Sunshine or Lead
Page 6
Tina looked up at him with disbelief. “After what we just went through, you’re still going to work?”
Aaron responded softly, “I have to. I had a meeting this weekend and this is really important. I need to try to get some information from Enloe.”
“So we’re not moving today?” Tina asked with more than a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“I had an important last minute client meeting. Believe me, I want to get all this behind me as much as you do, but I might be needed to help someone out with a big problem.”
After exhaling heavily, Tina was about to say something but just crossed her arms and went silent.
“I can’t tell you about the case, but believe me, if you knew, you’d want me to go.”
Tina looked him in the eye. “I don’t know if I could take any more. You don’t have to take on the case if it will be anything like what we just dealt with, right?”
“That’s right. I’m just going to meet with Enloe and then the client this weekend, and if there is anything big I’ll bring in the experts. I’m actually going to call Aurora right now and tell her to get out here for Nannette. If there is anything crazy with the new case, we’ll let Aurora handle it.”
She looked up at Aaron, then at the ground shaking her head. Peter watched everything and offered, “I can take the rest of the day off and hang out with you, honey. As you know, I’m badass and can protect you.”
Aaron smiled at Peter. “Thank you Peter. Tina, this really is important and once I have permission to talk with you about it, I know that you would want me to take the meetings and help out.” He turned to Peter and said, “Will you take her to your place?”
Peter nodded. Tina shook her head then thought about Xiaowan visiting him today. “Okay. I’ll see you soon?”
“Absolutely.” He leaned over to kiss her and gave her another big hug. He gave Peter a hug and said softly, “Thank you.”
Peter nodded and sat down next to Tina.
Aaron left the salon. Once out the door, he pulled out his dumb phone and placed a call to FBI agent Aurora Wulfers. Her number was one of the few he had memorized.
“Agent Wulfers.”
“Aurora, Aaron Baker.”
“Hi Aaron. How are you?”
“Alive. We just caught Nannette here; she was following me. And someone tried to kidnap Tina but failed.”
Stunned, Aurora closed the open file on her desk. “I’ll get authorization and be on the first plane out to San Diego.”
“Thanks. And there’s more.”
“More?”
“Not about Nannette and the D.C. adventure, but a new possible… scandal.”
“A serious one?”
“Potentially.”
“On a scale of one to ten? With the last scandal at a 9.5?”
Aaron spotted a cab and flagged it down. He thought for a second as he walked up to it. “Probably a three but possibly a ten.”
“Possibly bigger than what we just went through?” Aurora asked fearfully.
“I hope not, but it’s a distinct possibility. Do you have any friends over at the NSA and Pentagon that you can trust and that would share information with you?”
“Maybe. Our organizations are still very much compartmentalized even though we are all under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security,” Aurora said while thinking about contacts in various agencies.
“I’m in a taxi right now. I’ll be at what should be a secure line at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a few minutes. What number can I call you at to discuss more details?”
“Same number, this call goes to a secure line. I’ll be at my desk to take your call without it going to a cell,” Aurora said with butterflies working so far up her stomach they almost retched out of her. Her career was on the fast track and this new scandal could either make her a shoo-in to head the agency someday or derail her. As much as she wanted to run the FBI, she would help even if it hurt her career. Her love of her country was imparted to her by her father, a German Jew that fled Hitler prior to World War II to make a life for her in America. Aurora Wulfers loved her country and wants to right by it no matter what.
Chapter 6
“A-B!” Enloe exclaimed as he shot out of his chair and around his desk to greet Aaron. Enloe reached out to tap Aaron’s hand in a greeting that was like a football-style celebration. Their ritual was to each lean over with their legs bent in a ready position then slap each other’s hands three times, then turn sideways to each other, hop up, and bump hips in the air.
Aaron reached his hand down and unenthusiastically tapped hands the requisite three times then leaned in while Enloe jumped over a foot off the ground while wearing dress slacks, a dress shirt, and tie. Enloe immediately sensed that something was weighing heavily on Aaron. “What’s wrong buddy?”
“Tina was just attacked in an attempted kidnapping,” Aaron said as he moved a chair to sit directly across from Enloe’s desk.
“I’m sorry. Is she okay?” Enloe asked as he made his way behind the desk to sit down.
“Physically, yes. We both are. Nannette from the hot tub in D.C. was out here following me, I imagine the guy worked for her,” Aaron said as Enloe nodded with concern. “Nannette is in custody. The guy is still on the loose but apparently has a fresh burn on his face so will likely be found.”
“That’s good.”
Aaron looked at his watch. “In about ten minutes, I need to make a phone call. Do you know if your line is secure, and can I use it?”
“Yes and sure. What’s so important that you aren’t with your fiancée after an attack like this and makes you need to make a secure call?”
“Thanks. I’m not sure exactly what is at issue and how much of it is a secret. I came here to ask you about some basic immigration law. You still do deportation hearings, right?”
Enloe nodded. “Sometimes. What can I help you with?”
“I hate to be so ignorant, but let’s say I have an elderly couple in a foreign country whose child is an American citizen. How hard would it be to get them citizenship?”
“Depends on the country. If it’s from Cuba, or from somewhere else where they are seeking political asylum here in the United States, it’s relatively quick. From Mexico or Japan, it’s easy but can be a challenge to do it timely. If the child is a citizen, it’s pretty easy to get immediate family in. Eventually. What country?”
“China.”
Enloe ran his fingers over his goatee for a second. “Legally, it’s relatively easy for Chinese citizens to get a tourist, student, or work visa to visit the United States from China. But then to become a citizen, it takes a long time. There’s no line jumping and a lot of investigation.”
Aaron caught on to the importance of the first word in Enloe’s answer and probed, “Legally as opposed to…”
“Illegal immigration, of course. From China, we often find people are smuggled into the country and are used as semi-slave labor. If you inspect the kitchens of Chinese restaurants or massage parlors, you’ll often find that there are people working there who couldn’t afford a fee to get smuggled in so they have a contract to work under deplorable conditions to pay off their debt. They spend so much time in their job that they have a very difficult time assimilating to the culture and learning English, and often get stuck working in the grey market for their entire lives.”
Enloe continued, “In all honesty, it’s not that hard to smuggle people into the United States, be it through the Mexican or Canadian borders, or tucked away in cargo containers on ships that come into port. Heck, just get a visa and overstay. It happens all the time.”
Aaron’s mind wandered quickly. “Do you mind if I make that call right now?”
“Sure, you look sweaty, I’ll go get us something cold to drink,” Enloe said as he turned the phone on his desk around and pushed it towards Aaron. Enloe got off his chair and headed out the door while Aaron dialed Aurora’s number from memory.
“Agent Wulfers.”
“It’s Aaron.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll be okay. How much do you know about international spies operating in the United States?”
“Not much. That would be more of the CIA’s jurisdiction. What’s this about?”
“Hypothetically speaking, what if I have a client that is being pressured into committing a crime but doesn’t want to, who first entered the country as a spy for a powerful country? And what if there are others just like this person waiting to be called up to act?”
Aurora was silent for a second. “That would be something I would hope one of our agencies was ahead of, if true. Is this terrorist related?” she asked with a lump in her throat.
“Not from what I’ve seen. This is intellectual property theft, although I honestly don’t know much at this point. Just that I have a client that needs my help. I have a meeting with h…” Aaron stopped himself before revealing the gender, “my client tomorrow where I hope to learn more. I know that I trust my client, who loves this country and is being threatened into cooperating.”
‘Holy fuck!’ is what Aurora wanted to say. “I think that some sort of immunity deal could definitely be arranged if no crime has been committed yet. Let me find out what the CIA knows about spies from foreign countries living in the United States. What country? Anything else that could help narrow it down?”
Aaron thought for a second. “China. Apparently they pick bright kids to come here for junior high, high school, or college and then assimilate them to the United States culture so they can later steal secrets.”
Aaron heard a knock on the office door. “Come in.” Then he said back into the phone, “I need to present my client with some options and need to learn more about this. Who would have authority to make a deal? I guess that’s where I’d like to start. Can I call you on Sunday at this time?”
“I’ll be in San Diego so we can talk in person. I can use the Nannette apprehension as my reason to get out there and I’ll bring someone from the CIA with me. Be safe. If you feel threatened in any way I want you and Tina to go to the FBI Building and wait for me.”
“Thanks, it will be nice to have your support again. Let’s do dinner tomorrow.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow night.”
“Bye,” Aaron concluded and hung up Enloe’s phone.
Enloe handed him a bottle of water. “Everything okay?”
“I wish I could bring you in on everything but I need to make an immunity deal first. You know I’m a civil guy, how do immunity deals really work?”
“It’s actually a lot like what you see in the movies. A suspect may incriminate himself but agrees to provide information and almost always testifies about information so valuable that the government agrees not to prosecute. There are two types of immunity deals, ‘transactional immunity’ and ‘use and derivative use.’ In federal situations, use and derivative use is standard.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Transactional is essentially a blanket immunity. Use and derivative use would be specifically not using any testimony or anything directly derived from the testimony, but if information proving the crime is available elsewhere, that could be used to prosecute.”
“How hard is it to get a blanket immunity?”
Enloe scratched at his chin. “It really depends. If someone asked how hard it is to win a case, you would have to say it depends on the facts. Same here. Basically it’s balancing how important the information is to how bad the crime is.”
“Gotcha. I think the information is important and don’t even know if a crime was committed. In general, what about adding other things to a possible agreement like witness protection or citizenship for relatives?”
“Anything is possible with clearance from the highest level. Citizenship might be tough. It would depend on the person and current immigration status.”
Aaron looked at his watch. He felt terrible that he wasn’t with Tina right now. “I feel like I should be with Tina but I have to be prepared to help my client.”
“I can stop over later tonight, buddy.”
Aaron shook his head. “I don’t have a place here. I rented out my condo and everything is being moved up to my new place in Orange County.”
“You can stay at my place tonight.”
“Thanks, I was planning on staying at Kor’s but might just take you up on your offer.”
“Okay.”
Aaron still had questions on his mind. “What is a Green Card? How does that process work?”
“A Green Card is what someone gets when they are a permanent resident. There are two main ways to apply for a Green Card, either through being related to a U.S. citizen or other Green Card holder, or through employment. Either way there is a long wait because there are around five million applicants and only a quarter million permanent visas given per year. The limits don’t apply for nuclear family members of citizens to get a Green Card.”
“So there would be no wait on a Green Card for my client’s parents?”
“Well, no need to enter the visa lottery. There is still an application process that requires the I-485 form, then an I-130 form gets filed with it showing that it’s for a parent or child.”
Aaron smiled for the first time since he realized Nannette was following him. “So there’s a real chance then of getting Green Cards for the parents.”
“Yes. I have given away much more than that in previous immunity deals. Of course that’s assuming they aren’t criminals and things like that. And if they are coming from China, they might not have an easy time leaving China to even get into the U.S.”
Aaron nodded. “But generally, it’s a lot easier for families to come in?”
“Yes. That is one of the biggest policy considerations the United States has in its current immigration laws, to keep families together. Sometimes exceptional ability visas are granted and employment visas are possible. The bulk of Green Card holders are relatives of people who legally got into the country.”
Aaron and Enloe spent another twenty minutes talking about immigration law and special circumstances. Normally Aaron would have loved to talk and learn, but he felt compelled to get back to Tina.
Aaron got up and reached over to shake Enloe’s hand. “Thanks buddy. I’ve never done much in federal courts or in criminal law so this was quite helpful. I’ll probably be calling you tomorrow to talk more about this.”
Enloe shook his hand. “I’m happy to help. Just so you know, if there is a possible prosecution or active case, it can change what we are allowed to talk about.”
“Thanks brochacho.”
Chapter 7
Aaron dialed Tina’s cell phone. She answered softly, “Hi.”
“I finished up that meeting, where are you?”
“Peter’s house in Hillcrest.”
Aaron heard Peter yell in the background, “Hillcrest!” followed by his infectious laugh. It made Aaron smile for a second. She gave Aaron the address and when he arrived he saw Tina and Peter sitting on the front porch each with a glass of wine.
“Hi guys. You okay?”
They nodded and Peter broke the silence. “It was either a glass of wine or a valium and she didn’t want to write me a prescription for valium so guess what we’re having!” Peter stood to hand Aaron a glass then poured him some wine, pointing for Aaron to sit next to Tina.
Aaron was thankful for that gesture and sat down next to his fiancée. “I’m sorry that I had to take that meeting and wasn’t here with you. I’m sorry that you had to go through this today. I’m sorry…”
Tina broke in. “I get it. You don’t have to apologize. You tried your best in D.C. to keep me out of the entire mess and I signed up to be a part of it because I love you. So quit apologizing and kiss me hello.”
As Aaron leaned in to kiss her, Peter yelled in a whisper, “Hillcrest!” to literally voice his approval of what Tina said. She heard it and chuckled a little bit after Aaron pulled away from the kiss.
“It’s Peter. He is always so funny. I swear you two could be twins.”
Aaron smiled at Tina, then Peter. “I’ll take that as a compliment to both of us. Peter, I owe you everything for helping her today. What can I do for you?”
“Go gay and incestuous with me, my twin,” Peter quipped.
“Mine!” Tina called out and grabbed onto one of Aaron’s arms.
“Sorry brother, I’m taken,” Aaron said before leaning over to kiss Tina on her forehead.
Peter smiled slyly. “Then tell me what meeting kept you away from Tina this afternoon.”
Aaron took a deep breath. “I can’t really say too much right now. I take the attorney-client privilege quite seriously. I can say that I met with Enloe Burden and we talked about immigration policy.”
Tina pulled away from his arm slightly. “You mean you couldn’t be with me because you wanted to talk about immigration policy?”
“You know if it wasn’t serious I would have been with you. You also know that I can’t talk about certain things. Let me just say that this is for an important client and there might be some really serious issues,” Aaron said hoping that Tina wouldn’t feel hurt and abandoned by him.
“Is this about Xiaowan Lerma?”
“I couldn’t say if it was or wasn’t,” Aaron said wishing that he could just say yes and tell her everything. “I can tell you that I have to be in San Diego tomorrow for a meeting and also have a meeting with Aurora Wulfers. So either I’ll drive back here from our new house in the morning or spend the night at Kor’s.”
Aaron gulped down half the glass of wine. “Peter, would you mind getting us a glass of water? I was running around all day and sweating in this heat.”
“Sure thing, twin. More wine too?”
Tina shook her head no. Aaron looked at his half empty glass. “If you’re having more, I’d join you, but none needed just for me.”
“I’ll open another bottle,” Peter said as he poured the rest of the wine into Aaron’s glass. “Do you like this one?”