The Ghost

By Dr. Joe Dillsaver

Other than his immediate family, no one knows the identity of Beau Coldwell. For the majority of his adult life, he was simply known as "The Ghost." His occupation is a soldier of fortune and is well paid to handle special 'problems' anywhere in the world for governments, corporations, individuals or organizations needing his special talents. His substantial fees have allowed him to accumulate resources. As Beau contemplates retirement, one piece of property , Hawk Mountain, emerges as his future retirement home . The beautiful lake front property is ideal for he and his family's golden years. Unbeknownst to Beau, a Dallas development company backed financially by a West Coast Eastern European crime syndicate wants the land for development. Stonewalled in its attempts to ascertain the ownership of the land, thee syndicate viscously attacks Hawk Mountain's caretaker. "The Ghost" decides the time has come to protect his interests and deal with the usurpers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Jun 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781662912450

Book preview

Chapter 1

Somewhere in the Middle East.

The temperature soared as the mid-day heat took hold. The call to prayer reverberated from a minaret. As he had for the last several days, the old man shuffled to his place on the street leading to the mosque. His thobe was soiled and possessed a smell of sweat as did his Ghutra.

Each call to worship for these last few days found him holding his small cup out. He did not ask for anything but his purpose was clear. The man looked blankly ahead and one eye appeared as a milky blindness. After the men entered the mosque, the grandfather figure slowly followed and performed his prayers. He slipped out ahead of the worshipers, retook his place and waited. A few sounds told of coins dropped into his cup.

No one remembered the old man until a few days ago. He appeared and began his ritual. The local police might have roused him from this chore but felt sorry for him. The beggar disappeared into the Kasbah after dark.

The city where the old man begged was isolated and possessed a hundred thousand or so residents. Because of its location, it served as the center of the country around it. The city’s reputation was build on drug trafficking and providing manpower to various terrorist groups. Few non-natives ventured there.

The undisputed warlord of the area was Kadmin El Hadad. He controlled most portions of life there. A native of the city, he made a fortune raising poppies, refining resin and selling it to foreign buyers. Later, he cut out the middle men and marketed his products directly to brokers in other countries. With the rise of Islamic extremism first against the Russians and then the USA and her allies, Kadmin saw an opportunity to make additional money by supplying arms to groups possessing cash. He was not concerned with ideological conflicts as much as profits.

El Hadad never considered leaving his hometown for a larger city. He controlled all facets of where he lived and most residents were loyal to him. In some ways, almost everyone was directly or indirectly tied to him economically. Kadmin enjoyed safety because few strangers ventured here and El Hadad’s men quickly detained any to discover their business.

Kadmin enjoyed a sense of safety and rightfully so.

The warlord had enemies but his location, economic power and the population’s loyalty protected him well. His enemies made attempts on his life but always when he ventured from his home area. These actions failed because of El Hadad’s network of intelligence and the fanatical fervor of his supporters.

Kadmin El Hadad seldom left his compound except to attend prayers or visit his wives and children at separate locations.

He was a religious man.

While he didn’t go to the mosque each time he prayed, Kadmin visited a few times a day. Two bodyguards accompanied him when he did go. They parked a couple of blocks away and walked. The distance allowed him to visit with the people of his hometown. He knew many of them his whole life. El Hadad liked to give small amounts of money to friends he knew needed help. Doing these favors served to remind everyone who controlled their lives.

Kadmin noticed the old man with the cup. He dropped a few coins in every time he passed. The poor man’s milky eye caught his attention so he deposited a few more coins in the cup.

The old man disappeared for a few days and El Hadad missed him. Then as he rode to prayers Kadmin noticed he returned and moved away from the mosque and closer to his home. He made it a point to have driver stop and give him money. He noticed the old man looked worse.

One night after late prayers Kadmin spied him sitting with his back against a wall. He stopped his car and one of his henchmen asked the old man what was wrong. The beggar was hungry because he had not eaten for two days. After driving the short distance to his home, El Hadad ordered one of his bodyguards to return and pick up the old man. Kadmin retired to his suite to prepare for a visit with his wives.

The cook prepared a bowl of hot soup plus bread and butter. She excused herself and left for home.

The old man made sure the guards were in the kitchen as he slurped his soup loudly. He surveyed his surroundings during the process. For a month, grandfather studied the El Hadad enclosure. He knew everything about it securing the original plans of the structure. The security system seemed primitive but sophisticated enough for its locale. The old man even knew the type of safe Kadmin installed, its model number, idiosyncrasies and its location. If necessary he could pick the safe’s lock within ten minutes. He hoped to avoid that scenario.

Most important of all, one of Kadmin’s trusted associates informed his buyer what was in the safe. That information led the old man to slurp soup at a drug runner and arms dealer’s table.

The cost of information leading to this point was expensive. The old man didn’t pay for any of it. Those who bankrolled his actions possessed deep pockets.

He felt underneath his robes to make sure all he needed was readily available. He confirmed again the location of the two guards. Since only one accompanied El Hadad when he visited his wives, the second one soon followed the cook out the door with instructions to return the following morning.

The old man slipped from the kitchen table and glimpsed at the room next to it. The guard sat with his back to where the he stood. Stealthily, he moved behind his prey and injected the contents of a single hypodermic needle into his neck. The guard tensed, reached for his throat but said nothing. His attacker caught him and eased the guard to the floor. With a set of zip ties, he secured the man and pulled him into the pantry.

Now for the boss, the old man thought and eased his way up the stairs. Kadmin showered and finished dressing in anticipation of seeing his family.

This time no attempt at secrecy was involved. The old man stepped into the room with his Glock 9mm pointing at El Hadad.

What is the meaning of this? Are you so crazy you attempt to rob me? A hundred of my followers will scurry to kill you.

An answer came in excellent Arabic. I hope they are better at tracking me than I have been coming after you.

What do you want?

Please open the safe for me.

I will not.

Yes you will. I can open it myself but you can save me time. Why don’t you go in your closet on the left side and work the combination.

He noticed El Hadad move slightly toward a bureau.

That is not a good idea to go for that pistol or, for that matter, the one hidden in the closet. I would hate to get blood all over this magnificent carpet. Your wives, excuse me, your widows will have a difficult time removing it especially after it sets for a several hours or days. No one will discover you until at least tomorrow.

A defiant Kadmin interjected, That is what you think when my guard tears you apart.

Oh, you mean the one trussed up downstairs and thrown into the pantry?

El Hadad’s face drained of all color.

Why don’t you open that safe? By the way, be careful of the pistol you have in there. I don’t want it to go off and hurt you.

A stern bearing of defiance appeared on his face. No, I will not do it. You can kill me if you want but I will not open it.

That is not what I had in mind. I will give you one free opportunity to open the safe. I understand the pressure might be intense. If your actions require a second try and that fails, I will cut off one of your fingers. Then I will kill your oldest son. You have ten fingers so you have some chances. I am not sure how many children you have but killing them one by one makes good sport.

Kadmin face became paler.

Move, prodded the old man.

This time El Hadad edged toward the closet and exposed the safe. He shook but managed to open the safe on the first try.

There…Who are you? he started to ask but never finished the sentence as a needle buried into his neck.

Good question…I am someone you know but don’t know.

After trussing his new prey, the old man removed the drug lord down the stairs with his head hitting every step. He placed him by the door and returned to the open safe.

Three flash drives sat on top the other contents of the safe. His contractor paid the old man to deliver two of those drives. One contained all pertinent information concerning El Hadad’s drug operation and the other his terrorist arming business. The third reflected amounts and numbers of his bank accounts and investments.

The interloper’s (of course he wasn’t an old man) arrangement allowed him to keep everything except the first two thumb drives. He believed the possibility of a profitable payday existed if everything continued as planned.

He rifled through the rest of the contents and found several hundred thousand dollars in Euros and a stack of bearer bonds. The old man stuffed everything into a briefcase and put the flash drives into his pockets.

The old man tapped his ear piece and said: Leaving with the package so make sure you are ready for the cargo.

We are fueled and ready.

ETA is in about 25 minutes.

The old man pulled El Hadad to the back of his car and dumped him into the trunk. No one paid any attention as the luxury car turned out of the compound and sped away. The local authorities knew the car and it often traveled to different locations.

A gate stood open at the airport and the old man turned in. The plane drew little attention because various people and/or groups often visited Kadmin. Its main door stood open on the side away from the terminal. Two members of the flight crew helped get the ‘package’ up the stairs and buckled into his seat.

Within a few hours, Kadmin El Haddad was safely delivered to an appropriate governmental agency. The material on the flash drives was valuable in attacking the drug and illegal arms trade.

The old man was no longer an old man. He shaved, showered and removed the cloudy contact lens. He received $5,000,000 for the two flash drives and delivering his captive alive. The other money recovered was a bonus.

Chapter 2

Dallas, Texas

The sun started to disappear behind the skyline of downtown Dallas. Friday afternoons in the real estate firm of Peters, Kot, Antone and Volker usually ended at about three. The only people left in the office were the principals of the company, Leo Peters, Grace Kot, Nick Antone and Andrew Volker.

Once the other employees left, the four partners met to discuss their business without interruption. The firm did remarkably well since its inception eight years before. In that short time, it either acquired or managed many of the new developments in the Dallas metro area. Local newspapers, magazine and charitable organizations took notice of the company’s accomplishments. The foursome made an effort to be visible and part of the community. One article recently marveled at how a relatively inexperienced group of young people moved into a saturated market and made inroads into the commercial real estate field.

One investigative reporter wondered out loud how recent college graduates with no business experience could obtain financial backing for the transactions they managed. The answer came that their ‘vision’ was shared by a silent group of entrepreneurs willing to take a chance on them to gain significant rewards.

The explanation sounded logical to most people and or at least to the ones who actually cared. Local officials liked the results such as new jobs and businesses lured to Dallas than about speculation.

The group became visible in the charitable and social scene making sure their firm was recognized. The four partners were good stewards where help was needed and freely volunteered their time and resources. They enjoyed and deserved the recognition and the benefits the firm accrued.

Vashee Zdorovye!

With the toast, the four drained their glasses of vodka. The shot of vodka was obligatory at the beginning of their meetings. After that more subtle drinks appeared usually in the form of fine wines.

The four partners knew each other most of their lives. That did not mean they were close but at least their families were loosely connected. Grace Kot and Andrew Volker grew up in Dallas and except for college lived there their whole lives. Grace attended the University of Texas and majored in international business. Andrew migrated out of state to Vanderbilt University and majored in engineering.

Leo spent most of his life in the Los Angeles area and attended UCLA where he studied accounting. Nick grew up in Chicago and graduated from Southern Illinois with a major in marketing.

All four were bright, articulate but shared a dark secret.

This particular afternoon, Leo poured champagne after the initial vodka shot.

Our money people are satisfied with our profits for the last six months and have authorized substantial bonuses, Leo stated.

He handed envelopes of cash to his three compatriots. Each smiled and nodded their approval as they counted the bills.

For the next thirty minutes or so, the partners reviewed their current business ventures and projects. The affairs looked promising with the four determined to continue aggressively with future plans.

I assume our friends told you, Leo, additional money is available to back any new projects we decide, Grace questioned.

We will have discussions with the appropriate backers when projects are identified,

Leo answered.

Nick chimed in. In the past the banks set limitations on the amount of capital available to us.

Before he finished, Andrew added: To this point, all we needed was provided. With our successes, I hope any amount is within reach.

The money we borrowed from the general banking community never covered our costs. Our friends provided anything we needed to complete a project, Leo stated.

Our ‘contribution’ so to speak, back to them served to make their investments legitimate and lucrative, added Andrew.

A word of caution came from Nick. You know we are never to talk about any such thing. The appropriate documentation exists to make those loans look perfectly legal.

I understand but stated a fact. The comment is simply made within the confines of our organization.

We should never mention this ever, said Leo. Our legal counsel and banks handle the responsibility of making everything proper should any of this come under scrutiny.

Our job is to present opportunities to continue to make money and that is all, Andrew added.

Here, here, reverberated through the office.

Leo, when you talked with our friends, did you mention we are considering a significant venture encompassing more money than what we ever dreamed of before? Grace asked.

I did. A couple of days ago, I received a short message stating the amount of money was significant but such a project did seem like an expected step based on what our investments returned to this point.

Great, Grace replied.

All we have to do now is find something challenging and develop it, Andrew stated with tongue in cheek smirk.

Since we started talking about this a few months ago, I gave a lot of thought and got excited about it, Nick said.

Really? Leo asked.

Nick was the quietest of the group. Extremely intelligent, he rarely spoke simply to be heard. When he took part in a conversation, his friends listened intently. His grandfather happened to be a senior member of the mysterious group of backers not that Nick would flaunt the fact.

Don’t look surprised, he smiled as he sipped champagne. I haven’t been running around in thunderstorms waiting for lightening to strike me with an idea.

You took a vacation and that stirred your creative juices? Grace jabbed at him.

Are you kidding? My wife and kids would desert in me in mass if I ever did anything to mess up our vacations.

Okay, we bite. What have you got? Leo asked.

Some of it did happen on vacation.

You were struck by lightening? Grace kidded.

You guys remember I took the family vacation to the Ozarks. We went to a small fishing resort on the Missouri and Arkansas state line. The family had one of the best times ever. Anyway, I hired a fishing guide for a couple of days. Early one morning, he and I fished on a large lake and we anchored in a cove. I was stunned with the beauty of this particular location. So, I questioned him what he knew about the land abutting the lake. He informed me what I saw was the only undeveloped land around. From what he knew, several hundred acres were owned by a private trust. That was all the information he had. Our inlet plus two others provided uninhibited access to the lake. Above one of the coves, a large house was partially visible through the trees.

He had no idea who owned the house or land other than a trust? asked Andrew.

No. From what I could see, this piece of land looked incredible. The problem is finding the trust specifics concerning ownership.

Leo asked: Are you suggesting this land might be the major project we are looking to develop?

I don’t know yet because there are so many unknowns, Nick added.

As he answered, he pulled several large maps out and unrolled them on the room’s conference table.

I should have guessed you would come prepared to discuss your idea, Grace teased her good friend.

This is the most important map. It’s a topological map of the area. You can’t see from this map but most of the land is covered by trees. But look at the topology. The area abutting the lake is substantial. See the fingers leading from the lake into the heart of the land. These are ideal for roads leading away from the water.

Andrew added: There appears several relative flat and rolling areas. I am sure they have trees on them but with some work I believe they might make great golf courses.

Now you see why I got excited.

Looking at one map is a long ways from identifying a project, Leo said.

I agree, added Nick.

Let’s say we decide to at least explore this piece of land as the basis of our big project, what is the next step?

I think I need to get a better idea about the land itself. We don’t want to get all gung ho and find out there is a reason no one has developed the area.

How do you plan to do that?

I have some ideas, Nick said. I have some geologist friends I think can tell us more about the land.

You need to find out about the infrastructure such as existing roads. It’s no good to own a development project if you cannot get in and out of it, Andrew added.

You don’t know principals of the trust and if they are willing to sell. I will have our lawyers try and find that out, Leo stated.

"And if we decide