“Look, I can explain,” Campbell said. “I just—”
Black shook his head. “Your chance to provide explanations are over. We’re not interested in your excuses either. The only thing we care about is your cooperation. And if you don’t, we’re going to take you to a FBI holding facility and detain you there indefinitely until we can figure out how many charges we can make stick against you.”
“Do you know who my father is?” she asked.
“Doesn’t matter who your father is,” Shields said. “I’m sure he won’t help you buy your way out of this one when we threaten him with providing financial aid to a terrorist.”
Campbell sat down on the couch and buried her head in her hands. She started to cry softly. “He said it was just one time and that all I had to do was—”
“Enough,” Shields said before rolling her eyes.
“Your dramatic performance isn’t going to work here either,” Black said. “Either you cooperate or you don’t. I’m prepared to offer you a deal for your full cooperation, contingent upon the capture of Kalil Fareed.”
Campbell wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. “What has he done?”
“He’s an Alsheri agent working with a sleeper cell here in the U.S.,” Shields said.
“Why not go arrest him yourself?” she said. “If you know all this, why do you need me?”
“He's very dangerous and he’s also the key to helping us find the rest of the agents in the sleeper cell,” Black said. “Thanks to someone with connections within the federal government, terrorists have been able to get into the country with ease over the past few weeks.”
“Kalil may have had something to do with that,” she said. “We went to a party at Ted Neil’s house and I lost track of Kalil for a few minutes. I asked him where he’d been and he said he had some business to take care of. I figured he must’ve been talking about going to the bathroom. But perhaps it was something else.”
Black and Shields exchanged glances. “That would explain a lot,” he said.
“Sure does,” Shields said. “It’s how they would’ve known about the ports and which ones to target.”
“So, what’s it gonna be?” Black asked. “Are you gonna help your country get out of this mess you’re responsible for creating? Or would you like to spend the rest of your life sitting in a box after getting convicted of treason? It’s your choice.”
Campbell sighed. “You don’t understand. Kalil is a dangerous man and—”
“Oh, we understand that he’s dangerous,” Shields said. “But at this point, you’re out of options. So, do we need to ask you again?”
“Fine,” Campbell said. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”
Chapter 39
CAMPBELL MORGAN LATCHED the necklace and let the heart locket nestle in her bosom. She dabbed on Kalil’s favorite perfume and then headed out the door. The earrings that she wore allowed her to communicate directly with the black ops team, while the locket provided a visual transmission. If she removed any of it, Black assured her they would move in immediately and deal with the situation, violently if necessary.
After taking one final look at herself in the mirror, she forced a quick smile and then exited her apartment. While her father had placed plenty of money in her trust fund, he still hadn’t transferred the full amount into the account. And instead of that fact curtailing her rebel rousing, she increased it. She’d made a sport out of embarrassing her father, threatening to never speak to him again if he cut her off. At times, he would limit her access to prove a point, but it was never for very long. She had him wrapped around her finger, much to the chagrin of her mother.
Campbell slid into the driver’s seat of her silver McLaren 720S and ignited the car’s engine with the push of a button. She roared out of the parking garage, barking the tires as she pulled out into traffic. During the drive, she activated the camera and turned on her coms.
“This is a test,” she said. “Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” Agent Shields said. “Do you want to go over the instructions one more time?”
“No,” she said. “I’m good.”
As Campbell drove, she contemplated how she’d reached this point in her life, always seeking the next rush and thrill. Perhaps having everything she ever wanted shaped her this way. But she couldn’t help herself, always testing the boundaries, always flirting with danger—and loving every minute of it. Her mother pleaded with her to stop and settle down like normal children. But Campbell concluded she wasn’t normal. She was special. And there was no use pretending otherwise.
After she parked her car in the special spot that Kalil paid extra for each month, she got out and hustled up the steps to see him. Getting him in a good mood was the key to getting him to talk. But there was another way to get him to open up, one she relished with an audience.
Campbell used her key to let herself into the apartment.
“Kalil,” she called. “Are you home?”
He darted around the corner, a scowl on his face. “I told you not to call me that except under special circumstances. It’s Ramon.”
“I know it is,” she said, grinning wryly. “But Ramon bores me sometimes. I was wondering if Kalil might like to come out and play.”
She licked her lips and gave him a sultry look. A faint smile spread across his face as he drew closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her chest against his. She went to kiss him and then abruptly withdrew.
Kalil frowned. “Don’t tease me like that.”
“You go take a shower and I won’t tease you anymore,” she said.
Kalil hustled off, taking a quick glance at her over his shoulder. He wore a wide grin and winked. Then he disappeared into the bathroom.
Campbell hustled into his bedroom and planted the device Shields had given her, a surveillance gadget fashioned to look like a quarter that captured both sound and video. At least, that’s what Campbell was told. She positioned the object just as instructed on the night stand.
“Good job,” Shields said over the coms. “We have visual and audio now.”
Once Campbell finished, she tied her hair up in a bun and had just removed her shoes when Kalil stormed into the bedroom. He moved quickly and precisely, his forehead marked with a scowl.
“What is it?” she asked, trying to determine what was the cause of his sudden rage.
Kalil ignored her and then reached into his nightstand and pulled out a gun. “How dare you do this to me after all I’ve done for you?”
Campbell felt her face flush, her heartbeat pounding so fiercely, she was sure Kalil could hear it thumping.
“Honey, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “What have I done?”
He trained his gun on her. “You know exactly what you’ve done.”
* * *
BLACK AND SHIELDS watched with mouths agape as Kalil didn’t hesitate, squeezing off three rounds into Campbell. Her body fell lifeless onto the bed before Kalil strode over to the nightstand and pounded the surveillance device until it went dark.
However, the locket around Campbell’s neck continued transmitting. Cramped inside the van, the Firestorm team watched for a few minutes until Kalil wrapped up her body in a sheet. While they couldn’t see anything, they could still hear his voice clear enough, though muffled through the many layers.
“The red monkey rides tonight,” he said before he hung up.
Black looked at Shields. “The red monkey rides tonight? What in the world does that mean?”
“I’m guessing it’s their activation phrase,” she said.
“Why don’t you move in and take him down?” Jana asked.
“We need to know where he’s going,” Black said. “And unfortunately, it’s not just Kalil we’re after. If we don’t capture the whole sleeper cell, we might just lose them until it’s too late. This is our one opportunity to get all of them.”
“But what about that poor woman?” Jana
said, pointing at the screen. “We just watched her die.”
“It’s sad, I know,” Black said. “But she liked to live on the edge. And if you do that long enough, this is one of the possible outcomes.”
“But she was murdered,” Jana protested.
“She was,” Shields said. “And her death will be in vain if we don’t capture Kalil’s men before they do whatever they’re planning tonight.”
“Are you going to follow him?” Jana asked as Kalil zipped out of his parking spot and headed for the street.
Shields nodded. “We are, but we can’t let him know that we’re on to him. For all he knows, his girlfriend just wanted to record a peepshow for a keepsake. If he suspects we’re on to him, he may cancel whatever it is that he’s planning.”
Jana nodded in agreement. “So, where’s he headed?”
Shields watched the monitor that had traffic cams tracking his movements. “He’s going away from downtown.”
Black stroked his chin. “I know where he’s headed. He’s going to the airport.”
He dialed Blunt’s number to update him on the status of their operation with Kalil. After giving the Firestorm director all the details, Blunt cursed under his breath.
“You can’t lose him,” Blunt said.
“We’re not going to,” Black said. “But he’s heading to the airport. We need to have the jet ready so we can follow him wherever he’s going.”
“I know exactly where he’s going,” Black said.
“You do?”
“He’s going to Denver.”
Chapter 40
Denver, Colorado
KALIL FAREED GRABBED his bag from the overhead bin and glanced at the empty seat in the middle of his row. Campbell Morgan was supposed to join him on this trip. And she deserved to be there, especially since she was responsible for getting him tickets to the campaign rally for Senator Ted Neil at Mile High Stadium. But he was told long ago by one of his mentors that sometimes a commitment to jihad meant making sacrifices.
She was a significant sacrifice too. He enjoyed every minute of their time together, even if she was the epitome of what he was fighting against: entitled, arrogant, boorish, manipulative, powerful. But she only treated him like that once before she realized that she could never behave that way ever again. Teaching her that lesson was something he enjoyed, though he wasn’t sure she would ever return to him. But she did.
Now it was time for Kalil to teach an entire country an unforgettable lesson.
He flung his backpack over his shoulder and marched down the aisle, offering a polite smile to the flight attendant standing near the exit. She bade him a good afternoon and he walked onto the jetway and into the airport.
Once he secured his rental car, he drove toward the designated meeting spot, an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the city. One of the agents in the sleeper cell had proceeded immediately to Denver upon arriving in the U.S. and secured a contract for the facility. For the past few months, various members of the team migrated toward the location, all working service jobs downtown during the day. At night, they’d all built explosive devices and began to plant them around the stadium. Meanwhile, Kalil remained in Washington, directing shipments of supplies to Denver so as not to arouse suspicion. But he’d somehow failed.
Campbell Morgan had been a liaison with Alsheri’s top leaders. Past sleeper cells had met failure when they attempted to communicate with members in the Middle East. Phone lines and emails were scanned and flagged if anyone in the U.S. tried to contact a person in one of the more dangerous regions of the Middle East. Every form of communication going in or out of those countries had to be considered as monitored. Passing secretive messages with ease had become next to impossible. Such countermeasures were necessary to ensure delivery of these communiques, including operations deemed extreme, like faking a kidnapping so a woman could deliver a message without drawing suspicion. Campbell had performed beautifully, even willingly. Kalil remembered how hard they laughed upon her return regarding the ease with which she escaped with the U.S. agents. According to her retelling of her rescue, some of Kalil’s colleagues could’ve easily killed them. And as Kalil looked over his shoulder sensing someone following him, he wished they had finished them off.
He doubled back several times to throw off anyone that might be tailing him before ditching his car at a parking garage and putting on a disguise. He powered up his new burner phone, replacing his old one that he assumed had been compromised, and called one of the team members to let him know he was mere minutes away.
When he reached the door in the alley, he looked up at the security camera and flashed the access signal, the universal “okay” sign. He glanced around him before easing inside.
* * *
BLACK POUNDED the steering wheel as he came to a stop at the traffic light. Since landing in Denver, they’d kept an eye on Kalil, following him at a safe distance. But he’d somehow disappeared.
“How did he do that?” Shields asked, her voice a mixture of anger and respectful awe. “He was right there.”
“I know, I know,” Black said.
Shields kept scanning the area. “Wait a minute. I think I see him.”
“Where?”
“He’s in the northbound lane. Go, go, go.”
Black hit the accelerator and did a U-turn, causing several oncoming cars to slam on their brakes. He eased back not to arouse suspicion, but he couldn’t afford to lose Kalil, not when they were this close to apprehending what could be considered the most dangerous threat to Americans at the moment.
Blunt had been certain that the sleeper cell would mount an attack on the campaign rally at the stadium. And it made sense, given the fact that President Young would be there. As a precautionary measure, Blunt told Young and asked him to speak to the crowd virtually. Young agreed, though he wasn’t happy about it, afraid that others might view him as weak. But it was the safest thing to do under the circumstances.
For a while, the security team at Mile High Stadium considered canceling the event, but Blunt convinced the FBI director that doing so might mean that the sleeper cell disappears and could re-emerge without warning. This event was their best chance to do so, and the feds couldn’t tip off anyone that an attack was possible.
Black pulled the car up to the curb and stopped. Kalil turned into a parking garage downtown.
“What’s around here?” Black asked in his coms.
Alex, who was monitoring the situation in Washington via traffic cams and NSA satellite coverage, was ready with an answer.
“That’s more of an industrial district where you’re at,” Alex said. “A few blocks away are where everyone goes before and after sporting events or shopping and eating during a convention. But it’s just vast warehouses.”
“Never mind,” Black said. “It may not matter. He’s leaving the parking garage again.”
Black eased onto the accelerator, following Kalil’s car. However, it seemed to be in a bigger hurry than before. The leisurely pace had been replaced by more purposeful and—at times—erratic driving. As Black struggled to keep up, the car crossed the center line several times, passing slower cars.
“What the hell is he doing?” Shields asked. “Does he have a death wish?”
“I believe that question has already been answered, but I think we’re going to need some help here.”
Black tried to keep pace as the car turned east onto 17th Avenue and tore through narrow streets. The chase lasted nearly ten minutes as the car seemed to be circling the area. While Black would’ve preferred to shoot Kalil to reduce the chance of an innocent victim getting hit while driving, the primary objective was to find the entire cell in one location.
Eventually, the car came to a stop and squeezed into a spot along a surface street in a neighborhood containing a mix of older houses and newly-built modern homes. Black swore under his breath when he saw the door fly open. A woman got out of the car and removed a baseball cap. She whipped her hair
back and forth before tying it into a tight pony tail and then walking up to a house. After unlocking the door, she entered without even a second glance at the street.
“How the hell did we follow the wrong car?” Black asked.
Alex sighed. “I don’t know. That’s the same car. It had the same license plate.”
Black growled and hit the dashboard with his fist.
“Hold on a second,” Alex said. “I’m going back to look at the footage of the parking garage. There was a white car that entered a few minutes before that one and left right after you did.”
“Do you think he switched vehicles?” Black asked.
“I’m zooming in now,” she said. “Hold on.”
A few more seconds passed before Alex spoke again.
“Well, I’ll be,” she said.
“What is it?” Shields asked.
“I’m betting he’s still in that same location,” Alex said.
“What makes you think that?” Black asked.
“Not a single car has gone in or out in the preceding half hour or the one since you left,” Alex said. “Kalil may be good, but he’s not a magician. He can’t disappear.”
Black wheeled the car around in the street and headed back toward the parking garage. “Alex, look up all the facilities within a two-mile radius of that parking garage that have been rented out within the last year.”
“On it,” she said.
Shields glanced at Black. “What are you thinking?”
“I think Alex is right. He’s still there.”
“What if he’s in the trunk of that car?” she asked. “Should we check that first?”
“We don’t have time. Send the Denver PD over there to investigate. If we guess wrong about where he is now, we just might lose him for good.”
* * *
KALIL FAREED INSPECTED all the explosive devices one final time as the entire sleeper cell prepared to disseminate their bombs. He smiled as he looked at the last one.
“It looks like we’re ready to go,” he said.
The eleven other men in the room erupted into cheers. Kalil pumped his fist and declared them all members of the Deadly Dozen.
Honorable Lies (A Titus Black Thriller Book 6) Page 19
