1977

 

The Brandons had been in Florida for two years. Peter had heard of Amelia Island and looked for a house there a few days after they arrived from Richmond. He had found a house on a spit of land on the Amelia River with an acre of land and an in-ground pool. The house design fit the setting. It was expensive, and he had had to find a way to pay for it with cash. Driving a Cadillac and wearing quality clothing helped. No one questioned his cash payment. He now had two more bank accounts and safety deposit boxes. His bank in Richmond confirmed he was a depositor. His aim was to get a large part of his wealth legitimate and taxable.

At the tennis club he met a retired Special Forces colonel named Terry O’Brien who suggested he hire a Vietnamese couple to take care of the house and Jack, as well as cook. Terry said they were great people and fighters who fought with the Provincial Reconnaissance Unit in Quang Ngai Province in Vietnam. Terry worked with them during the war and helped them get to the States. Le Dinh Nguyen and his wife quickly became indispensible to Peter.

They were wonderful with Jack. He was now five years old, and he loved them. Peter felt he could travel without worrying about Jack. Terry also introduced him to a breeder of Bouvier des Flandres. As soon as Jack saw the black, roly poly puppies, Peter knew he had to have one. He selected a male pup and when the puppy was 12 weeks old, he came to live at the Brandon house. From that day on Jack and the Bouvier he named Rip were never apart. Peter was astonished at how the dog watched over Jack. He always stood between Jack and any danger, including dangers only a Bouvier could see. Jack was a strong swimmer, but if Jack was in the pool, so was Rip.

Peter and Terry became good friends. They played tennis together at the Amelia Island club and practiced martial arts together. Peter had been trained in the USSR by North Koreans in their martial arts system called Hapkido, a very deadly fighting style. Terry had some military training in unarmed combat but he was more of a natural street fighter. He was some years older than Peter but could hold his own on the tennis court or in the dojang.

Terry was also an excellent marksman. His specialty was shooting at distances longer than 250 yards. He had been a sniper in Vietnam, often working far in front of Marines in I Corps with only his spotter and a radio. Peter wanted to improve his long-distance shooting skills and Terry volunteered to help him. Over a six-month period, Peter’s long-distance shooting skill improved to the point he could almost match Terry’s scores. Of course, Peter never told Terry both his father, mother, and grandfather were outstanding marksmen. Peter thought, Terry would have loved the story of my sniper father and mother at Stalingrad.

Peter felt he was now ready to pay back the KGB for killing his wife and infant daughter. He wanted revenge but also didn’t want to endanger Jack by increasing the resources the KGB was willing to invest to get him. He knew Yuri was beyond his reach, unless he ever got posted to the U.S. for a few years. But he could make a few KGB agents pay. Tomorrow he planned to head north for two or three weeks.

Terry agreed to move in for a few weeks to help the Nguyens and Rip look after Jack. Peter told the Nguyens he had some serious enemies. Their response had been for him to get them two 12-gauge pump-action shotguns and double aught ammunition.

When Peter gave them the shotguns, it only took a few seconds of watching them to know they were trained, experienced warriors. He had no worries leaving Jack with Rip there. Now that Jack had Rip and the swimming pool, he didn’t mind his father taking trips.