10. On the Eve of Mayhem.

The stuff is about to hit the fan!

Jonathon found an empty furniture store on the outskirts of town to use as a base of operations while they were in the city. It was somewhat secluded, fairly clean and modern, close to their hotel, and still had power. The back office served their purposes perfectly. The office contained a table, desk, and several chairs.

Becka and Stefanie were sitting at the table awaiting Jonathon's next instructions. He sat down at the table with them with several papers in his hand. “Becka, I'm afraid you were right about those memory cards you found,” he said, “ All they have on them are photos. Though I have to admit, that Allen woman has some skill as a photographer. These are nice.” He tossed the memory cards on the table. “One of those two must be carrying the card we're looking for on them, or else they stashed it in some really good hiding place.”

“Now,” he continued, “you hit pay dirt with those shots you took of that suspicious looking guy in the parking lot. I put them into a facial recognition program on the 'net and came up with this.” He laid two sets of mug-shots on the table. One set was of a clean-shaven man with unruly grey hair. The other was a much younger man with very short hair and a goatee. Both of them had the same dark, brooding intense eyes. “That guy you saw is one-half of a pair known as the Branković brothers, though that's a misnomer since they are actually father and son. They're Serbian nationals. These guys are bad news! They are into drug trafficking, gun running, and the sex-slave trade among many other things. They're wanted in seven countries for such things as assault, murder and armed robbery. Unfortunately, the United States is not one of those countries, or we could give the local FBI office an anonymous tip that they're in town.”

“Geez, Becka!” replied Stefanie as she picked up the mug-shot of the younger man, “I can see why this guy creeped you out. He looks like the Devil's own!”

“But surely they're in the U.S. illegally,” said Becka, “Couldn't they be arrested for that?”

“I'm sure they are,” answered Jonathon, “But the authorities aren't going to call a man-hunt for a couple of illegal aliens. As long as they keep a low profile, they can pretty much move about as they please. We're going to have to proceed very cautiously. These two are extremely dangerous! The elder Branković, aka 'Papa' Branković, served as a sniper in the Bosnian War for the Army of Republika Srpska. He has a reputation for being an expert shot.”

He paused for a few moments before he continued. “This development creates a sense of urgency for us. It's obvious to me that they're after that memory card. They must be the ones that murdered that girl we were tracking. That means we're going to have to take drastic measures if we want to get it before they do.”

“What sort of drastic measures?” asked Stefanie.

He took a deep breath and leaned forward. “Here's the plan...”

Author's Note

Suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.

Reviews

[John Lauterbach]

Srpska needs to buy a vowel, that name is crazy.

I like the mention of the local FBI office, that told me subtly they're not official. I also like the misnomer of the Brankovik brothers, that felt particularly real to me.

I can't explain it, but I feel like this needs to be a little longer. Maybe a little more attention on where the card they're after might be? Most of the time spent in this chapter is on the Brankovik brothers with just a glaze over the McGuffin of the story.

[Craig2591]

I did some research into Army of Republika Srpska and, believe it or not, they have their own Facebook page! Everything on it was cut and pasted from Wikipedia including the fact that their leader was indicted for war crimes.

Thanks for reviewing.

[C. Rose]

I'm going to crack up if Jonathan's "drastic" measures are to knock on the door and explain everything to Chrissy and Ian.

[Craig2591]

Nope. A little more drastic than that.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Ohhhhhh boy, the ish just got REAL! Very well-researched on international politics and the procedures behind extradition too. And wooo for Papa being a genocidal maniac in the early 90s!

[Craig2591]

Thank you. Yes, I did do some research on the civil war in former Yugoslavia for this chapter. That was a helluva complicated war!

[Tina Kline]

Wow, the tension in this sure has gone up! Good writing!!