by Mike Kraus
While no armed guards are visible from the halls, Linda is well aware that a small army of them are located on and around the building. Any attempts to disrupt security, steal anything or even piss off the wrong person will be met with varying degrees of force. Due to her background she knows that she’s being watched extremely carefully so she makes sure to keep her hands visible at all times and do everything she’s told to do.
After passing through numerous halls and up two flights—one by elevator and the other by stairs—Linda and the man she is following arrive at their destination. A nondescript door with a keypad and simple numeric identification number on a tag above the keypad are the only indications that they have arrived at their destination.
The secretary turns to Linda. “Turn around, please, and place both of your hands on the wall in the designated positions.” She obliges the request by placing her hands on two handprints and the secretary knocks on the door one time before entering a code on the keypad. A biometric scan is performed of both the secretary and Linda using scanners in the keypad and on the far wall, ensuring that both of them are who they say they are before the door opens.
Linda turns around at the sound of the opening door and the secretary steps aside, motioning for her to enter the room. She won’t be allowed out of the room without an escort out of the building and the secretary must ensure the door is closed and locked before he can return to his duties.
Inside the small office a woman sits at a computer, furiously pounding on a keyboard. Linda steps inside and nods at the secretary who pulls the door shut and locks it. The woman at the desk doesn’t look up at Linda, continuing to type for a full two minutes before finally stopping. She turns and glances at Linda before nodding at her.
“Ms. Rollins, I presume?”
“Call me Linda, please. You’re Mrs. Callahan?”
Sarah Callahan, a fifteen-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, stands up from her desk and extends her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Linda. Call me Sarah. Have a seat, won’t you?” Sarah walks around the desk to a coffee pot sitting on a table. “Forgive my manners. We don’t typically get visitors and I don’t get out much these days.”
“No worries at all.” Linda flashes a smile and accepts a paper cup filled with coffee with a nod. “Jack said they work you hard here.”
Sarah sits back down behind her desk and sighs wearily. The intense, focused look that was on her face when Linda walked in is gone, replaced by a look of someone who is about to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion. “It’s been hell lately, I don’t mind telling you. But that’s not why you’re here.” Sarah straightens in her chair and looks at Linda. “You must have something juicy on Jack for him to get you clearance to be brought in here.”
Linda laughs. “Yeah, well, they didn’t exactly make it easy on me. I’m pretty sure my time in the Marines worked against me.”
“That makes sense, I’m sorry to say.” Sarah takes a sip from her cup of coffee. “So what is it I can help you with?”
Linda glances around and licks her lips, still unsure about sharing the information she has brought. Sarah, immediately understanding her nervousness, points at the ceiling. “It’s unmonitored in here for video and audio. Shocking, I know, but we get a tiny bit of privacy at least.”
Linda nods with relief. “I’m glad for that. There’s no easy way to talk about this so I’ll try to give you the highlights first and you tell me what details you think might be important.”
Sarah remains silent as she sips on her coffee so Linda clears her throat and continues. “As you’re probably aware my squad was a victim of an unorthodox attack during the invasion. It’s my belief that we were essentially used as guinea pigs to test new weapons tech developed by Farhad Omar. I’ve done some digging but all I’ve been able to come up with is tenuous proof that he did it. Which is something I already know. What I’m trying to find out is how to catch the bastard and bring him to justice.”
Sarah sits quietly, watching and listening with intense interest to every syllable Linda utters and every movement she makes. Trained for years on how to spot someone lying as well as how to read a person Sarah is convinced that her initial impression of Linda was correct. She finishes her cup of coffee and throws the paper cup into a trash can before pulling her chair back up to her desk and placing her hands on the desk.
“Linda, I have to tell you that what you’re asking for is something I can’t do.”
There is a long pause and Linda’s heart sinks. Sarah Callahan was recommended to her as someone who could and potentially would be able to help track down Omar, but it is clear that she cannot help. Until she speaks again.
“Officially.”
Linda looks up from her paperwork that she was starting to put away in preparation of leaving. “Huh?”
“I can’t help you officially with what you’re asking. I’m sorry. However, if you want to meet tomorrow evening I can look over what you have and offer a few unofficial opinions. Here’s my cell. Give me a call sometime tomorrow and we’ll meet.”
Linda is shocked by the turn of events and can’t understand her good fortune. She thanks Sarah and leaves the building in the same manner she came in. A day passes and she calls Sarah but there is no answer. After two hours and three more calls go unanswered and without a return of two messages she grows frustrated. She is about to call Jack and ask him about Sarah’s reliability when there is a knock on the apartment door.
Linda opens the door to find Sarah, wrapped in a long coat, standing on the doorstep. Without saying a word Sarah pushes past Linda and enters the apartment. She glances around as she unbuttons her coat and throws it across the couch. “Nice place.”
Taken aback by what is happening, Linda looks at Sarah with a confused expression. “Sarah? Why… what are you doing here?”
Sarah takes a briefcase and sets it down on the small kitchen table before taking a seat. She opens the briefcase and pulls out two large stacks of folders and paperwork before looking up at Linda. “You gonna sit down or what?”
Linda closes the door to her apartment and sits down slowly, unsure of what is going on. She watches as Sarah works for a few minutes, arranging the paperwork into neat stacks on the table. When she finally finishes she places the briefcase on the floor and looks at Linda.
“Here you go.”
“What? Here I go what? What’s all this?”
Sarah sits back in her seat and gestures to the stacks of paper with a flourish. “This is the sum total of what I’ve been able to pull on Omar from nonclassified files. I’m not even going to try getting a classified file out but there’s about three pages worth of that information on Omar and I can tell you that from memory.”
“Wait a second, time out. Slow down.” Linda shakes her head and raises her hands. “Are you telling me you’re helping me and you’re giving me all of this?”
Sarah nods. “Yes.”
“Why? I mean I appreciate it, I think, but I was looking for more of a lead or a name or something.”
The corners of Sarah’s mouth turn up slightly. “I doubt that. After you came by yesterday I did some digging into your past first. Very interesting stuff. Next I checked on Omar. Also very interesting, though in a horrifying way.”
“I—I don’t follow you.”
“Omar’s an enigma. There are bits and pieces of intel on him scattered all over the place but nothing solid. Which is very odd for a man of his reputation. I dug around and found a few intel operations we have on him but none ever went anywhere.” Sarah closed a folder she was leafing through and looked at Linda. “Somebody’s gone to great lengths to hide this guy. Somebody inside the United States government. That kind of bullshit doesn’t sit well with me.”
Linda gulps and feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. “Omar’s well-connected enough for that?”
“Either that or we just suddenly don’t care about a mass-murderer who likes to experiment with biological, chemical an
d other unconventional weapons.” Sarah shakes her head. “No, something’s going on. So here’s the deal. I’ll help you where I can, but I’m not turning into a leaker who gets arrested. I like my job. I like my work. I’m not risking that for you, Jack or anyone else. Got it?”
Linda nods. “Absolutely. One hundred percent.”
“Good.” Sarah sighs. “I looked through the documents Jack forwarded from you before I came over. You did a stint with a PMC to gather intel, huh?”
“Yeah. It sucked but I think the intel was worth it.”
“More than worth it. Watch yourself, though. I may or may not have seen some signals indicating they figured out you were using them for your own benefits.”
Linda nods and laughs. “Yeah, I think so too. Thanks, I appreciate it. I can handle them, though.”
Sarah shrugs. “Your life. Anyway. You got some good info. Way better than anything we ever got on Omar. Which, again, speaks volumes in and of itself. One thing you flagged as a question for Jack was the lab you found in the basement underground, correct?”
“That’s right, yeah.”
“Mm.” Sarah flips through more papers until she finds what she is looking for. “Here’s the redacted version of what was found. It confirms your suspicions. Omar was absolutely using that lab. Ownership of the building had been transferred over to an oil sheik shortly before the estimated timeframe that the lab was set up. Omar has a familial and business relationship with said sheik.”
Linda skims through the papers and shakes her head. “This is astounding. But everything about the equipment in the lab and what they were trying to create has been redacted. Isn’t there any way I can get more information?”
Sarah sits back in her chair and studies Linda closely. “I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? We both know Jack, but I don’t know you from a hole in the wall. I’ve already taken the risk of being asked some very uncomfortable questions by bringing you this redacted information through a fairly streamlined internal FOIA request. I’m not going to be breaking the law and risking my job for you, though.”
“I know, you said that. I was just—”
“But here’s what I will tell you. This guy is on my radar now. He’s not on the CIA’s radar for some reason so that limits what I can do but I’ll do what I can. And as much as I can I will help you wherever possible. If I get intel on him that’s unclassified you’ll be the first to know. But I need you to not come to me about it, okay? All of this stuff should keep you occupied for a few weeks. Chase whatever leads you want. Just don’t try and cross a line with me.”
“I won’t. But you need to tell me where the lines are if I start trying to cross them inadvertently.” Linda stares Sarah in the eyes as she speaks. “I don’t want you risking your job and your freedom for me, but I’m not going to back down on anything for anyone. This is personal for me and I’ll do anything it takes to find this son of a bitch.’
Sarah nods. “I don’t blame you.” She stands and looks at the stack of papers. “Good luck with this. I won’t be in touch for another month at least. If I have anything I’ll email or call you.”
Linda stands up and holds out her hand before giving a half-shrug and wrapping her arms around Sarah. “Thank you,” Linda whispers, in an uncharacteristically emotional tone.
Sarah squeezes her gently and smiles before hurrying out of the apartment, leaving Linda to slowly sink back into her chair. She stares at the paperwork in front of her, wondering which bits of information to devour first.
Chapter 4
While Linda’s Humvee was loaded down with enough supplies for both her and Frank, both of them spent half an hour laboriously moving over food, water, ammunition and spare fuel from his damaged vehicle to her intact one. The journey to Washington was, under normal circumstances, around four hours from Pittsburgh, but both of them were fully aware of the fact that nothing was guaranteed in the new, darker world they now lived in.
Working through the pain in her leg with the help of some pain medication from a bag of first aid supplies that Frank had been smart enough to grab, Linda took the first shift of driving. They wound their way east and south, traveling through the southern portion of Pennsylvania as they headed for northern Virginia, Maryland and the outskirts of the capital.
The storms that were ravaging the central portions of the country hadn’t yet made it as far east as they were traveling and the weather was surprisingly pleasant. Both Linda and Frank wore jackets they had received from Corporal Simmons back at the base but they weren’t necessary for the seventy-five-degree weather.
With the windows down Frank rested his head against the door of the Humvee, watching out the side and front as he tried to keep from dozing off. It had been a long few days and an even longer last several hours. A few hours prior he had been on his way to Texas to hunker down with his family and wait out the disaster that was unfolding across the country. Instead of being in relative safety, though, he was on his way to meet some mysterious contact that Linda had in Washington after discovering that the bombs and viral outbreaks weren’t the full extent of the terrorist attacks that were taking place.
Decades of hearing government officials on both sides of the aisle talk up the idea of “fighting terrorists” had calloused Frank—and much of the rest of the population—to the concept. While small attacks happened across the country from time to time, people were safer in the US than many other places in the world. The constant cries of terrorism warnings eventually fell on deaf ears as the public ignored their elected leaders, some of whom were sincere and many of whom used the concept as a way to get funding for their pet projects.
All of this added up to a population—including Frank—who were ill-prepared for a true, nationwide attack. Even days after the first bombs went off Frank was still flabbergasted both by the attack itself and by how quickly things had gone south. As he thought more about the situation he asked Linda a question.
“How is it that we had hundreds or more bombs go off with none of them being found? For that matter how did enough people get into the country to plant the damned things without being discovered by the FBI or something?”
“Back when I first met Sarah she told me that it seemed like Omar was being shielded by someone within our government.”
Frank turned to look at her. “Someone within the United States government was helping this guy?”
“That’s what she said.”
“How? Why?!”
Linda shrugged. “We never found out. Over the years we spent digging around pursuing him she tried to bring him up on the FBI and CIA’s radars multiple times but nobody would pursue it. Every time someone new would get the case file they would back down shortly thereafter. My guess is whoever was shielding him was also the one helping get people into the country to carry out the actual attacks, too.”
“Good grief.” Frank shook his head in disbelief. “You’re talking about someone systematically betraying their country for years. How’s that possible?”
Linda shrugged again. “I don’t know. And it could have been a lot longer than just years. It’s been seven years since I went in with the invasion. I’ve spent most of my time since then chasing after this guy, but he was active long before then. Maybe years. Maybe decades.”
“Decades of people living here, just biding their time?” Frank let out a whistle. “That sounds impossible.”
“Under normal circumstances I would agree. But if they had someone protecting them here and keeping the feds off their backs…” Linda trailed off. “Anyway I’m not saying that’s what happened. But it’s plausible.”
Frank sat quietly for several more minutes, digesting the information from Linda before speaking again. “How do you know this Sarah person’s still in Washington?”
“She worked out of Langley for years. Last time I talked to her was a couple months ago. She was still working there, in an annex to the CIA headquarters. With any luck she’ll still be there.”
/> Frank blanched. “Seriously? We’re going into the CIA’s headquarters? Are you crazy?”
“Why’s it crazy?”
Frank shifted in his seat and stared at Linda. “Going into the capital when tensions are as high as they are right now seems pretty crazy. You’ve seen how even the tiniest towns are; that’s going to be ten times worse! But on top of it you want to go visit the CIA? Don’t you need an appointment or something?”
Linda shrugged. “I doubt she’s at her office. I know where she lives. And if she’s not at home then we can find her at her office. She worked in an annex. They had high security but it wouldn’t be like strolling up to the main headquarters.”
“Wouldn’t she have evacuated?”
Linda glanced at Frank and shook her head. “Not in a million years. She’s a career worker. Loves her country more than anything else. She wouldn’t abandon her work for something like this. In fact this is probably the last thing she’d abandon her work for. No, she’ll be there doing one thing or another.” Linda sighed. “I just hope she’ll be willing to tell me everything she knows this time, given the situation.”
“Come again?”
“For all the help and clues and leads she gave me to help me try and track down Omar she never compromised her rules. She never gave me classified information or leaked anything to me. I understand why she did it but right now’s not the time for holding back information.”
Frank rubbed his eyes and pushed back against his seat as he tried to find a more comfortable position. “This sounds stupid.”
Linda smiled at him and raised an eyebrow. “I’d be happy to chuck you out on the side of the road and let you walk to Texas if you’d like.”
Frank closed his eyes and leaned his head against the door again. “Just shut up and drive.”
Chapter 5
The scent of death hangs in the air. The death is several years old, existing solely in the memories of the woman who walks down the narrow alley, but she can still smell it. She covers her nose with her sleeve, hoping to filter out the scent but because the scent is in her mind it does not change.
