Primal Deception

by Robin Mahle

  And now Monday had arrived and they were all supposed to get on with their lives. Except Lacy still needed answers to questions she hadn’t made known to anyone but Aaron Hunter and Agent Will Caison. She had to know the extent of Jay’s involvement, but more importantly, what Owen Ballard was up to. Had he dragged Jay down with him? The only way to know was to see Agent Caison and hope he could shed light on this ever-darkening situation.

  She made a turn off the highway and was on her way to Headquarters. A quick call to the agent and she was set to meet him in thirty minutes. Lacy soon arrived and made her way into the Ops Center once again.

  Will met her in the lobby. “You’re sure you want to do this today?”

  “Yes.” Her answer came without hesitation.

  “Okay. Let’s go talk in my office.”

  Lacy retrieved the flash drive from her purse upon entering the agent’s office. “First of all, I want to thank you for coming to Jay’s funeral and I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to speak. But it was very kind of you.”

  Will nodded.

  “About the flash drive you returned to me,” Lacy continued. “I didn’t notice it until after I left here the other day, but the flash drive in Jay’s bag was from an old friend.”

  “How do you know that?” Will lowered himself onto the chair.

  “It’s a long story, but I reached out to this old friend and I met with him. This…” She held up the device. “This has the same information as what was destroyed on the other drive. My friend said it proves that Tom Neville with Nova Investments was working with Owen Ballard at Argus Solutions.”

  “What do you mean, working with? Weren’t they a client?”

  “Yes. But this was beyond any contractual scope of work. This was backroom-type of information being exchanged.”

  “Can I take a look?”

  Lacy handed him the drive. “That’s why I’m here. With the funeral and my family in town, I haven’t seen what’s on it yet myself. I’m only going by what my friend has relayed.”

  Will plugged in the storage device and turned his monitor so Lacy could view it as well.

  “Apparently, there are communications indicating Neville was interested in looking into the personal histories of Argus’ staff. Jay mentioned something to that effect before he died. I couldn’t begin to tell you for what purpose, though.”

  Will opened one of the files. “This appears to be an email.” He eyed Lacy. “This is not information we should have in our possession.”

  “I understand the legalities, Will. But I also believe there is something greater at stake here.”

  “For now, we need to keep this between us. Anything on here isn’t going to be admissible regardless of what we find and I don’t want to have to explain how we happened upon it.” He continued to peruse through the email.

  “Right there,” Lacy pointed to the screen. “What’s Tom Neville saying about a deposit?”

  “It’s fairly vague, but it appears he’s indicating a deposit was made as per their agreement, though that could mean anything from a contractual deposit to a deposit made in a security account. Who knows?”

  Will’s cell phone began to buzz on his desk. “Hang on a second. I’d better get this.” He turned away from Lacy. “Caison here.”

  Lacy continued to view the files.

  “Yeah. Okay. If you wouldn’t mind shooting me an email, I’d appreciate it. Great. Thanks.”

  Lacy was about to speak, but the look on Will’s face stopped her as he ended the call.

  “The details are being sent via email now, but Lacy, the bank rep says that account was opened about a month ago, in Jay’s name, and that two large deposits had been made.”

  “Where was the money from?”

  “I don’t know. They were cash deposits, both made within a week of each other.”

  “A cash deposit would’ve had to have been made in person, right?”

  “Not necessarily. A wire transfer is possible, but I’ll know more once I get the details.”

  “Okay, but Jay was the one who uncovered these emails. He was the one who suspected Owen was up to something. Why would he have done that if he’d been on the receiving end of the deal? It has to be something derived by those two.” She again pointed to the screen. “We need to talk to them, Will.”

  “I understand your demand for answers, here, Lacy, I do. But my job is to find those responsible for the attack. Not just the group who has claimed responsibility, but the financiers, the planners. This doesn’t seem to be tied to the attack. It’s just an unfortunate situation your husband seemed to have gotten caught up in.”

  “What if we’re not seeing something that could be right in front of our faces?” Lacy’s tone took on a certain desperation. “What if Owen Ballard and Tom Neville are involved with this group somehow? You can’t believe this is just a coincidence. The timing? Jay’s death?” She was ready to propose the idea that had finally formed in her mind. “Jay’s been set up. It’s that simple.”

  ♦♦♦

  Owen Ballard walked along the corridor, passing the now-empty office that used to belong to Jay. All that remained inside was a desk and a phone. It was as though Jay hadn’t spent the last eight years in that office. It was as though he never existed at all. Owen soon realized he’d stopped walking and again continued to his own office.

  He hadn’t slept. His eyes were puffy with pronounced dark circles. If anyone were to notice, they might think he was ill. But Owen kept his head down and began working. It had been just over a week and, so far, no further word from Neville. Perhaps his visit had paid off and Neville realized that keeping a low profile was the right thing to do.

  Owen knew what would come next, though, and it was something for which he lacked a certain preparedness. He’d played too many people and it was about to catch up to him. This wasn’t part of his plan, but the money kept coming—and lots of it.

  The buzz of his cell phone startled him back in to the moment. He picked up the phone, noting that there was no caller ID available, but knew he should answer. “Yes?” Owen gazed through the window that faced the corridor. People had begun to arrive for work, most of them still appearing distraught from Jay’s funeral. A black cloud hung over the entire office.

  “Yes, sir. I understand. Goodbye.” He ended the call. The time had come for him to take the final step and bring closure to the arrangement he’d had. And that would mean his time at Argus Solutions would be over.

  10

  The idea planted in Agent Caison’s head by Lacy Merrick resonated throughout the course of the next few days, and now he set out to find a connection to Neville outside what they’d already discovered, which was a bank account in Jay’s name and a few discreetly worded emails exchanged between Tom Neville and Owen Ballard. Emails that Jay Merrick happened upon the day he was killed in the bombing. Lacy was right about one thing; a coincidence this was not, but to prove it would be another thing entirely.

  His first step would be to get a better understanding of this group, the Army of Islam, who claimed responsibility. Who were the masterminds? How did they get the money? These were pieces of the puzzle still missing and a legitimate part of the investigation. Whether or not any of it tied to Ballard remained a mystery, but it was where he needed to start. And that required a discussion between himself and a local informant Mendez had been made aware of by D.C. Metro Police during the course of the investigation. They also had an anti-terrorism task force and had their own contacts. Kadir Tawfeek was one of them. With Mendez’s blessing, Metro Police set up the meeting along with one of their own. Tawfeek was a cautious man and insisted his handler also be in attendance.

  Detective Eric Dalton was Tawfeek’s contact and had been enlisted to facilitate the meeting and had already instructed Caison to take a back seat while he attempted to assure his man of their objectives.

  “Thank you for meeting with us, Kadir.” The two shook hands
as they sat out in front of a small cafe. “As I mentioned, this is Special Agent Caison. He’s here investigating the attack on the Fairfax Mall ten days ago.”

  “I am well aware of the attack, Detective.” Kadir offered his hand to Will. “Good to meet you, sir.”

  “Likewise.” He returned the greeting. “I’d like to ask you about the Army of Islam, which has taken responsibility for the attack. What do you know about them?”

  “I suppose about as much as you do, Agent. But I can tell you with complete certainty, they are not the ones responsible.”

  Caison looked at Dalton with some confusion. “They’ve already claimed responsibility.”

  Kadir smiled. “That’s because no one else did and they are looking to make a name for themselves. They need to raise money and the best way to do that is to prove they can pull off an attack.”

  “How do you know this for certain?” Dalton asked.

  “Because I know everything that goes on in this city, Detective. You should know that.”

  “Did you hear something to suggest this? Do you have any names?” Dalton pressed on.

  “I hear a lot of things; like the attack had nothing to do with terrorism, at least, not Islamic.”

  “Look, I appreciate you being here, Kadir, but frankly, we’d like something a little more concrete than hearsay.” Caison was growing irritated by his vague answers.

  “All right, Agent Caison.” Kadir leaned in. “I’ll tell you this. I have ears on everything that goes on in every mosque in D.C. This was not carried out by ISIS or any of their splinter groups. There was no suicide bomber. A bag was left behind. From what I understand, the detonator and initiator were subpar at best, outdated at worst. These are not trademarks of ISIS or any other such organization in this day when far superior materials are available.”

  Caison knew he was right. However, they’d received no intel on any other group that might’ve conducted the attack. “What are your sources telling you then? Who do they think is responsible? We know Liwa, the parent company of the mall owners, are based in Dubai. Have you been made aware of anyone from that area traveling here?”

  Kadir looked to Detective Dalton. “This is where you should be looking.” He turned back to Caison. “Dubai is not the enemy, but they have many enemies. You should be turning your attention to them. This splinter group.” Kadir shook his head. “They are nothing more than kidnappers and thieves. They are not a structured group that could carry out such an attack. Companies in Dubai have many enemies that extend far beyond the reach of the U.S. or the UAE.”

  “And do you know who these enemies are?” Dalton asked.

  “I know that no organization based in Dubai has funneled money here for an attack.” Kadir turned to Caison. “I know that Liwa Properties has a great many investments worldwide. And I also know that there are entities that have shown an interest in acquiring some of their assets.”

  Caison was beyond frustrated now because all this man was doing was casting doubt over the entire Liwa Properties organization with no concrete information to back it up. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Tawfeek.” Caison rose and shook his hand. “I need to be getting back.”

  Dalton appeared surprised by the move but followed Caison. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Before they made it beyond earshot, Kadir spoke. “This was not jihad, Agent Caison. And I’m surprised you do not know the difference.”

  “Where the hell did you find this guy?” Caison returned his attention to Dalton as they continued to walk away.

  “He was right about knowing just about everything that goes on in the Muslim community here in D.C.,” Dalton replied. “He would know if this group really did conduct the attack. His reach is greater than you know, which is why he’s a valued asset. One I don’t wish to burn bridges with, you feel me?”

  “Yeah well, he doesn’t seem to have a grasp on this situation. Either he’s intentionally shifting our focus or he has absolutely no idea who’s behind the attack.”

  They reached the detective’s car. “He knows something. I’ll keep working on him. We’ll get what we need.” Dalton stepped into his car and drove away.

  ♦♦♦

  Agent Caison returned to headquarters and headed straight to Mendez. “What a goddamn waste of time.”

  Mendez sat at the workstation and revealed a discerning look. “Dalton called me earlier. Said it didn’t go all that well.”

  “The guy’s full of shit. He doesn’t know anything and if that’s the sort of information the Metro task force is getting, then they aren’t getting very far.”

  “Now hold up. This guy could just be playing you because you have nothing to offer. Those guys at Metro have built a relationship with him. Offered him things you haven’t.” Mendez turned from his desk. “It wasn’t a waste of time because Dalton thinks he’s got more intel and will work on the guy.”

  “That’s exactly what he told me.” Caison shook his head. “I’m not waiting around for him to keep dangling the carrot. What do we know about Liwa Properties? Other than the obvious. Do we know if anyone’s tried to buy them out recently?”

  “We’re not handling that end of things. We aren’t involved in Liwa’s overseas activities.”

  “Okay. Who do we know at Langley who can help us out?”

  ♦♦♦

  “Morning.” Lacy peeked inside Michelle’s office. She arrived at Headquarters to surprised faces and more condolences. No one expected her to be back at work so soon. But bereavement leave didn’t last long, although that wasn’t the real reason for her return.

  “Lacy?” She rose from her desk. “I didn’t think you’d be in today. You were going to call me.” She approached her with open arms. “You know you can take as much time as you need.”

  “I know and thank you. It’s just—well, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Of course.” Michelle began to walk back to her desk.

  Lacy had been in contact with Will and he brought her up to speed on the meeting that fell short of his expectations. But it did set to mind other concerns and Lacy was prepared to act on them, even if he’d insisted this was to remain just between the two of them. “How much do we know about Nova’s parent company in Dubai? Liwa Properties?” Lacy took a seat.

  “I don’t know much about them, but then we’re really focusing on Ferran Basara and the Army of Islam.” Michelle laced her fingers and placed them under her chin. “Why do you ask?”

  “I met with Agent Caison recently regarding some information I’d received from Jay the day before he died.”

  “What kind of information?”

  “Long story short, he believed someone at Nova was working with someone at Argus to obtain personal records of employees and other Argus clients, mainly their competitors.” She opted to leave out the part about how she received this information. “And according to Agent Caison, a contact of Metro Police had insisted that this group who claimed responsibility for the attack wasn’t responsible at all.”

  “Really? What does this have to do with Liwa Properties? And your husband, for that matter? Lacy, I need to know what you’re getting at, because what I’m hearing is that you think, and maybe Agent Caison thinks, that Nova Investments had something to do with the attack on one of its own malls. Which would be an outrageous claim and would fly in the face of all that we know right now.”

  “I know how this sounds and I don’t have enough intel to be able to fully piece this together.” Lacy grew concerned that she’d made a grievous error and that Will might have been right to request this theory be kept between the two of them. “But I’d like to work on it, with your permission. I can’t access what I need to without your authorization.”

  “And you’ve spoken to Agents Caison and Mendez about this?”

  “Just Agent Caison, although he’d indicated he’d relay the information to SSA Mendez.”

  Michelle cast her gaze be
yond Lacy and into the corridor. “If it turns out Jay had any involvement in this whatsoever, you’ll be pulled from this. I need you to understand the implications of what you’re asking. And I’ll have to find a way to justify this shift in resources. Others will have to know about this, Lacy.”

  “I understand and there’s no way Jay had any part of this. He wasn’t that type of man. And I realize this may go into a direction that has nothing to do with the attack and everything to do with corporate spying, but I’m asking that you trust my instincts here.”

  “Although I’m not ready to sanction this entirely, but does that mean you’re officially back at work?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Then I’ll give you a few days to pull something together before I take it upstairs. Otherwise, we get back on track. Keep me posted on your progress.”

  “Thank you, Michelle. I will.” Lacy returned to her desk after being absent for the past ten days. It felt strange and unfamiliar, as though this was the first day at a new job.

  “Lacy? You’re back?” Mike Burke did a double take before stopping in front of her cubicle. “I wasn’t expecting to see you. How are you doing?”

  “As well as can be expected, I guess. How are you? How’s things been around here?”

  “I’m all right. You know, we’re all so very sorry about what happened. And we’ve all been busting our asses to get to the bottom of this.”

  “I know and I appreciate that, not only for me but for the families of the other victims.” She turned her chair toward him. “What do you know about this group who’s claimed responsibility? Have you been involved in scrubbing the data?”

  “We all have. The entire region’s been put on this. But honestly, they’ve been an enigma. No traceable funding, no claims of prior attacks. I have to say, Lacy, the teams we have running the show seem to be having trouble making sense of this. Between you and me, I’m not sure everyone’s convinced the Army of Islam is responsible.”