by Mel LeBrun
Josh came home from work one day to find she had cleared out of the house. As he was trying to call her to find out what was going on, a sheriff's deputy arrived with divorce papers. For Josh, she would have done less damage if she had killed him.
Michael was there to help pick up the pieces. Josh just couldn't stay in their apartment after Hailey left. Everything was a painful reminder of her. Michael let Josh move in with him and they stayed roommates for a few years until Josh recovered enough to get his own place again. Their friendship grew stronger and Josh learned to trust Michael's natural ability to read people.
Michael sighed. “I tried to warn you, bro. I had her pegged from the beginning.”
“What the hell is your point?” Josh snapped, not understanding why Michael was choosing now to say “I told you so.”
“The only reason I say that,” Michael continued, “is so you'll believe me when I tell you that Jinx won't do that to you. She's nothing like Hailey.”
“I know.” Josh took a deep breath and nodded. “I know.”
A few hours later, Michael's phone rang.
“They're here,” Martin informed him.
“How many?” Michael asked.
“Seven. One is headed to the office. Probably checking if you're still here.”
“What do you think their plan is?”
“I think they're going to come hard.”
“Is anyone going around back?”
“Not yet.”
Meier's man returned from the office and gave his men the green light. Their inexperience with this type of activity was painfully obvious as they crowded the main door but left the back window completely unguarded. As they made their assault on the front door, Michael and Josh beat a hasty retreat out the bathroom window. The last one through, Josh took some fire. A bullet grazed him on the leg as he crawled out.
When the men tried to run back out the front door to chase them they were met with suppressive fire from Martin and Dmitri allowing Michael and Josh to make a clean break. Once they were clear, Martin and Dmitri made their exit.
“How bad are you hit?” Michael asked Josh after noticing the growing blood stain on his jeans.
“I don't know,” Josh answered, a little panic creeping into his voice as he clutched his leg. The pain was intense.
Michael dialed Martin. “We need to stop. Josh is hit.”
“Can you make it back to the safe house?” Martin asked.
“I need to check it before then. It could be serious.”
“Where are you?”
MICHAEL PULLED off and came around to Josh's door. He cut open Josh's jeans to check how bad he was hit. The bullet created a large slice in his upper thigh. Just a few centimeters over and the bullet would have missed him entirely. Though painful, it was not life-threatening. He would need stitches, but would recover just fine.
“Nicked you pretty bad,” Michael informed him.
“All this pain from just a nick?” Josh closed his eyes. The intensity of the pain caused him to start shaking.
Martin and Dmitri pulled up behind them and came to offer aid.
“I'm going to take him back to the safe house. Can you get us some supplies?” Michael asked them.
Dmitri looked down at Josh's leg and nodded. “Yeah. We'll meet you back at the safehouse.”
“You're going to be okay, Josh,” Michael assured him.
“Doesn't feel like it,” Josh said. The pain was near overwhelming.
“Don't be a baby,” Michael teased him as he started up the car.
“Says the man who's not shot.”
They returned to the safe house and Michael helped Josh inside. He called Jessica while he waited for Dmitri and Martin to arrive with supplies to patch Josh up. They hadn't tried to access the server yet. It was currently offline. Michael asked her to call him if it went online or if she got the password. She agreed to keep him updated.
ROTH WAS in Belgium meeting with clients when he was informed that someone had tripped the alarm at the old server location. He had ordered two men to interrogate whoever had entered the apartment. When he never heard back from them he tried to reach Adler but was unable. He knew then that they were compromised and ordered the server be moved again. He was on a plane back to Germany when the server was stolen and then subsequently recovered.
Upon learning that the server had been taken, he nearly had a coronary. Though it had already been retrieved, the fact that it had been out of their possession for any amount of time was unacceptable. The man who had been charged with its safety paid dearly for his failing. The police would find his body days later.
Determined not to let the server out of his sight again, Roth brought it back to his apartment in Munich. Turning it on, he made a brief check of the system. Everything appeared to be in order. He then attempted to check the integrity of the video files. He entered his passkey but nothing happened. He entered it again, thinking he had made a mistake but again, nothing happened. He realized then that the server had been tampered with and immediately called Meier to inform him of what had happened.
Chapter 33
Director Douglas was at his desk looking over reports when his secretary informed him that National Intelligence Director Thompson was there to see him. He told her to show him in and slid the reports he was viewing into a drawer of his desk.
Average height, thin, with short grey hair, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and blue tie, Thompson did not appear in a good mood as he walked in the office. He took the seat in front of Douglas, folded his hands and crossed his legs. He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath.
“What have you learned about the operation in New York?”
Cool and collected Douglas leaned back in his chair. “Nothing. There was no operation in New York.”
“You and I both know that's not true,” Thompson said confidently. “Read me in or you leave me with no choice but to report you to the oversight committee.”
Unintimidated, Douglas smiled. “We both know that's not going to happen. And I don't know what you want me to say. What operation do you think we're running in New York, and why is it such a concern for you?” He put his hands together and leaned forward on his desk as he waited for an answer.
Thompson looked away for a minute while he tried to form a reply. “If you're running an unsanctioned operation on US soil, it's going to come back to bite me,” Thompson replied.
“We run unsanctioned operations in the US all the time,” Douglas countered. “You know that. What makes this situation different?”
“So you are running an operation?”
“No. I didn't say that. You're awfully worked up over thinking we are though. I'd like to know why.”
Thompson huffed. “I've already caught a ton of flak from that whole NSA debacle. I can't have another intelligence agency caught working outside their boundaries.”
“Well, you have nothing to worry about,” Douglas assured him.
“Good.” Thompson smiled. “Since I'm here, I'd like to get the daily report.”
“Sure thing.”
Douglas called his secretary and asked her to bring him the report. A few minutes later she entered carrying a sealed manila envelope with “CLASSIFIED” stamped across the front in bright red letters. She handed it to Douglas who then passed it to Thompson. Thompson thanked him and then left. Douglas watched him leave finding it curious that he gave up so easily. He put a call in to Gatti to check on his progress.
“Agent Gatti, What do you have to report?”
“Good news. We have the videos and the encryption key. I've just begun watching them. I recognized a few men right away. One being a vice-prime minister of Portugal. We're working to ID the other men in the videos.”
“How many videos are there?”
“Twenty-three. But each video contains multiple buyers. We could be looking at at least a hundred buyers from around the world.”
“Let's keep a lid on this until we can asse
ss the situation. We may be able to put these videos to good use.”
“Wait, I thought we were going to use the videos to get the buyers to turn on Meier?”
“Well, that's one way they can be used. Depending on who is on those videos, we may be able to get more use out of them in other ways.”
Gatti knew what that meant. “You want to blackmail the buyers.”
“Just get me a list of names. I'd like to know who we have leverage on.”
“This isn't going to fly with the Cailens or their friends.”
“They don't need to know. And I expect you to keep it that way.”
“Perhaps I should have put it another way. This isn't going to fly with me. These men need to answer for their crimes.”
“And they will.”
“I wasn't born yesterday. I know how this works. They'll do your bidding but they won't ever face real justice.”
“Let's not jump to any conclusions just yet. Get me the names of the buyers, and then we'll talk.”
Sighing heavily, Gatti clenched his jaw and shook his head but didn't respond.
“If you're not up for the job, I'll put someone else on it,” Douglas threatened.
“No, sir. I'll handle it.”
“Good. Now what do you have on our other interest?”
Skilled in the art of covert communication, Gatti knew Douglas was referring to Thompson.
“Nothing yet,” he replied. “As I would expect, he's careful. Thanks to Michael, we have the phone number Meier conducts his business from. I've been cross-referencing phone records for days. He makes and receives an obscene number of calls from prepaid phones. I'm focusing on phones bought in the D.C. area and trying to get video footage of the buyers. I also put a tail on him. Maybe we'll get lucky.”
“Good. Keep me updated.”
“I will.”
Douglas hung up the phone. Lost in his thoughts, he stared quietly out the window for a minute before returning to the reports he was viewing before Thompson came in.
AFTER HOURS of alternating between security footage of phone sales and videos of women and children being sold into slavery, Gatti looked at his watch. It was a quarter to six. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He wanted to continue working but knew his wife would be upset if he didn't at least come home for dinner. He shut down his computer and locked his office as he left.
While he drove, he strategized over how to catch Thompson if he couldn't find any evidence exposing his relationship with Meier. He was running a few scenarios in his head when he finally arrived home.
He parked in the driveway of the impressive brick colonial. He unlocked the front door and called out to his wife as he entered. No one answered. He was about to remove his shoes and call out to her again when he realized something was not right. He slowly turned to look into the living room. What he saw took his breath away.
His wife was sitting on a chair. Her hands bound and duct tape was wrapped completely around her head covering her mouth. A man stood behind her holding a silenced gun to her head. On the couch was another man with a gun sitting next his 14-year-old daughter, who was bound the same way as her mother. Gatti stood in shock at the sight of his terrified family being held at gunpoint.
The man behind his wife spoke. “I don't think I need to explain your situation.”
Gatti couldn't speak. He just shook his head.
“Good,” the man replied with a smile. “You stole some video files from my employer. We want them back.”
Gatti felt numb. His hand trembled and his legs felt like rubber. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
The man chuckled and then gave a look to his partner sitting with Gatti's daughter. The man grabbed at her pants and began to unbutton them. She struggled to keep him away from her. Her terrified scream muffled by the duct tape. Her panicked mother screamed and cried at what the man was doing to her daughter.
Dropping his briefcase, Gatti took a few steps towards them wanting to rush in to save his daughter. The man holding his wife fired a warning shot to get his attention and then pointed the gun back at his wife's head.
“All right! All right! Stop!” Gatti shouted. “I'll get whatever you want. Just don't hurt them.”
Gatti's heart pounded in his chest. He had never felt such fear before in his life. The worst thing he could ever imagine was watching someone harming his family and being able to do nothing about it. Though the man stopped groping his daughter, Gatti didn't feel much relief.
“You will bring me the videos you stole and you will completely erase any copies you have made.”
“Okay. But you're going to have to be more specific. Exactly what videos are you referring to?” Though Gatti knew exactly what videos the men were after, he was hoping to gather intel by getting them to talk. The kidnapping of his wife and daughter was inevitable, the more information he could gather the better his chances would be of getting them back.
“Don't play coy with me,” the man replied. He pulled a phone from his pocket and held it up. “You have until noon tomorrow.” He placed the phone on the table next to the chair and looked back up at him. “Noon. You'd better have done what I ask.”
Gatti heard footsteps behind him and turned just as a third man pistol whipped him. Everything went black. He woke to his seventeen-year-old son, Todd, trying to revive him.
“Dad! Dad!” Todd yelled while he shook him.
Gatti's head throbbed. He moaned and opened his eyes.
“Dad, what happened? Are you okay?”
Gatti sat up. “What time is it?”
“It's 8:30.”
Gatti clutched his head in a vain attempt to stop the throbbing pain.
“Dad, what happened? Where are Mom and Julie?”
“Something happened.” Gatti pulled his phone from his pocket and was about to dial when he came to his senses. His phone could be compromised. He looked up at Todd. “Go to my closet. In the back, there's an old pair of sneakers. Inside you'll find a phone. Bring it to me, please.”
“Dad, what's going on?”
“I can't explain right now. We're running out of time. Please get it!”
Todd left to retrieve the phone. He found it right where his father said it would be. It was an emergency burn phone. Untraceable, kept just for an occasion like this. Todd returned with the phone and waited anxiously for some explanation. Gatti dialed Michael's number and prayed he would answer.
Someone answered, but didn't speak. Since he was calling Michael from an unknown number he knew Michael wouldn't speak first.
“Michael?”
“Tim? Where are you calling me from?”
“I'm in trouble. I need your help.”
“What's wrong?”
Gatti looked up at his son as he answered. “Elle and Julie were just kidnapped.”
“Oh my God.” Todd covered his mouth and turned away.
“What?” Michael couldn't believe it.
“I have fifteen hours, Michael.”
“Is this because of the videos?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Home.”
“I'll be on the next flight. I can reach you at this number?”
“Yes, it's clean.” Gatti closed his eyes and swallowed. “Michael … They have my girls.”
“I know, Tim. We're going to get them back.”
Tears streamed down Gatti's face. He hung up the phone before he completely broke down. Todd lost all composure and fell into his father's arms as he cried along with him.
MICHAEL WAS sitting with Jessica when he got the call from Gatti. Despite only hearing his side of the conversation, she could tell something was wrong.
“What happened?” she asked after he hung up the phone.
Michael held up his finger while he dialed Dmitri, indicating he needed another minute before he could speak with her.
“Dmitri. It's me. Can you come to the hospital? I need a favor ... All right, see you soon.”
Michael took a deep breath and looked at her. “Tim's wife and daughter have been taken.”
Jessica was horrified. “How did they find out about him?”
“I don't know. I need to get to D.C.”
“You're going to ask Dmitri to stay with me?”
“Yes. I don't know how they found Tim, but it makes me very nervous.”
“Are they going to come after us?”
“I don't know. Tim's done a good job keeping us safe, but if he's compromised, we could be too.”
“Michael, I'm so sorry I got us involved in this. If anything happens to Tim's family, I will never forgive myself.” Tears streamed down her face.
He sighed then reached out and stroked her hair. “I know you blame yourself, but it's not your fault.” He looked her in the eyes. “It's never wrong to stand up for what's right.”
“Right now, it feels wrong.”
He frowned not knowing what to say to make her feel better. He stood up and kissed her forehead. “I'll call you when I get to D.C.”
She nodded. “Be careful.”
Chapter 34
Josh and Martin flew with Michael to Washington while Dmitri stayed behind to watch over Jessica. They arrived just three hours after Gatti's call. Michael phoned him after they were off the plane.
“Hi Tim. We just landed.”
“Michael. It's not safe for you to come to my house. They may be watching me.”
“I know. When we get closer to your house, I'll call you. We'll make sure you're not followed.”
“I can lose a tail, Michael. I'm not that incapable.”
“Fair enough. We'll get set up in a room then and you can come to us.”
“I have my son, Todd. He was out when everything happened.”
