Stone Undercover

by Bob Blanton

  “Yes, sir,” Matthew said. He put his arm around Emily and shifted their position so they could watch the ceremony.

  Matthew dialed Caruthers on Sayid’s phone again. Bringing his portal to his mouth, he hissed, “The kid just took your bogey out, but there was a signal to someone on the outside using a laser pen. Kit was in the left-hand bathroom behind a tile.”

  After five minutes, the hostess came out. “Your attention please… Your attention please.” It only took a few seconds for the room to quiet down this time. “We’re sorry for the brief interruption, and we thank the prince’s security and our own security for handling it so quietly and quickly. And we would like to apologize to the young lady for the rudeness of one of our guests. The ceremony will proceed in one minute. Please find your places.”

  The president of the Met came out. He told the crowd that he hoped that he hoped everyone had had a chance to view the Met’s galleries of Islamic Art. He pointed out that they had picked the Sackler wing for the event because not only was it an outstanding venue, but it was right next to the Islamic Art galleries and that everyone would be able to spend time viewing the art from the region where the Korans they were exchanging today were written. After a few more minutes of formalities, the Crown Prince joined him. There was a prayer and a few words from the prince, and then the president presented the prince with the Koran. “We are deeply gratified to be able to return this to its rightful owner,” he said, as he handed the Koran to the prince.

  “The people of Saudi Arabia and the people of Islam thank you for returning this treasure to us,” replied the prince. “And as a show of our appreciation and to further the understanding of Islam here in New York and the United States, we present you with this ancient Koran to take its place in your display. We only ask that you turn one page each day so that the faithful and the curious experience its beauty and may read it.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  By the time the ceremony was over, Caruthers had arrived. Matthew had observed the capture of a second man who had been waiting on a motorcycle about one hundred yards from the back door of the Sackler wing. Now he and Emily were being escorted into the security office at the back of the temple.

  “Can you explain what the hell happened out there?” Agent Caruthers demanded of Matthew.

  “The guy was reaching for a gun,” Matthew said.

  “So you hit him?”

  “I decided better safe than sorry, so I put him down. I figured the security guys could sort it all out later.”

  “How did you know he wasn’t one of the prince’s security detail or Ranger Zero?”

  “The gun had a silencer on it.”

  “How could you tell?”

  “The length of the barrel was obvious when he opened his coat.”

  “You’ve got an answer for everything.”

  Matthew just shrugged.

  “I guess I should thank you for giving us the cover story about a disagreement over your girlfriend. I don’t want you to say anything about this to anyone; is that clear?”

  “I doubt if anyone here knows us. If you get Emily and me home, nobody will know who to ask,” Matthew replied. “I don’t have any reason to talk to anyone about it.”

  “Agent Castro, take these two home and make sure nobody sees them leaving,” Agent Caruthers instructed.

  “We’ll need our cellphones,” Matthew said.

  “Castro, take care of that. No cellphones, so I guess there won’t be any video or pictures posted on the web.”

  “Thank God,” Agent Castro said.

  Agent Caruthers gave him a withering stare. “We’ll want to talk to you again tomorrow, Mr. Brandt and Ms. Stevenson. Make sure you’re available.”

  “You have our numbers,” Matthew said.

  “Young man that ice your standing on is this thin,” Agent Caruthers held her thumb and finger very close together. “Now get out of here.”

  “Wow, was she ever mad,” Emily said, as they exited the security office.

  “She’s mad, but we didn’t do anything wrong,” Matthew replied

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  That night Matthew used his portal to access a computer in an Internet café that was closed for the night. He moved the money from the numbered account through several numbered accounts before he finally put it in a bank in Switzerland.

  “It’ll be interesting to see how Sayid handles that,” Matthew said to himself. He’d checked on Sayid a couple of times and both times he had been obviously panicked and drinking heavily. He was clearly not happy that things were so quiet in Washington, D.C.

  After Glow

  “How was the party last night?” Mrs. Stevenson asked Matthew and Emily, as she came into the kitchen where they were making breakfast.

  “It was cool. You’re right, that temple is amazing,” Emily said. “And the ceremony where they exchanged Korans was really special.”

  “I saw in the Times that there was some kind of scuffle.”

  “It was nothing, some drunk made a pass at a woman and her boyfriend punched him. The security guys were right on it.”

  “I’m sure there was no shortage of security,” Mrs. Stevenson mused. “Anyway, what are you two up to this morning?”

  “We have to go back to the Met to give our statements to the Secret Service guys. Hopefully that won’t take too long. Then Matt wants to see the New York Public Library,” Emily said. “I told him it’s totally amazing. We’ve got the play tonight and after a late night last night, I thought an easy day would be a good idea.”

  “That sounds nice. Do you want to meet for lunch? I was thinking Matt would like to go to the Gotham Bar & Grill.”

  “That sounds cool,” Matthew said. “Do we want to do a late lunch, say one o’clock?”

  “Okay, I’ll have Rebecca make reservations.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “There are just too many coincidences here,” Agent Caruthers said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why did you go to the party? You called Mr. Joelson to get the invitation.”

  “We were planning to see the temple when we went to the Met. We didn’t know it would be closed for the week. We’re leaving tomorrow, so the party was our last chance,” Matthew said.

  “Yes, my mother tried to get us an invitation, but she couldn’t. Then we remembered that Mr. Joelson said to call him if ever he could do us a favor, so we did,” Emily said. “It was our last chance, and the Koran exchange was a bonus.”

  “And you happened to be standing next the guy with the gun.”

  “Well, I was saving us a place with a good view of the ceremony after you had Matt grabbed so you could talk to him,” Emily said. “Then that guy came over and shoved his way in. When Matt came back, I pointed at the jerk and whispered that he’d taken our spot. When we tried to move so we would have a better view, he was rude and almost pushed us.”

  “That made me think something was up with him. He was tall enough that he could see from behind, but he had to have a place in front,” Matthew added. “Then I saw him reach in his jacket for the gun.”

  “And none of the security saw him reach,” Agent Caruthers said.

  “I don’t know, it happened so fast,” Matthew said. “What did you want me to do, shout ‘gun’ and hope that they didn’t accidently shoot me?”

  “Okay, we’ll leave it at that. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you two. I’ll be back in San Diego next month, and I hope we don’t have occasion to meet.”

  “I’m good with that,” Matthew said.

  “Now the Crown Prince wants to meet you. Obviously he’s aware of exactly what happened,” Agent Caruthers said. “So don’t add anything, just be polite and let him thank you. He’s to be addressed as Your Royal Highness.”

  “Of course.”

  Agent Caruthers escorted Matthew and Emily next door to a conference room. The prince was standing there with his security detail.

  “Ah, the man of the hour,” the prince said
. “Excuse my lack of formal attire, but after the incident last night it was felt that I should keep a low profile this morning.”

  “We’re very pleased to meet you, Your Royal Highness,” Matthew said.

  “Your Royal Highness,” Emily echoed and curtsied.

  “We are most grateful for your assistance and wish to bestow on you these gifts,” the prince said.

  “It is not necessary to give us anything, Your Royal Highness,” Matthew said. “We were just doing our duty as American Citizens. You are a guest in our country.”

  The prince waved his hand. “Still we must reward you. Hassam,” he called to one of his men.

  The man came over carrying a box. The prince opened the box, “For they young lady, some jewelry.” The prince took out a necklace; it had a huge, dark-green emerald in a gold setting with a thick gold chain. “If I may.” The prince placed the necklace around Emily’s neck. “And of course you must have matching earrings,” he said, and handed Emily a pair of earrings that matched the design of the necklace.

  Emily put the earrings on. “Exquisite,” the prince said. “You are a very lucky man,” he said to Matthew. “And of course you must have a matching ring my dear,” he place a matching ring on her finger. “I’m afraid you’ll need to have it resized.”

  “I can’t accept this, it’s too much,” Emily stammered.

  “You are not refusing the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,” the prince said. Caruthers gave Emily a sharp look.

  “Of course not, Your Royal Highness.”

  “Good. Now for the young man, jewelry is not a sufficient gift, but a small ring as a memento.” The prince took a ruby ring from the box and gave it to Matthew. “You will wear it when you escort the young lady.”

  “Thank you, Your Royal Highness,” Matthew said.

  “It is nothing, but we wish to reward you further. You are quite young, as I understand it. But you will be going to college in one year. Given the exceptional skills you have demonstrated in protecting me, the Government of Saudi Arabia would like to employ you on a retainer basis, as they say. For a sum of two hundred thousand dollars per year, you will make yourself available anytime I am in your country and feel the need of extra security.”

  “This is too much,” Matthew stammered.

  “What, you don’t think that the life of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is worth such a reward.”

  “Of course I do, but…”

  “Then it is done.” The prince waved his hand. “The contract will run for five years. By then you should be ready for more important jobs.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Your actions last night are sufficient.”

  “One other thing if I may, Your Royal Highness,” Matthew said.

  “Yes?”

  Agent Caruthers shot daggers at Matthew, but didn’t say anything.

  “I’m sure you realize that whoever was behind this would be expecting a jump in the price of oil.”

  “I see you are already earning your new salary,” the prince said. “So they will be most unhappy if the price were to remain where it is.”

  “Yes, and even more unhappy if the price were to drop for a few weeks. Oil futures come due on first of the month.”

  “Ah, maybe before my speech to the UN, I might drop a hint that the price of oil is too high,” the prince said. “Any misunderstanding can be corrected when I give my speech next month. I shall think about this,” he said and waved his hand dismissing everyone. He turned to his security detail and motioned for them to lead the way.

  Agent Caruthers gave Matthew a harsh look and held her thumb and finger close to each other again.

  “Well, how are we going to keep this secret?” Emily asked.

  “No one will know about it,” Agent Caruthers said. “There will be no press release,” she looked directly at Matthew as she added, “you will need to be discreet about your new income.”

  “But our parents,” Matthew said.

  “Of course you’ll have to tell your parents. I’m sure we can trust them to be discreet. Agent Castro will show you out,” Agent Caruthers said, as she left the room.

  “We’re in big trouble,” Emily said. “How do I explain to my mother that we lied to her?”

  “The FBI made you do it?” Matthew said, with a sheepish look.

  “I’m sure that’s going to go over big.”

  “Well we didn’t lie that much. We told her that we had to go back and be re-interviewed, so the only lie was not saying that I was the guy who punched the guy out.”

  “I guess we were sworn to maintain the cover story,” Emily said, “but I’m not sure we’re going to get by with that.”

  “Well, she’s going to be caught in the middle, too. She has to keep up the cover story. How will she explain it if she comes down on us too hard?”

  “She only has to explain it to my dad and your mom. They get to know the truth.”

  “Oh, we are in trouble.”

  “We have to go to the apartment to put these in the safe,” Emily indicated the jewels as she put them back in the case. “Hopefully, she’s not there, so we can fess up at lunch in a public place. That should give us some breathing room, she can’t make too much of a scene. That will give her time to calm down before she can get us alone.”

  Epilogue

  The next morning the Crown Prince was asked about his upcoming statement to the UN. He said he planned to discuss how the price of oil was hindering economic growth. The price of oil dropped four dollars a barrel the next day.

  On August 4th, the prince explained that what he meant was that oil prices were too low, thus discouraging investments in alternative fuels and new technology. Oil prices immediately recovered.

  On August 8th, Agent Caruthers held a briefing of the events of the last month. Matthew had found out about it from one of her regular briefings, so he tuned in.

  “All right, let’s review the situation. From last Thursday evening, we have captured the two onsite perpetrators, the man in the room and his accomplice. The accomplice was on the maintenance staff at the museum. He triggered the sarin and was waiting with the getaway motorcycle outside. Agent Castro, please go over the onsite evidence.”

  “Onsite we found a binary sarin weapon. It was triggered by a magnetic coil in the humidifier unit. This way there were no visible wires and the sarin could be attached quickly once the weapon was onsite. The plumbing was done six weeks before the ceremony when the museum had the unit maintained. Activating the coil would open the internal valve in the mixer and redirect the water to the bottom of the canister. There was also an override on the humidifier so it would run independently of the humidity level.”

  “When was the sarin weapon installed?” asked one of the other agents in the room.

  “We suspect it was done about one week after the maintenance. We had intel that showed Sayid had delivered some weapon to people here on the east coast,” Agent Caruthers said. “Go on, Castro.”

  “Around that same time they added the extra restrooms in the Sackler wing. The job took three weeks. It was during that job that the little weapon cache was built into the wall of the left-hand bathroom; the gun with silencer, two syringes of Atropine and the signaling laser were placed in the cache and it was sealed.”

  “So that is how the weapons got by all the security checks, they were already inside.”

  “Yes, and the cache was surrounded by pipes and other metal, so it wasn’t picked up in the sweeps.”

  “Go on.”

  “We surmise that sometime in the period before the event, Agent Caruthers’ asset, Ranger Zero, entered the museum and disabled the sarin. He removed the Isopropyl Alcohol; the lab boys are still trying to figure out how he cut the holes in the unit and the canister. The canister was designed like a syringe, the water was to go down the tube to the plunger and push the agents up into the mixer. He also broke the tube that was to have directed the water to the working end of the plung
er and pushed the…” Agent Castro consulted his notes for a few seconds, “the alcohol and Methylphosphonyl Difluoride into the mixer. By breaking the tube, the water would enter at the top of the central canister which contained the Difluoride stuff, mix with it, and mostly water would be pushed into the mixer. It appears that this had to have been accomplished before the canister was filled, since there is no external access to the tube.”

  “So does that mean the weapon was never dangerous?”

  “It’s likely that had it been triggered before the alcohol was drained off, it would have produced only a minute amount of sarin, and mostly the active agent would have broken down into a less harmful acid. So not lethal, but very uncomfortable.”

  “Back to Thursday.”

  “Again we surmise that on Thursday, Ranger Zero redirected the fluid flow so that it would spill onto the roof instead of staying in the humidifier. Although it is possible that the humidifier wasn’t needed for the days leading up to the event, it would have been risky to disable it before then since low humidity in the museum would have triggered alarms. Then on Thursday evening during the event, he alerted Agent Caruthers that the sarin was disabled.”

  “Now it is possible that all the onsite activity happened before then. However before that, Ranger Zero professed to have no knowledge of the target,” Agent Caruthers said. “On Wednesday, he notified me that he believed that it was the likely target, but did not indicate knowledge of the sarin being in place,” she nodded for Agent Castro to continue.

  “When Agent Caruthers was notified that the sarin was discovered and disarmed, she tried to get the prince to cancel his appearance. He refused, but did agree to make the appearance one hour earlier. It was hoped that this would disrupt the terrorists’ timing, which it apparently did. When the announcement was made about the change in timing, we can see from surveillance tape that the assassin entered the handicap restroom and locked the door. He then must have opened the weapons cache and given himself an injection of Atropine. We found the used syringe in the trash. He exited the restroom just before the ceremony began and signaled his accomplice with a laser pen through the glass windows. At that time, we see the humidifier was switched on with the override. The assassin then took up position beside the stage. After the prince was on the stage for a few minutes, the assassin appears to get nervous, probably wondering why the sarin wasn’t affecting the crowd yet. At that point all we can see is Matthew Brandt shouting at him and doing a fast hand strike to the assassin’s throat. Kid’s a badass.”