***
Jago and Dom entered the secure room, and Dom walked over to where Marti sat.
“Marti, here’s your coffee. I’m sorry it took so long. I got held up, so I made a fresh one. Here are some biscuits too.”
“Thanks.”
Jago moved the chair to one side so that he wasn’t sitting across from Marti.
“Marti, why did you take voluntary redundancy from the service?”
Marti drank some coffee and ate a biscuit. Jago waited.
“I don’t know really. I guess they were making a cull and I could have been forced out, so I thought that I’d take the initiative and volunteer. I thought that I could make a go of it with my skills in civvy street.”
“That makes sense. You’re well trained and have plenty of experience and, by all accounts, you’re good at what you do. But Jed doesn’t possess a set of skills that are readily transferable into civvy street, does he? Of course, there’s work in private security, but it wouldn’t be the same, would it? Where does someone like Jed go? And then there’s his health. Sure, he’s physically fit and strong, but mentally he’s unstable. He needs help. But we need to find him first. Will you help us, Marti?”
“I can’t … I can’t.”
“Not even to help your only brother? If you’re worried that he’ll feel betrayed, we can sort that out. Or, are you worried that he’ll find out that you volunteered for redundancy? That’s it, isn’t it, Marti? You’re afraid of what he’ll do when he finds out.”
Marti’s head hung low. Jago had hit the nail on the head.
“Now that’s out in the open, you need to tell us where he’s gone. Your father mentioned that he was going away to the US. Where exactly would that be? By the way, your dad is on his way here to see you in the morning.”
Marti struggled for words. “No, you can’t. He can’t see me like this.”
“Then help us. Help us now.”
“Alright, alright. Jed’s going to pay a visit to Doc Dean’s woman. He hates Dean. Dean was on the committee that made the decision for the redundancies. He was also the medical advisor to the Defence Staff Review Board and held the post for the last three years. He’d published some medical papers and case studies of his work from which he concluded that the military would be better off using technology rather than manpower, owing to the traumatic effect of conflict on every soldier, no matter how well prepared or trained they are. The Defence Review Board cited Dean’s study as a ‘strong and compelling’ part of their rationale for reducing the numbers of armed forces personnel. Dean was also in charge of the PTSD programme that kicked Jed out. Jed wants him to suffer. He hates him with a vengeance.”
“What legend is he using?”
“I don’t know. He’s got a few.”
“Think, Marti, think. Were you there when he made the arrangements?”
“Yes, I was there, but I was busy doing something else. I didn’t pay attention. Jed may have used the legend for Barnes or Oxley. I don’t know which one he’ll use; they were both primed with passports and everything.”
Jago stood to leave the room. “Thank you, Marti, thank you. We’ll try to get your brother some help.”
“Okay, but what about me? What happens to me now?”
“To be honest, we don’t know yet. I have to make some calls, and I will tell them how you cooperated.”
Jago and Dom left, leaving Marti sitting with his head on the table.
Abi was preparing some food.
“Abi, I want you to check the manifest of all aircraft bound for Washington since 1900 hours yesterday. I’m looking for passengers with the name of Barnes or Oxley. Try spelling both with and without a letter ‘e’.”
Jago turned to Fi. “Can you find me a range of flights to Washington? I have some calls to make.”
“Abi, when you have a moment, can you ask Bernie to speak with young Marti about our community fund efforts. It seems that Marti and his brother had a similar idea, only they went about acquiring the funds in quite a different way. Now that he’s been nabbed, and it’s imminent that his brother will be, it would be a shame for their funds to end up elsewhere. Maybe we could get access to them, or should I say at least the interest, to further our cause. See what he can do.”
“Will do, Boss. I’m sure old silver tongue can reach some common ground with him.”
Chapter 30 – The Reunion
“Hi Ray, this is Jago. Long time, no speak. How are you?”
“Jago, I’ve often wondered where you are and what you’re doing, but not at midnight. I guess this isn’t a social call?”
“Not exactly, Ray. We’ve both got a problem.”
“You mean, you have a problem and now it’s going to become my problem too?” Ray laughed.
“I suppose you could call it that. You have a rogue ex-Special Forces soldier on your turf looking for a target. And I need your help.”
“Jago, you know the NCIS is at your disposal. How can I help?”
“I’ll get Abi to send over what we have so far. I’ll be making my way over to see you sometime later today or tomorrow, depending on flight times. It’s possible that he’s already on your turf, so you’ll need to warn the target as soon as possible.”
“How serious is this?”
“It’s serious … very serious. He’s trying to get at a friend of hers through her, and if that means killing her, he’ll do it. We just need to get to her before he does, and we need to bring him in. He is in serious need of some treatment.”
“Okay, Jago. I’ll let the guys at the office know to expect the information. Just let me know when you land and I’ll get someone to collect you from the airport.”
“Thanks, Ray, see you soon.”
***
Fi walked into Jago’s office. “Boss, I’ve got you on a flight at 1045 hours. You’re flying business class, and Abi has sorted out the clearance for your diplomatic bag.”
“That’s great, Fi, what’s my arrival time?”
“You should arrive at 1430 hours local time.”
“Thank you. Do you know if Abi has found out which name Jed is using yet?”
“It looks as though he’s using the name Barnes, James Barnes. He flew out to Washington two days ago from Heathrow.”
“Can you make sure that Ray Bradshaw at NCIS gets this information?” Jago took out a pen and piece of paper and started writing. “Here is his number and his email. Don’t worry about the time. He’ll be expecting the information.”
As Fi left the room, Dom entered. “Are you ready, Boss? I’ll drop you off at the airport.”
“Yes, I have everything I need documentation-wise, and my diplomatic bag is full of my toys. Okay, let’s go.”
“You sure that you don’t want to take somebody with you?” asked Dom. “I mean, this Jed is going to be quite a tricky character.”
“Dom, are you angling for a trip to America?”
“No, it’s just that—”
“Thanks for the offer, Dom, I appreciate that. I think my buddies at NCIS and I should be able to handle him. Anyway, somebody’s got to oversee Marti’s handover and tie up the loose ends surrounding his capture and the intel we have on his brother. That’s going to keep you all pretty busy until I get back.”
***
Jago arrived at Dulles Airport, collected his luggage and walked into the arrivals to find his old friend, Chris Murray, waiting for him. Chris was a chisel-faced, ex-US marine who had attached himself to NCIS some years before. He was a cool operator and someone you could depend upon if you found yourself in a tight spot.
“Well, well, Mr Jago, it’s good to see you. How many years has it been? Seven, eight?”
Jago extended his arm to shake Chris’s hand. “You know, it must be more like ten to twelve years. How are you, Chris? Did you finally get married?”
“I sure did. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have two little ones now as well, both boys. You’ll have to come over to dinner whil
e you’re over here.”
“Now that’s a good idea, but first I’ve got some business to attend to. Have you heard anything from this end?”
“Nope, I just got in from a training course, and I was asked to collect you. And at this moment, I know nothing more than that. Perhaps you can fill me in on the way?”
They jumped into a black Chrysler and started out on the forty-minute journey to the Washington NCIS Field Office in Anacostia. On the way, Jago briefed Chris in explicit detail. This was a man he could trust, and he wanted to make sure that he had conveyed all the relevant information so that NCIS could help him capture Jed Slater, sooner rather than later.
He knew how they used to work ten years ago and figured that not much would have changed since then. When they had a few minutes to spare, they filled in the gaps from their years apart, and reflected upon some fond memories of service together.
Upon arriving at the imposing red-brick building, which could easily be mistaken for a factory, they turned into Defense Boulevard and approached gate security. The two men passed through without a hitch, and they proceeded to the main NCIS Investigation Station along Mitscher Road and left again into the car park of the three-storey building.
“Come on, Jago. Ray is inside with his team waiting for you.”
They entered the central lobby area and signed in with security. Jago was able to leave his luggage in secure storage and elected to take the diplomatic bag with him.
They entered the elevator and headed up to the third floor where they found Ray and three of his agents. They were kitted up and ready for the op.
Ray stepped forward.
“Jago, how are you? You know that you don’t have to send your domestic terrorists over here to make the excuse to visit us. You can come anytime, you know that!” he laughed.
“I do know that, Ray, and I have no excuse, except that work seems to get in the way of everything these days. Anyhow, you could have visited me anytime too, you know. It works both ways.”
“Jago, I want to introduce you to my team. Ladies first. This young lady is our newest recruit to the team. She’s the baby, and her name is Lauren. She may be the newbie, but I wouldn’t mess with her and neither should you.” He turned and stared at Jago right in the eye, and the whole room burst into laughter. A confident Lauren approached Jago and shook his hand.
“Hi Jago, it’s nice to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you. Oh, by the way, seeing as Ray hasn’t mentioned it, I’m in charge of ops intel.”
“What I can only hope is that what you’ve heard is all true.”
Ray continued, “This is our cyber king, Matthew, and what he doesn’t know about computers, networks and all those things isn’t worth knowing about.”
“Hi Matthew, pleased to meet you.” Jago reached out and shook his hand.
“And last but not least is Mark who is in charge of field ops. If there is anything you need, Mark is your man.”
“Hi Jago, I do remember you from about eleven or twelve years ago. I’d just joined the service, and you were one of the instructors on a course I went on in Quantico.”
Jago studied his face. “What’s your surname?”
“Nicholls, Mark Nicholls.”
After a moment’s thought, Jago remembered. “Yes, I remember. I was helping out on the self-defence course for field operatives and, if I recall correctly, you’re heavily into jujitsu and aikido.”
“Yes, that’s me, and I’m still at it. And you?”
“Yes, I’m still at it too. I can’t seem to leave it alone; I love it. It’s good to see you again, and it’s good to have you on the team.”
“Okay, let’s get down to business,” Ray said. “Lauren, will you do the honours?”
“Sure. Gentlemen, this operation is codenamed ‘Big Ben’. Please make a note of that. As soon as we received the information about Professor Jean Beck, we dispatched a team to her residence only to find it empty. We contacted her superior and her secretary during the night. That didn’t go down too well, but hey, that’s life. It seems that Professor Beck is away for four days and that she has gone to Mallows Bay Park. It seems that she enjoys spending time with nature and photography. Her secretary seems to think that she is staying at the Beaver Lodge Homestead on Riverside Road. We have discreetly dispatched a State Trooper from La Plata to the area. The homestead owners, Kyle and Maureen Nisbett, report that Professor Beck has gone walkabout in the area for a couple of days. She regularly stays at this location and frequently goes off walking on her own. She knows the terrain very well and is a competent trekker. She does have a cell phone with her. However, she is inclined to leave it switched off unless she needs it. She will likely be wearing dark green pants, a light brown three-quarter walking jacket and carrying a small navy-blue rucksack. She may also be wearing a light brown baseball cap. She is forty-four years of age, five feet five inches tall and of slender build. Her shoulder-length hair is auburn, and she wears it in a ponytail. She has a tanned complexion. And if you didn’t know already, she is a professor of psychology.”
“Thank you, Lauren,” Jago said. “Do we know if she is taking photographs of anything in particular? Birds, butterflies, the water? Can we narrow down where she might be?”
“We’re approaching her sister who lives on the other side of the city to get an idea of her interests. So, hopefully, we’ll have a better idea and a recent photograph to distribute within the next hour.”
“And what news do we have of Jed Slater?”
“It appears that a man fitting the description of Slater, and calling himself James Barnes, entered the US via Dulles Airport two days ago. He hired a white Ford Escape for a seven-day period. The vehicle was fitted with a tracker that has now been disabled. Since then, he has visited Professor Beck’s office on the day of his arrival. He visited at around 5.30 p.m. He spoke with her secretary and was purporting to be a friend of Dr Dean, Professor Beck’s friend in England. I’m afraid that the secretary told him exactly what she told us. He’s got quite a head start on us, and the Nisbetts have reported that he has already visited them. He took their telephone number and said that he would call periodically to see if she had returned. We suspect that he’s been kitted out by an old buddy of his, Charlie Bright, a small-time hood involved in all sorts of unsavoury activities, including the supply of weapons and munitions. He’s got a place over in the salubrious area of Washington Highlands. We’ve put a raid on the place, and Bright has been brought in, but he’s remaining tight-lipped for now. Consequently, we have no idea regarding any weaponry he may have, but can assume that he’s well equipped, and we know that he is highly capable of using whatever he has. Photographs and updated descriptions of Slater have already been circulated. We have no further information at this time.”
Ray asked, “What about IMINT? Do we have any satellites available? Can we use any live feeds?”
“We have tried to obtain image intelligence using an available reconnaissance satellite, but at the time of passing it was dawn, and the amount of tree cover proved futile. The plan is to get on the ground first and assess the threat. The likelihood is that we’ll need a heat seeker at some point and we may have access from Quantico.”
Jago spoke. “In that case, we have no time to lose. How do we get to Mallows Bay Park? Is it far?”
“I’ve already arranged for some vehicles to be waiting for us when we arrive,” said Ray. “We’ll be taking a chopper down to a small airfield called Washington Field - 70MD. It’s about two and a half miles to a boat ramp where we’ve got a boat and a couple of wet bikes on standby. That way we can scour the shoreline by boat, truck and on foot. We will have approximately two hours of daylight left when we arrive. So don’t forget to pack your night vision gear.”
“Sounds good to me. You don’t happen to have a motorcycle, do you? It might be handy.”
“I’ll see if I can arrange one at the boat ramp. Okay, kit up! The chopper will be here in ten minutes, and our journey will take
approximately thirty minutes. Oh, and I’ve alerted Quantico to let them know that we have an op in the vicinity.”
The team were busy preparing their kit and checking their weapons. All of them carried the standard issue Sig Sauer P239 sidearm and a CQBR Carbine. Jago was preparing his Sig Sauer P239 and his favoured HK-MP5SD.
“Ray, will we be able to use the chopper to search the area for his vehicle? It should stand out well.”
“Yes, it’s at our disposal for as long as we need it. Lauren will stay aloft, coordinating the aerial search. We don’t want a loose cannon running free, do we?”
Chapter 31 – Sunken Ships
The Bell 206L4 helicopter followed the snaking pathway south, mapped out by the meandering Potomac River. The sun was shining and reflecting off the large main window. After twenty minutes of flight along the tree-lined shoreline, the pilot made an announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, to our right we have the NCIS HQ and Quantico Marine Corps Base. We’re going to turn left inland, and we’ll be landing in about four minutes.”
Jago looked out of the window at the sprawling base alongside the river. He’d been there many years ago and forgotten just how big it was. He distinctly remembered the airstrip that ran along the banks of the river and marvelled at the pilot’s ability, as each end of the moderately short runway had its peculiarities. An overshoot in one direction would mean that you would end up in the river, whereas an overshoot in the opposite direction would place you in a real predicament on the riverbank.
Ray spoke over the headset. “Lauren, stay with the chopper and act as control from the air while conducting an aerial search. Matthew, we’ll drop you off at the homestead where you can work your magic on your computer and be there in case she returns, or he makes a call. I doubt if we will be able to trace it, but it’s worth a shot. Mark, you come with me in the truck, and Chris, you work with Jago. Is that okay with you, Jago?”
Shades of Loyalty Page 25
