Agent M: Project Mabus (The Agent M Series Book 1)

by L. M. Vila

  “You’re saying someone punched these men to death?”

  He was starting to get bit defensive. “I’m not saying anything. That’s what’s on the report. Officially filed and everything.”

  “And there was no blood on the scene?”

  “Not a trace. They’re already calling the killer ‘The Phantom Boxer’ of all things.”

  Not in the best taste that was for sure. This piece of information only led Meryl to more questions. Only this time, they were leading her right where she wanted to go.

  “What about airport security logs? I want to know if any flights left there around the time of death to any Southern California airport. Can you get me a list of names?”

  “Are you kidding? With the Patriot Act I can get you everything from their shoe size to the amount of time they spent watching internet pornography.” Another imprudent slip of the tongue. Just as he was getting used to talking with her too.

  Sordid thoughts waning, Meryl found this to be very promising. “It’s a start.”

  Mark plugged away at the computer. Countless amounts of numbers and text flew across his monitor. It only took him seconds to field her request.

  “No commercial flight left around that time unfortunately. The airport doesn’t open until eight in the morning.” His eyes caught something odd yet promising. Mark pointed directly on the screen. “But right here. Look. A private jet had left about an hour before the bodies were found.”

  “Perfect. Who was on that plane?”

  “It was a third party jet. Normally you’d have to be airport security to get in but I’ve got the list right here. Although, this is kind of funny.”

  “What? Why?”

  “A private plane of this size was meant to accompany up to twenty passengers. It says here there was only one registered. Either they really like to waste money or there were more people on that plane then there was supposed to be.”

  He was right. That didn’t make sense at all. “Can you tap into the security footage from this morning?”

  “Airport security is really going to hate me after this,” Mark begrudgingly replied.

  “That’s a shame. You’re a really sweet guy.”

  She had punctured his weakness yet again. “Give me one second.” Normally the FBI would frown on the sort of activity Mark was diving into. But then again, to see her happy demeanor was well worth any minor punishment he may receive.

  Actually, this was more difficult than Mark let on. It wasn’t as simple as pulling into government databases. Since 9/11, Airport Police has developed into a major government agency. They were becoming as secure and technology driven as the FBI. And they probably wouldn’t take kindly to Mark hacking into their files either. Not that they could actually do anything about it though.

  Eureka! He found something of use. Mark paused as the picture loaded.

  “It’s too dark. All I got is a shot of them entering the aircraft. But look here.” He pointed to the screen. Meryl noticed two specific passengers walking in front of what appeared to be a small army.

  “That’s a lot of firepower. Who are these guys?”

  “Does the name Roman Grisha ring any bells?”

  It sounded familiar. Her mind focused on that last name. Suddenly, it hit her. Meryl knew exactly where she heard that odd name before. It was on that list she shared with Michael.

  “Quick. Pull up the identification info on Roman Grisha.”

  Her wish was his command. A couple of taps later and it came true.

  “Here he is. Kind of a sight for sore eyes, don’t ya think?”

  Meryl peered into the photograph. This old man had seen better days. Definitely someone she didn’t recognize but there was still one more on the list. She looked back at the picture of the group entering the private jet. Her eyes immediately locked on the rugged looking individual towering over the frail old man.

  “What about this guy?” Meryl said, almost punching her index finger through Mark's LCD monitor. “Zoom in on his face.”

  Mark quickly pulled up the image enhancing software. He enlarged the target are and cleaned it up. Meryl’s throat instantly went dry. She easily recognized that face. Every little detail from his squared jaw to that dirty blonde hair. He was the shooter from this morning. Meryl was certain.

  She took off running. Nicole needed to hear this information as soon as she could bring it. Her last words to Mark were, “Thank you. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee sometime.”

  His heart started to flutter. Watching her leave was just as pleasing as feeling her presence. Mark wanted to bathe in it. Standing there with his mouth wide open in a gaping smile, the rest of the information department stared wildly at him. Their eyes made reality smack him square in the cheek. As he sat down, the weight of the world once again fell onto his shoulders. Still, he wanted to have the last laugh for a change.

  “What are you guys looking at? Didn’t you hear? I’ve got a date.”

  Going through Steve’s list of phone numbers was simple but tedious. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, there were several calls made today and in the last couple of weeks from a restricted number. Well, restricted to the receiver maybe, but not to the FBI.

  Jason tracked the call log from the cell phone carrier. He matched the times with the calls on the phone. The curtain fell, exposing the restricted caller. Jason jotted the number down. He pulled up their database and input the digits. Before he could press enter and initiate the search, the phone started to vibrate.

  His eyes took interest. The peered over in the direction of the tiny device. A countdown timer had begun. It started at twenty seconds. Each second dropped, Jason was too captivated to stop looking. He picked up the phone and brought it closer. Ten seconds left. Something was vaguely hypnotic about this phone application. He couldn’t take his eyes off it.

  Only five seconds now. Jason began counting along silently the last few moments. The clock ticked away. It finally struck zero. Lights flashed on the screen. This was it. Followed by an irritating melody of alarms. Text soon appeared. Jason’s felt his body lock up when he read the message.

  YOU ARE SO DEAD.

  Taps furiously beat against Nicole’s office door. She could sense urgency pouring from the other side.

  “Come in,” she said.

  The door opened. Meryl came rushing in. Her face was telling an interesting story. Nicole was poised to hear it.

  “Roman Grisha!”

  Her eyebrow lifted. “Roman Grisha?”

  Meryl shook her head positively. “He was with the assassin this morning. They were on a flight leaving Missouri after committing a murder. His name was also on a list of people we were checking into. Russians who recently immigrated this country.”

  Nicole was even more puzzled. “And your certain he's Russian?”

  “Michael knew. He translated something the attacker said this morning.”

  That was all Nicole needed to hear to be convinced. For Meryl to deduce all of this by herself was nothing short of remarkable. McCrae definitely had an eye for talent. It really was a good idea pairing them together.

  “Great work Agent Lewis.” Nicole sorted through her list for the name. She had weeded out most of the companies with Donald’s advice and Meryl's previous hint. It was down to three now. With Meryl’s new information, Nicole could pinpoint it down to one.

  “A.N.K.H Pharmaceuticals.”

  Meryl never heard of it before today. “Who are they?”

  “A biochemical company part of the A.N.K.H. Group Corporation. They were the ones that developed that flu medication for children. At least one of their sister organizations did.”

  “No way, everybody loves those guys.”

  Thinking back to it, this gave Nicole another reason to investigate this company. Their drug could have traces of Agent M. It definitely warranted a check and if confirmed, immediately recalled. Nicole sifted through more of the company’s information, relaying the details back to Meryl.

/>   “They were established a little over a year ago. It’s privately owned by a,” the name forced Nicole to stop briefly. She had heard of this man before, however, not in the context of traditional business. “Yegor Semyon.”

  Another unfamiliar name. Meryl felt more in the dark than ever. Before should could even ask about him, Nicole continued.

  “Formally, General Yegor Semyon of Soviet Union’s Red Army. Apparently after his command was terminated twenty years ago, the General resigned. He defected to the United States in 2007 and was involved in some minor business endeavors before creating his new empire.”

  “He must be very talented to start something that big.”

  Nicole replied, “Actually, no. It appears his wealth was earned overseas. He came to this country with almost a billion dollars in his hands.”

  Unbelievable. Meryl didn’t buy it for a second. “There’s no way a General could be making that kind of money.”

  “You’re right. I believe the General made his fortune through other means after the Cold War had ended.” Nicole printed out all of the relevant data on the company. As the sheets dropped, she began a mental tug of war. If Yegor had a copy of Agent M, then that confirms her biggest fear. Someone with an intrinsic grudge against this country topped with a silent weapon of mass destruction is a force to be reckoned with.

  Trying to make sense of it all wasn’t all that difficult now. The answer was clear. Meryl felt excitement tingling through her blood. “So, when do we raid these guys?”

  Her complete neglect for the Commander’s orders was promising to say the least. They really did think alike. Conversely, there are too many variables to consider when making such a decision. “That might prove difficult from here,” she replied.

  “Why is that?”

  “They’re in the processes of moving their facilities from their New York headquarters to Hesperia, California. Yegor might not even be in this state. However,” Nicole peered closer into the monitor. “It looks like they’re doing a major transfer tomorrow. It is very possible that he’s staying somewhere in the neighborhood tonight.”

  “That’s great.”

  “Indeed. I’ll go wake up a judge and make sure to get a search and seizure warrant.” A company of this size would be very nasty to fight in court. Nicole wanted to make this as legally sound as possible. “Let Agent Madison know what we’ve discovered. Here,” she passed Meryl the information. “It’s the address for A.N.K.H. Pharmaceuticals. The evidence of their connection to Laesare Biotech might not be there but at least we might find something of interest.”

  “Sounds good. When are we leaving?”

  “As soon as I get confirmation of a warrant, I’ll call our S.W.A.T. team to accompany you. Don’t go without them.”

  That surprised Meryl. “Why not?” She asked. A raid on a pharmaceutical company couldn’t be that dangerous.

  “A man like that is bound to spend a lot of money to protect his property. And believe me, those assassins he hired may only be the start. There's no telling what you could face when you get there. It's best tread softly when the information is unavailable.”

  A reasonable explanation. That would explain the small village of armed goons in the photograph. “Got it. Anything else?”

  “For now, no. I’ll be in here making some calls.” During their entire conversation, Nicole’s eyes were locked on the screen. Then suddenly, for a brief moment, she lifted them from the monitor and stared directly into Meryl’s eyes. “Be careful out there.”

  Meryl felt gratitude spewing forth. She really felt comfortable here with Nicole in only the few minutes they’ve spent together throughout the entire day. It sort of felt like she was talking with a mother. Not her mother per se, but the kind of mother anyone would want to have.

  “Will do,” she answered back pushing the door open. She left now in search of Michael.

  They’ve finally got it. A link to the murders. Hiring assassins to terminate the investigation on behalf of the organization. A dozen laws easily broken right there. The rush of the discovery waved off any feelings of exhaustion or hunger Meryl would be feeling at this time of night. Maybe she’d grab a tea or something caffeinated to keep her going.

  Meryl felt immediate and forceful pressure on her shoulder. Her eyes darted towards the cause. Isabella had stumbled into her path, each oblivious to the other.

  “Izzy? Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. I’m fine,” she repeated quickly. Fortunately neither of them was knocked down but she did look a bit shook up. The gift bag rattling in her hand might be the cause of that.

  “Where are you heading?”

  “Me?” Isabella sounded surprised Meryl would ask that. “Well, the Commander said that we could all go home now so I thought I would drop this off on Michael’s desk. Technically his birthday is coming up shortly. I thought it would be nice for him to come back to his desk and see it.”

  “Wow, that’s very sweet of you.” Meryl checked her watch. Midnight was rapidly approaching. She couldn’t believe she was up this late without even getting hunger pains. All of that adrenaline from earlier must have quelled that desire.

  “Well, I should get going. Have a nice night -”

  “Izzy!” Called another voice. Both ladies turned to see the mildly pleased expression on Commander McCrae’s face. Coincidently, his eyes locked onto the special little package in the lab tech’s hands.

  “Is that Michael’s gift?”

  “Oh.” She flustered. “Why yes it is sir.”

  “Great,” McCrae said walking over and taking it from Isabella’s hands. “Let me at least sign the card. I wanted to put a special message in there for good old Mikey.”

  Isabella paused. She couldn’t say no to this man. “Sure Commander.” A smile formed on her lips. “But no peeking. It’s surprise.”

  “Bah, do I look like a child on Christmas Eve?” He joked. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  McCrae disappeared into his office. As soon as Meryl turned her attention away from the Commander’s office, her old friend was in view.

  “Michael! Sorry Izzy, got to run.”

  The young agent fled leaving Izzy behind. Michael was pouring a small cup of water from the cooler and consumed it in a single gulp. He met Meryl’s gaze just as he crushed the paper cup within his hand.

  “We’ve got them.”

  His quizzical stare implied he required more information.

  “Laesare Biotech. They’re a front for a different company. I’ve got all of the information right here. Deputy Commander Wells is working on getting a warrant right now. We’re leaving soon after.”

  Finally the break they were looking for. This was very remarkable. The fact that Meryl was able to deduce all of the information they collected to come to this conclusion. If Meryl had any doubts about her abilities to perform, they must be shattered at this point.

  “You found all of this?” It was hard enough for Michael to be impressed. At this point, he stood in awe. “Good job.”

  “Well, I wasn’t the only -” Meryl found herself at a loss of words. She wasn’t used to being praised. Least of all from Michael. Yet throughout the day he showered her with it. It just seemed much more special coming from him.

  “Michael!” Shouted another.

  Jason approached from behind. A sense of exigency was written all over his face. Michael moved to meet with him.

  “Steve’s not the mole.”

  Another bit of news that he was not expecting. His fists started to tighten. Further explanation was necessary.

  “We ran all his calls from last few days. Nothing out of the ordinary except for one particularly odd number that always came up as restricted. So I dove deeper. Turns out our friend over there has been hiding something, but you’re not going to believe what it is.”

  He handed over a sheet of paper to Michael with Meryl peeking at it from around his arm. A woman, easily in her early 50's laid flat on the page. She was carried by
a large amount of numbers. All of them related to money in one way or another. And this woman had a lot of it.

  “Her name is Jessica Weintraub, the widow of Richard Weintraub, a restaurant buff and the former Frozen Food King of California. When her husband passed on a few months ago, she met Steve online through an adult sex meet-up website. They’ve been going at it ever since. She’s become something like a ‘sugar momma’ to Steve. She gives him presents, cash, jewelry. You name it.”

  This was very disappointing. Michael was upset not only because his potential suspect had just been cleared but that Steve would resort to doing something so disgusting.

  “She’s apparently a real stickler for him too. Has him on a short leash. That’s why he’s always eating lunch by himself and keeping distant. When she calls, he barks. He even developed a phone application to remind him to call and check up.” Jason flashed the image of the cell phone that practically scared the shit right out of him.

  “Damnit.” Michael hissed. He didn’t want to believe it, even with the evidence staring him in the face.

  “He’s not married, is he?” Meryl asked.

  “With two kids,” Jason replied.

  Meryl felt her stomach twist. Infidelity was just terrible. Especially for someone who has children. An FBI agent should know better. Although, the fact that he hid it for this long proved he wasn’t a bad one. Just foolish.

  Staring at this sheet of paper wasn’t doing Michael any good. He almost bore a hole through it with his thoughts. This was too convenient. It had to be. Something was missing. The only one with the answers now was Steve.

  “Wait,” Meryl stated after being bit by logic. “If Steve’s not the mole, then who is it?”

  This gift bag was very beautiful. Isabella had great taste. McCrae was putting the finishing touches on the birthday card he purchased earlier in the day. Finding the words to convey his gratitude for the agent was fairly challenging. Michael had done so much for the city of Los Angeles as well as the entire country. Coming up with something that expressed that notion proved more challenging than trying to mimic Michael’s feats.