by Mark Donovan
“Help,” murmured Dana.
Dave reached in and held her as he released the seat belt that she had fortunately put on during their high speed chase. He then pulled her out the passenger window of the SUV and carried her over to his car. He placed her on the ground beside the car and quickly assessed her to see if she had any major lacerations or broken bones. Though bruised and battered she did not seem to have any serious injuries.
As the kidnapping and accident began to set in with Dana she began to cry and shake uncontrollably. Dave lifted her into the passenger side of the Mercedes and covered her with a blanket that he pulled out of the trunk.
Dave decided that it was best for Dana and him to flee the scene quickly before anyone else arrived. Whoever the dead man was in the SUV, he had zero compassion for. In addition, his accomplice was somewhere out there in the woods and could still have a gun. He started up the Mercedes, turned it around, and drove directly to his home on the northeast side of McCall. As he departed the scene, Lazaro watched from the edge of the woods. He had pulled out his cell phone and had just dialed the number of Christos Grivas. It wasn’t going to be a pleasant phone call. Grivas was not going to be happy with what just transpired. But regardless of Grivas’s rage, NSurv and Dave Henson would pay for the death of his friend he thought, as he waited for Grivas to pick up on the other end.
Chapter 31 (March 13, Thursday 10:30pm Mountain Daylight Savings Time)
During the entire drive back to his house neither of them spoke. Both were exhausted and still in shock from what had just occurred. Strange men had kidnapped Dana and were willing to kill. They were no common criminals. They were professionals and on a mission. But why Dana? What did they want with her? For now, neither Dave nor Dana had the energy to attempt to answer these questions.
Thirty minutes later Dave drove the Mercedes into the attached garage adjacent to his house. He went around to the passenger side and helped Dana out of the car. She winced in pain as her neck and back had stiffened up. Once inside his house, Dave directed Dana down to his guest room where he helped put her down onto the bed. He removed her shoes and placed a blanket over her. Though she was awake and in some pain, she chose to say very little. She was obviously still in shock.
“Get some rest tonight Dana and we will talk about this in the morning,” said Dave quietly to her.
Dana just nodded as Dave turned the light off to her room and closed the door. After closing the door he stood in the hallway. He looked down and saw that his hands were trembling. He needed to rest himself, but he first needed to call Ron back and tell him what had happened. He also needed to tell Ron to make sure everything in NSurv was locked up tight before he left the building tonight.
Chapter 32 (March 14, Thursday 7:30am Mountain Daylight Savings Time)
Dana and Dave were sitting at his kitchen table early the next morning having a light breakfast of coffee and toast. Dana was sore and achy, but overall was none the worse for wear.
“You realize what this means Dave. Someone knows what you’re up to.”
“I realize that,” said Dave glumly. “But they’re not going to stop us. We already have the wheels in motion. We’ll just need to be more vigilant in the steps we take.”
“I think I recognized one of the men last night who had abducted me. I could have sworn I’ve seen his face before, and not so long ago.”
“Do you remember where you saw his face?”
Dana paused in thought for a couple of seconds thinking back to when and where she may have seen the man before. Then a light went off in her head.
“I believe it was at the company’s holiday party back in December. I could have sworn I saw the man talking to Christos Grivas and Jeff Kolosky during the party. If I remember right, they were rather subdued in their conversation, and shortly after they spoke I don’t remember seeing the man again at the party. Until last night I had not seen him since.”
“Well it seems like your boss, or your boss’s boss, sent him out here to keep close tabs on us,” commented Dave. “They probably had him and his sidekick observing us to confirm that NSurv was the source of the Vice President video tape.”
“You’re probably right,” Dana said.
“I also think they’ve been aware of NSurv as a suspect and tracking us for more than a week,” commented Dave. “Remember I called you last week to tell you about the run-in we had with my Husky plane? Again it was two guys on a snow machine that were taking pot shots at Ron and me.” He paused for a second as he thought.
“I think my ABO bosses are more interested in terminating the source of the video than they are about informing the public about the administration’s nefarious actions,” said Dana.
“Yes, but I also think they’ve done their homework on NSurv and maybe interested in more than terminating our business,” responded Dave.
“What are you getting at?” asked Dana as she looked at Dave inquisitively.
“Why do you think they tried to kidnap you?” asked Dave.
Dana shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“Because I believe they know of our current and past relationship and wanted to use you as a bargaining chip to learn more about NSurv’s capabilities, and possibly to even get access to them.”
“No. They couldn’t have known about our past relationship,” whispered Dana as she thought out loud.
“Why don’t you think so? They’ve most likely been monitoring your phone calls to me over the past couple of weeks. A few background checks on both of us and they could have easily put the pieces together. With little effort they would have been able to discover that we attended Stanford together, and that we had dated while both there and when you were working at that news affiliate in San Jose.”
“Yes, your right,” commented Dana. “We’re talking news men who have all the resources at their disposal for investigating dirt on people. Heck, they do it all the time on anyone they want to character assassinate.”
Dana hesitated before continuing, as she contemplated their next steps.
“Dave, this is exactly what I feared. These are the types of men I spoke of last night at dinner. They will do anything to protect their investments, both political and financial. And they would love to get access to NSurv’s technology. With it, they would be unstoppable. Their enemies, and the general public, would be completely at the mercy of them. You need to destroy NSurv’s technology before it gets into their hands.”
“No Dana, we can’t go backwards and put our heads in the sand. If it’s not NSurv, it will be someone else who develops this technology. I can assure you NSurv has competitors who are nipping at our heels, and who are not far behind us in the development of this type of technology. I can also guarantee you governments all around the world are funding work in the field of nanotechnology. Destroying NSurv’s technology is not the answer. The real answer is in using this technology to educate and inform the public about its own corrupt government and their allies. And along the way, making them aware of this technology, and how it could be used against them if they are not vigilant themselves. By following this course of action, the American public can learn what politicians and wealthy egomaniac businessmen are capable of when there is a lack of a truly free press. Or more specifically a separate and independent fourth branch of government.”
“But how can we educate and inform the public?” questioned Dana in resignation. “The media outlets effectively control what is reported and said about the administration and its allies. As you know, the media and the administration is effectively owned by the egomaniac billionaires that you mention. They’ll never let news be reported that could negatively impact their global plans and financial wealth.”
“Dana you lack faith in NSurv’s capabilities,” said Dave with a smile. “Do you think a company that can create sensors that can be implanted in human beings is incapable of also overriding the country’s broadcasting and communication networks?”
Dana looked at Da
ve questioningly. “What are you saying?” she asked.
“Dana, NSurv already has the resources to jam and broadcast over radio and television broadcasts,” responded Dave. “We can also hack into any website and upload any information to it we so choose.”
“You’re kidding,” gasped Dana.
“No I’m not,” responded Dave. “Heck, zitfaced teenagers have been breaking into websites and company servers, as well as local public access television broadcast stations, for years. The Chinese government, as well as other nefarious hackers, regularly hack into our government computers, including the Department of Defense’s computers. Do you really think NSurv can’t do the same?”
Dana just stared back at Dave. He was right. She had recounted in her mind the dozens of reports over the years of people hacking into websites, computer servers and even television broadcasting stations.
“Your right,” she whispered back. “And I am sure the folks at ABO and the administration realize this too. This is why they’ve already been so aggressive in learning more about NSurv, and attempting to kill you and kidnap me. They will move extremely fast to take you and NSurv out.”
“Agreed,” responded Dave. “But unfortunately they also see you as an expendable player in their war against us. Whether or not you realize it, you’ve been compromised and your days at ABO are effectively over. As far as they’re concerned you’re an employee of NSurv now.”
Dana gasped in the realization of what Dave was telling her. It was true. Her career at ABO was effectively over. They would never allow her to have the freedom to work as an investigative journalist again. At best, she may be assigned to an internal desk position within the company doing some menial task, and where they could keep a constant eye on her. Dana looked back at Dave in acknowledgment of what he had just told her.
“Dana, I think at this point in time you should plan to stay out here for a while and work with us,” said Dave. “I think it’s too dangerous for you to be by yourself back in New York. I think you can do more good here by helping us in achieving our goal faster. To expose this administration and its puppeteers for what they are, criminals of the worst kind. Morally decrepit men, whose sole goal is to make themselves more powerful and wealthy at the complete expense of the American public.”
Dana shook her head slowly in agreement. She would work with Dave and his team to expose this administration and its allies for what they were. With any hope, maybe the American public would wake up and respond appropriately after seeing the unfiltered truth of what these men were up to.
“Yes Dave, I’m with you,” said Dana in a determined and resolved voice. “Let’s bring these bastards down.”
Chapter 33 (March 14, Thursday 9:30am Mountain Daylight Savings Time)
Ron had been heavily engrossed in his work when Dave and Dana walked into his office. He had been listening to an audio recording that had just been sent to him from one of his guys.
“Good morning,” Dave said as Dana and he walked into Ron’s office.
“Wow, I’m a little surprised to see the two of you in here so soon this morning,” Ron responded. “After last night’s event I’d figured the two of you would need some serious recovery time.”
“On the contrary,” said Dave. “After last night’s situation, I’m convinced we need to speed up our timetable on making the public aware of what our country’s political leadership is up to. Dana has obviously been targeted by her management at ABO, and the administration, as a threat. The two of us are convinced that they were trying to kidnap her to use her as a bargaining chip to stop us, and to get access to our technology.”
Ron nodded in agreement as Dave spoke. When Dave finished speaking he looked back at his computer.
“Your timing and assessment are spot on,” said Ron, as he looked back at his computer screen. “Dave and Dana, I need the two of you to hear the audio that I was listening to when you came into my office. It is from a conversation transmission that we received earlier today between Dimitris Barbas and Christos Grivas. Our nano-audio sensors implanted in Barbas recorded his phone call early this morning with Christos Grivas. As you concluded Dave, they are on to NSurv, and are using Dana as a pawn and conduit into us.”
Dana gasped in shock. Yes Dave and she had already surmised this was the case, but to have clear evidence from Barbas and the top boss at ABO made the situation unfolding even more frightening.
“Let me close my door and I’ll put the audio on speaker so that we can hear the conversation,” Ron said.
After closing his office door, he pulled the headphone wires out of the laptop and reset the transcript recording to the beginning. He then hit the play button icon on his computer screen and the conversation between Barbas and Grivas began.
Chapter 34 (March 14, Thursday 7:30am Atlantic Standard Time)
It was another beautiful morning in the Caribbean. The temperature was a balmy 75 degrees and the easterly trade winds were light. St. John Virgin Island was looking like an emerald stone rising out of the sea, as the early morning sun rose above it. A couple of pelicans lazily floated in the sky overhead searching for prey below. Occasionally they plummeted from the sky and into the crystal clear blue water below to catch small fish in their bills. To the northeast the long and mountainous island of Tortola’s east side was awash with the morning sunlight. Dive boats and catamaran sailboats were just beginning to tie up to buoy markers along its coast for a day of fun and relaxation. It would be another gorgeous day of diving and snorkeling for the winter vacationers. Dimitris Barbas had just finished his morning swim and jog along St. John’s Cinnamon Bay beach, and was resting on the top deck of his yacht in just his bathing suit. His body was bronzed by the sun and still wet from his swim back from the beach.
Barbas had returned on Monday to his yacht the Kosmos from his trip to San Jose over the weekend. It had been both a productive and pleasurable weekend, as he thought of Secretary Devins. A slight smile formed on his face. The administration’s new plans were audacious and fantastic. It made him bristle in excitement every time he thought about it. A plan that could address global climate change once and for all, and simultaneously, enable his business enterprises to profit handsomely. It was much more than what he had expected from the clowns in the White House, a group that he had been financially supporting for more than a decade. Heck, he thought, he’d done much more than just financially support them. He helped hand pick and politically groom the man who now occupies the residence of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A man up until that point that hardly anyone on the national level had ever heard of. And in the ensuing years, he, Dimitris Barbas, had run defense for this President and his team of political hacks too many times to count. The Vice President in particular had been the biggest headache to deal with over the years. If it hadn’t been for his investment in ABO five years ago to help cover up the Vice President’s multiple transgressions, the entire administration would have been thrown out on its butt in the last election.
Barbas sipped from his glass of freshly squeezed orange juice that a galley employee had just placed on the deck table next to him. It was time to call Grivas to see how things went last night out in McCall, Idaho. He reached for his mobile phone. Grivas had confirmed that Dana Cogswell’s friend Dave Henson, and his company NSurv, had been the source of the video recording of the Vice President’s latest peccadillo. With Ms. Cogswell’s decision to take a weekend trip to McCall, Barbas and Grivas had decided it was the perfect time to step in and put an end to NSurv and Mr. Henson’s surveillance operations. If all had gone as planned, which he had no doubt it did, Mr. Henson would be falling in line with their immediate cease and desist orders, and be handing over the keys to his company. Similarly, Ms. Cogswell would be looking for a new line of work this morning.
Barbas dialed Grivas’s phone number and listened impatiently as the phone rang on the other end. The phone rang half a dozen times before Grivas picked up.
“Hello, Grivas speaking,” said C
hristos.
“Good morning Christos,” responded Barbas.
“I am anxious to hear how things went out in McCall last night. Please update me?” pressed Barbas.
There was a long hesitation on the phone before Christos had the courage to speak.
“Not well, I’m unfortunate enough to have to tell you,” responded Christos. “As a matter of fact, it went fatally and terribly wrong.”
“What do you mean fatally and terribly wrong?” asked Barbas anxiously.
“Cristian was accidently killed last night,” responded Christos. “As was the plan, Lazaro and Cristian abducted Ms. Cogswell as she was leaving a restaurant with Dave Henson. Unfortunately Mr. Henson chased after Cristian and Lazaro. From what Lazaro told me late last night, Mr. Henson swerved his car into their vehicle and caused it to flip. The vehicle rolled several times before coming to a stop up against a tree. Cristian was killed on impact and Lazaro barely escaped the scene with his life.”
“What about Ms. Cogswell?” asked Barbas as he fidgeted angrily with his glass of juice. “Was she killed or injured?”
“Lazaro saw Dave Henson pull her from the damaged vehicle,” responded Christos. “She seemed injured, but was able to walk away from the scene and into Mr. Henson’s car.”
“Damn it,” yelled Barbas into his phone. “This is a worst case scenario. NSurv and Ms. Cogswell now are fully aware that someone is on to them, and they’ve probably got a good idea it’s somehow related to ABO.”
