It would be perfect. He knew that the Divic man had that dossier he kept in the pink file in his safe. He knew that it contained the names of influential people. When Dee Dee Stillwater came to the Divic house that evening, Logan knew that there was a great chance that her name was in that dossier.
So, it was simple, complete the mission on the Divic man. Once he was neutralized, open his safe to expose the dossier. When the police arrive, they will know that it was the vigilante the are seeking and then they will call the two policemen looking for him. When they find that dossier, they will have their attention taken from him and then to those in the file. Later on though, after his mission on Bartholomew man, he discovered then that Gregior Divic was storing his “wares” in his basement. That made it somewhat critical for Logan for he had to be patient when to execute his mission on Gregior Divic. When he left the Divic house that evening, the greatest relief he felt was when he unlatched the basement door as he exited the house. Not only would the children now be safe, it would help to bring down the Stillwater woman faster, along with any other of the names on that dossier.
However, Logan deeply underestimated the power of the corrupt Chicago political machine, for he knew that the two policemen, Todd and Jaworski had to have seen that file. When nothing came about and he learned that Gregior Divic was now in the custody of federal officials, Logan then began to watch Dee Dee Stillwater even more; and it did not take that much time before she led him to Gem P and learn of her arrangements with him.
For many months Logan watched and studied them both. Then he learned of the narcotics deal with a cartel from Columbia, and again the solution was simple. The one thing that gives corrupt people their power … is the same thing that will bring their downfall … money.
He learned of the deal, of how it was to be done, and at what time. That was when he executed the mission on Gem P and his two Lieutenants. They were now the calling card to Todd and Jaworski, the money would be that catalyst for the chaos, and in order to stop the chaos, Todd and Jaworski would have to get the message about the money. Follow the money and it will take you to Dee Dee Stillwater.
When arrived at the station, the change of clothing that he had placed in a hiding area some weeks before was still there, he changed and threw the dark clothing in the garbage bag he had hidden with them and placed it in a trash dumpster. He rested and composed himself, then calmly walked up the stairs of the “L” station to catch the early morning train which help take him back to his home. It was a Sunday morning so there would hardly be anyone riding at this time.
After a couple of transfers on the trains, then a couple of different buses, Logan finally returned home late in the morning. He collapsed on his rocker recliner when he came in. He was exhausted, but the curiosity of the amount of the contents of the bag kept him awake. After a few minutes he unzipped the bag.
It was completely full of $100 dollar bills. He picked up one thin stack and counted fifty bills. Then he turned over the bag and dumped the rest of the contents onto the floor of his living room. He then counted the stacks, and after some simple multiplication he found that he was in possession of three million dollars. Logan knew that not only did he destroy the lives of three sadistic drug dealers, one of which was a gang leader, but he also just put them out of business. Because when it comes to gangs, especially street gangs as notorious as the South Side Stone Soldiers, it wasn’t how large the number of members in the gang, it wasn’t how many guns, it wasn’t how ruthless your enforcers or your policies were, it wasn’t any of that that kept you in power.
It was the money … always the money. It was the money that was the catalyst to all. It was the money that was the one strong foundation. Without money … you had nothing … no power … no “juice” … no influence … no respect … and no fear from the community.
Logan now realized that he just turned the South Side Stone Soldiers, and possibly even Dee Dee Stillwater herself … into nothing. His years of going after top ranked organized crime, and at the lower levels of street gangs, he knew that this was probably all of the capitol that they had. That they were probably going to make one huge buy, and try to corner the cocaine and/or heroin market on their ‘turf’, or maybe even beyond.
He also knew two other things, one was that the 4-S members would not speak of this, not then anyway, because what were they going to do? Call the police and report the theft? The second thing he knew is that they were going to be looking for this money, and whoever took it. They had very little time to find it. Because, it takes two parties to make a deal. Gem P and the 4-S had the money. Somebody was on the way with the product for sale. They were not going to be happy with all of the effort they took to bring three million dollars worth of whatever it was that they were going to sell, only to discover that the cash was not waiting on the other side. There was going to be a hell to pay by someone.
He also knew from his days with the police that there would soon be talk in the street, and that any confidential informant would soon be communicating the police officer who they are in contact with. Then there is also the undercover police officers that had infiltrated the 4-S.
The police though will also be watching for anyone who took this cash, looking for anyone who would suddenly buy an outlandish item or have a sudden spending frenzy.
Logan pondered of what then would be his next move. He was very calm considering his situation, considering the fact that there was a fortune in cash lying at his feet. He thought of what he should do with the money. Should he just destroy it? Give it away to the homeless in the street? Drop it off at a police station? No … he couldn’t do anything, his anonymity was still his greatest advantage. His main strategy was to always make sure and leave nothing of himself behind. Make no contacts at all, leave no clues. Giving the money to the homeless, or even to the police would create a small step in any trail that would help to find him.
Then he had a revelation, he made his decision, and he made it hard. No … he would do nothing with the money. He would keep it. It was the easiest thing to do, to just keep it out of circulation. It was people like the South Side Stone Soldiers and Dee Dee Stillwater that destroyed him, they took the most precious thing in his life. The one thing he valued … the one thing he loved … more than anything. They found his one weakness … and exploited it. People like Gem P, Dee Dee Stillwater and her type, set out to destroy him … and they succeeded when they took Lily from him.
People like Gem P could kill their own mother and they would just keep going. They have no concept of love and no value of life. They are powerful and feared, but they themselves have a weakness and that is their money. Take all their money … and you have destroyed them.
Logan then picked up all of the cash from his living room floor and neatly replaced it as it was in the bag. He zipped the bag up and walked into his bedroom where he went to his closet, opened the door, and placed it on the floor, in the dark corner. If they were looking for the money now, they would be looking in their own neighborhoods. There would be much suspicion among the rival gangs, there could even be a little war brewing up between them all also.
He then felt a sense of anger. He thought to himself, “They took from me … why should I not take from them?” He stood over the bag of money thinking of all that was taken from him and in a moments time he confirmed his decision. HE was going to keep the money, and if the situation ever came about that he would have to leave, (as it was now), the money could help him to get away.
The simple thing to do was to just keep the money, and not spend any of it. That he could do. However, he had to find a way to hide it, he couldn’t just keep it in his closet. Then an thought came to him instantly. He was head of security for the Chicago branch of the Bank of Paris, and he had connections to other banks worldwide. He should find a way to hide the money in an off shore account, where the privacy of the bank customer was the top priority. Two places came to mind, the first being Switzerland, because before he left France he set up a small account in a Swiss bank where his pension checks from the French Foreign Legion were to be deposited. He was saving them for his senior years. However, the most logical course of action would be a separate account in a more convenient location, and that was his second choice … the Cayman Islands.
He would need to investigate on how to open the account first, whom to come in contact with, then how to get the money into the accounts. It was just the first of many situations he had to plan for now. It also meant that he may have to right away break the first rule that he put into place, to not spend any of the money. There were many thoughts confusing Logan on that first night, but as those days and weeks went by, things always seemed to fall right into place.
The first thing he did was to access his advantages, the main one being that he was a French national, with a French passport. Knowing now that it would be easier to set up an account in the Cayman Islands, the way he would get there without being detected was through Canada. Americans were not allowed to go to one place in the Caribbean, and that was Cuba. He would go to the Caymans from Canada via Havana. So that meant that some of the cash would be needed, but it would be spent in Canada. This is what precisely he did. He took a few days of vacation time, and when he got to the Caymans, he went to one of the banks he investigated before, and set up an account, depositing ten thousand American dollars.
He became personal with the president of the Cayman Islands Bank, Mr. Benjamin Sebastian. Logan informed him that he had a “side business” in the United States, and wanted to deposit all the profits in his account. Over the years his relationship with Mr. Sebastian grew close, and Logan promised him a substantial gratuity for helping him maintain the account. Because, over the past few years, with his other two other major attacks on Los Aztecas Monarcas, and of the Eight Ball Thugs, Logan’s assets in his Cayman Islands account grew to just over six million American dollars.
In the past eighteen months, Logan had given serious thoughts of his actions. He knew that whatever members were left of these gangs, that they were searching for whoever it was that had targeted them. However, he also knew that the police would be intensifying their efforts to find the person or persons responsible for the vigilante actions also. The police were being put under some political pressure, especially now from Dee Dee Stillwater and this task force that she had pressured the mayor of Chicago to organize.
Also, there was the fact of what he had done to Julian Chekov. He knew of the consequences because of Julian. He knew of how these Russian mobsters were and of their mindset. They would not rest until they found the man responsible for what was done to Julian Chekov. It was a matter of honor to them.
Logan, when he began making his initial plans of escape and go into hiding, made one thing a huge priority. That at the very first sign … no matter how slight … the very first sign that he has been discovered … no matter how minor … trivial … or insignificant … at the first sign that something is wrong … LEAVE!
He would be constantly finding ways to deposit the money. From doing simple things like going around Chicago and purchasing money orders from service stations, currency exchanges, grocery stores, and convenience markets, to mail to the Caymans. However, there were the most risk filled endeavors like renting cigarette boats in Florida, to even sneaking into Mexico, to smuggle large amounts of the cash to Georgetown on the Grand Cayman. He would do the riskier tasks during his annual two-week vacations from the bank.
Through Mr. Sebastian, he arranged to always be able to check his account only through the internet. Logan purchased a notebook computer that was to be only be used to monitor his accounts, and to email Mr. Sebastian. Any paper receipts were kept my Mr. Sebastian at the bank in a safe deposit box paid for by Logan. Mr. Sebastian held the second key.
Now Logan, still in the dark of his apartment, went into his closet where on the top shelf, there was a leather zip case, that held his laptop computer. He removed the computer and gently set it on the floor of the closet, and pushed aside all of his hanging clothing on the left side to make room for what he was about to do. He then went to the bottom drawer of his dresser where he kept a twenty foot phone extension cord, and the AC adapter for the laptop. He plugged the extension cord into the wall jack by his bed and unraveled it to the closet. He unplugged the phone from the phone jack which was next to it and did the same thing with it.
He took his small penlight with the red lens, stepped inside the closet, and shut himself inside. He sat on the floor inside the closet where he plugged in the power cord to the laptop, and then the phone cord to its port. He then opened the laptop, turned on the power switch and in a few seconds the inside of the closet was being brightly lit up from the screen. This is the reason he chose to do this in the closet, so that whoever it was in the Ford Taurus outside, would not see the light of the laptop screen illuminating through his bedroom window.
Once the laptop was fully powered up, Logan signed on to his internet service. Once logged in he wrote an email to Mr. Sebastian that went to his business and personal email address:
Mr. Sebastian,
I am writing to you sir to inform you that it is time to initiate our pre-planned agreement on
the transfer of my account. I will be calling you later this afternoon, either at your office, or at
your residence. I will then inform you of when my arrival in Georgetown will be.
Looking forward to seeing you soon, please let me take you and your lovely wife to dinner
while I’m there.
Cordially,
Logan I. Morrow
In the SUBJECT line Logan wrote, “URGENT FROM L.I. MORROW”. He looked over his spelling, when satisfied with what he wrote, he place the arrow on the SEND button and clicked. In an instant he saw the message telling him that “YOUR E-MAIL HAS BEEN SENT.” He sat and waited for five minutes, to see if by chance his email would be sent back in case there was a problem. After the five minutes, the was no email back to him. He signed off of his internet account, then powered off the laptop.
He replaced the laptop in its leather case, then went to get his briefcase. The briefcase was a large black satchel type. He took all the files out of his briefcase and placed the laptop inside, then placed the briefcase on his bed. He the went back to his footlockers and gathered all of his surveillance equipment and placed all of them on the bed next to the briefcase. He turned back to the footlocker where he kept paper bags and napkins from various fast food restaurants, Subway, McDonalds, and Burger King. He placed one piece of equipment in a different bag each along with some of the paper napkins. Then he placed those inside the briefcase.
The reason he was doing this was because not only did he need equipment that was small and portable, but it also had to be easily disposable. He purchased each item in different ways and in different areas. Going onto the internet looking for “spy stores” in the quad state area of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Traveling to these stores by train or bus. Using the money he took from the street gangs to pay for them … leaving no paper trail.
He went back to the closet and opened his safe. There he took out the small notebook sized valet case that went with him where ever he went. This became part of the plan also. Inside the valet was his French passport, three phone cards that gave him a total of six hours of minutes that he could use at any pay phone in the world to make his phone contacts. A European MasterCard, that was a debit card to his Cayman Island Bank Account, A European American Express for his small account in Switzerland, and a special card. The special card was a business card, on it was a phone number. This number was given to him upon his discharge from the French Foreign Legion. It was a phone number to call if he were ever in serious trouble. Whomever he contacted there, would send help to him, and get him out wherever he was. This card was going to be used only when all other options have been exhausted.
The last thing he placed inside the briefcase was the portrait of Lily.
He took a suit from his closet and placed the valet cast in the inside breast pocket. He then quietly walked back to his living room and peered through the window. The Ford Taurus was still parked down the street. Looking at his watch he saw that it was now almost 4:00 AM. “The Wolverine” was scheduled to leave at 7:50 AM. “The Wolverine” was the name given to the morning Amtrak train that left Chicago Union Station for the city of Detroit.
He went back to his room to retrieve one more thing from his safe. It was a file folder that contained his information on his next target. Inside were pictures of Jesus Frias, the leader of the Fullerton Avenue Sombreros Negros, a infamous Hispanic Gang in the north suburbs of Chicago. The file also contained maps and notes from his surveillance of the gang. He went to his desk in the living room where to the right of it was a paper shedder, a shedder that not just made the lengthwise slices, but horizontal as well, literally turning everything it shredded into confetti.
He looked at the picture of Jesus Frias and said, “Looks as though you have lucked out my friend.” He turned on the shredder and destroyed everything in the file including the folder. After it was shredded, he took the contents from the catch all bin which had a plastic bag inside. He removed the plastic bag with all the now confetti, went into his kitchen and placed it in the garbage pail.
He decided to take a shower to get it out of the way and save time. He went into the bathroom, turned the water on, and showered quickly in the dark. Once finished he dried off, returned to his bedroom to put on clean underwear, t-shirt, and the trousers from his suit. He noticed that the first light of dawn was started to show through the window of his bedroom. If things went according to his plan, this would be his last morning ever in America. He returned to his living room again to look through the window to check on the Ford Taurus, it was still there, and he began to see the men inside because of the beginnings of daybreak.
He looked at his watch and saw that it was 4:35 in the morning and everything was in place. So he went to sit in his large rocker recliner for the last time. He was going to wait for the radio alarm clock to go off at 5:00 AM. If they were going to follow him, he wanted to look normal and make it seem as if he were going to his office just a little earlier. He needed to get there to retrieve his special traveling bag that he kept hidden there. He would need it for where he was going, plus he needed what he also had in the bag.
He sat in his chair, going over everything else he had to do, going over it twice, three times, and more. His mind then went back to Lily, and their first days together in Paris - - -
(CONTINUED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER ...)
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