The Controller

by Matt Brolly

  ‘Take it or leave it.’

  Rose didn’t sound fazed by Razinski’s resolve. ‘Razinski, you’re obviously psychotic but you’re not completely without intelligence. We both know what you did at the Gunn residence. You beheaded a man, made his family watch, and then murdered them in cold blood without a hint of remorse. You murdered a police officer.’

  Razinski grinned, as if savoring the memory. ‘And?’

  Lynch fought his rising heartbeat. He was meters away from Razinski, could get to him within seconds. He could do extensive damage in that time and doubted anyone would be in a huge rush to stop him. All that held him back was the possibility that Razinski was telling the truth and had answers for him.

  Special Agent Sandra Rose picked up her pen and placed it in the front pocket of her jacket. ‘If you can’t be serious about this, Razinski, then our time here is up. We’ll return you to the system and you can see how you fend there.’

  ‘I wouldn’t,’ said Razinski.

  ‘Wouldn’t what?’

  ‘I wouldn’t fend. I would be dead within forty-eight hours.’ He sighed, and shook his head as far it could move within his restraints. ‘I don’t think you quite understand the information I’m willing to share with you.’

  ‘Why did you request me?’ said Lynch.

  ‘Isn’t that obvious, Mr Lynch? You’re the only one who believes in our existence.’

  Lynch shrugged. ‘That’s not going to make a difference. Not after what you’ve done.’

  ‘Bullshit,’ said Razinski, for the first time displaying emotion. ‘I know for a fact that you’ve got people in protection who’ve done worse than this.’

  ‘Jesus, you do live in a fantasy world,’ said Rose.

  ‘You’ve got worse people than me working for you. If you don’t realize that, Agent Rose, then you’re either naïve or don’t have the clearance.’

  It was Rose’s turn to laugh but Lynch sensed her growing unease and feared she would end the interview before Razinski had the chance to offer them anything. ‘Why don’t you help yourself by giving us something,’ he said.

  ‘What, like where poor little Daniel Lynch is? It’s the last thing I’m going to share with you, but I will. I give you my word on that.’

  Lynch didn’t respond. His heart rate was past a hundred now as shots of adrenaline raged through his bloodstream.

  ‘It’s okay, Mr Lynch, I understand. You’re impotent. Not even worth one of those pointless badges the lady next to you possesses. You lost your son and think it was your fault. Let me tell you something, Mr Lynch. It was.’

  Lynch pushed himself up from his seat, only for Rose to grasp his wrist and ease him back down.

  The movement was manna to Razinski. ‘See,’ he said, with unhidden joy. ‘We took him because of you, Lynch. I think you know that. We took him because you were close to finding us and we wanted to, and please do pardon the pun here, derail you.’

  ‘That’s enough,’ said Rose, getting to her feet. She waited for Lynch who remained in his seat staring at Razinski, considering what damage he could inflict on the monster before him.

  ‘I can give you everything,’ said Razinski. ‘So many are still alive. So, so many. I can tell you where they are. I can give you the Controller,’ he shouted, as Lynch finally got to his feet and followed Rose out of the glass prison.

  6

  Lynch returned to the makeshift canteen where Balfour was waiting.

  ‘Well, that was a bust,’ said Balfour.

  Lynch reminded himself he no longer worked for the FBI and debated internally if it was worth knocking the man out. ‘What the fuck is going on here?’ he said.

  ‘I think that’s obvious,’ said Balfour, rattled by Lynch’s insubordination.

  ‘I agree. I think you’ve got something on the Railroad, otherwise you wouldn’t be humoring this fuckwit.’

  Balfour squirmed, his face shaping itself into something both uncomfortable and smug-looking.

  ‘You fuckers. You got rid of me but you followed up my work. That’s why you knew where to find me. Do you know about this?’ said Lynch, turning to Rose.

  Rose shook her head, her scorn reserved for Balfour.

  ‘Did you really expect to be notified, Lynch? May I remind you that you’re no longer a member of the FBI. That you left in disgrace.’

  Heat rose in Lynch at the word disgrace. Balfour had finally revealed his true self and it wasn’t pleasant. Lynch ignored the jibe, the same way Balfour was ignoring the fact that Lynch had lost his son due to his work. ‘Even from a professional viewpoint you should have consulted me. Maybe we wouldn’t be in this position if you had.’

  Balfour’s cold eyes bored into Lynch, reminding him of the lack of empathy he’d seen in Razinski. He was convinced now the FBI had been monitoring his actions ever since his departure.

  ‘Where do we go from here?’ said Rose, trying to dispel the tension between the two men.

  ‘What do you suggest, Agent?’ said Balfour, not taking his eyes off Lynch as if expecting an attack.

  ‘We could negotiate on his demands,’ said Rose.

  Balfour snarled. ‘Full immunity? Even we couldn’t pull that off.’

  ‘She said negotiate,’ said Lynch, tired of the man’s attitude. In his time with the Bureau, he’d seen stranger things. It would never be acknowledged officially, but deals were made with criminals, even ones as extreme as Razinski. If it wasn’t a possibility then Razinski wouldn’t still be sitting there in his glass prison. He would have been taken somewhere even more secure than his current surroundings.

  Balfour placed his fingers on his mouth, the second nervous habit Lynch had spotted since being reunited with the man. ‘We may have a possible negotiation tactic,’ said Balfour. He sounded reluctant, as if it pained him to share the words.

  Rose glanced at Lynch, her frustration made clear. Neither of them spoke, waiting for Balfour to speak.

  ‘Whilst you were interviewing Razinski, a call came in from one of our field teams. We’ve managed to trace Razinski’s family. What’s left of them anyway.’

  ‘What’s left of them?’ said Rose.

  ‘Apparently Razinski has an estranged wife. Or did. She was discovered outside her residence in Victoria, two hours ago. She was not long dead.’

  ‘Cause of death?’ said Lynch.

  ‘Exsanguination. Both wrists were slashed.’

  ‘And she was discovered in the street?’

  Balfour pulled open the iPad on the desk and turned towards Lynch and Rose. A series of images played before them. A woman in her late forties, early fifties, spread-eagled in a quiet back street. Her body positioned horizontally across the road, her legs and arms pulled to her side so she made a straight line. Blood pooled around her creating a maroon lake. It was apparent whoever had placed her in the road wanted her discovered.

  ‘That’s not the worst of it,’ said Balfour, taking the iPad back. ‘Six other members of Razinski’s family have been found.’

  ‘Six?’ said Rose, incredulous.

  ‘Razinski’s mother, was found outside her care home in Lufkin. His uncles, Bill and Joss Turner from his mother’s side, and Blyth Razinski from his father’s side. And then there’s his sister, and her husband,’ said Balfour, clicking the iPad and handing it back to Lynch.

  Lynch held the iPad at arm’s distance as if the images on the screen could be contained. He squinted his eyes, trying to make sense of the pixelated shapes. The corpses of Razinski’s sister and her husband lay side by side. Like Razinski’s estranged wife, their arms and legs had been pulled in to create two horizontal lines. They were placed two feet apart, in Lynch’s opinion the opening rungs of a Railroad line. Lynch gulped and, fighting the rising nausea, peered closer at the photo. Next to him, he sensed Rose’s apprehension.

  ‘Scroll through,’ said Balfour.

  Lynch swiped image after image, panoramic view to close up, until he was left in no doubt as to what he was seeing. Like
Edward Gunn, Razinski’s sister and her husband had both been decapitated though the assailants hadn’t stopped there. They had switched heads on the corpses, so Razinski’s sister’s body had the head of her husband and vice versa.

  ‘It couldn’t be a clearer message,’ said Lynch. ‘They obviously know we have Razinski in custody.’

  ‘But why kill all his family?’ asked Rose. ‘What do they gain?’

  It was the wrong question. ‘Who haven’t they killed?’ said Lynch

  Balfour nodded. ‘We have been unable to trace Razinski’s father, Wayne, and his eight-year old daughter, Ellie. Ellie lives with her grandfather in a small rural area called Hardwick near Waco, ninety minutes out of Dallas. We have a sighting of them four hours ago in a grocery store, but from what we can ascertain they never returned home.

  Lynch glanced at the images of Razinski’s daughter, struggling to comprehend how the monster in the transparent prison behind them could have a child. He assumed Ellie had been an accident, unwanted by mother and father, and had therefore been abandoned to the care of her grandparent. Did she know the man her father was? Did Razinski’s father understand what he’d created? ‘Have we received any word from them?’ he asked.

  ‘Them?’ said Balfour.

  ‘We can stop with the pretense now, Balfour. The Railroad, or whatever we want to call them. The killings are a warning, the kidnapping a motivation for Razinski not to talk.’

  ‘Does Razinski know?’ said Rose.

  ‘Not yet,’ said Balfour.

  Rose lent forward on her desk. ‘So what do we do? Go back and tell Razinski what has happened. Then what? Hope he gives us the lowdown on this supposed organization? If anything, this puts us in a worse negotiating position.’

  ‘Not necessarily. We can tell Razinski we will find his father and daughter if he cooperates,’ said Balfour.

  ‘That’s if he even cares,’ said Rose.

  Lynch nodded. ‘They’ve obviously targeted the father and daughter. If Razinski does have any allegiance or empathy, I imagine it is focused on one of them. I guess we have nothing to lose by discussing it with him.’

  Lynch stood, an old instinct taking over. ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

  Rose didn’t wait for confirmation with Balfour. Lynch heard her get from her seat as he walked towards the door. He glanced sideways at Balfour who remained sitting but didn’t try to interfere.

  Razinski chuckled as the hydraulic doors of the prison sighed open. ‘Back so soon,’ he said.

  Lynch followed Rose to the safety line where she told Razinski the news about his family, holding back the details of his father and daughter. Lynch scrutinized the prisoner’s face for a reaction but saw nothing beyond a slight elevation of the eyebrows.

  ‘You wish me to comment?’ said Razinski, as if the brutal murder of six family members was a mundane issue.

  ‘They’re trying to warn you off,’ said Lynch.

  Razinski’s eyes widened in mock appreciation. ‘Wow, what a deduction. Of course they’re trying to warn me off. Bit of an overkill, as usual. At least it proves one thing though.’

  ‘What’s that?’ said Rose.

  ‘That I have something to offer you. So what do you have to offer me, Agent Rose?’

  ‘Full immunity is off the table, Razinski, but I think you knew that. Some arrangement could be made for home custody though in a secure area.’

  Razinski stared blankly ahead. After some time, Lynch realized the man was in thought. ‘I want legal representation and official documentation before I speak.’

  Rose nodded and turned towards Lynch as if looking for confirmation.

  ‘Tell him,’ said Lynch, keeping his gaze on Razinski for a reaction.

  It wasn’t much, a mere narrowing of the eyes, but as Rose told Razinski about his father and daughter the man, for the first time, looked concerned about his predicament.

  The three of them sat in silence for a period, eventually broken by Razinski. ‘Why would you tell me that? You know they are effectively buying my silence.’

  Razinski sounded vulnerable and Lynch was quick to exploit this momentary weakness. ‘We can help you, Razinski. We’re the only people who can. Tell us what you know now and I promise we’ll do everything in our power to find your missing relatives.’

  Razinski thrust his chin forward, his skin catching on the metallic restraints. ‘You forget, Mr Lynch, you’re no longer a member of this esteemed organization.’ Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke, his face coloring in anger.

  ‘Mr Lynch is representing the Bureau in this, Mr Razinski,’ said Rose. ‘I can confirm we will put all our resources into finding your family.’

  Razinski relaxed, his head dropping onto his restraints as if someone had drained the power from him, before tensing again. Lynch noticed the veins on the man’s forearms pop into view as he clenched his fists, his face blossoming into color as the rage spread throughout him. ‘You fucking morons. You think you can do anything?’ he said, his voice rising until he was screaming at them, his face so contorted that he was unrecognizable. ‘They are gone, gone for ever. It isn’t a bargaining tool. It is a sign of power. It’s not meant for me, it’s meant for the rest of them. It’s meant for you.’

  As quick as the anger arose, it vanished. The color drained from him as his body relaxed once more. ‘Thank you for your concern but my original demand remains and there will be no further discussion until I have a document to sign and an attorney to witness it.’

  Lynch considered the enormity of Razinski’s statement as he followed Rose out of the prison area. If what he’d said was true, the Railroad were prepared to commit multiple and graphic executions simply to serve a point.

  Balfour was waiting for them in the secure area where he’d monitored their second interrogation of Razinski. Lynch counted the armed guards surrounding the prison, and positioned in various points across the hangar. The underground compound should be one of the securest places on earth. The extended guard presence smacked of overkill.

  ‘That went well,’ said Balfour, as the hydraulic doors clicked shut securing the three of them in the enclosed area.

  ‘Tell me what you know,’ said Lynch.

  As he spoke a second door, a hidden element directly behind Balfour, slid open and two Agents dressed in SWAT gear entered the room.

  ‘Thank you for your help, Mr Lynch, but we can take it from here.’

  Lynch glanced at Rose, dismayed but not surprised by this latest development. He was no longer one of the team and had served his purpose by talking to Razinski. What happened next was beyond his level, which at present was non-existent.

  Rose grimaced. ‘Sir, I think it would be wise to keep Mr Lynch here for the time being. He has a connection with Razinski and whatever group he is part of. I think his disappearance would affect the possibility of co-operation.’

  ‘Thank you for your suggestion, Agent Rose, but Razinski will cooperate with us, one way or another,’ said Balfour.

  Lynch poised himself as the SWAT officers moved towards him. Although there was little he could do, he wanted to leave with some dignity. Rose glanced at him, as if questioning him over Balfour’s last statement.

  What had he meant? That he was prepared to go beyond what was legal to get answers from Razinski? If that was the case, Rose would probably soon have to make a decision as to whether she was prepared to go along with such a procedure.

  The first of the SWAT guys held out his arm. ‘Please come with us, sir,’ he said.

  Lynch nodded to Rose. ‘A pleasure,’ he said, as the sound of an explosion ripped through the compound area.

  7

  The five agents in the secure area froze. The SWAT members looked at Balfour for instructions and Lynch took a step away from them.

  Balfour barked questions into his walkie-talkie but received only static in reply.

  ‘They’ve come for Razinski,’ said Lynch, as the first set of gunshots rang out in the hangar.

>   Balfour hesitated, the lack of decisiveness highlighting the potential coward in the man.

  ‘We need to get him out of there,’ said Lynch. ‘Razinski is our only link to the Railroad.’

  Balfour glanced around the room as if an answer could be found in the reinforced concrete walls, bulletproof glass, and steel doors separating them from the rest of the hangar.

  ‘He’s right, sir,’ said Rose, who’d withdrawn her firearm.

  In the compound, a team of FBI operatives had moved to surround Razinski’s prison. The explosion and gunfire sounded as if it came from some distance away but the thick walls of their room dampened the noise.

  As if in answer, one of the guards surrounding Razinski’s prison took a hit in the chest. He was wearing his Kevlar vest but the impact knocked him off his feet. As he fell, three canisters were thrown into the area, each releasing smoke on impact.

  ‘Tear gas,’ said Lynch.

  The attack was enough for the two SWAT operatives to jump into action. ‘There are masks through here,’ said one of the men, pointing to the hidden door. Before Balfour could object, they disappeared through the opening.

  ‘I need a gun,’ said Lynch, as outside the room guards returned fire on an unseen enemy. As he spoke one of the guards took a bullet to the head, the impact ripping half of the unfortunate man’s head clear away.

  ‘Balfour,’ shouted Lynch.

  Balfour was rooted to the spot, watching events unfold with a mounting horror. ‘We’re staying here,’ he said.

  Lynch glanced at Rose for support. ‘Protocol,’ she said, sounding unconvinced of her words.

  ‘Do you have a spare weapon?’ asked Lynch.

  Rose shook her head, as a second guard took a bullet to the head and the scene outside their window clouded over as the tear gas spread.

  ‘Where does that door lead?’ said Lynch, pointing to the opening where the SWAT team had exited.

  ‘Leads back into the hangar,’ said Balfour.