by T. K. Harris
He stared at a pair of white swan's gliding across the lake, not really seeing them.
"I heard things are not going so well for you."
Without turning around he said, "What do you mean?"
"Your pet project hasn’t born any fruit. Is that what your press conference is about tomorrow?"
He did not need to turn around to know the sly look she gave him nor the condescending turn of her mouth. Nor did it surprise him that she was cognizant of everything he was doing. She was matriarch for a reason. But he was not going to give her the satisfaction of playing her game. Or telling her what he would soon be telling everyone. She could wait with the others for the press conference announcement.
"Mitchell, do not turn your back on me young man."
Sighing audibly this time, he turned to face her.
"That is better. Now where were we? Ah yes. Tell me about this girl you are marrying. Angela, Annie-"
He looked into her now clouded eyes. Between the chemotherapy and her age, she had begun slipping into more frequent moments of dementia.
"Ann, Mother. Ann Marie."
"Does she come from a good family?"
Despite the situation and the memories she had stirred, Mitchell smiled at his mother's question. Ann Marie had been a waitress when he first met her, working two jobs to put herself through college. "No, Mother. She most certainly does not."
He sat back and listened as his mother launched into much the same tirade about the importance of good family and good breeding as she had the first time he had told her about Ann all those many years ago. But his mind was focused elsewhere, remembering both a past he could not recover and a future he was sure was his.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Gillespie’s phone had been ringing off the hook since he had made the announcement that he would be giving a press conference early this morning. Smiling at himself in the mirror, he took a minute to straighten his tie and make sure everything was in place. After all the planning, schmoozing, back scratching, then the waiting, and the many other things he had done, things were finally coming together.
With this announcement, and the press it would receive, his ratings would climb faster in the primary races than they had with any of the other campaigning he had done. And with the GOP primary debates beginning next month, the timing couldn’t have been better. Once he was in front of everyone as a presidential hopeful, one who delivered on his promises, it was just a matter of time before he was selected to run as his party's elect. And from there? Well, he was ready to keep smiling and kissing babies for a few more months.
Stepping out of his inner office, he took a few minutes to personally thank his staff, shaking each of their hands and letting them know how much he appreciated their hard work and dedication. He also mentioned that the next few months might be the busiest they had ever seen, but the results would be worth it. He could see in their eyes that they believed him.
He stepped toward the door, stopping for a moment to collect himself. Already he could hear the din caused by the many reporters on the other side. They were talking excitedly among themselves, no doubt realizing that this was going to be a very news worthy speech. He smiled wide, took a deep breath, recomposed his features to friendly, but with a serious demeanor, and opened the door.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming."
As he stepped up to the podium, the reporters become almost unnervingly calm. He stacked his notes on the podium, stepping out from behind it to continue. "Today I have come update you on a promise I made over a year ago. A promise that has become the center of my focus and attention."
Curious glances and anticipative expressions met his opening lines.
He continued, "That promise, that commitment, was that I would find a way to seek out, arrest and prosecute the major players behind the many hacker attacks that have resulted in years of damage to our government, businesses, and selves. Several months ago, the process we were able to put in place to help us accomplish this monumental task, began tracking down and adding to a list the many miscreants caught in the act of hacking. That list is still growing."
The reporters were beginning to lose interest. They were still listening, but he could tell they had been hoping for something more sensational.
He paused, looking many of them in the eye, until he once again had their full attention. "Each of the individuals on that list were investigated further. And, a few weeks ago, those investigations led the FBI to arrest four of them."
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"Ken, come in here quick!"
Ken slammed the phone down, racing into the living room.
"What's wrong? Do you need to go to the doctor?"
Karen rolled her eyes. "No. I'm fine, but you have to listen to this." She pointed at the TV where some suit was talking to a bunch of reporters.
"Why?"
"He's talking about some hackers they arrested a few weeks ago. I was just thinking with everything Ben and now that Borne kid, maybe he's talking about Tommy.
Ken turned his attention to the screen.
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"Why haven’t we heard about this until now?"
Gillespie acknowledged the reporter with a nod of his head, raising his hands in a gesture asking for patience.
"As we began to question these individuals, what we uncovered was more disturbing than we could have imagined. From the individuals themselves, as well as data from their computers, we discovered that they were making plans to initiate a series of financial and industrial cyber-attacks geared towards bringing this country to its knees while stealing billions of dollars."
There was a murmur in the crowd. "Yes, billions, to line their own pockets. Money stolen from every day, hardworking Americans such as yourself. And sadly, this group – the one's planning on trying their best to cripple this country – is comprised of not only foreign nationals but also American citizens."
Before they could erupt with the questions he could see they were barely containing, he continued. "But there was information we also uncovered that made us aware that we had yet to arrest the ring leader of this group."
Aiming for a look of grim but subdued excitement, he schooled his expression before saying, "I am both happy and saddened to say that we were finally able to track down and arrest – just two nights ago – that individual!"
Bedlam erupted among the reporters. Gillespie, however, paused a moment, allowing his expression to become grave. When the reporters had quieted down, he continued more softly. "I am disheartened, however, that it appears their ring leader is one of our own government employees, and a man set to protect us against the very thing he has been doing."
He could see them straining to hear his next words.
"Rest assured that he will be dealt with to the full extent of the law and, if God sees fit to grant my wish, new and stricter laws will come from this. I cannot help who we caught. I cannot say I am proud we are bringing down some of our own. But this is what I set out to do. What we set out to do, all those many months ago. Whatever the cost, we must protect our country from enemies both foreign and domestic. And trust me when I say, we will prosecute these criminals, these traitors, to the extreme. We will send out a message to all hackers! A message that says clearly. We. Have. Had. Enough!"
As he finished, the reporters could no longer contain their questions.
"Senator, who are these people?"
"How many are involved?"
"When can we get the list?"
"What are your plans for all the other people on the list? Will they also be arrested?"
"Where is the group being held?"
"Were they Mirandized?"
Gillespie flinched slightly at the last question, wondering who had asked and why. As the questions ricocheted off the hallway walls, he held up his hands, waiting for silence before continuing.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are current
ly still wrapping up our investigations and will need to complete this before we can release all of the details. Our investigations may uncover more members. So until I have the go ahead from those in the FBI who are leading this operation, I cannot reveal any more details. However, I have Agent Barrett here to answer some of your questions."
Waving Barrett to the podium, he nodded his thanks and stepped off the platform to head toward the sanctuary of his office.
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Karen turned to Ken as Barrett began speaking.
"Do you think this is it? You think they have Tommy?"
Ken shrugged, still stuck on something Gillespie had said. Billions of dollars.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t picture Tommy doing something like that.
"I can’t believe he would do that." Karen echoed his thoughts out loud.
"I can’t either. But I'll know more once I talk to Alex."
"Have you been able to reach him?"
"No."
Ken walked back to the kitchen to try and call his brother again. For reasons he couldn't put a finger on, he suddenly had a feeling he still wasn't going to get a response.
"…it appears their ring leader is one of our own government employees…"
But this time, his doubt was for a different reason.
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When Gillespie arrived in his office it was crowded with people he recognized from various lobbyist groups and lackeys of some senators and representatives who had not been on board with his plan originally. His staff scrambled madly to try and answer the still ringing phones and deal with all of the requests this new group was making.
The moment the small mob saw him they converged, each demanding to be heard. Each asking what Gillespie needed because they wanted to ‘help’. His smile widened. He took a moment, picking out a few choice men and women who represented the people he really wanted on board and led them to his inner office. The rest he left waiting. They would no doubt come to him later with even better offers.
Closing his door, Gillespie turned to his chosen few, barely able to contain his satisfaction at seeing such a majority ready to dance to a tune they had previously ignored. It had begun.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, would you like a drink?"
As he turned to pour drinks, Gillespie could almost hear the tune "Hail to the Chief" already playing at his inauguration.
Chapter Thirty-Six
It was nearly four in the afternoon when Ken drove to Alex's work, troubled. He had already been by Alex's apartment, letting himself in with a spare key. Ken hadn't been sure what he’d been looking for, but the first thing he’d noticed was that all of Alex's machines were gone, even his desktop. It was curious enough, but not something that triggered Ken's internal alarms. After all, Alex may have had to take his equipment with him for some reason. But Alex’s ‘disappearing’ act? That did concern him.
Especially in light of what he had heard that senator announce earlier today, and Alex’s continued lack of communication. The way Ken saw it was that if Alex had found something worth pursing, even with the single mindedness he could possess, he would have least attempted to contact Ken. Especially if it involved Tommy.
So Ken had continued his circuit of his brother's meticulous apartment, trying to find something that would let him know what was going on. All the while he had been shaking his head and wondering how his brother never seemed to leave a mess, not even in the bathroom.
No kids, he thought.
'Just wait until you have kids little bro', he had told his brother once after Alex had stopped to take the time to wipe down everything in the kitchen before he would go out to a ballgame. His brother had always been like that though. Meticulous. Not a perfectionist. Alex was never that. But meticulous. So when Ken spotted the coffee cup and stains on the floor, he stopped, more concerned.
He felt something heavy settle into his stomach as he walked over, squatting down to touch the stains. One eyebrow rose as he noted that the mess had dried and crusted over from the sugar. His brother could never drink anything without adding sugar. The stain told him that whenever the accident had happened it had been a while ago. Something was definitely wrong.
Finally, he made it to Alex’s workplace. The guard at the gate had him stop to fill out paper work and then handed him a visitor’s badge. He then directed Ken to drive through the main entrance and to turn right, until he came to three buildings. Alex’s was the first one the right. Once inside, Ken walked up to the receptionist, giving his name, who he was there to see, and then took a seat to wait. Ten minutes later his thoughts were interrupted.
"Sir?"
Ken looked up at the receptionist.
"Yes?"
"Sir, I've made several calls. Alex isn't in today. Should I schedule you an appointment for tomorrow?"
"No. No. He's my brother and I think there might be a problem. Is there anyone he works with I can speak with? His boss maybe?"
She gave him a thin smile. "I'll check."
Another few minutes passed as he heard her make several quiet calls before saying, "Unfortunately they all seem to be in meetings. Can I leave a message?"
Frustrated, he rose. "Is there no one else? A colleague maybe?"
Her mouth pursed as she said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Moore. I can take down your information and have someone call you as soon as they are available."
"Never mind."
Ken turned to leave, walking out the door and back to his car. As he drove past the guard, lost in thought, he distractedly turned to merge onto the highway.
"Take the next left and turn into the King Sooper's parking lot."
Startled, Ken slammed on the brakes. "What the-"
"Just shut up and drive. I'm a friend of Alex's."
Ken turned to look in the back seat where he could only make out the shape of someone lying on the floor. Not sure what was going on, he did as asked, discreetly reaching for the gun he kept in the driver side door. As he was pulling into the parking lot, he tucked the gun under his leg.
"Park as far away as possible from the store."
Ken found a spot behind a large truck and parked. "Okay, now tell me who the hell you are and why you’re in my car!"
The man sat up, staying low in the back seat. Ken got a good look and realized he couldn't be much older than Tommy.
"My name's Jason. I work with your brother. Yesterday morning, his logic bombs started going off and-"
"Alex set off bombs?"
The kid snorted. "Logic bombs. It’s a computer term. It's a way to trigger something to send alerts or whatever if someone is trying to break into a system, or something hasn't occurred in a set period of time. In this case, Alex didn't log in when he should have."
"What does all of that mean?"
"It appears that, like your son, Alex has been taken."
Ken listened, stunned as Jason relayed all of the events that had occurred from the time they had started researching the FBI angle. Many of the events Alex had already filled him in on.
First his son. Now his brother.
"So what can we do?"
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to keep a very low profile and disappear off the grid for a while. I don't want another visit."
"That's it? You're just going to leave Alex hanging?"
"Alex can manage just fine. And there isn't much I can do anyhow. I've already spent enough time with those suits."
Ken saw the kid shudder slightly and wondered what had happened to him. "Fine. I'll handle this myself. If I have any more questions though, how can I find you?"
"You can't. I'll find you."
With that, Jason hopped out of the back seat and began walking.
Ken watched him disappear down the street, wondering what had just happened. After a few minutes he started the car and went to the only place he could think of. The police station.
Ch
apter Thirty-Seven
Police Commander Nathan Lee sat at his desk with the door to his office closed, the blinds on the windows shut, and stared off into space. In all his years on the force he had seen a lot of bizarre and horrendous things, things he wished he could erase from his mind. But the disappearance of Thomas Moore along with three other people, the hints of FBI involvement and now this, were all combining to push themselves to the top place in his list of the bizarre.
He turned to look at Ken Moore's latest statement, this one concerning his brother. It read like a cliché conspiracy theorist novel, painting a picture of clandestine men in black, kidnapped American citizens held against their will, and cloak and dagger meetings. He wanted to throw it in the garbage, chalk it up to the ravings of a distraught man desperately trying to find his son. But he couldn't. The connection in the disappearances, the announcement by Senator Gillespie, and now Alex Moore’s disappearance were enough to make even a blind man see that something was going on. But damned if he had gotten anywhere with the senator or the FBI. The most his office had gotten in response to their inquiries was a polite 'fuck off'. If these were the people they were holding, they weren't going to release names anytime soon.
Leaning over, he picked up the phone. There was one person he thought could help. The fact that he had already contacted Lee, leaving a very succinct and intriguing message the day before, only added to Lees’s confidence in reaching out to him.
"John."
"Nathan. Long time no speak, partner."
Nathan smiled at the familiar gravelly voice and the drawn out vowels. Despite having lived in Colorado for nearly twenty years, his ex-partner still had a bit of Texas twang.
"You know how it goes. Work, sleep, work, sometimes no sleep."
"And no life."
