He took me to an attorney’s office the next day and we signed the papers. He took me to the bank and gave me cashier’s checks to deposit into my account, covering the cost of the store. He had documents from Iran, stating that Mahasin and I had inherited money.”
“Then what happened?” Jordan was trying not to be impatient.
“I owned the store. I re-opened it. I bought one of those ‘Under New Management’ signs and hung it in the window. We were successful from the beginning. I remodeled the apartment upstairs and moved Mahasin and Aziz. I read many business books. Jack Welch, Michael Porter, Ram Charan. I learned how Americans did business and learned about listening to my customers and stocking the things they needed. By the end of the first year, we were doing well.”
“What happened to the money? Who got it?” William had taken over the questioning. He’d picked up on where Jordan was headed and thought he could help, so it wouldn’t come across like an interrogation.
“The money went to Mustafa.”
“All of it?”
“Well, yes”
“Akmed, you can tell us. Did all of the money go to him?”
“No. He told me he couldn’t believe how much money we were making; so, as the store made more, I started to keep some back. I figured out how to adjust the books so Mustafa or the other father, Jarill, who was an accountant and would audit the books, couldn’t tell. I still have most of it, if I must give it to you.”
“We don’t want the money. You know what would have happened if Mustafa would have found out?” William suggested.
“Yes. He would have killed me. But, it was my success. I built it to what it was. We couldn’t really use the money. We would go out to a nice dinner every so often. It’s all in a brokerage account at Schwab.”
“How did you pull that off?” Jordan asked, smiling.
“I saw Mr. Schwab on TV. He seemed honest. There was a branch in Center City I could get to and Mustafa did not understand these types of things. He would call around to banks, to ensure we didn’t have separate accounts, but he would never have called a brokerage firm.”
Frank was intrigued. “Did you invest?”
“Yes, mostly index funds and, I would also watch CNBC. I had some gold and muni bonds for diversification.”
Jordan and William started laughing, eliciting a stern look from Max.
“Well, maybe when this is all done, you can give us some advice. By the way, how much is your account worth?” Jordan inquired.
“It’s a little over six hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.” No one said a thing. Eyes met eyes around the room. Frank let out a whistle.
“Congratulations, Akmed! You’re living the American dream. So, how involved was Mustafa in the store?” William asked.
“He rarely came in. He didn’t care, as long as the money went to him.”
“He never asked you to order anything or store anything?” Jordan inquired.
Akmed’s expression changed. “Only recently, he would come in and walk around and then we would go to the back storeroom so Benny couldn’t hear. He would ask me to order certain quantities of certain items. Sometimes, he would tell me to start carrying a product which I didn’t have.”
“For example?” Max asked.
“Ammonia nitrate. I have a small section for lawn and garden supplies and tools. As you can see, there aren’t a lot of gardens and lush lawns around here. Most of it was for houseplants and there are a couple of community gardens in some of the vacant lots.
“But no one ever needed ammonia nitrate,” Akmed lamented. “I ordered it and it sat there for a year. A month ago, he told me to order more. Now I’ve got close to two hundred pounds of that stuff and haven’t sold any of it.”
Jordan gave a curt nod to Kate and grinned.
If she could have she would have flipped him off.
“What else?” William asked.
“He’s had me order heavy gauge wire. He told me to carry a certain type of appliance timer. They are good, but the price point is too high for my customers. So, again, they just sit there. He had me stock large PVC pipes. Not your irrigation grade, not that anyone needed it, but a more commercial grade. Tarps, lots of butane fuel, two way radios, police scanners, and, of course, guns.”
“What kind of guns?”
“Semi-automatic pistols, shotguns, small assault rifles and lots of ammo. Getting the Federal Firearms License took some time. I know what a lot of this is for and most of it is in the storeroom. There are also other crates that were sent to the store that Mustafa told me not to open.”
“Thanks Akmed. We need to get in there,” William said.
“Akmed, I think it’s time for you to go home. Frank, can you and Kate pull together a team to go into the store tonight. I’ve got a plan to get Akmed back and give us time to really go through the store room,” Jordan told them.
“We’re on it!” Kate called out as she and Frank bounded from the room.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Agents had retrieved Akmed’s car after he’d been moved to the safe house. It was returned to Akmed in a Center City parking garage, away from the neighborhood. It took him about ten minutes to pull into the alley behind the store and park the car in the garage.
Benny should have closed the store by now, so Akmed wasn’t sure if he would be upstairs with Aziz or not.
Akmed entered the back door of the store. He’d been instructed not to lock it, so the team could get quickly inside to investigate further what was being kept in the storeroom. He walked through the back and into the store. He turned left and headed to the door leading to the stairway.
The door was locked, meaning Benny had probably not gone upstairs after work. So, he unlocked it and climbed the stairs. Hesitating as he came to the door leading into the apartment, Akmed wasn’t sure he would be able to pull it off.
Slowly, he turned the knob on the door, not to make his entrance a surprise, but rather to prolong having to go in, knowing the agents were waiting to hear him inside and that they wanted him to keep Aziz busy while the team was downstairs. He pushed the door open and found the apartment to be quiet. At first he wasn’t sure if Aziz were even there.
Walking through the kitchen and into the living room, he noticed there was a jacket thrown over the chair and a book bag, both belonged to Aziz. He then noticed the door was closed to Aziz’s bedroom. Moving over to the door, he brought his hand up to rap on it, but his hand froze before it touched the wood. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He pulled his hand back slightly and released it, letting it lightly rap against the door.
“Aziz? Aziz are you home?” his voice sounded as dry as it his throat felt.. It was barely a rasp. He coughed slightly, hoping it would produce the moisture he needed. Hearing no answer, he turned the knob and pushed the door open slightly.
“Hello father.” The voice had come from behind him. He slowly turned and saw Aziz in the doorway at the front entrance to the apartment.
“Aziz. You are here.” Akmed moved toward him, opening his arms.
“Yes, Benny had stopped up after closing the store and I just walked him out. I thought you said you were going to be here when I got back from school.”
“I got delayed, had problems with the car.”
“Again? Why don’t you get a new one? The store is doing well.”
“In time my son there is no hurry. I must apologize to you. I have been selfish and I should have never left you.” They briefly embraced, as any typical father and teenage son would.
“Father, it is okay. I understand. Losing mom has been hard on all of us. I hope you are better.”
“I am; but, I need to be here for you. Let’s sit and talk. How is school?” Akmed and Aziz moved over to the living room. Aziz sat on the couch and Akmed took the closest chair.
“School is okay, but Uncle Mustafa told us that there are more important things we should be using our minds on. He has talked to us a lot about how we need to be sensi
tive to the wrongs our people have received. He believes and wants us to believe that we have the ability to change things.”
“That may be true, but does he tell you what he wants you to do?”
“Not yet. But, he has asked us all to come to his house for the weekend and he said we won’t be back for school next week.”
“That’s a long time. Is he taking you somewhere, or told you what you are going to be doing?”
“Father, you know my uncle. He never tells us more than we need to know. He’ll tell us at the right time. He has been an inspiration, not only to me, but all of my cousins.”
“Yes I know. He does keep things close. Are you hungry? Let me fix us some dinner and we can continue our conversation.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jordan and Kate moved from the alley to the back door of the store. Jordan hoped that Akmed had remembered to leave the door unlocked. He grabbed the knob and slowly turned the handle. The latch released and he pushed the door open as cautiously as he could..
The storeroom was dark and packed full of merchandise. They entered hurriedly and closed the door, turning on tactical flashlights at low setting and shining the beams around the room, gaining a feel for its layout and contents. Jordan noticed the office area and nodded to Kate as she followed his gaze. They had decided she would begin in the office, going through the files and the computer, while Jordan would begin going through the boxes and crates.
Kate headed toward the office. She pulled out her lock pick set and had the door open in seconds. There were numerous files on the desk and an old HP desktop computer as well as two four drawer file cabinets and a fax machine. She sat down at the vintage Steelcase desk with an office chair that had to be over thirty years old. Every time she swiveled to the left, the chair made an annoying squeak.
Kate powered up the computer, and realized by its age that it would take several minutes to boot up so, she went through the files on the desk. She found mostly invoices and vendor information, but was impressed with how organized Akmed was with his business.
So far she found nothing of interest so she turned her attention to the computer as the screen came to life. She retrieved her mirroring device out of her bag and hooked it up to the appropriate port. She looked through the various files on the computer before she copied the hard drive, spending her time looking for any sort of paper trail.
Jordan headed to the part of the room where Akmed had told them he stored the supplies requested by Mustafa, Jordan quietly opened the boxes. He peered inside, and would move his hands around the box to see if anything else were in the box or if it concealed a false bottom or sides. So far, every box opened contained the same things.
One had a half-dozen Sig-Sauer P226 9mms. High end and expensive weaponry, the pistols had a fifteen round plus one capacity. The next box with a Sig Sauer logo contained three P556 machine pistols, which wasn’t amateur stuff but top of the line. Mustafa was serious about whatever he was going to do and would have the firepower to back up his plans.
This would put them on parallel with most SWAT teams in the country from a weapons perspective. Considering his group would have the element of surprise and command of their location before authorities arrived, this was a critical piece of data.
The vast majority of times, SWAT teams went up against criminals who weren’t well armed, nor had a good plan, let alone knew how to use a location to their advantage. The more he saw and learned of Mustafa, the more he was convinced that those elements giving the good guy side the usual advantage were not going to be present.
Jordan could disable the weapons by pulling the firing pins, but rationalized that Mustafa would not go into this mission without ensuring his his equipment was in perfect working order. Jordan moved on to the next set of boxes.
They contained the PVC pipe Akmed had told them about. The pieces were cut in various sizes and had connectors fitted to them so they could be pieced together. Jordan pulled several out of the boxes without being able to figure out how they were to be used. He placed them back in the box.
Moving to the next box, he found it contained book bags, just like the ones kids carried to school, only larger than most and of sturdier construction and materials. Jordan figured they would be used to carry everything the enemy personnel needed. He found three more boxes, all containing the same types of bags, for a total of eighteen.
Two more boxes contained a total of eleven two-way radios. Studying the radios and packing information in each box, Jordan was able to identify that five units in one box were on the same channel, while the other five from the second box were on a different frequency. The last radio had two channels covering both frequencies. Jordan copied down the two frequencies, and noted that the communications equipment again was top of the line with encryption capabilities.
The last set of boxes contained large sheets of opaque cloth with grommets sewn in. There were also pieces of string and quick ties to attach the material. Jordan hoped he might find some maps or photos or some information that would give him an idea of the location of the attack, all that Jordan found was an impressive arsenal, high tech radios, book bags and other items, the use for which he still wasn’t sure.
As he continued around the storeroom, Jordan found additional boxes. One contained cable, wiring and timers, all obviously associated with explosive devices. He saw the bags of fertilizer, which Akmed had mentioned and Jordan thought again about how ingenious it was to buy a hardware store as a front.
Mustafa would be a formidable foe. Jordan moved around the storeroom for a second time to ensure he hadn’t missed anything when Kate emerged from the office. Jordan glanced at his watch. They had been there for almost ninety minutes; there was no reason to push their luck any further.
“Did you get everything you need?” Jordan whispered as he came and stood beside Kate.
She nodded, “I don’t think I’ve found anything that’s going to crack this thing wide open; however. if you want to get into a good business, a hardware store just might be it. Akmed is doing fairly well for himself, even after he pays Mustafa his share. I have no doubt he’s got the money he said he’d squirreled away in his account.”
“Really? Well this hardware store might be for sale soon.” They both smiled as they moved toward the rear exit door.
“I found everything Akmed said we would. They bought high-end weapons and radios. They’ve got everything they need to build bombs. There are a couple of things I haven’t figured out yet. It’s almost like they are planning two attacks and not just one.”
“Interesting. I mirrored his computer and sent the data to my team. I’ll check with them in about an hour, to see if anything turns up. The paperwork was mostly vendors, taxes, and bills. He runs a tight ship. Even the vendors from whom he bought the items you found are all legit. Even his Federal Firearms License book is perfect, an ATFE agent’s dream. I found it in Akmed’s safe. ”
They slipped out the door and Jordan pulled it shut. They walked into the alley, turned left and walked to the street. They turned right, away from Akmed’s and the command center. They would take the long way back to the apartment, so they wouldn’t raise any suspicion.
“So how was Pakistan?” Kate decided to have the discussion she needed to have with Jordan. Plus, for their cover, they needed to look like a couple, not two people on a mission.
“Excuse me?” Jordan wasn’t really ready for this.
“I just asked how Pakistan was. The last time I saw you, you were running to catch a plane. I didn’t even get a postcard,” Kate noted.
“Believe me, there was nothing to send a postcard of. It has to be one of my least favorite places. We went. We did our job. And, we got out.” Jordan didn’t want to be questioned – and, he realized he’d just sort-of paraphrased Julius Ceasar.
“Oh! So, you came right back home?” Kate kept pushing.
“No, Kate. I needed to get away for a while so, I went to Italy and I would still be there if i
t weren’t for Max and William.”
“Still. I didn’t get a postcard and you can’t tell me there was nothing to see in Italy.” Kate looked at Jordan unwaveringly.
“I’m not much for writing. I really needed some time, Kate. It’s been job after job. I needed some downtime. Anyway, I brought you some olive oil.” Jordan quickly tried to count how many bottles he’d brought and how many he’d already given away, with the hope he still had one left.
“Thanks. Hey, I’m not saying you can’t have your time — and I can imagine how you would need it. I just would have liked to have heard from you. I really enjoyed the time at your house. I’m your friend, Jordan,” Kate said softly.
“I know. I appreciate that. I had a great time, too.” He stopped and grabbed her and pressed her lightly against the building. To anyone passing by, they would seem like a cute couple in an intimate moment of conversation.
“I had to think about us, too. I really like you, Kate. I think you and I could be really good together. I’ve always had a rule to not play where I work,” Jordan continued.
“I understand.”
Jordan put a finger to her lips to quiet her. “I’m thinking it might be a dumb rule. I just want to be sure. The last thing I want to do is to hurt you.” Jordan hugged her. “I still want to do dinner. Not just get something to eat, but a real nice dinner, great food, great wine, ultimate chocolate for dessert.”
Kate smiled. “I know a great place in Bucks County. I’ve only eaten there once, but it was one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. The best part was being able to go right up to bed and not have to drive anywhere.”
Jordan laughed. “Well, maybe that’s where we should go. First, we’ve just got to figure out what Mustafa is up to and put a stop to it. Then, we can plan our dinner.”
Kate laughed. “Not like that should be hard to do.”
They had turned a series of corners and had walked for several blocks. They found themselves back at the alley behind the command post. Kate felt relieved they’d had the conversation. Jordan was smiling, and she decided that had to be a good sign.
Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller Page 13
