Unlike the sunshine of yesterday, the park lay under a cloud-filled sky. A chilling wind with the promise of a late afternoon rain had made its appearance. Jack thought the gods are looking out for us. The situation was nearly perfect. All communications were working clearly, no problem of fabric rubbing across the sensitive microphones and drowning out low-pitched voices. Anita began her stroll toward the meeting area.

She thought Jack, with the rimless glasses, fedora and dark business suit, looked enough like Yuri to fool Olsen until he was real close. The former recon Marine and Pittsburgh homicide cop was playing a star role in the world of mirrors and deceit. No tentative movements or nervous glancing around. This was really old hat to him. Just another stakeout.

The problem was nobody knew if Olsen was on the same page. Surely he would try to escape, but he would never make it. She was almost close enough to be within sure killing range. She saw no one looking like Olsen near the meeting site. Two minutes to go. Then five more before Jack would declare a no show and abort the whole operation for another time. One minute to meeting time. A few young women walked by chatting, and an older well-dressed woman was close behind them. No other walker was nearby.

Suddenly Anita keyed her radio and said, “Watch the old woman. I don’t like her walk or her handbag.”

Jack focused on the older woman and thought Anita is never wrong, but I don’t see anything. He was about to reply when the woman took a seat at the other end of the bench. Jack wasn’t sure enough the old woman was Olsen in disguise to pull his weapon from his raincoat pocket. Anita called, “Do it! It’s him!”

For the first time since sitting down, the matron with the mismatching shoes and handbag looked at Jack and saw immediately Yuri wasn’t sitting on the bench. She leapt to her feet and with surprising quickness darted through the shrubs bordering the park. Jack said, “Close in now,” as he went after Olsen. Anita had no shot because Olsen had moved so quickly and for an instant was shielded by Jack. Like Anita, Kathy entered the park as soon as she saw Olsen leap up from the bench and charge into the park.

Jack was only four steps behind him when Olsen cut sharply and darted through a clump of chest-high shrubs. Thrown off balance by Olsen’s sharp cut, Jack hit the shrubs and lost his footing in the soft damp turf. Olsen saw him go down on one knee and charged. His movements were so fast and yet so controlled, he appeared to flow across the small clearing toward Jack. Olsen was upon him in an instant, feinting with the knife he had concealed up the sleeve of his coat.

Getting his legs under him in one smooth move, Jack came up in a ready crouch. Olsen thrust with his knife. Jack, with the blinding speed and power of a trained fighter, used a basic Hapkido move he had practiced hundreds of times. With his left forearm he blocked the knife thrust up and out. With all his gathered power and forward momentum, he drove the heel of his right hand upward against Olsen’s sternum. Olsen stopped as if he had been shot and dropped hard on his back.

Jack stepped on Olsen’s hand still holding the knife, a razor sharp double-edged stiletto. Using his handkerchief he took the knife from Olsen’s hand and noticing the blood on the blade, slipped it into his coat pocket. Olsen’s knife thrust at Jack hadn’t totally missed. Jack’s left arm was stinging, and he saw his raincoat was slashed above the elbow.

Anita and Kathy arrived as Jack noticed the blood running down his arm. Kathy said, “My God! The bastard got you!”

Anita checked Olsen for a pulse. Olsen was bleeding from the mouth. Jack told her Olsen’s sternum was splintered, and he was as good as dead.

Finding no pulse, she turned to Jack and said, “Come on! We have to move,” and led the way deeper into the park. No more than 30 seconds had passed since Jack killed Olsen.

A steady stream of blood now stained his coat sleeve. Jack whipped his raincoat off and wrapped it around his arm. The vision of this well-dressed matron surging across the clearing, skirt flying, skinny knees pumping, brandishing a six-inch knife and grimacing with a demented look of hatred on her face would remain with Jack the rest of his life. Noticing Kathy’s look of concern, Jack said, “Hey, Kathy, I’m okay. The bleeding is slowing. It’s just a cut.”

“Maybe so,” Anita said, “but we have to stop the bleeding and clean you up. You can’t leave the park looking like this. I’ll put your coat in the shopping bag I used to make me look like a shopper.”

Kathy said, “I’ll go buy Jack a raincoat and sweater. I’ll stay in touch by radio. Meet you in ten minutes with the car. Watch for me! I’ll be on your side of Fifth Avenue.”

Jack said, “Anita, move a little deeper into the park. When someone spots the dead woman in the bushes, the cops will be all over this place, questioning everyone in sight. We don’t need that.”

“Okay, go. But we stay in the park until I can stop the bleeding. Give me a minute to get out of my panty hose. They’ll make an excellent pressure bandage.”

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Kathy suggested they all drive to Newark in the Cadillac. Once there she would rent a car in an alias, and they would stay in a Newark motel. Jack then asked Anita to tell them her plan to take down Olsen when he showed up at the meeting. He knew Anita’s plan would stress simplicity. She recommended they all carry .22 silenced handguns. Jack would be seated on a park bench at the meeting site. Once Olsen was spotted approaching the meeting site, Kathy and Anita would close in on him from opposite directions. Olsen’s escape routes were limited to cutting behind the bench through Central Park or dashing into traffic across to the Plaza. No one would take any shots that might hit a civilian.

Jack added, “If the cops come, no one shoots. We are short at least three people for this kind of take down. So remember. No capture! This is a killing mission.”

Anita thought a moment and said, “Jack, if he runs into the street, you probably will have the only good line of fire, directly away from your position. If he cuts into the park, I don’t care how good he is – he’s at least 60 years old – you should be able to run him down. Kathy and I’ll charge into the park on your flanks. Take your shots. If he goes down, the first one to him finishes the job.

“After the action is over, we drive back to Newark, turn in the rental and drive back here in the Cadillac. If anyone gets hurt, I have my medical kit in the trunk of the Cadillac. Anything beyond my skill will have to be done in a hospital.”

Jack said, “Okay. Let’s not take any stupid chances. A serious injury requiring a hospital will put us all in jail, if the injury can be connected to an attack on Olsen.”

Kathy pointed at Jack and said, “So we need a cover story. If you get hurt, give your weapon immediately to another team member. Stick to the story. We are tourists on a visit to the city. I’ve a room in the St. Moritz Hotel just across the street from the meeting site. We met in the hotel bar, and both of you have a room in Newark. If necessary, our cover story will be some wild maniac with a knife or gun attacked while walking in or along the edge of the park. You had never seen him before and have no clue why he attacked you. Only connect all of us together, if it makes our story stronger or if we have no choice. If we stick to the cover story and are not found with a weapon, we should be okay, except my alias won’t stand up to an official investigation and you two are here in true name.”

Anita said, “The worst case scenario is Olsen might be wearing a protective vest of some sort? He wears a vest because he doesn’t trust Yuri anymore. The .22 caliber fails to penetrate the vest, and Olsen grabs Jack to use him as a shield. Kathy and I can’t get a clear head shot. Olsen drags Jack deeper into the park, sees us closing in and begins to shoot. At close range, Olsen is not going to miss. The Hi Standard .22 rounds we are using won’t penetrate the vest, and with you acting as a bullet soak, Olsen will be hard to take down. That is my worst nightmare.”

“Anita! Let me tell you a secret. Olsen is not dragging me anywhere. Get the nightmare scenario out of your head. I am not cut out to be a bullet soak. Okay! The action is in mid-afternoon. No flexibility in Yuri’s meeting arrangements. The meeting takes place at 3:00 p.m. rain or shine. A heavy rain shower could screw everything up. If having a weapon is going to be a problem, wipe it down and toss it on the ground and clean your hands with Clorox wipes in case you fire your weapon. Tomorrow morning we leave for Newark. Now get some sleep.”

The next morning they were up early and, after putting Shadow in the kennel, left for Newark. Using a prepaid cell phone, Kathy called a Best Western in Newark and reserved two rooms in her alias. She knew her card wasn’t backstopped and could be used only for making the hotel desk clerk happy. She would pay cash when checking out.

The road trip to Newark was uneventful. After getting settled in the motel, they took a cab to Manhattan. Kathy checked into the St. Moritz using her alias credit card and driver’s license. Before dinner they walked along the edge of the park opposite the hotel. While Kathy and Anita with her cane were strolling on the edge of the park examining various scenarios and routes, Jack sat on one of the benches thinking though the problem and timing again. The main problem, he thought, is in getting clean away without any trouble from the police or good Samaritans. They will have to move very quickly once the action starts. He doubted more than a minute would pass once the action started. This Olsen guy is desperate and a fanatic, a very bad combination.

The timing is all very close as well. This all goes down at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. Before 3:05 or sooner, this operation could be played out. Then with Olsen dead or on the loose again, they had to get safely back to the cabin. There could be a hell of a lot of slippage in all the running around. After dinner in the hotel, Kathy made the room look slept in and leaving light disposable luggage in the room, they took a taxi back to the motel in Newark.

The next morning was spent making sure all knew their roles and the clean-up procedure. The motel rooms were wiped down with oversized chemical wipes to get rid of any fingerprints or DNA. Bills were paid with cash, and by 11:30 a.m. everyone had checked out.

All questions and what ifs had been answered. They could do nothing now except wait, often the hardest part of any clandestine operation. The Cadillac was left at the motel. Using the car she rented, Kathy dropped Jack and Anita near the meeting site. She then pulled into a parking garage a few blocks away and walked back to the area of the meeting site. By 2:30 p.m. Jack was strolling in the park. Anita and Kathy were in position to cover the flanks of the meeting site. At 2:55 Jack, wearing clothes and a hat like Yuri’s, began strolling east toward the park benches. A few minutes later he sat down on the park bench. Kathy attached herself to a nearby group of tourists listening to a tour guide. Pedestrian traffic was moderate. At least half of the benches were empty. Jack was watching the scene like a giant chess board. No one looked out of place. Even a pro like Olsen would not pick up anything if he was watching, and Jack was sure he was watching.

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The next morning after a run on the game trails around the hunting cabin, Jack watched the morning news while he cleaned up the breakfast dishes. There was a lead story on the hillside shooting at Fisherman’s Inn. The bodies had been identified as one Chester Allan Morgan and his son, William Morgan of Tilghman Island on the eastern shore. Chester Morgan was the sole owner of a small marina that recently burned killing his common law wife, Maria Stanton, and her brother Earl, and nephew Joshua Stanton. The reporter, speaking from the parking lot of the Inn, said, “The police have no evidence the hillside shooting and the burning of the marina are tied together. The most important discovery is ballistics analysis found one of the rifles recovered from the bodies on the hillside had been used to kill Representative Cohen and wound two others on the C&O Canal last year.

“Two rifles found in the fire at the marina on Tilghman’s Island are believed to be the same rifles used to kill the mayor of Richmond and the mayor of Leesburg. Ballistic analysis was difficult because of the condition of the weapons.”

The reporter repeated, “The police and FBI have no theories they are willing to share as to the motivation for the killing of Mr. Morgan and his son. The fire at the marina is still listed as an accidental fire set off by one of the occupants smoking while working around a leaking propane tank.

“Our sister channel in Jacksonville, Florida, WKMY is reporting one of the persons killed in a trailer explosion and fire, a Mr. Stanley Jones, a Vietnam veteran, was clutching a shotgun when his body was found under the burned trailer in Yulee, Florida. The other body, Mrs. Norma Carlson, was in the trailer when it exploded and burned. It appears, according to WKMY, the pair of them had manufactured a huge bomb based on a fertilizer and kerosene formula. This bomb was found in a stolen panel truck. The two front tires of the panel truck had been deliberately cut.

“Now, the bizarre part of the WKMY story is that the burned man found outside the trailer in Yulee was clutching a shotgun. Mr. Joshua Stanton was also found with a shotgun near him outside the burned house on Tilghman’s Island. The police have not yet commented on the strange similarity. In fact, our sources tell us the authorities have not connected the two burned bodies clutching shotguns.

“We will bring you more information on this case as it develops. Let us hope the deaths of the Morgans on the hillside behind the restaurant and the people at the marina will end the sniper killings in our region. Who killed them nobody knows. Nor does anyone know why they were killed. A police source said it is possible some third party or competitor is out there settling a personal or business score.” With that the news signed off.

“Well.” Kathy said with a feigned look of concern. “What do you stalwarts think? How many steps away from jail are we?”

Jack couldn’t help laughing at Kathy’s play acting. “Don’t worry, Kathy. We are still very much okay. If the police want to speculate, it’s okay, as long as we are very careful about not leaving a trail of evidence behind us. I’ll tell you one thing: our next letter to the Maryland State Police will be treated with respect.”

Later in the afternoon Kathy and Jack searched Yuri’s computer and DVDs again for anything on the New York cell. After several hours of searching, they found no new hidden drives and no new information on the DVDs. They already had detailed instructions for contacting the New York cell leader. The challenge was to decide which of the possible listed meeting sites would allow an ambush yet seem normal to Olsen. The terse reports of the last ten contacts with Olsen were particularly helpful.

That evening after supper Anita broke out the scotch and asked Jack and Kathy what they had learned. Jack said, “We know what Olsen looks like. He often wears disguises to the meetings, which are nearly all short contacts on the street. His favorite disguises are clerics, street persons and women. He is very punctual, never late for a meeting. From our reading, Olsen is a fanatical Russian communist with a deep hatred for America. He is highly skilled with hand guns and knives. He is not afraid to kill. Yuri’s records show Olsen is one of his best agents. Kathy, please go over the contact plan we worked out. I’ll refresh your drink while you tell us about the world of espionage.”

Kathy said, “Since the FBI has circulated his picture to the media, he will have developed an entirely new persona and appearance. He may even pay some innocent person to go to the meeting site ahead of him to smoke out any traps. Olsen would not care a bit about using innocent bystanders for a shield or even to kill a few of them to create a diversion. We picked a meeting site that has been used before but not in the last year. The site is on the edge of Central Park, right across the street from the old Plaza Hotel.

“The contact plan works like this. We place a personal ad in the New York Times, including what we believe is the proper code word for the meeting site. A date and time are mentioned. Olsen, when he sees the ad, will add five days to the date and subtract three hours from the time. He will expect to see Yuri sitting on one of the benches across from the Plaza Hotel. No signals are used. If either sees surveillance or unfavorable circumstances, he’ll simply abort the meeting and wait for new instructions. They have been doing this for more than two decades, so no need for exchanging bona fides.”

Jack said, “Kathy will dress me up as Yuri. With clothes and a hat like he always wore, I’m sure I can pass for Yuri until Olsen gets right next to me. That’s as far as we have taken this operation. It needs more work. Make no mistake, this guy won’t be taken alive, so don’t hesitate. Olsen won’t.”

Anita said, “I won’t feel comfortable until the bastard is dead. He is a very dangerous person with no concern for anyone or anything not benefiting him.”

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

When Jack came back, he told them about his report to Frank. “Frank asked us to help the police and FBI catch the bomber who eluded them. He was impressed with our method of sending information about the New York cell to the FBI. Frank suggested our only shot perhaps is using Yuri’s computer files to see if we can trick this killer into showing up at one of his old meeting sites.

“A couple of assumptions, the Bureau apparently did not find anything in their search of the homes and work places of the two dead New York terrorists and are not getting anything significant from the terrorist they captured to lead them to the fourth member of the cell. The last assumption is the missing cell member is the primary bomber. This threat won’t be over until we get Joseph David Olsen who, according to Yuri’s records, is the original member of the cell and the professional espionage/terrorist-trained KGB agent.”

Jack said, “Let’s take a look at what the media has to say,” and turned on the Satellite TV for the 8:00 p.m. news.

The lead story concerned the recent arrests in New York City. The police were still looking for the fourth terrorist. Nothing was said about how the questioning of the captured terrorist was proceeding. All the terrorists had been identified, and caches of weapons, explosives, false ID documents and sketches and detailed descriptions of several prominent places in the city were found in two side-by-side self-storage containers in Yonkers in Westchester County, within an easy commute to Manhattan.

The FBI’s agent-in-charge of the investigation refused to comment on how the terrorists were apprehended beyond commending the New York City Police Department for outstanding police work and the quick action of the counter-terrorist squad. At the end of the broadcast, a picture of Mr. Olsen was shown with a renewed plea for help from the public in finding this very dangerous fugitive.

Anita said, “Enough speculation for me. I’m going to get some sack time.”

Kathy and Jack stayed up for another hour planning their approach to kill Olsen. They knew there was no chance of taking him alive.

Kathy said, “You’ve figured out Anita knows we’re going to sleep together?”

“I think she figured it out long ago. Nothing gets by Anita.”

Kathy took Jack by the hand and said, “Okay, let’s go try the hot tub.”

The hot tub was wonderful. Plenty big enough for two. As usual Kathy was in the tub first. “Jack, this is wonderful. I might have an orgasm before you even touch me.”

A few minutes later, Kathy settled, facing Jack with her legs open and loosely around him. The hot water was shoulder depth and the relaxation of the water on his sore muscles and the sexual stimulation of Kathy’s breasts moving slowly on his chest, made Jack think this was about as close as he would ever get to nirvana. Kathy smiled at him and eased him into her. When he was fully in her, they just held each other without moving. He could feel her tightening and relaxing herself around him and knew if she kept that up he would come in her very soon. He began to move in her while his hands teased her nipples. He could feel her arousal growing and increased his thrusting. Kathy fastened her teeth on his neck and shoulder and began gentle nipping, becoming harder as her thrusting matched his. He felt himself losing control as she began her orgasm and came in her with a last strong thrust and arching of his back.

The cabin was quiet. Kathy was sleeping soundly. Jack lay awake, browsing through the planning for another difficult operation. His mind kept wandering from thinking about Kathy to a story she had told him one night when they were both up late. It was about a CIA agent she had known who had penetrated the middle ranks of an Arab terrorist organization. The agent found once he was invited into their homes, the people we call terrorists have many of the same joys and problems we have.

Many aspects of their lives are not much different from ours. There were family problems with in-laws and kids. Marital problems and joys. Kids get sick, teenagers suddenly lose all interest in their academic studies, colleagues get promoted over them, wives can’t or won’t manage money, and bills cannot be paid on time. Kathy stressed the need to respect your enemy’s capabilities and realize they have normal strengths and weaknesses. In waging war against them, you must put yourself in their position. Jack thought, it makes sense, but there was no mercy or understanding in his mind about this group of terrorists. Anita and Kathy don’t know Yuri not only killed his father but also his mother and sister. No way is anyone in Yuri’s network going free, no matter what. At the slightest opportunity, I will take them out.

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

The cabin was stocked with Peter’s favorite brand of scotch and beer but short on enough food for three good eaters. Kathy and Anita went shopping for groceries in Latrobe and some colorful table cloths, lamps and throw rugs to brighten up the cabin. When Kathy and Anita returned from their shopping trip, Anita said it was her turn to feed the crime fighters, and she put together excellent angel hair spaghetti, featuring her family sauce recipe with a side of steamed asparagus. Jack found a good Chianti in his father’s collection. Anita said, “This is more like the living I’ve become used to since joining this group of warriors.”

While they were sitting around the table, Jack said, “We need to talk about how we are going to finish off the New York cell.”

Kathy said, “First, let me tell you about Yuri’s written record. It tells us a lot about the contact procedures for his New York cell. However, we don’t know, for example, if a key word or phrase goes into the personal ad contact system, or if a sequence of personal ads is used to verify the message. A personal ad could merely tell the agent to look for a package left somewhere known to both parties. In the trade we call this a dead drop. The possibilities are only limited by the imagination and experience of the people involved. I’ve seen situations when a basic system like the personal newspaper ad directed the agent to check a certain place for some sort of a signal like a chalk mark, which gives further information. The size of the mark, its shape and color, can all contain information not known by anyone else. The information on the DVD we found in Yuri’s house may not be enough.”

Jack said, “My experience is with killers on the run. If you think this guy might have been surveillance sensitive before, you should see him now. He is paranoid and being super careful. He looks different and has a different ID, living in some ‘bolt hole’ somewhere not too far away. He probably also has another place far away from his current hiding place. If he goes there, no one will ever find him.

“Right now he is wondering what the hell happened and who shopped him. He will run through all the possibilities, such as, did someone in the cell attract police attention enough for the police or FBI to have conducted a serious investigation including 24/7 surveillance? Phone taps? Bugged cars and living spaces? Eventually he will rule out all those possibilities and convince himself one of his people was working with the police. The captured cell member will be at the top of his list, followed by Yuri. He will be desperate for contact. Remember, he thinks he is under the control and protection of the Russian Intelligence Service.”

Kathy said, “Agree. I’ll search Yuri’s records again on Joseph David Olsen, or whatever he calls himself today, to see if I can find more information about him. Is he a skilled shooter? Any martial arts training? What kind of physical condition is he in for a man of some 64 years? Hobbies? Interests? Marital status? Lovers? Kids? Friends? Organizations he belongs to? Habits? Vices like drinking, smoking, drugs, little boys or girls? Those are what we need to help us find him.”

Jack smiled and said, “Spoken like a true hunter. The critical question for me is what’s Olsen’s motivation? Does he want to finish the mission or does he merely want to escape and live the rest of his life in peace?”

Kathy said, “If he’s dedicated to his mission, he’ll continue at all costs including his life. If not, he’ll just go away with his bank account. If he is a super Russian nationalist and still believes he’s being directed by the Russian spy center in Moscow, then it’s a wholly different kind of problem. He’ll try as hard as he can to carry out his mission and will be willing to kill anyone who gets in the way. His vulnerabilities make him dangerous.”

Jack said, “While you and Anita are searching Yuri’s records for a plan, I’m going to Latrobe to call Frank. I’ll take Shadow with me.”

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan.