Operation Stealing Christmas

by Vicki Hinze

  Had Justin picked up on that? She looked up at him.

  “Justin?” Her voice faded. She had no idea how to put her feelings into words.

  “Yes, Maggie?” His voice sounded thick.

  He’d picked up on it. Definitely. Yet Maggie lost her nerve in wanting to share it openly with him. “Never mind.”

  “Me, too,” he said in a quiet voice she had to strain to hear. Her heart lurched, then went tight and pounded. Terrified by the intensity, she didn’t even consider saying more.

  Justin went on, clearly troubled on Maggie’s behalf. “You awe me.”

  She had to make herself look at him, knowing the pain clouding her heart would show in her eyes. “No. No, I don’t. I can’t.” Her voice weakened to a thread of sound. “Not after what I’ve done. Who I am.”

  Talk and radio transmissions stopped on a dime. The S.A.S.S. members were a tight unit, close and surrogate family, forced together not by blood relation but by the work’s secretive nature. The unit members held few secrets from each other, and yet until this moment, none of them had realized the depth of Maggie’s shame. None of them had known that she feared herself for what she’d destroyed with that fire. And what she had destroyed was her own sense of worth as a human being.

  “No, Maggie,” Justin said. Pain, raw and familiar, flashed over his face. He knew her revelation had rattled her and everyone else, hitting too close, and he wanted to ease the tension and make her comfortable. “You’re a far better woman than you think.”

  “I’m not.” She looked up at him, the truth in her eyes. “I’m far worse than you think.”

  “You’re wrong,” he said. “And that’s a promise.”

  “It’s out!” Kate announced. “Good thing no one opened that door.”

  “Wouldn’t that have been suicide?” Justin asked, trying to refocus.

  “Yes,” Kate said with a shrug. “It’s happened before.” Now the horror in that response was genuine, and Maggie waited, but none of the other S.A.S.S. members acknowledged it, so she responded to Justin. “Actually, it would have been a homicide bomber who also killed himself, and it’s a frequent occurrence in and outside groups of extremists.”

  Anger and bitterness seeped into Justin’s voice. “What kind of man arranges suicide and mass murder for a capabilities demonstration?”

  Maggie felt an odd hitch in her chest. Desperation. Greed. Extreme beliefs. Could be a lot of things, or nothing at all. It could be a guy, or a woman who’s just tired of getting kicked around by life and wants it over. And Thomas Kunz knew how to find that person and use him or her. “Determined minds have spent years trying to figure that out, but there is no answer, Justin, and you’ll just make yourself nuts trying to come up with one that makes sense. It doesn’t make sense. That’s the answer. You have to accept it and let it go.”

  “Done.” Kate stood, shoved her tools back into her pack. “Two redundancies,” she said, then fed Darcy the specifics on what had been used and how.

  “Darcy,” Maggie said, when Kate finished. “Reset the codes so I can get in to take a look at that window and get Matt Elden in here.”

  Linda Diel came into the security office, looking harried. “Has anyone seen Mr. Barone?”

  Maggie stilled.

  “He left me a few minutes ago,” Amanda said.

  “Did you page him?” Maggie asked.

  She nodded. “I’ll try again.”

  “Can I do anything for you?” Maggie asked.

  Linda nearly choked. “No. Um, no. I need him.” She blew out a deep breath. “I’ll...I’ll try to page him again.” Odd reaction. Linda seemed frazzled, and that had to be uncommon for her. Maggie couldn’t imagine her working so closely with Barone if she rattled easily. He was cool and collected, and he’d never tolerate an assistant who was anything else. “Why didn’t you evacuate?”

  “I was in the restroom and didn’t know I was supposed to until the admin wing was already sealed off.”

  After Linda left, Maggie stepped out of the office into the corridor and walked down a little way to assure she wasn’t overheard by anyone.

  “Darcy, check with Franklin and get a location on Barone.”

  “Right away, Maggie.”

  “Will, heads up,” she said into the two-way, watching two women go into Macy’s. A cloud of their perfume lingered, scenting the air with ginger and gardenia. “Barone’s not answering his page. If he comes up there, you keep him away from that door.”

  “No problem, Maggie.”

  Justin came out into the corridor, switched frequencies and then ran a check on his antidote stations, reassuring himself the undercover medical personnel had the antidote vials secured.

  The sound-off ran down without incident. That took a frantic edge off the tension, but that brick of C-4 worried the spit out of Maggie. “Darcy, I want a full search of the facility.”

  “What are we looking for?”

  “C-4.”

  Moments later Darcy issued the order. And moments after that, Will sent out word to his security staff.

  Santa Bella was under attack. Running true to form, Kunz was going about it so cleverly that Maggie knew it but still couldn’t call the alarm as a GRID attack and just shut the mall down, and Barone wouldn’t do it. Still, she intended to press him hard.

  She found him in his office, playing solitaire on his computer. Hadn’t Linda checked for him here?

  “Mr. Barone.”

  “Yes?”

  Disgusted that he’d goof off while his facility was under attack put a razor’s edge on her voice. “You are aware that C-4 was found attached to the security system.”

  “Linda informed me, of course.”

  “I can’t prove the terrorists have launched a bio-attack, but this facility is most definitely under attack. Since the attacker is as yet unknown, locals have authority. But I’m strongly advising you to close down the facility.”

  He stared at her a long second. “No.”

  “Mr. Barone, you seem oblivious to the severity of the dangers here.” That, or he was working for Thomas Kunz.

  “Oblivious? No, not at all.” He rocked back in his chair. “If the attack were under way, Captain, then you’d close the facility. You wouldn’t need me to do it.”

  Her authority applied only to GRID. She couldn’t close the mall otherwise—not at this point. She’d need national security approval from up the chain of command, and they weren’t likely to give it when the man behind the administrator’s desk wouldn’t agree to shut down his own facility. “If the device had detonated, this facility would be rubble and everyone in it would be dead. You do understand that.”

  “Yes, of course,” he said. “I view this as a bomb threat. It was successfully resolved and now it’s over, Captain. The danger has passed. Why close now?”

  “There could be other devices on the premises.”

  He turned back to his game. “If you find one, then come talk to me.”

  “Fine,” she said sharply. “Your choice, your responsibility.”

  “My choice, your responsibility.” The coward smiled. Fuming, she walked out and down the corridor toward the security office, taking solace where she could until she could put the puzzle pieces together. One piece was that the antidote was in place and no challenges to their possession of it had been launched.

  Kate came out of the security office and intercepted Maggie. A frown wrinkled her forehead and she stepped to Maggie’s side, making sure no one else was within earshot. “This job wasn’t up to Kunz’s standards, Maggie. His people know what they’re doing. Even with the dual redundancies, this job was simplistic—not at all Kunz’s style, and definitely not up to the caliber of anything we’ve ever seen from him or GRID.”

  Seeing the direction Kate was going with this, Maggie took in a resigned breath and confessed her deduction. “I know. I’m thinking the same thing, Kate,” Maggie confessed.

  “What are you thinking?” Darcy cut in.

&n
bsp; “Yeah, what?” Amanda and Mark asked simultaneously.

  Only Justin didn’t ask. Maggie gave him points for restraint and had the sneaking suspicion the reason he didn’t ask was he had already come to the same conclusion.

  “Well?” Darcy nudged her.

  Maggie looked at Kate and saw the worry she felt reflected in Kate’s eyes. “I’m thinking this facility is under attack by two separate entities.”

  Chapter Eight

  Go to Code Red, S.A.S.S. protocol immediately.” Colonel Drake’s voice came through crisp and clear and in total control. Maggie changed frequencies and awaited further contact.

  A moment later it came from the colonel. “This task force is now operating under S.A.S.S. protocol for emergency management of potential disaster due to unnatural causes by terrorists, domestic and/or foreign.”

  “Acknowledgment of Operation Stealing Christmas priority status Code Two is hereby given. Colonel Sally Drake, Commander.”

  “Acknowledgment given. Primary, Captain Maggie Holt.”

  “Acknowledgment given. Secondary, Captain Katherine Kane.”

  “Acknowledgment given. Home Base Intel and Operations Officer, Captain Darcy Clark.”

  Amanda and Mark gave their acknowledgments, and then Darcy added, “The CAT has been activated. Notifications in process.” A pause, then Darcy added, local CRT activated.” She used the acronym for the catastrophe response team. “Notification has been made to General Shaw, the Pentagon, the liaison to S.A.S.S., Terrorist Threat Integration Center, First Responders, Mayor Lewis and Providence Air Force Base Commander, Colonel Gray and Special Forces Commander, General Foster. FEMA is on standby. FBI regional, district and field offices are now on elevated alert.”

  Colonel Drake spoke again. “Secure cloud and backup DVD recordings are operational and will remain functioning. Participants of record are all included in secure satellite transmission.”

  Darcy took over again. “Maggie, who do you think is launching the second attack?”

  “Suspect unknown at this time.” She left the security corridor and walked toward the stairs. The answer to that question well might be in the short-stack, near the window. “We’re acting on reports of a Kunz/GRID capabilities demonstration, which at the Santa Bella location would involve high-value, Special Forces targets. Cause for confidence that a second attacker is involved is rooted in an attempted explosion attached to Santa Bella’s lockbox and security system. Key findings are based on previous Kunz/GRID experience deduction. Apparatus detonation device was deemed substandard. Explosives charge was grossly excessive. Wiring and redundancies were simplistic and inconsistent with historical GRID methodologies. Frankly, anyone with Internet access could have rigged the device. Odds that it was done by a professional are slim to none. Although, getting one’s hands on that much C-4 required connections and substantial funds. Santa Bella Administrator, Daniel Barone, has refused a specific advisory post-discovery of the C-4 device to close the facility. Should we discover secondary devices, he’ll consider the request. Until then, he views the incident as a bomb threat that was successfully resolved.”

  “Second is in total agreement with Primary on all findings,” Kate said, backing Maggie’s accounting and conclusion.

  Topping the stairs, Maggie saw Justin standing alone near the banister. “Colonel, permission requested to abandon Code Red protocol and return to general frequency to check the short-stack and the window.”

  “Granted.” Colonel Drake then informed the group. “The FBI just reported our bag lady has departed her hotel room. They’re tailing her now.”

  Terrific. Maggie reached for her two-way. “Will?”

  “I’m here, Maggie.”

  “Do you have that new code for me yet?”

  “Four, four, nine, nine, one, three.”

  “Where’s Barone?”

  “Still in his office, according to Linda, and not to be disturbed,” Will said. “She found him there right after asking us about him. She just missed seeing him go in.”

  After Maggie had talked with him. At least he was present and accounted for, and apparently he hadn’t been missing at all. “Why didn’t he answer Linda’s page?”

  “He says the battery died in his two-way and he wasn’t yet aware of it,” Will said.

  Gauging by his tone, Will figured Barone had turned off the walkie-talkie so he couldn’t be summoned. He had shifted responsibility to Maggie, and he meant to stay as blind as possible on everything that happened subsequent to that transfer of power and responsibility.

  “Maggie?”

  The man was a coward. Maggie grunted, turned toward Justin. “Yes?”

  Concern shone in his eyes. “I’m coming with you into the short-stack.”

  “No, I need you at the door.” She pulled her flashlight out of her fanny pack. “I want to know for fact that no one has followed me in.”

  He nodded, seemingly pleased that she was willing to depend on him. “Count your steps,” he suggested. “It helped keep me oriented to where I was while in there. It’s so darn dark, you can’t see two feet in front of your face.” Maggie had made her way through dense woods, across the desert after a sandstorm had totally altered the landscape, through mazes of caves and swamps and other equally challenging places. She could surely deal with whatever the short-stack threw her way. But Justin’s trying to help make her job easier touched her. In many ways, he was proving he was an endearing and thoughtful man. With mixed emotions about that, she hesitated and let them settle. Gratitude proved strongest. She smiled and touched his arm. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll do that.”

  “Adorable,” Darcy said. “He’s a good man, Maggie, and he’s definitely into you. You should keep him.”

  “Captain Clark.” Maggie saw red. “You’re on S.A.S.S. frequency being taped, I would remind you.”

  “No, I’m not. Not at the moment anyway. Colonel Drake abandoned protocol across the board to check out the short-stack.”

  Maggie hadn’t realized the colonel had taken the abandon request system-wide. What TV remote hogs did with channel surfing, Darcy did with radio frequencies. Maggie should have known she’d never mix business and pleasure on a Code Red tape. That kind of chatter was frequently used as stress-busters, but it was never recorded.

  “So?” Darcy prodded. “What are you going to do with him?”

  “Nothing.” Justin terrified her. What woman in her position with her history in her job—and in her right mind—wouldn’t be terrified of him?

  “Bless it, Maggie. He’s a rare find.”

  Maggie ignored her, keyed in the code, then opened the door. “I’m going in.” She stepped inside.

  Bare-bulb lights were on, but positioned about sixteen feet apart. The light cast was sparse and dim, and long shadows stretched between, keeping vast spaces pitch-dark. She clicked on her flashlight and blew out a hollow breath. At least there weren’t nine million boxes in here to trip over. Small bundles and wooden pallets of sealed boxes were neatly stacked and positioned under signs with store names posted above them. A large section on the east side had been dedicated to housekeeping equipment. The door closed behind her.

  “Are you alone inside?”

  Maggie swept the four walls, spinning in a slow circle. “Yes, I’m alone, Darcy.”

  “I guess you didn’t hear me before. I said Justin’s a rare find.”

  What did Maggie say to that? She mentally counted steps, trying to estimate when she was three beams left of center. The silence in the short-stack was deafening. Maggie went to a private frequency. “I heard you. I didn’t want to respond.”

  “Come on, Maggie—”

  “But since you’re going to be so blasted persistent about butting into my business, I will answer you.”

  “Oh, good.”

  “Yeah, I can’t wait to hear this,” Amanda said.

  “She won’t do it,” Kate chimed in. “Giving a guy a chance after the Jack affair? No way.”

 
; “Do you want to know what I think, or just speculate among yourselves?”

  “Sorry,” Darcy said. “Go ahead, Maggie.”

  “Okay. Fine. Justin has many admirable qualities. I’m seeing that more all the time,” she said, and meant it. “He’s often quite charming.” True. Very true. More often than not, he was charming. Or endearing. Or both. “But, don’t you guys get it? I messed up. I can’t risk that again. It wouldn’t be right or fair. The shame of what I did haunts me. I won’t risk being in that position again. For me, or for Justin, or anyone else—ever.”

  Oh, God. Why had she said all that? Why did she do it? She should have just kept her mouth shut. “That’s all I have to say about this—and I don’t want to hear any more.” She sucked in a steadying breath. “And I mean it.”

  Maggie scraped her back against the rough outer wall, which had to be a false wall, built to conceal the real outer wall for two reasons. It was straight, not curved. If it were the true outer wall it’d be curved like the dome. And there was no window.

  “You need to accept that you went too far, though Kate and I disagree that you did,” Amanda said. “Forgive yourself, and press on.”

  “Yeah, and I can’t believe you’re holding that affair against Justin,” Darcy said, bringing it up again anyway. “Are you serious about that?”

  “What?” Maggie couldn’t believe her ears. What was wrong with these people? She moved down the wall, shining the light on the joint where wall and floor met, watching for a telltale crack.

  “I think she’s serious,” Amanda piped in. “So what is she serious about, exactly?”

  “Pay attention, Amanda. That Justin cheated on Andrea,” Darcy repeated. “I can’t believe she’s holding that against him.”

  How could Darcy not hold it against him? Riled, Maggie got snippy. “Do I need to be here for this conversation?”

  “Uh, yeah, you do,” Kate said in a totally snotty tone. “I know you’re not a total loser or a freaking coward, so why are you marking Justin as a jerk for that? Inquiring minds want to know—and I’ll warn you, Maggie. What I think of your judgment is riding on this.”