by Peter Hoole
He was a classic nerd, and a very clever one. Despite his high intelligence, when it came to other people, Chuck was often found wanting. He was most comfortable at home, in front of his computer.
The only person, apart from his family, that he had ever developed a connection with was Darcy. They had met by accident; Darcy was doing a piece on email spam, and the people who perpetuate it. As she looked further into the story, one name continued to crop up – Chuck’s.
Rather than expose Chuck in her newspaper, Darcy decided to become his ally. Or rather, she allowed him to become hers.
After a time, they had developed a close bond, and Darcy knew she would never let him down, despite his less-than-legitimate past.
“Okay… do you have his phone number?” Chuck questioned.
Darcy turned to Caleb, and held her hand over the mouthpiece. “Do we have Dunleavy’s phone number?” she asked.
“I’ve only ever called a number I thought was his…” Caleb admitted.
“Sorry Ch…” Darcy began.
“It’s okay, Darc… I’ve got it.” Chuck said, having located Dunleavy’s private number through his own program.
Darcy grinned. Once Chuck had his eyes on a prize, he didn’t let anything stop him.
“I take it Marine-Boy is there?” Chuck questioned.
“Yeah, he is.”
“Okay, listen closely. Get him to dial this number ‘555 480 4527’.”
Darcy repeated the number to Caleb as Chuck read it out.
“Now,” Chuck continued, “it’s very important you don’t let Dunleavy answer the phone!”
“Why? I thought that’s how we track him?” Darcy responded.
“That’s what the movies want you to think. Trust me, he doesn’t need to answer. Just get Marine-Boy to dial. Once he hears the ringtone, get him to hang-up.”
“Okay.” Darcy repeated the instructions to Caleb. Caleb stared at her, seeming a little concerned they might scare Dunleavy off.
Darcy nodded, trying to reassure him it would be okay.
Caleb dialled the number as instructed, waited to hear the ring, and then immediately hung-up.
Darcy waited on the phone, impatient to hear what Chuck had to say.
“Good… it didn’t quite connect.”
“Have you got a location?”
“Patience, petal… it’ll happen,” Chuck said in a soothing tone. “You can’t rush these things.” Darcy heard Chuck tapping away at his keyboard, before he spoke again. “Hope you like pubs?”
“You’ve found him?”
“I told you, Darc… anything for you.”
“Great. That’s fantastic, where is he?”
“He’s in Phoenix, so you’ve got a bit of a drive.”
Darcy smiled into the phone. “Not really. We’re already here.”
“Shit, Darc, you must have it hard for this guy,” Chuck said casually, before he quickly backpedalled. “Shit, sorry Darc,” he blathered.
Darcy could hear the regret in Chuck’s voice, and knew he hadn’t intended to insult her. While Chuck seemed taken with her, she knew that he enjoyed the relationship they shared. “That’s okay, Chucky. I know you didn’t mean it.” Darcy felt the need to hurry things up. “Where is this pub?”
“West Monroe Street, nice place called Connor O’Sullivan’s… Geez, very imaginative these Irish guys.”
“Thanks Chucky. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime, Darc”
With a final goodbye, Darcy hung up and then typed the address into the GPS. “We need to turn right in about a hundred yards,” she said, reading the directions.
“So we’ve found him?” Caleb questioned. “In Phoenix?” Caleb sounded surprised by how easy it had been.
“Yep, he’s at a pub.”
Caleb began to drive, taking the first right as Darcy had directed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen or even spoken with Dunleavy. Hopefully, he’ll be able to give us some answers.”
Chapter Ten
The drive to the small Irish pub took less than five minutes – Caleb gave the building the once over when they arrived, noticing the green awnings typical of any Irish pub. Typical anywhere but Ireland.
Caleb pulled into one of the angled parking bays across the street from the pub. With the back of the car facing the pub, surveillance of the building wouldn’t be easy; he would need to rely on the mirrors, and Darcy.
Of course, it also meant Dunleavy wouldn’t be able to spot them, and they could safely sit and wait without disruption. Additionally, while Caleb had not chosen his car specifically for surveillance purposes, the midnight blue Ford Edge blended in well with their surroundings.
Noticing the parking meters on the side of the road, Caleb asked Darcy to jump out and feed some coins into the machine. The last thing they needed was to have some bored parking inspector drawing attention to them.
With daylight fading, Caleb was having some difficulty assessing the building. While the alfresco area at the front of the pub was reasonably well lit, he couldn’t see his former contact. The only people present at the front of the pub were two young women, both brunettes in their early to mid-twenties. One was dressed in a pink dress, the other in black.
“No sign of him.” Caleb said when Darcy got back in the car. He glanced at his watch. The day had passed quickly, it was nearly six o’clock.
“Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long…” Darcy said.
Caleb glanced away from the building for a moment, to offer up some reassurance. “It’s okay, babe… if it takes more than an hour, I’ll go in and find him,” Caleb replied.
Darcy remained silent. Caleb knew she must be frustrated – with her only alternative to follow Caleb’s lead at this point. He was the one with experience in this sort of situation. He knew Darcy had been involved in a couple of stakeouts before, but that was more along the lines of waiting for people who knew they were being waited for – politicians, celebrities, sports stars and the like.
Caleb was hoping they weren’t going to wait for too long. It had been a long, tiring day, and constantly keeping an eye on his surroundings had created a tension in Caleb’s shoulders that he couldn’t shift.
And he was worried about what they’d discover when he confronted Dunleavy. Ever since his Marine missions had shifted focus, Caleb had grown increasingly concerned by Dunleavy’s actions, or more the lack of action.
As they waited, the crowd enjoying an evening at Connor O’Sullivan’s began to steadily grow. Being a Saturday night, the two girls who’d been sitting at the front were soon joined by three more, plus a couple at the adjoining table, and a steady stream of people, of various ages, were streaming in and out of the pub.
“Shit…” Darcy said. “How will we be able to spot him among all those people?”
Caleb didn’t share Darcy’s trepidation. The extra people only meant that Caleb had to sharpen his alertness to a higher level, something he was used to doing in his work. He stared, almost unblinking, into the rear-view mirror.
“It shouldn’t be much longer. I doubt a man like Dunleavy wants to be where so many people are…” Caleb said, hopefully.
“Should I go in?” Darcy asked, “I mean, he doesn’t know me.”
Caleb noticed their target in the mirror.
“No need,” Caleb said, inclining his head. “There he is.”
A stocky, balding man walked out of the front door of the pub, almost stumbling.
Darcy turned in her seat to get a better view. Sure enough, there was Dunleavy, dressed in jeans, an untucked button down blue shirt, and some neat black shoes. “Wow, Chucky really came through.”
“Yeah, he did. I might even let that ‘meat-headed Marine boy’ comment go,” Caleb said, a wry smile on his face. When Darcy looked surprised, he grinned. “Babe… you really need to turn down the volume on your speaker.”
Darcy chuckled. “Fair enough,” she retorted.
Dunleavy began making his way
east on Monroe as Caleb kept a watchful eye on him. “Okay, as you said, he probably doesn’t know you. You get out, and follow him.” Caleb instructed.
“Where will you be?”
“I’ll follow you. I’ll stay back far enough so that, even if Dunleavy is being cautious, he’ll only see you, and won’t even notice me.”
“And that works does it?” Darcy asked.
“Only if you don’t know what you’re looking for…”
Darcy paused a little, Caleb maintaining a view of Dunleavy.
“So, what then… I mean, we do need to talk to him.”
“When he stops at a place where we can safely talk to him, I’ll over take you and make contact. Sound good?”
“Is there a choice?” Darcy asked with a smile and a wink.
Caleb chuckled, “Not really.”
“Ok then….” Darcy said as she exited the car.
She moved towards the road, waited for a single silver sedan to pass, and began after Dunleavy.
The crowd around the pub was picking up, with the numbers more than double what they had been when they’d first parked. Caleb kept an eye on Darcy, who had slipped on a navy hooded-jacket to accompany her jeans and sneakers. As she walked, Darcy lifted her white cap, lightly brushed her hair back into place, and replaced the cap.
Caleb focused on the white baseball cap. From his training, he knew that if he tried to make sense of all the things going on around him, he would lose her. So he focused on the hat.
When Darcy was about a hundred feet away, Caleb exited the car and quickly crossed the road. He managed to manoeuvre gracefully through the crowd – or at least as gracefully as a six foot three, two-hundred-and-forty-pound Marine could. He followed the road, crossing over Central Avenue to East Monroe, keeping Darcy about a hundred feet in front of him. From his vantage point, he couldn’t see Dunleavy, but knew Darcy would signal if she lost him.
Darcy crossed over North First Street, and abruptly, her white cap stopped moving.
Uncertain of why she had stopped, Caleb decided to do the same, maintaining the distance. Perhaps she’d lost him, or perhaps she had been seen? Caleb couldn’t tell what the circumstances were.
After about five seconds, Darcy’s white cap began to move again, slower than before. She took another four or five steps, the white cap turned to the right… and stepped into a large building.
Shit! Caleb thought, taking off at a run towards where Darcy had left the street.
As he approached the building, Caleb’s mind raced. Confusion, fear and guilt, all rolled into one. It was the same feeling of dread he’d experienced, before the first shit-storm he’d dealt with in Iraq. At least then though, he knew the situation he was entering.
When he caught up to where Darcy had disappeared, a large grey structure greeted the Marine. While the façade made it plain what the structure was, Caleb knew this only complicated matters. The parking structure, with its simplistic design, had too many dark shadows, too many places for Dunleavy to hide and surprise his followers.
Just these thoughts were enough to make Caleb consider more caution in his approach. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Darcy, as it had become apparent she had walked straight in.
Caleb, dismissing any remaining caution he felt, ran into the structure. He tried to remain as calm as he could, but it had been several moments since he had lost track of Darcy’s white cap, and panic was starting to set in.
As he ran, Caleb made a quick scan of his surrounds. As he suspected, there were far too many places Dunleavy could conceal himself.
He began his search of the area, and turned around one of the large concrete pylons. As he turned the corner, he saw the white cap.
He was relieved when he saw Darcy. To his surprise, Dunleavy was with her. He was talking to her, as though trying to calm her down.
After a few moments, Dunleavy turned and saw Caleb. Dunleavy smiled, and motioned for Caleb to join them.
Caleb did as he requested. As he didn’t know the situation, Caleb thought it best to play along.
Caleb walked over to where Darcy and Dunleavy were standing.
“Jackson,” Dunleavy said, raising his hand to shake Caleb’s.
Judging by the tone of Dunleavy’s voice, Caleb realised he was neither surprised, nor upset by the unplanned meeting.
“Sir?” Caleb said, unable to hide his confusion.
“Jackson, I’m surprised it took you so long,” Dunleavy began, “but I tell ya – it’s about fucking time!”
“Why’s that, sir?” Caleb asked, more confused than ever.
“Jackson. Everything we’ve been working for. Everything we’ve done…” Dunleavy’s voice trailed off and he stared at Caleb, his eyes willing him to understand.
Caleb still didn’t get it. He shrugged. “Yes?”
“You know the how they say ‘the shit’s about to hit the fan’?” Dunleavy asked.
Caleb nodded.
“We’re about to get a whole new definition for it.”
Chapter Eleven
Throwing off his initial shock, Caleb walked with Darcy and Dunleavy towards the centre of the structure, with Dunleavy taking the lead. By Caleb’s judgement, there were maybe twenty cars on the lowest floor of the structure. The lighting was dim, but there was enough to see where they were going. The sun hadn’t completely set, still providing limited additional light. That was, until they reached their destination.
Dunleavy’s Black Chrysler 300C, while stylish, stood out in what was essentially a public parking lot. Dunleavy opened his mouth to talk again, but Caleb stopped him, holding up one hand while he did a quick check of the immediate area of the parking lot. While there was no indication they’d been followed throughout the day, and Darcy’s laptop was safely stashed back in LA, Caleb still felt the need to be vigilant.
“You done?” Dunleavy asked, sounding offended that Caleb had even looked.
“Yeah, just about. Would you open your car, sir?” Caleb asked in a loud whisper.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Jackson?” Dunleavy responded, making no attempt to muffle his voice
“Sir— I— I haven’t…” Caleb stumbled over his words, but took a deep breath and centred himself. “With all due respect. I haven’t heard from you close to half a year, and you expect me to trust you?”
“Okay, okay, Caleb. Calm down,” Dunleavy said, pushing the keyless entry button to his car.
“Caleb, it’s okay. He’s got no reason to deceive us,” Darcy said, trying to calm her boyfriend down.
Caleb wasn’t convinced. “Darcy, with respect, we don’t know that. All we know is that he seems to have been expecting us…” Caleb replied.
“Okay kids, let me interject,” Dunleavy said. “I’m guessing something happened, causing you to come to Phoenix. Something was obviously a catalyst for getting you off your ass, Jackson?”
“And?” Caleb responded testily.
“Well… let me tell you this. If I wanted you dead… you’d be dead. Caleb… Can I call you Caleb? Oh fuck it! Caleb it is.”
Caleb crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever you say… Mike.”
Dunleavy grinned. “Ha! Fair enough… Anyway, Caleb. You know the reach I have. I can have anyone taken care of if I need to. You know that. But I haven’t.”
Caleb and Darcy glanced at each other, starting to come around to Dunleavy’s thinking.
He continued, not really wanting a response, “Anyway, as you’ve probably seen Caleb… we’re a bit exposed here. I mean, we’re safe for now, but who knows if it will be the same in ten minutes?”
“So…”
“So… get in the car. Fuck it, you can even drive, Caleb, if that’ll make you feel any better.”
Dunleavy threw the keys to Caleb, who almost fumbled them.
“Good hands,” Darcy quipped.
“Babe… not the time,” Caleb said, abruptly.
“Okay then, get in,” Dunleavy said. “We can
talk and drive.”
The trio entered the car. Caleb settled into the driver’s seat, Darcy directly behind him. Dunleavy walked around the front of the car, and got into the passenger seat.
Caleb started the engine and turned to check on Darcy. “You comfortable back there?” he asked.
“So…” Caleb asked, turning to Dunleavy. “Where to?”
“This is your show, Caleb,” Dunleavy responded. “Up to you.”
Caleb steered out of the parking bay, and exited the lot. He drove towards First Street and Caleb turned left.
“So, Caleb,” Dunleavy began, “I’m sure you’ve got some questions to ask me?”
Caleb considered the offer. Though part of him was reluctant, he decided to go for the biggest question he had. “You know I was the last person President Hawkins spoke to, right? He was probably on the phone to me when he was assassinated.”
“No, I didn’t,” Dunleavy said, and Caleb could hear the surprise in his response. “There was a rumour he was in the midst of a phone call, but nothing was ever substantiated. Whoever shot him did the job, they took all the evidence from the room with them. Hawkins’ phone, his wallet, even his fucking Broncos pass were missing when the body was discovered.”
“So, you don’t know who shot him?”
“I have my suspicions, but nothing concrete. My contacts at the FBI, CIA, NSA, even the fucking Washington PD didn’t know jack about it. They guessed it was the work of a new splinter Al-Qaeda cell, but that’s what they blame everything on nowadays. But still, that told me everything I needed to know. You see, for a while we’ve been following a group.”
“Terrorists?”
“Not really. Though you’d think they were, based on the shit they’ve done. But no, they have other motivations. When it boils down to it, Caleb, terrorists are simple to understand – their motives anyway. That doesn’t mean to say they’re easy to catch. No… it’s their motives which are always clear. For fuck’s sake, every time they do anything, they broadcast it on fucking Al Jazeera, or even on fucking You-Tube. No, these guys, this group we were after, they were different.”
Caleb was growing impatient for answers. “What do you mean different?”
