{"id":2182,"date":"2021-01-02T22:19:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-03T05:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2182"},"modified":"2021-01-02T22:19:53","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T05:19:53","slug":"redaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2021\/01\/02\/redaction\/","title":{"rendered":"Redaction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write about someone whose job is to help people leave their old lives behind….<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter Carson nursed his whiskey. Droplets of condensation traced crooked paths to the mat below where they soaked into a ring that circumscribed the bottom of the glass. After each sip he was careful to place the glass back in the exact position it had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tap on his shoulder brought his attention back to his surroundings. \u201cHey Carter, what\u2019s up?\u201d She stood behind him, holding a bottle of beer. \u201cYou look like you could use some company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaya, surprised to see you out on a weeknight,\u201d he said. \u201cSit down. Even if I said no, you\u2019d sit next to me anyway, and bug me until I give in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelina Maya Ortiz took the stool next to his. \u201cWhat\u2019s that big brain of yours working on?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust wondering if I\u2019ll ever be able to sleep after… you know.\u201d He took another sip and carefully set the glass back in its prescribed place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the job, huh?\u201d She motioned to the bartender for a second round. \u201cThe Dammish murders aren\u2019t your fault. Whoever cleared protection for that psycho, though….\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about it, though. How many innocent people do we actually protect? One, two a year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that got to do with anything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI work my ass off to give a new identity to criminals,\u201d he said, \u201cat the expense of the state. How fucked up is that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, yeah, state\u2019s witnesses that wouldn\u2019t survive to testify otherwise.\u201d She took a long gulp of her beer. \u201cAt least, that\u2019s what I try to tell myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd how many of those are just turning state\u2019s to get out of the mob?\u201d he asked. \u201cThere are two ways out of the mob, one is WITSEC and the other involves a grave. How many of these guys we\u2019ve protected have gone on to avoid crime in their new lives? Less than half, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maya nodded and took another drink from her bottle. Her cheerful demeanor was replaced with a gloom nearly as dark as his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDammish was just a symptom of the larger problem. We\u2019re protecting the wrong people.\u201d Carter barked a short laugh. \u201cWho could\u2019ve guessed that a hitman… hit-woman? hit-person?… for the Ginelli family would enjoy her work so much she\u2019d set up a private practice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019d think the decision makers in Justice would\u2019ve taken that into consideration,\u201d she said. \u201cBut hey, thanks to her testimony we got the entire Ginelli family. Don Carlo got twenty concurrent life sentences with no possibility for parole. Twenty-nine hits he called.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, and the person who pulled the trigger on twelve of those walked away with a new life and twenty-two mil in cash she had stashed.\u201d He downed the last of his first drink and pulled the second closer. \u201cShe pulled what? Seven, eight hits as a private contractor using her new identity? And the Russians took over the power vacuum left by Ginelli. Didn\u2019t really change anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy do I get the idea you\u2019re planning to do something stupid?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know me, Maya,\u201d he said, tracing the drops of condensation with his finger. \u201cI don\u2019t do stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, you\u2019re planning something,\u201d she said, \u201cand I think I want in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, it\u2019s just a vague idea, but you should be careful what you wish for,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow I really want in.\u201d She finished her beer and set the bottle down on the bar. \u201cLet\u2019s go somewhere we can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter shook his head. \u201cNot tonight. I\u2019ll call when I have something concrete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between the regular hours of his work and the time he spent working out his plan, Carter worked two sixty-hour weeks back-to-back. He signed up for a three-day weekend job and called Maya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOrtiz,\u201d she answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaya, it\u2019s Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgent Carson,\u201d she said, \u201cwhat\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you still want to join in, I need you to do something for me. Clean everything in and on your desk that might have DNA on it with bleach wipes. Take anything like mugs or photos with you. Leave no fingerprints behind. Pack for the weekend, jeans and boots, plus a comfortable pair of sneakers, and meet me at my place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFlu you say?\u201d she asked. \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll clean up my desk before I go. I don\u2019t wanna catch anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo DNA or prints.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSure. Case number?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI take it you can\u2019t talk right now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m in the office catching up on some paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnderstood,\u201d he said, \u201ccase 35AJ-7710 will get you out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c35AJ-7710,\u201d she said. \u201cGot it. Right now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee you in an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she arrived at Carter\u2019s place, he was putting fishing gear in the back of his station wagon. \u201cWe\u2019re going fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s in the duffel?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTools,\u201d he said, \u201cand some other stuff, just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They drove most of the day to reach a cabin in the mountains. The cabin overlooked a wooded lake and forest as far as the eye could see. \u201cThere\u2019s a dock on the lake,\u201d Carter said, \u201cand you can see the Picket cabin\u2019s dock on the other side from there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPicket?\u201d Maya asked, as she dropped her luggage in the main room of the cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThomas Picket, formerly known as Tony Vittuchio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait, Tony \u2018The Butcher\u2019 is in WITSEC?\u201d she asked. \u201cWhy are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOfficially, we\u2019re monitoring. There\u2019s a rumor that he might be getting a visitor dropping off some valuables.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike eleven and a half mil in laundered cash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maya whistled. \u201cBut how can we know from here? We can\u2019t see the cabin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe only way to that cabin is across the lake. There\u2019s no land access there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo where is the boat coming from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFloat plane.\u201d Carter opened the duffle and began assembling a parabolic mic and a camera with a massive telephoto lens. \u201cThat\u2019s how he comes and goes.\u201d Next, he removed four large backpacks, all rolled up, a small pistol, two hazmat suits, and two large pairs of mud boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd unofficially?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat depends,\u201d he said, \u201con how serious you were.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOoh, tell me your plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He handed her a fishing a rod and grabbed the other and the tackle box. \u201cLet\u2019s go fishing. We can talk there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBringing the camera and mic?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the morning. Nothing\u2019s flying in this late in the afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After showing Maya the basics of how to attach a lure, cast, and retrieve they enjoyed some quiet time fishing as the sun hid behind the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere\u2019s what you need to know to make up your mind. If you\u2019re in, we go tomorrow. New identities, full redaction. We\u2019ll be sitting on roughly ten million in clean cash, and I have plans for how to get more.\u201d He watched her face for any sign of reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pursed her lips. \u201cWho would we be getting the \u2018more\u2019 from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe worst of the worst. Low-life scum who used WITSEC as a retirement option.\u201d He cast his line and began reeling in again. \u201cThe ones who escaped justice. Like Tony \u2018The Butcher.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maya reeled in her line and set her pole down next to her. \u201cThis may sound stupid, but a lot of it depends on our identities\u2026 and did you say full redaction? DNA, prints and all?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFull redaction. Two bodies will be found at the bottom of the lake. Their DNA and prints will show up as Carter Michael Carson and Angelina Maya Ortiz. We\u2019ll be leaving a fair amount of blood in the cabin and a crime scene that\u2019ll make forensics giddy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are you getting the bodies?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJohn and Jane Does from a morgue. They\u2019ve been on ice for months, frozen just hours after death. Both have multiple small caliber gunshot wounds, the bullets were removed with a small knife post-mortem, and their faces have been beaten to pulp.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd how are they getting to the bottom of the lake?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where the other mil and a half go,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s better if you don\u2019t know anything more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFair enough. That tells me about how deep, but what about the identities?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou worried that I\u2019d give a name you hate as much as Angelina?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, yeah. And what are we to each other?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWould you prefer brother and sister, or married couple in an open relationship?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a choice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, which would you prefer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrother and sister traveling and living together draws too much attention, too weird.\u201d She sighed. \u201cBesides, no-one would believe a gringo like you is related to me. I guess the second one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood, because that\u2019s what I cooked up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was no choice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was, before I started two weeks ago,\u201d he shrugged, \u201cbut I know you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFine, I\u2019m in. You better not get jealous when I have more girlfriends than you. That said, who am I, dear husband?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaria Luisa Rogers, maiden name Oliveros, born in Long Beach California to Canadian parents and a dual-citizen. With their death last month, you\u2019ve inherited their liquid assets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLuisa Oliveros-Rogers. I can live with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter shook his head. \u201cI should\u2019ve guessed that you\u2019d use the middle name. I\u2019m David Allen Rogers, computer consultant, born in Surrey, BC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDavie, dear, it\u2019s getting dark. Let\u2019s go back to the cabin so we can go over how all this will work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh god, no, not Davie, Lu.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maya laughed. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, sugar-bear, we\u2019ll figure out our nicknames soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter groaned. \u201cIf you\u2019re not careful I\u2019ll call you Lulu in public.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay, okay, Maria it is then, my dear David.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early morning they carried the surveillance gear down to the lake. The camera and mic were hidden in the bushes near the dock, along with a sniper rifle. Carter was careful to clean the rifle, the shells and the magazine thoroughly, and handled it only while wearing gloves. The stock was covered in plastic so that any oils that might transfer from his face wouldn\u2019t be on the stock itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the float plane came in, Maya snapped off a long series of photos. Tony met the plane at the dock, and a large case on wheels was offloaded. The mic picked up enough of the conversation over the low wind noise to make out that Tony was unhappy with how long it took to get his money. The pilot threw his hands up in the air and walked back to his plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tony watched the plane take off as Maya snapped more pictures. She snapped two of Tony wheeling the case up the dock towards his cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo or no-go, Maya.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShit, we\u2019re really doing it, aren\u2019t we?\u201d Maya took a deep breath. \u201cGo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shot was deafening, and Tony fell like a rag doll on the dock. Carter ripped the plastic off the rifle stock and wadded it up in the gloves he removed. The rifle he left in place. \u201cLet\u2019s get over there in the boat and pick up our cash, then we\u2019ll report in and create the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 They carried the case to the cabin between them, the weight surprising. \u201cI can\u2019t believe Tony was gonna carry this up by himself,\u201d Maya huffed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProbably has a flatter track from the dock,\u201d Carter answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they were in the cabin Carter counted out fifteen bundles of cash. Each contained ten straps of one hundred hundred-dollar bills. He wrapped them up in paper. \u201cThis is the payment for the cadavers and delivery. The rest we need to stuff in these backpacks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow are we leaving? Another float plane?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, too obvious. There\u2019s a truck hidden out back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With everything ready to go, Carter said, \u201cFire up the laptop and submit our report.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no reception here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUse the sat-link.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They waited for confirmation of the upload of photos and audio, then Carter motioned for Maya to let him use the laptop. He logged on to his workstation remotely and checked his email as an excuse to access it. He fired off the script sitting in his downloads folder that authenticated as someone in the DC office, activated their new identities, assigned Maya\u2019s and Carter\u2019s DNA and prints to the new identities, assigned the DNA and prints of the Does to Maya and Carter, filled in the blanks in several agencies in the US and Canada, and then deleted itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the money divided between the packs, they put them in the back seat of the truck hidden behind the cabin. \u201cHope you\u2019re not shy. Leave your clothes here, by the pump, along with your sneakers. That\u2019s why we brought them. It would be strange if we were killed and they took only our shoes.\u201d He stripped and left his clothes neatly folded by the hand-pump for the well. Rather than reply she followed suit. He put the oversized boots, rubber gloves, and hazmat suit on, cleared all their footprints around the truck, and walked back into the cabin. \u201cDon\u2019t forget to bring your hiking boots back in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maya put on the other pair of mud boots, gloves, and suit and laughed. \u201cYou look absolutely ridiculous right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat makes two of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter said, \u201cLet\u2019s make a crime scene.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pulled four pints of blood from the duffel, two bags marked \u201cHis\u201d and the other two marked \u201cHers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow it gets messy.\u201d Throw the covers back on the bed and roll around on it a bit. Don\u2019t leave any hairs on the pillow, though. Carter opened out the folding bed from the couch and did the same. He picked up the pistol he\u2019d unloaded from the duffel. He shot the bed once, and the couch twice, and picked up the spent casings. He then used a small pen knife to dig the rounds out of the furniture. \u201cWatch how this goes,\u201d he said, picking up a bag marked \u201cHis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhose blood is that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJohn and Jane Doe. Don\u2019t get any in your eyes or mouth, don\u2019t know what it might contain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pierced the bag with the pen knife, set it pierced side down, and laid down on it on the fold-out. When he felt it empty, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s empty, now for the blood trail.\u201d He picked her up in a fireman\u2019s carry. \u201cPierce that other bag, hold it between your chest and my back, and let it dribble out.\u201d He carried her that way to the truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHoney-dearest, you\u2019re being awfully rough,\u201d she said. \u201cYou should treat your sugar-mama more gently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter groaned. When they reached the truck, he set her down. \u201cYour turn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They entered the cabin, careful not to step in the blood. \u201cDo like I did, only on the bed,\u201d he said. He handed her one of the remaining blood bags and the pen knife. \u201cOkay, feels empty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They repeated the trail with the last blood bag. Carter made sure to step through and cross the first trail. \u201cNow I see why the suits,\u201d Maya said. \u201cWe\u2019re a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee that 55-gallon drum over there? That\u2019s a burn barrel. Get that suit and those boots going. There\u2019s a gas can sitting next to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still wearing the mud boots he trudged back into the cabin, picked up the two empty blood bags and entered four wrong passwords in the laptop to make it lock up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carter put the pistol, the empty casings, and the paper-wrapped brick of money in a toolbox inside the truck and locked it with the padlock hanging on it. He stripped and threw the hazmat suit, gloves, and boots in the fire and added the gloves from earlier with the plastic from the rifle stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy god that smoke stinks!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlastic clothes and rubber boots don\u2019t smell good burning. But I made sure to use suits made of exact same plastic as the blood bags; should hide them pretty well when it\u2019s all a singular mass of goo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they had cleaned up at the pump and dressed, Carter cleaned up all the tracks between the pump and the barrel and the pump and the truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After making sure they had all their papers and the cash, Maya asked, \u201cWhere to first?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe drop the truck, locked, along with the delivery payment at a motel in Reno. Then we buy a used car, cash, and decide from there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know where Andrei Sarkovic is,\u201d Maya said, \u201cand his new identity. Walter Grossman, Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussian mob?\u201d Carter asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCzech. Helped rob a dozen banks in Europe and the US and got full redaction protection after rolling over on an Interpol hot ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow much do you think he\u2019s worth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still nine million missing from their haul,\u201d she said, \u201cand there\u2019s a little girl who will never see her mother again after the botched bank job in Phoenix. It keeps me awake at night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReno, then on to Oregon it is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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