The Manhattan Incident

by Raymond Poincelot

  Dubrov went through the entire past few days, leaving nothing out. He could tell by their intense looks that he had their complete attention. He turned to Agent Kee. “Did I forget anything?” “No boss, you got it all.” Kee smiled, knowing Dubrov hated being called Boss. Dubrov turned to the group and said, “Any questions?” Joe spoke immediately. “Is it 100% guaranteed that there is zero chance the gun will fire? Could it have been switched or Cooper discovered afterwards that it is a dud?” Dubrov looked at Joe and said, “Nothing is 100% in our business. However, we are highly confident that the gun won’t fire or contain any neurotoxin. We monitored the bartender’s call and have instilled the fear of the Russian Mafia in him. We doubt that Cooper is smart enough to recognize a fake and doubt that he would ask anybody in his security group to check it out, as it would incriminate him. He wouldn’t take the chance. Still, it is a good point. We will need some backup methods to assure Laurent’s safety, if the gun has been altered to work.”

  To Dubrov’s surprise, Raptor spoke up. “I have an idea. We have used it in the past to protect high value clients who are in danger. I’m talking about the instant security shield. It is rolled up like a window shade in a floor mounted case. When activated, explosive charges cause telescopic stainless steel rods to shoot straight up. The rods drag a ballistic Kevlar impregnated plastic shield upward at the same time. It is fast, a few milliseconds at most. We bolt it to the floor behind Laurent’s desk and paint a yellow line which Laurent must not cross. If he does, he will be injured, possibly badly, by the shield when it rises. It has worked before. If the shield goes up, we immediately fire on Cooper to incapacitate him before he can get up and go around the shield. My only caveat is we need Cooper to meet Dr. Laurent in Laurent’s office.” “No problem, our intel confirms that Cooper wants to meet Laurent in his office.”

  Joe looked at Dubrov and Raptor. “I like the idea, but worry that in the sudden action a shot might kill Cooper and a tranquilizer might not work fast enough. Can we wire Cooper’s chair such that it can act like a Taser and instantly render him out of action?” Kee answered. “Yes, we have the tech to do so, but have to minimize the clothing worn by Cooper.” Dubrov smiled and said, “No problem. We can cite security requirements and make Cooper remove jackets or sweaters down to just his shirt. It is guaranteed to work, if you are wearing only a shirt.” Lisa said, “I like it. We probably won’t need it, given the gun is likely inactive. However, it makes a foolproof backup plan.” Dubrov said, “One more thing. If the gun is fired and doesn’t work, who’s going to take down Cooper quickly, firmly, and without damage?” Raptor and Big Cat spoke up in unison. “We will. It will be our pleasure.” “OK, decided, but no more rough stuff beyond what is needed. Remember, all this action is being filmed for use in a trial and for release to the public. We must appear to exercise restraint. Is that clear?” Both men nodded their heads yes. Colonel Lanzo spoke up. “Good plan. Make sure nothing goes wrong. If it does, you’ll all be reassigned to the worst jobs I can find.” All except Joe and Lisa took it seriously. Joe and Lisa reported to General Straub, not Lanzo. So far Straub had bested Lanzo on matters that differed, so they were not worried. They did think, however, that the others would have a large incentive to not screw up.

  Joe and Lisa returned to Laurent’s home office and relieved Jamal and Liu. Joe asked them to stay for a while longer to hear about Cooper. Joe turned to Paul. “OK, here’s what is going down. Paul listened intently. “OK, we don’t know how Cooper is going to approach me.” “Lisa answered, “Yes, we know how but not when. All of us here, and Zack and Roberta, must be fully on guard. We can’t take the chance that Cooper will instead decide to surprise us elsewhere. We are going to have to sweat this one out.” Paul shrugged, “OK. I will explain all of this to Zack and Roberta. I will try to keep Zack around me at all times. He might be able to sense Cooper if he comes unannounced.”

  The question of when was answered a few days later. Paul read the letter from Reverend Jerimiah Cooper. He called to Joe stationed outside the door. “Joe, please come in. I know when Cooper is going to approach me.” Joe entered and said, “How?” Paul handed him the letter. Joe read it carefully. “Too bad it isn’t true. Setting up a special scholarship for STEMEO students would be a good thing. Lord knows his church has the funds to do so. Let me run this by the others. You will want to arrange a meeting here in your office. Don’t respond yet until we give you the OK. We have to do some modifications to your office.”

  A few days later Cooper read the text message on his P-Com. He smiled. It was done. Laurent had fallen for his STEMEO scholarship ruse and had agreed to meet him two days from today. Jeremiah had spent the last few days putting all his affairs in order. His will left everything to the Church. He had drawn up a succession letter. While Cooper didn’t expect to die when he shot Laurent, it wasn’t guaranteed. An overzealous bodyguard could fatally wound him. Even if he lived, the resulting trial and prison would make a successor necessary. Cooper was comforted by sitting on the left hand side of God, whether it happened soon or was delayed until his death either by execution, a so called accident in prison, or dying in prison from natural causes. The Church would go on without him. He would miss directing the Church and living high, but God had made it very clear that his sacrifice was necessary. Cooper felt an inner peace. Things would be OK.

  As the appointed day came, Cooper prepared. He attached the colostomy bag carefully to his body with the crazy glue and adjusted the straps to hold the bag in place. He waited until the glue dried and stood up. It held. He was very pleased with himself. Yesterday he had the sudden worry of what if instead of a body search and metal detector, they used a full body scanner like those in every airport these days. He thought his solution was brilliant. He took some modelling clay and molded it around one side of the gun. When he was done he undid the Velcro flap and carefully slid the gun inside. On the body scanner it would look like typical lumpy human waste. He was sure no one would want to examine the bag too closely. He had practiced many times reaching in and quickly removing the clay and drawing and firing the gun. He was sure he would get a shot off before anyone could react. This was going to be a glorious day for him and for God.

  Near the appointed time, Cooper parked his car in the street and walked to Laurent’s quarters. No one gave him a second glance. That was not totally true. From the time he left his office to his arrival, he had been monitored every step of the way by bugs and surveillance drones and various tails. When he left his garage and stopped at the corner red light, a passenger on a motorcycle alongside his car had reached over and attached a magnetic bug to his car. The surveillance drone sent a steady stream of recordings back to the high tech surveillance trailer parked near Laurent’s building. Cooper entered the lobby and immediately encountered the guard booth. “I’m Reverend Cooper and I have an appointment with Dr. Laurent in five minutes.” The guard made a show of looking at his clipboard. “Yes, Reverend Cooper, I see you on his schedule. Please take off your coat and hand it to me. You can have it back when you leave. Empty your pockets and place everything in this box, including your belt and shoes. Step through the metal detector please.” Jeremiah did and nothing happened. A small bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. Even though he knew there was no metal in the gun, he still had anxiety.

  “Now step into the booth and raise your arms up high. You are getting a full body scan just like the airport does.” Not true, thought the guard. It is several times better than those at airports. The guard looked at the image. “Step out please. Take off your shirt and undershirt. You have something hidden beneath your shirt.” The guard had already been told to do a thorough, believable examination, but to let Cooper think he made it through OK. Cooper said, “It’s a colostomy bag. I had part of my intestine removed and the bag is in place temporarily. In another month I’ll have it removed and my intestine will be rejoined.” “Still, I must see it and verify it.” Cooper did as told and hoped the crazy glue woul
d hold. It did. The guard looked at the bag, but didn’t touch it. “OK, Reverend, put your shirt back on. An escort will be here shortly to take you to Dr. Laurent.” As Cooper left with his escort, the guard whispered into his mike concealed in the shirt collar. “Cooper is on his way. The gun is concealed in a colostomy bag. Pretty realistic, too; it looks like human excrement.”

  On the elevator, the escort watched Cooper carefully. His gaze and huge 9mm semiautomatic pistol at his waist unnerved Cooper. Cooper turned and said, “I really need to pee. Can we stop at a bathroom before I see Dr. Laurent?” “Sure thing, but I have to go in with you. Hope you don’t have bashful kidneys.” Cooper felt like glaring but kept his cool, despite what he thought was a sneer on the guard’s face. At the restroom, the guard opened the door and followed Cooper in. He stopped just a bit inside the doorway. “Make it quick.” Cooper went over to the urinal and unzipped his fly. While peeing and hitting the fly painted on the urinal, he reached carefully into his shirt through the unbuttoned part he had deliberately left open. He reached into the bag carefully where he had not totally sealed the flap. He peeled the clay off in a rapid, much practiced, maneuver. He shook his penis a few times, zipped up, and went to the sink. He washed his hands and threw the clay away with the paper towel. “Fast enough for you?” The guard just looked annoyed and said, “Let’s get going.”

  Paul watched as the two entered his office, as did Agents Dubrov, Kee, and Ang on the monitors in a room next to Paul’s office. The escort closed the door and left. Cooper quickly realized he was not alone with Laurent. He saw four others in the room. A man and woman stood behind Laurent with their backs against the wall. Joe and Lisa met Cooper’s gaze with a stare. Then Cooper noticed two burly, large men, one to his right and one to his left. Agents Raptor and Big Cat glared at Cooper. No matter, thought Cooper. I’ll get a shot off before they can get to me. He did worry though that he might not leave here alive. As instructed, Paul looked at Cooper and said, “Welcome, Reverend Cooper. I have a back problem, so I cannot get up to shake your hand.” While perhaps overkill, if Cooper had discovered the gun was phony, they could not rule out a strangulation attempt. “Please sit down. I apologize for all these guards, but the government seems to take my protection very seriously. I have no idea why.”

  Cooper sat in the chair placed in front of the desk. Just then the guard to his left approached with a glass of water. Cooper turned. “No thanks. I’m fine.” The guard caught his foot on the chair and the water spilled down Cooper’s side, wetting his bottom. The guard looked and said, “I’m sorry. I seem to have got you wet. Do you want a towel?” Cooper kept his temper in check and responded, “No, I’m OK.” Ang muttered to Dubrov. “Real smooth. Now the Taser built into the chair will absolutely work, given his sorry wet ass.” Paul looked on, knowing full well what Raptor had done. He kept his foot on the button switch bolted to the floor. He made sure he was behind the yellow line painted on the floor. While the box with the slot in front of the line and out of Cooper’s sight looked innocuous, Paul knew better. They had gone through some practice runs. He knew that the ballistic screen deployed with a huge explosive noise and was very fast with lots of smoke. The millisecond he moved his foot off the switch, it would deploy. All of them wore noise deadening earplugs, except for Cooper, of course.

  Paul listened to the voice of Dubrov in his ear. “Remember, don’t release your foot until you actually see the gun in his hand. We need the video footage to nail him.” Paul smiled. “Reverend Cooper, I thank you for coming today. I appreciate your interest in STEMEO. So, how can we formulate an agreement for your Church’s funding of scholarships for STEMEO?” Cooper decided not to waste any time on false trivialities. “Die for real this time, Dr. Cabrot.” With that he reached into the colostomy bag and pulled out the gun. As soon as Paul saw it start to rise above the desktop, his foot moved back. Several things happened all at once. There was a deafening explosion as Cooper leveled the gun, aimed and pulled the trigger. At first Cooper thought it was the gun firing, especially when he saw the smoke simultaneously with the noise. Cooper’s sense of satisfaction faded rapidly when he saw the screen in front of Dr. Laurent. Not seeing any sense of Laurent being wounded, Cooper decided his second shot would have to be fast. He would need to stand and run to the side of the screen. He could see the lips moving on the four men guarding Laurent, but he couldn’t hear their voices because his ears were ringing and he was currently deaf. Suddenly he felt a growing tingle in his butt that traveled rapidly and painfully up his body. He tried to stand, but his legs turned to rubber and his hands lost their grasp on the gun. He leaned over and fell to the floor and lost consciousness.

  Paul watched as Raptor cuffed Cooper’s arms behind his back. Big Cat came over and with gloved hands picked up the gun and made a special display of holding it before the hidden camera and then placing it in a plastic bag. Joe went to the door and beckoned the two EMTs in. They came in and placed Cooper on the stretcher. Raptor and Big Cat left with the two EMTs to take Cooper to the temporary holding cell in the basement. All heard Dubrov’s voice in their ear piece. “Good work, men. We have him in an ironclad case of attempted murder. He also called you Dr. Cabrot. What the hell was that all about?” Joe and Lisa looked knowingly at Paul. “Damned if I know,” said Paul. Dubrov smiled as did Agent Ang. Their smiles were those of people recently in the know about the change of identity. Agent Kee noted the interchange and looked confused. Finally Dubrov said, “Kee, we need a complete follow through on this one. Lanzo might have some insight. Put together a full report with video and voice supporting evidence and have it on my desk first thing tomorrow.” Kee felt unhappy at the thought of his night becoming an extension of the workday. “Yes, sir. See you first thing in the morning.” He turned and left the room. Well, the techs won’t have any fun either, tonight, he thought to himself.

  Back at his office, Dubrov used the secure line on his P-Com to reach Colonel Lanzo. “How did it go, Agent Dubrov?” Dubrov talked for several minutes explaining the events that just took place. Finally Dubrov brought up the die again reference to Dr. Cabrot. “What’s going on here, Colonel? I know that Cabrot and Laurent are the same as does Cooper. So, why did Cooper say die again Dr. Cabrot? Was Cooper involved previously in the murder, or should I say, attempted murder, of Dr. Cabrot? We were never able to prove anything in our investigation as I recall.” Lanzo lapsed into silence for several seconds. “Some things were meant to be above your pay grade and security clearance. By now you have deduced the chain of events. Given that you’ll be interrogating Cooper, I think you’ll have to be let in on the secret. Dr. Cabrot obviously didn’t die during the attempt on his life several years ago as you have previously figured out. He was injured by an assassin likely planted by Cooper. However, given his importance to battling the alien plague, we couldn’t afford any more attempts on his life. So we gave him an identity change known to only a handful. We suspected Cooper’s involvement, as the assassin came from his Church. We could never prove it. As before with our earlier conversation, this information cannot be shared with anyone, is that understood? If you do, the consequences will be grave.” Dubrov answered, “Yes, Colonel. Understood. Do you think I should try to get Cooper to confess to the earlier attempt? Or is this area hands off?” “Do what you can. It would be a plus if Cooper confessed to that attempt. Of course, your interrogation will be totally private and not shared with anyone except me for now.” “Yes, sir, Colonel. You can count on me.”

  Reverend Cooper opened his eyes slowly. His head hurt, in fact, his whole body felt like he had fallen down several stairs. He tried to get up. He quickly realized he was restrained in some kind of stretcher and an IV was in his arm. Before he had time to think further, the door opened and Agent Dubrov walked in. He had been watching outside through the observation window and entered at the first sign of Cooper’s awakening. Cooper’s guard would be down from the Taser shock and the drug in the IV that accompanied the glucose. Cooper loo
ked at the large man in the dark suit. “Who are you? You can’t keep me here. I know my rights. I want my lawyer.”

  Dubrov smiled. “All in good time, Reverend Cooper. Actually, I can keep you here for 24 hours prior to your arrest. MI has special powers granted to us as a tactical arm of the military.” Cooper did not smile. The dreaded MI. Everyone knew of their abilities to get the dirty jobs done. “I suppose you have the power of arrest, too?” “Actually, yes. You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Drs. Cabrot and Laurent.” Cooper smirked. “You might have me on Laurent, but not Cabrot.” “Well Jeremiah, I hope you don’t mind me calling you that, we have ironclad proof with Laurent and almost as good a case with Cabrot.” Dubrov knew the latter was not true, but Cooper might believe it. “Given they are one and the same person, it is obvious that you went after Laurent because you didn’t finish the job in the first place.” Calling him Jeremiah was an old ploy to generate an eventual feeling of trust and to tone down the badass image of MI. “I still want my lawyer. Why am I restrained?” “You are restrained for your own safety. The Taser recovery meant you needed an IV and we didn’t want you to rip it out while thrashing around in an unconscious state. Even though you might think not, we do have your health in mind. We could just as easily have made sure you died in the struggle that followed your murder attempt. We are not totally bad in MI. As to your lawyer, that can happen soon. But first we have to have a long conversation.”