by Alex Cage
He removed his phone from his pocket, went to his recent calls, and selected the last missed call. He held the phone to his ear. The phone rang four times before Toben’s voice jumped on the line.
“This is Agent Toben.”
“Good morning, Agent Toben.”
“Mr. Black.”
“I found a nice little restaurant where we can have a chat over breakfast.”
“Did you? Where?”
Black gave him the name and address of the restaurant.
“When would you like to meet there?” Toben asked.
“In one hour—and come alone.” Black ended the call.
He strolled across the street to an organic juice bar. Grabbing a menu, he found a seat next to a window with a clear view of the restaurant on the other side of the street. Twenty minutes passed before something interesting happened. A black unmarked car parked close to the front of the restaurant. A woman stood from the driver side, and from the passenger side a man stepped out. Black shook his head, recognizing both. I thought I told him to come alone. The two cased the outside of the restaurant for thirty seconds before going inside. Five minutes went by before another black unmarked car pulled up and parked on the side of the restaurant. Toben exited the car, looking around the area before walking inside the restaurant.
Black zipped out of the juice bar and to the restaurant. Easing through the front door, he immediately noticed the man and woman who exited the first unmarked car. The woman was sitting at the bar top and the man was sitting at a table near the front. Toben was at the far end of the restaurant seated at a table, facing the front.
Black threaded through the tables to Toben. “You’re here early,” he said.
“So are you,” Toben replied, looking up from the table.
There were four chairs at the table, two on each side. Black moved one to the end of the table so that he sat perpendicularly to the right of Toben.
“Okay, it was your idea for us to meet, so what do you want to tell me?” Toben said.
“I thought I told you to come alone.”
Toben said nothing.
“You can tell your team to join us—it’s Agents Chapp and Boyar, right?”
Toben stared at Black before sighing and waving Ashley and Boyar over to the table. The two walked over and sat in the two chairs across from Toben.
“He made you two,” Toben said as they took their seats.
Ashley was in the chair closest to Black. “I bet you think you’re a pretty smart guy, huh, Black?” Ashley said without looking at him.
“I’ve been called that a few times before.”
“I can think of some other things to call you if you like.”
“Agent Chapp,” Toben interrupted.
Ashley looked at him, folded her arms, rolled her eyes, and shook her head, sighing.
“Mr. Black,” Toben continued, leaning over the table towards him. “You said you wanted to talk, so start talking.”
“Well, I was hoping this could be more of an open dialogue. You know, give and take. A Q-and-A session.”
“That’s interesting,” Boyar said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
Ashley looked at him. “What? No it’s not.” She turned directly to Black. “We should just take you to headquarters and get the answers we want.”
Black eyed her, straight faced. “That’s not happening.” He pointed at Toben. “Like I told him last night. Someone wants me gone and I’m not allowing myself to be taken into custody for something I didn’t do, knowing that person is still out there.”
“Like you’d have a choice,” Ashley’s voice slightly raised.
“That’s the same thing he said last night, but here we are.”
Ashley looked from Black to Toben. The two fixed on each other’s faces for a few seconds.
Black noticed. Hmm. What was that? he wondered, then quickly blew it off as nothing.
“Mr. Black, we just want to ask you a few questions,” Toben started.
“Just ‘Black’.”
“Okay, Black, if you cooperate and you’re found innocent as you say you are, I’ll do everything in my power to clear your name. Including overlooking the fact that you assaulted three federal agents last night. Is that fair?”
Black shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Alright, now tell us everything from the beginning,” Toben said.
Ashley watched Black intently.
Boyar removed a pen and pad from his pocket.
Black exhaled. “I’ll tell you everything since I have nothing to hide, but I need you to answer a question for me first.”
Toben nodded.
“Have any of you ever heard the names Nick Reeves or Kevin Guo?”
Everyone at the table paused to think but all shook their heads no. Boyar wrote the two names in his notepad.
“Who are they?” Ashley asked.
“A pair of dirty cops who came after me with an untraceable gun.”
“Really?” Ashley said in a sarcastic tone.
“Yes, really. Look into them. I’m sure you’ll find something.”
“Okay, tell us what happened up until your interaction with those two,” Toben said.
Black told them about the bomb at the pier and the kid he chased. He continued on about how he was followed onto the Golden Gate Bridge and his confrontation with Reeves and Guo.
“Wait,” Toben requested, “You said they were in a white Honda; do you know what model?”
“It was an Accord.”
Toben’s eyes slightly widened, lips parted, eyebrows wrinkled.
“Why were they after you?” Ashley asked.
Black reached into his pocket, removing the detonator. “This, I’m guessing. It’s the detonator I snagged from the kid.”
“Give that here,” Toben said, removing a plastic bag from his pocket. “That’s evidence.” He took the detonator from Black and dropped it into the bag. “Now can you tell us how you ended up at Petrak’s meeting?”
“Sure,” Black said, telling them about his run-in with the young men in Oakland and how one of them had the same type of gun that Guo had.
Boyar looked up from his notepad. “It was the same type of gun?” he asked.
“Yep. A Glock 19 with filed serial numbers,” Black confirmed.
“Where did he get it from?” Toben asked.
“He mentioned he got it from a redhead and told me I could find her at Pier 40, you know, near that Spinning Sails place.”
“Hmm… that’s interesting,” Ashley mocked. “There was an explosion near Pier 40 yesterday and you admitted to being there.”
“You were there too,” Black said.
Ashley stared at Black, lips parted, eyes narrowed.
“I was on the roof above you,” Black continued. “I saw you, Johana, the blond kid, and Toben’s son,” he said, glancing at Toben before turning his attention back to Ashley. “So does it make you guilty just to have been there, Agent Chapp?”
“If you were on the roof, you would’ve seen that I left with Matt while the dock was still in one piece.”
“You mentioned a Johana. Who’s that?” Boyar chimed in.
“The redhead,” Black answered.
Toben sighed before asking, “What else did you see there, Black?”
Black told them about the conversation Johana, Matt, and the blond guy were having and about the things he saw inside the unit at the dock. He concluded with the scuffle he had with Johana and her blowing the dock.
“Hold on,” Ashley objected. “You’re telling me this little girl beat you and got away? We read your record, Black. You studied martial arts most of your life, Army Ranger, Delta Force member—you were a captain in the military and earned many medals. You expect us to believe this story?”
“I wasn’t beat, plus my intention wasn’t to hurt anyone. I just wanted answers. And that ‘little girl,’ as you call her, has had some training.”
“I believe him,” Toben said.
&
nbsp; “A lot of what he’s saying does coincide with what we have,” Boyar followed up.
Ashley threw her gaze on Boyar. He shrugged his shoulders. She then looked at Toben, and finally Black, before rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
“Okay, Black, finish telling us how you ended up at the exchange with Petrak,” Toben said.
Black told them about the warehouse in Treasure Island and what he found inside the freezer. He shared his ride in the back of the delivery truck, how he eavesdropped on Petrak’s meeting, and finished with his run-in with Toben.
“This is some good information,” Boyar said, jotting in his notepad.
“Agreed,” Toben concurred.
Ashley said nothing.
“What do you know about the bombing in New York?” Boyar quickly asked.
“All I know about what happened in New York is what I heard on the news two days ago.”
“Well, we have someone who says you seem to know a lot about the mind-set of the bomber,” Ashley said.
Black raised an eyebrow. “Oh,” he said, “you guys interviewed that bartender. Did he also mention how detached from the news I was?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“If I was part of a bombing, I would be very familiar with what’s on the news because I’d be watching it all the time looking for any new developments found by law enforcement.”
“Why are you so detached from the news?” Toben asked.
“I’ve been on the road.”
“Doing what?”
“Being in the wrong places at the right times, I guess.”
“We have to find out who’s behind these bombings…” Ashley sighed.
“You just heard who’s behind it,” Black said. “We just don’t know exactly when and where they’ll strike next.”
“Remind me, Black, who’s behind it.”
“Johana and that blond kid,” Black said slowly with emphasis.
“Ty,” Toben said.
“Ty?” Black inquired.
“Yeah, that’s the blond kid’s name—that’s what Matt told me he goes by anyway.”
“Ty what? Do you guys have his last name?”
Toben shook his head in the negative.
“What? I know you guys have footage with all the cameras that are set up around Fisherman’s Wharf. It didn’t take long for you to figure out who I was.”
“We have clear footage of you as you entered the restaurant,” Boyar started, “but the footage we collected for Ty was distorted. We have a graphic artist working on it.”
“Black, you seem to think there’ll be another bombing. Any idea where?” Toben asked.
“Yeah, I think I may know where…” Black answered, thinking of a question he felt was more important than the one he had just been asked.
“Well, let us hear it,” Toben continued.
“Okay, but before I answer that, I have a question. At Petrak’s meet there was a DIA agent there. Any idea who that was?”
“Yeah, Agent Stokes, Karl Stokes,” Toben answered with disdain.
“I’m sensing some history there.”
“Not much history; I barely know the guy.”
“The DHS and FBI I can understand, but I’m a little confused why the DIA was there.”
“That makes two of us.”
“The DIA mainly gathers military intelligence, but then again these agencies always have their hands in more than they admit. Does he have any special training?”
Toben hunched his shoulders, shaking his head.
“Maybe explosives?” Black asked.
Toben looked up to his left, biting the inside of his cheek.
“So that’s it? He’s good with explosives?” Black said.
Toben raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
“You did mention he knew about the sauce,” Boyar said to Toben.
Both Toben and Ashley looked at Boyar. He hunched his shoulders.
“The sauce?” Black echoed.
Toben moved his sights from Boyar to Black. “Yeah,” he sighed. “That glass tube you found in the mouth of the fish in Petrak’s warehouse—that’s what’s known as sauce. Undetectable, clear, scentless, tasteless, and as you saw, it can maintain its form under extreme temperatures.”
Black remembered Ty saying something about sauce. “Sounds like the same thing that was used back in Desert Storm,” he commented aloud.
Toben smiled. “Exactly. This stuff is so dangerous it can cause an explosion if mixed with a carbonated drink.”
“So I take it this sauce was used in the New York bombing?”
“I think we answered enough questions from you already,” Ashley cut him off.
“It’s okay, Agent Chapp. How would you know that, Black?” Toben said.
“It makes sense. We already know who’s behind the bombings. It’d be nothing for them to travel with something undetectable like the sauce,” Black said. “What I’m curious about is how Stokes came into all this information. Seems like he’s been on this investigation for a while. What do you think, Toben?”
“Look, Black, all I can tell you is he was brought into this investigation from up the chain, okay?”
“Why the fascination with Stokes?” Boyar asked Black.
“Pretty obvious,” Toben jumped in. “Black is more concerned about who came after him than he is about catching who’s behind the bombings.”
Good point, but I know I’ve seen Stokes somewhere before the Petrak meet, Black thought before saying, “The two may not be mutually exclusive.”
“You said you may have an idea where the next bombing will be,” Toben continued.
“As I mentioned, in the storage unit at Pier 40 I found a flier for that theme park south of L.A., Fantastic Galaxy.”
“Yeah…”
“Remember, I also mentioned that Johana and this Ty were talking about going to Florida. Well—what’s in Florida?”
“Of course,” Toben said. “Fantastic Universe.”
“The sister theme park,” Ashley followed up.
“Yep, I’d say both locations are possible targets,” Black said.
“But when?” Boyar asked.
“I don’t know. That’s for the three of you to figure out. The last two bombings were at protests for the law 324. So maybe cross-reference any events for the public law 324 near the theme parks.”
Boyar wrote in his notepad. “I don’t know why these kids are willing to hurt people who are against this law,” he said.
“This new law will make parents more accountable, make them really consider the consequences of their actions,” Black started. “These kids obviously feel strongly about their parents, probably parents in general, being held accountable for their actions when it comes to bringing children into this world.”
It went quiet at the table. Only the sound of Boyar scratching in his notepad echoed around the table.
Toben dropped his head, exhaling. Ashley looked at him, quickly reaching over and patting his hand with hers.
Black noticed. Yeah… there’s something there. Oh well, that’s on them. “Well, that’s all I have. I told you as much as I could think of. I’ll be going now,” he announced to the table.
“Not so fast,” Ashley said.
“Whoa. Hold on, Black,” Toben said. “We still need to make sure we’re clear on some things.”
“That’s for you to figure out,” Black replied with a shrug.
“Have you forgotten you were at the scene of the bombing?”
“And no one was hurt—unlike the bombing in New York, in which case there was no evidence to place me there and many got hurt. That alone proves I have nothing to do with this.”
“You assaulted federal agents.”
“I can argue self-defense. I didn’t see any proper ID.”
“What about assaulting two police officers? You saw their IDs.”
“You mean two dirty cops? That’ll go over well in a court of law.”
&
nbsp; “Black, I believe you’re innocent. But it’s your word against the word of two cops and since you have no proof of them being dirty, who do you think a judge is going to believe?”
“Who said I don’t have proof?”
“Do you?”
“The gun Guo had.”
“I thought you said you tossed it over the bridge,” Ashley chimed in.
“No. I threw their police-issued guns into the water.”
“Withholding more evidence,” Toben said. “The charges are piling up.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Black said, standing from the table.
“Black, I know you served this country and you’re a tough guy,” Toben said, “but you’re in the civilian world now and there are rules you have to follow. I’m still a symbol of the law, so we’re going to do things my way. Don’t force me to… persuade you.”
“‘Symbol of the law,’” Black huffed, sitting down and directing his attention towards Toben. “Let me tell you something, Lead Agent Jake Toben. I’ve been doing my very best to maintain my cool, but after almost being blown apart, twice, and becoming the target of two crooked cops, I’m feeling the urge to snap on someone. I’m not behind the bombings and have nothing to do with it—you know this. Last night I saw it on your face, and just now you said you believe I’m innocent.”
“It would be pr—proper procedure to take you—”
“That’s a load of crap, Toben. It would also be proper procedure to take your son in knowing what you now know, right? But we both know you won’t even consider that unless there’s overwhelming evidence that ties Matt to the bombings. Well, there’s more evidence against him than me. So don’t even try that.”
Toben’s gaze briefly dropped to the floor. Ashley and Boyar glanced over at him.
