by Brian Meeks
Celine could tell he was about to say more than Henry wanted broadcast, so she linked her arm with Lawrence’s and said, “There will be plenty of time for that. Henry said he is buying the first round, and I don’t want him forgetting.” She led him out of the office. “Henry, you’ll lock the door?”
“I will.”
Lawrence, feeling confused, asked, “What about Buttons?”
Buttons was sitting on the desk and seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Henry patted him on the head and said, “Buttons, we won’t be gone long. There is food and water in the bowl. Keep an eye on the place.”
Buttons seemed satisfied and hopped off Celine’s desk and disappeared into Henry’s office.
Henry locked the door. Celine and Lawrence were well down the hall, nearing Bobby’s office door. She walked past, gave a quick knock, and yelled, “Dublin Rogue; Henry’s buying.” A voice from deep inside hollered back, “I’ll see you there.”
Henry caught up to Celine and Lawrence just as she explained,. “We found out there are bugs in the office.”
Lawrence, still not quite up to speed, said, “My cousin is an exterminator; I could call him if you want.”
Celine giggled. “Not those types of bugs. You’re funny.”
Henry explained, and Lawrence blushed, but it might have been because Celine was still linked arm-in-arm with him. She had that effect on men.
Lawrence was still eager to share his news, but Henry made him wait. They arrived at The Dublin Rogue to find Charles and Richard already had a table. Celine grabbed a chair, Henry sat across from her, and Lawrence sat on the end. Henry introduced Lawrence and explained how he was working undercover. Henry was more interested in the news from Richard and Charles than Lawrence’s update. They went first.
Richard took the lead and began, “It’s pretty clear they intend to steal the parts to use in their own submarine fleet. It’s my understanding they are quite a leap forward in strength and durability when under the pressure of great depths.” He went over every detail and then when it got to the details of the shipping, he deferred to Charles.
“They have a shell company set up, and the intent is to deliver the parts there. It will look completely legitimate as they even have some projects which would use similar piping and such. Nobody will think anything of it.”
Henry had been listening closely while Lawrence fidgeted, and Celine checked her watch. “So it isn’t just the one shipment?”
“No, the plan is to use the parts for all of the new subs.”
Henry took a drink of beer. “When is the first shipment?”
“Matthew had it all figured out. He had all my company’s paper work and asked me to sign. It means his men can get their shipment aboard as soon as they are ready. I had to sign a half dozen sets to be a team player, but I didn’t like it.”
Richard said, “You didn’t have a choice; we needed him to believe we were on board.”
Henry agreed and asked, “So when is the first shipment leaving?”
Charles replied, “It can leave anytime, but he said they wouldn’t be ready until Wednesday.”
Lawrence leaned forward, then stopped himself.
Henry looked at him. “Did you have something to add?”
Everyone was looking at him now, even Celine, and he suddenly felt self-conscious but managed to find his voice. “I saw them working Saturday night.”
Henry surprised, asked, “Working? Making pipes?”
“No, I saw them unpacking and packing boxes…in the restricted area.” Lawrence then went over what he had seen, and everyone was on the edge of their chairs. When he was done he leaned back, exhausted but relieved.
“Why would they be unpacking and repacking? Aren’t all of the parts in the section to the same specs?”
“Sure, we make them in the restricted area, the inspection team reviews each batch for defects, and they are boxed in crates.”
“What happens to the defects?” Henry asked, his mind starting to consider that they may have a second objective.
“They are kept together, so they don’t get mixed back up with the good ones.”
“Are they stored in the same type crates?”
Lawrence thought about it and said, “I haven’t really seen where they put them; I just know they are very careful to keep them separate. The boss is always checking the inspection station.”
Celine looked at her watch and said matter of factly, “They are probably mixing them in with the good Navy parts. That’s what I would do.”
Henry had just come to the same conclusion. The others were getting there slowly. Her casualness made everyone stop and stare. She stood up, “Listen, gentlemen, this spy stuff is great. I have a date; I'll leave you to figure out how to stop them. I like sailors, so you better not let any of their boats sink.” She stood from the table and waved at someone near the front door.
Henry turned and looked, as did the rest of the table, but her date was looking away. Lawrence tried the hardest to see who he was but couldn’t get a good look. Henry stated the obvious, “We need to stop them.”
There were nods all around. Richard, “If I may?”
“Go ahead.”
“You have a bright girl there, Henry, and she is right. It’s one thing to steal the parts, but to give defects to the Navy would be crippling. I would have thought it was just Pytor and Matthew overseeing the operation, but, obviously, if they have a crew in there at night, they have a bigger operation than I had thought. We need to catch them all. I think it's time to call your FBI friends.”
“I would agree, but there is one problem: they aren’t looking for Russians.”
Richard gave him an odd look.
“They are snooping around because they got wind of the CIA playing in their sandbox. We need something to make them believe us and act right now. We only have two days.”
Lawrence, feeling pretty good about having helped, blurted out, “We need to catch them in the restricted area. I’m not sure, but I think it's a serious violation of the Navy contract. None of the other workers will even walk past the door. My supervisor told me that the company put the fear of God into everyone when they won the contract.”
The next few hours were spent forming a game plan. They worked out each step.
Jack and Celine were in a cab. He was one step ahead of Henry.
CHAPTER 65
Henry left the bar and thought about the plan they had cobbled together. His gut told him there were holes. Bobby walked next to him but wasn’t talking. Henry usually wanted him to get to the point and be done with his lengthy explanations, but total silence seemed odd. “What do you think, Bobby?
“I don’t know.”
“You think we have missed something?”
“I can’t think of anything, but yes.”
They didn’t say anything for a block. Henry lit up a cigarette and tried to put a finger on whatever was making his gut tie itself in knots.
“Henry, you know, I keep thinking about one thing. It may seem strange, and I wasn’t there, but I keep wondering about Celine. I talked to her today. She was watering the plant, and Buttons was watching. I thought it was cute. What was I saying? Oh, yes, we talked about how things were going. She never mentioned having a date. Why wouldn’t she say something? What do you know about this guy?”
That was the Bobby Henry knew. “She didn’t say anything to me. I had no idea she even had a boyfriend.”
“She doesn’t. He must be someone new.”
Henry suddenly remembered the song, ‘The Stranger,’ and a chill ran down his spine. He checked his watch. It was after 11:00 p.m. He started to walk a little faster, and Bobby was right there with him. They got back to the office and Henry expected or more hoped that he would find Celine had gone to dinner, retrieved Buttons, and gone home. Bobby was thinking something similar. Henry turned the key in the door. Before he could get inside, he heard a disapproving “Meooooow!”
Bobby
stood in the doorway and looked worried. Henry walked over and picked up Buttons off the desk. “Hey there, Buttons, how ya doing?” Buttons purred for a few seconds, then struggled to get free.
Bobby asked, “Where do you think she is?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine she would have gone home without picking up the cat.”
Buttons was offended. “Meow.”
“Sorry, the boss.”
Buttons approved, crawled under the desk, curled into a ball, and set his head on his paws.
Bobby said, “It looks like he thinks Celine is going to be a while.”
“It looks like it's going to be a late night. I think I have Carol’s phone number around here; maybe she knows who Celine is out with tonight?”
“Maybe it’s nothing?” Bobby started to make coffee; and Henry picked up the phone. Carol had been asleep, but when he asked who Celine had been seeing and explained why, he had a new problem: Carol became hysterical. When she mentioned the name of the man Celine was seeing, Henry’s head started to spin. He walked over and picked up the bug Buttons had found and sent a message. Less than a minute later the phone rang.
CHAPTER 66
Dewey took the piece of paper and read it twice. “This came through the bugs?”
The analyst shrugged, “After he called us ‘bastards,’ he said to call. It just came in.”
“Thanks…that will be all.”
Dewey dialed and an aggravated voice answered the phone. “You have made a terrible miscalculation, whoever you are. Who is this?” Dewey wasn’t used to being caught off guard. “My name is Dewey, and, yes, I'm one of the bastards from the CIA. You wish to talk?”
“I want to know where Celine is right now!”
“Why do you think I would know anything of her whereabouts?”
“Don’t play stupid with me. I caught your boy Jack following me, and I know two things.”
“Oh?”
“I know he had something to do with Daniel Kupton’s death.” Henry paused for effect, though he was really just playing a hunch. In the detective game, sometimes a hunch hits harder than a bullet.
Dewey almost denied it as being absurd, but his instincts told him to let Henry keep talking. He waited for Henry to continue well aware that the silence would make it sound like Jack was guilty. Right now, he needed to get in a room with Henry Wood. When Henry didn't start right away with his second point, he said, “I think we should meet.”
“I think you're playing around in someone else’s sandbox, and I'm going to bring your world crashing down around you. You made it personal, and that was a mistake.”
Dewey wasn’t impressed with the threat. “Mr. Wood, I do not have your assistant. Jack didn’t have anything to do with Mr. Kupton’s death. He killed himself. I do think you might be able to help us, and I'm more than willing to return the favor and find Celine.”
* * *
Henry had misjudged the man on the other end of the phone. He was a cool customer who didn’t buy the bluff, but his denial wasn’t convincing, either. Henry looked at Bobby. The expression on his face told the tale. They didn’t have a choice. If the CIA didn’t have her, maybe it was the Russians. He didn’t like it but still said, “You know where my office is. You can pick up your bugs. How long will it take you to get here?”
“I would prefer to meet at my office...”
“Listen, you asked for my help. Bring the file you have been building on me. The whole file.”
* * *
“Mr. Wood…” Dewey stopped talking when he heard the line go dead. Well played, he thought to himself. He went out to the bullpen and got the file on Henry. He asked one of the analysts, “Anything good in here?”
“Not really, boss. The tails and surveillance team haven’t gotten us much.”
“You have copies of everything in here?”
“Yes.”
“Good, where is Gilbert?”
“I think he is in his office. He hasn’t slept in a while.”
Dewey nodded; he wasn’t sleeping much either. “Where is Jack?”
The other analysts looked at each other. One of them said, “He left a while ago.”
“Where did he go?”
“No idea; sorry.”
Dewey went and found Gilbert asleep on a stack of folders at his desk. “Time to go.”
CHAPTER 67
Henry hung up the phone, turning towards the window. The voice of his old mentor Mickey echoed inside his head. “Always have a plan. Your life may depend upon it.” Henry wished it were that simple. He had a plan; they had just made one, but it didn’t include the CIA, or worse, the Russians taking Celine. The thoughts of what might be happening were almost paralyzing, but a voice broke through them.
“You think we should maybe try to get a hold of Big Mike?” Bobby said as he paced in the corner.
Henry didn’t hear him at first, or, if he did, it didn’t quite register. He looked down onto the street. It was wet, and the huddled people looked like evil messengers carrying news of the damned. Henry felt himself slipping into a useless despair when Bobby’s words broke through. “Yes, Bobby, that sounds like a plan.”
Henry picked up the phone and dialed the precinct. It rang once and he asked if Mike was still around. There was only the noise of the drunk and downtrodden for a while, guys yelling for them to settle down, and, finally, Mike’s voice.
“Henry, what’s going on?”
Henry’s voice faltered for a moment. “Mike...Mike, they took Celine.”
“Who?” Mike yelled with a controlled rage.
“I think it was the CIA, but…I honestly don’t know. Can you come to the office?”
“I’m on my way.”
Henry heard him yell something as he hung up but couldn’t make it out.
Bobby asked, “Is he coming?”
“Yes.”
“How long you think it will take for him to get here?”
“Not long.” Henry looked back out the window. He saw two men walking down the street towards his building. They were about two blocks off, but they walked with purpose and authority. Could they be his guys? They crossed over the street as a car pulled up and honked at them. The sound of the horn was muffled, but the two of them obviously knew the driver. They both stopped and waited for him to get out. The lights of the car went dark. Henry couldn’t see the face of the man who emerged from the car, but he shook the hands of both men.
It was raining and they wore long trench coats. All three stood and talked for a moment.
* * *
“I called in, and they said you were headed to meet with Mr. Wood,” Jack said.
Dewey shook Jack’s hand but kept his left hand in his pocket. Gilbert had an umbrella and didn’t bother. Dewey answered, “He called and said he wanted to meet. I’m glad you came.” Dewey thought about mentioning Henry’s claim that Jack had Celine but decided he wanted to wait.
Gilbert asked, “Where have you been?” He sounded annoyed.
“What? You need me to protect you from Oleg?” Jack shot back snidely.
Dewey started walking again, “We don’t have time for your squabbling. The detective wants to talk, and we need to hear what he has to say.”
Gilbert and Jack stared at each other, each refusing to blink. Jack smiled and waved his hand. “After you Gil?” and, after a pause, “I’ll watch your back.”
Gilbert caught up with Dewey while Jack lagged a few paces behind. They crossed the street; a cabbie honked as the car screamed past them. When they got to the door of the Flatiron Building, Jack held it open for Dewey and Gilbert to walk through.
The lobby was empty. Dewey and Gilbert had walked no more than five feet when Jack pulled out his revolver and shot Dewey in the back of the head. He waited a half second for Gilbert to turn around, then shot him in the forehead. The shots rang out through the empty lobby followed by the dull thuds of their bodies landing next to each other.
Jack wanted to head upstairs and g
et even, but there were other tasks that needed to be taken care of first. He was too well trained to let his personal feelings get in the way of his mission.
* * *
Henry had seen them cross the street and approach the front door. He didn’t recognize the first two men, but the guy in back was Jack. His heart began to pound. If Jack was with them, maybe he wasn’t the one who took Celine. But where was she? Could Celine be seeing someone else named Jack? It didn’t seem likely. He felt his stomach knot up. It wouldn’t be long now, he thought. Buttons stood up and hissed, then leapt off the desk and crawled under a chair like he was stalking a mouse.
Henry and Bobby looked at the cat but neither thought anything of it. The minutes seemed to stretch on forever. Both office doors were open, and Henry knew how long it took to walk up the stairs. Where were they?
Bobby was pacing again, “Where are they? I’ve got short legs, and I would be here by now. You think they are waiting for someone else?”
Henry took his revolver out of the drawer and checked it. He grabbed his coat and put it on, sliding the revolver into the coat pocket. “Something isn’t right, Bobby. I want you to stay here. Maybe they weren’t the guys. I don’t know, but it feels hinkey. Keep an eye out for Mike; he should be here soon. I’m going downstairs.”
Bobby just nodded.
Henry walked down the hall expecting the men to appear with each step. He reached the stairs, and still nothing. His heart was pounding, and he eased himself down the stairs and into the lobby. He stopped dead. He stood there watching the blood pool around the two bodies. The front door burst open and Henry thrust his hand into his pocket. It was Mike.
“Jesus Christ, Henry, what happened? Are you hit?” Mike said as he saw the bodies and Henry standing by the stairs. Two other patrol men came in behind Mike and drew their weapons.
