by J. B. Tilton
"Quite frankly," said Jeremy, "we want you. We're looking for others with unique abilities. People who might be able to help make a difference."
"A difference in what?" Rowe asked.
"Well, now, that's a bit complicated," said Jeremy. "And to be quite honest, it's not something I would want to discuss in this diner. But let's just say if you're willing to join us, you could be doing some very important work. Perhaps the most important work you've ever done in your life."
"And all of it completely legal," interjected Scarborough. "You wouldn't have to worry about running from the cops anymore."
"So I just join you and all of my troubles disappear, is that it?"
"Probably not," said Scarborough. "But you saw what I did back at the police station. I can do the same for the rest of your criminal record. They'd be a thing of the past. No one would be looking for you for anything. Of course, I can't speak to what you may do in the future. But you do have some outstanding warrants in a few jurisdictions. I can make them disappear."
"And if I say no, what then?"
"Like I said, you walk out of here. Still a wanted man and still looking over your shoulder for any cop that may be looking to take you in."
"Or we could just lock you up until you come to your senses," said Scarborough. "As I said, you still have a number of outstanding warrants on you."
"Well, like the doc said, you might find that a bit hard to do," said Rowe, a cocky smile on his face.
As if to demonstrate, he passed his hand through the napkin dispenser on the table. It passed through the metal dispenser and paper napkins as if they weren't even there. As he did his hand bumped into an empty glass sitting next to the dispenser. When it did his hand didn't pass through it. He knocked the glass over on its side on the table.
"Good thing that was empty," Janet commented.
"So, you can't phase through glass," Jeremy commented.
"Okay, now you know my secret," said Rowe. "I don't seem to have a problem with most things. But glass, Plexiglas, and dirt don't seem to be affected by my ability. But it's still pretty handy. I can get into almost anywhere I want without setting off any alarms. It's like I don't exist when I'm phased. Heat sensors, motions detectors, none of it will detect me."
"Which, as I said, can be used to make a difference," said Jeremy. "You've been using your ability to commit petty burglaries. To grab a few bucks here and there. You have no idea what you can accomplish with an ability like that. I can show you. And as I said, you'll be making a difference at the same time."
"Well that sounds nice and all but a fella' has gotta eat. And I'm not much for a 9 to 5 job. Sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day wearing some monkey suit. I wouldn't do well in that type of a situation. I gotta' have some space. Be able to move around, so to speak."
"I wouldn't worry about that," said Scarborough. "What the doctor is talking about is a job. No 9 to 5 and no suits if you don't want to wear one. And you'll have plenty of freedom to 'move around' provided you follow the rules. One of which is no more burglaries."
"You can really do what you claim?" Rowe asked. "Make those warrants disappear?"
"A couple of phone calls from me and there won't be any record of you past criminal deeds," said Scarborough. "You could walk into any police station in the country and you'll be just another private citizen."
"What about you, sweet thing?" Rowe asked, looking at Janet. "You part of the package deal?"
"Let's get one thing real clear from the onset," said Janet. "We'd be working together. Nothing more. And if you should get any bright ideas . . . ."
As if to demonstrate her point, Janet picked up the napkin dispenser Rowe had passed his hand through only a moment before. With little effort she crushed the dispenser into a mangled mass of metal. She then just dropped the mangled dispenser back on the counter.
"Your ability notwithstanding," she continued, "you wouldn't like the results of any unwanted advancements."
"Okay, okay, I got the point," said Rowe, looking at the now useless dispenser. "So, what do I have to do to get all this?"
Jeremy took out his notepad and wrote an address on it.
"Be at this address at 8:00 o'clock Monday morning," he said. "You'll be complete briefed at that time. But I want to make it clear that you're no good to anyone with half the police forces in the country looking for you. You have to stay out of trouble and that means no more burglaries or any other crimes. Just go home and rest. Then be at that address on Monday."
"And once I find out what this is all about I'm still free to walk away?" Rowe asked, glancing over at Scarborough. "Without anyone sending the cops after me?"
"That was the deal," said Jeremy. "I'll keep my end of it. You just need to keep your end."
Rowe continued to look at Scarborough as if waiting for confirmation from him.
"Okay," Scarborough finally said. "You keep your end of the bargain and I won't do anything to put the police on your trail. If you decide to walk away you can and I won't do anything to prevent it. But that will still mean that a fair number of jurisdictions will still be looking for you."
"Okay, doc, I suppose you've earned an extension on your five minutes," said Rowe. "I'll be at that address. But I'm not making any promises. You've been straight with me so far and I guess that counts for something. But if I want to walk away I expect to do with without any hassles."
"I guess we have a deal then," said Jeremy. "I'll see you on Monday."
"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Janet asked after Rowe had left. "Letting him leave like that? We may never see him again."
"He was being honest when he said he'd come to the meeting," said Jeremy.
"Unless he changes his mind in the mean time," said Scarborough. "When he finds out that address is the headquarters for Homeland Security he might have second thoughts."
"He needs to do this voluntarily," said Jeremy. "We can't force him. He has to choose to join us or he's no good to us. I think he might surprise you. I'm not sure he'll agree to join us but I think he'll show up for the meeting. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."
"And what exactly are you going to tell him on Monday?" Scarborough asked. "If he decides not to join us he could be a security risk after he learns all the facts."
"Which is why I'm thinking someone else should talk to him," said Jeremy. "He does have a problem with authority. But if a person were important enough he might just listen to them."
"Important enough?" Scarborough questioned. "Just how important?"
"Oh, say someone like a cabinet member," said Jeremy, smiling slightly. "Someone literally at the top of the government hierarchy, say."
"You want Secretary Napolitano to explain to this guy what we want?" Scarborough asked. "Jeremy, she's very busy. I'm not sure she has the time for a recruitment speech."
"It can't hurt to ask," said Jeremy. "Besides, she did say if I needed anything I should let you know. I need you to see if you can set up an appointment with her with Rowe. She can be very persuasive. I think if she explains how important this is Rowe just might listen to her."
"Okay," said Scarborough, taking a breath. "First thing in the morning I'll call her office and see if I can set up an appointment. But I'm not sure this is what she had in mind when she said she'd get you whatever you needed."
"Well, as I told her, miscommunication is a primary cause of problems in any relationship. I guess I'll have to be more careful in the future."
Scarborough laid some money on the table and the three left the diner. Scarborough was not enthused about the phone call he was going to have to make in the morning.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Secretary Napolitano was in her office going over paperwork. It was one of the thankless parts of her job. And the paperwork seemed endless. As she read over a report the door to her office opened and another woman came in. The woman was about Napolitano's age but had short brownish hair. She was dressed professionally and was carrying a file
folder in her hand.
Jane Lute was the Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security. She had been approved for the position on April 3, 2009; barely 3 months after Napolitano had taken the job as Secretary.
"Janet, I just got a report," said the woman, laying the folder on the desk.
"What about, Jane?" Napolitano asked, picking up the file.
"I got a call from C.I.A. headquarters a little while ago. It seems that Moser flew into Beirut sometime yesterday afternoon. He was travelling under a Canadian passport under the name Jefferson Collier."
"Beirut? What would he be doing in Beirut? And what would he be doing with a Canadian passport?"
"Well, I did some checking. The passport was fake. The C.I.A. put a tail on Moser but he somehow gave them the slip. About two hours later a man fitting his description was seen boarding a private plane that had a flight plan filed to take it to France."
"First Beirut and now France?" Napolitano questioned. "What's Moser up to? He doesn't usually move around this fast."
"Well, according to the intelligence reports, the flight never made it to France. About halfway through the trip its transponder simply stopped sending. It could have diverted to anywhere and we have no way of knowing where. If it flew into a private airfield there might not even be a record of it arriving."
"Any idea where his destination might have been?"
"None. But the flight was registered to a Stewart Kranston."
"Kranston? Wasn't he just recently added to the list of suspected terrorist supporters?"
"Yeah, he was. Kranston is a genetic biologist by trade and has made a lot of money doing work on genetic manipulation to find cures for some diseases. He's also suspected of funneling money to some known and suspected terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda. We don't have anything concrete on him yet but we're pretty sure he's been helping fund Al-Qaeda for some years now."
"Well, it would make sense that Moser would be working with him," said Napolitano. "But exactly what are they up to? Since Osama bin Laden was killed Moser's been more active than usual. He's planning something, I'm sure of it. The question is, what is he planning?"
"I don't know," replied Jane. "But whatever it is you can be sure it's not good. I've had notices sent to all Customs offices and airport securities to be on the lookout for Moser. If he tries to enter the country they'll pick him up the minute he sets foot on the ground."
"Which probably isn't going to happen. Moser is smarter than that. Besides, he always managed to escape before. Hopefully once Dr. Sloan is finished assembling his team we can do something about it. Until then all we can do is continue surveillance. Let me know if you learn anything else."
"You know I will," said Jane, who then left the office.
Napolitano sat thinking about Moser for a moment. He'd been a thorn in their side longer than she cared to admit. But he always seemed to be just ahead of the authorities. After a moment she put the thought out of her mind and went back to her paperwork. There wasn't anything she could do about it at the moment. Best to deal with the problems at hand and hope her people could get a lead on Moser.
It was nearly 11:00 a.m. and Jeremy, Janet, and Scarborough were heading out of the Homeland Security headquarters building. Jeremy and Janet had finally finished their paperwork and were looking forward to getting on with the task at hand of finding the people to make up the team. As they were walking down the hallway they met up with Simon Rowe and a man wearing a badge identifying him as an agent for Homeland Security.
"Well, fancy meeting you here," said Jeremy as they approached Rowe. "I hope your meeting with Secretary Napolitano went well."
"You really brought out the big guns, didn't you, doc?" Rowe questioned. "I figured I'd be talking with you. I never expected I'd be meeting with someone as high up as Secretary Napolitano."
"I wanted to impress on you how important this was," said Jeremy. "I figured the best way to do that was to show you just how high up this goes. So, how'd the meeting go?"
"Great from what I could tell. No wonder you didn't want to talk in the diner. Going after terrorists. And not just any terrorists. Ones with special talents like us. I never suspected there were any of those."
"No one did. Now you understand how important this is. And what I meant by making a difference."
"Yeah, I guess so. That woman can be real persuasive."
"What are you up to now?" Scarborough asked, knowing that the direction Rowe and the agent were heading could take them either to the processing room or to the main exit from the building.
"I'm taking Mr. Rowe down to be processed," said the agent.
"Welcome aboard," said Scarborough. "I think you've made the right decision."
"Yeah, about that. What about your end of the deal? You said if I kept my part of the bargain you'd take care of those pesky police reports for me. Well, I'd say I did more than keep my end up."
"Jack," Scarborough said, talking to the agent, "when you take Mr. Rowe down to processing tell Mike Harlan I'd like him to take care of that little project we discussed the other day. He'll know what you mean." He turned back to Rowe. "It will take some time but in a couple of days your criminal record will be a thing of the past. Don't make me regret doing it."
"Hey, for once I get to help take out the bad guys instead of being one of them. And Secretary Napolitano said I'd be getting paid just like a regular agent. And no monkey suit. Who could argue with that?"
He turned to Janet.
"Speaking of getting paid, what say you and I get together and celebrate my newfound legitimacy?"
"I thought we had that all settled in the diner the other night?" Janet asked, looking suspiciously at Rowe.
"I'm only suggesting dinner," said Rowe. "Or if you prefer, lunch. You chose the place. Some place very public I'm sure. I'll be a perfect gentleman. Since we're going to be working together we might as well get to know each other."
"Well," said Janet, thinking for a moment. "Lunch only. Nothing else. And you pay."
"Me? Whatever happened to women's lib?"
"A bit before my time. The way I was raised, if you ask someone out, it falls on you to pay. That's the deal."
"Well, okay, but we'll have to wait until I get my first check. I'm a little short right now."
"Jack," said Scarborough, "stop by the disbursement office and see about getting Mr. Rowe an advance on his first paycheck. I'm sure he could use it."
"You know, you're not really so bad after all," said Rowe, smiling at Scarborough.
Scarborough just rolled his eyes at Rowe.
"I'll let you know when I'm free," Janet said.
As they headed on down the hallway they heard Rowe talking to the agent with him.
"You know, that cute little redhead at the reception desk seemed to be checking me out when I came in. I wonder if she's free tonight?"
"Boy, he really thinks he's some kind of lady's man, doesn't he?" Janet asked.
"Well, he's in for a real treat," said Scarborough, smiling.
"Oh?" questioned Jeremy. "How so?"
"Maggie, that receptionist he mentioned? She's not interested in anyone with a Y chromosome."
The three just laughed as they headed up the hall.
Jeremy, Janet and Scarborough sat in a food court at a local mall. All of the necessary paperwork had been completed on Jeremy and Janet and they were now officially working for the Department of Homeland Security. Their next order of business was to decide how to proceed.
"I've all ready been given a list of potential candidates," said Scarborough. "Background checks have all ready been done on most of them and they've been cleared for us to check out."
"Any indication what special talents they might have?" Jeremy asked.
"On some," said Scarborough. "On others just some odd behavior or unexplained occurrences. It might take a while but we need to check out each one of them. I think most of them will end up being a wild goose chase. But we might find one or two who f
it our criteria. If they do then it will be up to you to evaluate them and decide if they're worth including."
"That's a little difficult with only one short meeting," said Jeremy. "Often something can come up only after weeks or months of therapy. As I told the Secretary in her office that day, building trust requires time. You have to earn someone's trust. And short of saving their life or something major like that, it takes time."
"We all understand that," said Scarborough. "And it's quite possible you'll clear someone and we'll find out later they aren't suitable. It happens even with normal agents. Some people just aren't cut out for this type of lifestyle or career. We can only do our best and hope it works out."
