Final Act

by Van Fleisher

  Hawke seemed pleased but asked for her assurance that the search warrant at VitalTech wasn’t any form of revenge for them filing charges against Vijay.

  Zoe assured him that it was based on Alek Belikov’s finding that the data sharing was initiated from within VitalTech.

  Hawke then surprised her when he said, “Zoe, I want you to know that I have no issues regarding your relationship with another woman, although if it were with a male Secret Service agent, I doubt it would have ever come up.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I got a call from my counterpart at the Secret Service this morning who was upset about the VT2 system not functioning, and that one of his agents had been shot as a result. But the real point of him calling me was to stir up some shit that you and she were in a relationship. So, what I’m telling you is that my only concerns are that we do our jobs to the very best of our abilities. And I think that you are. Period. Now, get Vasin! Let’s find out who’s behind this, and let’s stop these shootings.”

  Zoe stood there with the phone to her ear for almost a minute after Hawke had hung up.

  ***

  CHAPTER 22 – SPARRING WITH THE ENEMY

  Elliot Hospital, Manchester, New Hampshire. Zoe missed dinner at the hospital, but she didn’t have an appetite – neither for food nor the necessary conversation.

  Demi was happy to see her, and Zoe was happy that she was looking so well. Only one tube left. Demi told her that she would be discharged tomorrow morning and asked how her day was.

  Zoe pulled up a chair and sat down close to Demi so that they could not only keep their voices down but also so that Zoe could read Demi. She began, “I received a call today from my boss, Eric Hawke. He had received a call from your boss, Miller.” Zoe could see a reaction washing over Demi’s face.

  “When I heard about the shooting yesterday, all I could think about was you, and I flew up without thinking about much else and even without telling anyone. I was so relieved this morning that you were OK that I shifted gears and set in motion some actions to find the people responsible for the shootings. I never had time to tell Hawke about the VT2 system problem, yet when he called me late this morning, he knew about it and … that I came up here because the Secret Service Agent was my, quote, girlfriend.

  “No one else knew about the system failure, or us. What’s going on, Demi?”

  Tears welled up, and Demi was choked up and struggling to talk, “I’m so sorry. I’ve made a mess of everything, and now I’ve jeopardized your job.”

  Zoe clarified, “Hawke doesn’t give a damn about our relationship. He was a little pissed off because he didn’t know that our VT2 system had faltered, but he was more upset because Miller was taunting him about our relationship.”

  Demi began composing herself. “A few years ago, at a big party with lots of enforcement people, Miller came on to me, and I rebuffed him. Later, he saw me flirting with another girl, and he flashed me this look – part smile, but part evil. About a week later, he told me that the Service didn’t like or trust gays and that I’d better be careful if I wanted to keep my job.

  “And that was the end of it until I met you. Somehow, Miller found out about us. He told me that he knew about our secret and that the secret would stay between us if I kept him abreast of developments at the Bureau. I asked him what kind of developments, and he said anything that might push Hawke into the limelight. Miller is very ambitious and was concerned that Hawke would outshine him and be in a better position to lead the joint agency group that’s under discussion.”

  Zoe was astonished, “And so you looked at my computer and tried to eavesdrop?”

  Demi was choking, and tears were streaming, “I did. I was as much concerned for you as for myself.”

  Zoe shot back, “What about the sprained ankle?”

  Surprised by the accusation, Demi exclaimed, “What? Why would I fake that?”

  Now it was Zoe’s turn to be embarrassed. “I was pretty sure you were snooping, and as you can imagine, given the lives we lead, my imagination drifted to entertain thoughts that you might be working for the other side.”

  Demi started laughing and crying, but Zoe still heard her say, “I love you, Zoe Brouet. Please hug me!”

  After as much hugging as the hospital bed, injuries, and decorum allowed – and an unlimited amount of tears and laughter – Zoe felt a huge weight lift, and she realized she was famished. She scarfed some snack food from the lobby vending machine and then sat with Demi as they laughed and cried some more, and even discussed ideas about how to catch the bad guys until the nurses finally threw Zoe out.

  ***

  Reagan National Airport, Arlington, Virginia. Zoe and Demi disembarked from their short flight from Manchester. Demi was assisted in a wheelchair, and Zoe switched on her phone. There were a dozen messages, and Zoe checked the one from the FBI Boston Field Office, first.

  They got Vik Vasin. She called the Boston office, and they told her that, ironically, they got him at the Manchester Airport parking lot when he was picking up his car. He was saying nothing and demanded to see his lawyer.

  Zoe told them to bring Vasin to D.C. His lawyer could meet him there. She asked about Panova and was told that his lawyer was coming in later today. She reminded them not to let Panova or Vasin or their lawyers know that both men were in custody.

  Zoe then checked the message from her office. It was confirmation that agents were on their way to VitalTech to search for the source of the new data feed. The others were Ninad’s automatic alerts of Final Notice Recipient updates and one message from Vijay.

  Vijay’s call reminded her that their tracking system was useless if a killer removed their VT2, so she called him while she and Demi waited for their ride.

  Vijay acknowledged that there was nothing they could do about the watch removal gambit, but he and Alek had put an alert in place if a Recipient’s watch was removed for fifteen minutes; or, if someone else started wearing the watch. Alek was talking with Ninad to suggest filtering those alerts if a Recipient was within a specified range of a potential target. Zoe hadn’t fully appreciated that – since the VT2 system was monitoring blood characteristics 24/7 – the system would always know if the watch was removed.

  Vijay added that when a VT2 removal alert was received, Ninad could relay the warning to law enforcement personnel at the location, along with a photo or photos of the Recipient. A VT2 removal alert occurring close to a target should serve as a “high risk” warning to everyone in the vicinity, given the New Hampshire incident. Equally, if the ‘robot’ killer was showing any telltale profile signs or was registered as having a gun, a watch removal alert could be triggered at any time.

  Zoe surprised Vijay with the news that they would be serving a subpoena on VitalTech shortly to see if they could find out who was writing the code for the new feed and where it was going. She felt a little more in control, especially with Vasin in custody.

  After the call, she happily and openly shared it with Demi as they rekindled their relationship.

  Zoe got Demi settled in at Demi’s flat and then headed to the office. She got word that her agents were currently confiscating copies of VitalTech’s data system, and Mike Kalin was screaming at anyone in his path. She expected to hear from Legal or Hawke at any minute, and she was right.

  It was Sue from Legal. Mike Kalin was screaming at and into a couple of the right ears, complaining that Zoe was attacking his business for revenge. Sue demanded to know who Zoe’s confidential sources were, who had advised her about the VitalTech system hack. Zoe told her what Alek had witnessed, and that the judge who issued the warrant had decided there were enough precedents to allow the search, especially given the importance of the breach. Sue was appeased for the moment but warned Zoe to be careful.

  She had just put the phone down when it rang again. Vik Vasin and his lawyer were waiting for her. Reluctantly, she called Sue back and asked her to sit in on the meeting. She and Sue then huddled as Zoe
brought Sue up to speed on the case; Zoe hoped that the two of them could get on a firmer footing when they interviewed Vasin.

  Vasin and his lawyer, Vasily Orlov, started out complaining of the injustice of taking Vasin into custody, flying him to D.C., and then making them wait. Neither Zoe nor Sue made any apologies.

  Orlov continued complaining but shifted the complaint to the legality of Vasin’s custody. Zoe handed Orlov a copy of Tony Vinzano’s story and a copy of the cell phone picture of Vasin that Tony’s dad had taken.

  Orlov scoffed and said, “Vinzano was a loser who made up a story so his kid would think he was a good father. He just happened to take a picture of Mr. Vasin. There’s nothing to corroborate the kid’s story and nothing to connect it to the picture. You got nothing.”

  Zoe pulled the mugshot of Panova from her file and slid it across the table to Vasin. “Do you know this guy?”

  Vasin looked at it like he was looking at a blank wall. “No.”

  She then slid the picture with Vasin and Panova together and asked, “Does this help your memory?”

  “Is that the same guy?” he asked, stalling for a few seconds.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Nah. Unless this is a fake photo, I guess I met him, but I can’t remember it. I meet a lot of people.”

  “He remembers you, and he remembers that you hired him to kill Peter Mason.”

  Orlov asked Vasin, “Do you know what she’s talking about?”

  “No. I don’t know what this guy’s trying to pull. I’ve never hired him to kill anyone, and I don’t know Peter Mason.”

  Zoe asked, “Just like you didn’t know, Louie Vinzano?”

  Orlov objected, “He’s told you he knows nothing about these murders.”

  Zoe wasn’t done. “Where were you on the night of the second, three weeks ago.”

  “Boston.”

  “I think you were in Washington, D.C., very close to the spot where Justice Jefferson Darrow was shot.”

  Orlov objected again. “Everyone knows that Mitchell Connelly killed Darrow.”

  “But Connelly was hired to do the killing.”

  Orlov laughed, “Jesus, now you’re spouting conspiracy theories!”

  “What were you doing in Des Moines two weeks ago?”

  “I wasn’t in Des Moines.”

  “And Las Vegas a day after that?”

  “Wasn’t there.”

  Orlov interrupted, “Is this travel quiz leading up to something?”

  Zoe explained that in addition to hiring Louie Vinzano, Vik Pavlov, Peter Mason, and Mitchell Connelly as contract killers, Vik Vasin had hired additional killers in Des Moines, Las Vegas, and Manchester, New Hampshire. “We have flight records that place Vasin in Des Moines and Las Vegas on the dates of assassinations and attempts, and we know he was in the proximity of Manchester two days ago when another assassination was attempted.” She also stated that she could place Vasin in the vicinity of Justice Darrow’s murder in D.C.”

  Sarcastically, Orlov replies, “Those are excellent theories, but you have no proof.

  Zoe countered, “But we do, Mr. Orlov. We have flight records … passenger lists. And we have Lev Panova. The guy in the picture. He told us that your client hired him.”

  Orlov, smiling, asked, “Is that a fact or a hope, Agent Brouet? Because if you can’t show me a confession, my client and I would like to leave.”

  Zoe remained composed and said, “It should have been received by now. We’ll be right back.”

  As they walked to Zoe’s office, Sue said, “If the confession hasn’t been received or it’s not solid enough, you’ll either have to let him go unless we try to hold him on terrorism charges. And that’s a stretch, given what we have.”

  Zoe mumbled, “I know,” as she picked up the pace. There was nothing on her desk, so she called Boston. She visibly sank when told that Panova and his lawyer had changed their tune. They were sticking with the good-guy story, and while Panova admitted he knew Vasin, he denied working with him. His lawyer demanded Panova’s immediate release, and without an admission, or more evidence, they had nothing to hold him on.

  Sue looked at the warrant again and saw that Panova’s confession was part of the justification for bringing in Vasin. “So, let him go or try to get a warrant based on terrorism charges?”

  She added, “Orlov was quite sure you didn’t have a confession because he and Panova’s lawyer are working for the same people. Panova was ready to cave, but whoever is behind all this changed his mind. Without his testimony, we have nothing. If you think he’s going to change his mind, and if you’re right, he’ll never live to tell his story.”

  Zoe was down but not out. “We’ll let him go. That will stop the alarms from going off, and maybe they’ll get careless.”

  ***

  CHAPTER 23 – DECEPTION

  Washington, D.C. Zoe was devastated. She was only a little better off than she was before Vijay started sharing the enhanced information. She would kick Vasin’s case back to the Highland Park police, but she doubted that a prosecutor would take it up without more evidence. Could Vasin be that smart to orchestrate almost a dozen assassinations or attempts and not leave any clues? Even if he’s ID’d at or near a crime scene, it wouldn’t be enough. We need a break.

  Her phone rang, and it was the agent who led the team to serve the VitalTech warrant. She held her breath.

  He told her that they had good news and bad news, and she chose to hear the bad news first, which was that they hadn’t been able to find a specific destination for the recent hack. They were still working on it.

  The good news was that they had identified the hacker. It was a former employee, Alek Belikov, who had created a pathway that allowed him to write code as though he was sitting at his old VitalTech desk.

  Zoe exploded, “You must have been looking at the data feed that we’re currently receiving. That was set up by two former VitalTech guys, one of whom is Alek Belikov.”

  The agent corrected her, “No, ma’am. We spoke with Ninad, and he confirmed that the data he is getting is different than the one we found. We only found one active feed.”

  Zoe was beside herself. She was sure there was a misunderstanding and that the agents had been looking at the feed that Vijay and Alek had set up. But right then, all she wanted to do was go home and take care of Demi, as soon as she called Vijay.

  Zoe explained to Vijay that she was convinced they knew who was managing the murders, but she didn’t have enough evidence to hold them. She also related the probable screw-up with the mystery data feed and that Alek had been accused. Vijay laughed and considered that preposterous. He also added that the feed that Alek had set up was virtually impossible to detect, so the one they found must be the one that Alek had observed.

  Zoe wondered if this was a clumsy attempt to frame Alek so that he could be taken out of action.

  When Zoe got to Demi’s, it was evident that the patient was improving. The candles were flickering, the second bottle of wine that Zoe bought the other evening was open next to two wine glasses, and Demi had ordered their favorites from their “go-to” Indian restaurant, RASA. Demi looked terrific, and Zoe did her best to leave her awful day behind, and at least end it in the warm glow of love, caring, and understanding.

  ***

  Zoe’s bad day had barely ended officially, at least on Eastern Standard Time, when she got a call at 1:20 a.m. about an attempted assassination of a presidential candidate in California. The shooter missed his intended target, was lost in the panic and confusion that followed, and was found dead minutes later from an unwitnessed gunshot. The shooter was a Recipient, and his VT2 had been removed. Security cameras had not matched his image, possibly because he was wearing a baseball cap. It wasn’t clear if the shooter took his own life or had been killed by someone else. Agents from the Los Angeles field office and the Secret Service were still investigating.

  Zoe tried to calculate the likelihood of Vasin getting to Californ
ia in time to pull this off, but she didn’t think it was possible. So that meant he wasn’t the only field operator. She tried to get back to sleep, but there were too many loose ends to think about, so she decided to start her day.

  Demi was still sleeping soundly, so she left a note and headed to her office. The night sky was clear, with a good number of stars out, despite the light pollution of D.C. Her problems at work faded away as Zoe marveled at the sight. A childhood memory from long ago encouraged her to select a star and make a wish. And she did.

  Alone in her office, she tapped away at her computer, searching for Vasin on flights from Reagan, Dulles or Baltimore airports to Los Angeles. Finding nothing, she searched for him on flights to Boston and got a hit. Vasin was on the 5:30 p.m. flight from Reagan to Boston. Almost holding her breath, she searched the Boston-LA flights, but they came up empty.