by K. J. Dahlen
Stone glared at Willow then turned to Gage and Sam. “Dogwood wasn’t only dealing guns back in the day. The tunnel down there leads to another room full of dynamite and other explosives. This stuff has been sitting there undisturbed for the last sixteen years. It’s very old and could be considered unstable.” He motioned toward the door. “Everybody out. No one comes near this place until we get it cleared.”
Gage grabbed Willow and hauled her outside, well away from the building.
Everyone else followed with Stone as the last one out. They got as far away as they could.
As they did, another vehicle drove up. Shay and several other men got out. When he saw Stone, he came over to where they were standing. “What’s going on?”
Stone grimaced. “We’re going to need ATF and a bomb disposal unit.”
“What?” Shay demanded.
“We found a ton of weapons and explosives that have been sitting here for a very long time.”
“Damn.” Shay shook his head. He began to pace beside the vehicle. “How is this connected to the Vipers? Is it connected to the Vipers?”
Stone nodded. “Dogwood Connors was dealing with the Vipers eighteen years ago. When the deal went south, the Vipers murdered half his family. When the ones that were left went underground, it took the Vipers two years to find them again. Sixteen years ago, the Vipers found them here and murdered the rest of them. There was only one person to survive that shootout.”
Shay paused and glared at Stone. “There was a witness to the shooting that happened?”
Stone nodded and looked over at Willow. “Shay, meet Dogwood’s granddaughter, Willow Connors. She was eight years old when her grandpa died. She’s also the one that showed us where to look for the guns.”
Shay looked over at Willow and shook his head. “How do we know it was the Vipers her grandfather was dealing with?”
“She saw everything that night, including the tattoo the Vipers have,” Stone went on. “Not only that but she found a book the Vipers left behind and brought it to our notice. Then a couple nights ago, she stopped a bomb from taking out Michael Severns and two other men.”
Shay nodded. “You may or may not know this but someone firebombed Michael’s DC home last night.”
Gage clenched his fist. “Is Michael ok?”
“Michael wasn’t at the house,” Shay informed him. “He’s safe. He’s busy working on getting caught up on the last five years.”
“We may have more info for him. We found another book Dogwood had in his safe,” Stone added.
Shay stared at Stone for a moment then switched his gaze to Willow. Looking back at Stone, he asked, “And no one has been here or seen this information in sixteen years?”
Stone shook his head. “No one knew it was even there until today.”
“How convenient,” Shay agreed.
Willow stiffened at his insinuation.
“Whoa, hold on there.” Gage growled. “What are you saying?”
Shay raised an eyebrow. “Nothing at all.” He looked around the yard. “Let’s get ATF here and we can sort this shit out later.”
Gage and Sam came over to where Willow was standing. “Are you ok?” Sam asked.
Willow nodded but didn’t say anything.
Gage wrapped his arms around her and assisted her over to a fallen tree. Sitting her down, they watched as Stone showed Shay where they found the guns.
Sam stood by and watched as they men around him got busy. Then he looked over at Willow. “I knew your grandpa. It was a long time ago but from what I remember, he did have his own code of honor. He never would have sold guns to the Vipers. Not once he knew who they were.”
Willow nodded as she wiped a tear away then pressed her face into Gage’s chest. “Thank you for saying that. Gage, I need to get out of here. Can we leave? I can’t be here right now,” she whispered.
Gage’s arms tightened around her. He glanced up at Sam and at the other man’s nod, he told her, “Yeah, let’s go back to the motel. They will be busy here for hours.” He helped her to her feet and gazed at Sam. “Make sure Stone knows where we are. If they want to talk to her, they can come over there.”
Sam nodded and watched as Gage and Willow took off. Stone joined him. Sam turned his head to glare at Stone. “Is your friend serious? He sure looked like he was putting the blame on Willow’s shoulders.”
“I don’t think he meant anything.” Stone tried to defend Shay’s action but didn’t come across as very convincing.
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Sam growled. “Without this Willow girl, we never would have known the Vipers were here all this time. Without her, we would have lost three good men and we sure as hell would have never found these weapons.”
Stone ran his hands over his head and agreed with Sam, “I don’t know what’s going on with him but I sent a copy of the book to both Trudy and Michael. Hopefully, they can find something in it to help us stop what’s coming.”
“Gage took her back to the motel,” Sam told him.
Stone nodded. “Maybe that’s best for now.”
Chapter Eight
Harper didn’t go right back to her office. She had an errand to run first. As she walked to her car, she could feel someone was watching her. She glanced around but the faces of the people around her showed no undue attention.
She got into her car and pulled out of the parking stall. She turned right and traveled three blocks south. Then she turned right again and traveled seven blocks east. She pulled up at an internet café and went inside. She got herself a cup of coffee and bought a cell phone. Keeping an eye on the street, she sat down at one of the computers. She contacted someone she trusted and five minutes later, he joined her in the café.
He was sitting three tables away from her.
She knew she couldn’t speak to him, so she logged on the computer sitting in front of her. When he logged on, she told him she needed him to run an errand. When he agreed, she made arrangements for the pickup and delivery.
Then she picked up her coffee and made her way to the door. She slipped the flash drive to him on the way out the door. She made sure no one saw the transfer and she didn’t look back. Whoever had followed her picked up her trail again, as she got into her car and went back to the office.
When she got back, she found everyone still watching the explosion in Kansas City. The death toll had risen to seventy, but there was little they could do to contain the blaze. It’d been reported as a chemical fire and plain water wouldn’t put it out.
Back in her own office, Harper called Judson from her cell phone to tell him about the special delivery she was sending him. When she was finished, she looked up and saw Glen Portman standing in her doorway.
She glared at him briefly then calmed her stance. “What can I do for you?”
“What is going on? We’re all wondering, or maybe I should say we’re all worried. We can feel the tension in the room but no one is saying anything.”
Harper stood up and went out into the office. Everyone turned away from the television to stare at her. She stared back at all the faces and thought about what she would say to them.
Kenn noticed the gathering and joined them.
“I know you’re all wondering what’s going on and I wish we could tell you something positive but at this point, we don’t know what’s happening.” She motioned toward the onscreen coverage of the fire. “We have agents working the fire but we haven’t had any word yet what happened. We don’t know if the fire was deliberately set or if it was an accident.”
Kenn stepped forward and told the group, “We just got word the fire was an accident. Well, sort of an accident. A truck carrying fuel crashed into a warehouse storing chemicals. We aren’t sure at this point if the act was deliberate or a malfunction with the truck. Most of the people working in the factory are dead due to the explosion.”
“Is this an act of terrorism or a simply accident?” Glen asked his boss.
“We�
�re hoping it’s an accident but we really don’t know yet. We’ll know more in the next few days. They have to get the fire under control before they’ll know anything.”
“So everyone is on alert until we know more, is that what you’re saying?” Sean Courtney, an FBI agent working with them, asked.
“Yes,” Kenn replied. “Everyone is on alert until we can access the area to assess the damage and determine if it was deliberate or an accident.”
Sean shared a look with Glen then looked away, but Harper caught the look briefly. She didn’t want them to notice so she glanced over at a desk. Then she caught the expression on Matthias’s face. He looked worried but not unduly concerned.
“Until the results come in though, I suggest we all get busy and stay busy with our own work,” Kenn reminded them. “If this wasn’t an accident we need to determine what’s coming next. We don’t want to get caught unprepared.” He paused. “In other words, let’s all get back to work.”
Everyone moved back to their own desks.
Kenn motioned for Harper to join him, and when they entered his office, he pulled the blinds that literally shut them off from the rest of the room. “Have you spoken to Michael or Judson this morning?” he asked.
Harper nodded. “I spoke to him a little while ago.”
“How is his research coming?”
“He asked if Matthias was working with us.”
“Why would he ask that?” Kenn frowned.
“Apparently, Matthias Ewing has been gathering information on most of the members of our government. Michael wanted his files.”
“That’s a little creepy. What does Michael hope to find in Matthias’s files?”
Harper shrugged. “I’m not sure. I had them sent over but I had a feeling I was being followed.”
“Dammit.” Kenn shook his head.
“I have a feeling whoever is behind this is closer than we think.”
“God, I hope not.” Kenn sighed. “I can’t imagine a worst case scenario.”
Michael sat down at his computer and plugged in the flash drive. It had come by special courier. As he booted it up, he began searching through the files listed there.
Matthias found information on all the leaders in power as they came up in the ranks. He clicked on the current vice president, Drake Carrington.
Skimming through the files, he found that Drake hadn’t been born here. He came over here at the age of four when his father, Akmed Courik was expelled from Syria by a member of the royal family. Akmed was a security officer in charge of a member of the family, and after a failed attempt to murder the man, he was in charge of, the Royals expelled him, his wife Nyseda and four year old Dracman. Once they were exiled to the United States, Akmed and Nyseda became citizens just before their second son was born. They changed their names to Alan, Nancy and Drake. Drew was born American. Alan started over and for the next forty years, gained in social stature and his son Drake began a life of politics. He married Margret Stillman and together, they had four children.
Michael clicked on the name Drew Carrington. He found where he went to school, college and his political affiliations. Nothing told him anything useful, until he clicked on a picture of Drew’s rugby team in college. He stared at the photo for a moment then called Judson over as he hit the print key. He carried the photo into the living room and pinned it to the wall.
“Did you find something?” Judson asked.
“I think I did,” Michael handed him the photo.
Judson stared at the photo but didn’t see anything significant. “What am I looking at?”
Michael pointed at one of the men in the picture. “Do you know who that is?”
Judson looked again, then his eyes went down to the index and he found the name. “Alex Daniels?”
Michael shook his head. “That is not Alex Daniels.”
“Then who is he?”
Michael shrugged. “I’ve seen his face I just can’t remember where.”
“Did you find anything else?”
“I’ve only just started.” Michael took one more look at the photo then went back to his computer. He isolated the face of Alex Daniels and enlarged it. When he printed it out, he was more convinced he’d seen the man before.
On a hunch, he researched the members of the Syrian royal family. When he found a picture of the family, he printed it. Sitting back in his chair, he looked over the face of every member of royal family. Michael sat forward when he got to the face of Prince Ali Rudan. He went back to the photo on his computer, isolated the young Prince and enlarged his face. When he printed the enlargement, he carried it over to the wall and pinned it next to the photo of Alex Daniels.
“Damn.” Judson reviewed both photos and swore. He glared at Michael. “Why would a member of the Syrian royal family change his name and come here?”
“Apparently, he’s been here for years. He graduated from college with Drew Carrington.”
“The Vice President’s younger brother?” Judson was stunned.
Michael nodded. “It seems there is a history between the Carrington’s and the royal family.”
Judson turned his head and stared at Michael. “Are you serious? What kind of connection?”
“Drew Carrington’s father was expelled from Syria when an attempt was made on the royal family member he was supposed to be guarding, over forty years ago. The royal family exiled his family and Akmed Courik came here under political asylum. He, his wife and older son changed their names and became American citizens. Drew was born here but Drake was born in Syria.”
“Is there any other ties to Syria? I thought this group was from Afghanistan?”
“That’s what we were told too, but apparently not.” Michael shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I’ve only just started on the information on the flash drive Matthias sent over.”
“Well, get back to it. We need to find out more. This might be the link we’re looking for.”
Michael went back to his computer and began researching the possible Syrian connection. He went back and forth between the internet and Matthias’s flash drive.
In the living room, Phoebe was standing by the photos of Michael’s family when Michael returned to add more to the wall. When she turned her head, she had tears in her eyes. “Oh Michael, I am so sorry,” she whispered.
“Why?” he asked. “You didn’t kill them.”
Glancing back at the photos she shivered. “Did I ever tell you how I got into the foster system?”
Michael paused and turned to her. “No I don’t think you ever did.”
“When I was two, me, my mom and dad and a good friend of theirs moved to Salem. His name was Richard Gannon. Anyway, as soon as we moved into the old house my parents began to fight. Mom didn’t like Richard and he was kinda creepy. He was always watching me. Then when I was four, there was a big fight and my dad ended up going to jail for beating Richard up. While he was gone, Mom and I moved out and found a smaller place. It was kinda nice, just me and her. Then Dad got out of jail and came for us. For a while, it was ok but then the fighting started up again. My mom had bruises all the time now and I learned to stay away from Dad when he drank. One day when was five Richard came around again. Mom wasn’t home and Dad was passed out on the couch. When Richard grabbed me and dragged me into the bathroom, I screamed. Dad woke up and found us before Richard could do anything. Then Dad started pounding on him. He wouldn’t stop and when he did, he noticed Richard wasn’t moving.”
Michael sat and listened to her story.
“Dad waited until Mom got home then he took off. He left us there alone with Richard’s body. Mom packed us up and we left. Mom got stopped by the cops later that night. Someone had found Richard’s body and called the cops. The cops found Dad but he had a gun and was holding two people in a standoff. The cops told my mom they had to shoot him. Mom went a little crazy after that. She grabbed a gun from the cop and shot him. Then another cop shot her. Before she died, she told me she just couldn’t l
ive without my dad in this world. She told me she loved him too much to live without him. I asked her what was going to happen to me without her.” Phoebe looked at Michael with tears in her eyes. “She told me I didn’t matter. She told me her whole world was gone now and that I didn’t matter.”
“Good lord,” Michael swore. “How could she do that to her own kid?” Wrapping his big arms around her, he just held her while she cried.
“I just want to matter to someone.” She sniffled. “That’s why Willow and I are such good friends. I matter to her. And she matters to me—I love that girl and she loves me too. I matter to her.”
“I’m beginning to think you matter to me too,” he whispered. “And I’m not sure if I like that fact or not.” He held her for a few more minutes then led her back to the couch. He laid her down and covered her with an afghan. “Why don’t you rest for a while?” he whispered as she closed her eyes. He watched her for a few minutes until he knew she was sleeping before he went back to the kitchen.
Michael had opened several files before he finally ran across a picture of Alex Daniels, Drew Carrington, a cousin Nick Carrington and a man he didn’t know. He printed out the photo and hung it up on the wall.
Judson joined him, glancing at the photo. “Where did you find this?”
Michael glanced at him. “It was in one of Matthias’s files. Why?”
Judson shook his head. “I’m just wondering what Sean Courtney has in common with the other three men.” He pointed at the unknown man in the picture Michael had just pinned up.
“Who is Sean Courtney?”
“He works for the FBI. When I left yesterday to come and get you, he was in the office.”
“Did he seem overly curious about any aspect of what was going on?”
Judson shook his head. “Not really, but he and Glen got very chummy all of a sudden. Either that or they knew each other before this case.”
“I’m going to run Sean’s face through the recognition program Harper sent over and see what it kicks out,” Michael said.
“You might want to run Glen Portman’s face through it too. If Alex Daniels isn’t who he says he is, why should any of them be?”
