PERSONAL JUSTICE by Ramlee Awang Murshid

55

CIVIC CENTER, NEW YORK

17 October 2000 - 9.00 a.m.

FINALLY, Hilman chose a building at Dover, that stood a little to the back from all the other buildings at Spurce, Beekman, or Cliff. He went up to the building very early in the morning to avoid being seen by NYPD police officers who patrolled the area at all times. He noticed a few plain-clothes FBI agents moving about around the area. 

Hilman lay down on his stomach, peering from the top of the building. He assessed the distance, from his hiding place to the main stage, to be around 160 meters. From the distance, he could still have a perfect aim at his target. After all, as a sharpshooter, Hilman was competent enough to hit a piece of wire from the same distance. Hitting a man shouldn't be a problem. It would be easy for him to shoot President Jack William right in the head, tomorrow. 

Satisfied that the spot was really strategic, Hilman crawled backward. He stashed and hid the bag containing the rifle, telescope, and bullets between the beams of a water tank. He took out a coil of rope from a plastic bag. A hook and pulley followed next. He fixed the hook and pulley on the rope. Then, he tied the rope around a steel pipe the size of an embrace. He hid the rope between tho steel beams under the water tank. He would drop the rope at the building's rear soon as his task has completed tomorrow. That was where he would make his escape. 

His original plans had changed. He did not buy the hi-fi set and the speaker, as he had almost run out of money. His actual plan was to place a speaker each on every building at Spurce, Beekman, and Cliff. It was supposed to be a trick. 

Soo as he fired a shot at President Jack William, he would press the 'play' button by remote on all of the hi-fis. The cassette containing sound effects of guns firing would play simultaneously, thus confusing the NYPD and FBI officers on the ground. But he had to cancel that plan. Hilman needed what money he had left to make his escape from New York.

It was now finished. He had made all the arrangements. Tomorrow would be the retribution day for Jack William. With just one shot, the most powerful man in America would meet his death on the main stage. And no one could stop him from carrying out his plan. The one bullet that would smash into Jack William's head was for his cruelty towards him and Jeslina. Everything would end tomorrow. Tomorrow Hilman would make his last move against Jack William.

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FBI agents - Lomax and Billy examined every safety aspect around the Civic Center area prior to President Jack William's campaign tomorrow. So far, everything went on smoothly as planned. The area would be tightly guarded by NYPD officers and the FBI. The President's security would be of the utmost importance with 24 bodyguards from the White House specially assigned to protect him. 

Nothing suspicious in the area at the moment. With that assurance, the two FBI agents felt more confident things were under control, 'as planned'. These extreme security measures would continue to be implemented throughout the whole time even though Vice President, David Anthony, warned them to relax a little bit. He did not want the people of New York to face difficulty in meeting with their president. Jack William's campaign was a 'people-friendly' exercise and he did not want to jeopardize his chances to run for the second term. 

Lomax and Billy ignored the instruction given. If anything bad happened to the President, they would be held responsible. They would be blamed for carelessness while on duty. Other than keeping an eye on the President, they must look after their own interest in the FBI. They did not want to be suspended from duty or get fired from the agency. 

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GABRIEL and Daljit went separate ways searching for Hilman in the area. But their efforts came to naught. Hilman could not be found anywhere. Lucky for them that while they were searching for Hilman, throngs of spectators, especially, New Yorkers were around the area to watch the final preparations to welcome their president tomorrow. Therefore, there was nothing strange for Gabriel and Daljit to be there. 

A pro-Democrat group, shouting President Jack William's name, was there to show their support for him in the coming general election on November 7. The pro-Republican moved on without any hassle. The voters in the country were more rational and not too fanatic. 

"How now?" Daljit asked when they met again. 

"I don't know. I'm all out of ideas," Gabriel sighed. 

"We should've stopped him yesterday. Hold him until the function is over," Daljit said. 

All the while, Gabriel was looking up at the buildings around Civic Center. His instinct told him that Hilman was there on top of one of them. 

"I can feel that Hilman is nearby," Gabriel whispered when two NYPD policemen crossed them. 

"Then... what now?" 

Gabriel kept quiet. He eyed all the entrances to the buildings. Police who guarded each building would question anyone entering. 

"The security is very tight," Gabriel said. 

"It's just too hard, Gabriel. Maybe we can't stop Hilman. And maybe we can't save him, too." Daljit was getting more worried.

"And we can't be involved in those, Daljit. Not at all!" Gabriel remarked. "This case would escalate further if we're caught," Gabriel assumed the worst that could happen. 

"Hello, guys. Something wrong here?"

Gabriel and Daljit turned around. A man in a smart suit greeted them.

"I'm Billy... FBI," Billy said, flashing the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation shield. He held a walkie-talkie. 

"No. We're tourists... from Malaysia. Your President is very handsome!" Gabriel said. Daljit kept nodding and smiling. 

"Okay, have a nice holiday here... in New York," Billy said and moved on.

"Daljit... we're being watched. Act quick," Gabriel whispered. Though Billy did not pester them, there was another FBI agent watching them. He could feel it. Indeed, they were being watched. 

"Act?" Daljit didn't get it. 

"You bring your camera?" 

Daljit nodded. 

"Take my photo," Gabriel said. 

Daljit did not say much. He did just as he was told. He took his camera out from a small bag and took three, or four steps backward. He mimicked the process of taking a picture of Gabriel with Jack William's giant photo as the background. Moments later, Gabriel took over from Daljit and did the same. 

"Excuse me, guys. Give me the camera, please." Suddenly, Billy came back.

"But..." Daljit tried to protest.

"No pictures," Billy affirmed. He snatched the camera from Daljit's hands, opened it, and took the film out. 

"Now, please... leave," Billy ordered, returning the camera back to Daljit. "I'm sorry. I'm just doing my job to safeguard this handsome president!" Billy said later. He was suspicious of Gabriel and Daljit, who were disguised as tourists. He'd better act first before anything bad happened. 

"I told you it would get harder," Gabriel said while they were leaving Civic Center. "Security's getting tighter," he continued. 

"Looks like... we can't help Hilman now," Daljit sighed. Regrets began to seep into his heart. 

"Come... let's go see Mia Sara?" Gabriel suggested. 

"Hilman?" Daljit scowled. 

"We'll think of another way," Gabriel said. 

Daljit nodded. 

"Hilman knew the risk. And he knows better how to get himself out. He's not any ordinary Tom, Dick, and Harry, you know, Daljit."

"Does this mean, our efforts will stop here?"

"We'll think of some other way, Daljit."