Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 02 - Peeking Duck

by Daniel Ganninger

  “You have got to be kidding. Why then? Why wouldn’t the CIA share Lee with the NSA?” I wondered, becoming more confused at the lunacy of the whole situation.

  “Because the CIA doesn’t share. They were going to use Lee for their business.” Galveston paused to think of a way to explain. “It all comes down to appropriations by Congress. How much money are they going to give us this year, how much freedom are they going to unleash. That’s all that matters to the CIA. They don’t care about Lee. The CIA just wants his brain, and his skill.”

  I was beginning to understand, and it still baffled me. “So, if I have it straight—the CIA wanted Lee, but so did the NSA. I’m assuming because he’s like the best hacker in the world. So the NSA wants him all to themselves. But let’s say something goes wrong; the CIA would get blamed because it’s their operation. If things go right, the NSA steals Lee away and uses his talents to further their cause.”

  “Pretty much in a nutshell, yeah. Neither group gives a rat’s hind end about what Lee wants. They just want his skill in their camp.”

  “Amazing,” was all I could mutter. Here was a guy trying to make a life he wanted, but unknowingly being thrust into the exact same life in another country. “Neither of them is going to get him you know.”

  “Hell no, they’re not! We’ll make sure of that,” Galveston said, with confidence.

  “With all that out of the way, then how in the world did these revolutionaries get involved?” I asked, remembering about our little ordeal back on the Trusian.

  “That may be the best part,” Galveston smiled. “A little turd named Aaron Smith, a low-level analyst working the Blue Lotus project, decided he needed to pay back some gambling debt, and fast. He used NSA computers to troll chat rooms where nasty people involved in organized crime, weapons dealing, and computer fraud hang out. Mr. Smith freely offered that he had primetime information that the world’s foremost computer hacker from China wanted to defect. He sold the information to the highest bidder and whamo; we have mercenaries pirating the ship. Mr. Smith gave Olvary the entire CIA operation; where the ship would be, the date, the times, and that Lee was stowed in a container. He gave him the whole kit and caboodle.”

  “How in the world did Alex find this all out?” I asked, realizing that if Lee was the best hacker in the world, we had the second best.

  “He’s good for sure, but once he was in the pipeline of the NSA, the information was endless. The NSA knows every move the CIA is going to make. Problem is, the CIA doesn’t know this, and this Smith guy was just dumb. If he hadn’t used government computers to do his little auction, we would have no idea how Olvary pulled this off.” Galveston was getting breathless from the pace in his speech. “The FBI is paying a little call to Smith as we speak.”

  “So in other words, he’s screwed.”

  “Just slightly. It also means we could get screwed too. If the FBI starts unraveling this, it could hurt our chance of getting to the ladies,” Galveston said flatly.

  “Hopefully they can’t get it done in thirty-six hours.”

  Galveston shook his head. “Alex is flying, as we speak, to New York and then Paris. I think he just wants to meet Lee.”

  “Probably so. One thing bothers me, though. How was the NSA going to do the switch?”

  Galveston shook his head again. “Alex had no idea and couldn’t find anything about that. I tried to think of something. You know the port would be crawling with CIA agents, just as it was when we went to see Sailor Pete.”

  I thought about it for a second. The NSA couldn‘t remove Lee from the container and get him, and they couldn’t just ferry off the container he was in. What else could they do? Then it struck me. If the NSA knew everything the CIA was doing, then why couldn’t they just change some things in the CIA’s plan? It seemed too simple to work. What if the NSA had the CIA take the wrong container, while the NSA took the correct one containing Lee. That seemed to make the most logical sense. A simple change in the numbers on the containers would do. To me that was how the NSA would get it done. I didn’t realize I had the answer in front of me the entire time. I would deduce it soon enough.

  All the pieces of the puzzle were now neatly aligned, but the information wouldn‘t help us free Jane and Maddie. That last piece of the puzzle would come down to us, and our creativity.

  -Chapter 52-

  The Gulfstream business jet crossed the French border and started its approach into Le Bourget Airport in northern Paris. The two women had temporarily dosed off and awoke to a view of the French countryside.

  They had been left alone in the back of the plane, but each woman knew they were being monitored in some way, either with a camera or a listening device.

  “We have to alert customs,” Maddie whispered to Jane. “If we can somehow make a break for it when the customs officials check the plane, we can alert them.”

  “What do you suggest?” Jane asked nervously.

  “As soon as that door opens and you see a French officer, run as fast as you can toward him with your hands up. I’ll slow the others down if I need to.”

  “I’m scared,” Jane answered honestly.

  “Me too. This may be our only chance,” Maddie responded determinedly.

  The plane touched down lightly on the runway and began to taxi. They were not heading towards the passenger terminals; they were taxiing to the far end of the airport. Maddie could make out a group of large hangers from the left side of the plane.

  The aircraft stopped just outside the large metal doors of a massive hanger, near a parked blue sedan. The engines ran down, and the curtain separating the cabin opened. In strolled another large man the women had seen accompanying Olvary. The man didn’t speak as he pulled Jane and Maddie by the arm to a standing position.

  First the man pushed Jane through the exit. He then pulled Maddie down the steep steps of the aircraft.

  Jane immediately surveyed the situation, attempting to see a French official that had to be waiting for them to check passports or hear declarations. As she neared the bottom, she noticed an official looking man in a brown uniform with a brown cap. He had the French flag on his sleeve and stood in an erect manner. He was flanked by another man with the same uniform. “These have to be the French authorities. They have to be suspicious we’re being led off the plane like this,” she thought to herself, and readied to break away from the grasp of the henchman.

  As the burly man made the last step off the airplane, Maddie pushed him forward, causing him to lose his balance, freeing his grip on Jane’s arm. Jane took the cue. She wrenched her arm from his hand and began to run toward the two French officers. She threw her hands over her head.

  “We’ve been kidnapped, please, you must help us!” she screamed as she neared the officers.

  The apparent customs officers didn‘t move and only gave Jane a steely stare. She ran up to the first officer, nearly knocking him over. The man said nothing as Jane continued to yell at him. Out of nowhere, Jane felt a stinging blow across the side of her face, causing her to drop to the ground and recoil from the pain. She stared up at the Frenchman through watery eyes only to see a sinister smile cross his face. He raised his hand again to strike her with a slap, but stopped as a voice emanated from behind.

  “Enough!” The voice of Marcus Olvary boomed. “Get them in the car. No more of this childishness.”

  The two Frenchmen yanked Jane from the ground as her eye began to swell and threw her in the back of the car. Maddie had been held at the foot of the steps of the aircraft by the large henchman. He hiked her up on his shoulders and carried her to the awaiting sedan. The man threw Maddie in a crumpled heap on the back seat of the car next to Jane as Olvary climbed in the front seat of the vehicle with them.

  “Fools,” he chided. “Did you really think I wouldn’t have a way around customs? Do you perceive me as that naive?” Jane flashed a look of anger at the man and clenched her teeth. “I would watch my behavior, for next time you won’t receive
just a slap,” Olvary threatened.

  The women were trapped again. Maddie sunk deep in her seat. “I have to find a way out,” she thought to herself, but realized any further attempts would likely prove futile. She would have to wait on another opportunity.

  Jane was beginning to crack under the stress. She was starting to wonder if she wasn‘t as strong as she thought, but her mind turned to Roger and her driving desire to see him again at any cost. She gave a look to Maddie in a way only two women can communicate to each other, and with clenched teeth and narrowing eyes, slowly shook her head. Maddie could tell it wasn’t a sorrowful expression, instead she could tell Jane was pissed.

  Maddie was taken aback by Jane‘s strength and fortitude, and both women, through only the use of their eyes, vowed to do whatever it would take to free themselves, and make these men pay.

  -Chapter 53-

  The Southern Sea began to pitch with increasing intensity as the storm the crew had warned us about was beginning to show its power. The helicopter was only a few minutes away to whisk us to Cape Town, but first it had to get itself on the helipad of the rocking vessel.

  Galveston and I pulled Lee from his stateroom, got him a parka from the research staff, and proceeded to the deck where the helicopter pad was located. We watched as the Bell 525 helicopter neared the vessel. The crew had taken on a dangerous job because the helicopter was operating at its maximum range and there was no turning back. It had to land on the Southern Sea to refuel or risk running out of gas and ditching in the ocean.

  Maddie had procured the sophisticated helicopter after offering the company that ran it a sizable amount of cash to take on the operation. The Bell helicopter had to hopscotch its way across the South Atlantic, landing on another vessel to refuel before it arrived for us. We would have to do the same dance going back to Cape Town, but the increased speed of the helicopter would be a godsend. Eighteen hours had already elapsed, and we still needed to take an eleven hour flight from Cape Town to Paris.

  The Southern Sea was set up nicely to receive a large helicopter, since the scientists often used one to survey the pack ice around Antarctica. The vessel had the capability to refuel a helicopter and the only thing jeopardizing success was the approaching weather.

  The Bell 525 approached cautiously, and between a large set of swells, touched its wheels gingerly onto the helipad. The crew sprang into action, and used chains to attach the helicopter to the deck of the ship. Galveston and I gave each member of the crew a hearty handshake and thanked the Captain for his help. They seemed disappointed we would be leaving.

  We crouched and walked to the helicopter, with Lee by our side, and climbed in. The helicopter finished refueling and started its engines. It strained to get into the sky due to the massive amount of fuel in the tanks. As it lifted higher in the air, I could see the crew of the Southern Sea waving their hands at us. I believed we made the end of their voyage a memorable one.

  The helicopter moved itself forward, and we started the long journey to a ship called AG Titan, a natural gas exploration vessel operating 500 miles off the coast of South Africa. The helicopter would refuel again there before flying on to Cape Town. Maddie had done an excellent job with her logistical planning. We would be in Cape Town in enough time to get to the ferry terminal before leaving for Paris.

  The time aboard the helicopter allowed us to study the upcoming situation carefully. We wouldn‘t be able to charge in like a couple of hopped-up cowboys. Acting like that would only get us killed. We needed to be deliberate, calculating, and smart. This wasn’t the movies where the good guy comes in, guns down a bunch of street trash, beats up on the bad guys with fancy kicks and punches, and then saves the beautiful woman who somehow didn’t even scuff her hair or makeup. We were normal guys without big muscles or big guns, looking like we just stumbled out of bed after an all night bender. Due to these hard to stomach facts, our best assets were our less than stellar brains, and our complete lack of machismo. We were going to dictate the situation and the outcome on our terms, using the safest and most clandestine tactics possible.

  Galveston‘s mind was racing in thought, and I could see the hamster in his brain tiring from thinking of a viable plan. He furiously wrote lines of text on a piece of paper, pausing long enough to stretch his fingers before writing again. I waited patiently and just let him go. He would fill me in when he was fully prepared. Finally, he seemed to be finished and placed his pen down on the paper.

  “Do you remember Rule fifty-seven?” he asked, as if I would.

  “Of course, but do you?” I responded, since I had no clue what it was.

  “The element of surprise is the greatest enemy and the most beneficial friend.”

  “Wow, that is certainly profound, but what exactly are you talking about?”

  “We have more bargaining chips than you realize, and we have the element of surprise. We’re going to set our own plan, and Olvary will be forced to follow it. You will have to be strong because it will put Jane and Maddie in a dicey spot,” he said seriously.

  “I’m listening,” I responded, but was secretly scared out of my wits for Jane.

  “We have Lee, and they want him—bad. We also have a potential team of two of the greatest hackers on the planet. I have a plan to put the fear of God into Olvary, but before I lay it out, you have to agree to go all in. There will be no turning back. If we follow Olvary’s demands, Maddie and Jane will be dead. I hate to even think that, but it’s true. You and I will be next. It’s all a setup to get us into one place under their terms and eliminate us. If I was in his situation, I would do the same. All the loose ends have to be taken care of. I propose to turn his neat, little, egomaniacal world upside down.” Galveston stopped and looked at me for a response.

  “I haven’t gone anywhere,” I stated flatly.

  “So you’re in? No waffling?” Galveston prodded.

  I thought for a second. I had to trust him and knew he was right. I cringed at what the plan would entail and how it would sound like absolute absurdity, but he knew me well and wanted me drinking the Kool-Aid without trepidation.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m in. I trust you, and trust that you’ll make sure Jane and Maddie are safe,” I sighed.

  “Good. Now that we’re all clear, here’s my plan. It’s a doozy.”

  -Chapter 54-

  The black sedan raced to the outskirts of Paris and into the rolling green countryside. It would have been a beautiful sight for Maddie and Jane to experience, but the uncertainty of their fate removed any thoughts of pleasurable sightseeing.

  Olvary said nothing to the driver. He seemed to be nervously working his cell phone and paid no attention to his captives in the back.

  After an hour of driving from the airport, the sedan pulled into a long, dirt driveway, flanked by grape vines on either side. As it rounded a turn, Jane and Maddie could see a massive white villa come into view. The car stopped abruptly by the large front doors and Olvary jumped out. The back doors of the car opened almost immediately, and the same imposters posing as French customs officials peered menacingly through the opening.

  Jane was dragged from the car first, followed by Maddie, as the men clutched their arms tightly. As soon as the daylight hit their eyes, it was shut off by a black hood crammed down over their heads. Jane and Maddie could hear footsteps walking towards them.

  “I want no trouble,” Olvary whispered closely to them. “These men will not tolerate insolence.” Jane could feel his sickening breath on her neck, and she held down her reflex to throw off the hood. “Take them to the back and get them something to eat,” Olvary ordered his men.

  The men followed the command and guided Maddie and Jane into the house. The two were unaware of the direction they were heading and were soon separated.

  As the hoods were pulled from their heads, they each found themselves in a bare room with a large wooden door, a bed, and a plate of food. They were each alone. The men left the room quickly and each woman surveyed
her new surroundings. There was no apparent escape.

  Jane sat down on the bed and cried, thinking about Roger and her urge to see him again. Maddie on the other hand, paced the room. She had no idea where Jane was, and in a futile attempt, banged at the thick wall and yelled her name. Hearing no response, Maddie sat on the bed.

  This was a predicament she had been trained to deal with, but being thrust into it in real life made her feel unprepared. She was trapped, and had to rely on the notion that someone, either her people, or Galveston and Murphy, would get her out.

  -Chapter 55-

  The helicopter bounced through the sky and the turbulence was becoming unbearable for me and Lee. Galveston, on the other hand, seemed to love the jostling. He was a seasoned pilot and was used to such things. The only thing I wanted to do was toss my cookies.

  In between bumps I managed to get out a statement to Galveston. “So I’m ready. What is your grand plan?” I asked as another jolt sent me reeling against my seatbelt.

  Galveston didn’t miss a beat. “When we get to Cape Town, we catch the first plane out to Paris after we go to the ferry terminal. I’ve discussed with Lee what I expect from him and he agrees. Right, Lee?”

  “Yes, yes,” Lee managed to say, with a green face.

  “Luckily the CIA helped us out with a false passport. The crew of the Trusian found his bag.” Galveston showed me a United States passport with the name Andrew Kim on it. “We shouldn’t have any trouble until we arrive in Paris. When he shows his passport it might alert the Feds, so we’ll have to act quickly.”

  “Uh-huh,” was all I could manage as I felt my lunch beginning to try to make an escape again.

  “Alex will meet us outside De Gaulle airport in Paris. Then we’ll hightail it to a hotel and set up shop.”

  “What kind of shop?” I asked.