by Casey Hill
Unfortunately patience had never been Reilly’s forte.
Chapter 10
Rob arrived home to find Jake still awake and watching the camera feed on the laptop.
“Anything happen while I was gone?” he asked.
“Actually, yes,” his nephew replied, looking edgy. Rob sat down beside him, and Jake continued, “Right after you left, I scanned the feed during the time we were talking to the girls to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. About 45 minutes ago, I saw this.” Accessing the program, Jake brought up the data from earlier. He scanned backwards until a dark figure appeared in the frame, then went back a bit more until the figure vanished from shot, then let the video run forward.
Rob watched as the dark figure moved into screen view, heading for Jake’s apartment. He must have been aware of the camera or at least suspected it, because he kept his face downcast so his features weren’t visible. He was tall, probably 6’ or so and his hair was dark. He was dressed all in black, and wore a pair of black leather gloves.
Rob watched as the figure rapped hard on Jake’s door, then without waiting for a response, tried the doorknob. Finding it locked, the man looked into the peephole, which unintentionally revealed part of his face.
“Think that’s our man in black from the party?” Rob queried, disconcerted.
Jake nodded. “I’m almost positive. But watch what he does next.”
The figure onscreen again tried the doorknob, then rapped on the door. He waited about 15 seconds, then apparently satisfied Jake wasn’t home, took out a cell phone, called someone, spoke into the phone briefly, hung up, then moved out of view. “I wonder who he was calling,” Jake mused.
“Has anything happened since?”
“Not yet. I can’t help but wonder what’s going on off-camera, though. It’s too bad we don’t have eyes in the parking lot.”
“You’re thinking about your car?”
“Yeah. Seeing that guy make a phone call, then not return to my apartment, makes me suspicious. I expected him to try and access the place, but once he made that phone call and didn’t return . . .”
“We’d better check out the car before anyone drives it.” Given Jake’s suspicions, they couldn’t be too careful. “I think I’ve just about had it for today,” Rob continued yawning. “I need to get some sleep. You should too. Morning comes early around here.”
The following morning, both awoke refreshed, despite receiving their less-than-usual amount of sleep. Jake was dragging a bit, suffering from the memory of disturbing dreams involving the man in black. It had finally sunk in — the unsub not only remembered Jake’s face, but he also knew who he was and where he lived. But how could he have found out so quickly? And what was he planning to do if Jake had been home?
Coming into the kitchen, Jake found his uncle already awake, preparing a breakfast of English muffins, hard-boiled eggs, and juice. “Coffee’s hot and ready,” Rob said cheerily by way of greeting. “I forgot how you take it, or I’d have poured you a cup already.” Giving Jake a closer look, he grew serious. “You look tired. Are you okay? Didn’t you sleep well?”
Jake shook his head. “I guess I’m more worried about this guy than I thought.”
“I can imagine, but try not to worry. You’re safe here, you’ll ride in to the Academy with me. I’ve already sent Mayridge a copy of the footage from your place last night. They’re running it through a facial recognition program to see if they can identify him. We’ll keep you safe.”
Jake sighed. “I hope you’re right. I’m just a little spooked by the fact that the guy found out who I was so quickly.”
“I was thinking about that too,” Rob replied. “Obviously, somebody tipped him off. That hints at the possibility of one of the partygoers besides the victim, knowing him.”
But who was that person? And if his nephew was just an innocent bystander, why did the man in black feel the need to check up on him?
During the first class of the day, SSA Rob Crichton announced to the recruits: “Last week, we took a run through Hogan’s Alley. Starting this week, we’ll be spending a lot more time there.
Reilly couldn’t wipe the smile off her face; she was thrilled to be going back to Hogan’s Alley.
“The scenario today will be a CQB, or Close Quarter Battle, scenario,” Rob continued. “Meet at the entrance to the town at 1:00 pm sharp. We’ll be joined by the advanced recruits, who will help coordinate the event.”
Reilly could hardly wait until 1:00. She was almost too excited to eat lunch, but she knew she’d need energy to perform effectively. While they ate, Faye filled her in on what she’d been up to the night before.
“I did a bit of digging on the guy hosting the party,” she began. “Jackson Halvorsen III is quite the cad, actually. He goes to Old Dominion University. I have a feeling his dad pulled some strings to get him in there. He’s barely keeping his place; in fact, he’s on academic probation as we speak, so it’s likely this little incident will reflect negatively on his scholastic career as well as piquing the police’s interest in him. He already has one DUI here in Virginia and another in DC His license has been revoked and he’s not supposed to be driving, but he has a car registered in his name in another state, so I’m guessing he’s not obeying the law. He lives in a dinky little apartment near the university - I’m guessing because his parents cut his allowance off and will only pay certain things that directly affect him staying in school, and there’s a limit. Apparently they’re determined, despite all the evidence that supports the conclusion their nephew is a moron and should just live at home with them forever, to force him to get some kind of degree and at least pretend he’ll have some useful future career sometime before he’s 40.” She paused.
Reilly’s mouth was open. “How on earth did you find all that out?” she asked, impressed by her friend’s sleuthing and the fact that she’d rattled all of that off without taking a breath.
Faye grinned. “Jordan Nance. He’s really very smart and amazing with computers. And don’t worry,” she added breezily, seeing Reilly’s look, “everything we got is above-board and available from public sources. Jordan just happened to know which sources to access. And there’s more. His father, Jackson Halvorsen II, made a great deal of money in the personal computer industry in software coding; he got in on the ground floor and did a good job of hanging on to the rights, so he’s set for life and so is his only nephew, Jack – or Junior as his family calls him. Dad is known as “Big Jack,” by the way, and apparently he keeps a low public profile but has a very big ego. He’s publically criticized his only child multiple times in print, which is saying something since he’s rarely quoted. The kid has a rap sheet, all petty stuff, mostly drug offenses and writing bad checks, beginning when he was 12. Junior was smart enough to keep the dollar amounts of the checks low enough so it wouldn’t be grand theft. That was after his dad kicked him out of the house and cut him off the first time, by the way, when Junior was about 18. They reconciled about 2 years ago, when he convinced Big Jack to put him through school. Big Jack agreed, but Junior started blowing it during the first semester. He’s on his last legs with his dad. Junior just turned 26 last month, but he behaves more like he’s 15.
Reilly sat mesmerized as her friend continued. “Big Jack knows all the “who’s who” of the software field, and there’s a rumor that he’s friendly with some unsavory characters in … other fields as well. Let’s just say they’re the kind of businessmen who carry semi-automatic weapons with them to business meetings. Why a man like Big Jack would be involved with organized crime, I don’t know; it’s all just rumors, but they’re abundant. There are quite a few dangerous folks who are rumored to be in Halvorsen II’s inner circle, but no proof exists, and no one dares accuse him openly.”
“Great,” said Reilly sarcastically. “Junior’s dad’s rich, and has ‘friends’. Just what we need. But I thought the house was owned by someone else, so what was he doing hosting the party? And how did we get invit
ed?”
“He’s a good friend of Terry Nordingham’s and as for the relative …well I have a theory about that … As we know, the name on the deed is Barbara Smith. I also did a little digging on Ms Smith, who happens to be a former employee of one of Big Jack’s earlier business ventures about 28 years previous. She received some kind of stock option from that company, even though she only worked there for about 18 months. She was his secretary.” Faye paused meaningfully on the word, letting Reilly fill in the blanks.
“You think she might actually be Junior’s mother?” she said, hazarding a guess.
“Could be — why else would he call her his relative?” Faye replied. Then her tone changed, “But there’s something else we didn’t know and I think it’s a bigger problem.”
“What?”
She took a deep breath and went on, “There are reports online about the accident. They mention Jake as a material witness and one of the articles has a photo.”
“Damn. We’d better tell Rob and Jake about this,” Reilly said, “Especially when Jake’s hoping to lay low.” Glancing at her watch, she continued, “We’ve got about ten minutes before we’re supposed to be at Hogan’s Alley. I say we head over there now and try to talk to them before the exercise starts. Though, on second thoughts, maybe we should wait until afterwards. We don’t want to throw Jake off his game.”
“Maybe we should just head over there and see if we can find Rob first,” Faye suggested. “He’d know what best.”
When they arrived at the entrance to Hogan’s Alley, they were relieved to see Rob already there. Faye discreetly informed him of the news articles mentioning Jake by name. As they expected, he was very concerned and explained what Jake had seen on the camera feed.
“That’s got to be how the guy figured out where he lived,” Rob said. “Did any of the articles have photos of Jake?”
“One of them did. It looked like an Academy headshot,” Faye told him.
Rob swore. “That’s what I was afraid of.” He looked up as more recruits filed into the area. “Look, why don’t we meet again later — at my house again so as not to arouse any suspicion on campus. We can fill Jake in and talk things over then.”
Agreeing, Reilly and Faye took their places with the others gathering for the training exercise including Jake who waved over, but looked tense.
Rob addressed the group. “As I mentioned this morning, this will be a CQB run. We won’t be using many live participants for this, as we’re more interested in having you practice the formation and techniques, particularly distinguishing friendlies from hostiles. They aren’t color-coded, so you’ll have to pay attention to the illustration on the pop-up silhouette itself. Your hostiles will likely be holding a weapon, but make sure what you see is a weapon, and not a baby or loaf of bread, before you shoot.
“We’ll be using DM9 dye paintball guns, which are less messy than traditional paintball guns but just as effective for marking hits. We’ll be using flash powder for explosives, which is more smoke than substance, but it can still burn you, so be careful.
“I’ll now turn the floor over to Jake Callahan, who’s going to instruct you on how you’ll proceed through this exercise. Jake?”
Addressing the group, Jake said, “The exercise we’ll be running is Close Quarter Battle techniques. You may hear this referred to in some circles as CQC, which stands for Close Quarter Combat. Same thing.
“Now, our scenario is to find an unknown number of snipers and other hostiles. Some threats are pop-up silhouettes, some are real people. Some have explosives. You will not know when or where the threats will appear, and remember, not all silhouettes that appear are hostiles. Our goal is to move through the area, cover each other while navigating a tight, hostile environment, neutralize hostiles, and complete the scenario without any loss of friendly or agent life. You will receive commands from the lead agent, which today will be Julia Woodridge, one of our senior recruits. The other team leader today will be Dan Webster.” Jake indicated both leaders, then continued, “SSA Greene and I will observe the exercise from the end of the alleyway and indicate when the exercise is over by shouting, 'Game!” There will be considerable audio distraction to simulate the noise and panic of an actual situation. Are there any questions before we split into groups and the team leaders explain the formation?” Most members of the group shook their heads ‘no,’ so Jake continued, “Okay, we’ll proceed as follows: I’ll be splitting everyone into two groups comprised of agents from both classes so the newer recruits can learn from the more experienced recruits. We’ll assign the groups in a minute. Once the training exercise begins, your entire focus should be on the event. In your mind and attitude, it must be real. Remember, here’s where we practice. If you make a mistake here, it probably won’t end your life.” His voice was terse. “Out there, it can and often does.”
Chapter 11
“You’ll be going down an alley between two rows of tightly spaced buildings.” Jake informed the recruits, some of whom looked terrified. “There are both hostiles and friendlies on rooftops, so watch out for that. Your team leader will head the formation, which will run in a straight line along one side of the alley. Your team leader will give commands, but Woodridge is the lead, so her word is final. Depending on your assigned position on the team, you’ll be responsible for specific duties during the exercise, but you should be aware of all your surroundings. This is what it means to be an agent, people — you have to have eyes all around your head.” Reilly caught a quick, meaningful glance from Jake before he continued, “We’ll be dealing with obstacles as well as live actors. Some will have weapons, some will have explosives, and some will have both. They will try to rattle and distract you and make you break formation. That’s their job. Your job is to ignore that and secure the scene. The exercise will begin on my signal right after the auditory distraction begins. Are there any questions?” No one had any, so Jake assigned the groups and the team leaders explained the specifics of the formation to their respective teams. Jake had put Faye and Reilly on separate teams. He tried to make it a habit to “break up” roommates during exercises so recruits would become comfortable working with those they might not know well.
After the teams had been briefed, they lined up in formation at the end of the alley, one team on each side. “Okay, everybody clear the exercise area! Recruits, get ready,” shouted Jake and the recruits, weapons in hand, poised themselves for action.
From numerous unseen stereo speakers, a heavy-metal rock song from the early 2000s issued forth at high volume. It happened to be one of Reilly’s favorites, which proved additionally distracting because her mind instantly focused on the song. Pulling herself away from the music, she focused on her team leader.
Jake made eye contact with Rob, then with Julia. Giving her a nod, the exercise officially began.
With a hand motion from Julia to Dan, the two groups moved forward, single file, against the buildings on either side of the alley. Julia’s group took the left side; after scanning the area, she motioned Dan to take his team into the first building on his side of the alleyway. Single file, Dan in the lead, his team entered the first structure while Julia’s team held their position and one team member from the other team remained in the alley to cover the rooftops on Julia’s side.
From one of the rooftops opposite Reilly’s position, the first silhouette appeared. She spotted it and fired, hitting her target after about 4 blasts. Silhouettes continued to appear sporadically as her team covered the alleyway. Dan’s team returned from the first building and covered the alleyway while Julia’s team entered the first building on their side. Reilly had been chosen to stay outside and cover the alleyway.
In the middle of the alley, a flash went off near a bicycle, as though the ‘explosive’ had been thrown from a doorway. Some recruits flinched, but no one broke formation. Continuing as planned, Dan’s team waited for Julia’s team to reappear before they entered their second doorway, where the ‘explosive’ likel
y came from.
Entering their second building, Dan’s team found and secured a live suspect. One recruit kept control of the prisoner, maintaining the next-to-last position in line. In a flowing, coordinated manner, the teams crept forward, taking turns entering and securing buildings, watching for silhouettes, and anticipating flash blasts. The recruits were confronted by several more hostile pop-up silhouettes and a couple of friendlies, as well as another live suspect with a “detonator” for his flash. As the teams neared the end of the alleyway, all seemed secure, and Reilly noticed a few recruits letting their guard down in anticipation of the end of the exercise. Her instructors had prepared for this, however, for just as the last of the recruits exited the building and made their way around a barrier at the end of the alley, another flash went off. You could tell who had let their guard down; those people jumped.
“Okay, that’s game. GAME!” shouted Jake, and the recruits began to relax, although many kept looking around, still startled by the final flash blast.
“Game, everybody. Are we clear?” Jake shouted, and received confirmation from the team leaders. The music ceased, and the recruits met Rob and Jake in the middle of the alley.
“That looked pretty good,” he said to the group. He paused briefly, then added, “You also managed to hit every silhouette.” Reilly could tell many in the group thought this was a compliment. Jake could tell also, because he said, “That’s not a good thing. There were a couple friendlies in there. Does anyone know who shot the friendlies?” Jake knew because he’d made a mental note of it; he wanted to see if the students could figure it out. Unfortunately, they didn’t. Jake was met with silence and averted eyes. “That’s a problem,” he said. “Know your target, people. We’ll have to work on that. And it was clear many of you let your guard down toward the end. That final blast was a test to see who was still ‘all in the game’. Some of you weren’t — and that can be deadly in the real world, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, it looked really good, especially for a first run.”
