False Dialogue: Dan Icor Trilogy

By Travis Pearson

Seventeen-year-old Betsy Lane is a hardworking high school senior who waits tables at a small eatery in a picturesque town. Cheerful and honest, she is happily going about another day at work—until notorious hoodlum Duane Washington and his two friends sit in her section.

As Betsy bravely attempts to rebuff Duane’s unwanted advances, she has no idea that Dan Icor, a business leader with secret abilities, is watching from a distance. When Dan and Sheriff Jack West are forced to intercede in an attempt to save Betsy’s innocence, their actions trigger a series of catastrophic events that include a brutal attack, an abduction, a dramatic rescue, and a killing. But just when Dan thinks the crisis has ended, he is led down a new path where he must utilize his gifted warrior talents amid a chaotic political environment where nothing is certain.

False Dialogue continues the gripping tale of one man’s journey as he learns to rely on his special abilities to battle hoodlums and rescue those in need.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Aug 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483456690

Travis Pearson

Travis Pearson is a retired bank chairman and chief executive officer, an accomplished marksman, pilot, sports car driver, martial artist, and sportsman who tells an interesting story. He currently resides in Lucas, Texas.

Book preview

TRILOGY

False Dialogue

Travis Pearson

Copyright © 2016 Travis Pearson.

Cover Design: SelfPubBookCovers.com/Fantasyart

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5670-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5668-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5669-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016912922

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 8/19/2016

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Prologue

Utopia

Dan Icor gazed through the large picture window in Mary’s Restaurant. His eyes scanned the skyline of the town square. He enjoyed the view of the late-morning sun as the smog-free brightness highlighted the buildings and park. The playful laughter of the children and their parents drifted through the air while they enjoyed the playground near the municipal center.

The town activity complex stood out illuminated, contrasting the late-morning sky, the structures magnified by the backlighting of the sunshine. He noted the American flag displayed on the municipal building rippling in the light April breeze. He watched the young families while they played with their children in the park across the street, wearing lightweight, early spring jackets. Dan smiled because he and Jenifer had decided they would start a family that year.

The town reminded Dan of a small town he and his parents had visited in Upstate New York. He and his family had spent most vacations there when he was young. They had stayed at a smaller motel located on a hilltop in the Catskill Mountains. He recalled the entire family would walk down the hill into the municipality, located a few miles away. He could still visualize Herby’s drugstore on the corner. It had a brownstone brick facade, like many buildings of the early 1900s. The corner business looked as if it had two fronts with doors on two separate streets and a prominent corner facade. Dan remembered the old-fashioned soda bar in the back of the drugstore. He thought the owner, Herby, a kindly old man. Since Herby knew Dan and his family, Dan could buy items or soda from the establishment and Herby would settle the account with his parents later.

Dan and his parents would walk down the street to the general store. It was set up like a catalogue operation. They carried almost everything, and he could visualize his dad or mom rewarding him with the fabulous toys of his youth from there.

He especially remembered he was allowed to walk to the small mountain town by himself or with his older cousin at what currently would be considered a very young age. The environment was relatively crime-free. He hoped this town would offer the same benefits and safety and remain an idyllic place to raise a family.

Dan wondered what had changed. A mother in Florida had been charged with child neglect for allowing her eight-year-old son to walk three blocks alone to a public park. He hoped this town would resemble the environment of the mountain town of his youth where children would remain safe even if not watched every second of the day.

In his mind’s eye, he could see his family enjoying the entertainment at the many nightclubs in the Catskill Mountains located in the fabulous and once modern hotels. Dan snapped back to the present as Jenifer gently patted and then rested her hand on his wrist. He looked at her and smiled, noting what an absolutely beautiful woman she was inside and out. He appreciated her intelligence, personality, animated facial expressions when she talked, magnificent figure, and expressive hazel eyes. When Jenifer entered the room, people admired her.

Dan and Jenifer Icor were enjoying lunch, sitting at their favorite booth at Mary’s Restaurant in the town. The town’s layout closely resembled that of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, or Geneva, Illinois. The buildings had an early 1900s architectural style and character, not unlike the small mountain municipality in Upstate New York. Many of the buildings were built with gray stone or brownstone, a style of architecture no longer used. The craftsman capable of building these structures had long since passed on. When they did, their skills died with them. In these modern times, the expense to try to duplicate this building style was cost prohibitive.

Dan noted the town’s buildings were immaculately maintained. They received the required tuck-pointing and sandblasting at regular intervals. He thought this town remained a regal, picturesque postcard of settlements of the early 1900s. In Dan’s opinion, this town was a reminder of a time when everyday existence was much safer and simpler.

They enjoyed Mary’s Restaurant, a small café-style eatery, featuring home-style cooking and attentive service. The restaurant enjoyed a convenient location on the main street with pull-in-style easy car access, just across the street from the bank, municipal center, park, and town square. Dan and Jenifer sat with a view of the entranceway and could watch the townspeople and activity through the large picture window. They often watched the people in the green or town square. John Taylor, Jenifer’s father and Dan’s father-in-law, sat in the booth across from them with his back toward the street. Mary Taylor, the proprietress of the restaurant and John Taylor’s wife, hurried by their table and refilled their coffee cups, flashing her genuine friendly smile as she poured the coffee.

It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was teeming. Mary had recently hired a young high-school senior as a waitress. Betsy Lane was stunning. The vivacious, tall, shapely girl moved with grace and confidence. With her piercing blue eyes and conversation skills, she seemed older than seventeen.

She possessed the ability to engross customers, after which they were enchanted with her. Betsy seemed beautiful after engaging her in conversation. Next to Dan Icor’s booth, there was a table of four high school boys who had obviously come to the restaurant to see Betsy with having lunch a very distant consideration.

Dan scanned the restaurant and noted the difference in patrons from the first time he had walked into Mary’s Restaurant several years earlier. At that time, the restaurant contained the mix of customers expected in a small-town environment. Mary’s Restaurant’s business was less brisk because of the politics of the small town. The town had been under the control of the ruthless Carter family, who were known to be deadly and treacherous. Many considered them devoid of conscience or moral compass. Now the restaurant was overflowing with customers and a picture of ethnic diversity, the result of developing the Strongheart Property, a large land tract Dan had inherited, an approximate thirty-five-minute drive outside the town limits.

Although the Strongheart community represented the blueprint for modern America and many considered the development an unquestionable success, Dan’s vision for the property was considerably different. Dan, as president and CEO of the town’s bank, had received very heavy-handed regulatory encouragement—or was forced, as he saw it—to offer loans for those with low to moderate income to a portion of that community. It was further agreed that Dan Icor would sell a portion of the Strongheart land to developers specializing in building and managing subsidized housing. Since it was very hard to disagree with the policies and enforcement of the federal government, Dan acquiesced and agreed to offer the loans to a percentage of the individuals of low to moderate income with the understanding that the bank would follow the guidelines but immediately sell all of those loans to the secondary market. The federal government carefully controlled this ancillary loan market. As promised to the national government, he sold land parcels to the developer specializing in subsidized multifamily housing.

It seemed the current administration thought every town, city, suburb, or living area should have the same ethnic diversity of cities like Chicago or New York. Many wealthy areas were surrounded by projects, places where the very unfortunate lived with substantial government assistance. After a period of time, it seemed their values and social structure were transformed into something completely different than Dan had ever envisioned. Dan was in favor of helping those temporarily down on their luck. However, he was against creating a permanent underclass of individuals. These people were always cared for by the government. He thought long term those individuals would lose their drive, values, and confidence and transform into a different cultural group. He couldn’t understand the government’s motivation for creating and maintaining this environment.

Chapter 1

At that moment, Dan observed three undesirable inhabitants of the new community entering Mary’s Restaurant. He glanced at Mary and saw her cheerful demeanor immediately disappear.

Duane Washington, Mohammed Hamsho, and Mustafa Ansi stood at the doorway to the eatery, blocking the entry and waiting for service.

Mary greeted them with professionalism. I’ll seat you as soon as a table becomes available.

Duane ignored her. He walked over to the table of the four high school boys, glared at them, and stated, This table be available. These guys leaving. He gave them the gangsta stare.

Mohammed and Mustafa approached the table, leaned over the boys, crowding and intimidating the high school students, and then signaled for them to leave. The high school boys got the message and hurried away from the table. They were too scared to think of embarrassment in front of their high school crush, Betsy Lane.

Duane stood at just over six feet three, and he had an overweight frame. His friends, slightly smaller, were muscled and carried themselves with an air of confidence and defiance. They were all considered thugs and lowlifes. The three hoodlums were very well known to the townspeople. The gangbangers were constantly in trouble, but none had a criminal record. They were often charged, but nothing ever stuck. Duane’s father, Lyle Washington, was a powerful union steward and did not tolerate any repercussions for his son. Legal or scholastic, Lyle Washington made all trouble disappear for his only child. Many realized that Lyle thought he was helping and protecting his son, but most knew, in fact, he was the ultimate enabler. However, no one would dare to tell him this.

Duane had just finished a stint at the alternative school. This was the other school on the Strongheart development, where they sent troubled youths for temporary disciplinary problems. In some cases, students were banished there indefinitely.

Duane Washington had followed a young coed into the women’s public restroom and sexually assaulted her. Her family was outraged and pressed charges against Duane and the school for not furnishing proper protection. Duane was banished to the alternative school. However, after a visit from Lyle Washington and two of his most trusted associates, the girl and her family dropped all charges. Then they very quietly left the school and moved far away from the Strongheart development.

Dan knew of another incident. The group was arrested and charged with playing the knockout game. They had attacked several men and women, trying to knock them out with one punch when they weren’t looking. After that, the group would beat them while they were hurt and helpless.

While there was a surveillance video of one of these attacks, Lyle Washington had hired a very competent attorney. This attorney convinced a jury the video was of poor quality and they were too anxious to convict Duane because he was black and resembled one of the assailants. The attorney stressed this point constantly. The jury did not convict Duane.

Although Duane lived with a stepfather and his mother, he idolized his real father. Duane was fascinated by the power Lyle held. While Duane and his mother lived in subsidized housing, his father had a large modern residence in the upscale part of the Strongheart development. Duane saw the women Lyle dated and admired their looks and class. He hoped someday Lyle would bring him into the union power structure.

In the meantime, Duane thought that with Lyle’s power backing him up, he could say or do anything. This attitude was bolstered by the inordinate amount of street drugs he utilized on a daily basis. The constant drug use distorted his grasp on reality.

While Duane was a big man, his father stood at six feet four inches and was solid muscle. Lyle trained as a fighter and was known for ruthless tactics; he would not hesitate to head-butt, thumb an eye, and use elbows or illegal punches. These tactics benefited him greatly in his job. It was understood that Lyle, above all else, demanded loyalty. His professional associates (union thugs) were always willing to obey Lyle’s requests, without question.

The four high school boys put down a large tip and scrambled toward the cash register. They were too scared and embarrassed to glance at Betsy as they hurried to pay and exit the restaurant.

Mary said, Don’t worry about your check today. Just go. She didn’t want any trouble. But whenever Duane and his friends came to the restaurant, there was invariably some degree of contention. Since Mary had hired Betsy, problems came increasingly often.

As the four youths scrambled for the door, Duane walked over to their table, sat down, and pocketed the tip intended for Betsy. Mary saw this but didn’t say anything, knowing she would reimburse Betsy later.

The three hoods sat down at the vacated table. Mary quickly cleaned it and looked at Duane. What can I get you, men? she asked in her most respectful tone.

From the next table, Dan inconspicuously monitored the impending trouble. Jenifer Icor and John Taylor were notably stressed, concerned, and disgusted. They tried to watch without being noticed.

Yo, Mama. This ain’t your table. Send sweet cakes over. Watcha doin? Get her! Duane ordered.

While Mary stood momentarily stunned, Duane motioned toward Betsy.

Mary was about to protest when Betsy hurried over. I got this. How can I help? What would you like for lunch? she queried.

Mary stood nearby, watching the exchange.

Yo, sweet cakes, I can hear you better if you right here. He motioned for Betsy to stand next to him.

His two friends laughed as he circled an arm around her and began massaging her upper arm and forearm.

Betsy looked uncomfortable. She was caught off guard and wasn’t quite sure what to do. She didn’t want to hurt Duane’s feelings or accidentally insult him.

Duane ordered first. He requested the homemade meatloaf special with mashed potatoes and a fried vegetable side.

Betsy started to pull away from Duane to take Mustafa’s and Mohammed’s lunch orders.

Hey. Listen up, girl! Why so jumpy? It won’t rub off. Duane insinuated that Betsy was afraid of his blackness. Betsy turned red at the comment and stood frozen as she took the rest of the order.

Duane added a large side salad with a Coke. His companions ordered the same sides with the chicken-fried steak.

The three men ate noisily, creating as large a mess as they could. They talked, using foul street language, and told stories that were demeaning to women, speaking so loudly that everyone in the restaurant could hear their conversation. They purposefully slimed up the salt and pepper shakers and then loosened the ketchup and mustard caps. They appeared to imitate the restaurant scene from The Blues Brothers movie to gross out and make fun of the more acceptable manners of the regular restaurant patrons.

They constantly called Betsy over for trite requests. Whenever she approached, Duane would accidentally touch her. He would feel her breasts, brush against her, or in an exaggerated fashion, drink in her aroma. They just wanted her constant attention.

When it looked like they were finished, Betsy felt obligated to ask, Would you like a dessert?

Duane viewed reality differently from most. He thought Betsy Lane was much more attractive than the other white high school girl he had entertained in the bathroom. When the incident was over legally and scholastically, he didn’t see any harm done. He actually felt pretty good about it.

He thought once they got down to it, Betsy would, in all likelihood, enjoy the experience. He knew he would. He decided now was the time to act.

No dessert, but I’m thinking about getting some trim, Duane mumbled.

Dan observed the interaction between Duane and Betsy in his peripheral vision. He watched them and listened to the conversation. He noted the confused look on Betsy’s face. Duane mumbled and laughed as he spoke. He could tell Betsy had no idea what he was asking her or talking about.

Dan understood Duane was asking Betsy for sex. By her blank stare, it was obvious she had never heard the word trim used in this context. In his soft, barely decipherable delivery, he asked her if she wanted to dust some covers. It sounded like durst some ceevers.

Attending high school in the town, Betsy was not prepared for individuals like Duane, Mohammed, and Mustafa. They were unlike her classmates or anyone she had experienced before the development of the Strongheart community. Dan wished she had had the life experience to extract herself from this interaction but doubted she was prepared for this life lesson.

Inconspicuously glancing at Jenifer, he noted her furious expression; he thought she understood exactly what Duane wanted from Betsy.

Duane paused for effect, looking at Betsy and expecting a reply.

Betsy listened and waited. She really wasn’t sure what he was talking about.

When is you lunch break? Duane asked her.

Betsy scrunched her face, not sure she understood.

Duane made his request clearer.

The revulsion was building as Dan witnessed the progression.

While Betsy did not understand, Duane asked her if she was ready to party, to get high. He told her he wanted to see her pubic hair, to determine if her patch matched her head’s hair color. He wondered if it felt just as soft. He became increasingly hard to understand as he laughed while he spoke. He was obviously amused with how cleverly he thought he was acting.

The restaurant displayed an uncomfortable silence as the attention of the patrons focused on Duane and his table.

He looked at Betsy and said, You listening to me? I think a little change of luck do you good. Duane paused and watched her for a reaction. Duane thought, Damn I’m working hard at this.

Jenifer glared at them in disgust, trying to contain her anger.

Dan watched closely, his face expressionless.

Listen up, boss lady! This bitch need a lunch break. Duane waited for Mary’s approval.

Now’s not a good time. Betsy looked away as she tried for