Certain Reprisal

by Kevin Macklin

  "If I got everything to you tonight, what's the earliest you could have it ready for me?"

  "I'd normally charge ten stacks for something like this, with a three day turnaround, but if you want me to stay up all night and get this done it'll be double. Twenty thousand. Half up front, and the rest on delivery."

  I was investing a lot of money into this. But, that begs the question: What's human life worth? Not only were we talking about the three women who were currently missing, but also Mahoney's future victims. Twenty grand seemed like a small price to pay. Especially since I wasn't hurting for money.

  Flaco and I shook on the deal and I told him I'd bring the money when I brought what he needed for the warrant. Then, he took our pictures for the credentials, before we left.

  As we got into the car, I placed a phone call which, as usual, wasn't answered. So, I sent a text requesting that they call me back.

  It didn't take long before my phone chirped.

  "What's up, Dough? You good?" This was my man, Rock. He was serving a federal prison sentence for drug trafficking.

  "I'm good, bro. Look. I need a copy of a federal search warrant and a close up of the judges signature."

  "That's easy. Let me dig through my paperwork. Gimme about ten minutes." Rock disconnected.

  Chapter 21

  Steel Bill was a member of the Ghost Rider's Motorcycle Club, as well as my arms dealer, although you'd never be able to tell just by looking at him. Bill looked like your average WASP, like he should be working on Wall Street.

  After the return trip to the World's Best Electronics store, I called Bill and told him that I needed to stop by.

  Lisa pulled into his suburban driveway, and I asked that she remain in the car. Bill's sister, Kathy, and I used to date. In all actuality, it was a serious relationship, and I didn't want to bring another woman into Bill's home.

  He greeted me at the door as only an old friend can, then I followed him inside. We sat in the living room, on a couch.

  "I need to find somebody that can hack a cell tower," I began.

  "You always have the most interesting shit going on! Why do you need to hack a cell tower?"

  "I'm going to rob a bank."

  "You could use a simple jammer for that," he responded. "But why would you rob a bank? That's beneath you. You ever get into a tough spot, you can always come to me. You're my bro."

  I laughed. "I don't need money. I'm trying to get the contents of a safety deposit box, and I need to reroute a call to the local FBI field office."

  "You never invite me for the fun stuff."

  "I've been busy lately. I'm sure I'll have something you can get in on at some point," I replied.

  "Yeah, I heard about Virginia."

  A while back I'd worked a case for his other sister, who lives in Virginia.

  "So, what's up," I prompted. "You got somebody that can do it?"

  "You know I do." He scrolled through his phone and forwarded a number to me. "I'll call him so he'll be expecting you. These guys are usually a little paranoid by nature."

  I thanked him and made my exit. Didn't want to leave Lisa in the car all day.

  The hacker's name was Toad. I wasn't familiar with many hackers, and I wasn't sure if names like Toad were common, but hey… He likes it, I love it. Guess I'd heard worse names in my time.

  I gave Toad a call when we got back to the warehouse, and he agreed to stop by.

  Toad was overweight, with pale skin that could use some sun, and a shirt that was half tucked in. But, when he spoke his voice filled the room. His was not the voice of someone meek and lacking confidence.

  After taking a seat in front of my desk, he pulled a laptop from a bag he'd been carrying. "So, you want to take over a cell tower."

  "Can you do it?" I asked him.

  "Of course I can."

  Then, he started speaking a bunch of techie talk that I couldn't follow, but I let him finish. Sometimes people need to talk in order to organize what they were planning to do, because I couldn't imagine that he thought I would know what in the hell he was talking about.

  When he was done, I said, "I need you to intercept and reroute an outgoing call to a specific number. I don't know which number will be making the call, so you'll need to focus on the number that'll be receiving the call."

  "No problem," he said. "I just need to be close to the person making the call so I can make sure we're locked into the same tower."

  "If you're in the parking lot of the building he's in, will that be close enough?"

  "That should do it. Unless you're talking about an airport or some insanely huge building," he replied.

  "Nah, it's a bank."

  "A bank. Hmm. We're robbing a bank? I don't know if I can field multiple calls if they all come in at the same time."

  "It'll be just one call. To confirm our identity."

  He smiled. "You're going to act like FBI agents… Who's going to be answering the call?"

  "Haven't figured that out, yet."

  Sure, I had people that could do it, but I didn't want this op to be too… Ethnic. I wish it didn't matter, but this is America and every agent in an FBI field office won't be black. Just won't happen. So, I'd prefer to have a diverse voice on the other end of the line.

  "I'll do it," Toad volunteered.

  That solves that problem.

  "You're hired. Be ready tomorrow."

  Toad said something about optimizing his software, or something to that effect, then made his exit.

  Lisa asked, "We're really doing this?"

  "We are. Sure you're up for it?"

  "I'm going to do whatever it takes to find my sister."

  "Then let's go shopping."

  We needed federal agent apparel, and dark, uptight suits were their wardrobe of choice. I had a couple in my closet that might fit the bill, but playing a fed hadn't been on my mind when I bought them. I didn't want the success of this mission to be jeopardized by a suit. The better you prepare ahead of time, the smoother things go when the action starts.

  So, we went shopping.

  Lisa offered no objection.

  She opted for a dark gray pantsuit with low, black heels. Fed wasn't the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw her in the fitting room, but it was a solid third or fourth. Preceded by gorgeous, stunning, and maybe... Fine as hell. I ended up with a dark blue suit and brown wingtips. Not too expensive. Something one could afford on a fed salary.

  Once we were done shopping, I took her to this Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. All in all, it was a pleasant evening. Her smile was infectious and she allowed it to shine often. Which caused me to smile, just because. And, when she dropped me off I was disappointed that the night was ending.

  But, we had a big day tomorrow, and I needed a rested mind.

  Chapter 22

  The day got off to an early start with me knocking on the door of World's Best Electronics long before the store was set to open. Flaco let me in and escorted me to the back where we completed our transaction.

  The FBI creds were better than I could have imagined. I almost fooled myself into thinking I was an agent, they were that good. I would be hanging on to these in case I ever needed them in the future.

  The warrant was on point.

  Flaco was an asset and a true professional. If there was some place to leave a review, I would. We'd definitely be doing business in the future.

  Leaving the electronics store, I called Toad. He was wide awake and I could pick up an undercurrent of excitement as he spoke. He would leave immediately and meet me at the warehouse shortly.

  My next call was to Lisa. No answer. She was probably in the shower, or getting ready. I sent her a text and took off for the warehouse.

  Toad arrived as I was unlocking the door. He got out of a truck, computer case in hand. The big guy was bouncing on the tip of his toes. Guess the hacking community doesn't see much real world action. I appreciated his enthusiasm.

  In my office, he set his
laptop up and said, "Once the call to the field office goes out I'm going to capture the sending device and clone it. That will allow me to listen in on any calls it makes. I know you only see a need to reroute that one call, but I believe redundancy is a good thing."

  I had absolutely no problem with redundancy, and I voiced that opinion.

  "Good," he said. "Another thing. I got my hands on these microscopic radios. They're not really microscopic, but they do disappear inside your ear. You won't be able to talk, but you will be able to hear me. I'll keep you updated if I see or hear anything I think you may need to know. Again, redundancy."

  I smiled. I was starting to like this guy.

  The plan was to hit the bank right as it was opening, before it got busy, and that work-day irritation set in. I was looking for them to want to get this done and over with before business picked up. Get us out of the way so they could get back to their regularly scheduled programming.

  The bank's opening time was fast approaching and I hadn't heard back from Lisa.

  I dialed her number, again.

  No answer.

  Leaving Toad in my office, I went to the bathroom to get dressed. Instead of being worried about her, I needed to worry about getting myself ready.

  The bathroom was full service and included a shower. I hopped in, washed up, then toweled off. Got dressed. Looked at myself in the mirror and saw someone who could have graduated with a law degree and applied for a job as a civil servant staring back at me.

  Back in the office, I checked my phone again. Still nothing from Lisa. If I had to go in there by myself I would, but my image of FBI agents was that they always moved in pairs.

  I really wanted to present that image to the bank.

  Oh, well. Time to go.

  I was disappointed that Lisa had ghosted me, but the show must go on.

  Toad and I got ready to leave. He would arrive a few minutes before me, in order to get set up and infiltrate the cell tower. If the call went through before he had time to get in, well, I'd need a good amount of lube.

  We exited the warehouse, and, to my surprise, Lisa was pacing in the parking lot, behind the Tesla. She was wearing her game uniform, but obviously wasn't ready to hit that walk off homer. I gave Toad a nod and he took his leave to get set up. Then I approached Lisa.

  "You good?" I asked.

  "I'm not sure I can do this," she replied.

  "What are your reservations?"

  "It's just… I've never done anything like this. I don't know if I can."

  "Hey, look at me," I raised her chin to meet my eyes. "You got this. If I wasn't certain that you could pull this off, there's no way I would even consider walking into that bank with you at my side. Remember the storage facility? Same game, different court. Just breathe."

  She did.

  Took her a moment, but she nodded.

  I gave her one of Toad's earpieces and we set out.

  A couple blocks out from the bank, Toad's voice came through the earpiece, "I'm all green. Ready when you are."

  The bank was old, and built in a style popular in the 1920s. Shiny, marble floors and high ceilings projected the image of money and power. We approached the first teller we saw and flashed our creds in an official manner.

  "We need to speak with the bank's president," I said.

  The teller picked up a phone and whispered into the receiver. Then to us, she said, "He'll be down in a moment."

  It didn't take long for the president to arrive. A thin, balding man, wearing an expensive suit and tasseled loafers approached us and asked to see our identification.

  After inspecting our credentials he said, "I'm John Callahan, bank president. What can I do for you today?"

  "Good morning. I'm Special Agent Jason Winters and this is Special Agent Nadine Ortiz." I gestured toward Lisa, then produced the warrant. "We need the contents of box 666. We believe the contents to be linked to a terrorism investigation we're conducting, and we'd appreciate your immediate cooperation."

  He took the warrant from my hand and gave it the once over.

  Handed it back.

  "We'd need to call in our locksmith to remove the lock. Without the customer's key, that's the only option."

  "We should get to it then," I said, mustering all of the authority bestowed upon an FBI agent by good old Uncle Sam.

  Callahan disappeared, back from where he came. Lisa and I moved over to an out of the way corner and tried to maintain an official, intimidating presence. A few people looked our way, but for the most part we were unobtrusive.

  I thought to myself that this would be a horrible time for someone to rob this bank.

  My earpiece came to life. "Just intercepted the call to the field office," Toad said. "Told him that we don't discuss investigations, but if a couple of my agents are there with a warrant, it would probably be in his best interest to comply. Hold on. He's making another call."

  I smiled to myself. Winked at Lisa, who was like a stone. Unmoving and unreadable.

  "He called a locksmith, who said he'd be here in ten." Toad was proving invaluable.

  We stood around as the minutes slowly ticked by. Business was beginning to pick up at the bank, as more and more customers filed into the lobby. Callahan didn't return.

  Until the locksmith showed up. Which happened right before the ten minute mark.

  Callahan emerged and made eye contact with us, as he approached the locksmith. Then, the four of us walked into a vault that held the safety deposit boxes.

  The locksmith got to work, and it was another ten minutes before he had the lock open. Done, he packed his things and left.

  To Callahan I said, "If you'll excuse us, we'll be out of here in less than a minute."

  He looked as if he didn't want to leave, but I spoke with an authority that left no room for argument. Once he was gone, I opened the door and pulled the box out.

  The box was about four inches by ten inches, height to width, and about a foot deep. Inside were the gun, a plastic bag maintaining its freshness, and a variety of lipsticks and lip glosses. Maybe Mahoney had a fetish, but more than likely they were souvenirs. We didn't need the lipsticks and glosses, only the gun, but to keep up appearances, I dumped them all into the plastic bag.

  In order to keep the contents of the box away from prying eyes, I removed my suit jacket and draped it over my arm, concealing our bounty.

  Callahan was waiting for us outside of the vault with a look of expectation on his face. Once he noticed the jacket over my arm, that look morphed into one of worry.

  "Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your time," I said as we hurried past him and out of the bank's revolving front door.

  My earpiece came to life with a, "Good job guys," as we settled into the car. Lisa backed out, and we were gone.

  Chapter 23

  "That was fucking scary," Lisa said.

  We were at a stop light, headed to the warehouse. The bank was about a mile behind us. Most importantly, no police were behind us. There was no pursuit. No chase. No police choppers.

  Nothing but normal, everyday traffic.

  She screamed. All of her pent up tension flowed out in one ear piercing release.

  "Sorry," she said. "But, we did it!"

  She shook her head. Her long, curly hair flowed side to side. Her entire body vibrated as the adrenaline finally found its freedom.

  "Ok," she said. "Let me bring it together."

  "You're good. Let it out." I knew that adrenaline and energy had to have some kind of an outlet. Been there before.

  Then, I said, "We should probably head straight to Rivers' house. We got the goods. The sun is shining down on us. Never know what later may bring."

  She agreed and began making the necessary lane adjustments. I called Toad and told him that I'd catch up with him later to return his micro radios.

  We stopped at a fast food restaurant, ordered a couple of burgers, then used the bag to hold the gun and souvenirs. Didn't want to carry a clear
plastic bag that revealed its contents to the world when we went to his door.

  Lance Rivers let us in and we took the same seats as the last time we were there. I opened the bag, showed him the goods.

  "Is that really..." A look of amazement revealed itself on his face.

  "It is," I said.

  "But, how?"

  "Don't worry about that. Tell us where we need to look."

  "There's a trailer," he began. "Northwest of the city. He uses it when he goes hunting. It's remote, with a lot of land. My guess is they're buried on that property."

  He gave us directions to the trailer, and I gave him the bag and all of its contents.

  We left.

  I wanted to get out of this suit, so we went to my house, a five bedroom, 3,700 square foot colonial that sat on an acre. Too much house for one person, but I liked my space.

  After changing clothes, we sat on my couch, and I pulled up the satellite image of the trailer to which Lance had directed us. It was pretty much a single trailer in the middle of a clearing that was surrounded by forest land. Good cover, and I could appreciate that.

  To Lisa, I said, "We'll go after sunset."

  "Why not now?" she asked.

  "We'll use the darkness for cover. Whenever going into enemy territory, always go at night."

  A look crossed her face that said she'd rather go now.

  "You don't trust me?" I questioned.

  She searched my face, my eyes. Then, she said, "I trust you."

  I leaned forward and kissed her. Didn't plan it. Hadn't really thought about it. Just happened.

  She tensed, surprised by my gesture. Then Lisa relaxed, threw her arm around my neck, and returned the kiss.

  Her lips were soft, her kiss passionate. We melted into each other, my strong arms around her soft body. Didn't come up for air for at least a minute.

  When, at last, we did, she smiled. Bit her lip. Came back for round two.

  Round two was even more passionate than the first. Endorphins, dopamine, and all of those feel good chemicals started releasing, and I felt a little dizzy.

  In a good way.

  In a way that had been too long since the last time.