Dean Warner Intrigues - 22. Spring Break 2008

Chapter 22 Spring Break 2008

The next six weeks went by fast. The plans were made. They had told their parents they were going to Daytona Beach Florida and driving and didn't have any plans as to where they were staying but could be reached on their cell phones. They packed lightly but included Dean's PC laptop and drove off in John's vehicle and went to the airport in Indianapolis and got on a Southwest Airlines flight and headed to Texas. The flight had been booked on Dean's PC as well as the rental car and the hotel room on the beach at South Padre Island. They felt like they were walking into a trap and just had to trust that their security company was up to the job. The early evening flight on March 7^th was full and there were a lot of college age people on board. Spring Break travel was up and lots of people were tired of the Indiana winter and wanted to get to the fun and sun in south Texas, more importantly, South Padre Island which was about as far south as you could get and stay in the country.

They stayed in a motel that night in Corpus Christi and drove south the next morning. The were staying in a La Quinta Inn and Suites and they realized they would have to be careful as this part of Texas was not exactly known as a gay mecca. They did have a small suite which was quite modest, but clean and the beach was right there. They were not a demonstrative couple in public and just thought they would enjoy the sun, sand and waves after the bleak winter they left behind. Dean had never seen the ocean before and the Gulf qualified. The water was salty. The waves and sound of the surf were soothing and somewhat mesmerizing. They got a couple of boogie boards and had some fun in the waves and just soaked up the sun as they relaxed. John was reading Grisham's new book 'The Appeal' and found it engrossing. Dean was reading 'The Darkest Evening of the Year' by Dean Koontz but found it rather disturbing. The food was a lot of Tex-Mex and seafood. They drank many Margaritas. They kept close to the hotel and the places along the strand. While they did not directly communicate with their security, they did spot a few familiar faces in unlikely places.

All was peaceful and quiet until late on Tuesday night after they came back from eating at Louie's Backyard. As John was pulling into the parking lot and driving around the side to where their room was, they caught a glimpse in the glare of their headlights of several men hustling two other men away from the direction of their room. John slowly parked and they waited for a couple of minutes until no one was in sight and then hurried to their room. The door was locked and they let themselves in and found a mess. They closed and locked the door and waited. It was only a little after nine and they had no idea how long it would be before their security would contact them. They had been instructed to not call the police or to call their security unless they were in immediate danger.

The small suite had been trashed and defaced. The word 'FAGS' was spray painted in black letters across the wall in the bedroom which was also trashed. Everything was pulled apart and overturned. The only item that appeared undisturbed, was Dean's PC laptop which was sitting in its case next to the entry door just as they came in as if someone forgot to take it with them. It had been plugged in and sitting on the small dining table when they left to go eat. They were both really frightened. It seemed like their worst fears were being validated time and again. They had been instructed to not touch anything if something should happen and just sit tight and wait for instructions. That had sounded reasonable when their plans were made. Now it was just nerve wracking. They finally turned two chairs back upright and sat at the table and held hands as they wondered what was happening and what had gone down. The wait seemed endless. First Dean and then John had to use the toilet. They waited and finally at ten minutes to midnight, Dean's phone rang and their security chief, Bruce said he would be knocking on their door in two minutes and to let him inside.

Bruce looked like he had had a bad night when he arrived. They pulled another chair upright and he sat at the table with them and explained what had happened. After the two guys left for supper, their security team split up, a couple following them to the restaurant and others stayed to keep their room under surveillance. Shortly after eight o'clock, just as it was getting really dark, they saw two men approach the door to their suite and using a card key enter it. They heard the muted sounds of the rooms being trashed from the room next door and they assumed the intruders were looking for something. They gathered their forces and five of them entered John and Dean's room with their own card key and got the drop on the two intruders as they were spray painting graffiti in the bedroom. They took them into custody and were alerted by other team members when John and Dean were returning and hustled the two intruders away just as they were returning.

Both men were Chicago thugs. They had identification with them and were known small time criminals. Neither would talk, but they did say the 'fags' deserved whatever bad things happened to them. Bruce Scheutz was waiting for the U.S. Marshall's Office and the FBI to send agents as they did not plan to turn them over to the local authorities. They were expecting them to arrive in the morning. Bruce told them to gather up their clothes and personal items and he would take them to another suite used by the security firm where they could spend the night. As the guys had packed light, it didn't take them long and they were hustled out of their ground floor room to a room on the second level a little ways from their room. The PC was left where it sat next to the door.

It was the first night since they had checked in that they didn't make out or make love. Neither was in the mood. They just held each other and cuddled together in bed. The next morning they showered, shaved and went to breakfast with a couple of their security guys and then came back and were interviewed by Marshal James Mason who had been over everything already with Bruce Scheutz and his security team. He informed them that the two men were taken into federal custody for attempted kidnapping. Dean's PC laptop, which ironically, the Marshal had provided to him when his prior one was taken for examination was also being impounded. The local police were treating it as a hate crime and thought the two men should be arrested under Texas jurisdiction but the federal prosecutor was involved and they were being taken to Houston.

Dean and John's spring break vacation was abruptly shortened as they called home and explained some of what had happened and they were back home by midday on Thursday. They arrived at John's condo and were met there by both his parent's and Dean's mom. Bruce Schuetz accompanied them and provided background as well. They had to go into detail of what they had done and why and what they had found out as a result. There were concerns that perhaps Dean's e-mails to John were infected and there was an outside possibility that an unknown and unidentified trojan had infected his computer and perhaps others whom he sent e-mails too. Evidently, Bruno Weiss was very clever in writing code that could replicate and do so in ways that avoided looking like any known threats, at least that was their assumption.

Bruce pointed out that the two thugs had a black 2005 Lincoln Town Car and had all their belongings in the back seat and it was gassed up and ready to leave. The trunk however was empty and the inside safety trunk release had been removed and the mechanism disabled so that anyone confined in the trunk could not get out. That was the basis for the federal prosecutor's position that a kidnapping had been avoided. Schuetz was less sanguine. He said that while the thugs did have handcuffs and gags with them as well as knock-out drugs to include Roofies, he thought they might have gone ahead and killed John or Dean or both if they had not gotten what they wanted. It was apparent they were going to make it look like a hate crime in any case.

This last batch of news further alarmed Debbie and John's parents as well. Libby spoke before Debbie could and pointedly asked Bruce, “Who employs you?”

“You do” he replied.

“Then why wasn't I briefed on this or provided any information in my morning security reports?”

Bruce pointed at John and Dean and explained “we wanted to keep this as quiet as possible to determine if the computer actually was the source of the leak and it worked. We are now sure that somehow, Dean's computer was the source of the information provided to the mob. My company has contracted with a private computer analyst whom we have checked out thoroughly to see if they can track down this trojan and how it works on Dean's computer. We are also taking John's to see if it infected too.”

“I thought you said Dean's computer was impounded by the FBI” Debbie said.

“It was, but we got it back because the Marshal Service already had an exact copy of it.”

“I'll repeat myself; whom do you work for” Libby asked again?

“You of course” replied a distinctly uncomfortable Bruce Schuetz.

“Do you know who L.T. Ahlers is” Libby asked?

“He is the silent partner that owns a 49% interest in the firm I work for, but I have never met him. Do you know him,” Bruce asked?

John's dad, Jack, chuckled quietly but kept his silence as he looked at Bruce Schuetz. John looked at his mom and realized things could get tense.

Libby looked at Bruce and decided not to draw this out. “I make my investments as Libby Trask Ahlers as my finances are separate from my husband's. Ahlers was my maiden name and I've kept it for business purposes. I'm familiar with the company policy on keeping clients informed and you know that I have made specific requests about being kept informed with a daily update on my security concerns. All of my security concerns. You violated my direct instructions. You are relieved from oversight of this project. Go and check in with your supervisor. I expect to be contacted within the next four hours by the new security project manager for my security. You are excused.”

Bruce looked worried and excusing himself, left quickly.

Dean and John started to try to explain it was their fault, but Libby would have none of it. “I have a specific contract with the company that I have taken a large position in and I will not tolerate any insubordination. I know that this is a real puzzle as to how certain criminal elements keep pursuing Dean, but I do not intend to be cut out of the loop again. I have some ideas myself that I want to run by some of my consultants.” With that Libby gathered her stuff and she and her husband made to leave. They asked Debbie if they could take her home and she accepted as she had some questions. The parents kissed Dean and John good-bye and were soon gone too.

Dean and John were left sitting alone, wondering where, what and when the next thing to come along would be. John called Bruce and told him how sorry they were about his mom removing him from their detail. Bruce said “it was a judgment call that I made and I will live with the consequences and be alright. Take care of yourselves and cooperate fully with your new security manager who is named Jeff Talbot. He will be contacting you after he is finished talking to your mother.”

The guys called and ordered a pizza for delivery as neither felt like going anyplace. They talked about their time in Texas and how nice it was to be warm and in the sun laying next to the Gulf with the lazy sound of the waves splashing the beach. They went over all that they did and in particular the last day and night down there trying to recall if they had spotted the black Lincoln Town Car, but as John noted, “who pays attention to a Lincoln Town Car; especially, in Texas, where half the older people down there, drive them?”

They turned in early and enjoyed a slow sensuous sixty-nine before snuggling together into sleep.