Love and Death in Chicago

By Hal Graff

Love And Death in Chicago 

A Love and Death Mystery 

& Political Espionage Novel 

Volume 19 

 

     Welcome to the nin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harold Graff II Publishing
• Release date: Dec 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781962730594

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’S CIO MISSION IN CARACAS was never far from his thoughts. The brutal events of its end visited his mind repeatedly.

Laia Paz had yelled, Harold, help! Help me!

Gatewood had turned and seen Laia struggling with Venezuelan President Alvaro Roma by the railing of Grizzly bear exhibit in the zoo. Gatewood had fired his pistol but Roma had moved as he wrestled Laia into a choke hold, his left arm around her neck, and his right hand holding his pistol, which was now pointed at Gatewood. Harold’s shot flew by Roma’s head.

Ramos had returned fire, and the round had hit the building next to Gatewood’s left shoulder. Roma had then yelled, Give it up Gatewood, or I will kill her.

Harold had lowered his weapon and walked toward Roma and Laia, his right arm and hand, still holding his weapon, next to his body. Harold had been ready to raise his arm and take another shot if Ramos lost his concentration. Harold had decided he would keep the president talking in hopes of him becoming lax in his actions, allowing him to fire a dangerous, quick shot.

Harold had then continued to walk toward Ramos and Laia, and had spoken, Please let her go Alvaro. She is not involved in this situation.

Oh yes she is Gatewood. She is your lover, and has been helping you hide from us. The security guard has been keeping me posted on your movements.

That may be, but she has not been involved in any activity against your regime.

I beg to disagree Gatewood. She has been disloyal to the country, and she must face justice, Venezuelan style.

Sir, you have more problems that Laia. Your government is on the brink of collapse. Let her go. I will leave the country, and no longer be a negative presence.

Oh no, you won’t Gatewood. You will be arrested and held for trial as a subversive agent of the United States who has tried to lead a rebellion against the country.

As the two men had talked, an interested party had walked near the fallen tree the laid against the railing of the exhibit, and was carefully working its way up the tree toward Roma and Laia.

You are going to put me in prison, and then on trial as a spy?

Yes. We will parade you in front of the cameras. You will be the poster boy for outside influence by the Unite States. We will blame America for all of our troubles and our allies will come to our rescue, saving both the country and my presidency.

No one will believe that story.

Yes they will. You are a great gift to me. I will use your own actions to convict you. We have tape of you working with the opposition during their protest marches, and of you meeting with Rosenda Maura. Your conviction is a certainty.

Gatewood had kept Ramos talking, watching his rescuer creep up the tree towards Ramos as they argued.

Roma had laughed and said, How does it feel to look at me holding your lover captive Gatewood?

Harold had not answered immediately. He had smiled, and looked at Roma, who had waited for an answer.

A loud crunch was then heard, as the grizzly bear had climbed up the fallen tree that was lying against the railing. The massive, brown-haired creature had used the tree as a bridge to get to Ramos. Starving, the grizzly’s motivation had not been to free Laia, but it had been to make Ramos his early-morning breakfast.

The loud crunch was the sound of the grizzly’s powerful jaws clamping down on Roma’s right shoulder. The gun had dropped from Roma’s hand, fallen to the ground, and the president had screamed loudly, obviously in pain. The grizzly had then proceeded to violently shake Ramos, and then had dropped him to the ground.

Laia had then run to Gatewood, and the grizzly had walked over the railing and stood next to Ramos, whose blood was now pouring out onto the ground. The creature had watched the couple run toward the back exit and disappear, then had returned to its breakfast. As Harold and Laia had exited the zoo they had heard a final, horrifying scream, as their rescuer, the grizzly, had concentrated on its Ramos burger.

The couple had then made their way to the garage, met up with CIO agent Jack Taylor, and the three of them had headed to the medical clinic near the mountains.

The three fugitives from Caracas, Harold Gatewood, Laia Paz, and Jack Taylor, had arrived mid-morning at their destination near the mountains and the Columbia border. The drive to the medical clinic had taken place in the early-morning hours, which had allowed them easy exit from the city. They had not been stopped and had made good time, reaching the extraction point right on time.

They had feared that the security guard at the zoo had immediately contacted the military about Roma’s death, and the couple’s flight from the zoo. They had felt assured that their drive to the clinic had been accomplished without notice.

They had waited by the car next to the clinic until the helicopter that would take them to Bogota, Columbia arrived. They had run to the chopper, and piled in, with Taylor entering first, followed by Gatewood, then Laia, who had slipped while trying to enter.

As she had held on to Gatewood’s hand, four Venezuelan military vehicles pulled up, with soldiers inside them firing their machine guns at the chopper. The pilot had lifted off, as bullets had filled the air, and Laia had struggled to hold on to Harold’s hand and enter the chopper.

As the helicopter had gained altitude, Laia had continued to struggle in her attempt to enter the opening. Gatewood had held on to her hand and had yelled for her not to look down and to pull herself upward so he could pull her to safety.

Soon, they had reached seventy-five feet in the air. A bullet had then torn into Laia’s back. Her facial expression had then changed to one of wonderment, her eyes had then rolled over in her head, showing the whites of her eye sockets, and her hand had then slipped out of Gatewood’s grasp.

Harold had watched her fall to the ground, making a loud thud as she landed. She had been dead before she hit the ground. The pilot had then banked the aircraft to the right, the chopper climbed in altitude, and had then sped towards the safety of Bogota and the Columbian army.

Gatewood had sat in shock, did not speak, and when they landed, he had walked silently to the briefing room where the mission was then discussed with American CIO personnel who had flown to Bogota weeks before.

The next morning, Gatewood and Taylor had boarded a plane to Washington, D.C. After a day’s meeting with Rick Owens and Terry Robbins of the CIO, Taylor had driven to his home in Alexandria, Virginia, and Harold had flown home to Illinois.

Gatewood’s mind returned to the present, and as the short flight from Chicago to the Central Illinois Airport in Bloomington, Illinois landed smoothly and Harold, now relaxed but still shaken from seeing Laia’s fall from the helicopter, walked to into the terminal area. His dad and mom waved at him, and once he reached them they hugged him and told him how glad they were that he was again home.

He was tired, but ready to return to a simple life in Gibson City, Illinois. He had previously vowed that he would not work for the CIO again, but he had soon broken that vow to go Caracas, Venezuela to help the CIO prepare for the coming collapse of the corrupt, naco-dictatorship of President Alvaro Roma, and to protect American interests in South America.

Gatewood’s covert mission had included secret negotiations with, and assistance for, the People’s Rights and Honor Party, the PRHP, and their leader Rosenda Maura, the Dove of Freedom, and efforts to free Vidal Gaizka, the man the Venezuelan people wanted released from prison to assume the presidency.

His first stop on his mission had been Madrid, Spain to work with King Carlos Alfonso IV about the collapse of Venezuela. The king had also asked him to settle an old score with Juan Emilio, a Spaniard who had deserted the country to work in Venezuela. Gatewood had been asked to kill Emilio, but told his friend Carlos that he could not do that, by law. He had also said that sometimes accidents do happen. The king had smiled with glee at the news, because he had known exactly what Gatewood had meant when he made the statement.

Harold had then had then left Spain for a visit to Havana, Cuba to work with his old friend, President Alberto Bertalina, for a solution to the Venezuelan situation. His work there had brought a return of haunting memories that remain in his head. Mercifully, he had gone on to Venezuela.

In Caracas, Gatewood had met the beautiful Laia Paz, who had fallen in love with him, and had helped him with his under-the-covers adventures. He had also dodged assassination attempts by AIO agent Dionisio Brasis and former Venezuelan cabinet member Juan Emilio, and had been impacted by total war between the Columbian and Venezuelan drug cartels.

Events in Gatewood’s mission had raced across Washington, D.C., Spain, Scotland, Cuba, Columbia, Trinidad, and Venezuela. There had been both love, and death.

Even though Harold was tired, he had soon progressed into a talkative mood after landing. He immediately had become relaxed, as he had missed his parents, and their pleasant conversations. Their banter on the drive back to Gibson City had covered how Harold felt, the yields on the farm, the interesting news about their friends, and about what they wanted Harold to do, retire from government service.

Harold had promised to give the request some thought. As they had driven along route nine, he had considered the prudence of their request. He was rich, healthy, happy, had many interests, and wanted to live a long, rewarding, quiet life away from the dangerous events that were common place in the spy business. He realized, Maybe it was time to quit.

He had suffered more personal losses than any man had deserved. Maybe his parents were right, perhaps it was time to hang it up.

When they had reached his parents’ home his mom had fixed him a home-cooked meal. He had complimented her and said, This sure beats the MRE’s I have been eating in Caracas mom. He had then stayed the night, shot pool with his dad in the morning, then had gone home in the afternoon.

He had worked on his mail, and then called Jia Al in Beijing, explaining why he had not called, and made plans for the couple to be together soon. He then relaxed, and went to sleep for the night.

The next morning he had worked out, walked, watched his friends the squirrels and birds, and then called Yua Hayato in Tokyo. He had told her about his mission in Caracas, and then made plans for them to see each other. He had said he would accompany her to the islands to see the pearl divers in action, and that he would conduct non-stop searches for her tattoo when they were together again.

He had then relaxed for two more days, setting a goal of doing nothing, and accomplishing the feat in grand fashion.

The next day he had showered, relaxed, and was sitting in the living room when his doorbell sounded. He had walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and smiled. He had then opened the door, taken the beautiful visitor’s left hand in his right, kissed her passionately, and said, This is the nicest surprise I could have ever asked for.

The beautiful woman had then put her left arm around her beau’s neck, keeping her right hand, and the object it held, behind her. She had then responded, Harold, if you ever are with another woman again, I will kill you.

He had answered, No you won’t Susana Richards, because we love each other.

He then had led her to the bedroom, holding her left hand as they walked and talked. As Susana had passed the kitchen table she had laid an object that she had still held in her right hand behind her back, on the table. She had then stopped, put both arms around his waist, and had kissed him passionately. They had then continued on the bedroom where they had remained locked in each other’s arms for five days.

Before going to sleep on the last night of her visit, Harold had asked her, "You wouldn’t kill me would you Susana?’

She had kissed him passionately and then had said, Not if you are a good boy Harold.

He had replied, We love each other Susana, but you can’t continue to kill every woman I meet on a CIO mission. You have to promise me that you will stop, especially if you expect me to be a good boy.

She had looked at him, softly stroked his hair with the slender fingers of her left hand, and said, If it means that you and I will always be together, then I promise I will stop Harold.

She had then kissed him passionately, and had told him that she loved him, after which they had made enthusiastic love repeatedly until they were both exhausted, and had then fallen asleep for several hours.

Gatewood had then awoken, sweaty and clammy-skinned, having dreamed about Laia Paz’s fall to her death from the helicopter. The scene had played over and over in his mind, and had finally caused him to awaken by the sudden jerk of his body.

Nude, Harold had then walked to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of cold water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. He had then sipped the clear liquid slowly in order to prevent a head rush from the cold water occurring.

He had then held the cold, clear, plastic glass against his forehead, breathed deeply, and had said, I know that I could not have saved Laia from falling to her death, but the scene will not disappear from my mind. I always see her facial expression change, and see her flailing her arms and legs as she falls to the ground.

Susana Richards then slid two soft, feminine arms around Gatewood’s waist, kissed his left shoulder, and said, It will be alright Harold. I will make those memories disappear. She then led him back to the bedroom where they started another long, passionate, lovemaking session. Soon, he had forgotten about Laia’s death, and another CIO mission was the furthest thing from his mind.

Gatewood’s thoughts about the Columbia drug cartels, the Durante Sicilian crime family, the TCPLM, the AIO, the USFF, the Solntsevskeya Bratva Pravda Russian mob, the OWFA, the Philippine CFFA, the CIO, and the man he hated more than any other, Salvador Masas, the El Avispon Picante, the Stinging Hornet, as he had wished, had disappeared from his mind.

It would soon prove to be flawed wishful thinking, as events were brewing that would signal his return to another CIO mission.

Chapter 1

Job Offers

November 23

IN THE MORNING HAROLD AND SUSANA made love, showered together, ate breakfast, and headed to the Central Illinois Airport for her commuter flight