Nine Lives

by Gary Winston Brown

  “That’s a flashy little number he’s wearing,” Chris said to Jordan. “What is it?”

  “It’s called a lightning suit,” Jordan said. “If the commander tries to fight or displays any sign of aggression, they’ll activate it.”

  “What happens then?”

  “He’ll be hit with up to one billion volts of electricity,” Jordan explained, “the same amount of energy generated by a lightning strike. Depending upon how high they’ve set the device it could either stun him, send him into cardiac arrest, or kill him.”

  “Jesus,” Chris replied. “It’s basically a wearable electric chair.”

  “That’s a good way to describe it.”

  “What do you think is going to happen to him now?”

  Jordan shook her head. “Considering the charges he’s facing, God only knows.”

  Hallier waited until the commander’s transfer had been completed and the doors to the vehicle were closed and locked. He watched the armored car leave then walked back to speak with the agents.

  “I guess that’s that,” Hallier said. “The commander’s back in custody. I don’t mind telling you how good that feels.”

  “Where are they taking him?” Jordan asked.

  “Fort Leavenworth, Kansas,” Hallier answered. “United States Disciplinary Barracks, Special Housing Unit.”

  “Will he have a trial?” Chris asked.

  “Yes,” Hallier said. “Not that it will make much of a difference. He’s done.”

  “How’s that?” Jordan asked.

  “Commander Egan will be placed on death row.”

  “How long before he’s put to death?” Chris asked.

  “Four years,” Hallier said. “Maybe less.”

  “By what means?”

  “Lethal injection.”

  Jordan shook her head. “That’s a little ironic, isn’t it, Colonel?” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Hallier asked.

  “First, you injected something into his body that made him the penultimate military asset; a super-soldier, capable of doing anything you asked of him. Soon you’re going to inject him again, only this time you’re going to kill him.”

  Hallier wasn’t having any part of the conversation. His abrupt attitude returned. He held out his hand. “Your government thanks you for your assistance,” he said briskly.

  Jordan and Chris shook the colonel’s hand.

  “One last question, Colonel,” Jordan said.

  “Yes?”

  “Will Commander Egan be allowed visitors?” Jordan asked.

  “With special permission, yes.”

  “I’d appreciate it if you’d be kind enough to let me see him.”

  Hallier nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Thank you,” Jordan said.

  Hallier’s car arrived. His driver pulled up beside them, stepped out of the vehicle, opened the colonel’s door, saluted, waited. Hallier acknowledged the young soldier.

  To Jordan and Chris, he said, “Thank you once again, agents. I’ll be sure to let Assistant Director Ridgeway know how helpful you were.”

  The colonel took his leave.

  Chris watched the car drive away. “Pretentious asshole,” he said.

  “And then some,” Jordan replied.

  An unmarked FBI sedan approached the jet from across the tarmac, slowed, then stopped. The rear passenger doors flew open. Aiden and Emma jumped out of the car and ran to their mother. “Mom!” they yelled.

  Jordan fell to her knees. “Babies!” she cried as the children ran into her arms.

  Aiden and Emma hugged her tight.

  Andrew Dunn and Marissa stepped out of the car.

  “Welcome home, agents,” Dunn said.

  “Thank you, sir,” Jordan said.

  “Good to be home, sir,” Chris replied.

  The children grabbed hold of Chris, wrapped their arms around his waist, hugged him. “I missed you,” Aiden asked.

  “I missed you too, buddy,” Chris said. “Very much.”

  “I missed you more,” Emma said.

  Chris held the little girl tight. “Thanks, sweetie pie.”

  “Hey, Chris!” Aiden said. “Guess what?” The boy was bursting with excitement.

  “What, buddy?”

  “You should have seen it!” Aiden said.

  “Seen what?”

  “It was the absolute coolest thing ever! There was this guy, and all of a sudden…”

  Jordan quickly interrupted. “Aiden!”

  Aiden caught the stern look on his mother’s face. “Oops,” he said. “Sorry, Mom. I forgot.”

  “Forgot what?” Chris asked.

  “Nothing,” Aiden said. “It’s no big deal.”

  Jordan smiled at her son.

  Aiden quickly changed the subject. “You’re staying for dinner, right?”

  Chris laughed. “That’ll be up to your mom.” He leaned over, whispered in the boy’s ear. “But tell her I’m really hungry.”

  “Can he stay, Mom?” Aiden asked.

  “Sure,” Jordan said.

  “Director Dunn too?”

  “Of course.”

  “Cool!” the children said.

  Marissa remained at the car, unsure whether she should approach the family. She held her hand over her mouth. Jordan could tell she was crying.

  “Kids,” she said. “Can you give Marissa and I a moment alone?”

  “Sure thing, Mom,” Aiden said.

  Jordan walked to her friend.

  “I’m so sorry, Jordan,” Marissa said. Tears were streaming down her face. “This was all my fault.”

  Jordan shook her head. “None of this was your fault, Marissa.”

  “I should have done more to protect the children.”

  “I know you did everything you could have.”

  “I’ll understand if you want me to leave.”

  Jordan wrapped her arms around her friend. “That would be absolutely the last thing I would want,” she said. She took the woman’s face in her hands. “You’re my family, Marissa. You’re exactly where you need to be. With us. Forever.” She dried her tears. “I love you,” she said.

  Marissa smiled. “I love you too.”

  Jordan glanced over at the children. “Think you can help me wrangle the kids away from Chris?” she asked.

  Marissa laughed. “That’s a big ask, but I can try.”

  “Good,” Jordan said. “Let’s go home.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Woof! Lucy greeted her family and their guests on their arrival at the mansion.

  Chris bent down, patted the Golden Retriever. “Hey, girl. Where’s your ball?” he said.

  Lucy chuffed playfully, then took off running in search of her favorite play toy.

  Marissa excused herself. “I’ll make dinner. It shouldn’t take long.”

  Jordan put her arm around her. “Not tonight, Marissa,” Jordan said. “Tonight, I want you to relax. We’ll order in.”

  “Are you sure?” Marissa asked.

  Jordan called out. “Hey, guys. Pizza or Chinese? My treat.”

  Pizza beat out Chinese by a margin of five to one. It would have been six to one if they had given Lucy a vote.

  Chris sat on the living room floor playing with Lucy and the children. Marissa enjoyed a glass of wine.

  Director Dunn whispered to Jordan. “May I speak with you for a moment?”

  “Of course,” Jordan said. She pointed down the hall. “Let’s go to the study.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Jordan closed the door behind them. “Is everything all right, sir?” she asked.

  Dunn nodded. “Just fine. I wanted to bring you up to speed on your case. There are a few details you should know about.”

  “Did Mannafort harm my children?” Jordan quickly asked.

  “Not that we’re aware of,” Dunn answered. “According to HRT, the children seemed very much in control of the situation. That being said, we’re both aware of the e
ffects of post-traumatic stress. I’d recommend they receive psychological counseling just the same.”

  “I agree,” Jordan said.

  “Which brings me to Marissa.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s been through a hell of a lot, Jordan. Hospital reports confirmed Mannafort used a high-powered stun stick to subdue her. According to the witness who came to her aid, a retired nurse, she was in the throes of a full-blown breakdown when she realized the children were gone.”

  “I can’t even imagine what she went through,” Jordan said.

  “There’s one more thing.”

  “Oh?”

  “We believe Mannafort killed two operatives from your shadow security team, Holtzman and Bennett. We found their car two blocks from where he’d stopped Marissa and abducted the children. Their credentials were on his body.”

  “My God.”

  Dunn continued. “HRT also ran the vehicle identification number of the police sedan found at Mannafort’s cabin where the children had been held. It came back to a fellow by the name of Preston Meeks. Meeks was an avid collector of used police vehicles. We found several of them in a barn on his property. He’d posted an online ad for the car found in Mannafort’s possession. Mannafort responded to the ad, killed Meeks, then stole the car. We found his body in the trunk of one of his cars. We also found a rental vehicle in the barn which had been reported missing.”

  “That’s where Mannafort had switched cars,” Jordan said.

  “Correct.”

  “Bastard.”

  Dunn nodded. “By the way, after HRT rescued the kids, Aiden told Commander Gibson that Mannafort had confessed to burying ten bodies in the woods outside the cabin. We had a cadaver dog search the area.”

  “And?”

  “It hit on ten locations, exactly as Aiden had said. We’re processing the scene now.”

  “If they’ve already found ten…”

  “There could be more.”

  “There’s a cold case that goes way back,” Jordan recalled. “We studied it at Quantico.”

  “I know the one,” Dunn said. “Fifteen women, all abducted from the San Bernardino, Redlands, Riverside and Moreno Valley areas over the last ten years, presumed dead.”

  “All of those locations are at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.”

  Dunn nodded. “We may have just found their killer.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  The pizza was good, the company even better.

  After an hour Dunn took his leave, stating his respect for the family’s privacy. He ordered Jordan and Chris to take a few days off. The agents gratefully accepted.

  “Can we go to Disneyland?” Emma pleaded.

  “That would be cool!” Aiden agreed.

  Jordan laughed. “All right. If that’s what you guys want to do, then that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

  “Can Marissa and Chris come too?” Aiden asked.

  Chris smiled at Jordan, pointed to the children. “How can you possibly say no to those faces?” he teased.

  “Sure,” Jordan said. “We’ll make it a family day.”

  “Yay!” the kid’s yelled. They ran off to play with Lucy hot on their heels.

  Chris walked over to Jordan, put his arm around her. “Family day, huh?”

  Jordan smiled. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  He smoothed a hair away from her cheek. “Yes, you did.”

  “I guess it just kind of slipped out.”

  Chris leaned in, kissed her forehead. “Guess so.”

  Jordan nestled her head into his shoulder.

  “Everything’s going to be okay now, Jordan,” he said.

  “I know.”

  “We’re going to be all right.”

  Jordan looked up. She smiled. “We’re going to be great.”

  CHAPTER 44

  TWO WEEKS LATER

  Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

  United States Disciplinary Barracks

  Special Housing Unit

  Jordan sat at a steel table in the visitor’s area. Moments later, Commander Egan was escorted into the room.

  “Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” Egan said.

  Jordan smiled. “How are you, Commander?” she asked.

  Egan shrugged. “Not bad, all things considered. I’m acclimating.”

  “How are they treating you?”

  Egan smiled. “The roast beef’s a little dry and the veggies could use a little spicing up. But on the plus side I’m crushing it on the softball field. I’m thinking now I should have skipped the military altogether, maybe played for the Dodgers. I’m pretty sure they don’t kill their players after they retire.”

  “I’m sorry you had to end up here.”

  “Me too. It wasn’t exactly on my bucket list. On a brighter note, how are your kids?”

  “They’re doing fine,” Jordan said. She removed two photos from her jacket pocket and placed then on the table. “That’s Aiden on the left, Emma on the right.”

  “They look happy.”

  “They are.”

  Egan leaned back. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I just wanted to check in, make sure you were okay.”

  “That was very thoughtful of you.”

  “Do you think there’s any chance they’ll commute your sentence?”

  “You mean give me life instead of the death penalty?”

  “Yes.”

  “I doubt it.”

  Jordan shook her head. “This isn’t right. You were just following orders.”

  “Apparently Colonel Hallier doesn’t see it that way.”

  “Hallier’s a politician and a puppet.”

  “Maybe,” Egan said, “but this decision came down from Heaven. I’m an embarrassment to the top brass, a reminder they failed. For them, the sooner I’m off the planet the better. Eventually the dust will settle, and when it does all this will be forgotten. DARPA will move on to the next project, maybe even the next Ben Egan.”

  “It wasn’t all for nothing, you know.”

  “That’s true,” Egan agreed. “Hernando and the children at Casa de los Niños are safe now. A church in San Jose had offered to take them in. Hopefully, they’ve made it there.”

  “Hernando seems like a good man.”

  “He is. Men like him deserve to receive nothing but good things from this life.”

  “I can check in on him from time to time if you’d like, let you know how they’re doing.”

  “I would appreciate that very much.”

  “It would be my pleasure.” Jordan checked her watch. “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer, Commander. I have to head back to the Bureau.”

  “I’m glad you came,” Egan said.

  Jordan picked up her children’s pictures from the table, returned them to her pocket, took Egan’s hand in hers, stared at him. Egan felt something press into his palm.

  “I can’t thank you enough for saving my children’s lives, Commander,” Jordan said. “I only hope that one day you can get out of this place.”

  Egan smiled. “That would be nice, but it will never happen. The antidote they gave me saw to that.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” Jordan said. “Sometimes antidotes aren’t as effective as anticipated.”

  Jordan let go. Egan raised his hand, covered his mouth, coughed, then dropped the object into the chest pocket of his jumpsuit.

  Jordan stood. “Be well, Commander.”

  “You too, Agent Quest.”

  Jordan walked out the door.

  The guard stepped into the room. “That’s it, Egan,” he said. “No more visitors today. Back to your cell.”

  Egan stood. “Yes, sir,” he replied.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Egan waited for the cell door to close. The sound of the guard’s footsteps faded as he walked down the hall.

  Seated on the thin mattress of the poured concrete bed, he removed the item Jordan had placed in his hand. It was a plastic needle s
heath. He examined it closely. Within the protective cover a small drop of pink liquid glimmered. Egan recognized the solution.

  He chewed on the end of the plastic sheath, broke it open, felt the metallic taste of the solution on his tongue, swallowed it. His body responded within seconds. He concentrated, felt the vibration in his hand and watched his palm glow, rose red.

  He threw the spent needle cover into the toilet, flushed it down the drain, and stared out his four-inch wide cell window which overlooked the courtyard.

  The sun was out. The sky was clear and bright. It promised to be a beautiful day.

  The only decision that remained was where to spend it.

  CHAPTER 45

  THREE WEEKS LATER

  Sarasota, Florida

  Moore Residence

  Billy Reynolds skidded his bike to a stop and watched the military sedan park outside his best friend’s house. The driver, a young soldier, stepped out of the car, opened the back door and saluted.

  The officer exited the vehicle, returned the gesture, walked up the driveway and knocked on the front door. In his hand he carried a black metal briefcase.

  James Moore opened the door. “Colonel Hallier,” he said. He invited him inside. “Nice to see you under better circumstances.”

  Hallier smiled. “I agree, Mr. Moore,” he replied. “May I speak with Tommy?”

  “Of course,” James replied. “I’ll get him for you.”

  Waiting in the front entrance, Hallier admired the tastefully decorated home. His last visit to the Moore’s had been anything but cordial. A full-on tactical breach had seen to that.

  “Hi, Colonel,” Tommy said as he walked down the hall.

  Hallier shook his hand. “How are you, son?”

  “I’m well, sir.”

  Hallier held up the briefcase. “I have something for you,” he said. “Is there somewhere we can we talk privately?”

  Tommy motioned to the living room on their left. “Will this be okay?”

  “Sure,” Hallier replied.

  The Colonel and the boy took a seat. Hallier placed the briefcase on a coffee table between them. “This is for you,” he said. “First, I’ll need your thumb.”