The Meaning of Joseph Abrams: Jewish Vampire Detective; Chapters Nine through Eleven

All my posts will have the following so first time users will know a bit more than I could fit on the header but please go back to the older posts so you can start at the beginning (I know, stating the obvious):

Why Jewish vampires, you ask?  Why not.  I get to modify the rules because shouldn't Jewish vampires have some rules that are different.  There are also Gentile vampires and were-creatures (not just werewolves but werelions, weretigers and werebears, oh my).  While the vampires, both Jewish and Gentile, have some rules the same and some that are different, they all live, in a sense, a cursed existence.  I hope you enjoy my take on vampires.

Tuesday

Chapter Nine

Joseph worked the entire day from Pablo’s room, managing to get an hour of sleep.  It was now a half-hour past midnight.   He continued to go over the details of the arson investigation he was working on.  Homes in Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey and Seaside had been set on fire.  An arsonist, who used three accelerants to set each fire but never the same three, had caused all four fires.  Then there were the timing and location patterns.  All the fires had been set between one and two in the morning.  However, the first fire was set on Thursday morning in Carmel almost five weeks ago.  The second one was set on Friday morning in Pacific Grove eight days later.  The third had been set on Sunday morning in Monterey nine days later.  The fourth one had been set on Monday morning in Seaside eight days later.  This meant the next one should be in Marina this very morning. 

The final part of the pattern was every home had been foreclosed upon and bank owned.  However, a different person owned each home, none of the owners knew each other and the mortgages had been with a different bank in each case.  There wasn’t much to go on in trying to establish a profile.

Pablo then woke up again with a start.

“How are you feeling, Pablo?”

“Better, Mister A, but it still hurts a lot.”

“How are you holding up emotionally?”

“I don’t know.  I want to cry but it just doesn’t seem real.  I’ve got so many things going through my head.  I mean, what will happen to me?”

“I don’t know, Pablo.  You know you have me, Kevin and Felicia to help you but your Uncle Raul and Aunt Carmen will be in town tomorrow evening, uhm, make that this evening.  They’ll look after you and you know they love you.”

“Then it is for real, this isn’t some nightmare.”  Pablo’s emotions were released as if Hoover Dam broke open.  All Joseph could do was hold him and let him release his sadness, grief, anger and frustration.  Joseph tried not to think about how, despite his two millennia of existence, the right words never seemed to be there.  He had to remember this was now about Pablo and how it was Pablo who would need his support. 

Pablo cried on Joseph’s shoulder for more than fifteen minutes before letting go.  Joseph had to hide how much Pablo’s grip hurt.  It was obvious he had been turned and Joseph would have to explain things to him now before he became dangerous to those around him.

“Pablo, Doctor Chapman says you’re recovering very well and could be ready to leave the hospital by Friday.  It also means you’ll get to do things with your aunt and uncle so you can get to know more about each other.”  Joseph was attempting to make the mood a little less somber.  Even though Pablo had obviously been turned, Joseph knew even a vampire’s health and recovery is affected by their emotional state.

Pablo went through half of a box of Kleenex blowing his nose and wiping his eyes when he finally said, “Mr. A, you said we needed to talk later and, well, it’s later.  What is it that you have to tell me?  I need to think about something else for a little while.”

Felicia, who had been standing outside the room but was able to hear everything that went on into the room, knocked and entered.  Joseph turned his head towards her and said, “Hi, Felicia.  Can you give us a little time?   There are some things I need to talk to Pablo about.”

“Not a problem.  I can wait no matter how long it takes.  I just wanted to let you know I’m here whenever you need a break.”

Felicia left the room to wait outside.

“Pablo, what, or more accurately, who you saw murder your parents and attack you wasn’t a demon.  Now, understand, I believe you when you say it wasn’t human.  Change that, not entirely human.  What I’m going to tell you has to stay between us.  You can’t, under any circumstance, tell anyone else what I’m about to tell you.  I have to have your solemn oath.”

“You have it” Pablo replied, nodding his head in a deliberate but determined manner.

“Pablo, the attacker was and is a vampire.  I chased him last night as he fled.  I was going to catch him but two Gentile vampires attacked me.  You see, the vampire who murdered your parents is a Jewish vampire.”

“Excuse me?  Time out, Mr. A.  I find it hard enough to believe there are really vampires and now your telling me there are Jewish and Gentile vampires?  And how do you know about vampires?”

“Look, Pablo, I know this is a lot to take in but it’s important that you not only believe me but also that you let me tell you as much as possible.  I’ll try not to be long winded but I have to make sure I tell you what you need to know right now.  And I’ll let you know when you can ask questions so please don’t interrupt.

“Yes, there are two types of vampires, Jewish and Gentile.  I myself am a Jewish vampire and the oldest known vampire to be alive still, around two thousand years old.  Other vampires, were-creatures or the Purifiers either killed all those who had been turned into vampires before me.  The Purifiers is an organization dedicated to killing all vampires and were-creatures and has been in existence for at least three thousand years.

“The first vampire ever, who is the same one who turned me, is simply known as The Wanderer.  The Wanderer is presumed to be dead as he has not been seen or heard from in over nineteen hundred years.  He mentored me and taught me as much as possible.  That is why I might be the last person on earth to actually be able to speak Hittite.

“Being a Jewish vampire means you are more powerful than a Gentile vampire.  That is, you heal faster, are physically stronger and can run faster.  However, you can still feel pain and being shot or stabbed will still hurt.  Also, you can function fully in daylight.  You don’t have to worry about silver but gold is the metal you have to worry about.

“You will age on the outside in appearance only but inside you will be as healthy as ever.  Also, there are dietary restrictions so you will have to give up beef, lamb, sheep, ram and goat meat.  Garlic has no effect on Jewish vampires.  Neither do religious symbols or wooden stakes, which do not effect Gentile vampires either.”

Joseph went on explaining things for another hour, sometimes getting carried away with too many words.  Finally, he allowed Pablo to ask some questions.

“So every forty years I have to get a new identity by killing someone.  I don’t know if I could do such a thing?”

“You will find you will have to.  It’s hard to explain but if you do it right you can have a clean conscience.”

“And every eighty years I have to attempt to turn another into a Jewish vampire?  Why?”

“Once again, one of those mysteries I have not been able to solve.  But it doesn’t always work.  I have found it’s just the attempt that has to be made.  What I try to do is find someone who needs to be given a second chance, the opportunity to do well.  It has generally worked for me and others.”

“And you mentioned something about those you called were-creatures.  What are were-creatures?  Are they like werewolves?”

“That and werebears, weretigers, werelions, etc.” 

“Wait a minute!  You’re telling me there are people who turn into lions, tigers and bears?”

“And other types of animals as well.  I will explain about them to you later.  Fortunately, there are no known were-creatures, especially certain werewolf packs, in this area.”

Just then Joseph received text messages from the Marina PD and the Marina Fire Department.  Joseph read the texts as a very serious, grave look flashed across his face.

“Mr. A, what is it?  If it’s something serious and you need to go it’s all right.  Ms. Cush is here and she can stay here with me.  No offense, but she is cuter than you.”

Joseph couldn’t help but grin.  He knew the stab at humor was Pablo just trying not to let grief dominate him.

“It looks like the foreclosure arsonist has struck again and right on schedule.  The Marina PD and Fire Department want me there as I’ve been helping the other cities with this arsonist.  Look, Pablo, before I leave here, two things.  One, I promise you we will continue this discussion.  Two, just so you’re aware, both Felicia and Kevin are Jewish vampires.  I know, they don’t look Jewish but I’ll explain all of that later also, I promise.  So if you feel up to it, you can also ask Felicia some questions.  If not, that’s okay as well.”

Joseph got up and opened the door.

“Felicia, I just got a text from the Marina Police and Fire Departments.  The foreclosure arsonist has struck again.  Can you stay with Pablo?  Then call Kevin if you have something come up and I’m not back yet.  Remember, I still have that appointment with Ms. Wahlberg later this morning.  Odds are, I’ll probably have to go almost straight to her house after seeing what happened.”

“Not a problem, Joseph.  The reason I stopped by was to give you a break.  Now, go, get out of here.”

Joseph drove from the hospital and arrived at the latest arson site without bothering to stop at his house to change.  He figured why worry about how he smelled at a burnt out house.  This was now the fifth home in the Monterey Bay area that had been burned by this serial arsonist.  Joseph was thankful no one was living in any of the homes at the time when the arsonist struck.  The homes had been repossessed by the banks which meant no one would benefit by an insurance payout.  The best motive Joseph, the various county police and fire departments, and the FBI’s BAU could come up with was that someone had a vendetta against banks.  But establishing a profile was proving difficult.  Going through a list of people who lost their home because of the mortgage meltdown would be fruitless as there were just too many people on that list, even when limited to just the Monterey area.  It was a more than just good fortune that none of the fires had spread to neighboring homes.  Whoever planned these fires knew exactly how to set them.  Every home was gutted but there was minimal damage to the exteriors.

“Joseph, over here”, called Marty Bowman, the chief of the Marina Fire Department.  Marty was standing with officials from the Fire Departments of Monterey/Pacific Grove, Carmel and Seaside, as well as a couple of Marina police officers and Monterey County Sheriff deputies, and a woman Joseph didn’t recognize.  The floodlights combined with the heavy mist of the early hours of the morning to create an eerie, almost macabre atmosphere.  Firefighters, law enforcement and arson investigators were going through each inch of the home hoping to find that one clue, that one piece of evidence that would crack things wide open.  “Joseph, I’d like you to meet Cecilia Rodriguez.  She is on loan to us from San Jose.  Cecilia, this is Joseph Abrams.  He does investigative work for all the various local governments when we’re in a bind.  He’s also been asked by the involved insurance companies to help.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rodriguez” Joseph said as they shook hands.  He noticed she had a firm grip, as if to say she belonged in what was considered a man’s world.  He also guessed her to be about 30 years old, five feet eight inches tall, looked very fit, had medium brown skin and wore her dark hair short.  Joseph found himself thinking an improper thought concerning her but got his mind back to being professional in a few seconds.

“It is an honor to meet you, Ms. Rodriguez, as your reputation is well known”, Joseph said, as he smelled and “tasted” the air.  “Let me guess, there was a combination of three accelerants used and all are fairly common and easy to get.”

“Please call me Cecilia”, she replied.  “And how did you know it was a combination of three accelerants?”

“As I said, it was a guess”, Joseph answered.  “I figured it was the same arsonist.  A bank owned home that is burned only on the inside 8 days after the previous one.  It seemed logical.”

Cecilia then spoke to the entire group.  “As you all know, this now makes the fifth home in the Monterey Bay area that had been burned by this serial arsonist.  Just as in the previous arson fires, no one was living in the home.  The homes having been repossessed by the banks meant no one would benefit by an insurance payout.”

“Since financial gain is not a motive, it’s pretty obvious the best motive has to be a vendetta against the banks” Joseph added.  “I know that is exactly what everyone from the FBI’s BAU down to the local police and fire departments is saying.”

Cecilia replied.  “The four previous home fires all had the same exact M.O. except the accelerants mixtures were different for each home.  However, all four used exactly three accelerants, a fact never released to the public.  Marina now makes the fifth community struck and this is the fifth home.  The pattern is obvious.  Each fire was set eight days after the previous fire, except for the second fire, always moving North along the coast.  This means Castroville is likely the next community to have a home burned and it should be 8 days from now.”

Joseph then interjected, “The pattern is obvious but the only thing I can’t figure out is why the extra day between the first and second homes when compared to the next three.  And why were Carmel Valley, Pebble Beach, Del Rey Oaks and Sand City skipped?”

“Good points, Joseph”, Cecilia responded.  “We obviously either are missing something or just don’t have enough facts.  Pebble Beach may have been skipped over due to the entrance fee and the arsonist didn’t want to leave any evidence, however slight, that could lead to the discovery of his or her identity.

“It hasn’t helped that the only people at the scene of each arson were curious neighbors.  Not one single face in the crowd has ever been seen at a second crime scene and the same holds true for the next couple of days after each fire.”

“Let’s see what kind of evidence we get from this fire.  Maybe we’ll finally catch a break.  However, I’ve got an appointment at nine this morning.  A woman is convinced her husband was murdered.”

“Let me guess, the police don’t believe her and his death has been ruled either an accident or from natural causes.”

“Something like that but I promised a friend I would meet with her and hear her out.  I like to keep my promises.”

“Since the test results won’t even start coming in until either tomorrow or late this afternoon, at the earliest, you might as well do something useful with your time.”

Chapter Ten

Even though the plane was already halfway across the Atlantic, Raul and Carmen were wishing they could will the flight to go faster so they could be there for Pablo.  Raul knew his wife was strong but to lose her only sibling was horrible enough.  Add in having to take a flight across not just the Atlantic but the USA also added to her depressed mood.

“Carmen, are you ready to talk about it yet?”

“Raul, I never expected this and I would have thought if Claudia and Fernando were murdered in America, it would have been by some extremist with a gun mistaking them for Mexicans.  It’s just that having them murdered by some crazed person, mutilated like animals, there is no sense to that.  Why them?”

“Who can know?  If someone is insane then one would never be able to tell.  Thankfully, Pablo survived.”

“Yes, at least a part of my sister still lives on.  Is there any word from the consulate on Pablo’s condition?”

“What we both already know.  He seems to be recovering and his injuries weren’t as serious as they first thought.

“I’m glad that Joseph Abrams is there for Pablo and is willing to take time off from his work to be with him.  I can see why your sister and brother-in-law liked and trusted him so much.”

“But as much as I liked him and as nice as he genuinely seems to be, I couldn’t help but feel there was something different about him.  You know what I mean?”

“I felt there was more to him than what he let on.  He always seemed to be hiding a part of himself.”

“That’s it exactly.  It bothered me that he didn’t eat beef.  He would eat pork and chicken but not beef.  Raul, don’t you find that disturbing?”

“Do you know what you are implying?  That is quite the accusation to base upon not eating beef.  Tell me you have other reasons.”

“Come on, now.  You must have sensed something.  I would have thought you of all people would have had some sort of feeling about him.  Are you trying to tell me you didn’t get the same sort of feeling about Joseph?”

“I felt something was, how should I put it, a little off.  No, a little off is not quite right.  I would have said there was more than meets the eye with him but that something was more along the lines of him being different.  And not just different but different than those who were different, you know what I mean, Carmen?”

“I do.  He struck me as someone who wanted to be better.  I’m not talking about improving on what he had but going against his nature.  It was as if he wanted to be something he couldn’t be but for some reason tried to be.

“And I know you don’t want to bring it up but what if Pablo’s injuries had been as serious as they said it was at first.  You know as well as I do what that most likely would mean.  I don’t want to have to lose him.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.  You’re working yourself up about something that might not be true.  Let’s get to Monterey first and get all the facts before making any conclusions.  Now get some rest and I’ll wake you right before we land.”

Carmen, realizing how tired she was due to the emotional drain, drifted off to sleep in less than a minute.

Raul was now alone with his thoughts.  How I hate being unarmed against the enemy.  It’s one thing to know the enemy is always out there and quite another not to be prepared for any fight that might occur. I didn’t make them my enemy but they made themselves the enemy of all mankind.  I realize they became my enemies the moment I made my commitment to this lifetime holy mission.

But what could I do differently?  I knew there was a risk going out to Monterey with no support, no way of protecting ourselves, as did Carmen.  We also knew there was no other choice to be made.  It would have been unforgivable to have not gone to be with Pablo and not have Carmen’s late sister Claudia and brother-in-law flown back to Spain to be buried.  However, family and close friendships were part of the code that existed between all sides involved.  Even the accursed enemy had some honor in this regard.  If the enemy for some reason recognized him, which he had to admit was not a realistic possibility, as long as it was known why they were there, unarmed and without support, they would be left alone.

Well, almost all of the time.  There was the occasional renegade on all sides who refused to honor the unwritten code but they didn’t survive too long as each side took care of those who violated the code in a quick and decisive manner.

I hope Joseph doesn’t recognize me for what I truly am.  If he does things could get “uncomfortable”.  And if Pablo became part of the enemy then what am I to do?   Merde!  I’ve got to remember what I told Carmen and don’t jump to conclusions.  Get all the facts first.

I need to calm down for Carmen and myself.  I’ve got to be strong and steady for her because this is a time when she needs me more than ever.  She’s been there for me and I’ve got to be there for her.

Raul then decided to listen to some of David Brubek.  “Take Five” always relaxed him.

Chapter Eleven

Saul was still livid the next day, as Ivanov had made him look like a fool.  He drained the bottle of Corona and threw it across the room against the wall.  The other gang members and their girlfriends, out of instinct, flinched and ducked, even those who were not close to where the bottle was thrown.  He then picked up a second bottle, unscrewed the cap and drank half of the contents before taking a breath.  The box with Manuel’s head, packed in ice, had been delivered five minutes before.  It was on Saul’s desk, opened with Manuel’s head facing up and his eyelids taped open.  One of the sockets was empty.  The note that had been inside the empty socket read:

THERE IS A PTICE FOR DEFIANCE!

“Who the fuck does he think he is?” Saul yelled.  The room went quiet.  “I want Ivanov dead before the week is over!”

George Alvarez, Saul’s most trusted lieutenant, was very careful when he approached and said, “It’s Ramon.”

Saul didn’t need to be told it was the Ramon, who was the head of LVI gang.  He had been waiting for him to call back.

“Okay, Saul, what do you want?”

“It’s that shithead fag, Ivanov.  He’s making a move into our territories.”

“The way I hear it he’s only making a move into your territory.  After all, I wasn’t the one who was hit by him” Ramon replied, laughing.

“Laugh while you can but he’s taken over the Tres Equis and then did the drive-by on me.”

“How in the hell did he do that?  I know he took out Jose, Hector and Alberto but that still leaves Manuel.”

“He killed Manuel also and then had his head, missing an eye, delivered to me.  I’m telling you, he’s a sick asshole.  And if I go down you’re next.”

“What makes you think he’ll go after me when he’s done with you?  Even if he somehow manages to take over the Brown Recluses, you’ll make him pay.  After that, me and the other gangs will swoop in and wipe him out.  Even he has to know this.”

“And what if he goes after you next?  Yeah, you’ll make him pay big time and then me and the other gangs will swoop in.  You see what I’m telling you?  One of us will get wiped out and neither one of us wants to get wiped out. 

“Here’s what I think we should do.  I’ll call Ivanov and tell him I want to discuss a truce.  However, instead we’ll come to get rid of him.  I’ll bring sixteen of my soldiers and I want to use eight of yours as a show of support, to make the Russians think twice.”

“Why should I risk my guys for you?  And how do I know I can trust you?”

“Fuckin’ A, Ramon, I’ve never screwed you over before and I’m not about to now!  We need each other.  I got a new shipment of AK-47’s and your guys can use them.  Shit, I’ll even provide the pickup truck.  So, have we got a deal or what?”

“Yeah, when do you need my guys?”

“Tomorrow night.  I’m going to get word to Ivanov I want to meet him at the field down by the machine and welding shop on Abbott Street.  You know, the one south of town near the highway.  I figure an open field will make it impossible for him to set a trap and if we come with enough firepower, we’ll blow him away.”

“Sounds good to me.  Okay, you’ll have the eight.  Where should they meet you at and when?”

“Have them meet me in front of my house at ten tomorrow night.  They’ll get the AK’s there and then we’ll go down to get rid of Ivanov for good.”

While Saul and Ramon were planning, if you wanted to call it that, Yehuda was meeting with Jaime and Michael.

“So, Jaime, tell me about Saul and the Brown Recluses as well as Ramon and the LVI’s.”

“Whatta you need to know?  They respect each other and they never got into it because of the Tres Equis.  It wasn’t because we were that powerful but we were kept around by both of them so they wouldn’t go to war.  Also, if one of them tried to get rid of us and take over our territory, the other would come in to help us.  The Tres Equis combined with either one was more than powerful enough to beat the other by itself.”

“Sounds like a balance of terror.  Nobody had the courage or the ability to plan for a quick strike to take you down before the other could come in to help.

“What I really want to know is would they help each other against me.”

“Only if they both saw you as a threat.  Whichever side suggested attacking you first would have to do more of the fighting.

“If it’s Saul who does the suggestin’, he’ll come at with you two or three pickups filled with eight each.  And those pickups have bulletproof windows.  He also has metal shields for the sides of the beds to protect the soldiers who are there.  Oh, yeah, he has armor for the tires to make it harder to shoot them out.

“He will come at you with three pickups if the LVI’s help him out.  And whether it’s two or three he’ll, uhm, what’s the word, oh yeah, stagger the pickups.  He never drives them in a straight line.  You know, one will be in front and the one behind will be set off to the right or left.  If there is a third then it will be to the right or the left of the one in the middle.

“Also, if there are three pickups then Saul or whoever Saul picks to be in charge will be in the middle one, which is always red.  The one in the front is for whoever is second in command and is always a white pickup.  The one in the back is for the third in charge and is always blue.”

“I will admit Saul does know how to protect his men, follows a good tactical formation and he has a sense of history.  But I have weapons that will circumvent his armor.”

“If you mean you have things that make his armor useless then you better use it.  Rumor has it he just got some new AK-47s from some guy.  And what do you mean by he has a sense of history?”

“The rumors are true about the AK’47s.  I should know since I’m the one who really sold them to Saul through a front man.  Best part is he doesn’t know I was really the one who sold them to him.  As for the history, he is somehow familiar with British naval history.  The admiral in charge of a squadron had his ships be in the middle and flew a red battle flag.  The admiral who was second in command was called the vice admiral with his ships in front and he flew a white battle flag.  The admiral who was third in command was called the rear admiral with his ships in the back and he flew a blue battle flag.  If I get the chance before I kill him, I will ask Saul how he learned of this since he does not strike me as a student of history.”

“Wait a minute, Mr. Ivanov.  You’re not making sense.  You want to set up a meeting with him knowing he’ll be coming to kill you and you sold him the guns he will use.  He’s going to pick a spot where you can’t ambush him and he will try to overpower you with numbers and firepower.”

“Oh, my dear boy, I doubt he will ever get to use the assault rifles.  You see I know the storage business where the weapons are at since my people delivered them.  I also have people watching to make sure they are still there.  Undoubtedly, Saul will take a few of his ‘soldiers’ to the storage facility to fetch the rifles.  I also made sure the storage locker in which the rifles are being stored is in the middle of the row and the row is in the middle of all the rows.  It will be a perfect place to trap him, as we will block him in with no chance of escape.

“Now, I told Saul to call me on Manuel’s cell phone per the note I gave him along with Manuel’s head.  When I know the time he will want to meet I will place my people at the storage business and wait for the flies to come to my spiders.”

“You mean you planned this all the time?”

Michael interjected, “Jaime, he sort of did.  Actually, mostly did.  Mr. Ivanov did things expectin’ Saul and Manuel to react in a way he figured they’d react.  He didn’t know for sure but he had a pretty good idea.  If they didn’t he had other plans but this one was the one he was hopin’ for. 

“By trapping as many as possible, including Saul, his reputation on the street will jump and everyone will be scared of him and respect him.  The other gangs will think Ivanov and his soldiers are all over the place and that he seems to know everything that’s going on.  It doesn’t take much but if done right then a few things that by themselves aren’t that much but get people to look at them as one thing then they become bigger.”

“Like that saying, the whole is more than adding up all the parts, or something like that.”

“That’s it, really” Michael said.  Michael knew when to speak up and help explain things, especially if it looked like Mr. Ivanov would explain it in way that would be over the head of those he was talking to.  He had to know when to enter in since that was an important part of his job.  He knew he could never command the level of respect nor plan nor run things as well Mr. Ivanov but he helped keep things together and made sure everyone else understood what was expected and what to do.  Also, Mr. Ivanov had the money and connections.  As for himself, he was more than happy to be second in charge.  He looked over and saw the smile with the nod from the man who was not just his boss but also like a father.  He had once again gained his approval.

Michael then thought about the one thing that did win the respect of everyone in the organization, how Mr. Ivanov handled things when you did something he didn’t approve of.  Instead of being shamed in front of everyone, the person was instead told in private what he or she did wrong and would be asked how he or she would do things differently from then on, provided you didn’t cross the line.  He also thought about how not succeeding didn’t get you killed, that you didn’t have to fear not getting the job done.  Of course, you better have a good reason.  What was not tolerated was disloyalty.  That would bring instant death.  He saw it happen a few times and had to kill two people, including one who had been a close friend.  But, as Mr. Ivanov pointed out, a true friend wouldn’t have betrayed my trust.

Manuel’s phone rang.  It was Saul from the Brown Recluses calling.

“Hi, Saul, this is Michael.  What can we do for you this fine day?”

“Cut the bullshit.  You’re just as annoying as your boss.  Just get him on the phone.  I need to talk with someone who counts.”

Michael knew he was trying to get under his skin, trying to get a reaction.  Instead, he turned the tables by remaining calm and answered, “I will get him toot sweet for you.  Please wait a few moments whilst I bring him the phone.”

Covering the “mike” on the phone, Saul turned his head to his left and whispered to George Alvarez, “How I hate those mother fuckers of Ivanov.  They’re just as much the arrogant pricks.”

“Well, Saul, I hope this day finds you well and in good spirits.”  It was Yehuda, who had just got on the phone.

“Who cares!  Look, Ivanov, just don’t plan anything else tomorrow night.   We’ll meet tomorrow night at eleven to discuss a ceasefire.  I’ll let you know an hour before where.”

“If I didn’t know better I would say you want to lure me into a trap.  However, I will trust you since there has to be trust in order for the ceasefire to last.  Okay, I will await your call at ten pm tomorrow to find out where you desire to meet.”

Saul ended the call and turned to George, “You got the rifles?”

“Yeah, we’re getting them right now.”

“Good!  Ivanov and his punk ass bitches won’t know what hit ‘em.”

Meanwhile, Yehuda was meeting with his assistants.  His cell phone rang and, seeing that it came from Desiree, who was leading up a team of four that was staking out the storage locker where the AK’s were stored, he answered the call.  Putting the phone on speaker, he asked, “So, Desiree, what is happening at the storage locker where the AK’s are at?”

“Mr. Ivanov, Saul is taking the rifles out already.  He sent a group of twelve over there and they set up in such a way so that we can’t ambush them.  We just don’t have enough people to stop them.”

“Hmm, that is disturbing that he has taken the rifles but no matter.  You did the right thing by just observing.  No reason to die needlessly.  Come back here so we can fill you in on the alternate plan.”  Yehuda ended the call to Desiree and asked Jimmy Choi, “Jimmy, what about the cell phone in Saul’s headquarters?”

Jimmy had managed to get one of the Brown Recluses to become a traitor and plant a cell phone that had been modified to remain on at all times.  It was providing a live feed to another phone at Yehuda’s headquarters.  The phone was at a spot where no one would notice and was plugged in to keep it charged. 

“Well, Mr. Ivanov, Saul intends to set a trap for you at the open field by that Machine and Welding shop on Abbott Street just south of Salinas.  It’s just off Highway 101.”

“Clever of him to want to meet in an open field.  But since we know where he will set the ambush and when he will be there to prepare for the ambush, we can be there before him.”

At that, Yehuda laid out the trap that they will set to bring Saul and the Brown Recluses down.