Meltdown

By Dwain Gordon Fuller

Meltdown is the third novel in the CIA thriller series that details Woody Stressel and Ava Volkov's continued struggle to elude KGB and crime syndicate killers whose goal is to capture the two former undercover agents and methodically remove body parts before killing them. In the first novel, The Oven, Woody and Ava met across

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dwain Fuller
• Release date: Apr 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869337900

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

HIGH-VALUE TARGETS

Woody, Ava, and Leta watched as the black Suburban with Reagor driving headed across the desert toward Barlow, leaving a small cloud of sand in its wake. They then went back into the house and sat back down at the table in the kitchen.

After a moment of silence, Woody said, Time for a high-level family discussion. We have some very important decisions to make. As long as the director sees fit to have the U.S. Marshals provide security for us, I think that we are relatively safe. But this protection can’t last forever. I’m betting that the director will want to relocate Ava and me to a foreign country and change our identities again.

Leta asked with alarm, Then what happens to me?

Ava replied, Fret not, Leta. Woody and I have the trump card since neither one of us has any official ties with the CIA. We can simply refuse and choose to stay on our own.

True, Woody added. But Ava and I are still going to be the hunted. Staying with us doesn’t sound like a great life for a young woman. And we need to figure some way to get you back into school. You are way too smart not to finish high school and go to college.

Ava shook her head slowly and said, We can’t overlook the fact that Leta is now identified with us. It likely is no secret that she was the one who shot Randy in the neck with the lipstick gun and took out Andrei in the torture basement. My guess is that she has become a high-value target just like us. I think that we have an obligation to protect her. Maybe we should ask Reagor if Leta can join her friends and stay with Becky and her husband.

Leta frowned and had a concerned look on her face. Then she suddenly smiled and blurted out, I have a great idea! You two could adopt me and give me home schooling.

Ava and Woody both laughed. Brilliant idea, Ava said. But there are some real problems. First, your mother would have to renounce parental rights, and, second, no court is going to approve adoption by a couple of former agents who are likely to be gunned down at any minute. Also, there might be some legal issues to settle regarding the truck driver rapist whom you stabbed once you come out of hiding.

Woody added, The courts don’t look kindly on unmarried people trying to adopt. And, so far, Ava has not proposed to me. We are simply good friends.

Very good friends, Leta said mischievously. You two don’t win any awards for discreet love-making in the middle of the night.

Woody laughed and said, I’ve tried gagging Miss Volkov, but to no avail.

Ava gave a little shriek and picked up half of a sweet roll and fired it across the table and struck Woody in the eye.

Ow! You’ve blinded me!

Poor baby. That soft little roll couldn’t hurt a flea. Anyway, now that you are blind in one eye, your value on the marriage market goes way down. I’m not interested in marrying a handicapped person.

Leta interjected with a smile, I thought that this was supposed to be a serious discussion about the future—including mine. Sometimes I think that I am the only real adult in this house.

Woody said, Let’s save the entertaining prenuptial discussion until a later date and deal with real issues. I, for one, think that we should all drive to Odessa and visit Smitty’s wife Ellie in the hospital and give her our profuse thanks for saving our lives. Without her and her husband, we would be among the deceased with many of our body parts MIA.

Leta said, Grateful I am, but Smitty was still a perverted slime ball. I wonder what kind of woman would marry him.

Good question, Leta, Woody responded. Let’s go get Odessa and find out.

Woody added, Smitty proclaimed that he and his wife had a meeting with the Lord before loading up their weapons. I suspect that the Almighty can forgive even slimeballs if he chooses. I need to talk with the security people and see how we can arrange a safe trip to the thriving Odessa metroplex. He hesitated, then added, And maybe Ava can get her nails and hair done while we are there.

Ava gave Woody a death stare, then turned to Leta and said, I can guarantee you that things are going to be very quiet from our end of the house in the middle of the night for a very long time. Although, you may hear Woody whimpering occasionally.

CHAPTER 2

WANDERING UTERUSES

It took over a week to obtain approval for two U.S. marshals to accompany Woody, Ava, and Leta to visit Ellie Edwards at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa. By that time, Ellie was out of the intensive care unit and had been interviewed by both the CIA and FBI. There was a U.S. marshal guard in the hall outside her hospital room since she had become a potential target for the KGB as well as the Chicago crime organization.

Ellie was propped up in bed and appeared tired and wan after needing several units of stat blood following the gunshot wound to her upper body. But her chest tube was gone, and she no longer needed an IV. Ellie looked up with surprise when the three people whose lives she had helped save slipped quietly into the room.

She gave a smile of recognition and said, You three are the first visitors I have been allowed to have since I got here. How did you manage to get past Cerberus at the door?

Ava said, We have our own detail of U.S. Marshals at the compound. They were in touch with headquarters in Virginia and finally got permission for us to see you. We came to tell you how grateful we are that you and your husband were just in the nick of time to save us all from torture and death. That was really a close call.

Ellie replied, Once Smitty told me that some Russian agents were coming to Barlow, we both knew that this might be our only chance to avenge the death of our son, who was killed by the Communists in Vietnam recently. We were prepared to die, as long as we could take some of them out with us.

Woody joined the conversation. Ellie, I cannot tell you how sorry we are that you lost your husband.

Ellie hesitated, then said, Smitty was not really my husband, but that’s a long story. If we get together again some time, I may tell you the whole saga.

Ava asked, Ellie, how much longer will you be in the hospital, and where will you go when you are out?

My main doctor said yesterday that in another week or so I should be ready to go home. A major hang-up is that the federal government does not think that I am likely to survive long on my own. They want to put me in the witness protection program and ultimately relocate me out of the country. The person I spoke with also strongly recommended that I consider plastic surgery.

Woody hesitated, then said, Without sharing information that is classified, Ava and I were also advised to have plastic surgery, change our identities, and agree to be relocated outside the country for several years. We graciously refused and opted to try to disappear into the Trans-Pecos desert. As you now know, our disappearing act was not very successful. We remain high-value targets for the Russians as well as a group of powerful criminals.

Ellie asked, What happens to you two now—as well as the young lady?

Ava responded, Woody and I are in limbo for the moment. It is almost certain that both of us, as well as Leta, will be material witnesses for the government in the trial of Randy Williams once he has recovered from the gunshot wound to his neck. The government has a vested interest in keeping all of us safe, at least for now.

Woody added, We are pretty good at protecting ourselves, and with the U.S. Marshals around, we feel very safe staying at my uncle’s compound for now. If you go back to your home in Barlow when you leave the hospital, it seems certain that you, too, will be provided government protection.

Ellie nodded and said, I was not keen on coming with Smitty to Barlow, but the solitude of the desert has been a great incentive to finish the new novel that I am writing.

Leta said, Not to butt into the conversation, Mrs. Edwards, but I’m Leta Mitchell, and I have been living with Ava and Woody for several weeks. Forgive my curiosity, but what is your writing genre?

Ellie replied, "I write historical romance fiction and actually have quite a following. After my six years in the Army, I went back to college and got a BS in nursing with a minor in history. After graduation I took a job as an OB nurse at a charity hospital for several years. I saw so many tragic love stories play out on the OB wards that I started writing about them. After I had several stories published in True Romance, a publisher contacted me about producing romance novels for him. And, as is often said, the rest is history. If we ever get together again when I am out of the hospital, I’ll give you one of my paperbacks."

A nurse came into the room and announced somewhat gruffly, The visit’s over. Mrs. Edwards’ doctor wants her to have as much rest as possible. Time for you folks to hit the road.

Ava said, Looks like we are being thrown out. Ellie, please know how grateful we all are for you and your partner’s heroism. Saving the KGB leader Pavel for the government instead of blowing him away has already paid huge dividends for this country.

Woody added, And we will definitely stay in touch with you. Perhaps you can visit us at the compound for dinner once you are back on your feet.

The nurse glared at Woody and said, Time’s up. She opened the door and motioned impatiently for the group to leave.

The two marshals who had driven Ava, Woody, and Leta to the hospital escorted them to the government Suburban parked in front of the hospital, keeping a wary eye out for any possible danger. The vehicle picked up speed and was rapidly leaving Odessa behind and heading for Barlow. All of the windows were darkly tinted, making the telephone poles flying by just blurred sepia images.

The monotonous road hum was broken when Woody said, That nurse was really a witch. She obviously could benefit from a handful of Midol pills.

Leta and Ava exchanged glances of annoyance. Ava said caustically, Mr. Stressel, this may come as a complete shock to you, but not all female personality problems derive from the uterus.

Leta chimed in to say, Besides, that woman was at least 70 years old.

Woody shook his head and said, Forgive me for bringing scientific information to the unenlightened masses, but no less a medical authority than Hippocrates himself believed that most female emotional problems are caused by a wandering uterus in a woman’s body.

Ava scowled and retorted, That bullshit theory was disproved at least a thousand years ago. The corollary to the wandering uterus myth is the indisputable fact that the male wandering penis has been the cause of ninety percent of all the world’s problems since Adam and Eve.

Touché! exclaimed Leta with a fist pump.

Woody shook his head and said, "Piling on a poor football player with one too many concussions is hardly fair. But back to more important matters. I think I have a brilliant idea regarding safety for Ellie Edwards as well as for ourselves. However, you women have been so derisive that there is zero chance that I will share my epiphany with scoffers like you anytime soon. But, just for the record—

I know for a fact that women’s uteruses do wander."

CHAPTER 3

MYSTERY MAP

The morning after the visit to see Ellie in Odessa, Ava, Woody, and Leta were all sitting at the breakfast table drenched with sweat after an intensive morning workout. Woody looked at Leta and said, There’s no way you would have beaten Ava or me to the finish line on the final lap if you hadn’t shorted the last corner.

Leta smiled and replied, Youth triumphs over age every time, kind sir. I am in much better shape than you realize. While Wilbur was still alive, I used to run wind sprints inside the compound every morning. My resting pulse is always in the low fifties.

Woody retorted, Well, if I may quote a famous individual, ‘Bodily exercise profits a man little.’

Leta smiled again and responded, My grandmother used to read the Bible to me. That famous man was Saint Paul speaking to Timothy. The thing you missed, Woody, is that this verse obviously applies only to men. If it were meant to apply to women, the verse would have read ‘Bodily exercise profits a person little.’

Ava laughed and said, Zap! I think she’s got you, Woody. However, when I was in intensive weapons training, one of my instructors said, ‘Ava, it makes no difference how good of shape you are in, you can’t outrun a bullet.’

Woody was still not willing to drop the thought that Leta cheated to win the race.

Tell you what, Leta. We’ll all run again tomorrow morning—and this time I will actually try my hardest instead of coasting on the last lap.

Leta laughed and replied, Woody, surely as a child you read Aesop’s fable. I think that you are just like the fox.

Woody had a puzzled look on his face. Ava shook her head and said, Leta, please remember that Woody obviously had an impoverished childhood. While you and I were enriching our minds with good literature, he was dribbling basketballs, heaving footballs, and passing gas to amuse his friends. Woody, the reference is obviously about the fox who couldn’t leap high enough to reach a bunch of sweet grapes, so he decided that they must be sour and pranced off.

Woody gave an indulgent smile and said, Women always underestimate my brilliance. As I recall, Aesop was an extremely ugly Greek slave who was thrown off of a cliff at Delphi for robbing from the sacred temple. But—enough of this literary claptrap. We have much bigger fish to fry. How about a little clean-up time, then a yummy breakfast before I share some new survival ideas with you?

* * * * *

Mary, Leta, and Woody were sitting at the kitchen table after breakfast finishing their coffee. Woody had the elaborate map of the compound with many annotations by Wilbur spread out before him. It sure looks like there are some underground areas that we have not discovered. There’s one long, reticular space that is labeled ‘GR.’ Leta, any idea what that means?

Leta shook her head. She stood up, walked close to Woody, and peered at the map. There’s a tiny little figure in one corner of the area, but it is too small to make out. I’m going to run to my bedroom and get the magnifier out of my nightstand. Wilbur used to use it when he couldn’t find his reading glasses.

When Leta returned, she got close to the map and used the magnifier. Got it! That’s a tiny drawing of an AK-47 bullet, which almost certainly means that GR stands for gun range. And that reminds me: Once when Wilbur was teaching me to shoot an AK-47 out in the desert, he said something puzzling about letting me shoot at figures of people in a special place when I got better with the rifle.

Ava said, All of this has to mean that there is a gun range somewhere inside the compound.

Woody peered at the map intently and said, It’s interesting that spaces on the map are not always drawn to scale or accurately located. I think that was part of Wilbur’s paranoia. If the location of the gun range is anywhere close to accurate, it is somewhere beneath the master bedroom where Leta sleeps.

Ava said, Before we run off willy-nilly trying to find this mythical gun range, I want to hear our fearless leader’s new survival ideas.

Woody responded in the arresting voice of a carnival barker, Attention, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…. He paused for dramatic effect and then continued in his normal voice. Here is my utterly brilliant plan. Ellie, just like us, is going to need a security detail for the foreseeable future unless she agrees immediately to enter the witness protection program and become a shiny new person. My idea is to have her come stay with us. We have an unused bedroom. That would simplify things for the U.S. Marshals, as they would have to guard only one location. And, the lady is a crack shot. If everything turns to poop, it would be nice to have her manning a rifle and obliterating bad guys.

Leta asked, What makes you think that she would want to come live with us?

Apart from my magnetic personality, you mean? Woody asked.

Ava shook her head and said, I think you want Ellie here since you hope that she will help with the cooking and housework.

Not so. Ellie was trained as a sniper in the Army. She could teach us all how to shoot better at long range. And, she would have plenty of time to work on her latest historical romance novel, which I suspect is full of forbidden sex.

Ava shook her head and looked at Leta. The man is utterly hopeless. He lives in a fantasy world awash in testosterone. I think that he needs an intervention of some sort.

Leta said, My vote may not count, but I like Woody’s idea. Besides, I’m dying to learn the story of why she and Smitty were not married, yet share a son.

Woody nodded and said, One more compelling idea why we should add Ellie to our happy little family of misfits. I will talk with one of the marshals and see if he will run this brilliant idea through headquarters. In the meantime, I suggest that we troop down to Leta’s bedroom and look for a hidden entrance to the gun range.

CHAPTER 4

AN OLD SCHOOL FRIEND

After thirty minutes of intense searching in Leta’s bedroom, nothing was found to indicate a hidden entrance to an underground gun range. Ava, Leta, and Woody had moved all the furniture and scrutinized the floor carefully for any possible loose boards. Woody had used the head of a screwdriver to tap across the floor, hoping to hear a hollow sound that might suggest a passageway.

Ava said, Uncle Wilbur is probably chuckling in his grave in the back lot knowing that he has sent us on a wild goose chase.

Woody suddenly smiled and said, This is a great opportunity to see if you two literati are as knowledgeable as you pretend to be. For two million dollars and an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii, please tell me precisely where the phrase ‘wild goose chase’ first appeared in English literature. You have thirty seconds, and the clock is ticking.

Ava shook her head and admitted, No clue.

Leta wrinkled her brow as if in deep thought. Woody announced, Looks like no money or exotic vacation trip for either of you pretend scholars. There’s only five seconds left.

Got it! Leta exclaimed. "Stop the clock. My grandmother and I read a number of Shakespeare’s plays together. I think that ‘wild goose chase’ comes from Romeo and Juliet. But I cannot cite the exact situation or which character said it."

Pretty impressive, Woody said, but, unfortunately, not precise enough for the grand prize. But I will award you as a consolation two free nights in the presidential suite at Motel Six in Muleshoe, Texas, as well as all of the cheeseburgers you can eat at the nearby Dairy Queen.

Ava said, "Leta, you continue to amaze me with your memory and overall brilliance. Let’s see if our wannabe Shakespeare scholar can give us the exact reference from Romeo and Juliet. Frankly, I’m shocked that a jock like Woody has even heard of Shakespeare."

Woody shook his head and responded, "Not a very informed remark, my dear Ava. Unbeknownst to you, I minored in English in college and, contrary to popular rumor, did not spend all my spare time playing sports and entertaining the sorority girls with public flatulence. The exact reference is Act 2, Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet where Romeo’s running buddy Mercutio says, ‘Nay, if our wits run the wild goose chase, I am done.’"

Leta said, That’s pretty darn impressive, Woody.

Ava gave a bored look and said, Leta, don’t get carried away. Even a blind hog occasionally finds an acorn. As a famous person once said, ‘Enough of this literary claptrap.’ We need to concentrate on determining whether a gun range really exists or not. I think that we have ransacked Leta’s bedroom enough to be certain that the answer is not here.

Leta was silent for a moment, then asked, Does anybody but me think that it was strange for Wilbur to carefully pen a small AK-47 shell into the gun range space on the map? Somehow that has to be a clue that we are missing. Let’s head to the kitchen and look at the map some more.

The group walked back to the kitchen and sat at the table while Leta scrutinized the map very carefully. She picked up the magnifier and hovered over the space marked GR. Hmm. It’s strange that the entire map is done in black ink, including labels, but this gun shell is an outlier and is drawn in a funny chartreuse ink color.

Woody said, Leta, you told us that Wilbur said that this compound has many mysteries, and that some are easy to solve and some are hard. This gun range must be one of the tough ones.

Leta kept peering at the map. One peculiarity is that all the lines on the map are thin and delicately drawn. But this small colored AK-47 shell is just slightly smudgy. It makes me wonder if it was drawn over something beneath it. She took a fingernail and carefully scraped over the shell. The ink flaked away.

Well, the colored ink comes off with a little friction, but there is nothing beneath it.

Ava puzzled for a moment, then said slowly, I wonder if…. She took her warm coffee cup and sat it over the GR space on the map. This is probably crazy, but Woody and I have both used special ink that is invisible until the paper it was written on is heated. Long shot for sure, but…. Ava waited a full minute, then removed the cup and peered at the map. There’s something there, but it is very faint. I’m going to place the cup on the map again and see if more heat will make whatever is there legible.

After two more minutes, Ava slid the cup away. Bingo! There’s definitely something starting to show up. Leta, use the magnifier and see if you can tell what the heat brought out.

Leta held the magnifier over the map and peered intently at the paper. It’s definitely a faint black yellow ‘e.’

So where does that get us? Woody asked with a bit of annoyance. Uncle Wilbur’s endless puzzles are becoming a royal pain in the ass.

As the group sat pondering, there was a knock on the front door. Woody stood up and said, That’s bound to be one of our U.S. Marshal guards. I’ll see what he wants. We really do need to get the gate repaired so people can’t wander into the compound, even if it is one of the U.S. Marshals.

Woody was gone for several minutes, then returned and sat back down. "That was an interesting bit of information. The director of the U.S.