Love and Death in Paris

By Hal Graff

Welcome to volume fifteen of the exciting Love And Death Mystery and Political Espionage Series.

     After his trip to Chile, his involvement in the Anibal presidential campaign, and the loss of Larissa Noemia, Gatewood returns to hi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harold Graff II Publishing
• Release date: Dec 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781962569187

Hal Graff

Dr. Hal Graff holds a doctorate in business administration. He is a native of Gibson City, Illinois. Hal is a proud father and grandfather. To date, he has published 104 books, including 96 novels. He has published over 6 million 900,000, words.

Book preview

Prologue

Harold Gatewood sat in his favorite chair in his family room looking out the window at the squirrels as they scurried across the snow, and up and down the trees in his front yard.  He reflected on the final moments of his recent trip to Chile, when he and Susana Richards had encountered an assassin in the hotel parking lot when they were leaving for the airport.

He remembered the killer’s words.  Gatewood, your opinion does not matter to me because I am going to kill you.  In fact, I am going to kill both of you.  The attacker had raised the aim of his pistol to the level of Harold’s eyes and said, Goodbye Gatewood.

The attacker’s attention had been totally on Gatewood.  Susana had taken the opportunity to act, and had pulled her pistol from her handbag.  She had fired four shots into the man’s torso, he then had fallen to the concrete, his blood had spilled on the ground, and he had closed his eyes.  Diego Ramirez, head of the TCPLM in Caracas, Venezuela, had met his death.  He had then joined Luisa Gaicia in the big sleep.

Gatewood had told Susana, Don’t turn around.  The only hotel security cameras are behind you.  No one has seen your face, and you also have on sunglasses and a big hat, so they have no idea who you are.

She had said that she understood.

He had continued, Wave your pistol at me, directing me to move in front of you.  Walk toward me and hit me on the head with your gun.  Make it hurt so it is realistic.  He had laughed and added, But, don’t break my skull, or ruin my good looks honey.

She had laughed and said, Alright darling.

I will then fall to the ground from the force of your blow to my head.  Then, you need to walk to the far end of the parking lot, always facing away from the security cameras behind you, and leave.  Take a taxi to the airport and head for Maine.

She had agreed to do as he suggested.

I will be on the ground, waiting for the police.  I will tell them that I did not know who you were and that you were forcing me to drive you to Southern Argentina.  I will cover for you.  You will be in Maine in a few hours and be safe.

Thank you Harold.  I will call you in a couple days, after you get home.  I love you.

Susana had done as instructed.  Her pistol blow to Harold’s head had been effective, as it had drawn blood and toppled him to the ground.  He had stayed in a prone position, and had watched her enter the taxi to go to the airport. 

As he watched the taxi disappear from sight he had said, What have I done ?  How am I ever going to get rid of her now ?   

He had thought about his decision, and what had motivated him to act in such a manner.  He had not spoken to her, but he had replayed the scenario many times in his head.  His words and actions had haunted him for two months.  He had helped Susana, a known killer, escape from Chile, and had lied to the police when they had questioned him about the attack.

He had struggled with his actions but had finally but realized he had helped her as an act of gratitude for her saving his life on several occasions.  She was what she was, a professional hit woman who killed for money.  He had let her escape from Chile because she might prove useful to him if he ever again became involved in CIO operations in a far-away corner of the world. 

She would always be there to protect him from the AIO, OWFA, USFF, Yakaza, TCPLM, Solnetsevskeya Bratva Pravda Russian mafia, and the Sicilian and Venezuelan mafias.  She would also be his guardian angel who would insulate him from the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, and the parade of contract killers who would be paid handsomely to send him on his trip to heaven.  She would be an ally he could always trust.

He had also helped her escape for selfish reasons.  While he did not fully understand why he was attracted to her, he enjoyed her company.  She was a beautiful, sensual woman who was very tender and loving when she was with him, and away from her occupation.  Her devotion to him was unquestioned, and it was obvious that she truly loved him.

Perhaps it was his loneliness that forged a mutual bond between them.  Perhaps it was the result of all that had happened to him since he had first gone to the encierro in San Toro de Lidia, Spain years ago.

Whatever the reason, he did enjoy being with her, and did not want her to leave when they found themselves together in a dangerous situation thousands of miles away from his stable, relaxed, uneventful life in Gibson City, Illinois.  They were a match, one that could not be defined in conventional terms.

He had promised himself that he would try to avoid another danger-filled situation that seemed to always be calling his name, and pulling him into events that threatened his desire to live quietly, and safely, out of the limelight.  Deep down, he knew the promise was futile, as somehow, he would again become involved in events beyond his control, and Susana Richards and he would be partners, and lovers, again.

Chapter 1

Again

January 10

IN MADRID, SPAIN, INAKI GUTZAN, the national commander of the AIO called the first meeting of the new year to order and spoke.

"My loyal Basque Comrades of the AIO, I want to dispense with the reading of the reports tonight. I want to cover an item of importance in the Harold Gatewood situation, a man who has brought shame to our organization. Our failure in not eliminating our old nemesis had caused dissention in our membership ranks as they still demand blood for the loss of our loyal agents who had been killed in the pursuit of Gatewood’s head.

Twelve of our agents have died in this endeavor, and that is twelve too many. We need to close the books on Harold Gatewood and send him on his journey to hades.

The committee voiced their approval of the comments and asked about the follow-up mission to accomplish the task.

With those comments, Gutzan asked for discussion on the situation. The comments ranged from not pursuing the matter to vehement demand that Gatewood be killed as soon as possible. The committee demanded an answer to the Gatewood situation.

Gutzan replied, "Comrades, I have anticipated your question and have investigated the situation, weighing all factors, pro and con, about continuing to eliminate Gatewood. Currently, he is at home in Gibson City, Illinois, after returning from Santiago, Chile, where he was working for the CIO and using a job as the trainer of the Chilean national baseball team as a cover.

He may be exhausted and worn down physically. His health is still in question. The point of our discussion is whether we should embark on another mission in the United States to kill him, or attempt the hit overseas.. America has strong security forces and while getting to Gatewood in his small hometown would be easy, getting out of the country would be difficult and probably lead to capture or death for our operative."

The committee wanted Gutzan to expand his comments.

He will be home for several months, running his businesses in Gibson City, Illinois. We know that he is not a man who can sit still for long, as he needs to reach the goals he sets for himself. He won’t be in Illinois for long

The committee discussed the matter and wanted to know Gutzan’s personal opinion.

I am still afraid that if we do not eliminate him he will once again be a thorn in our side. If we do kill him America will bring heat down on us, but we will have pleased our members who have been demanding Gatewood’s death for a very long time.

The committee wanted to know if any agents were available who were qualified for a dangerous mission to eliminate Gatewood.

I have anticipated your question and will take it on myself to go to our training camp near Vitoria and La Merdedur De Serpant to check out our field force. I have found one agent in mind that has the need skills and killer disposition to handle the mission.

The committee wanted to know the identity of the man who they hoped would solve the Harold Gatewood problem, but Gutzan replied that he did not want to divulge the agent’s name at this time because he did not want to influence the committee’s future decision. He wanted to assess all of the possible candidates at the training center in order to choose the best agent for the job.

Gutzan was asked if the training procedures had been improved. Yes, we have incorporated a new segment of training that addresses a case study. The subject of the study is none other than Harold Gatewood.

The regional commanders on the committee wanted to know the details of the case study. The national commander replied that Gatewood has proven to be a worthy adversary, one who has evaded our attacks either by special insights and skills, sheer luck, or both.

Whatever the reasons are, he has been able to outwit and avoid elimination by our field operatives for a long time. The case study is a required part of all of the agents’ training. The program addresses Gatewood’s personality traits, values, habits, friendships, lovers, family, baseball career, tenacity, and his religious beliefs.

Gutzan continued, We also school our agents on his writings, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, our opportunities to overcome his ability to think on his feet and his adaptability in stressful situations. We also assess any outside threats that might prevent us from eliminating him.

A question arose about the value in studying his writings. The national commander responded that Gatewood has written about, and built his baseball training business on the importance of motivation of a professional player during their career.

He has a special insight why he played as hard as he did, and through hisstudy, research, and analysis techniques, he has found a key to identifying that motivational key in other professional players.

The national commander continued, Gatewood has become very wealthy by offering this motivational factor identification and training program to professional baseball around the world. It is also being adapted by many different types of businesses and is becoming a cornerstone of many organizations in the training of their salespeople.

He continued, In fact, we are using the program to not only identify how to eliminate Gatewood, but we are also using it with our own agents to help identify their motivational factors an use those to improve their field performance.

Gutzan fielded and answered a few more questions and then said, We know some of the facts about the death of our last agent, Heraldo Heritoza, who was killed by Gatewood in Chile. Let me cover those facts with you, and then I will show you what we learned from that disaster that can possibly be of value in our upcoming operation to kill Gatewood.

Gutzan continued, We know from newspaper reports and from eyewitness accounts of the incident that Gatewood was distracted as he continued to watch the end of the rodeo and then exited the arena with his lover Larissa Noemia. Ms. Noemia then asked if he had enjoyed the evening. Gatewood was evidently deep in thought and distracted and finally was about to answer when a six-foot-one-inch, muscular, blonde- haired man, our agent, rushed Gatewood from a hiding place next to the wall of the exit.

The national commander continued, Heriotza threw a slashing blow with his knife at Gatewood that cut through the front of his shirt. Gatewood then stepped back and took a taekwondo martial arts fighting pose. He then fended off agent Heritoza’s overhand, downward thrust by using a maggi block with his right forearm. Heriotza then tried a sweeping side thrust with his knife, again aimed at Gatewood’s abdomen.

Gatewood jumped back and again took the fighting position. Our agent rushed toward him and again tried a downward thrust with his knife. Harold grabbed the operative’s wrist and flipped him over, causing him to fly past the ballplayer, and land next to the wall of the arena. As the attacker struggled to get up, Gatewood drew his pistol from its holster attached to his belt and concealed under his shirt.

"Gatewood then emptied six shots into Heriotza’s midsection and watched him slump back against the wall. Gatewood calmly watched as blood oozed from our agent’s stomach and chest and formed a bright-red pool on the concrete.

There was no sighing or heavy breathing as our loyal Basque comrade, Harold Heriotza, the Harbinger of Death, had already joined his eleven other AIO assassins in Hades."

We also know from reports from on-lookers that Larissa Noemia stood in disbelief as she had never witnessed such an event. Gatewood took her hand, asked her to sit down on a nearby chair, and to wait with him for the police to arrive. She was horrified at not only the attack, but also with Gatewood’s calm demeanor. Witnesses reported that she questioned him several times if he was alright, as he had remained quiet.

He said that, people had told him that he could get used to being attacked and forced to kill to defend himself. He also admitted that even though you can, it still leaves psychological wounds from which a person can never completely recover.

Reports say that Larissa had asked if it would ever happen again, and he had said that of course it would.

Gutzan stated that, The incident, and others that our operatives have reported in past missions, teach us that Gatewood has a tendency to daydream, to become distracted by thinking about all of the events that have impacted his life over the last several years. We know he becomes lost in his thoughts when he returns to past events. We can use this fact to better time our attacks upon him.

After fielding questions, Gutzan spoke, We also know that Gatewood was granted a diplomatic concealed carry authorization as far back as his mission in South Korea, where he killed our agent Misio Hilketa, who was operating undercover as a street mime. We know Gatewood is dangerous and will use deadly force without blinking an eye. If we can distract him long enough to delay his response we can improve our chances of taking him out.

The national commander reflected about the many agents the AIO had lost in their quest to kill Gatewood, and then said, "My fellow Basque comrades, we have lost eleven fine male field agents, and one fine female agent, in our attempts to eliminate Gatewood. These twelve brave agents have gallantly served our Basque people and the AIO.

We owe them justice, and Gatewood’s head on a spike, like that of Englishman Oliver Cromwell’s, which was proudly placed above Westminster Hall in London, seems like a perfectly well-deserved action."

The regional commander from the Northern district spoke, Maybe he will just retire Sir.

Gutzan replied, "No, there is