Silence
“Furukawa?” I repeated.
Nothing.
“Damn it,” Leeds said. “We trusted the wrong bloke. It’s a trap.”
“I’ve got two trucks coming my way,” Zach said.
“Keep calm,” Valerie ordered. “Furukawa said he was checking the basement. He could be out of range, or the signal is jammed. Ron, I’m moving to you. Leecy, cover me.”
“No, Valerie,” Wakefield broke in. “I’m closer. Ron, I’m coming to you.”
“Best make it quick,” Leeds said. “Tia’s with the delivery boy at the kitchen door.”
“Cancel the trucks. They turned off before reaching my position,” Zach said.
I left my hiding position and peeked inside the bedroom.
“Either of you ladies on the hill have eyes on the naked man standing in front of the window?”
“Roger that,” Leecy said. “I’ve got a clear shot.”
“Okay, just hold that firing position till I tell you to shoot.”
“Roger that.”
Wakefield joined me in the hall and said, “I hear Tia coming our way.”
“Yes, she is,” Val agreed. “I’ve got her moving through the house in your direction.”
“Anyone got eyes on Furukawa?” I asked.
“No,” Val answered.
“Holding on target,” Leecy said.
I could hear Tia on the stairs below us and gestured for Wakefield to join me in the hall bathroom. By keeping the door slightly ajar, we could see the entrance to the master bedroom. We heard Tia’s approaching footsteps before we saw her. She was wearing a mid-thigh length silk bathrobe, walking toward the bedroom at the end of the hall. I watched her enter the bedroom and whispered, “Now, Leecy.”
Wakefield and I were out of the bathroom and running toward Tia as the sound of breaking glass erupted from the master bedroom, followed by a heavy thud on the floor.
We found Tia frozen in place. I walked around to look at her face and could see she was in a state of shock. Her mind was struggling to process how what had just happened had, in fact, happened.
“Hello, Tia,” I said.
She cut her eyes in my direction, then closed them. “How did you find me?” she asked.
Holding up one finger, I said, “Just a second.” Addressing my team, I said, “All clear.”
“Well?” Tia asked, turning around to see Wakefield aiming a Glock 17 in her direction. “Did you bring everybody?”
“Not everybody,” Wakefield answered. “You killed two of my men, remember?”
“And turned a third,” Tia said, smiling. “May I sit?”
“Sure,” I said. “Have a seat on the bed.”
Leeds was the first to join us, but Leecy, Val, and Zach quickly followed him. “Anyone see Furukawa?” I asked.
“No,” Leecy answered.
Looking at the sniper rifles Leecy and Valerie were holding, Tia asked, “Which one of you shot him?”
“I did,” Leecy said.
Smiling, Tia said, “I was right about you. You’re very good, young one. I think we are very much alike, you and me.”
“Leecy,” I said, interrupting Tia, “I want you and Leeds to find Furukawa and take Zach with you.” I waited while the three of them left the room before turning my attention back to Tia. “You’re going to tell me what I want to know.”
“Sure, we can make a deal. That’s how you people work, right? I mean, that’s what your man Ryan kept trying to get that guy Hodges to do last night.”
“What?” Wakefield asked.
“Hodges didn’t make a deal. I mean, that’s obvious, but Ryan worked on him really hard, promising him a share of all that cash that was in the van with us.”
“I assumed you killed Hodges,” Wakefield said.
“Oh, I did, but only after Ryan made Hodges so mad that he missed the exit for the airport and pulled off the highway to put a gag on Ryan.”
“Jesus,” Wakefield said.
“Where’s Ryan?” I asked.
“Deal first.”
“Okay,” Wakefield said. “What do you want?”
“I know my freedom is too much to ask, but I think minimum security prison and some creature comforts we can agree to later isn’t. But those, along with length of sentence, will depend on what you want from me.”
“Ryan. Where is he?”
Laughing, Tia said, “Wherever two million dollars can take him.”
“We’re not playing games with you, Tia,” Valerie said.
“I don’t think you are,” Tia responded, looking at Valerie. “So you don’t need to pop my eyeball out to make me talk. No reason to get excited, I just don’t know where Ryan went.”
“Tell us about the last time you saw him,” Wakefield said.
“We landed early this morning. I gave him the duffle bags full of money, and we parted company. That’s it.”
I looked at Val and she said, “I’m on it,” and ran from the room.
“Where are the MI5 components?” Wakefield asked.
“Here in the house.”
“Where in the house?”
“Ilion had me set them up and connect them to the servers in his basement.” Tia said.
“Shit,” I said. “Did you load your algorithm?”
“Yes, of course I did. Why?”
“And the hacker operation? Where is it?” Wakefield asked.
Smiling, Tia laughed and said, “Everywhere.”
“What?”
“There isn’t a hacker army, okay?” Tia said smiling and laughing. “That was all propaganda, but Ilion and Putin were planning to build one. Like Ilion told me, if the world thinks we have one, why not give them one?”
“That’s why you bought the MI5 components?” I asked.
“No, I bought those because I wanted to use them for the work I was doing. I’d beaten the Russians to the components and Ilion contacted me about working for them. I put him off for over a year, but,” she paused, looking at Ilion’s dead body, “he was very persuasive. He convinced me only recently to help the Russians build a global network connecting all the top hackers, and to use my algorithm as the main software platform for the operation.”
“Dad,” Leecy said, entering the room, “you need to come with me.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said, and looked at Tammy. “Can you get her dressed and ready for transport?”
“I can,” Tammy said. “You two go ahead. I have a few more questions I’d like to ask Tia.”
I was following Leecy down the stairs when we heard the shot ring out from the bedroom. I was turning to run in that direction when I heard Tammy’s voice in my ear.
“Tia decided not to cooperate.” I looked up and saw Tammy at the top of the stairs. “So I changed the terms of the deal.”
“Agent Wakefield,” Leecy said.
“Let it be, Leecy,” I said. “What’s going on? Why’d you come get me?”
“The earpieces won’t work in the basement so I had to come for you, but I’ll let Zach explain what’s down there.”
“Did you find Furukawa?”
“He’s with Zach in the basement.”
*
“Zach,” I asked, entering the basement, “tell me what I’m looking at.”
Zach was standing next to Furukawa, and both men were typing feverishly on keyboards wired directly into the computer servers.
“We’ve got half a dozen server stacks connected to the MI5 systems, creating a super computer. The system is online and active.”
“What does that mean?” Wakefield asked.
“It means,” Leeds answered, “the hacker army is very real.”
“That’s right,” Leecy said. “And once the MI5 computers were hooked to the servers, thousands of hackers across the globe downloaded Tia’s algorithm.”
“The same one she used to hack the CIA,” Valerie added.
“That’s correct,” Furukawa answered. “The algorithm is out in the open
.”
“Now what?” Wakefield asked.
“Zach and I,” Furukawa began, “have corrupted the algorithm by uploading a virus. We’re sending viruses disguised as updates to each hacker that downloaded the algorithm. That should take care of most of the hackers’ ability to use the algorithm. Once we’re finished, we can dismantle the system, and Mr. Leeds, you can have the algorithm and the MI5 components.”
“And the overall success rate of this virus disguised as an update?” Leeds asked.
“Ninety-nine percent,” Zach said.
“Well then we at Interpol will just have to keep vigilant won’t we?”
“Any luck finding Ryan by tracking the microdots?” Wakefield asked.
“Yes, hold on,” Zach answered. “Just one more thing… and done. Furukawa?”
“Yeah. Me, too. I’ll start taking this stuff apart. Robert, you want to give me a hand?” Furukawa asked.
“Yes, sure. I’m beginning to like getting my hands dirty,” Leeds answered.
“Zach?” Wakefield asked again.
“Yes,” Zach said, turning his attention away from the computers and focusing on Wakefield. “I used the servers to boost the signal of the microdot tracking program. He’s still in possession of the bags, and he’s here in St. Petersburg. I emailed you the address ten minutes ago.”
“Leeds,” Wakefield said, “we’ll meet you, Zach, and Furukawa at the airport at midnight. The Grangers and I have some business to attend to.”
“I understand, but don’t you forget you still owe me a coffee.”
*
“What’s this place?” Wakefield asked as she eased the van to a stop half a block from the entrance of a drab, three story concrete building in southwestern St. Petersburg.
“It’s the kind of place where no one comes looking for you,” I said.
“Cash only hotel, and they probably only charge by the hour,” Valerie added. “Check the ladies hanging around the front door. Working girls.”
“So,” Wakefield said, staring at the building, “three floors and twenty rooms to a floor. How do we find him?”
“I know where I’d be,” Leecy replied.
“Enlighten us,” I said.
“I’d select a room closest to the exit, but not the ground floor, and definitely not near the front entrance. There’s too many people hanging around there. No, I’d be in a room at the end of a hall near the stairs on the top floor.”
“Makes sense,” Val agreed. “Ryan pays off a guy at the door to alert him if anyone out of the normal crowd shows, and Ryan makes his escape via the stairs.”
“What’s our approach?” Wakefield asked.
“We access the stairs through the emergency exit doors at either end of the building,” I said. “Then sweep the rooms closest to the stairs first, meeting in the middle till we find him. We work in pairs—two teams of two. Leecy, you and me enter the left side of the building and Val and Wakefield, you guys take the right. Got it?”
“Don’t forget who we’re going after,” Wakefield reminded. “He may be a traitor and an asshole, but he’s also a highly trained CIA operative. He speaks fluent Russian, so don’t let your guard down.”
“What are we waiting for?” Val asked. “It’s not getting any darker. Let’s go.”
“Earpieces on,” Wakefield said.
*
Ten minutes later, we’d bypassed the alarm of the exterior doors, entering the building. The heat from the overhead vents exacerbated the smell of moldy carpet and cigarette smoke.
“This place is disgusting,” I said, climbing the stairs to the third floor. “We should all see a doctor after this.”
“Stop being such a baby.” Wakefield replied. “You’re wearing gloves.”
“If he’s not up here, then we’ll check the other floors,” Valerie said.
Leecy’s hand was on the door leading to the hallway and she said, “Ready?”
I nodded yes, and she pushed open the door and entered the hallway. I could see Val and Wakefield working back-to-back, checking rooms at the opposite end of the hall. After the first five rooms, I said, “Looks like this floor is being used for storage.”
“Yeah,” Wakefield said. “Same thing on this end.”
With nineteen rooms cleared, we met in the middle of the hallway. We were standing on either side of the door for room 301.
“Quiet,” I whispered, trying the doorknob. It was locked.
I smiled, knowing that was a good sign, because every other room’s door had been unlocked. Picking the lock of the cheap doorknob, I held up my hand, counting down with my fingers from 3… 2… 1, and opened the door.
We entered using a standard single file formation. I broke left. Val, now familiar with the layout of each room, found the light switch by the door, and Leecy broke right. Wakefield entered the room, walking between us toward the bed in the middle of the room just as Val turned on the lights.
“What the fu…” Ryan said, reaching for the weapon on the nightstand.
“Please,” Wakefield said, standing at the foot of the bed. “Just give me a reason. Pick up the gun, you piece of shit. I’d love to have the excuse to put a bullet between your eyes. You did nothing while Tia killed Hodges and those pilots. Please do something now.”
Ryan’s hand hovered calmly above the weapon. His eyes were blinking rapidly, adjusting to the light.
“I figured I’d see you again, just not this soon. How’d you find me?”
“Microdots in the money bags,” Leecy answered.
“You find Tia?” he asked.
“Yes,” Valerie answered.
“I guess you took her into custody, then.”
“You’d be wrong,” Wakefield said.
“You kill her, Granger?” he asked, looking at me, his hand inches from the gun.
“I did,” Wakefield answered.
“I see. So the rules be damned. Is that what you have in mind for me? An execution?”
“I won’t waste my breath reminding you of all the charges pending against you,” Wakefield said, ignoring his question, “but I’ll be adding murder to the list. You’re going to answer for Hodges, those pilots, and Franks.”
“But you know I didn’t kill those people.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not complicit.”
“Last time I checked,” Ryan said, “I’m the only person still alive when Hodges and those pilots were killed. Who’s going to challenge my version of events?”
“And you’d be wrong again, dumbass. There’s a witness. So if you thought you were going to claim Tia held a gun on you and threatened to kill you if you didn’t help her, forget it. That argument won’t hold water.” Wakefield said.
“I didn’t know what she was going to do.”
“I find that difficult to believe, given your profession. You’ll be hard-pressed trying to convince anyone that a man like you, with your catalog of life experiences, didn’t know a crime was going to be committed when you goaded Hodges into stopping the van. Even if you didn’t think he was going to die, you knew Tia was going to try and take advantage of the situation, which means you’re guilty of aiding and abetting, and maybe even felony murder, Ryan. The same argument can be made regarding the pilots. That’s three life sentences at Leavenworth, and I’ve only scratched the surface on the charges I’m prepared to bring against you.”
“That’s it, then,” Ryan said.
“Let’s go, Ryan,” Wakefield said, watching his hand closely, as it was still hovering above the gun. “There’s no easy way out of this for you.”
Ryan made his move, and the ear splitting shot reverberated off the walls of the small room.
“Son of a bitch!” Ryan screamed. “You shot me in the hand!”
“Yeah, I know,” Leecy said. “That’s where I was aiming.”
“Wrap the hand up with something, grab the money, and let’s get out of here,” Wakefield said. “The local police will be here soon.”
Te
n minutes later, I was closing the van’s side door in time to watch the police charge through the front entrance of the hotel.
*
“The pilot assures me we should enjoy calm conditions all the way to Cologne,” Furukawa said.
“Smooth sailing all the way?” Leeds asked.
“Yes, but there’s something else,” Furukawa said.
“What?” Wakefield asked.
“I’ve spoken with my contact at MI5, and there’s news coming out of Russia. Anyone care to watch it on the television?”
“Are you having a laugh? Of course we want to see it,” Leeds said.
The familiar face and dark hair of the English-speaking, female MSNBC reporter that reported the explosion in Sevastopol filled the screen.
“We now go to Moscow for this breaking news story and President Vladimir Putin.”
“Valerie?” Wakefield asked, leaning across the aisle. “Do you mind translating?”
“No, not at all. Putin is saying a tragedy has occurred, that a member of his cabinet has been killed. Ilion Volodarsky was discovered murdered in his home in St. Petersburg. He’s saying Ilion recently returned from a peace-seeking mission to Geneva, where he met with strong resistance from the Ukrainian Nationalists. Putin fears Ilion’s death is directly linked to these peace-keeping efforts, but also, he believes the murder is related to something else. Putin says Ilion uncovered the true origins of the alleged army of hackers, and it was this very discovery that led to his death. Ilion had proven beyond doubt that the hackers responsible for causing havoc all over the world, were and continue to operate freely inside the Ukraine, and are receiving the full support of the pro-Nationalist party. Putin is blaming the pro-nationalist Ukrainian forces for Ilion’s death.”
“Wow,” Zach said. “You gotta hand it to the guy; he never misses an opportunity to blame someone else for the shit he stirs up.”
Turning off the TV, Furukawa asked, “Why didn’t he mention the girl?”
“Tia didn’t fit in with the new narrative, I guess.”
“I don’t know,” Wakefield chimed in, then turned to Leecy. “Check the prisoner’s restraints one more time, okay?”
Bloody Truth: A Granger Spy Novel Page 21
