by Bob Blink
Chapter 36
Thursday Morning, May 19
Washington, D.C.
"It's a good thing you Back-Tracked to preserve your knowledge or you wouldn't have gained anything for all the risk the three of you took," Susan said unhappily when Jake and the others had completed filling her and Norm in on the events from New York.
"It certainly looks like this woman, Natalie Rineri is the one with your ability," Norm added.
"The evidence is pointing that way," Jake agreed, "but it isn't conclusive yet, and being wrong could prove very costly, even fatal."
"Even if she is the one, we don't know where to find her at the moment," Tony pointed out.
"They have somewhat the same problem with Jake," Susan pointed out.
"They could make a reasonable guess that I might be back here in Washington reporting to you," Jake said. "Natalie could be almost anywhere now that she realizes we might be on to her."
"Maybe you shouldn't be so predictable," Susan said thinking. "Maybe it's time for you and Tony to go elsewhere as well."
"Maybe to California," Jake suggested, already thinking along the same lines as Susan.
"You want to lead them to your home?" Jim asked surprised.
"No, not to the house, but I'd be surprised if they can't learn that Bob Trask is from the West Coast. "It would be reasonable for him to head that way. Maybe we can lure them out of hiding, while removing them from their comfort zone."
"There's another advantage of your going," Susan added. "In additional to separating them from the resources they have so readily available here, we'd have a way to see which of them would go. Almost certainly their Back-Tracker would be among those who traveled West. It would be risky to be so distant in the middle of all this, despite the reliability of cell phones they might use to keep in contact. You could lead them into areas where the phones don't work, or disable their contact in other ways. I am certain we have resources available there I can tap without giving away what we are up to, and possibly a safe house that is located in an area where cellular is less than reliable."
"For the same reason we shouldn't be separated from Jake," Tony objected.
"I wasn't thinking of our being separated from him," Susan said. "We don't want their team split watching us. We want all of them in the same place where we have a better chance of dealing with the entire group. No, I think we all need to go to the West Coast."
"We can't be too obvious about this," Jake warned. "They'll sense something is up."
"They are looking for you," Norm pointed out, looking at Jake. "At the moment they don't know where you are, and hopefully only know you by the consultant name you use. Tony says he is certain the three of you snuck in here without being spotted, so they don't know for certain at the moment you are back in Washington. They also don't know about Tony, beyond the fact you had more help in New York than they initially realized. I think you and Tony need to remain undercover and make your way to California without being spotted."
"How are they going to know that's where Jake went?" Jim asked.
"They will hopefully consider it a possibility when they can spot the rest of us, but not him. But, when they follow Jim, after he makes a careful effort to lose any followers, and discover he is getting on a plane to California, they'll be certain. Susan and I will have reservations on a different flight, which I'm certain they'll be able to discover when they find us missing as well."
"You're thinking of sending Tony and Jake ahead earlier using fake ID's?" Jim asked. "They might still be spotted."
"I can arrange for a plane the agency sometimes uses," Tony said. "They would have no way of learning about that. The problem is going to be getting funds without revealing to someone what we are up to."
"I'll foot the bill," Jake said. "I have the money. With my ability, it's rather easy to accumulate."
"When can you go?" Susan asked Tony.
"We'll be on our way later this afternoon. We'll be in San Francisco before midnight."
"I'll make certain that Susan and I are on an early morning flight tomorrow," Norm said. "We'll leave while they are thinking we are still at the apartment. Jim will make his normal morning appearance, go to Headquarters, and then make his unsuccessful attempt to lose his followers when he goes to the airport to catch a ten o'clock plane tomorrow morning. When they realize what has happened, they'll have to scramble to follow us."
"Maybe not," Tony said. "We don't want all of us to get there ahead of them. We'll want them to be able to follow us to the safe house that Susan is going to arrange. That'll be where we game them, and maybe make our move to take them out."
"You want Susan and Norm to go after Jim," Jake guessed.
Tony nodded.
"Later in the day, so that Paul and his group will have someone in place in San Francisco to keep an eye on them when they arrive. Susan and Norm will be seen going to Headquarters here in Washington at the start of the day as usual. They won't be spotted leaving for the airport, and it shouldn't even be the same airport that Jim uses if we want to appear we're being tricky. We want Paul Martin and his group to think Susan and Norm are sneaking out when it is learned they are going to California as well."
"It should be easy enough to covertly leave Headquarters and get driven to any of the local airports," Norm agreed.
"That'll also give us more time to make arrangements on this end before we leave," Susan admitted. "I'm not certain I can get approval for the safe house I want in time for you and Tony. The Director is away this morning, and without his approval, too many questions might be asked for such a sudden request. These things are usually planned with far more lead time."
"That doesn't matter," Jake said. "Tony and I will operate out of my place until the rest of you start arriving. No one will be aware we have left Washington until Jim gets on his plane."
"What do we do once our friends arrive there?" Susan asked. "I assume the goal is to get a shot at Natalie, so we can confirm she is the one we need to neutralize?"
"A lot depends on just who they bring and how they approach their efforts to find Jake," Tony said. "We're going to have to be flexible, and able to adapt quickly."
"I'm concerned we don't have enough people," Jim said. "The five of us are too few, especially with Susan and Norm still in the air while their entire team is on the ground out West. Besides, they are going to wonder about the missing man, or men, from the ambush in New York. Tony, I assume, is mostly going to remain hidden, while Jake is bait."
"We'll have to think hard about using Jake as bait," Susan warned.
"We may want to use the same gambit as we did in New York," Tony said. "I can pretend to be Jake at times."
"Jim's right," Norm conceded. "We are too few for what might be needed."
"We are limited by who we bring on board for this," Susan warned. "Anyone involved is going to learn Jake's secret, which is something we have guarded carefully."
"Better a few more learn, than we fail," Norm argued.
"I have a couple of friends out West that know about me, and who have worked with me before," Jake said.
"Nate?" Susan asked.
"Nate, and another friend you haven't run into before. His name is Eric, and he's a superb woodsman, which might become handy. He could be out of sight and keep watch on this rural safe house you mentioned. He could be our eyes on what the other side is doing. The other advantage is they both know about me already."
"This could get messy, and you would be putting your friends at risk," Susan warned.
"I'm certain I can protect them just as I have in the past," Jake argued, "and Nate is aware of what might be required. Eric is the pragmatic sort, and once he understands the stakes, won't have a problem dropping another of the others if required."
"Where are these friends of yours?" Norm asked.
"They both live in Reno. It would be easy enough to have them drive down to San Jose and meet Tony and me at the house. Nate has been there many times."
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"Let's say that Martin and his people spot me, reach the conclusion we hope, and elect to head to California as well. They are unlikely to travel commercial. They wouldn't be able to bring the kind of weapons they might want with them."
"It's likely their Mob associates could arrange to supply them quickly on the other end," Jake said. "That would allow them to fly commercial, although their choice of planes would be limited if they hoped to beat Susan and Norm."
"I'd bet they could arrange some kind of charter flight," Tony suggested. "They are pricey, but exist. For that matter, the Mob might have their own planes that can make the flight."
"If that's the case, how will we know when and where they arrive?" Jim asked.
"I think Shaun will be putting in some overtime," Susan said. "He can monitor all of the commercial flights for their names, and he can tap into the FAA's database of current flights. He'll be able to check all flights leaving this general area and heading to airports around San Francisco. Any plane that files a flight plan will be in that database, and I can't see them attempting to get there on a low flying slower aircraft. They won't have time. They'll want to be there so they can follow us."
"If Shaun can identify their flight we can be watching when they arrive. It'll give us a first idea of who and what they bring along, in case not all of their group attempts to meet Susan's flight when it arrives. Jim could be there to greet Susan, but Tony and I, as well as Eric and Nate, could follow them out of sight."
"All of this suggests that Norm and I take one of the later flights on Friday," Susan said. "We want them to have time to get there before we arrive, and they might run into delays. Jim should take an early flight, so they get alerted as soon as possible Friday morning what is happening, again to give them as much reaction time as possible."
"I think we had better get started then," Tony said. "It'll take a little time to make arrangements for the plane. Leave one of the communicators I gave you with Shaun so we have a secure means of talking with him. I'll have a replacement when you get to San Francisco. Jake and I will slip out of here, and have things set up when you arrive. Jim should have a reservation at one of the San Francisco hotels, and go there from the airport. That'll give us a chance to monitor for any tails before we contact him. You and Norm will head straight to the safe house. Agreed?"
Chapter 37
Friday Morning, May 20
Washington, D.C.
Jim Laney drove his car out of the lot as he prepared for his fake attempt to try to lose anyone following him. He had spotted a tail earlier this morning when he had made the drive from Norm's apartment to Headquarters. He'd made no attempt to lose the follower then, giving no indication he was aware he was being tailed.
When Norm and Susan had arrived at the office half an hour after him, they had held a private war council with Shaun regarding what he was to do. He already had software available for the task, and was ready to proceed. He was briefed on the secure communicator, and would be contacting Jim with any updates, since Norm and Susan would be airborne during much of the critical period.
After Shaun had left, they called Tony and Jake, who were settled in at Jake's home in San Jose. Susan provided them with all the relevant flight information, as well as directions to the safe house. Tony and Jake would check it out this morning while the others were still back East. While the three FBI agents would have no trouble carrying their sidearms on the plane, Jake and Tony had more capable weaponry available. Tony had been able to bring what he wanted on the special charter, and Jake wasn't without his own supplies in that area.
Now, as Jim made his way down the busy Washington street, he thought about the call he'd made to Clarissa earlier this morning. She was becoming restless and wanted to know when she could return. He had explained they were closing in on the suspects, and predicted, based on nothing, that she'd be able to come back after the weekend. He hoped that proved to be the case. He missed her greatly and knew the longer it took to resolve this matter, the more difficult their reunion would be.
Glancing into his mirror, he spotted the dark brown sedan that he'd noticed following him earlier in the day. He hoped they had more than the one vehicle assigned to tail him, because he needed to make this look good, or they would be suspicions. On the other hand, he didn't want to lose them. Seeing an opportunity, he gunned his vehicle, turned sharply in front of another car, and made a right turn that should have surprised those behind him.
"He's going to the airport," Jeff Rineri informed Paul as he followed Agent Laney onto the off ramp that led to Dulles International. He was in the second of two vehicles that had been following the agent since he'd left FBI headquarters, and only because there had been the two of them had they managed to stay with the agent.
"Is he picking someone up?" Natalie asked hopefully.
They hadn't seen anything of Bob Trask since their return to Washington, even after spotting Agent Laney yesterday. Trask was who they believed they needed to find, and time was slipping away far too fast.
"I don't think so," Jeff said. "We've parked and he appears to be heading toward the bus that'll take him to the terminal. I think he might be going somewhere because he's pulling a small travel case."
"Stay with him," Paul ordered. "We need to know where he is going."
"I've got Chuck staying with him," Jeff replied. "I have to stay back because he knows me. He spied on me for a couple of days, so he'd almost certainly spot me if I get too close."
"Don't lose the S.O.B.," Paul ordered. "Have Chuck buy a ticket to anywhere so he can follow him to the gate. Call me as soon as you know his destination. Make sure Chuck watches to confirm he actually boards and doesn't get off again before the plane leaves. This could be some kind of a trick."
"Do you think he's going to meet Trask?" Natalie asked, when Paul ended the call. "Maybe what he's doing is something unrelated to us."
"He made a point of trying to elude anyone who might be following him," Paul pointed out. "Jeff says he really worked at it and they were lucky not to lose him. That suggests whatever he's doing is something secret, and it almost has to be about us and Trask. We haven't seen Trask since coming to Washington, and the reason might be he went somewhere else."
Paul was interrupted when his phone rang.
"Yeah," he said. "It's Jeff again," he told Natalie.
"You're certain?"
"Okay," Paul replied after listening for a moment. "Make certain he boards, and watch until the plane takes off, then call me back."
"San Francisco," Paul informed Natalie, who wasn't surprised. The one bit of information that Paul's uncle had passed on to them was that Trask was thought to live on the West Coast somewhere, most likely northern California.
"That doesn't mean Trask lives in the city," Natalie said. "He could be anywhere in the greater Bay area. It's as crowded as New York. Unless your uncle comes up with some more specific information, we'll never have a chance of finding them."
Paul noted she was already of the opinion that Agent Laney was going to join up with Bob Trask. Well, he was also.
"Maybe it's a trick," Natalie said aloud, but they both knew that it was unlikely. What could Laney hope to gain? She was just anxious to find and kill the consultant. She was uncomfortable with the thought there was someone else with her ability hunting them.
Paul held up his hand and speed dialed a familiar number.
"Who are you calling?" she asked.
"Aaron. I want him to do some checking for me."
A moment later Aaron answered and Paul explained what he wanted and the urgency, hanging up once Aaron indicated he understood.
"I think we need to go to California," Paul said to Natalie. "Whatever is going on, it has to relate to us. We'll have to hope that Uncle Carlos will come up with a location we can use."
"Trask might already be out West, and Laney will be with him long before we can get there. How do you think we will find them if he doesn't?"
"I'm hoping
Aaron will be able to help with that," he said, which wasn't a useful answer in Natalie's opinion.
Paul was already dialing another number.
"Now who are you calling?" Natalie asked.
"I need to get permission to use one of the private jets we have. We can't fly commercial. They could have all manner of watch lists out on us. That would definitely alert them that we are following, and could well get us arrested. We also couldn't bring any weapons along with us."
His explanation was interrupted when someone on the far end answered. Paul walked away as he was speaking. Natalie wasn't interested in listening and focused on their situation. She was considering how rapidly matters were deteriorating on them.
Paul spoke for a long time, then made yet another call. When he finally came back he was grim, but nodded.
"We have a plane. It'll be ready to go later this afternoon. You should pack anything you want to take. I'll alert Jeff and the others who I want to go along. We'll be staying at the house of one of my uncle's associates in the city. I know the man's son from several years ago. They'll also provide us with a few people who are more familiar with the area to help us."
Natalie was about to ask something, when Paul's cell rang again. This time it was Aaron. Paul spent most of the call listening. At the end he gave Aaron some specific instructions, then hung up.
"Okay, it looks like Carlson and her boyfriend are going as well. Aaron found them listed on an evening flight out of Ronald Reagan National Airport. Their destination is the same, San Francisco. They'll get in just after 1 AM. Unfortunately we don't know anything about Trask. Aaron says he is not booked on any flights from any of the local airports. He also didn't leave earlier, at least not under that name. It's possible he's using a different name, or that his real name is something different. My guess is that he is already there."
