Starting Over Pt. 04 Ch. 02

Starting Over IV, Chapter 2.

This is the fourth section of the continuing saga "Starting Over". In Part I, LTC (Retired) John Jackson had moved to Seattle after being widowed. He ran into some trouble and some decent people (okay, and a few strippers), while working towards getting his private investigator license. That took place between Sep and Dec 2012.

In Part II, he got involved in a ring trafficking in young women. The main perpetrators were captured, but the hired gun/enforcer slipped away. That took place in Apr and May 2013.

In Part III, which took place in 2013 and 2014, John managed to find the enforcer in Key West and was planning to kill him, but changed his mind. He really didn't know if he could kill someone in cold blood, but the man was living with a woman and had decided that he was retiring. John let him go and returned to Seattle where Maggie gave indications that she wanted a serious relationship. Then he used that enforcer from Key West to assist in capturing an assassin. The assassin had been hired to kill him and the detective who helped him break up a leg of a human trafficking chain.

Now we are in Part IV. It's 2019. During that period John and Maggie couldn't work things out and now John was working on a case that involved someone who had assaulted Luke's wife Maria. He ran into Joyce, they had sex, and then after she left John had two men try to break into his apartment to attack him. This aftermath is where we are now.

Main Characters

LTC (Retired) John Jackson, 5'11", 180, 53 years old.

Marie Jackson, John's dead wife, 5'8", 140, 44 years old, died 15 Jan 2012

Angelica Jackson (Angel), John and Marie's daughter, 5'5", 125, 26 years old.

Mary Bradford, bartender, 5'5", 120, 41 years old.

Margaret (Maggie) Bradford, Mary's sister, 5'6", 115, 44 years old, and John's love interest.

Madeleine (Maddie) Bradford, Maggie's daughter, 14 years old.

Juliet Margolin, waitress, 5'4", 145, 32 years old, Mary's cousin.

Samantha (Sam) Walker, 5'6", 130 pounds, 46 years old, John's neighbor.

Joyce Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 120 pounds, 26 years old, and now an exotic dancer using the name Lily

Marion Walker, Sam's daughter, 5'4", 115 pounds, 24 years old.

SFC (Retired) Craig Smithson, 6', 190, 53 years old, NCO from John's Army unit.

Captain Jeff Smithson, 5'11', 185, 51 years old, SFC Smithson's brother and a captain in the Seattle Police Department.

George Watkins, 6'4", 280, 43 years old, bouncer.

Jeanne (aka Jasmine) Welch, 5'5", 110, 21 years old, exotic dancer.

Olivia, 5'4", 120 pounds, 28years old, called Livy, exotic dancer.

Luke Cole, 5'10", 180, detective in the Seattle Police Department.

Maria Cole, 5'6", 135, Luke's wife.

Marcus Candiotti, strip club manager.

Mark Vilmer, CIO of his third start-up and human trafficker

Melissa Vilmer, Mark's wife

Max Meridian (real name Harold Johnson), Mark's lead kidnapper and enforcer. Now changed his name to Bob Thomas.

Susan Thomas, Bob's new wife.

George Watson, a new member of the detective agency.

Previously:

---------------------------- Saturday, 9 March, 2019, a local hotel, Seattle, Washington

John packed a bag and, after another 3 hours with an investigator and the forensics team, was finally able to get out of his apartment. Some of his neighbors were peeking out as he passed. He hit a local hotel. He was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep. It had been a hard couple of days.

---------------------------- Saturday, 9 March, 2019, a local hotel, Seattle, Washington

John woke at about 9am. He'd only had a few hours sleep, but he was used to being up in the morning, so he got up to get something to eat. He had eaten very little the day before and his stomach was not happy.

John walked down the street to a small diner-like restaurant that was serving breakfast. He had just taken his seat and was looking over the menu when his phone rang. It was Joyce. She said she was sorry about last night and wanted to come see him. He updated her on his situation and she said she'd come right over to the restaurant.

John ordered a nice breakfast; western omelet with hash browns and toast. A couple of minutes later Joyce came rushing through the door. She looked around quickly and spotted him. She rushed over.

John stood to say good-morning and Joyce grabbed him in a crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry to hear about what happened." She pushed back from the hug. "Are you okay?"

John gave her a small smile. "I'm fine. The apartment is going to need some work." He pointed at their seats. "Want to sit and have breakfast with me?"

Joyce smiled and sat. "Yes, I would. I'm starving."

John looked around, eventually got his waitress' attention, and waved her over. Joyce was looking at the menu and quickly made her choice.

Joyce looked at him and then down at the table. She didn't know how to really say what she needed to say.

"What?" John could see that something was on her mind.

"It's about last night. I'm sorry I left in such a rush."

"Well, that's fine. Actually, it's a good thing. I'm glad you left when you did since those guys were either outside waiting for you to leave or just got there. In either case, I'm glad you weren't there when they attacked."

"What happened?"

John explained about them trying to bust open his door, how he shot one in the arm, and about the flash-bang grenade. Joyce was shocked by it all.

"Do you need help cleaning up?"

"No, I think I'll be fine." He circled back to her earlier statement. "Now, I believe that you were going to tell me why you left in such a rush."

Joyce looked down at the table again and took a deep breath before looking up. "I've known you for a while, John, but last night after we had sex, I realized something. I was starting to like you too much. You are the kindest, gentlest, most protective man I have ever met. I had to get out of there, because it scared me."

John put his hand on hers on the table. "That's fine. I was just worried." He wasn't sure exactly what she meant, but he wanted to calm her.

Joyce took her hand back and shook her head. "You don't understand. I was falling for you -- and I can't. I am young and want a family. I've quit the club so that I could get a normal job, meet better men, and eventually fall in love and have a family. I know that you have already done that and probably don't want another family at your age. I need to find someone my own age that I can do that with."

John smiled at her. That's what he thought when she said she was starting to like him too much. "Look, you are right. I'm too old for you and don't want to start another family. I'm glad you quit the club. You'll never meet anyone there like you want, and the hours are terrible. You need to get a normal job, go out and meet different people and eventually you may find what you want. I completely understand."

There was a big sigh from Joyce. "Thanks. I didn't know how to say it. I do love you, but I have always wanted kids and I know you are past that."

John grinned. "No problem. However, until you find Mr. Right, you could always stop over when you need some personal attention."

Joyce looked at John and grinned. "Pervert."

He raised his right hand. "Guilty."

Their food arrived at that time and they started eating. Then John remembered that Craig had said he needed an office manager and assistant. This might be perfect for Joyce.

John picked up his phone and called Craig. "Hey, buddy. I had some problems last night."

"Yeah, I heard from Luke, who got the word from the precinct. Everything okay?"

"It will be when I get my apartment cleaned up."

"Anything we can do?"

"Well, about that. I need a rush on fixing the door, so if you can push the same company I used last time, or pay them a premium, it'll be fine. Now, I have a question. Are you still looking for an assistant and office manager?"

Joyce glanced up at John with big eyes. She immediately knew what was going on.

"Yes, I am."

John smiled at Joyce as he talked. "Well, I have a good candidate for you. She's sitting right here having breakfast with me. Her name is Joyce and she and her mother and sister were the family living right across from me a few years ago. I don't know if you remember them."

"Of course, I remember them. Is she looking for a job?"

"Yes, she just left her last one. You want her to come by for an interview?"

"Yes. Can she come by today?"

John lowered the phone and spoke to Joyce. "Can you see Craig today?"

Joyce nodded. "Oh, yes."

John held his phone back up. "Yes, she can. Have you interviewed anyone else?"

"Not yet. I haven't even started advertising."

"I would consider it a great favor if you'd give her first shot."

"Okay. Send her over at about 3 this afternoon."

"3 it is. Call you later about some other stuff."

"Roger. Later."

John put down his phone.

Joyce bounced up and down in her seat. "I have an interview! I have an interview! Thank you, John."

John held up his hand. "Whoa, whoa. You still have to earn the job. Do you know Word and Excel?"

"Absolutely. I was helping Jasmine in the office and I learned all about spreadsheets and how to do formulas, etc. I learned in Word how to do tables of contents and all that stuff, too. I can do that."

"Well, then you will probably get the job. We just need office work."

"Wow! Thank you again, John. See, I knew you were the best man I ever knew."

"Well, thank you."

John and Joyce talked about where Joyce's family was and how they were doing as they finished breakfast. John got another big hug from Joyce and she ran off to make sure she would be ready for her interview.

John walked out and his phone rang. This time it was Luke.

"Hello?"

"John, we have a lot of things going on right now. Bomb threats were made at several major locations today and along with the threats on my wife, things seem to be super busy. We can't figure out what is really going on. Everything is so disjointed."

"Okay. I'll talk to you about the mess from last night later. I'll go down to talk to the police who responded last night right now to see if they need anything else, and see if I can get my gun back. Anything you need from me?"

"Not right now. Based on that guy we got, we found out that his buddies really loved Rose and Violet and might be going back there again soon. He doesn't know anything except what he was told. He's just a low level hired hand. He's got a lot of minor things on his record. You think you want to go the club and sit there as a plant?"

"Well, I'm not a plant," John said sarcastically, "but I can certainly be there to assist on identification and whatever else you need to capture them."

"Okay, good. We'll have one person undercover in there and several in the area outside so that we can nab them immediately upon their exit."

"Okay. What time should I be there?"

"Try about 9pm. These guys are supposedly night owls and won't get there until after that."

"Roger. See you later."

"Yep."

John thought about that as he walked back to the hotel. He first needed to call the company he used before to repair his front door and then he'd work on the rest by himself.

After arranging for the same company to replace his door with another reinforced one, John called the police who were at his apartment last night and they said they didn't need anything else right now. They got everything they needed last night and would call if they had any other questions. John asked about his Glock and they said he could come by and get it. This is why it was good to be on the right side of the police.

After retrieving his gun, John took a nap. He was tired from last night and tonight promised to be a long one. Those guys, if they were really night owls, might not show until after midnight.

John woke up after a decent nap, got ready to go and headed to the strip club. When he got there, Jasmine was talking about something with the bouncer and waved him in. He followed her to her office.

"Hey, John," she said once they were out of the pounding beat of the dancers' music, "I appreciate you doing this. I need to get this nipped in the bud and hopefully all the other girls will learn not to get involved with anyone from the club."

"No problem. It's a tough job watching ladies take off their clothes, but I think I can handle it."

Jasmine gave him a little punch on the arm. "Smartass. Anyway, we also have an officer here undercover. I won't tell you who it is, but there is one present. Oh, and you won't be paying for anything while you are here."

"Well, the ladies giving table dances may disagree."

"I mean food and drink, smartass."

"Okay. Are Rose and Violet here and aware of what's going on?"

"Yes, they are. They'll just make sure to identify the two assholes and then the police will move in."

"Okay, good." John glanced around. "Well, I guess I should get out there and check out your current talent."

Jasmine chuckled. "Yeah, yeah."

When John got out to the main area, he took a small table near the back of the club from the main stage. He wanted to be able to see everything.

John got waited on by a pretty, curvy, red-headed waitress. She was very friendly and kept bringing him alternating glasses of water and ginger ale. He was not going to drink at all tonight. The waitress was very nice and was wearing a pretty standard bikini. She filled it out nicely.

John watched the strippers and saw a lot of very good talent. The women were good-looking and knew how to work the poles and the stage. They all appeared to be pulling in pretty good money when you added in the table dances and the private ones in the back. They worked the crowd well, and the guys seemed to be willing to pay.

John was getting tired of sitting and needed to go to the bathroom about 10:30. He had been sitting and watching, but had seen no sign of the perpetrators, and there was no word from Rose and Violet. Maybe they wouldn't show tonight.

John went to the men's room, emptied his bladder, and washed his hands. He checked himself in the mirror, sighed at the signs of aging that were creeping all over his face, and went to the door.

The door swung inwards, and as soon as John pulled it open, he was tackled by two men. He was caught totally unaware and his reflexes allowed him to react to protect himself a little as they went down, but not enough to prevent hitting his head on the tile floor. He was dazed and the two men were getting up and hitting him as they did. Once on their feet, they started kicking him, and John was having trouble focusing and getting out of the way. Even in his daze, he knew that things were looking bleak and tried to cover up from the kicks.

Suddenly, the men's door burst open and a gun went off. John felt the kicking stop. There was yelling and the two guys disappeared out of sight. He finally relaxed and gave himself over to the spreading darkness as he blacked out.

---------------------------- Sunday, 10 March, 2019, a local hospital, Seattle, Washington

When John woke, he was in the hospital. He was in a bed with a drip hooked up to his arm and plenty of soreness in his entire body. He looked up at the clock and it said 4am. Ugh.

When John looked to the left, the redhead waitress from the strip club was sitting there. She was in street clothes and had little makeup on, but she still looked great. He gave her a slow, painful smile.

She saw him look around and smiled. "Well, hello there. How are your pains?"

John moved a little. "Pretty rough. Why the drip? Am I seriously injured anywhere?"

"No, they just wanted to watch you for a concussion and were giving you some fluids. You have a fractured left radius and fractured left rib, neither of which they plan to cast. Other than that, just a lot of deep bruises."

"Well, it doesn't feel like I'm not seriously injured. I hurt everywhere."

"I was told that I could take you home when you woke up, if you feel good enough to move. They provided a few pain meds and a prescription for more. What do you want to do?"

"Go home."

"Good."

"Wait. Who are you?"

She smiled and stood. "I'm a police officer. Vanessa Williams -- no relation."

"Was it you who burst in and saved me from them?"

"Yes. Do you remember that?"

"A little. I was dazed. As soon as I opened the door, I was tackled and hit my head. Everything is fuzzy, although my instincts were to protect myself as much as I could."

"I saw two men head back to the restroom as soon as you stood. They didn't match the descriptions because they were pretty well disguised, and you don't have to do much to change your look in a dark strip club. I rushed down there and put a bullet in the leg of one and put them both on the floor until the guys outside could get there."

"Well, thanks."

"No problem. We got those two scumbags, but I heard from Luke that they are also low-level criminals from the local area who have no idea what this is all about. They were just angry because you are the one that shot one of them in the arm. So, we are still trying to figure out where this is all going. After the attack on Luke's wife and then the false bomb scares, we have no idea what's going on. Things are a little strange right now and everyone's running in circles trying to figure it out."

"Well, we aren't going to make a lot of progress here. I want to get home and rest up a little."

"Okay, I'll call the nurse."

"Why did you stick around personally?"

"Just wanted to be nice. Your reputation with the department and from Luke is very good, and I liked the way you treated me last night."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. You were nice to a woman who is usually thought of as irrelevant and only there to show off her tits."

John tried not to look down at her tits when she said that, and failed. "Well -- I got no comeback. Let's just go home."

Vanessa called the nurses' station. They had been told that John could be released to someone who would drive him home.

They got ready and John tried his hardest in the restroom to get dressed without pain. It was difficult, but once he got moving, he was able to do so and minimize the pain.

Vanessa was waiting for him at the front door with her car, a Jeep of some sort, and the nurse wheeled him out to her. She helped him in the car and John worked the seatbelt. It hurt since it went near the fractured rib, but he got it done.

When the got to his place, John was surprised to realize that he didn't give any directions. He looked at her.

"Luke told me where you lived."

John nodded and they got out and went up to his apartment. The door had been replaced that day, so everything looked secure. The workmen had left the key in the mailbox, which he still had a key to, so they were able to get in without a problem. The new door looked good. Another reinforced model and they had done a nice job.

John went to his liquor cabinet and pulled out a good scotch. "Want a drink?"

"You're on medication."

"Yeah, but it's wearing off and I'm going to sleep soon, so I'm having one."

"Sure, pour me one, too."

"Do you have to get home to family or anything?"

"Nope, single."

"Good."

John poured two drinks, neat, and handed one to Vanessa. "Thanks for keeping an eye on me."

"You're welcome."

They clinked glasses and both took a swig. They sat on the couch and John leaned back.

"You spending the night?"

Vanessa chuckled. "I'm not that easy."

"I didn't mean that. I have a couch and, for special occasions, the adjacent apartment." John got up, groaned with the movement, and went to the connecting door. He took the key from the nail hung next to it, and opened the door. Vanessa followed.

"Nice. You have the entire next-door apartment?"