"Whatever," I said.

I called the hospital. Of course I lied and said I was a cop. So what if they didn't hear the ex part. I was told that Michael was in surgery and would be for a while. I put the phone down and tried to think.

Okay I'm the shooter and I know somebody saw me. That somebody may, or may not, be able to identify the car. Do I really want to take a chance. I need to dump the car and buy some time. Easiest thing to do is to take it back to the rental company. Even better if it is at the airport. The cops will waste a lot of time looking at the planes and searching the airport. Meanwhile I find a place to lay low till the heat is off.

I called around to the airport rental car companies. Again I lied my ass off. I found out that a car had been returned within the last half hour. I got as much information as possible, then advise the clerk that I would be sending a couple of detectives over to take a statement.

"Louise, I found your shooter," I said it into my cheap ass cell phone. "It was hard to make out her reply. "Swing by the Econo car rental at the airport. Looks like your man was there less than a half hour ago." Since I couldn't understand her anyway I hung up without waiting for a reply.

The clerk said that the mooch had used a New Jersey drivers license with a photo that matched. So I made a second call. "John Abba here, is Rose working today?"

"John we have talked on the phone a hundred times and you still don't recognize my voice?"

"It's this crappy cell phone Rose. I need some information. Can you run a NCIC records check on a mooch for me?"

"You know I can't do that John. If I could, what name would you want me to look up?"

"Leonardo Cartelli was the name I got, I hope it is good."

Rose didn't even put me on hold. "So how's that older brother of yours?"

"Which one I have two?" I asked.

"Simon, he is the one I went to school with."

"Simon is in California. He owns a machine shop out there. I think he said that he rebuilt starters or something like that. Yes Rose, before you ask he is still married."

"Hey getting married again isn't all I think of. It's just the think I think of most." She chuckled. I had to love Rose she was as open and honest a woman as I had ever met.

"Leonardo Cartelli aka Leo the Loop, why I have no idea, has a record for some petty assaults, He seems to have come in contact with the cops up in Jersey several other times but nothing stuck. Looks as though he has links to organized crime, but there is no mention of any particular family. Most likely he's a fringe player. You know a soldier that works for anyone of the groups there."

"Thanks Rose, I owe you."

"Dinner or drinks?" she asked boldly.

"I would say this is a beer and burger favor." I laughed to show that I was joking.

I decided that the shooter just got the wrong victim. I had not intended to go about armed but plans change. I went into my bedroom to change clothes. I swapped my shorts for long pants and then removed the lightweight tee shirt.

I added a air weight .38 special snub nose wheel gun in an ankle holster to my wardrobe. I found my civilian style kevlar vest. It was more light weight than the police version. It was a little less effective, but still would repel small caliber rounds. Cop killer bullets would be slowed to the point of being at least less lethal. It was all about the odds.

Over the vest I added a heaver weight tee shirt. It had to hide the second snub nosed thirty eight in inside my belt. I found my two knives inside a dresser drawer. I never carried them unless I planned to do battle hand to hand. If I had known what kind of fight to expect I probably wouldn't have bothered with the 4" switch blade knife or the Russian Special forces spring loaded one. The Russian knife would shoot the blade ten feet and be extremely lethal.

After I redressed I took the breakdown .30 cal Korean war vintage .30 caliber carbine apart. I loaded it into a gym bag then left the apartment. I took a good look around before I went outside of the house. I locked the gym bag in the trunk of my car. Then I guided the lightweight camping trailer's tongue onto the hitch and secured it.

When the car was ready for my festival trip, I rolled the bike from inside the fiberglass storage building behind my house. I went back into the house for the battery pack. Once the bike was assembled, I climbed on board for the ride to the hospital.