Entanglement

by Max Ellendale

  "I'm starving," said Jenny. "I could eat two burgers."

  "You can always order a second," offered Maddie.

  "Where's everyone else tonight?" I asked, glancing between them. "I thought the whole team usually goes."

  "We do, but Sundays are hard for folks sometimes," answered Saoirse. "They have kids."

  "None of us do." Maddie laughed as she slouched in her seat. "Booze and food for me. The boyfriend can fend for himself." When the server returned with our beer and nachos, Maddie was the first to dig in.

  "Mine, too. He's probably at Jimmy's anyway, after shift with his work folks," said Jenny.

  "Is your boyfriend a cop?" I asked after a swig of beer.

  "He is. Do you know Adam Jones?"

  "Nope. Is he a beat cop?"

  "Um…I think so? He's a regular cop," she said, then crunched on some chips.

  "Beat cop it is." I chuckled and helped myself to some as well.

  "Are you seeing anyone, Billie?" asked Maddie, though the way she asked it had me considering her angle. Mira sat quietly beside me, her thumb brushing over the condensation on her beer bottle. Saoirse glanced at her as the entire table waited for my answer.

  "No. I'm not." I sipped my beer again to avoid further elaboration.

  "Join the club," said Saoirse. "Though I'm enjoying the single life."

  "You mean you're enjoying sleeping with whoever you want life." Maddie flicked her elbow and everyone chuckled.

  "That too." Saoirse laughed and lifted her beer in a gesture of cheers.

  "Burnt out on men after being around them all day long at work?" Jenny asked me, continuing her line of questioning now that we had a similar connection.

  "Well, you could say that. They never did have a flair for lighting me up though." I smirked after I said it and took another swig.

  Mira choked on her beer, coughing while she laughed, her eyes wild as she tried to compose herself. Saoirse joined her giggle fit, and I just shook my head at them. Maddie tried to hide her grin behind a bite of cheesy nachos.

  "What's so funny?" asked Jenny as she glanced between everyone. "C'mon."

  We all burst out laughing at that point.

  Maddie shoved Jenny's shoulder, while trying not to laugh too hard. "She's gay, you dork. Didn't you hear what she said?"

  "What? Oh!" Jenny scowled and she glared at us. "How was I supposed to know that's code for gay?"

  "It's not code. It's just…" Saoirse couldn't finish her sentence due to laughing so hard. I enjoyed the frivolity at someone else's expense for a change.

  Our burgers arrived a few minutes later, and we all tucked in.

  Halfway through dinner, my phone rang in my pocket and I saw Donovan's name pop up on the screen. Mira glanced over and I mouthed, "Work."

  "Olsen," I said as I held it to my ear.

  "I'm aware. You got the number of that physicist, Olsen? We examined the original bottle and found faded oils from previous writing."

  "Uh…yeah. I have her number." I met Mira's gaze and her brow furrowed. "But she's right here."

  "Heh…" Donovan chuckled after she said it. "Sending you a picture."

  "Okay. I'll show her."

  "Cool. Call me back ASAP."

  "Yes, not-my-boss." I hung up after that.

  "What's going on?" asked Mira. Everyone else looked on with puzzlement.

  "Donovan's sending me a picture of the first bottle they found." My phone chimed and the image of the small bottle with uranium in it filled the screen. Under some sort of light, the words, Silver Beli Supermano appeared beside the ninety-two we originally saw.

  Immediately, Mira's brows furrowed and she grabbed her bag from under the table. Everyone watched as she pulled out a pen and small notebook. "It looks like they're using some sort of ultraviolet light to illuminate that."

  "Something like that. What's with the Superman references?"

  "One moment." She held her finger up to me and began scribbling down on the paper. The women around the table watched the two of us, Saoirse with her mouth slightly open.

  Mira wrote, Silver=Ag=47, Be=Beryllium=4, Li=Lithium=3, Superman=Kr=Krypton=36, O=Oxygen=8, 92=Uranium=U.

  "So, like before." I pointed at the numbers, and she wrote out, 474336892. "Okay. A string of numbers again. This one came first."

  "Yes. Who writes codes in periodic table elements?"

  "Murderers apparently." In our own little world, we worked out the code then I snapped a picture of Mira's writing to send to Donovan. "Do you remember the other number?"

  "Yes." Mira wrote down, -122736439, beside the other number from memory.

  "Shit. Do you have a photographic memory or something?" I snapped a photo and sent it back to Donovan.

  "Sometimes."

  We both stared at the numbers in front of us until Maddie broke us from it. "What the heck are you two doing?"

  "It's for Billie's work," answered Mira, a slight edge of defensiveness to her tone.

  "Wait, could this be coordinates?" I asked, nearly jumping out of my seat.

  "It could be." Mira's brows lifted and she tapped my phone. "Call the FBI people back."

  "Okay." I redialed Donovan and as soon as she answered, I said, "Coordinates, Donovan. The first bottle number then the second, with the negative."

  "What…oh." I heard the squeak of a dry erase marker on a whiteboard. "Wilkinson, get a load of this shit. Olsen says it could be coordinates."

  "I don't know where the periods go, but it could be. It fits." I looked to Mira who nodded her agreement.

  "You might've broken this case, Olsen. We'll call you back." Donovan hung up and I pocketed my phone.

  "They're looking into it," I said, folding up the paper and tucking it into the back pocket of my jeans as well. "Thank you."

  "Anytime. Who knew I could decode a criminal's cipher so easily?" She smiled, then took a playful bite of a fry while wagging her brows.

  "I feel like we're voyeurs to some crime-thriller episode here," said Saoirse, grinning at us. "Nice performance, ladies."

  "Glad to entertain," I said, after finishing off my burger. My phone rang again and I answered Moreno's call this time. "You're calling me in, aren't you?"

  "You betcha. On to Lubbock next."

  "Ugh. Way to spoil my night, Moreno." I sighed, and my gaze flickered to Mira. "Be there in twenty."

  "You're welcome." He hung up and I glanced to the women at the table.

  "Ladies, it's been a fun day, but duty calls." I looked to Mira while pulling some cash from my wallet to set on the table. "Sorry about that."

  "It's partially my fault. I could've made them wait until tomorrow," she teased, offering me a soft smile. "Let me walk you out."

  "All right. G'night, everyone. It was a nice day with you all," I said as Mira and I slid from the booth.

  "See you soon," Saoirse said, waving with the others as they watched the two of us head to the front of the restaurant.

  In the foyer, safe from the downpour outside, we bid our farewells. "Thanks for inviting me along," I said, though I couldn't dim the smile off my face. "Your friends are nice."

  "It was great having you. I appreciate that you came today…" She fidgeted with her fingernails before leaning in to hug me. My return was a warm one, and I stroked her back a few times.

  "Maybe we can take in a movie this week if you're free," I suggested. "At that indie movie theatre a few blocks from us."

  "I'd like that." She nodded, biting her bottom lip while she held my gaze.

  "Great. I'll look up showtimes and text you."

  "Looking forward to it." She followed me to the door as I hurried off to my car. I turned back at the corner to see her still standing there, and waved before losing sight of her.

  Chapter Six

  "We've been on foot for two days, Donovan. What are we looking for?" Angelina asked as we walked a grid in the middle of the woods south of Seattle.

  "That's the whole goddamn point, Lubbock. We don
't know," Donovan shot back.

  "Will both of you shut up? How are we supposed to be stealthy with all the bickering?" I grumbled at the two of them. "I haven't been home in almost three days and I would like a damn shower."

  "You're all miserable fucks," tossed Moreno. "Shut up and walk the grid."

  "Hey Boss, check this out," Sorensen called from up ahead.

  Moreno headed up to meet him. "What?"

  "Wild raspberries."

  A thwap sounded and we laughed at the guys when we caught up.

  It must've been an hour, maybe two, of walking in the mid-morning woods. The soggy ground and misty rain didn't help our situation any. When the ground beneath our feet hardened with rockscape, I paused when I heard the pitched sound of a spring recoil. "Stop," I called out and everyone froze. "What was that?"

  "What was what?" asked Sorensen.

  "Shh." Donovan held up her hand, drawing her weapon as the rest of us did.

  The pattering of water dripping on plant life clouded my ability to hear much else. Twigs snapped behind me and I grabbed Angelina, pulling her down to the ground with me the moment I heard the spring sound echo again. Donovan swung around and began firing her weapon after the others took cover behind trees.

  Angelina's eyes widened and I pointed to an arrow sticking out of the tree beside us. "Fuck," she whispered.

  "Crossbow."

  We crawled to a fallen log for cover, but a full-on assault broke out around us. Arrows whizzed by us, Donovan called for backup into her radio, and gunfire blasted in all directions. Angelina and I regained our composure and knelt side by side, shielded by a huge log, as we searched for a target.

  I looked up, and right above us, I saw the faint glint of the weapon in a dull beam of sunlight. It spoiled the camouflage of the scout, and I rolled onto my back, firing just as he aimed at us. My bullet must've penetrated something because a cry left him, and he fell from the tree, landing beside Angelina in a heap. She pounced on him at the same time that I snatched the crossbow away.

  In full military-grade camouflage, the twenty-something man cried out when Angelina twisted his arms behind his back.

  "Don't move!" she demanded as she slapped a set of cuffs on him while I patted him down.

  "How many more are there?" I pulled the quiver from his back, and half a dozen knives from his pockets.

  "Answer her." Angelina roughed him up, pressing his face into the dirt.

  "My leg!" He screamed, and I noticed the blood pooling by his ass cheek.

  "How many?" Angelina shoved his face into the dirt and he spat.

  "Two! Ah!" The kid started to cry and writhe as he attempted to bend his knee.

  "In the trees, Donovan," I called out across the space. I caught a glimpse of her shifting her position to aim upward.

  Agents descended on us by the dozen, armed to the teeth and carrying riot shields. I had no idea what they closed in on, but the trek they made through the woods told of a much greater threat. I heard someone yell about a trip wire, then ducked when an explosion rocked the earth around us. The injured suspect with us cried out again.

  There wasn't enough time to panic before chaos rained down on us. My heart slammed in my chest and adrenaline pumped through my veins, heightening my senses it seemed.

  "Okay, kid. What else is out here?" I demanded as Angelina moved him to sit him up against a tree. We tore open his shirt to check for bombs, guns, or whatever else. We found nothing.

  "I don't know! I just…I just patrol. I don't…" He sobbed, his teeth chattering with pain. "You shot me in the ass!"

  "You shot arrows at our heads. What do you expect?" Angelina looked up when the second wave of law enforcement showed up and grabbed the kid to drag him off into custody.

  Moreno appeared beside us with Sorensen at his hip. "Fall back," he said, pointing for us to retreat.

  We ran together, staying low and using trees for cover. Another explosion sounded which brought us to the ground when debris splattered around us. A plume of smoke rose from the treetops behind us.

  "Shit," Sorensen called out as we bolted for the vehicles ahead.

  As we raced away, armor-clad people ran in the opposite direction. Moreno shuffled us behind an armored car where Wilkinson and Chief Walsh crouched. Dozens of people, dressed in SWAT gear or military garb joined the fray.

  "What the hell is going on?" I asked, panting as we made it to the alleged safe zone.

  "We're not equipped to handle what's happening out there." Moreno touched his ear and a speck of blood lingered on his fingertips. "Fuck."

  Out of instinct, I reached for both of my ears, but found nothing save for the ringing that followed a sudden blast.

  The siege lasted minutes, with little to no information given to us while we stayed away from the scene. Wilkinson urged us inside the armored truck when further blasts continued to rock the ground under our feet. My heart pounded and I worried for the people I knew out there.

  "I want to know what's going on," I said, leaning my head back against the wall of the truck.

  "From what I can gather, we've stumbled on some sort of base or something. Drugs, terrorists, traffickers, we don't know," answered Moreno.

  "But you forget, they were running around with radioactive materials and using the periodic table. What if it's more dangerous than just bombs, guns, and drugs?"

  "That's for the feds to figure out, Olsen. Keep your hat on." Moreno held up his hand in a gesture of restraint.

  We sat there, in that truck for hours it seemed, until Walsh opened the doors and ushered us out. The entire dirt road leading to where we entered the woods had black vans clogging it up. The feds escorted at least a dozen men and one woman in cuffs to them, securing them inside. An ambulance carried away an injured FBI agent, but I couldn't see who it was.

  Donovan appeared, worse for wear and covered in soot, with some splatters of blood on her neck. She made her way over to Moreno's SUV where the four of us gathered to head back to the station. She met Moreno's gaze and the two of them shared a long stare before he held an arm to her. I didn't expect her reaction, but she hugged him and her arms wrapped his middle.

  "Riding with us, roomie?" he asked, and she nodded.

  Moreno drove with Donovan in the front, while the three of us loaded into the back. Angelina and I shared the middle seat while Sorensen sat in the far back.

  "Is anyone going to tell us what happened?" asked Angelina.

  "We don't know yet," answered Moreno while Donovan poked at her phone.

  "Did people die?"

  "A few of the suspects, no law enforcement, thankfully," he said.

  Donovan had the phone to her ear, listening to someone talk to her now. "Yeah, I'm with him." She paused for a moment then spoke in a soft tone, "Yeah. Can't hear too well. Okay."

  I glanced to Angelina and she offered me a small smile. I leaned my head against the window as the exhaustion of the last few days began to tumble down on me.

  "Nora says hi," Donovan said to Moreno.

  "Hey, Nor. We're good. I got your girl," Moreno spoke into the phone when Donovan held it to him. "We have a small audience."

  "We're too tired to care," muttered Angelina.

  "And bruised," I added.

  Donovan took the phone back and listened to whoever Nora was while leaning her head back against the seat. She stayed like that for a few minutes before she said, "Love you, baby. Bye."

  A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth when I heard the profession and I gazed out the window while Moreno drove us home.

  Another few hours at the precinct passed with debriefings and evidence gathering. As before, the feds controlled this case so there wasn't much for us to do other than wait. Finally, when I returned home late on Wednesday night, I found the house dark.

  "Hello, young adults who are supposed to need me. Anyone home?" I tossed my keys on the table and sighed while flicking on the lights. No response followed so I sent them a group text on my way to
the bedroom.

  Where is everybody?

  At Daniel's. Hi sis, answered Robert.

  Pizza shop across the street. I see you turned the lights on, followed Eleanor.

  Creepy girl. I'm taking a shower then going to bed. Love you both.

  Ly2.

  Luv u!

  "Guess they're good." Part of me settled at the notion they were solid on their own feet and independent. Another part felt slightly left out of their lives. All the same, they seemed to be thriving and it's all I could ask for.

  After a quick shower, and fresh pajamas, I slid into bed while nursing the bruise on my hip with an ice pack. I picked up my phone again and texted Mira after breezing through the movie listings for Friday.

  Movies Friday?

  Yes :) Hi.

  Hi.

  You okay? Haven't heard from you.

  Long week. Messy. I covered my face as echoes of the bomb blasts made it to my consciousness. In the moment, I could block out scary things, but afterward, they always crashed down on me. Tonight, gratitude for Eleanor's adventurous nature gave me the opportunity to be alone in bed to deal with how I felt.

  I'm sorry. Anything I can do?

  Movies with me Friday. Gives me something to look forward to.

  Done.

  About to pass out. Haven't slept in a few days.

  Good night, Billie.

  Night.

  ***

  "A sleeper cell?" Angelina asked Donovan the next afternoon in the conference room. "A sleeper cell of what?"

  "A domestic terrorist group. Those two kids that died were allegedly paid to bring those bottles to people as a way of passing along their location. The first half of the coordinates, then the second. The suspects killed them using a true serial signature that only law enforcement seems to know about," she explained, leaning her elbows on the table while sharing this information with the entire unit.

  "So there really is a zip tie serial?" I asked, glancing between her and Chief Walsh. "And law enforcement may be part of this sleeper cell or at least feeding it information."

  "There is." Donovan nodded. "But it's been going on for a while. And possibly on the law enforcement involvement."