A Deal for Dale

70.

The recipe is two parts training, one part presence and one part instinct. Everything changes when you face a loaded weapon at point blank range. 

“What are you talking about?” I ask the assailant who stands outside the door at arm's length. I have a few options and from his body language I consider that he doesn’t really want to use the small cannon pointed at my throat. 

“That explosion at the detention center was part of an escape by an inmate who took a government agent hostage. You two fit the description and there is a hundred-thousand dollar bounty for arrest and conviction,” he says in fairly decent summation. “So let’s go inside and call the cops.”

The training part of the recipe is playing out in real time as I lock eye contact sensing what is happening to my immediate right. I do not move after his suggestion and am rewarded an instant later as Donaldson silently closes the short gap, plants his Glock on the temple of the clerk and gracefully assists with the lowering of the forty-five, adding a “drop the piece or you’re dead,” ultimatum. 

Donaldson herds the clerk inside where Maria is standing wearing nothing but a bath towel. Donaldson tosses her a bag and tells her to get dressed and sits the clerk on one of the two queen beds cuffing him with a snap tie. He places the gun on the credenza and looks me with a ‘what now?’ expression. 

I move towards the bed and ask the clerk his name.

“Dale.”

“OK, Dale, here is the situation, you are right. It is us. But there are some things that you don’t know, facts that I am going to clear up in the hopes of us making a deal, you on board, or do we just tie you up and leave you for to cock-roaches and for cleaning lady to discover in the morning?” 

“What kind of a deal?” he antes up.

“I'm going to risk telling you the truth Dale, because I think you are smart enough to get the bigger picture.” Dale nods in agreement. “I am an undercover FBI agent assigned to extract the prisoner from the detention center by her taking me as hostage,” I take a badge from my pocket at flash it past him. “All that worked extraordinarily well. The idea is to now plant her back into the terrorist cell she belonged to so we can infiltrate and eventually destroy them. BUT, that terrorist group must be one hundred percent comfortable with her and how she magically arranged to now stand before them, asking forgiveness and acceptance back into their criminal organization. That is why we had to make the escape look real.” 

I can see that Dale is slow in processing all this so I cut to the necessity of the immediate. “Dale, we have to get the girl to Sacramento for a rendezvous with the cell representatives at seven o’clock “ I say looking at my watch. “You know that means we have no time to waste.” 

Dale shakes his head silently affirming that the drive is a long one. 

“There is no reward. If our cover is blown the gig is over. Everybody loses but the terrorists. They win. So here is the deal Dale, we need to buy the time it will take us to get to Sacramento. We need five hours. We are willing to offer you three things in exchange for your silence and cooperation. Are you in any current trouble with the law?” I ask. 

Dale lowers his head, frowns and says yes, he was busted for a stick-up on a convenience store a year ago. And driving under the influence. He is about to list another line-item on his rap-sheet but I get the message and cut him off. 

“You probably don’t want to add a parole violation to the list,” I say looking at the ancient revolver on the table, “so here is what we’ll do, One - we’ll see that your legal issues are resolved, Two - A soon as we catch our breath, you will be paid for your assistance by the delivery of ten thousand dollars in cash.” 

Donaldson eyes me sounding the ‘we gotta go’ alarm as Maria walks into the room and tosses my hoodie, sweats, Orioles cap and the remains of the cut and dye operation into the center of the sheet I had prepared as catch-all garbage bag. I turn back to Dale.

“We got a deal Dale?” 

“Sure.” 

Donaldson hands me the bag containing my clothes and I head to the bathroom to change. In record time I return to the main room and drop my old clothes onto the pile and tie the ends together. 

“We need to have this room cleaned, scrubbed and sprayed Dale. Nothing left for forensics to discover, you understand?” He nods his head. 

“I hope you understand that we cannot take the chance of a double-cross,” I say, “although I trust your integrity and patriotism, we are going to have to ensure you don’t have a change of heart over the course of the next five hours, so instead of leaving you bound, gagged and unconscious, we’ll take your hog-leg, cell phone and wallet as collateral. You’ll get them back along with the cash. You cool with that Dale?” 

He again nods that he is.

I look around the room, at Maria and then to Donaldson. “We good to go?”

They both agree so I shoulder the cotton garbage sack, cut the plastic tie from Dale’s wrists and ask him for his phone and wallet. 

“You said three things.” 

“Ahhh, I did. The third thing, along with the other two incredibly generous items, is the knowledge that you have just done a tremendous service for your country. The third thing is the pride, honor and deep satisfaction of having done the right thing, Dale. It is the most important of the three. Am I right?” 

Somewhat reluctantly he takes a deep breath and nods his head. 

“You’re right, good luck.”