“I need five minutes in R&D to prepare to make the exchange.”
There was silence as each person listening through earpieces realized what Valerie was saying. Wakefield broke through the silence when she said, “Ron, you and Valerie go ahead. Let’s sync our watches. I have 9:42 p.m. in three, two, one, go.”
Valerie and I did as Wakefield instructed and entered the building. We made our way through the series of security doors and entered the R&D lab. We could hear the doors to vehicles closing outside. They were waiting for us to do what we needed to do. Valerie touched her earpiece to power it off, and I did the same.
I watched as Valerie powered up three different computers and began her download. She filled a one GB memory stick and said, “Okay, that’s it.”
I’d been watching her the entire time and asked, “Are you sure this is the way you want to handle this?”
Sticking the memory stick in her jeans pocket she said, “I have a plan. This is part of it. It’s the only way.”
We powered up our earpieces as we walked back through the maze of doors and rooms to find the team assembled in the kitchen. I leaned against the far wall and watched Zachary set up the computer and the speakers. Julia was busy typing away on the modified laptop’s wireless keyboard. The Simons and Valerie were seated in the chairs around the small kitchen table. The room was small, and filled to overflowing with bodies. Wakefield was standing in the doorway looking at her watch. Hodges, Franks and Ryan were just inside the door.
The mood was somber. The air was heavy. I felt like I was suffocating. I wasn’t one for dwelling in the past or prone to worry about the future. I tried to stay in the present moment, but the weight of the moment was becoming a burden. I was worried about my child, and the choice Valerie had made in R&D. Valerie was formulating a plan. I only had my trust and belief in her.
As if on cue, Ryan, Hodges, and Franks announced they were heading outside to check their weapons and gear. Wakefield, for the benefit of those listening, made a formal request of them for a status update in five minutes. Then she pointed at her watch and to the group, making sure we were all on the same page. The time was 9:50 p.m. Julia began signaling she was jamming the listening devices by holding up her hand and counting down with her fingers from five. Valerie kissed her mother goodbye and hugged her father silently. I thought I saw her whispering in Reuben’s ear. Probably one last I love you. We left together with Wakefield, Julia, and Zach. Wakefield’s plan was off and running, for better or worse.
We were all standing just outside the doors of INESCO. I saw Franks pulling on his headphones to monitor the conversation taking place inside. I heard a buzzing and crackling in my ear, and I looked at the others. Each person had a hand on an ear. I was about to ask if the resulting sounds were part of the jamming Julia had done, but before I could say anything the crackling subsided. It was replaced with the sweetest voice I’d ever heard.
“Damn it. What’s wrong with this thing? Why won’t it work?” Leecy’s voice could be heard saying in my ear.
Wakefield answered saying, “Well, kid, if you want to be an agent you have to be able to work the equipment.”
“I can hear you! I can hear you! It’s me, Leecy!”
I wanted to scream, but I took my cue from the smiling Ryan and just smiled the biggest, happiest grin I could.
“Are you okay?” Valerie asked.
“Mom! Mom!” and Leecy’s voice trailed off. We heard her fighting back tears before she said, “I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”
“Where are you?” Ryan asked.
“Who is this?” Leecy asked.
“It’s Ryan. We met briefly in the hotel. Can you tell me where you are?”
I looked at Wakefield and she gave me a wink. Ryan was getting down to business. He was taking point, doing what he was trained to do. Valerie hugged me tight as tears of relief streamed down both our faces.
“No, I don’t know where I am. The room is dark.”
“Tell me everything you remember happening to you after Moore and Porter took you from the Andersons’ house,” Ryan instructed Leecy.
Wakefield waved us away from the building, because we’d all stopped walking at the sound of Leecy’s voice. Hodges popped the lift gate on his SUV and we all gathered under it. Julia and Zach opened black metal briefcases, connecting wires and cables between the cases and a stack of electronic equipment mounted in the SUV’s cargo area. I could see one three-component stack was marked SAT ONE RELAY, and the other was marked SAT TWO RELAY. I watched as Julia and Zachary began blazing away on the computer keyboards.
“Okay, well they put a sack over my head, and put me in the trunk of a car. I tried to time the trip with my watch, but I don’t think it worked. The glowing hands of my stopwatch function indicated I was only in the trunk for twelve minutes. I felt the car drive over a speed bump, or something like that, just before the car stopped and the engine was turned off. That’s when I stopped the watch. I was pulled from the trunk by two men and told to walk. I was scared, but not as scared as I pretended to be. I fell down on purpose because I knew I wasn’t standing on pavement, and I wanted to know what it was. I felt grass. I was walking across a lawn, maybe, steered by a hand on my left arm. I counted thirty-seven paces before I was told to stop. That’s when they loosened my hood or sack thing enough for me to see my feet, but nothing else. I could see that I was standing at the top of a set of concrete stairs. I counted ten steps down. I was stopped at the bottom and the hood was refastened. I heard what I thought was the sound of a door opening, and was led by the hand where the person wanted me to go. I counted forty-five paces before I stopped walking. I want to say there was a light on somewhere, because the front of the sack on my head was brighter, but it could have been a flashlight. I couldn’t see anything, but the bag looked brighter, you know what I mean? Anyway, I heard the sound of metal sliding on metal before I heard a door open. I was sure it was a door, because the sound was similar to the sound the door on Grandpa Reuben’s barn makes. I was pushed to my right and fell. The floor is either made of stone or brick. I heard the door close, the metal on metal sound, and then a voice tell me I could remove the hood. That’s it. That’s all I know about where I am.”
I was losing the battle I was fighting to control my emotions. My initial relief was replaced by anger. I wanted to scream. Valerie appeared to be calm and unaffected by Leecy’s words, but I knew that was a façade. I knew she was killing Moore and Porter in her mind.
The small group was huddled behind the SUV, listening to the conversation between Ryan and Leecy like we were in front of an old radio, listening to an episode of the Lone Ranger.
“Okay, that’s great,” Ryan, said. “Everything you did was perfect. I know seasoned agents that don’t think as well as you did under pressure. Now, I need you to do something for me.”
“What?” Leecy asked.
“I need you to run your hands over the walls for me. Tell me what the walls feel like and give me an idea of the size of the room you are in. If you can, find the door and start there.” Ryan said.
“Okay, I think I can find the door.”
We listened as Leecy shuffle-walked for a few seconds before she spoke again.
“Found the door. The door feels like it’s metal. Definitely not hollow. I found the wall and it feels like…” There was another pause.
We listened as the sound of her hands sliding over a very rough surface came through our earpieces.
“The walls feel like brick. I’ve reached a corner. I’m going back to the door now. Based on the rough measurement I just made, the room is six feet wide. I’m going to place my back to the door and walk until I find a wall now.”
We listened to the sounds of shuffling feet and then heard her say excitedly, “Six feet deep. I’m in a six by six room.”
“Great work, Leecy. I’m going to turn you over to your parents and get to work on your location. One last thing before I si
gn off, we aren’t receiving the tracking signal for the earpiece. Did it get damaged somehow?”
“It did fall out of my ear in the trunk, and I rolled on top of it. I got it back in my ear with no problem, but it may have been damaged. I’ve been trying to make it come on for the longest time.”
“Not a problem,” Ryan said. “Because of your great work we know we are looking for a basement. We know how long you were in the car, and we know the room you’re in is made of brick and stone.”
“Mom? Dad? Are you there?”
“Yes, dear; we’re listening, as is the rest of Wakefield’s team,” Valerie said.
“I’m here, angel,” I said, just so she knew it was true.
“There’s something else you guys and Wakefield and Ryan need to know.”
“What’s that?” Valerie said.
“I heard them talking when I was in the trunk.”
“Okay, what did you hear?” Valerie asked.
“They are selling the thing they want from INESCO to a buyer coming in from the Middle East. They’re getting some type of certificates or something in exchange for the INESCO product. I don’t know who the buyer is, but I do know they are meeting the guy at the Atlanta airport. I heard them say his flight was delayed and would now land at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning-tomorrow. They’re making the exchange in baggage claim.”
“Great intelligence report, Leecy,” Ryan said. “Anything else about this guy?”
“Nothing about the man, but I did hear them say they were going to remove the bag of the guy coming into Atlanta from the baggage carousel, and replace it with one identical to it. The bag is green, and it is monogrammed. That’s all I heard.”
“Great work,” Ryan said again, “What else do you have for us?”
I could hear Leecy starting to cry now. She was coming apart on us and there was nothing we could do to comfort her. If not for the sound of her gentle crying, there would have been only silence in my ear. Valerie was the first to speak, and when she spoke it was clear who was in charge now.
“Leecy, I need you to listen to me. Are you listening?”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Here’s what’s going to happen. We are going to locate you, and come and get you. Your father and I will take care of Moore and his band of ex-Rangers. You sit tight. We’re on our way. No more talking. Just listen. You be ready to move when your father opens that door. You got me?”
“Got it,” Leecy said.
At that, the conversation was over. No more talking. It was time to get to work. Valerie jogged toward the Jeep and opened the door to the passenger side. I could see her fishing around in the glove box. She found what she was looking for and held up the paper map folder. The maps were courtesy of our AAA membership, but I don’t think we had ever used them. Valerie was searching the contents of the folder as she slowly walked back in our direction. When she found what she was looking for, she ran back to the rear of the SUV and unfolded the map. With all the members of the team looking over her shoulder, Valerie began by placing a finger in the center of the map.
“The only buildings in town that are a twelve-minute drive from Marion and which have a grassy area, and a basement made of brick and stone, are City Hall, the Theatre Cinema Playhouse, the first National Bank of Park City and the pharmacy. All of these buildings are located around the town square.” She paused and asked, “Anyone have a pen?”
Ryan handed her a black marker. Valerie pulled the top off the marker with her teeth as she held the map in place on the floor of the SUV’s cargo area with the other hand. She marked the locations of the buildings in question by circling them with the marker.
“City Hall faces south, and is located in the center of the town square,” she said as she circled its location. “The streets run north and south through the town with odd numbered streets on the west side of City Hall and even numbered streets to the east of City Hall. The avenues run east and west. The odd numbers are to the north and the even numbers are to the south of City Hall. You guys with me so far?”
“Got it,” Wakefield said, answering for the group.
“The Playhouse is located on the eastern side of the square on Second Street. The pharmacy is one block north of Howells’ restaurant on the western side of the square on First Street. The bank is here,” she said as she drew the last of the four circles, “on the southside of the square directly across from the front of City Hall on Second Avenue. All of these buildings fit the description Leecy gave us.”
“There’s no way to cover all those locations; we don’t have enough manpower. Is it possible to eliminate one or more of these?” Wakefield asked.
Valerie studied the map.
“The bank, the pharmacy and City Hall are active properties. The Playhouse has been vacant for decades. I don’t think they would use the Playhouse, though.”
“Why not?” Ryan asked.
“I agree it sounds perfect. But the Playhouse is located on the side of the downtown square that backs up to a residential area, and all of the buildings on that side of the square are vacant.”
“Still not seeing why that’s a bad location,” Ryan said.
“It’s bad because no one ever goes over there. Any activity would be noticed.”
“I agree the movie house is out,” I said, “and I think the bank is a non-starter. Their basement was converted to storage years ago. Leecy would have felt smooth floors underfoot, plus the security system alone is enough of a deterrent.”
“Agreed,” Valerie said.
“The pharmacy or City Hall?” Wakefield asked.
“Both are excellent choices. The pharmacy’s basement access is in the alley behind the building. There’s a sidewalk that runs down the center of a small grass courtyard, connecting the rear door of the pharmacy to the asphalt of the alley. The basement access is located off the rear courtyard. There is a privacy fence back there to offer cover. It’s a smart choice, and I know Mr. Loather, the pharmacist, doesn’t use his basement,” Valerie said.
“What about City Hall?” Ryan asked.
“It’s a better choice than the pharmacy,” Val said. “The town council turned the old basement jail into a tourist attraction when the state of Georgia declared the site a Historical Landmark. The tours are once a week, usually on a Wednesday. The old jailhouse door is the original cast iron with barred window and all, and can’t be locked, so the jail is accessible to anyone at any time. Access is clearly visible from the dispatcher’s desk at the PCPD across the street, so there’s never been a problem with vandals or anything.”
“Moore or some other member of his group could have scouted the basement jail by taking the tour,” Ryan said.
“City Hall is the most likely candidate,” Wakefield said. “They could’ve scouted the location well in advance, and the entry door issue gives them unfettered access.”
“But what about the PCPD? You just said the access stairs leading to the door of the old jail could be seen from the police station,” Ryan argued.
“True,” Valerie said, “but if a person is flashing FBI credentials like the ones you, Hodges, and Franks have hanging around your necks, I don’t think the local cops would question anything.”
“I see,” Ryan said. “They come to town and scout the place by taking a tour. They learn the tour’s schedule and know they’re safe using the location to hold someone. Furthermore, they learn that even though the door can’t be locked, no one goes down there during off-hours because the local cops can watch the location. Moore and gang flash FBI badges, issue a phony APB, and they have all the reason they need to be there in the PCPD. They kill two birds with one stone. They can watch the old jail, and have a legitimate reason to be in town and in the police station.”
“So, how do we make certain Leecy is in the old jail?” Wakefield asked.
“I think we can verify that theory,” Zach said.
Zach and Julia had been busy over their keyboards
this entire time. The sound of his voice reminded me he was still there. He stepped back from the SUV, stretching and shaking his hands back and forth.
“How can you help?” Wakefield asked.
“Julia and I have been trying to trace the IP address linked to the surveillance equipment we discovered at the Anderson home. That search has turned out to be as successful as a dog chasing its tail. But if the new theory is correct, we can focus on the Park City Police Station. If Moore is in the station, he’ll want to listen to all that audio surveillance coming from inside INESCO. If that’s where he is, the bandwidth usage will be off the charts.”
“Will Moore know you are snooping around on the lines or whatever it is he is using? How will that verify where Leecy is?” I asked.
“There’s a chance he is running detection software, but I doubt it,” Zach answered. “Having spent six months working with him,” he began typing on his keyboard again, “I know Moore will think no one will think to look for him at the police station. As far as helping verify Leecy’s location, I figure if he’s listening here at INESCO, he’s watching her wherever he is. It’s worth a shot, I think.”
“Do it.”
While Zach typed, I wandered away from the group to snoop through the bags of tactical gear in the rear of the 4-Runner. I passed Franks seated in the rear of the unused SUV with his headphones on, listening intently, and he gave me a thumbs up sign. I nodded as I continued toward the Toyota, and found Hodges seated in the rear cargo area under the raised cargo door. I looked at the two black bags, and then at Hodges. Hodges didn’t need another hint. He stood and unzipped one of the bags.
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