by David Archer
It was a good thing they had arrived early, because Molly came out the door five minutes before she should have been getting off work. She stood on the sidewalk for a moment looking up and down the street, and then raised her hand and stepped off the curb as a taxi approached. It screeched to a halt right in front of her and she climbed inside.
“Follow that cab!” Neil said, and then he shrugged. “Sorry, I just always wanted to say that.”
Moose and Sarah chuckled while Noah simply raised an eyebrow at him. Sarah put the car in gear and moved smoothly out of the parking space, falling in three cars behind the taxi. The cab appeared to be heading toward Alexandria, at first, crossing the Potomac on the 14th Street Bridge. Instead of turning south, however, it stayed on Interstate 395 for a couple of miles and then took the King Street exit to the northwest. Sarah changed colors a couple of times, but managed to stay close and keep the cab in sight as it curved onto Leesburg Parkway and finally stopped to let Molly out at an Italian restaurant.
Sarah thought quickly and pulled into the parking lot of the shopping center that surrounded the restaurant. She found a spot that let them keep the front entrance in sight, and the tinted windows on the Chrysler allowed them to watch as Molly paid the driver and turned to go inside.
“Moose, you and Sarah go inside and keep an eye on her. Go ahead and order dinner if she does, you’ll need to be able to stay until she’s ready to leave. Put your earpieces on so that Neil and I will be able to hear what’s going on in there.”
Moose chuckled. “This is funny,” he said. “Do you know how many times Sarah turned me down for a dinner date before you came along, Boss? Seems kind of ironic that you’re ordering us to go on one.”
“This is not a dinner date,” Sarah said sarcastically. “You’re my big brother and you’re taking me out for dinner because I’m about to go off to college. Got that?”
One of Noah’s eyebrows seemed to pop upward. “That’s a good scenario,” he said, as Moose laughed again.
Moose and Sarah hung the little headsets on their ears and got out of the car. It wasn’t a long walk to the entrance of the restaurant, and they stepped inside less than four minutes after Molly had done so. The hostess smiled up at them as she picked up a pair of menus and showed them to a table that just happened to give them an excellent line of sight to the booth where Molly was sitting with an older gentleman.
A waitress appeared immediately to take their orders, and a couple of minutes were spent as they decided on what to eat, with Sarah gushing about how nice her “big bubba” was to take her out for dinner. When they were done, the waitress took their menus and left.
No one appeared to be paying them any attention, so Moose tapped his earpiece. “Well, it’s obvious the girl isn’t pining away for you, Boss. She’s having dinner with a man who could be Harrison Ford’s kid brother, and if the smile on her face is any indication, it isn’t a business dinner.”
Noah had scanned through the security dossier on Molly that Parker had provided, but now he popped it open again on his phone. There were a number of people listed under “Known Associates,” along with photos. It only took him a few seconds to figure out who Moose must be referring to.
“That would be Charles Kitchener,” he said. “According to the file, Molly has dinner with him three or four times a month. There’s no indication that there’s any kind of romance involved, however. He’s listed as a Professor of Forensic Psychology at Argosy University. He’s also a member of Mensa, so that could be how Molly knows him. She became a member when she was only nine years old.”
“Oh, so that’s why the relationship didn’t last,” Sarah said softly. “She was just too smart for you, huh?”
“She’s definitely got the brains,” Noah said. “But like I told you, it wasn’t a real relationship at all. Just a smokescreen, that’s all it was.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” Moose said, “then it probably wouldn’t matter if we could overhear the conversation. We wouldn’t know what they were talking about, most likely. Besides, I think it’s a lot more important for us just to pay attention to who pays attention to her. If our guesses are right, then the bad guy probably has somebody watching her right now, just the way we are.”
“Exactly,” Noah said. “That’s why you’re there, to try to spot whoever he’s got watching Molly. If we can get a line on who he’s using to trail her, then there’s at least a chance we can track that person back to our target.”
“Kinda have my doubts about that, Noah,” Sarah said. “I think he’s more the type who would keep his own location a secret even from the people he’s working with, at least as far as he can. If he’s got someone tailing her, that person won’t know where he’s at. He’d probably only report by phone, or else he’d simply wait for Nicky boy to contact him.”
“I’ve considered that, too, but right now we have almost no intel at all. If we can at least identify someone working with him, that puts us a little ahead of the game.”
“Well, then get ready,” Moose said suddenly. “I’ve got an eyeball on somebody who sure is interested in your old girlfriend.”
TWELVE
“Be careful, just observe,” Noah said after Moose described the man who was watching Molly like a hawk. “We don’t want to tip him off that we’re watching her, too. Try not to let him figure it out.”
“Boss? She works for that high-powered think tank, right? Could be this guy is just part of their security, keeping an eye on her and making sure she’s safe.”
“No, I don’t think so. The security dossier on Molly says they’re fully aware of whatever relationship she has with Kitchener, I don’t think they’d be watching her that closely. Of course, we know that Doc Parker has surveillance on her, so it could be one of ours. What do you think of that, Moose? Any chance the guy you’re watching is part of our own group?”
“Could be, Boss,” Moose said. “I don’t know how we can find out for sure, short of walking up and asking him.”
“Okay, let me see what I can find out.” Noah took out his phone and dialed the home office number. Since it was only three thirty back there, the receptionist answered promptly.
“Brigadoon Investments, how may I direct your call?”
“Doc Parker, please, Noah Wolf calling.”
“Yes sir, one moment.” Noah had to put up with the hold music for about twenty seconds, and then Parker’s gruff voice came on the line.
“Any updates?”
“We’re on station,” Noah said. “We’ve taken up surveillance on Molly, and noticed someone else watching her pretty closely. Any chance you can give me an idea of who you’ve got keeping an eye on her?”
“Give me a moment,” Parker said. The hold music returned for nearly a minute and then Parker came back on. “We’re using a team of four that we borrowed from DEA. My secretary is sending you the files on them right now, photos and all. We’re also sending you their secure cell numbers, and notifying them that they will be under your command from here on out.”
“Sounds good,” Noah said. “I’ll contact them later this evening, and we’ll take it from here. I’m hoping it will give us a chance to spot Nicolaich before he can make a move. I want to take him out as quickly as we can. Any updates on the Dragon Lady?”
“Nothing new, she’s still in the coma. They’re probably going to wake her up tomorrow, but if she can’t behave herself, the doctor says she’s going right back under. Don Jefferson is doing very well and may get to come home as early as tomorrow. He won’t be back at work anytime soon, though.”
Noah’s phone vibrated in his hand. “Hopefully it won’t be too long,” Noah said. “I think this outfit needs both him and Allison to keep it headed in the right direction.”
“Hey! I don’t want this damned job, but I’ll do it as long as I have to, and I’ll do it pretty damn well, too. You trying to make a comment about my leadership?”
“No, Sir, just making an observation. No disres
pect intended, I assure you.”
“Oh, that’s right, dammit. You’re the guy who doesn’t know how to be tactful, aren’t you? Don’t fret about it, son, I’m just a cranky old buzzard. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you from this end.”
The line went dead again, and Noah looked at his phone to check the email and files that had just come in. There were photos attached showing three men and a woman. He forwarded it to Moose. “Just forwarded you the files on the four people Parker has watching Molly. Take a look and tell me if that guy in there is one of them.”
“Will do, stand by.” Noah waited for almost a minute and a half before Moose came back again. “Boss? This guy doesn’t match any of those pictures, but the woman in the pictures is sitting three tables over from us right now. She hasn’t paid any attention to us, but she isn’t giving any to the stalker, either. I don’t think it would be obvious to anybody watching that she’s watching the girl, but it’s possible the other guy has made her.”
“Okay, see if you can get a picture of the guy you’re talking about.”
“Get a picture? How am I supposed to do that without him knowing?”
“Oh, you are such a guy!” Sarah said. “Here, I’ll show you. Let me come around beside you…” Noah could hear the sound of chairs shuffling around, and then he heard Sarah’s voice again. “Come on, now, we’re just going to take a selfie together. Come on, put your arm around me—okay, ready? Got it!”
Noah’s phone buzzed again just a few seconds later and he looked at the picture Sarah had sent him. She had aimed the camera over her shoulder to catch the man in the image. The photo showed a tall man, probably in his late 30s. He had dark hair and eyes, and was sporting a thick mustache. Noah passed the phone to Neil in the back seat.
Neil had his computer open on his lap and quickly plugged the phone into it with a connector cord. He downloaded the photo while he was opening a program and quickly cropped out the man’s face. “It’ll take a little time,” he said to Noah, “but I’ll start running him through all the facial recognition databases I can. I’m starting off with FBI and CIA, since we’re right in their backyard, anyway.”
Noah nodded. “Smart thinking,” he said. “Moose, try to keep an eye on him without making it obvious. Keep up the small talk between the two of you, talk about this college Sarah’s going to, stuff like that. The way you act and talk can be better camouflage than hiding behind the wall.”
In the back seat, Neil suddenly called out, “Bingo! Got a match! The stalker is Pasquale Morabito, Italian-American from New York. Thirty-nine years old, got a record for some stupid things when he was younger, assaults and strong-arm robberies. He’s been employed four times by mercenary groups and he’s still listed as being on the payroll of an outfit called Semaphore Services. They’re sort of an anti-terrorist SWAT team, they get sent all over the world when small countries need help dealing with any kind of terrorism.”
“Interesting,” Noah said. “Any idea how long he’s been back in the country since his last job?”
“According to NSA, he was at home in Tennessee until a week ago today. He loaded some gear into a car and drove away, and they lost track of him. No idea where he’s been since then.”
“This guy works in international military-type circles,” Moose put in. “It’s a bit of a stretch to think it’s only a coincidence that he’s sitting here right now, watching the girl we think is a Nicolaich target.”
“I absolutely agree,” Noah said. “Keep watching, we need to know just how closely he’s watching her.”
“Hey, Boss?” Neil asked. “Guess what I found.”
Noah turned to look at the skinny kid. “What?”
“The cloud-based video stream from the security cameras inside that restaurant. Wanna watch?”
Noah opened his door and then climbed into the back seat beside Neil. His computer monitor was split into four camera views, and one of them showed Molly and her companion.
“Only four cameras?” Noah asked. “I don’t see Moose and Sarah on any of them.”
“There’s a dozen cameras,” Neil replied, “but if I split the screen any more we won’t be able to make out any details. Here, let me get picky on the cameras I display.” He tapped the keys and touch pad for a moment and two of the views changed. Moose and Sarah were centered in one of them and Pasquale Morabito in the other. “How’s that?”
Noah nodded appreciatively. “Good job. Moose, Sarah, I’m watching Molly’s body language and she seems pretty upset about something. Are you picking up anything in there?”
“Not really,” Moose said. “Looks to me like she’s smiling a lot.”
“I can see that she’s smiling, but she’s got her hands under the table instead of on top of it, and both feet are flat on the floor. That’s the posture of somebody who’s unhappy about being where she is, and might be expecting trouble. Wait a minute.” Noah leaned closer to the monitor and watched as Molly picked up her purse, which had been sitting toward the outer edge of the seat beside her, and moved it to her other side. “Sarah, get up and head for the ladies’ room. Molly will be going there in just a moment.”
On the monitor, they watched as Sarah got up and began walking toward the restrooms. Five seconds later, Molly did the same.
“Boss, how did you know?” Moose asked.
“Observation,” Noah said. “She moved her purse to the other side of herself so she could slide out of the booth. If she had been planning to get up and leave, she would’ve picked it up and held it. When she set it down on the inner end of the booth, I knew she was only planning to be gone for a few minutes. Logically, that meant a trip to the ladies’ room.”
Inside the bathroom, Sarah had taken advantage of the break to make a hurried stop in one of the stalls. She heard the door open as Molly entered, and then another stall door opened and closed. When she finished, she stepped out to the sink and washed her hands, then fidgeted with her hair until Molly came out of her own stall and stepped up to the sink beside her.
Molly washed her hands quickly, then turned and looked at Sarah. “You and your boyfriend keep looking over my way,” she said. “Just thought I’d let you know, I’m not into those kind of games.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide and she spun her face to look at Molly. “Games?” she croaked out. “Um, I’m sorry if I gave you any kind of weird impressions…”
“Then you’re following me,” Molly said. “That seems to be a popular pastime the last few days. So far, I’ve counted thirteen different people who seem to like following me around. Most of them are men, and that makes it hard to confront them the way I’m doing with you right now. You want to tell me what’s going on, or should I just push the panic button that I carry in my pocket. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with the guys who would come running.”
Sarah’s eyes were even wider than before as she tried to think of something to say. “Look, I don’t know…”
“Don’t try to play games with me, sweetie,” Molly said. “I have to take a refresher course in surveillance recognition every three months, it’s part of my contract. Believe me when I tell you I know surveillance when I see it. On the other hand, you’re obviously not with the other two guys in there that are watching me. Both of them have been identified as guns for hire, and we’ve already got people watching them. You’re not part of that group, though, I can tell. You’ve been watching me, but you’ve also been paying close attention to one of those two guys; that selfie trick was pretty obvious, you didn’t even have the phone pointed at yourself. Looked to me like you were getting a photo of that guy, and then you sent it to someone. So cut the shit and tell me who you’re working for, or you’re going to end up in one of those nasty little rooms in the basement of the Pentagon before this night is over.”
“Um…”
Noah’s voice suddenly spoke up in her ear. “Hand her the earpiece,” he said.
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she reached up to her ear
and lifted off the little Bluetooth-style earpiece and handed it to Molly. “Put that on for a minute,” she said. “I think you’ll start to understand things.”
Molly looked the earpiece over and then slipped it onto her own ear. “Hello?”
“Don’t say any names, just in case you’re bugged,” said a voice in her ear. “This is your old Vulcan friend, do you recognize my voice?”
It was Molly’s turn to have eyes the size of saucers. “Oh my—is it really you?”
“It’s me. Long story, and I don’t have time to go into it right now, but I work for a government agency you probably never heard of, and that girl and the guy with her are part of my team. I sent them in to watch you because I have reason to believe you may be in some danger.”
“What about the other bunch that’s been watching me? Are they with you, too?”
“Some of them are working with us, four of them. As for the rest, we believe they’re working for the man I’m after. He’s trying to draw me out into a trap, and we have a theory that he may try to use you as bait. We’re hoping to catch him before he can act on his plans, so that means we have to keep you in sight at all times.”
“For what it’s worth, I knew you weren’t dead. Suicide is not logical, you’d never have taken your own life. That meant somebody faked it, to get you out of Leavenworth. CIA?”
“Molly, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure you have a high enough clearance for me to answer that.”
Molly’s eyes flicked to Sarah. “Does your team know all about you? The things I know?”
“Yes, they know it all. It’s one of the reasons I was recruited.”
“I figured they probably did, since you’re the one who’s using me as bait now. Most people would get upset about that, seeing as how we’re old childhood friends. They’d have to understand you, or they probably couldn’t work with you.”
“Yeah, it caused me some problems at first, but they finally caught on. Question: are you leaving the restaurant with your date?”
