Rise of The Iron Eagle (The Iron Eagle Series Book 1) (19 page)

He didn’t wait for Steve’s response. He just threw his still-lit cigarette onto the pavement and took off, running his lights and siren until he was three blocks from the park. If there was one thing Jim knew, it was that no one, not even The Eagle, would give the sound of sirens a second thought in that part of town. Traffic parted, and it was quarter to eleven when he saw Steve’s car parked a few rows down. He walked over and knocked on the passenger window; Steve unlocked the door, and Jim got in. He looked over at Steve staring in the direction of the park. “What exactly did he say in his message?” Steve pulled out his cell and called his office voicemail and handed Jim the phone. After listening, he pounded his hands on the dashboard and said, “Shit…that son of a bitch has been watching you.” Steve didn’t react. “I don’t think I’m the only one he’s been watching.” He looked over at Jim. “You think he’s been watching me?” Steve nodded. “Well if he’s watching me, he’s been watching Barbara, too.” Steve looked at him strangely. “Later… assuming we’re still alive. I talked to Barbara last night, and she gave me a cell phone number that she claims Jill thought was The Eagle’s.” “Did you run a trace?” “No…I’ve been jerking off. Of course I ran a trace. John Smith. All of the addresses are dead ends.” “Have you called the number?” Jim sat quiet for a few seconds, “No!” “Well in five minutes I’m going to walk into Legion Park to pick up my gift. You’re my spotter. When you see that I’m engaged in conversation with him, call the number.” “Yea, like he’ll have the cell on him. Even if he does, we don’t know how he will react.” Steve looked at Jim and said, “I have a pretty good idea how he will react.”

The park was eerily quiet. It was early by this park’s standard, and there was no one in sight. Steve walked over to the curb and sat down. Jim made his way to the park and was able to move into an area that was unlit. He moved toward one of the bathrooms that the pimps and drug dealers had darkened for their events and pushed the door open and went inside; the door was spring loaded, and he heard it slam shut behind him. It was dark, and he started to make his way toward the light coming in through a window at the far end of the building. He made his way there but tripped on something as he got to the window. He didn’t dare shine a flashlight; he figured it was some trash from one of the homeless occupants. There were murmurs and moans echoing off the walls, but he couldn’t tell if they were inside or out. They weren’t moving, so he wasn’t worried about them. He spoke quietly under his breath, “If you’re getting or giving a blow job, do me a favor and shut the fuck up!” He made his way to the window. He had a clear view of the lot, and he could see Steve sitting on the curb. “Nice move,” he whispered to himself, “parking where they found Barry and sitting where we sat after we found the body.” He unclipped the holster on his side and pulled out his cell phone. He knew he couldn’t shoot from his position, but he could get to Steve in seconds; all he could do now was wait.

Steve sat for a few minutes. When he heard rustling behind him, he stood up and turned with a quick jerk, pulling his weapon. He saw something moving on the ground in the shadows near some bushes and moved toward the object and unknowingly out of Jim’s line of sight. He moved with his gun trained on what he now recognized as a person on the ground. As he got closer, he could see it was a Black male, hog-tied and nude. The eyes of the tied man stared straight up behind him. The shadow of The Eagle rose up from behind Steve; he had been perched in a tree, and in a fraction of a second he was on top of Steve, knocking the gun from his hand. He pulled him over to a darkened building. “I came here with a gift, and you come here with a gun? Special Agent Hoffman, that’s just rude.” The voice was disguised once again. Steve’s vision was blurred because he’d hit his head when The Eagle landed on him.

The Eagle grabbed Steve by the jacket and began to search him, placing all of his weapons into a trash can behind him. The Eagle was clothed in all black, and his face was covered. There was no way to make out weight or race, just that he was tall. “In your message, you said you had a gift for me. Is this it? Attacking me?” “No…I come bearing Agent Janet Simmons’ killer.” He pointed to the hog-tied man. “How do you know he’s the killer?” There was a little laugh from The Eagle, “Let’s just say he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.” “I don’t understand…” “He tried to rob me at gunpoint the day Agent Simmons’ was found.” Steve couldn’t help himself; a laugh just spontaneously erupted from him. “This guy tried to rob….you?” “Yes…while it turned out badly for him, it turned out to be quite serendipitous for you.” “So, he’s confessed?” The Eagle placed a gloved hand into a pocket of his jacket and took out a piece of paper and handed it to Steve. “This is quite a departure from your M.O.” The Eagle shook his head, confusing Steve. “This is the first time that you’ve left one of your victims alive.”

The Eagle lifted Steve to his feet and pushed him over toward the nude man. A light appeared from behind him, and he turned to see that The Eagle was shining a flashlight in the direction of the victim. He looked down to where the light was pointed and could see an object protruding from the victim’s inner thigh. “The blade has severed his femoral artery; as soon as I remove it, he will bleed out in less than 60 seconds.” “So, you brought him to me so I could watch him die?” “His confession says it all, Agent Hoffman. I can’t allow him to live.” Steve had his hand on the back of his head where he had been hit and asked why not while wincing in pain. “That should be obvious, Agent Hoffman; he’s seen my face.” Billy started shaking his head violently in a gesture suggesting he wouldn’t give up anything about The Eagle. “The guy’s street name is ‘Billy the Kid.’ He’s part of the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips.” Steve looked down at him on the ground and said, “You were a hell of a long way from home.” Billy looked up with a hapless look in his eyes. “In interrogating him…” “You mean torturing him.” “Splitting hairs; you have your methods; I have mine.” “Mine don’t include torture and murder!” “Well, Billy’s did. He’s a new breed of serial killer, and you’ll find all the information in the confession. Billy, here, didn’t kill Agent Simmons. He confessed to the rape, but claims he dropped her near the Pike and saw her walk off toward the entrance.” “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

The Eagle started to speak when something started ringing. “Ah!…” he said, calmly and coolly pulling the phone from his pocket. “Agent Hoffman, you didn’t keep your word. I asked you to come alone.” He flipped the phone open and spoke, “Good evening, Detective O’Brian.” Jim was silent on the other end of the line… he put his hand over the receiver and bent down below the window and whispered to himself, “Oh God…Barb.” He put the phone back to his ear. The Eagle spoke again, “Cat got your tongue, detective? As you know, I’m here with Agent Hoffman, and we’re just getting ready to wrap things up. I’ll make you both a deal. Detective O’Brian, I have a pretty good idea that you’re in the restroom on the far side of the park. You will find it difficult to exit as I took the liberty of locking the hinges when I put some of the park residents into the building with you. I know you can’t see them, but I assure you they are in there with you and all are alive and well. However, I knew that Agent Hoffman wouldn’t make a move without his faithful friend, so I took a little insurance policy out on you both.” Steve didn’t make a move. Jim already knew where this was going. “Barbara is a lovely woman, detective. She’s a very chatty lady… not so much right now.” The Eagle kept the phone to his ear as he spoke to Steve, “Agent Hoffman, your wife, Molly, and her friend, Gail, are very attractive. Chatty, too. Now, I know you gentlemen want to see your loved ones again in one piece…I make that as a statement to Agent Hoffman. It appears that he has a wonderful relationship with his wife and her friend.” The Eagle tilted his head to Steve in the form of a wink.

“Detective O’Brian, since you and Barbara are divorced, and from what Jill told me in our conversations over the several months that we were friends, it was an ugly divorce. You might not be as troubled by your ex’s premature and, I assure you, brutal demise. However, I have found that even ex’s harbor deep positive feelings for their former spouses, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say you don’t want her harmed.” Jim heard Steve say, “You bastard. If you hurt one hair…” The Eagle cut him off, “Yea, yea. This is not the time for clichés, gentlemen. I need you to focus.” Billy thrashed a bit on the ground. “Relax, Billy, I’ll get to you in a minute.”

He continued speaking to both men while holding the phone to his ear, “I’m going to pull the knife out of old Billy boy here.” In a quick upward motion, he grabbed the handle, and although Steve couldn’t see it, he felt blood hitting the side of his pants and heard the throbbing, spitting sound of blood exiting Billy’s leg. Billy thrashed briefly, and then grew quiet. “Okay… that’s done, so I’m going to take my leave. You are both welcome for the gift, and you can collect your loved ones when I call you.” And with that The Eagle disappeared into the thick brush at the back of the park. Jim was screaming from the bathroom while Steve checked Billy for a pulse…he was dead.

Chapter Seventeen

‘She leaned in like she was going
to kiss him but instead hauled off
and smacked him in the face.’

T
he Eagle made his way back to Francis’ van and took off for the 10 Freeway headed to the house on Parson’s Trail. He pulled off his mask, and sweat was running down his face. He turned on the police scanner and waited for the call. He drove the speed limit so as not to attract any attention and heard Jim’s voice come over the scanner, calling for backup at Legion Park. All the way back to the house, he listened to the police chatter. By the time he was closing the steel gate at Parson’s Trail, the scanner was buzzing with traffic. They had SWAT on scene, the whole neighborhood locked down, and they were conducting house to house searches. He parked the van behind the container and went into the house. It was half past one when he stepped out of the shower and slipped into bed. He had police scanners in the bedroom tuned to state and federal authority frequencies and laid in the darkness, drifting in and out of sleep as the drama unfolded.

Steve was calling Molly and Gail, but there was no answer at home or on their cells. Jim was trying to secure the scene and told the teams he and Steve had to attend to some business related to the case and to call them if they were needed. The two men ran for their cars with Steve calling out, “It will go faster and be safer if we move together. Jim ran over to Steve’s car, and he blasted the siren as they headed for his house looking for Molly and Gail. As they drove, Jim told him everything that happened the night before with Barbara. Steve called for backup at his home; he instructed the dispatcher to send out three units, no sirens, and to hold a position away from his residence. Jim gave the same instructions for Barbara’s house, as they sped down the Hollywood Freeway.

They arrived on scene and all was quiet. Steve radioed his agents to take perimeter positions to secure the house. “No one gets in but me and Jim, and no one gets out but me, Jim, my wife, and her friend.” They didn’t try to be sneaky. They walked to the front door and entered with guns drawn. There were no lights on downstairs, so the only light that they had to move by was the ambient light from the street. Steve motioned to Jim to move toward the kitchen as Steve moved into the formal living room. Nothing was out of place, and they cleared the lower level of the house quickly. They started up the stairs when Steve heard a thumping sound coming from one of the rooms. They moved side by side in sweeping motions covering each other as they ascended the staircase. They entered the hallway that led to all rooms. There was a faint light glowing underneath the master bedroom door. Steve motioned to Jim, and they moved slowly down the hall, taking positions on each side of the door. Steve signaled one, two, three, and they burst into the room.

The nightstand light was on, and the bed was pulled down as if Molly and Gail had been preparing for bed. They heard the thumping sound again coming from Molly’s closet. Jim pulled the doors open and both men stepped in, guns aimed at the source of the sound. There, on the floor, gagged and hogtied, were Molly and Gail, both in t-shirts for bed. Steve radioed for back up, and the house was abuzz with law enforcement. They freed the two women, and Molly grabbed Steve in hysterics; Gail just sat on the floor almost catatonic. Molly was crying and trying to tell Steve what happened while he held her and told her she was safe. He moved over with Molly still in his arms and took hold of Gail’s arm. She looked over at him and smiled. “Well,” she said, “you don’t have that happen to you every day.” Jim and Steve were both staring at each other. “She’s in shock,” Jim said. The paramedics showed up on scene and gave Molly a mild sedative to calm her down. They checked out Gail and for all intents and purposes she was fine. Once Molly was calm, Steve walked over to Gail and asked if she was alright. She nodded emphatically and asked if she could call Bob. He said in a few minutes; he needed to ask her some questions. With Steve’s house cleared and the girls accounted for, Jim told Steve he was headed to Barbara’s and would call after he knew more. They shook hands, and Steve thanked him. Jim just shook his head, “It’s what we do; throw me your car keys.” Steve asked if Jim wanted him with him, and he said no. He had people on scene and was sure that Barbara was fine.

After Jim left, Steve sat down in a chair in the bedroom across from Gail and asked if she could tell him what happened. She smiled and said, “You bet.” He looked at her and asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?” She nodded. “Steve, remember the story about what happened to me? My captors tied me up and did unspeakable things to me. I worked through that; this was nothing.” “Okay, so what happened? And don’t leave anything out.”

“Molly and I came home after dinner and had a few drinks and talked. We were just getting ready for bed when the doorbell rang; Molly answered it while I was putting away our glasses. She came into the kitchen and said there was no one there. I told her that someone might be trying to see if we were home. We started up the stairs when the doorbell rang again. I told Molly to go up, and I answered it. When I opened the door, there was once again no one there. As I turned my back to close the door, it came back and slammed me in the back of the head. I hit the floor and felt a very large pair of arms pick me up and carry me upstairs into the bedroom. I heard Molly scream, and the next thing I know we’re being hog-tied and gagged and put in the closet.” “Other than being hit by the door, did the person hurt you or touch you in any bad or personal manner?” “Did the guy try to cop a feel? No…he was actually very polite and apologetic for putting us through this. He promised that he was not going to hurt us; he just needed us away from our phones for a little bit. He was very gentle in the way he handled both of us and put us in the closet and shut the door.” Did you get a look at his face?” “Nope…he was wearing some sort of mask. It wasn’t a ski mask; it was like latex or leather. It was hard to make out any features other than his height. He was tall…really, really tall. And dressed all in black.” “If you had to guess, how tall would you say that he was?” “Oh wow…to me, he was like seven feet tall or taller. But I’m not the best judge of height. I think Bob is tall, and he’s five nine.” “Did he say anything other than he wasn’t going to hurt the two of you?” “Yea…after he put us in the closet, he checked my head, put up a finger and had me follow it with my eyes and asked me a few questions. He told me he wanted to make sure I didn’t have a concussion. I told him I would live, and he apologized again for the ambush. Then he addressed Molly and said, ‘Mrs. Hoffman, please accept my deepest apologies for my behavior. I meant you neither harm nor disrespect. I’m certain your husband has mentioned my nickname in conversation, please allow me to introduce myself, I’m The Iron Eagle, and with that he closed the closet doors.”

Steve now understood why Molly was hysterical and Gail was a little calmer. He asked one of his agents to escort Gail to the hospital and to take her statement. He walked over to Molly, who was now on a gurney. “Moll, it’s okay. I’m here. She looked over at him with a dazed look on her face. “He was here in our home, Steve; the animal you have spoken of so many times. He touched me.” “Did he touch you inappropriately?” “Inappropriately? Steve, this psycho killer that you’ve been talking about for years tied me and Gail up and put us in our closet. He was in our home!” “Gail said that he talked to you.” She nodded. “What did he say?” “That’s the strangest part of all of this, Steve. He was a true gentleman. He was gentle; he was kind; he was very apologetic. He was so formal that I didn’t feel like I was being violated; I felt like he was trying to protect us. How twisted does that sound?” Steve put his hand on her cheek and told her it wasn’t twisted at all.

“They are going to take you to the hospital with Gail just to be checked out. I’m going to be right behind them.” “I know the house is a crime scene,” she said, “but don’t bother looking for prints or DNA. There are none. This guy knew what he was doing.” He nodded as they started to wheel her toward the stairs. She called back to him, “I saw Jim when you came into the closet? Where is he?” “The Eagle claimed that he had taken you, Gail, and Barbara. He’s on his way to check on her.” “Don’t worry about me and Gail; go find your friend. He helped you save us. I know he and Barbara have been on the outs for a long time, but he is going to need you. I’ll call your cell when they are ready to release us from the hospital.” He kissed her on the lips and told her that he loved her and watched as they took her to the ambulance. He saw that Gail was sitting next to her as they closed the door. He told his people to secure the scene, and he called out to one of his agents and said, “I need the keys to your car.” They came flying through the air and landed in his hands, and he drove off into the night headed for Barbara’s house.

When Jim arrived at Barbara’s, all was quiet. He had three units secure the premises and then approached, gun drawn. When he opened the front door, the electronic voice of the alarm started saying “armed away,” so he put in the code and shut off the alarm. He knew he didn’t need to do much searching; Barbara wasn’t there. He walked both levels of the house and found no signs of struggle. Everything was in order. When his deputies entered, he told them to do a crime scene search as he took a look around the kitchen. Their coffee cups and highball glasses were still in the sink from last night. He was just about to walk out of the kitchen when he noticed a white piece of paper under a magnet on the refrigerator. He called to one of his people and asked for a pair of gloves. He put them on and took the paper off the refrigerator.

Sorry, detective you just missed Barbara. You will find her in the bathroom at Legion Park

Respectfully yours

The Iron Eagle

“Holy shit!” Jim started for the front door as Steve was approaching. “Is she here?” “Fuck no…the son of a bitch took her to Legion Park.” Steve looked perplexed. “Where in the park?” “Well, if I have to guess, I’d say she was in the bathroom with me the whole time.” “Holy shit.” Jim looked at him with disdain, “I just said that!

They were back at the park in less than half an hour. The coroner had a tent and yellow tarp over Billy’s body, and Jim and Steve ran to the bathroom where he had been held up. There were several local detectives on scene but none that he knew. He asked how many people were in the bathroom. A female detective replied “eight, seven males and one female.” “Were any of them injured?” She shook her head. “Where are they?” “They were transported to County for evaluation.” “How long ago?” She looked at her PDA and estimated ten minutes earlier. They raced back to the car and on to County Medical Center. “She’s going to be so pissed,” Jim said as they sped down the 5 Freeway. “Hey, what do you care? She’s your ex, and she’s alive. She should be damn grateful.” “No, Steve, you don’t get it. I promised her last night that I would protect her; the damn guy killed her lover, and now she’s been in his arms. This ain’t gonna be good. Shit, shit, shit.”

Steve’s jaw dropped. “Barbara and Jill were lovers?” Jim nodded. “And you knew?” He nodded once more. “That’s why she divorced you?” Jim got pissed and yelled, “If you want my fuckin’ life story, I will be happy to give it to you at a later time. Right now, I’m about to enter the lion’s den, and she is going to bite my balls off.” “Relax. How the hell could you have protected her? He got Molly and Gail.” “Cold comfort, brother. You didn’t run out of the bathroom while your wife was restrained in the room with you.” Steve thought it over and said, “Yea… you’re screwed. Are you still paying alimony?”