by David Archer
The doughnuts were in place like always, and each of them grabbed one as they entered the conference room. Allison and Donald Jefferson were already waiting, with Molly sitting in a chair off to the side.
“It’s good to see you all,” Allison said. “Sarah, how are you feeling?”
“I think I’m doing okay,” Sarah said. “The nightmares haven’t bothered me since the first few days, and I can tell you that Noah has made sure to give me plenty of good memories to focus on.” She smiled at her husband.
Allison nodded at Noah. “I’m sure he has,” she said. “Unfortunately, we had a request come in for an elimination that requires Noah’s ability to blend into any situation. This one is domestic, down in Arkansas. There is an organized crime ring that is impossible to break up, and the DOJ, in cooperation with DHS, has decided that its leadership needs to be removed.”
“The Department of Justice?” Neil asked, his voice high-pitched. “They actually ask for assassinations?”
“On rare occasions, yes,” Allison said. “Since we began operations, however, this is only the third such request we have forgotten. Does that surprise you, Mr. Blessing?”
“Well, yeah,” Neil said. “Scares the hell out of me, too. It was the DOJ who came after me when I hacked into the bank; I never would’ve believed they might just have me killed.”
“They wouldn’t,” said Donald Jefferson, a slight grin on his face. “American domestic anticrime organizations like the DOJ, FBI, and such will only resort to elimination when they become absolutely convinced that there is no possible way to successfully prosecute a dangerous offender. In this case, the targets run a regional organized crime ring that is so tightly controlled and loyal that they have been unable to develop any clear evidence that would stand up in court. In many such situations, they can be completely aware of who the offender is, even the types of crimes he may have ordered or even participated in, but knowing this and being able to prove it are two entirely different things. Courtroom procedures require a level of confidence in the evidence that goes far beyond what may seem obvious to an investigator. Defense attorneys, especially those who can command multimillion-dollar fees, are very good at convincing juries that the evidence isn’t what it appears to be, and witnesses can be frightened or eliminated. As a result, many organized crime figures have been arrested many times, but never convicted.”
“That’s not the exact problem in this case, however,” Allison went on. “Jimmy Morgan, the top man in this organization, is an extremely intelligent man who chose to turn his intellect toward building and expanding multiple criminal enterprises. His control extends to almost every form of organized crime, including drugs, prostitution, theft, fraud, extortion, murder—you name it, and he’s into it. In the past twenty-four years, sixteen different federal prosecutors have been, shall we say, dissuaded from pursuing charges against him. This is a man who has never even been arrested, and those who work for him never do more than a few days in the county jail and a little probation. The corruption in his domain reaches into every law enforcement agency and prosecutor’s office in nine counties in Northwest Arkansas.”
Noah cocked his head to one side. “If he’s that powerful, then he’s got people working for him who consider themselves almost as powerful. Won’t eliminating him simply invite one of them to step into his shoes?”
Jefferson picked up a remote and a picture appeared on the screen behind him. “This is Jimmy Morgan,” he said. “He’s forty-two years old and the de facto king of a large part of Northwest Arkansas. His organization refers to itself as the Morgan Mafia, and an interesting tidbit of trivia is that four different forays by big-city mob figures to try to take over have only resulted in a couple of dozen dead mobsters. Even the Sicilian mob is staying out of the area. We were contacted for a sanction because there have been reports over the past few months that Morgan is working with potential terror groups, using his operations to bring terrorists and materials into the country. He’s apparently unconcerned with what they might do, as long as they agree to stay out of his domain.”
“And he’s dumb enough to believe them?” Marco blurted out.
“Apparently, he believes he can control them, and possibly with good reason. Several known terror operatives have turned up dead in different places around his domain. They seem to have a tendency lately to get out of that part of Arkansas as quickly as they can.” He clicked the remote and a picture of a younger man appeared. “This is Ralph Morgan, Jimmy’s only child. As the heir apparent, it’s expected that he’ll be groomed to take over, and it appears he’ll be starting soon with one of the divisions already running. He’s known to be just as ruthless as his father, and it’s no secret that the entire community of Berryville, Arkansas, where they live, is pretty much terrified of the boy. He and a few of his cronies have either beaten or intimidated other local teenagers numerous times, and Ralph is believed to be responsible for at least two suspicious deaths. With the upbringing he’s had, he’d probably be even more likely to work with terror cells than his father, which makes him an even greater risk to national security.”
“Damn, and he ain’t nothing but a kid,” Marco said. “Sounds like he might be all set to take over if his daddy disappears.”
“That’s exactly how the FBI and DEA see it,” Allison said. “And there are probably a dozen of his father’s lieutenants who can step in if both of them are gone, and that’s why we feel we need Team Camelot on this one. It’s not a single elimination but may involve up to a couple dozen people. We’ve asked Molly to work with us on developing a basic mission plan, and she’s the one who decided that you’re the only team to handle this one. Molly?”
Molly leaned forward in her chair and looked at Noah for a second, then glanced at Sarah. “I’m really sorry to have to send you back into the field so soon,” she said, turning back to Noah, “but I’ve been studying everything about the Morgan Mafia for the last couple of weeks and they’re just too tight and secured for anything but a single operative in a blitz hit. That single operative, Noah, has to have your unique ability to focus. Anything else would lead to mistakes that would expose the mission and doom it, and the team sent out on it, to failure.”
She glanced at Allison, who nodded, then went on. “This is not going to be a quick or easy mission. Noah, you’re going to have to go into deep cover and infiltrate the organization. Successfully eliminating this threat to American security is going to mean getting yourself into the top ranks and being able to identify all of those capable of keeping it going once the heads are cut off. I’m estimating that, with your particular skill set and abilities, this will take anywhere from two to five months. At that point, you will have to develop a plan for eliminating them all within a very short time frame, probably within the span of just a few hours. Since it is highly unlikely that an opportunity to do so will present itself naturally, you will almost certainly have to orchestrate it.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute,” Sarah said. “Noah is going to have to go into this outfit and stay there for several months? How are we supposed to operate like that?”
“I’ve laid out a basic plan, but Noah will want to refine it,” Molly replied. “He will have to appear first, alone. That will allow him to make the first steps in infiltrating the organization. Once he has begun to do so, since he’s coming in as an outsider, it won’t be that surprising that his wife—you, Sarah, of course—comes to join him. When you do, your brother will come along with you. That will be Neil, of course, playing the nerdy computer geek. Marco will arrive separately, and it will be up to Noah to arrange a situation that will let the four of you live close and spend time together. Neil will be responsible for intelligence and security, and I’m confident he can handle both. Marco is perfectly suited to pose as someone Noah could recruit into the organization or introduce to it, hopefully giving him an ally within its ranks.”
“What about identities, characterizations? If I’m supposed to infiltrate a cri
minal organization, I’m going to need a background that fits. It’s going to have to stand up to scrutiny, especially if they have corrupt cops who can check out our backstories.”
Molly nodded. “Of course, and we’ve already begun working on that. Noah, you’re going to be posing as a man named Rex Madison, who was recently released from federal prison where he served time on drug-related charges. The real Rex Madison died about five years ago in an accident, but we’ve reconstructed his history because he had a sister named Kate who happens to work for the FBI. She’s been in deep cover in Arkansas on this case for almost three years, but she’s not part of the criminal operation. She’s there only as an observer, though she has become pretty well-known in the area. Using her brother’s identity gives you an excuse for suddenly appearing in the community. When I asked her about it, she agreed almost instantly.”
“But you said her brother actually died. Wouldn’t there be public records of that, people back where he grew up who would know it, that sort of thing?”
“Kate and Rex grew up in a small city in Ohio, Zanesville. Absent father, workaholic and alcoholic mother, not a real good situation. Kate was apparently determined to make something of herself and ended up in the FBI. Rex, on the other hand, had a lot of problems through his teens and even did some time in juvenile detention centers. When he turned eighteen, he left town and never went back. Both of their parents are dead, Kate hasn’t been there in years herself, so when he was killed in a motorcycle accident she didn’t even bother to put a notice in the local newspaper there. Since she hadn’t talked to him in a long time, it wasn’t hard for us to wipe out the real history of his last few years and create the prison record.”
“What prison was I supposed to have been released from?” Noah asked. “I’ll need to do some pretty serious research on it.”
“Noah,” Allison said, “do you remember Gary Mitchell? He was the acting coach who helped you get prepared for the Adrian operation?”
“Of course,” Noah replied. “He works in ID development.”
Allison nodded. “Yes, that’s him. Well, according to your history, Rex Madison was released just a little over a month ago from the federal prison in Beaumont, Texas. As Molly said, we’ve altered all of his records throughout every database in order to establish that prison record. Gary helped develop the background you’ll be using and is preparing a crash course for you on how to become Rex Madison.”
“Does Noah look like this guy?” Sarah asked. “What if somebody actually knew him?”
“Rex and Noah would have been about the same size and age, and their photos do resemble one another. We’ve replaced every known photograph of the real Rex with one of Noah, and we’ve established that there is almost no possibility that anyone in the Morgan Mafia could ever have known him. Should such a situation arise, Noah will simply have to bluff his way through or eliminate the problem.”
“Okay,” Sarah said, though it was obvious she wasn’t happy about it. “What about me? Did Rex actually have a wife?”
Donald Jefferson waved a finger in the air to get her attention. “No, but he does now,” he said. “Marriage records were dated a week after his release from prison, showing that he married his high school sweetheart, Angela Holcomb. You’ll also be given some extensive coaching. Since you may actually be in deep cover for some time, it’s very important that you internalize the backstory that we’ve created for you. When you show up in town, it’s very likely that they’ll run at least a cursory background check on you, as well.” He grinned at her. “It also makes it allowable for Noah to call you once in a while until you get there. I had a feeling you might like that.”
Sarah smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said.
“Same goes for Marco and Neil,” Allison said. “All three of you will be coached just as heavily as Noah on your identities. Neil, you get to keep your first name. You’ll be Neil Holcomb, and your background suggests that you’re so immersed in video games that most of the world never even notices you. You dropped out of school at sixteen and earn your living as a game master on one of the big role-playing games on the internet. In public, Noah will treat you like a pain in his ass.”
She turned to Marco. “Marco, we’re going to use your Louisiana bayou upbringing. Your name is Aubrey LeBlanc, so let that old Cajun accent out. Aubrey, according to records, was also just released from the same prison where Rex served his time. In fact, the real Aubrey LeBlanc was released two weeks ago and promptly got himself killed his third night of freedom. We constantly scan for stories like that, and since he had no family and very few friends, we immediately killed all the news on it and commandeered his identity for this mission.”
“Oh, cher,” Marco said, “I be de best old gator from de bayou, you don’ need no worry ’bout dat! But what about dem boys back in de prison, dey gon’ know I ain’t him.”
Allison grinned. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Don’t worry about other inmates at Beaumont. Aubrey did most of his time in solitary, and that’s where he and Rex met. Gary will help you guys develop your characters, as well. Marco, you will be going in about a week or so after Sarah and Neil arrive.”
“As for equipment,” Jefferson said, “you can visit with Wally this week and get whatever you need. Anything that might seem unusual should probably come in with Neil. Just let Wally know, and he can have it disguised as some of Neil’s computer gear or something.”
“Noah,” Allison said, “this is a very important mission, so you’ll be going in about a week from today. The next several days are going to be very intense, so think very hard about what you might need when you talk to Wally.” She turned to Molly. “Do you have anything else to add on this?”
Molly shrugged. “Yeah, one thing,” she said. “One thing we know about the Morgan Mafia is that they do have some way to monitor phone calls. In order for us to have a secure line of communication, we’re going to be using Neil and his computer. Neil, have you ever played online RPGs?”
Neil blinked, then nodded. “Sure,” he said. “Every computer nerd plays sometime. Hell, I still do.”
“Good,” Molly said, “because we’ve got one set up of our own. It’s called Target List, and it’s based, naturally, on using assassination as a political tool. I’ll coach you in it because you can communicate with other players in the game, just like in most of the other ones. I’ll give you code names for the people Noah will be dealing with, and we can discuss them as if they were targets in the game. It’s highly unlikely anyone would think to check your game communications, but it’s even more unlikely they’d be able to interpret them into what we are really saying to each other. You’ll be listed as a game master, so that will be your employment. And just for the record, making this look real means that there are some ads out on Google about it, so there are civilians who will be playing, lots of them. Like all of these games, players can set up their own teams and allow others to join them. I’ll be running one of those, with you as my game master. My team is called the Rampagers, and it’s actually a room full of players based right here at Neverland. That way, there will always be somebody online that you can talk to, somebody who can relay information to me or up here to the main office.”
Neil was grinning. “That is an incredibly awesome idea,” he said. “It’s so freaking awesome I should have thought of it first.”
Molly stuck out her tongue at him. “Hey, you’re smart, but you ain’t got nothing on me. You and I will start working on getting you familiarized with it first thing tomorrow morning.”
Allison leaned forward slightly and looked at Noah. “Okay, then,” she said. “Noah, tell us about what’s going on with the other mission.”
Noah leaned forward in his seat. “Last night,” he said, “I recruited Marco’s girlfriend, Renée, to help with that situation. She works out at R&D and was able to get Wally to help her get a drug that I needed. I went to Randy’s apartment and managed to get inside while he was sleeping, then in
jected him with that drug. It causes a complete paralysis that is almost cataleptic; it makes the victim appear to be completely dead, with no signs of life, even though he’s still alive and relatively conscious. After I injected him, I explained what was happening so that he might not be quite as terrified as I’m sure he probably is anyway, but I honestly couldn’t tell you whether he was still alive when I left him. Now I’m simply waiting to see if the mole accepts his death.”
“Jenny found him this morning,” Allison said, “and she was convinced he was dead. She called it in, and we sent an ambulance to pick him up. At the morgue, he was certified dead, but since I had already been tipped by Wally, I just authorized his body to be sent out to R&D to be used for research purposes. Wally called me an hour later to confirm that the drug worked. Randy’s alive, but it took some specialized equipment to be certain.”
“Good. Any idea what you’ll do with him after this?”
“He’ll probably end up getting a new face and name and going right back to Team Cinderella,” Allison said. “Parker is convinced that he is loyal to Jenny and won’t ever allow himself to be blackmailed again. He’s done so much in helping Jenny as part of her team that I’m reluctant to take him away for good.”
“Is she aware that he isn’t really dead?” Noah asked.
“Not yet, but she’ll be coming in for a briefing later today. I’ll be explaining it to her then.”
“We will not allow her to share this with the rest of her team, however,” Jefferson said. “The sad fact remains that we do not know who else might be compromised within our organization. At this point, we have confidence that the few people who are aware of the situation are still free of any risk, but that small group cannot get any larger.”
“I have a question,” Noah said. “What do I do if the mole contacts me while I’m on mission?”
