Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller

by Randy Reardon

  Frank was taking it all in. “Are we absolutely sure there are no other taps in the store or apartment. I need complete assurance if we let the father contact the son, that the uncle won’t become aware and this whole thing blows up.”

  “We scanned when we went in and picked up nothing. Everything was clean. I don’t think they would have anything sophisticated enough for us not to pick it up.” Lutz added.

  “Okay, let me talk to Max and Stan.” The officers gave Frank a quizzical look as they went back to work at their stations. No one knew who he was talking about but, then again, until three hours ago, they had never heard of Frank, either.

  Frank headed to the back bedroom of the apartment. He’d commandeered this space when he first arrived, knowing he and Jordan would need space away from the others to think and plan strategy. It also had windows overlooking the store and the apartment, so they were able to key a visual on what was happening outside. He placed the call to Stan, who asked Max to join the conversation.

  “I think the best thing would be for the father to call the son. We can coach him on what to say to keep the kid calm.” Max was leaning over the desk talking into the conference phone.

  “I agree we need to see if we can’t buy some more time before he alerts this uncle. Until we have a clearer idea of the bigger picture, I want more time to observe.” Stan looked at Max for support on what he’d just said.

  “I agree with Stan.” Max nodded to Stan as she spoke.

  “When can we have Akmed ready?” Frank replied. He was a person of action. Debating options for any length of time never seemed to make the options any better. To him, it was decide and do.

  “I think you should do it when Benny goes up to the apartment,” Max jumped in.

  “Frank, when do we think that will happen?” Max stood up from the desk and stretched her back.

  “He said he would come up when he closed the store. Today, it’s five-thirty.”

  “That gives us ninety minutes. We need to get cracking here. Let’s reconnect at five fifteen” Stan looked at his watch as he spoke.

  Everyone concurred.

  “Akmed is with William. I’ll go and get started with them.” Max turned to walk out of the room. The phones went silent as each person disconnected. Stan leaned back in his chair wondering how many more twists and turns they would have to navigate before this came to an end.

  Frank walked out of the bedroom, back to the large living area, where the team was set up. “Listen, everyone. Here’s what’s going to happen in ninety minutes.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  FBI SAFE HOUSE

  As Max went up the stairs she was trying to get her thoughts together as to how to present this to Akmed. They hadn’t told him they were putting Aziz under surveillance. They hadn’t told him they were going to bug the store and the apartment. He was a reasonable guy, but anything at this point could put him over the edge and make him shut down completely. She would have to be at her best to convince him they still had his and his son’s best interests at heart in the action they needed to take.

  She knocked on the door and slowly pushed it open. Akmed was seated at the table and William was over by the window, staring out into the surrounding woods. They were discussing baseball. Akmed seemed to be a genuine fan, with a strong knowledge of the game and rabid support of the Phillies. Max was glad William had found some common ground for their conversations. Akmed seemed relaxed and open with William but, Max couldn’t waste the time to pull William out and brief him, so she would just need to start and hope William would pick up where she was going and be able to jump in with support.

  “Well, if I could interrupt your conversation about the Boys of Summer, I’ve got some things we need to update and discuss.” Max noticed Akmed’s confusion as she spoke.

  “Boys of Summer? I don’t know that, what does it mean?” He had a puzzled look on his face.

  William chuckled. “It’s a term for baseball players. It’s Max’s way of trying to fit in with our conversation, but she knows nothing about baseball, Akmed. She couldn’t even tell you in what city the Philadelphia Phillies play!” He shot a “gotcha” look at Max.

  Akmed laughed. “Just like my wife. She could never understand the game. The Boys of Summer. I like that and I’ll have to remember it — Boys of Summer.”

  “Okay, you two; you’ve had your fun. Let me know when you’re ready to listen.”

  William came over to the table and sat down. Akmed nodded to Max.

  “Alright Akmed, we believe Aziz is worried about you. He seems quite concerned you haven’t returned home yet. We have your store and apartment under surveillance.”

  “Do you have it bugged? How do you know this?”

  “Yes, we do have listening devices in both places.”

  “You did not tell me this, I did not give you permission!” Akmed showed hostility for the first time.

  William put his arm on Akmed’s shoulder. “Akmed, we got a warrant from the court. It allows us to protect Aziz while you are with us. We also need to find out as much as we can about the mission and its timetable. We need to find Mustafa and isolate him. For now, the only physical location we have is yours and that’s why we’re there.”

  Akmed began to relax. He looked at Max. “So, what are you saying about my son.”

  “He’s a strong boy, but he’s worried. He went to school today, feeling you would be home when he returned. When he got home and you weren’t there, his demeanor changed. He’s frightened. Benny has been very good and supportive. When he closes the store this afternoon, he is going to go up and visit with Aziz.”

  “He’s not planning on closing early is he? We usually do a nice business this part of the week in the last half hour or so,” Akmed interrupted.

  “Ah! Spoken like a true American Capitalist.” William slapped Akmed on the back as he paid him the compliment. Akmed turned to William with a smile.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to minimize Aziz’s feelings. I worked hard to build my business and my customers count on me.”

  Max was smiling. “Akmed, we have no reason to believe Benny is closing early. We’re certain he is going to go up after the regular closing time. We would like you to call the apartment during the time Benny is there and talk with Aziz. Reassure him you are well and just needed time for yourself. We can work up talking points for you, but it’s critical what ever you say sounds normal and won’t seem funny or cause further alarm in Aziz. He spoke of calling Mustafa to tell him. Frankly, at some point, we might want that to happen, but, at the present time, we’re not ready for that to occur. Can you help us?”

  “Yes. Yes, you are correct. Regardless of the situation, I need to let Aziz know I’m all right. I can and should make the call.”

  “That’s great, Akmed. Let’s do this, you and I’ll practice the call.” William got up and went to sit across from Akmed.

  “Well, then — I’ll leave you two alone and come back when it’s time to make the call.” Max smiled at them both and turned to walk out.

  After the door closed, Akmed looked at William. “William, were you kidding about her not knowing where the Phillies played?”

  “Only a little bit, Akmed. She’s a smart woman, but baseball is not her strongest area.”

  They both laughed, and then began to practice the call.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  SOUTH PHILADELPHIA

  “Hello Aziz, it’s me, your father. How are you?”

  “Father, where are you!” Aziz was surprised it was his father. The caller ID was blocked and he almost hadn’t answered. Benny had just come up from closing the store for the day and Aziz had just gotten him a soda and they were seated at the kitchen table. “I didn’t know where you went.”

  “I’m sorry, my son. I needed to get away. I’m far from being over your mother’s death. I miss her terribly.”

  “As do I, my father, but I need you, also.”

  “I understand and I love yo
u, Aziz. Please don’t be worried about me. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

  “Why tomorrow? Why not now?”

  “I need time. When I come back to you, I want to be able to support you and help you. I’m of no help to you with the way I have been. It is best not to say anything to anyone about this.”

  ”Well…. I did talk to Benny. He’s here with me now.”

  “Benny is fine. I trust him, but nothing should be said to anyone else. I’m glad Benny is with you. Let him know I’ll be back tomorrow and I know I owe him a couple of days off.”

  “Oh, father, always thinking of everyone but yourself. We’re going to have dinner together. He said he would stay until I go to bed.”

  “Ah, Benny is always there for us. Tell him I appreciate everything he is doing.”

  “You will be here tomorrow?” Aziz needed confirmation.

  “Yes. By the time you get home from school, I’ll be at the store.”

  “I can’t wait to see you.”

  “And me you, my son.” Akmed concluded the call, saying, “I love you Aziz.”

  Aziz, being in high school and not wanting to express affection in front of someone other than his family, said his final words. ”I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “That sounded like it went well.” Max crossed the room and went to Akmed’s side.

  “Yes, I think it did. He really wanted to know where I was, but I think when he found out I would be home tomorrow, where I was, isn’t so important.” Akmed turned to look at the man staring out the window. “Thank you, William. You did know how Aziz would respond.”

  “I’ve got a teenager at home and, in my line of work, I usually can’t tell my family where I am but, when I can tell them I’ll be home, nothing else seems to matter. You did great, Akmed. I can tell you love Aziz, regardless of whether he is truly your son.”

  Akmed nodded. “What do we need to do next?”

  “We want to talk with you more about the possible target and the overall mission. We realize you haven’t ever been told but, maybe, if we go through the things you have done with Aziz and the others, we might find something of interest or a pattern.” Max smiled at Akmed, knowing this would be a slow and challenging process.

  “I’ll tell you whatever I can.”

  The door flew open with a bang and, Stan, out of breath from coming up the stairs, looked like the worst that could happen just occured. “I need you both downstairs, now!” He turned and walked out as quickly as he came in.

  Max and William just looked at each other. If Stan was worked up, then something was happening and it wasn’t good.

  William turned to Akmed. “We should be right back. I’ll send someone up to be with you. If you are hungry or need anything, he can get it for you.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Akmed realized they were gone before he’d even spoken.

  Max and William flew down the stairs and into the situation room, which was remodeled out of the former home’s family room. Filled with computers and sophisticated radio and satellite communications systems, along with a state of the art audio/video system, they found the room to be in state of organized chaos. Radio communication crackled over the speakers. She could recognize the voice belonging to Frank, but wasn’t close enough to make out the actual words. It was obvious something was happening at Akmed’s house in Philadelphia.

  Stan saw them and waved them over to a video monitor. Neither Max nor William had been able to spend time in the situation room and weren’t sure what they were seeing. Her facial expression caused Stan to speak in a low voice, so they could still hear the radio communication.

  “This is a video feed from our command post across the street from Akmed’s apartment and store. The van you see belongs to Mustafa. We think it’s pure coincidence, but he pulled up just as Aziz was hanging up the phone.”

  “Could he have a bug in there?” William commented as he was bending over to take a closer look at the video.

  “When we placed our devices in the apartment and store we did a sweep and nothing showed up. We’ve monitored from the command post and couldn’t find a remote device being used. They either have really sophisticated equipment, or it’s just happened to work out this way.”

  Max stared at the screen, trying to orient herself to what was going on so she could be of assistance. “It looks like he is still in the car?”

  “He is and we don’t know why. He’s not on his cell. Aziz and Benny don’t know he is here. Infrared shows he is the only one in the vehicle.”

  “Has he been in the neighborhood?”

  “No, he didn’t drive around back. The teams in the neighborhood tracked him directly here. Thank God we saw the van earlier.”

  “Maybe thank Allah.” William smirked, he didn’t take his eyes off the screen to see Stan’s or Max’s reaction.

  Max stood up. “I guess we wait and see. The ball is in Uncle Mustafa’s court.”

  “Someone needs to get to Jordan and get him up to speed. He could be walking into something different than what he expected.”

  “We’ve tried his cell. I sent a text to him to call in.” Agent Lutz had turned back toward Max to answer her question.

  The radio came alive with Frank’s voice. “The driver’s door to the van is opening and it looks like he is getting out.”

  Mustafa stepped out of the van and walked toward its rear. He looked up and seemed to stare right into the camera, which caused everyone to jerk back a little bit.

  “That’s really weird,” Max blurted as she looked up at Stan.

  “Frank? Anyway you are compromised?”

  “No way! He can’t see in and we’ve got all of our jammers in place and operational. Let’s all relax. We haven’t been made.”

  “Okay, let’s see what happens.” Stan had become calm, which was his trademark when things were getting stressful for no reason. “Do we have an extraction team ready if this goes bad?”

  “In position Stan,” was the quick reply from the radio. Stan knew Frank had it under control. He was by the book. He’d hoped Jordan would be there by now. While Frank would have everything in place and the team working efficiently, Jordan had the out of the box thinking needed when the best laid plans went awry. He wasn’t much value in transit.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Mustafa walked around to the rear of the van. He opened the back and took out a package. He had hoped to get there before the store closed. Most evenings, Akmed would stay open past his posted closing time if people were around, but it seemed tonight he closed right on time. Mustafa stayed in the van and looked into the store to see if he could see either Akmed or Benny working with the hope he could just knock on the door of the store. He debated about whether he should go up to the apartment. He’d always tried to allow the people he was responsible for to feel where they lived were their own homes and not to feel like he could show up at anytime. On occasion, when he needed to visit, he would always call ahead. Though he’d never been denied a visit, and never considered he would be; but he didn’t want to just show up. He really needed to get this package to Akmed and he knew if he didn’t deliver it today, it would be next week before he would get back to the store.

  So, with the package under his arm, he went to the apartment door. It had not latched completely from whoever went through it last, so Mustafa could go right into the foyer and walk up the stairway. When he got to the top, he rapped on the door.

  The knock at the door startled Aziz and Benny. Benny looked at Aziz. “I thought I closed the door tight when I came up. Sorry”

  “I’m not expecting anyone.” Aziz moved toward the door. Since the downstairs door usually was latched and required a visitor to be buzzed in, the door at the top of the stairs didn’t contain a peephole. Aziz couldn’t tell who it was without opening the door.

  ”Who is it?” He called through the door.

  “Aziz, it’s you Uncle Mustafa. I have a package for your father.”

  Aziz froze. If his uncle ca
me in, he would find his father wasn’t here. He would have already known he wasn’t in the store. If he told him he was running errands or with one of the other families he might decide to wait or call the family to see if his father were there. Aziz wasn’t sure what to do.

  “Aziz?” The voice from the other side of the door inquired. “Are you going to let your uncle in?”

  Aziz quickly turned back to Benny. Benny shrugged his shoulder with a “what can you do” non-verbal.

  “Yes, yes.” Aziz called back and opened the door.

  “I’m sorry to intrude without calling. I thought I would get here before the store closed. Oh, hello Benny. Anyway, I have this package for your father.” Mustafa had been scanning the apartment since he entered. “Is your father here?”

  “No he isn’t,” Aziz hoped his Uncle would just leave the package and go.

  “When will he be back? I can wait.” Mustafa noticed Benny was fixing dinner and only two plates were out. His demeanor changed. “Aziz, where is your father? Please tell me!”

  Aziz hesitated and his panic showed. He didn’t want to be in trouble with his uncle and he didn’t want to get his father in trouble. He’d seen what had happened to others when they did something against Uncle Mustafa’s wishes.

  “I don’t exactly know,” Aziz sputtered, looking down at his feet.

  “What do you mean you don’t know? Benny, do you know where he is?”

  Benny, who had always found Uncle Mustafa intimidating, quickly grunted a no.

  Uncle Mustafa began to get agitated. “I need answers and I need them now. Where is Akmed? Where is your father?” His eyes moved back and forth between Aziz and Benny. Both felt the eyes boring right through them.

  Aziz looked up at his Uncle. He was caught between total fear and afraid of what would happen to him. He loved his father, but his father hadn’t been there for him lately. His uncle had been. Why did he protect his father? His father hadn’t even left him a note that he would be gone. He’d learned much from his uncle and he had a great deal of respect for him.