Black Friday

by Alex Kava

  Finally on the last page, toward the bottom, there was a brief note, almost a footnote: “Approximate times of e-mails and phone calls not recorded by Senator Foster’s staff.”

  So it had been the senator who had received the warnings.

  Maggie slumped down in the leather chair, tapping the corner of the file folder against the chair arm. It was exhausting trying to figure out any of this. Henry Lee had told her that Citizens for American Pride was a smokescreen, a distraction. But Kunze still believed the group might be involved. He’d even suggested they may have been used.

  There were a lot of things about this case that didn’t add up, no matter how hard she tried to look for the obvious. Smokescreens, kidnapping, hired bombers and secret organizations.

  Kunze had mentioned Occam’s razor and now Maggie remembered another adage: Don’t speculate about hypothetical components. The simplest answer was usually the correct one. Was Phoenix the simplest answer or mere speculation? Was it possible that they were headed to the wrong airport? Could the Project Manager have chosen Las Vegas?

  She shifted in her captain’s chair, sank the back of her head into the soft leather and closed her eyes. One thing A.D. Kunze didn’t quite understand and William of Occam would never have considered or included in his principle was exactly what Maggie counted on—gut instinct. She’d bet her life on it any day of the week and hopefully she could count on it one more time.

  CHAPTER

  73

  Everything had gone smoothly. No more glitches. Asante was pleased.

  The crew in Minneapolis had disbanded, destroying or taking with them anything that could be incriminating. And if they had gotten sloppy, or even if they were detained, it didn’t matter. None of them had met him or seen what he looked like. They knew absolutely nothing about him. He had a new SIM card in his cell phone. He’d even reprogrammed his computer. The numbers they had been using to reach him, no longer existed. There was no way to connect any of them to Asante, which was just another mark of a brilliant project manager. Even members of his crew were cutaways. No one would be able to reach him now. Not the people he’d hired, nor the men who had hired him. Everything was in place.

  The white Chevy TrailBlazer he’d chosen from the Las Vegas airport’s long-term parking lot had proven to be a comfortable ride. It had also been a plus that the SUV didn’t have an OnStar navigation system. The owner had accidentally left a printout of his flight itinerary on the passenger seat. He wouldn’t be returning until the following week.

  As extra insurance, before Asante left the parking lot he drove around until he found another white Chevy SUV. The second one was an older model Chevy Blazer, but it had served his purpose. He exchanged the two SUVs’ license plates easily in the middle of the night with no one around to notice.

  Asante had driven straight through, all three hundred and fifty-nine miles with only one interruption. He’d exited his route to stop at a storage facility a few minutes after crossing the Nevada/Arizona border. The entire trip had taken him just over six hours.

  Now he ate dinner in his hotel room, a feast by room service standards. He could see the airport from his window, continuous blinking lights as the last of the evening flights came in and went out. That was one thing he liked about Phoenix. You could see forever without buildings getting in the way. He wondered if the blast tomorrow morning could be seen from this very window.

  Asante finished the last of his dessert, wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin and shoved the tray aside. Standing, he could see the hotel’s parking lot from this window, too. The Pullmans were in the Chevy TrailBlazer, packed and ready. Everything else he needed for tomorrow he had pulled from his duffel bag and laid out on the second double bed.

  He fingered the Carolina Panthers baseball cap. It was beginning to show some wear though he’d taken good care of it over the years. He’d never watched a Panthers game in his life. In fact, he’d bought the cap at a convenience store in Junction City, Kansas. It had been an impulse buy at the time. Asante didn’t believe in lucky charms but this ordinary ball cap had come close to being one.

  He rubbed his hands together and glanced around the room. Everything was in place. No glitches. He’d get a good night’s sleep.

  CHAPTER

  74

  Sunday, November 25

  Sky Harbor International Airport

  Phoenix, Arizona

  Nick wished he had Jerry Yarden here to help him. The quirky little man had an eye for details and a knack for electronic security equipment. He would have had everything in place by now. Instead Nick had been at it since midnight, working with two security technicians, installing and preparing equipment he’d only just learned to operate a few weeks ago.

  Because Sky Harbor had been one of the airports on UAS’s list for equipment upgrades they had also been sent samples of the new system. Last night when they arrived at the airport, Nick had contacted UAS’s manager on-site. The man had been taken off guard by the surprise visit but impressed with Nick’s credentials. That he had the Deputy Director of Homeland Security along with him had probably helped. Nick obtained the sample equipment and the two technicians with only the explanation that they would be conducting a test. Then he set out to install the wireless cameras in the areas he and Charlie Wurth had selected. Areas that up until now didn’t have cameras.

  These new models were small but if the Project Manager was the professional they all expected him to be, Nick didn’t want to take any chances that he’d notice them. His technicians took on the challenge with enthusiasm, looking for ways to hide or obscure the cameras while allowing them to have full functionality. Nick was pleased with the results, though none of the cameras would matter if he wasn’t able to identify the Project Manager from the police artist’s sketch. Just the thought made his heart pound and his palms sweat.

  Wurth was being selective as to who he alerted and he’d convinced Nick that no one else under the employment of UAS should be included. Other than Henry Lee, they had no evidence that anyone at UAS was involved in the attack, but Wurth insisted they take the extra precaution. He didn’t want to risk word trickling through the ranks and getting to the Project Manager. Nick agreed.

  Wurth did, however, warn TSA. He had air marshals on-site. He had arranged for a bomb squad and sniper unit from Quantico to arrive last night. In the early morning hours while Nick and Wurth roamed around the airport, Wurth pointed out team coordinators for the bomb squad. They were dressed as housekeeping, busy securing their stations. Their carts were identical to the airport housekeeping staff, only—according to Wurth—these carts contained what Wurth called “safe containers” instead of bathroom cleaner.

  Wurth had also pointed out a hallway that now was blocked off with UNDER CONSTRUCTION signs and sawhorses.

  “There’s an exit and armored vehicle stationed and ready to take the bomb to a vacant airstrip.”

  Nick liked how Charlie Wurth made it all sound so organized and simple. Like maybe it could really work, they could actually prevent this attack.

  “We’ll have all three terminals covered,” Nick told Wurth as they finished their final pass-through. “We’ll have limited views of the ticketing areas. Once he leaves those areas I won’t be able to follow him.”

  “Understood.”

  “Here in Terminal 4 there are ticket kiosks on the second level.” Nick pointed up the escalators. “The one to the right of the escalator is sort of hidden out of view. It’d be easy to leave a bag there and not have anyone notice for a short while.”

  “I’ll get someone stationed to watch.”

  The two stood in front of the long line of US Airways counters. Both of them had their arms crossed over their chests, feet spread apart, standing tall and straight as they took one last look around. Staff had started to come in, opening doors, turning on computers. But it was still quiet compared to what it would be like an hour from now.

  “We’re ready,” Wurth said without moving from h
is stance and sounding confident.

  Nick simply nodded. He wondered if Charlie Wurth had problems with his heart banging against his rib cage.

  CHAPTER

  75

  Terminal 4a

  Sky Harbor International Airport

  Maggie watched Patrick from above the ticket area. She stayed on the second floor, close to the rail, but away from the escalators. Looking down on him in his blue jeans and gray hooded sweatshirt, she couldn’t shake the feeling of how much he looked like those college boys at Mall of America.

  Wurth had equipped all of them with wireless headsets that slipped on over the ear and allowed them to communicate with each other while looking like ordinary passengers, talking on their cell phones. They agreed to keep conversation to a minimum but Maggie insisted Patrick do check-ins at fifteen-minute intervals.

  “If I can’t see you, I want to hear you,” she told him earlier as she helped him into his Kevlar vest.

  They had been wandering around for a couple of hours now, disguised as passengers, carry-on cases over their shoulders. Patrick had a worn duffel bag and a smartphone. He stopped periodically to look like he was reading or sending text messages. An ordinary kid going back home or back to college after a Thanksgiving holiday. Maggie was impressed. He looked convincing despite his eyes wandering around the entire area, not stopping on any one face long enough to be suspicious. He was better at this than she expected.

  Somewhere Nick was watching monitors that corresponded with the new wireless cameras he had installed, several in each terminal’s ticket areas. He’d studied the sketch of the Project Manager. They’d all studied the sketch, but only Patrick seemed totally convinced that he’d recognize the man.

  New passengers came up the escalators. The first flights of the morning had already left. Maggie felt certain it was to be another morning attack but it could end up being a long day.

  She opened a paperback novel and leaned on the rail. It looked like she was reading but her eyes were still looking down below, watching the entrances, scanning the figures in the check-in lines and examining any of the men lingering off to the sides. She also kept checking the faces coming up on the escalator.

  “At the newspaper stand,” she said, suddenly noticing a man stopped there, wearing a navy blue jacket, trousers, sunglasses and dragging a large, black Pullman.

  She glanced down at Patrick and saw him casually wander closer, pretending to be interested in the headlines of the newspaper through the glass on the machine.

  “Nope, I don’t think so,” he said, this time holding up the phone to his ear so anyone who might not see the wireless headset would know he was on the cell phone.

  “I’m gonna stop off at the restroom. Talk to you later.”

  The ticket area quickly got crowded again. Bodies and luggage pressed tight, waiting to check in, lined up at self-serve kiosks. She noticed A.D. Kunze down below talking to a woman in a housekeeping uniform. She certainly didn’t look like a sniper or a member of the bomb squad, but then that was the whole idea, wasn’t it.

  When Maggie glanced back she didn’t see Patrick. Her breath caught as she searched, straining to keep from looking like she was searching. Where had he gone?

  “Patrick?”

  In answer, she heard a toilet flush. She saw Kunze look up at her but he didn’t smile until he turned away.

  Okay, so she was being an overprotective big sister. A few minutes later she noticed Patrick come out of the restroom but he disappeared out of her sight again, just behind the down escalator.

  Relax, she told herself. She needed to relax.

  CHAPTER

  76

  Patrick followed the guy from the restroom. He tried to maintain his laid-back, casual pace despite wanting to hurry. He didn’t want to lose him in the crowd.

  From the back he thought he recognized the Project Manager’s walk. Something about the shoulders, thrown back, chest out, almost like a soldier. Yeah, that was it. He kinda walked like a soldier, at attention, alert to everything and everyone around him. Even his head went from side to side, observing without stopping.

  He wanted to be sure. He knew there were snipers, air marshals and agents, waiting. One word from him and they’d be swarming the place. He couldn’t say anything until he was absolutely sure. He didn’t want to screw up. Maggie was counting on him.

  The guy went around the corner like he was getting on the escalator. Patrick waited a step or two, pretending to check his phone. He didn’t want to follow so close especially if they both got on the escalator. He’d backtrack around the other way. Maybe he could get a better look from the other side.

  He turned to do just that and almost bumped into the guy.

  “You forgot that I could recognize you, too,” he told Patrick, flashing him a smile as he pressed him against the wall of the escalator, pinning him in with a heavy, black Pullman.

  CHAPTER

  77

  Maggie leaned against the railing and glanced at her watch. It hadn’t been five minutes. He had been out of her sight for only five minutes. She restrained herself from calling him again.

  If Nick had seen the Project Manager come through any of the front doors he would have alerted them. Unless he disguised himself.

  No, don’t do that, she told herself. Don’t speculate. She didn’t need to second-guess herself.

  Was it possible the Project Manager had someone else drop off the bag? Had he already been here and left it somewhere?

  She looked out over the floor below now packed with passengers and their luggage, little kids dragging behind parents, senior citizens shuffling through the tight passes. She tried to watch for bags that didn’t move along with any passengers in the long, slow check-in lines. Wurth walked past her, keeping to the railing. He was doing the same thing, watching for bags left behind. A.D. Kunze did the same down below.

  Maggie glanced back looking for Patrick. She was just about to call him when she saw him come out from behind the barrier. Only now he was dragging a black Pullman behind him. Her stomach fell to her knees even before she saw the glint of the handcuffs.

  “He’s got Patrick,” she whispered into her headset.

  “Yes, he does,” came a voice she didn’t recognize.

  CHAPTER

  78

  Patrick couldn’t see Maggie’s face from where he stood. He tried not to look directly at her. He knew that’s what the Project Manager was waiting for. He could talk to them with Patrick’s headset but he didn’t know exactly who they were or where they were. He was standing off to the side now, about thirty feet away, watching and waiting for Patrick to give away their locations.

  Damn it! He really screwed this up.

  It happened so quickly. One minute the guy was in front of him, disappearing around the corner and the next minute he was behind Patrick, slipping the cuffs on him and chaining him to the handle of the Pullman.

  The guy looked different enough that Patrick hadn’t been sure. Back at the mall he had worn a ball cap but his hair had also been much longer and dark. Now it was bristle-short and almost blond. He’d had facial hair, too, a clipped goatee. Now he was clean-shaven. He wore a golf shirt, navy canvas jacket, khaki trousers and leather loafers. No ball cap. But it was the walk that drew Patrick’s attention. By the time he was able to look the guy in the eyes, it was too late.

  Off to the side Patrick could see A.D. Kunze. He stopped himself from looking over. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that Kunze wasn’t looking at him, either. He was talking to a cleaning woman, standing by her cart.

  He glanced up to Maggie. Son of a bitch! The Project Manager caught him and followed his line of vision. But Maggie was gone.

  He saw the guy’s lips moving. He was talking to them, using Patrick’s headset. What the hell was he telling them? He’d moved away from Patrick quickly. So quickly Patrick wasn’t sure if anyone had seen him. Would they know which one he was? Could they tell?

  Patrick gl
anced around again while the Project Manager still searched the upper level, scanning the railing where Maggie had been earlier. Then Patrick saw her. She was coming down the escalator, smiling and chatting with a woman next to her. The Project Manager turned his back to Patrick, just for a second or two and Patrick used the opportunity to point him out. He swung his free hand up, jerked his index finger at the man’s back then brought his hand to his head and raked his fingers through his hair just as the Project Manager turned around.

  Did Maggie see it? Did any of the others? It might have been too late, because now the guy was leaving. After all, he didn’t need to be near the bomb to detonate it by remote control.

  CHAPTER

  79

  Maggie tried to keep the panic from showing. It felt like something had her by the throat. She had to concentrate on breathing. She had to remind herself to slow down. Look by moving her eyes, not her head. Stay calm. Move nonchalantly. No nervous twitches. No jerks or twists around.

  She tried to figure out who Patrick was looking at. None of the men around him looked like the sketch. The only olive complexion belonged to a guy with short, spiky sun-bleached hair, dressed in khakis and a navy blue jacket.

  She eased her way toward the escalator.

  “I have a remote,” the voice came again over her headset. “You don’t have any choice but to let me walk out of here.”

  No one answered him. There was silence. They could no longer talk to each other now. Their communication system was useless.

  She started down the escalator and asked the woman next to her if she’d had a good holiday. The woman started telling her about her trip while Maggie smiled at her and looked over her shoulder. Patrick looked miserable. He glanced in her direction. She wasn’t sure if he’d seen her. Then suddenly she saw him raise his hand. He jerked a finger in one direction and ended up pushing back his hair. He had pointed to someone. He was giving them a signal, telling them who the Project Manager was.