Jessie

by JJ Aughe

  She didn’t think the Detective was as upset about that as he was worried for her safety. That thought made her feel a little better. Someone cared! It had been a long time since anyone had stepped up for her, cared enough to protect her.

  The nurse was efficient and in no time had her ready to get out of bed. She gave Melissa a hospital robe to cover the flimsy hospital gown and stepped to the door. Opening it, she started telling O’Donald the patient was ready and an orderly was bringing a wheelchair, but he ignored her as he burst into the room. He took one look at Melissa standing unsteadily with her good hand on the footboard of the bed and frowned. The frown disappeared as he as he gently asked, “Do you think you can walk down the hall to the elevator?”

  Melissa nodded, took a step toward him and started to fall. He caught her in one strong arm then swung his other arm under her legs and lifted her, holding her close to his chest. “I gotcha,” he assured her. Turning with her in his arms he saw the nurse already had the door open. O’Donald didn’t wait for a wheelchair. Melissa still in his arms he hurried down the hall to the elevator.

  Instead of carrying her out the front doors as Melissa had supposed he would, O’Donald detoured to the Emergency room and placed her on a gurney. Two men and a woman, dressed as EMT’s quickly had her strapped down and spirited to a waiting ambulance. As one of the men began to shut the doors O’Donald stopped him with, “No-o ya don’t! I don’t care if you guys are taking over. I care what happens to that lady and I’m coming along!”

  Chapter 7: A Safe House? Carol

  5:50 pm the previous evening.

  Three armored, black SUV’s pulled to a halt in front of a remote, unpretentious, single story farmhouse situated in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. In the back seat of the second SUV Bailey Gilmore, Jessie Melano and Deputy Administrator of Homeland Security, Dennis O’Donald silently watched as eight Homeland Security personnel, weapons drawn, immediately exited the other two vehicles and fanned out, each scanning the perimeter.

  His facial features set in a hard, serious cast new to Jessie, Bailey scanned what he could see of the perimeter of the yard as he exited the SUV. She could tell by the scowl on his face that he didn’t like what he saw of this so-called ‘safe house.’

  Bailey didn’t like the way the dense forest came to within sixty feet of the north side of the single story house and was even closer to the rear of an old barn that set less than a hundred yards from the house. He grimaced as he turned to go toward the house and spied a six foot, dog-eared cedar board fence enclosing what he imagined would be the back yard.

  That fence, he silently fumed, is perfect cover for an attacker to gain entry into the house! What was O’Donald thinking when he picked this place? It’s a death trap! I don’t like this set up! I don’t like it at all!

  Jessie saw his eyes darken in anger, knew exactly what he was thinking. Having made a quick survey of the place herself as they arrived she had seen the same security risks and, having watched enough thriller flicks, instinctively knew why he was angry. She gave him kudos for keeping a lid on his anger.

  Inside the house, Bailey’s post-military training had his eyes methodically sweeping every inch of the living room and open kitchen area. Centered on one wall hung a plasma television with bookshelves stocked with hard back and paperback books, magazines and DVD’s bordering each side. Three end tables and a smoked glass topped coffee table, two comfortable looking recliners and a matching sofa were the only furnishings in the living room. On the other hand, the large, expensively furnished, open kitchen seemed out of place with its full complement of stainless steel appliances along two walls. A butcher block topped, rolling island with pots and pans hanging above on a rotating rack stood within easy reach of the double sink which was centered under a greenhouse window lined with planters of fresh herbs.

  Hearing O’Donald giving the routine orders for them to stay away from windows and to stay inside, he turned to follow as O’Donald led the way down the hallway toward the rear of the house.

  Something about the living room niggled at the back of Bailey’s mind though. Glancing back over his shoulder he gave the room another once over. A smile came to his lips as he saw what he hadn’t seen on his first inspection. A rotating camera and a dome strobe light were mounted on the wall at the ceiling in the corner above the entry. OK, he thought. The place is monitored by someone somewhere on the premises or somewhere off site. I’ll have to find out if our every move is monitored or not. If we are monitored too closely it will make our break from here a lot more difficult.

  O’Donald’s voice interrupted his thinking then as that man opened the first door on the right revealing a bathroom telling them that, though each bedroom had its own facility, this bathroom was the communal facility. He then continued on down the hall. Two doors on each side of the hall stood open revealing four bedrooms. The first one on the left appeared to be in process of being remodeled.

  Indicating the last door on the right, O’Donald addressed his remarks to Jessie. “This will be yours, Miss Melano.” When Jessie didn’t move he smiled, said, “Your bag is already in the closet. I took the liberty of having one of the women at HS do some shopping for you. I hope she got everything you might need for an extended stay. If not, just let Agent Winfrey, the head of HS personnel here, know and it will be brought out to you.”

  “The bedroom across the hall is for you, Bailey. Try not to mess it up like you did at Whidby Island.”

  Bailey groaned. “You had to bring that up, didn’t you?”

  “Hey!” O’Donald kidded. “What are friends for?”

  He turned to Jessie with a mischievous twinkle in his eye and a big smile. “Bailey flew in late on a Friday night. The BOQ had only one room left. That being his first trip to Naval Air Station Whidby since his first deployment overseas, Bailey wasn’t aware that the permanent duty pilots had a propensity to booby-trap the door to the last room available for transient pilots. When he entered the room a confetti bomb went off. The other officers had been secretly watching and laughed as he tried to clear the bits of sticky confetti from his hair and uniform. Bailey, being Bailey, got mad and, well, I’ll put it this way. He proceeded to teach them a lesson. There was such a mess the base C.O. banned any and all practical jokes after that.”

  O’Donald’s face suddenly sobered. “Okay, enough chit-chat. Hopefully it won’t ever happen, but should things go awry here you will need to know what options are open to you.” As he spoke he headed toward the front of the house. “Normally, what I am going to show you now wouldn’t be revealed to anyone in protective custody coming here. But you both have top secret security clearances, so, if you will follow me, I’ll show you what we have installed to insure your safety.”

  “For safety and economy reasons,” he stated as they made their way down the hall. “Everything here is either solar or geo-thermally heated or powered,” he explained. “So there is no way anyone could cut our power or isolate us from the outside world.”

  “This is the entry to the command center,” he said as he opened what appeared to be double doors to a linen closet next to the kitchen. He pulled a plastic wrapped bundle of towels forward an inch or so and the whole closet silently slid to the side. Jessie glanced at Bailey as O’Donald stepped aside so they could enter first. Bailey shrugged and gestured for her to go ahead of him.

  The dimly lit room they entered was long and narrow. One wall held a six-tiered bank of plasma surveillance monitors. Each tier held ten, twenty-two inch multi-screened monitors. Mounted on the opposite wall were individual maps of Washington State, the U. S. and the world. A woman with auburn hair who appeared to spend a lot of time in a tanning salon, sat before the monitors meticulously watching the multi-screened monitor directly in front of her. Except for removing her left hand from a holstered weapon at her side, she didn’t acknowledge their presence.

  O’Donald made the introductions as the woman finally looked up and smiled. “This busy woma
n is Homeland Security Special Agent, Carol Winfrey. Carol, I want you to meet Jessie Melano and Bailey Gilmore. They will be here for awhile so will you try at least to be nice to them?”

  The woman gave him a sour look and turned back to her monitors. O’Donald, obviously enjoying himself, continued, “See what I mean? She gets so wrapped up in those monitors she rudely ignores everyone!”

  When the woman didn’t rise to the bait, O’Donald relented. “To her credit though, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that it’s one of Carol’s jobs to closely monitor the house, grounds and the perimeter. Actually, though she takes her job very seriously, Carol can be friendly once she gets to know you. Just so you will know, if it were not for Agent Winfrey’s sense of patriotism we would not be here right now, so I shouldn’t ever give her a rough time.”

  “You see,” he went on. “Carol was raised right here in this house. This was her home until she joined the Army after college. A couple of years after she was commissioned, her two brothers died in the attack on The World Trade Center. She resigned her commission so she could join the department of Homeland Security. When Homeland Security needed a site for a safe house on the West Coast she graciously donated her home.”

  O’Donald noticed Jessie seemed fascinated by something on one of the monitors. Following the direction of her eyes, he pointed at the monitor. “What you are seeing on that monitor, Miss Melano, is something else Carol can be credited for. Can you tell me what you are seeing?”

  Jessie gave him a questioning glance and studied the four-segment monitor again before replying. “At first I thought it could be a rather long concrete reinforced drainage system. Then I realized it has higher ceilings than necessary and is also wider than necessary. It also has side openings that appear to be stairwells, but no obvious exit. So, unless it is an escape tunnel, I don’t have a clue.”

  O’Donald’s face showed his surprise at her response. “I am impressed. You are very astute, Miss Melano. What you see in that monitor is indeed a drainage system to run rainwater away from the facility. There are four tunnels. Each going in a different direction and ending three quarters of a mile from the compound. They double as an escape route for our ‘guests’ in case their presence here is somehow compromised.”

  He turned to Bailey then and shrugged. “Bailey. I know you are a loner, but if you don’t marry this woman you will be the sorriest man in the world!”

  “You don’t need to tell me,” Bailey emphatically returned. “I realized she was something else the first time I met her. I just didn’t know she would get under my skin the way she has.” Draping an arm over Jessie’s shoulder, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “When this Almed business is over and done I am going to marry her, Dennis. That is if she doesn’t despise me by then.”

  “In that case . . .,” his cell phone rang, interrupting him.

  “O’Donald.” He listened for a few seconds, his expression grim. “Get Tracy and his team down there immediately! He is to report directly to me. I want details! Tell Tracy I want his forensics team to go over that shop with a fine toothed comb! I want to know exactly how the shop was broken into and exactly what was taken!”

  Bailey could tell what was coming just from Dennis’ expression. Taking his arm from Jessie’s shoulder and rubbing his palm on his pant leg, he asked, “Almed?”

  “Possibly,” Dennis answered. “Centralia Police just reported a burglary at a pawn shop. Among other things, some automatic weapons and ammo were taken. Hopefully the theft is nothing more than the usual heist. But knowing Almed is here? I can’t take a chance.”

  “I am going to have to go to Olympia and probably Centralia to make sure Tracy's team doesn't miss anything. If this break-in shows signs of Almed I probably won't be back here until Monday,” he informed them as he opened the door. “For the time being anyway, I’m turning you two over to Agent Winfrey. She can show you everything you need to know right from here.” So saying, he stepped through the entry and was gone.

  Bailey and Jessie stood in silence for a space, each searching the other’s eyes.

  Jessie’s mind focused on Bailey’s last remark. Why would he think I might despise him? What could he ever do to make me feel anything but love for him? Sure, except for what he has told me, I know little about him. But just from what I have seen so far, he is the most honorable, kind man I have ever known!

  Her mind went in another direction then. The thought of losing him or his being killed by this terrorist made her heart ache. She knew she couldn’t stand it if anything ever happened to Bailey. As she held Bailey’s gaze the fear she had been feeling turned to outright fury.

  This Almed, she fumed. He has no right to interfere in our lives! He doesn’t even belong in this country! He has already tried to kidnap me and attempted to kill the one person in the world I could ever love! I won’t stand for any more of his crap! I know Bailey is planning to get out of here. I think he intends to leave me here when he does. I have something to say about that! This is my fight too, and I am going with him no matter what he says!

  Bailey saw the repressed fear and anger in Jessie’s eyes. She has to know she is the focal point of Almed’s revenge. She knows she will know fear and terror beyond endurance if he ever gets his hands on her. Yet I know she is determined to keep that fear at bay. That anger I see in her eyes though is another matter. I wouldn’t want to be in Almed’s shoes if she ever sees him up front and personal! Especially if she has a weapon in her hand!

  Yeah, he silently confessed. She is the perfect woman. After a beat he added, . . For me!

  As for himself, although he had a certain apprehension for Jessie’s safety nagging at his mind, he, too, was anxious to engage Almed. For him, the outcome would be death for one or the other. There could be no other possible outcome as far as he was concerned.

  Agent Winfrey interrupted their thoughts as she drew their attention to the monitors. She told them that for safety reasons every possible entry into the house and barn were visually, audibly and motion detector monitored. When a door or window anywhere on the property opened the green light above the appropriate monitor would turn to a red strobe light drawing the duty person’s attention. She also informed them that a red strobe light had been installed in each room of the compound. Whoever was on duty in the Command Center could activate the ones in whichever rooms were occupied at the time. The strobe light would alert the occupants in the event the compound had been compromised. In that event,” she instructed, “you are to immediately go to the closest entrance to the escape tunnels. I will show you those seven entrances in a few moments and tell you how to activate the secret fire and bullet-proof doors.”

  “First, and this is something that is highly irregular, but because Dennis knows and trusts you, Gilmore, and doesn’t want to take any chances, when he was here earlier today to brief me that you two were to arrive, he gave me these two keys with instructions to make sure you both received one. He said to tell you that these are the keys to the identical storage compartments with red metal doors located just inside each entry to the tunnels. Inside each of those compartments Dennis said he stocked emergency first-aid kits, canteens of water and emergency rations for six people. You will also find an assortment of small arms, ammunition for each, a box of six communication sets, a GPS unit with rescue intel and also specific contact information for agents or trusted individuals living in the area where you could go if the compound were compromised.”

  Agent Winfrey then turned to the bank of monitors as she gave them a tour of the compound and the surrounding areas. She finished by revealing the seven entrances to the tunnels. Four entrances were situated strategically in the shower stall of each bedroom’s bathroom. Another entrance was located behind the back wall of the kitchen pantry abutting the com room, which also had its own entrance to the tunnels, all easy to reach locations. The last craftily concealed entry was behind old feed stalls in the ancient barn and could be easily reached by personnel in the yard o
r on patrol.

  Bailey noticed five cars parked in the barn and asked about them. Agent Winfrey told him that one was her personal vehicle while the others were the personal cars of the other four security guards. Bailey was thinking that if he could get to those cars he could hot-wire one for him and Jessie to escape in. Agent Winfrey pretty well nixed that idea though when she told them that all five vehicles had the latest, state-of-the-art theft devices installed that disabled the electrical system and could only be activated or deactivated from the control panel in front of her.

  Seeing the seemingly tight security of the compound impressed Bailey. The only problem he could see outside of the fence out back was their privacy. He wanted some alone time with Jessie and all the cameras and sensors would make that almost impossible. He glanced at Jessie. Her eyes told him she was thinking along the same lines.

  Agent Winfrey noticed their eyes meet and intuitively discerned their need to be alone. Though she sympathized, there were important policies they needed to be made aware of. Knowing they were anxious to be alone together, she determined she would use the short version.

  She placed what she hoped was an understanding smile on her lips as she looked up into Bailey’s striking blue eyes. “Your privacy is assured, Mr. Gilmore. Although should an emergency arise, the duty person here can redirect the cameras, as you can see on these monitors the cameras are all carefully positioned to show only the windows, doorways and attic crawl spaces and their entries.”

  “There is one more thing about those cameras I do need you to know.” Her fingers tapped a few keys and the monitor in front of her zoomed in on a camera. “This camera is in Jessie’s room, but every camera is the same. You will notice it has a flashing blue light that I just turned on.” She tapped a key and the light went out. “If that light is flashing it means the microphone and speaker are active and anything you say can be heard.” She tapped another key and a yellow light came on. “That light is to let you know the camera is in motion or has moved from its normal position. I installed those lights myself so our, quote, unquote, ‘guests’ will be confident their rooms are their private domain.”