The drive home was interesting. LaRue had a 1996 Spyder, and though it could seat more than two, it couldn’t really seat two when one of them was trying to manage a goat that had never seen anything but four walls. It complicated LaRue’s driving that the terrified goat was trying to escape from a vehicle travelling eighty miles an hour. It further complicated his driving that Emily was trying to stop the goat from escaping.
He knew whatever he might say to her would make the situation worse. But he thought it was funny. LaRue started to laugh.
“WHAT is so funny?”
“We survived being killed by an invisible god only to be killed by a hysterical goat.”
“He is NOT going to kill us.” She begin to laugh as well.
LaRue pulled
LaRue was unable to concentrate on either finishing his book, or on outlining even the first episode of his new season. “The first few days after an event is always a let down, huh, D?” “Especially this time, Grandpa Lou. I have never killed more than two people at a time.” “You didn’t get a lotta sleep last night, did ya?” “Not a lot. Apparently no one at the Agency bothered to house break their goats. Also, when Cowatv wasn’t shitting, he was running around the room trying to break everything.” The rap-tap-tap of a hammer filled the house. Behind them, Emily was constructing something that she had watched her dad build. She was working on a giant box, roughly fifteen feet square with a piano hinge along o
“If you were to die tomorrow, what would you want to have accomplished?” LaRue asked Em. They were in their kitchen, she was sitting at the table, he was finishing omelettes that included pancetta, potatoes, chives, cream, maple syrup and a few spices. Cowatv ran through the house happily. “You’re a joy in the morning, aren’t you?” “I’m serious.” “Daddy used to call it his legacy. The farm I grew up on had been in the family for four generations. He said his dad had taken it, and made improvements on it. Daddy then took it and bought more land. He added two more buildings, a large one he could keep all the farm equipment in and a smaller one on the far side of the farm that he could duck into when it rained.” “I never wanted any par
As LaRue took his seat on the flight, he ran his schedule for the next two days. He should arrive in Knoxville about four hours from now. He had made an appointment to meet with Calvin McAfee tomorrow morning. However, he would kill McAfee tonight. He only had his carry on with him. As commercial travel was tricky with weapons now, he had no gun. The last time the chef had brought a gun onto a flight was two years ago. He had had longer to prepare and had successfully smuggled it on. Emily had talked with her dad and Melvin knew LaRue was coming, however he had asked Em to tell her dad that he would land at a different time. The chef had a car waiting. Beyond that, LaRue had learned about McAfee. As Emily had said, the bank manager was twenty seven and apparently this had been his only job. His education seemed to be nothing beyond high school, which meant that a powerfu
LaRue sat outside a 3 bedroom, two story stucco house. Outside that house was a newer Maserati. Inside the house was Calvin McAfee. He had gotten home at 6:27, carrying a paper bag in his left hand. The chef’s rented car, the one that Ray had now erased from the rental company’s inventory, was parked across the street from McAfee’s. One of the items LaRue had brought with him was his 3x25 opera glasses. They always allowed him to watch his victims, but were more concealable than binoculars. Due to most of his surveillance being was done at night, he replaced the glass with lens found in night vision goggles. He had watched him sit a chair by the window for sixty seven minutes. The chef watched McAfee pull up one web page then another. He could read account numbers, the different names on the accounts, and the amounts of each. Although he had a photographic memory, LaRue wrote the information down. &n
Eighteen The next morning, LaRue was at the bank when it opened. He rarely dressed in a tie, and only owned three. However, he added a pale blue one to compliment his dark green shirt and jeans. He had played this part many times, convincing someone of something he knew wasn’t true. In this case, LaRue had to convince other bank employees that, as far he knew, McAfee was still alive. As he walked in, he was greeted by a man in his mid-30’s running with an outstretched right hand. “Good morning, Chef LaRue. My name is Jeffrey Johnson. It is an honor to meet you.” The chef raised his hand. “Either Chef or Devon is fine, Mr. Johnson. I was supposed to meet a Mr. McAfee this morning.” “Yes sir, Chef. That’s why I’m here. Mr. McAfee won’t be in this morning.” He motioned La
LaRue, Emily, Ray as well as one camera operator and a limited amount of recording equipment stayed at the Rogers farm long enough to record two months of programs. The plan was to return in two months. In the interim, Ray had created a production company and the first show, with the last remnants of McAfee, would air in sixteen days. For the next thirty days, the chef would be indulging his other side. Ray had given him three names. “Ok, Chef D. I have what I believe are three individuals that deserve to die.” “Many, MANY people deserve to die, Ray.” “True, Chef. But I ask that you kill at least the first one.” They were both seated in Melvin and Jacklyn living room. It was roughly two thirty in the morning. The earliness was necessary because after fifty year
By the next morning, LaRue had a plan and was on the other side of the world. Ray had traced A to living in a cave in the Middle East. His current alias was unpronounceable, but the chef had an approximate location and a current photo. He had spent the last part of yesterday getting into character. He had become considerably darker, now sported a full beard and (?). He was currently riding a camel, and had another two hours on it until he arrived. LaRue had named his camel Bruce. ‘Why Bruce?’ he could hear Emily ask. ‘Because it looks like a Bruce.’ It had been only he and Bruce for the last ninety minutes, winding their way through the desert with nothing but sand in front of them. “So Bruce, I got to tell you, you are a good travellin
“Are you Petree?” a dark complexed man of about twenty asked LaRue before he could even get Bruce completely stopped. He could tell that the young guy’s first language was not English. Probably not even his third language. “That is one of my names.” “The boss is expecting you.” The chef wanted to laugh. Apparently A thought of himself as a Mob boss and had turned all these middle eastern brutes into cliched gangsters. “I never like to keep your boss waiting. I got here as quick as I could.” LaRue noticed A’s helicopter parked to the right of the entrance, roughly where Ray said it would be. He had spent the twelve hour flight roughly learning how to fly a chopper. Based on the age and the scrawniest o
“And so to you, my friends, I lift my glass. I am honored to be, as always, the Host of the World.” LaRue sat down and poured himself a glass of red wine. In front of him was a plate of pasta and a simple salad. “This season has allowed to reconnect with myself, but more importantly, I have reconnected with you.” “This is why the meals this year have been different. Simpler.” Twirling some pasta on his fork, “life gets complicated. Your meals shouldn’t be.” He takes a drink. “Until next time, I’ll keep a place set for you.” “Cut.” “De-Von, that was your best’n yet.” “Thanks Mr. Melvin.” He slid the plate of pasta acr
With this, Tony started to laugh. “It’s too bad we’re not on the same side, Chef. You got cojones the size of Yankee Stadium.” “Who said we’re on different sides? What side are you on?” “I am on my side Chef.” LaRue laughed. “Tony that’s like saying you use water when you take a bath.” He grabbed the recorder and threw it into the front of the car. “Ok, so you heard my proposal. Let’s assume Teddy is somewhere else.” He raises his voice and talks to Teddy. “Sorry Ted, I’m going to treat you as invisible. But I’m sure that’s no different that Box treats you.” He turns back to Tony. “Ok, fat boy. Me and you. Mono a mono.” Tony leans forward and cups LaRue’s fac
That information was going to make this hit more personal that anything LaRue done before. He was nervous. Hell he was scared. In the past, even when his events might have ended in his death, the chef had taken the brazen confidence he had learned from Tommy. With more swagger than smarts, LaRue simply did what he was told. His time with The Box would now be personal. After making one final note, the chef grabbed his two prepared injections left his office and his home. He read Em’s note taped on the door. ‘Doc, I’m with Cowatv at Statler Park. We will spend a few hours here. You know he’s always tuckered out afterwards. I’ll stop afterwards, grab a hotdog and let
LaRue sat in his office. He was having a ‘writer’s rush’ as he called it. Writing about himself was boring and usually took a long time for that reason. However, there were times he almost found it impossible to keep up with the flood of words rushing to the page. Both he and Emily were back at home. He sat in his office and had been writing nonstop for two hours. Emily and Cowatv were playing outside. Coffee steamed from the cup beside him, almost forgotten in his quest to get words on the page. Beside his cup was a syringe filled with his ten percent solution and Vitamin B12 . What does it mean to be ‘America’s Guest?’ It means that millions of people trust me enough to think of me as family. Beyond Grandpa Lou an
In the two weeks since LaRue had gotten home, he had ran over and over in his mind things he could have done differently after leaving Ford’s estate. After killing her, he hadn’t bothered cleaning anything up. After looking through her appointment book, he saw she had nothing listed for another two days. Ray had one of his old associates watching the house. He watched LaRue’s car leave, then slipped in through the unlocked door. From there, Ford’s body would disappear with nothing more than the few bits of blood left behind. “We did everything we could Chef D.” “I know that Ray. I’m just worried about Tony.” LaRue sipped his coffee. One of the few things he insisted he traveled with was his coffee grinder and French press. He had ground two this morning, which was the last of his beans.
On his ride back to Ford’s estate the next morning, the chef thought of his conversation with Ray. It was a surprise knowing that Tony was the next hit. “He was not one of the three in your original dossiers.” LaRue had told Ray. “The more I get into doing this, the longer the list becomes. So I start re-prioritizing.” The chef heard papers rustling. “You sound very busy. Should I call back?” “I’m going through a script spec. It’s a decent story by a guy I went to high school with.” Ray laughed. “My God, Harry the Hippo has a good story, but he can’t write for shit.” LaRue chuckled. “With a name like Harry the Hippo, he must have a few stories in him.”
Ford met him at the door. She was slender, dressed in black with her long brown hair pulled back. “Welcome Chef.” “Thank you for meeting me,” he answered, shaking the proffered hand. After a short walk Ford motioned to a loveseat. After sitting on a wicker chair, Ford poured herself a glass of wine. When LaRue refused her, he began. “Thank you for offering me wine, but my drink is whiskey.” “I hear your drug of choice is heroin. A ten percent solution.” “Your information is accurate. That’s part of my problem. When I was in my twenties,” he muttered under his breath, “even my thirties,” his voice became conversational again “my drug use didn’t affect me detrimentally. I was able to do every project I had on m
The next person on Ray’s list was a female. LaRue had no qualms about killing a woman. He had only killed five in the past, six if you count Amie. But this meant that he didn’t have the same comfort level he did with men. The new target’s name was Karen Ford. She currently lived in the United Kingdom. The dossier was thin. She was a hired killer, however it was the people she killed that had put her on Ray’s radar. Her specialty was children. Ford’s clients were people who lived in the shadows. She would be hired by whoever needed extra leverage during negotiations. She had worked both to and for labor unions. Likewise, she had been contracted by every major as well as most of the minor countries. As he sat on the runway before his flight, he dictating more of his new book.&n
The murder of A had affected the rotation of the helicopter blades, albeit slightly. LaRue had to grip the joystick tightly and hold it farther and farther to the right in order for the copter to fly straight. He had left his private plane at an airfield that had been abandoned decades before, and that only a few people knew of when in operation. As he landed, he saw Ray step out from the plane. It wasn’t until LaRue stepped out that he saw the look on Ray’s face. His eyes were huge, his mouth hung open. LaRue had only seen that expression in movies. “Holy Mary Mother of Christ!” Ray yelled above the roar of the blades. “What?” “Look down.” As he looked down, LaRue discovered that from the waistband of his pants